Christmas Cards

Everyone--which I don't think is a lot of you, but I would like to send out some Christmas Cards. Please leave me your address so I don't have to hunt you down! This is my first year doing this, and I feel quite grow up and domestic.

Thanks you guys and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

UPDATES!

ok...first, as those to read my blog know, my store opened on HALLOWEEN. I fought it for so long, but now I'm really glad that we opened on that holiday. Halloween is one my favorite holidays, and I usually like to go all out. This year my costume was a little on the lame side, but I deserve a break, I didn't really have time to put it together. Mckay was absolutely ADORABLE though. Stephanie and I bought him a monster costume a little over 2 months ago when they first were available. On halloween I dressed him up, but lo and behold--it didn't fit him anymore! I was really bummed and stressed because we were opening that day. I decided to run to the Halloween store and buy him something, anything! The costume I got him was WAY cuter than the monster anyways, so it all worked out. We toke McKay trick-or-treating, and surprise surprise Malcolm and I ate all his candy! Hey, being parents has to hold some perks. We went up my street, and called it quits. We were so exhausted. That basically sums up the holiday, and I would have to say I've had better, but this one will always hold a special place in heart because it was my GRAND OPENING!!





















































Now, for the store. We opened with about 1000 things to do still. But, none the less we opened that blasted gate! I had NO IDEA what to expect. We hadn't done any advertising, we didn't have any big banner. We did have balloons though. I just held my breathe and waited. Amazingly enough, we have a lot of people come in. We had over 900 dollars in sales that day, and over 1600 dollars in sales the following day. This story should be more exciting and eventful, but that is basically it. We spent so much time and money and effort to get this going. We opened and it was just like any other retail store, busy like it had regular customers. I am so humbled by this experience. It is still very surreal to me, and I can't thank everyone that helped us enough. We are doing so well, and almost everyone that comes in pledges to come back because our prices are so low and our shoes are so exciting. So far we are doing better than expected, but we aren't fighting for customers, we aren't struggling to make our ends meet, we are just doing so well! I'll post the pictures from the grand opening party, and some from the day we opened! Thank you everyone for your support! I don't have that many, so I will try and retrieve them from the others that were there that night! I think I was just too busy running around trying to make it all come together!

Life....

This might be depressing, it should be happy, but it's not.

Life...well, life is life right? My shoe store opened on Friday and it is doing sooo well. I'm so grateful (and I promise I will post some pics), but then monday rolled around, thats today, and I had about 2,000,000 million things to do. I thought (silly me) that the hard part was over...ON NO WAY HOSE!! the hard part is just beginning. Lets just list this out

1. We still don't have our real sign! LAMO sign company is taking there sweet time, meanwhile I have to buy a temp sign that doesn't look as good.
2. I still haven't got our employee work organization up! i can't find there W2 stuff and I have to write them check tomorrow
3. They don't have badges
4. I can't get all the price tags off the computer and malc went back to work this week
5. I can't figure out how to put my filing cabinet together!
6. We were so busy that I have to reorder shoes, but my four suppliers all work on their own schedule
7. We have to borrow more money because we have to order like 20,000 more dollars of shoes...how do I find 10,000 more dollars? any suggestions?
8. I don't have enough seating, So i have to find the time to drive to Ikea and return/exchange, drive back to provo set it up...all with Mckay
9. I have to order gift cards, set up a gift card machine, or make an executive decision on gift cards in general
10. I still don't have cute bags with our names..because I don't have enough to time to design and order them..seriously
11. I have to buy more display shoes thingy things
12. I have to get the keys copied
13. I have to get our advertisement contract set up with the mall, then order and design our displays, then buy them...the money factor here, then set them up, then monitor them
14. I need business cards
15. our phone still isn't set up...
16. that means our Internet isn't set up.....
17. I have to process our credit cards the ghetto way..its not so bad, but time consuming
18. I have to buy our store music...its expensive
19. I have to make these price things for our picture frames in our window displays
20. I have to get our window display up for christmas
21. I have to manage all employees and andrew and malcolm..etc
22. I have to answer the phone ever 5 mins because I have so many people y calling me
23. MOST IMPORTANTLY BE A MOTHER!!


ok, thats a short list of things I was supposed to do today! I WANT TO DIE!!! I THINK I'M CRAZY AND I WANT TO DIE!

