"Love & Logic"

A good friend of mine has been attending a class called "Love & Logic Parenting". She has been telling me how much it has helped the atmosphere in her home. I decided to attend the last 5 sessions, starting last night. Five minutes before I had to leave, I asked Troy if he would like to attend with me (I had been telling him about it recently already). I was shocked when he threw on his shoes and said, "Let's go!" We were thrilled with some of the skills we learned our first night. It will take practice and discipline to follow through, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Our only regret is that we didn't do this years ago. Our Kevin is a strong willed stinker. He has a great heart, but some nasty habits and a crappy attitude a lot of the time. I figure the attitude is just a pre-teen thing, so we need help now before it totally gets out of hand.

Kevin is a Deacon

Kevin recently turned 12 and was ordained a Deacon. He was so excited! In our ward, when kids graduate from Primary, if they are able to recite all 13 Articles of Faith, they are given the choice of either cutting our Bishop's tie or keeping it. He recited all 13 in order from memory and chose to cut the tie rather than keep it. Now he wishes he had kept it. Afterwards, the Deacon's Quorum came and "kidnapped" him away to Priesthood for the first time. Since Troy and I serve in Primary, we watched him go. It was kind of bittersweet.

On February 3rd, he passed the Sacrament for the first time. He was very excited and a little nervous. It turned out most of us had the flu over the weekend, so he got a ride with a friend to church. I snuck in the back of the chapel so I could be there for his first time. He was glad I was there. So was I. He said he really enjoyed doing it, was a little nervous, and a lot proud of himself. He said it felt good to be doing it.

My boy is growing up.

February Ensign

Have you ever picked up the latest Ensign and felt it was written just for you? Last night, I read cover to cover and just felt that it was a real answer to some prayers I've had lately. As I laid in bed reading (with a night-light until almost 1am) I just felt the Spirit and felt a surge of knowledge that what I was reading REALLY applied to me. I haven't had (or taken) the time to really pour through the Ensign for several months, and it felt like "coming home".

How grateful I am for inspired leaders who prayerfully teach us what the Lord wants for us. The Ensign is such a lighthouse in my life. What a gift.

Does that make sense? I may be a month late for resolutions, but I've kind of mapped out in my head some new resolutions, set new priorities, and given myself some new challenges for self-improvement in several areas of my life. Nothing huge or dramatic, but I've "taken a look in the mirror" and see some need for improvement. What's a new year without new goals? 'Nuff said.

97 Day Book of Mormon Challenge

Last night our family accepted a new challenge. We are going to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days, in honor of Gordon B. Hinckley, who lived to the age of 97. This equates to 5-1/2 pages per day. So in roughly 3 months we will have finished it (...again, as Kevin puts it). I heard about the challenge via email and went to www.hinckleychallenge.com to sign up. It gave our family a real purpose in reading the BOM again. I am excited! Go the the site and check it out. It's a great way to pay tribute to our late Prophet.

Kevin's Hunt

For those of you who may not know, Kevin was chosen to go on a Life Hunt with BUCKMASTERS and the Jackie Bushman show. He went hunting with 10 other hunters. All the hunters had life-threatening illnesses or disabilities. There were a few kids with different kinds of cancer. A little girl with kidney problems, a boy who is a burn victim (who we later found out has cerebral palsy and a heart problem... breaks your heart, don't it). There were also two "wounded warriars", soldiers who were wounded in Iraq. The kids just had a great time getting to know eachother and sharing their love of hunting.

Kevin got to meet celebrities Jackie Bushman and Mark Chestnut, as well as several important people in the hunting industry. Troy and I enjoyed spending time with the Buckmasters staff and parents of the hunters. There were ARMY personnel that we got to know pretty well. We came home feeling pretty patriotic. Those guys left quite an impression on us.


On the final hunt on the last day, Kevin shot his deer. A 3 point buck. We were all so happy... not to mention relieved. He had a camera man there with him, so he might be seen on the Jackie Bushman show on the Outdoor Channel in the upcoming season. The deer head will be mounted and sent to him later this year. It will hang in HIS ROOM.