I hope this pays off, but for those who are thinking about starting a business..beware, you eat dirt for a VERY LONG TIME! I should be sleeping, but I can't because my brain is going to explode because I'm thinking about one million things and trying to figure out how exactly this is all going to come together.

well, I'm so grateful for every ones support, and I really need some prayers...please...

wish me luck, my dreams are all going to come true at some point

FINALLY!!!!YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IT IS ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN! ITS OUT OF CONTROL!!!

TODAY IS THE DAY THAT I GET THE KEY TO THE SPACE IN THE MALL! IT IS OUT OF CONTROL. I'M GOING TO SIGN THE AGREEMENT IN ABOUT 1 1/2 HOURS. I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO THINK, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO ANDREW WHO PULLED STRINGS AND CALLED THE BIG GUYS AND GOT THE GUNS OUT AND SHOWED THAT STUPID MALL WHO WAS BOSS...AND APPARENTLY ANDREW IS, NOT ME??? I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WORKS, CAUSE REALLY I'M THE BOSS. BUT, I THINK I'M STEPPING DOWN FOR A DAY, BECAUSE ANDREW REALLY DID THE JOB!

I'M SO HAPPY AND EXCITED!!

OUR SPACE IS GOING TO LOOK FANTASTIC, AND BEAUTIFUL, AND YA'LL BETTER COME BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T...YOU'LL BE OUT OF THE VIP FRIEND LOOP. I MEAN, HOW MANY OF YOU CAN SAY THAT YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO OWNS A STORE IN A MALL.

...OK, I'M NOT BOASTING! I'M JUST SO EXCITED!!!!

I LOVE EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED US GET HERE, ALL THE PEOPLE I'VE HIRED, AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED US!

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS WE EMBARK ON THIS GLORIOUS, FRIGHTENING, CRAZY, OUT OF CONTROL ADVENTURE.

I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED, AND LET YOU KNOW WHEN WE ARE GOING TO OPEN OUR DOORS!

We live and we learn...

So, music has a HUGE influence in my life. It's not that I'm a music junky, I just find myself always listening to the words. I love how every once in a while a song just says it all. Dashboard usually satisfies my poetic love in music, but like you read in my last post..I'm branching out.

So, new song, better attitude...

Jordin Sparks: One step at a time.

1st I love this . I saw her in concert and she is so dang cute! And, this song is screaming the story of my life.

We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
when you need to find the strength
It's the faith that makes you stronger
The only way you get there
Is one step at a time

Rock Music

I've been really stressed lately...and I think I've resorted to revving up the music, and relaxing to the noise.
This is my stressor, and this is my song...it somehow relaxes me.

1. Stupid bank people/sba people/mall people stepping on my dreams and dragging out the "starting up processes" by slashing all my ideas over and over again

SONG: SO WHAT! by Pink. "SO WHAT! I'm still a rock start, I've got my rock moves and I don't NEED YOU BANK, MALL, SBA tonight

Just place me in that picture..the tree is my life.

I've always loved Pink. Really weird because I really don't like that kind of stuff, but she kinda takes me back to Jr. High when I went through my punk stage. I bought a skate board, put my hair in dreds, and wore black eye liner. It didn't last long, but I'm thinking maybe I should put that game face back on. Interesting thought?

McKay is ONE!

Mckay is almost one year old! I can't believe it's almost been a year since my little baby was born. I thought that about this time I would be feeling baby hungry, or something to that effect, but man! I COULDN'T BE MORE HAPPY THAT MCKAY ISN'T A LITTLE BABY ANYMORE! I know that sounds kinda..coarse, or harsh, or like I'm weird. But I love having a child that is a little bit more independent. He plays by himself now, and he is crawling and almost walking. He is adorable.

Lets see. Mckay, my little Malcolm Mckay. He means so much to me, and he is doing so well. My favorite thing that he does is his moglee crawl. He also loves to copy you when you clap. But my absolute favorite moment that I have with Mckay is when we are driving and he is just sitting in his seat, and I look back at him while we stopped and I smile, and he just gives me this toothy smile that melts my heart! He might say "dada" all the time, but he loves his Mommy and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

So, I've been thinking, just because I work at a day care, and it happens like 4 mothers are prego there about when we will have our next baby. I've thought it through and I am just not ready for the whole process again...but I would like McKay to have another friend. Malcolm and I are seriously considering adopting (me more than malc) but has anyone heard good things about adopting? I hear like an over all good feeling, but mostly people get freaked out. I've prayed about it, and I know we have more children, but I just don't feel like I can do it right now..or even in the near future. Adopting can take up to two years so if we decide to go that route we need to 1) start saving and 2) start the process.

Just thinking....

well, this is about my baby, and he freaking cute, so I need to show him off. These are his pictures we just got taken!! Enjoy.

The final countdown!

Ok...we are ready to go!
We finally have the list collected and submitted!! The bank will hopefully give us the $$$ Monday. We will buy our shoes..decorate our store and OPEN!! We are for Sept 12, or...19th!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

Sole Envious? WHAT! WHY?

Starting a business is really hard...point blank.

1. I never thought I would do this..and now I want to rip my hair out
2. People are idiots. In general I think most people are complete retards!!
3. Everyone is on their own time table..and they just really don't care about MY TIMETABLE!
4. The money just keeps flying out..not in? Question: WHY

Ok...so that is the update. It will maybe hopefully...possibly...start in Sept. 5th, that is already one week after we planned and that is if everything goes as planned, which I'm finding out never works because I have plan, Malcolm has a plan, GGP has a plan, Andrew has a plan, Zion's bank has a plan, Soda shoes has a plan..and none of these plans co-exist.

Maybe next year Malcolm and I will decide to buy a gold fish...an adventure..but just a small one.

This is our logo....basically just the plain box one...it just came down to the simple. I like it though, it just fits. We might do some sort of flower on the bag, but this will go on the front of our store.

2 year Anniversary

Happy Anniversary!
Today is our two year anniversary, and I CAN NOT believe it's been two years. It blows my mind how quickly the first year went and...I blinked and two years have gone by. Malcolm and I have actually been together for almost six years, and that just seems plain weird. He's my best friend in the whole wide world, and even though we fight like cats and dogs sometimes, it just WORKS! Malcolm and I are always talking...I LOVE THAT! I want my marriage to be about me and him..not just working through life to make it work, but working together day by day to enjoy the moments. That is what I love most about our marriage, and I hope it never changes. We spend every moment we can together...which means from five on we are together. Sometimes things come up and we have a choice to spend time apart...like guys play nintendo, or s just shopping, but really we never want to. We talk on the phone his entire lunch, usually we spend it together, and then he comes home and we work together on our projects. I LOVE IT! We have a great marriage, and I feel so lucky to have him as my husband. He is so good to me, and so understanding and MAN I just feel gosh dang lucky. I want to thank him for just being him, my best friend in the whole wide world!

so...some exciting moments of our second year of marriage.


1. Baby Mckay being born! HOLY COW! yeah, this qualifies as number one by the way..takes the cake. For those who have kids you will understand. There is nothing more spiritual than when you baby comes into this world physically and takes it's first breathe and...wow, it is amazing!

2. A couple of weeks ago Malcolm and I were having a "girls night"..that's what we call it when we rent a chick flick. We got P.S. I love you...for those of you who haven't seen it it's about a and her husband dies..he writes her letters..it's super cute (kinda a tear jerker). That night we got into bed and Malcolm was crying. It was so cute, he told me how much he loved me and how sad he would be if I died. Ok...this was a first for me, usually he just complains about my sobby movies, but he was adorable and totally sincere I didn't know what to say, I just cried and we just held eachother all night. It was one of those unforgettable moments.

3. Cruise...Malcolm and I went on a cruise together in March and it was so nice to just me a couple again. It was like we were again..sleeping in, lounging, talking, laughing. I started to feel like a queen and he was my king, and when I'm with him, I just feel like I could conquer the world..ya know? He just installs that in me, and I hope I install that in him. I tribute him to much of my success in school and business..and I think we just make a perfect team.

Well, there were lots of other good times..but those just take the cake. I know I have a terrible memory so I might just post later about some of the other good times.
For now, I just want to publicly say I LOVE YOU MALCOLM!! I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE YEARS TO COME! I HOPE WE HAVE MANY MANY MANY DECADES OF FUN TOGETHER!

Sole Envy logos!
these are the new updated drafts. let us know what you like the best...we are narrowing it down!
Click on it and it opens a screen where you can actually see them.

My Nevernever land is never more

I woke up today at five o'clock because I couldn't sleep. I was restless. Malcolm and I got into a little tiff last night and I totally blew up. I feel awful about it. I was totally out of line. But, truthfully, I don't think I've been in line for a long time. Malcolm and I don't always fight, that not what I'm talking about. I'm officially never going to grow up!
Last night I kept saying "when are you ever going to grow up" and the karma just came full swing, it only took about 8 hours..I HAVEN'T GROW UP YET!! I don't always throw tissy's and I'm not always hitting the other nice boys. I just haven't grow up yet. I woke up today and realized I'm fighting this adult thing tooth and nail. I'm stuck, I'm still 17. I have a baby, a husband, a mortgage, I'm starting a business, and still I'm not an adult. I'm flying the other direction as fast as I can.