Ski Season Opens for the Bairs

Well, we made our debut up at Bluewood Ski Mountain this weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday skiing. The kids were ecstatic. We were pretty excited, too.










In the morning, Troy was loading skis, boots, and poles in the van. I was packing our lunch and rounding up all the hats, gloves, scarves, goggles and other important stuff. What we didn’t know was that our kiddos were impatiently waiting in the van, completely geared up and ready to go. By completely, I mean hats under their helmets, goggles, scarves, coats, snow pants, gloves, and ski boots. Did I mention they were ecstatic? Talk about a role-reversal. We are usually waiting for them when it’s time to leave for somewhere.

Kevin is pretty sure he is the best skier on the mountain. Troy mentioned that an intermediate lesson on technique might be a good idea for him. Kevin was almost offended. He doesn’t understand how his dad could think such a think. I suggested, sarcastically, to Kevin that he might want to teach lessons this year. Kevin agreed that would be a good. A very healthy ego, indeed. Actually, in reality, Kevin is really a remarkable skier. He has good form, and isn’t afraid to try anything. He would love to be on the ski team, and would probably excel at that. If only we lived closer (It’s a 1hr 45min drive each way).

Stacy was my ski buddy. I promised her that I would stay with her and at her skill level. I don’t feel the ‘need for speed’ like the boys. We spent quite a while on the bunny hill at first. Then I bribed her with a package of fruit snacks to go up the chair lift, to the easiest hill, called Country Road. It didn’t start off so well. First, she fell off the chairlift at the unloading point at the top. She had forgotten how to get off. She fell on her pole at hurt her back a little. She was more mad than anything. Then we skied down successfully. She had a great time! She went up Country Road 3 times Friday and twice Saturday. The first time Saturday was too powdery, so she fell a lot, and was frustrated. She did, however, end on a good note. She had a great time.

Bluewood closes each day at 4pm. On Friday, the boys were LITERALLY the last two skiers off the mountain. Troy, Stacy, and I came down our last run at 4:02. We saw Kevin on his way up the chair lift for a final run, with a huge smile on his face. The lift operators had the CLOSE sign up, but flagged us through for one last lift up the mountain. Troy went up to ski down with Kevin. Stacy and I headed for the van to warm up and prepare hot cocoa. The boys said that halfway up the mountain, the chair lift stopped moving for almost a minute. They were a little concerned that they might have to spend the night on the lift, until it started back up again. Stacy and I waited 20 minutes in the car until we finally saw our boys, escorted by the ski patrol, coming down.

The first day, Kevin ate an early lunch on the way to Bluewood. He started skiing at about 11:45, and was finished just before 4:30. His gloves were not the best gloves, so his hands were cold and wet. He was almost in tears and said this was the 2nd coldest he has ever been in his life. We had other gloves in the van, but getting them would have meant stopping skiing for awhile. So, he skied non-stop the whole day. He didn’t stop to eat, drink, pee, or anything else. He said the only time he stopped was to ride the lift up the mountain. Saturday, we mandated a lunch break, and had gotten him nice, new gloves. What a sport!

The Nutcracker

As is tradition, Stacy, Rachel and I attended the Nutracker yesterday. This year, Tana and Meredith went with us. So, for the 5th year in a row, we gathered at my house, got all dolled up, donned tiaras (little girls only), and went to the show. It was lovely from our front row seats. Then on our way to DQ for ice-cream, the girls sat in the back-seat and grossed out/giggled about the man in the super-tight tights. Of course, I had to remind them that if they are so grossed out by the man in tights, maybe we would have to sit in the back-row next year. They quieted down a little. Everything was part of our tradition: dressing up, tiaras, front row, DQ, grossing out, me threatening back-row next year... I guess they were just keeping up with their part of the holiday tradition. Actually, Merdy just sat there and listened. She probably didn't even notice the obscenely tight tights. What a fun day!