I work at a day care. I love it, and totally I think I'm weird. I play with the kids, and I have so much fun. I'm actually the favorite of all the child care providers and most of the kids now me by name and come to me when they are sad. I've always had a harder time talking to adults. Real adults, you know like teachers, sometimes other parents, leaders--and it's because in my head I'm still a little child. Now, I know I'm melodramatic. But seriously!! Today is the day that I finally realized, I need to grow up.

How do you grow up. All of my friends, my close friends are grown up. They just did, gradually I guess. What if you missed that bus. What if I missed the classes? Am I supposed to just decide to be an adult, have adult conversations, do adult things? All of the sudden?

These are difficult questions. And this proves my maturity level. As I'm sitting here blogging because I have no one to talk to about this at five in the morning..I'm assessing how sucky it is to be an adult. You don't get to have fun. You have to spend your life doing stuff for others--cooking cleaning, child rearing. Not that those are bad, but WHAT ABOUT ME! I want to pursue my dreams, I want to do what I want to do. Ok, I've proven it. I'm a child. I don't want to be a child, I don't want to be an adult. I have a dilemma.

I need to grow up. I need to grow up. I need to grow up. Life isn't make believe, but I wish it was. Honestly I don't know what to do. I know that I'm 21, going on 22 and really honestly it's becoming pathetic and I hate it myself, but this process of shedding the child and becoming you-know-what just isn't coming easy for me. I know I need to do it, and I want to do it. But, the question is how to fly home from your never never land, when everything you've ever known is holding you back.

Life shouldn't be this hard. Life should manage it's self. ( here I go again with my childhood issues) I don't want to grow up. I don't want to give in to that beast...I just want to be, ME. Who is me, I guess I don't know. I guess me will just have to fight this inner struggle on my own, because seriously, anyone who reads this will probably think I'm crazy. And heck..I totally agree.

SOLE ENVY LOGO

Sole Envy

Like many of you know Malc and I are opening a shoe store in the Provo Towne center mall in..like 4 weeks. We are pretty much down to the nitty gritty now..ick! We are FINALLY having our logo designed, and these are the seven concepts. We have unlimited revisions with the design company we are working with, but I just thought I would ask the like....5 people that read my blog which one they think is the cutest..or the one that is moving in the best direction.
THIS IS MEGA IMPORTANT!! please help me out, my artistic skills are bare minimum.
p.s. they won't copy well because of all the legal stuff we have to go through at the end of something..anyways we don't have the final files yet, so just get a basic idea.
THANKS!

McKay's first trip to the ER

On Thursday, McKay and I were just at work having a wonderful day..and then suddenly BAM! McKay lunged for a toy and hit his head on the corner of a cupboard. I thought at first that it was just a little bump, but when I went to pick him up he was bleeding everywhere. I, of course, freaked out and didn't know what to do. Everyone at the gym were such dolls and helped me get McKay to the hospital. When we got the hospital McKay had stopped crying and was acting just fine. The bleeding kinda stopped, and I thought that we weren't going to even need stitches. I was still shaking and in shock when the Dr. started the stitches--10 beautiful stitches and 2 underneath because it was so deep. McKay was so brave, and I have a feeling this is only our first trip to the ER. My baby is so active and wild, I can't even fathom the things that are going to happen from now until he is two or three.
p.s. thank goodness I'm such a chill mom, I thought I would be freaked out a lot more, but I did really good, but a tribute that to my brave child. McKay wasn't freaking out, so I wasn't!

Finally...our VACATION!!

Ok, it's taken me forever to post about our cruise!! I couldn't get the pictures off the camera, and then the pictures were shot in RAM, which I guess is a special thing that makes the pictures higher quality...long story short--I'm going to start the story of our cruise now.
Malcolm and I headed off for Mexico menus one baby! It was so hard and sad to leave our baby, but man it was so nice to have some alone time for me and my sweetheart. The cruise was wonderful, it was a Carnival Cruise, so the boat was a little out dated, but still amazing. Malcolm and I slept until 1:00-2:00 everyday to catch up and spent the rest of the time eating or seeing the sights. Unfortunantely it was a little cold, so we didn't catch very many waves but it was still warm enough to see the sights and hang out side.
The first day we went to Catalina Island where we rented a golf cart and drove around the island. It was so beautiful and green. We decided that someday we might live there for a summer..it was just calm, quiet and beautiful...here are some pictures.


Malc and I on top of one of the mountains. There is a beautiful view in the background, but I don't know if you can really see it...you can barely see our cruise ship down in the bay.

Malcolm in our Golf Cart!



A picture of the Bay



Our Cruise ship as we ride the boat to the Island.


Malc and I kissing behind a palm tree (just keeping it PG kids!)


The next day Malcolm and I went to Mexico and it ended up being really cold, so instead of playing the water, Malcolm and I rented some four wheelers and found these sand dunes a couple miles down the beach. It was so awesome, we rode the four wheelers all day long. Here are some pictures.




The last day we spent on the boat just hanging out with a cool couple we met that actually live in provo! Clay and Trista..small world, Trista took piano lessons from my Mom when we lived in West Valley!





All in All it was an awesome vacation! I'm so glad that Malcolm and I were able to have some time to our selves to regroup! I think that this vacation was therapy enough for me!

more family pictures

I'm a little computer handicapped so here are the rest of them...

Family Pictures

wow, family pictures are a lot harder when your baby moves around. Scott took a photo class and I asked him to take some pictures of our family outside. In my head I'm thinking this is going to be wonderful and beautiful and what memories...well, McKay was a little stink head the entire time. And, yes! I'm resorting to using stink head as a name for my beloved baby boy. Malcolm and I smiled and we looked great and the scenery was beautiful, but in most of the pictures McKay looks like he is trying to get away, cry, or lash out. I can't figure out what happened to my angel?!! I'm guessing he just wasn't into the camera that night, but regardless THANKS SCOTT!! for taking all these wonderful pictures. Also, if anyone has some good tips on how to trick your children int0 1)looking at the camera. 2)smiling at the camera 3) staying still for the camera-- I'd be much obliged and excited to hear them!

yum....grass!

What a doll! This is McKay's first time experiencing grass. He didn't it, he didn't love it either. I couldn't get one smile out of him the entire time. Honestly, I couldn't get him to look at the camera either. He just picked at the grass trying to get a hold of it so he could taste it. I tried to tell him the taste was very bland and unfulfilling, but he's McKay, and my son...why would he listen to his mother. I love my sweet baby, and just recently I've decided that my role as a mother is what I want. McKay went with his daddy last night on what I guess you could call a father-son date. I missed my little guy so much. My heart ached for them to come back. This morning when I got McKay out of bed I just cried! I never wanted him to leave again--even if it is just for a night. Now, I want breaks and I need them, but MAN! I LOVE MY BABY MCKAY!!

Whats in a name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare

I've been tossing and turning over the name of our shoe store. I can't seem to find the right one, or even a vague shadow of the right one.... What IS in a name???? Those who have studied this play by Shakespeare probably think that I'm crazy for relating my dilemma to this quote. For, is it not true that this very passage tells the reader that it doesn't matter what you call something, people will know it for what it actually is or does. (Seriously, who is this Shakespeare man? So brilliant play maker who just happens to be right about everything??? )

BUT STILL!! I feel we need the perfect name, one describes youth, gives off excitement, causes a little bit of brain work. I want people to hear the name and love it and want to say it again. I want them to walk by and see our sign and say, wow, what is this new store?

So, I'm calling all my everybodies. Please HELP! If you have any good ideas, or any suggestions please please please let me know. I'm at a total stand still!

Henry David Thoreau:

However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. ivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.

I've decided to give my attitude a boost! OK! I'm starting fresh, and I'm feeling much better!

Glass Half Empty

April 24. 2008. What a crazy/terrible/enlightening/etc day. It started out alright, if you call a snow storm at the end of April alright. McKay has a terrible bum rash that could be a bacterial infection, or a yeast infection, allergic reaction, or just a bad rash...which no Dr. can diagnose. The chiropractor broke my back, and I slid off the freeway exit because I was stopping to fast. Wow, I'm laying down finally, and listening to Norah Jones.
"feeling down, by the fire, the long day is over now"
My long day has finally come to an end. I feel a little like a pessimist, maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But surely I feel the right to be a little negative. Life is sometimes hard, it's sometime trying. I feel like maybe we shouldn't try to be so perfect, and happy! WHY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST HAVE BAD DAYS! Maybe if we just got out all of our negativity all at once, more people would be happy.
I guess this is the time when we should count our blessing, and be grateful for what we have. I guess this the time when I should be looking towards the light..you know that half glass full stuff.
What about we just forget out that for now. I feel like a deserve a little bit of half glass empty.

1. Car sliding off the road. I was late, of course, so I was speeding down the freeway which by the way was all backed up because the weather decided to have a freak snow storm at the end of April! I ran my car into the dirt/grassy part of the side of the freeway which made me more late All of this steamed back to the fact that I was late leaving my mother-in-laws because I couldn''t find McKay's bottle and he was screaming for food food food. I was late getting to my mother in laws because Dylerhti didn't want to come in early, and I couldn't figure out how to leave work on time. This actually goes back to the fact that I can never say no to anyone when they ask me for a favor. I shouldn't have even been working, but I had to switch my schedule all around because there was a wedding tonight that I had to go to. Gosh...and you don't even want to guess. I made a special book for this wedding which they didn't even use, why, because I don't know. I spent 40 dollars and hours of work making this book, but I guess it all just steams back to the desire to be generic and boring and using a plain white book that people just sign on lines is better.

2. Mckay's bum rash. Seriously. This is so bad. Its looks like a third degree burn. Everyone I talk to has a different idea/solution. Nobody, even the doctors don't know what this is. Why do they go to medical school, so they can educately guess what is wrong with your child. I have been prescribed four different things that won't work, they don't know what it is....so, I just keep trying and trying and nothing is working. Nothing is fixing this, which I don't know why this upsets me I guess it would just be nice if we could get a straight answer that I didn't have to spend 20 copay after 20 copay trying to figure out.

3. FREAK SNOW STORM. Talk about seasonal depression. Why the is it snowing on April 24. This is the time for spring, flowers, short sleeves and walks in the park. I think the weather is just taunting us...it wants us to think that it is getting warming and the BAM! snow! I feel really tired of this back and forth.

I feel really upset that all this crap had to land on one day...but in keeping with the glass half whatever, at least it landed all on one day, because that means I should be free from these disasters for a while. Tomorrow should be a better day. It should be brighter and cleaning and full of fresh new excited surprises. But, until then I'm going to be gloomy and grumpy.

Success?

I have recently found out from my computer savvy brother that blogs are like an online journal, as opposed to a photo album. With that being said I've decided to share some of my thoughts. Malcolm's grandma died last week and we went to her funeral a few days ago. There were so many people there. Grandma Felt had twelve children and they all had children and those children had children and really it just keeps going. The Felt family is also unlike any other family I have met. They all love doing things on the edge. They are all traveling, starting businesses and moving to every end of the earth. I listened in envy during the conversations about London, and Paris, and California, and Indonesia. I awed at the many business ideas and money making strategies. What a family! I was a little mad, I felt a little robbed. Malcolm and I have faced obstacle after obstacle, trial after trial. We conquer one only to find the next one knocking at our door. This is not a pitty party, but these feelings did inspire an internal reflection. What was our problem!! I screamed bitterly to myself. Why can't we see the world, why can't we just be successful? Was it because we married young, was it because we had our baby soon after that?
And then I stopped myself (begrudgingly for sure) maybe my definition of success is different. Maybe my definition of success was wrong. For many people...like my brother Scott, marriage and a family is the ultimate success.
For those who can't have children, we are VERY successful.
For Heavenly Father we have succeeded in many ways as well.
.....
What is success then? Is a line, is it clear cut. What does it mean to be successful? I want to argue that success is not meeting any goal, or passing such finish line. It's being happy with what you have and where you are at. This is not complacency, for this is the opposite of success. But perspective in your life. Perspective enough to see that tomorrow is only 13 hours away, and with tomorrow you have the opportunity to accomplish many more things. Perspective enough to be happy with your circumstances.
.....
Maybe this is success. I don't know. I still want to have more money and see more places and have more time, and be with my husband more, and have a bigger house and have more energy and have a degree and have a wonderful job. Man, I want a lot of stuff.
.....
I would consider my success somewhere along the lines of contentment with a small dose of excitement and want to do a little more, see a little bit more, be a little bit more.
.....
According to the dictionary success is the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. So maybe at the end of my life when I am kneeling at the feet of my Savior, I will, along with my God, determine my success.

BABY FOOD!

YUCK! well, really, truly, seriously it's not that bad. I actually tried some. The sweet potatoes taste pretty dang good, its just the texture that gets ya. This is McKay's first experience with baby food and he didn't really go for it. Since then he has been a lot better about it, he is almost eating it. I'm trying out different kinds...the poor boy is just always so hungry (must get that from his dad).