NEWS AND CARLY!!!!

Okay....there are several things that have happened in my life recently and I am excited about both. I am not sure which one to talk about first.....which one would draw you all in and which one will be more effective to keep you reading....maybe instead of doing two posts like I was originally thinking about I will just combine the two and then you just have to keep reading to find out the other.....ooooo, Salley you are a genius.

First of all, I will talk about my new business. That is right. I have a new business being a Mary Kay consultant. Now I know a lot of you might think that I have really gone off the deep one on this one, but hear me out. There are several reasons why I decided to be a new consultant and here they are.

I went to a Mary Kay party that was being hosted my one of my friends, Emily. I decided to go (1) because I was out of product and needed more, and (2) because I love Emily and want to support her in everything that she does. There I meet with Mindee Hofheins. She is a Mary Kay consultant too and she was wonderful. So full of life and I don't think that it was because she was prego, but because you could really see that she had a passion for Mary Kay. Now if anyone knows me knows that I do not do parties. I love going to them and buying the products, but I have never really been interested in the business side of the products.

I have done other businesses in the past and haven't had them succeed very well. I feel that one of the reasons why they have not done real well is the lack of training. This is one thing that I have found with Mary Kay appealing. Another one is that they put faith, family and self worth before the business. I have really enjoyed knowing that about the business.

So now that I have told all of you about joining Mary Kay, don't be too surprised when you receive a call from me asking you to help me in my new business. I have a goal to do 30 facials in 30 days and what a better way to practice my business than with my really good friends. I also feel that I can be comfortable with all of you as I learn and grow from my one on one time with you all. You know what else?? This also could be a great time to catch up with each other. What a more perfect time than to get pampered by me as we catch up with our lives.

So thanks in advance for helping me with my business and for all of your wonderful friendships that I have and for the future for all of us.

Now on to the next thing I want to talk about......my daughter....oh yea!!!! She is so cute and wonderful. What a proud mom I am. For many of you who don't know....11 years ago I made the greatest sacrifice of my life and placed my wonderful daughter up for adoption. I did it not to show that I couldn't take responsibility for my actions, but to make sure that I was giving my daughter a much better life than I could have given her at the time.

Every year I have been getting letters and pictures from her wonderful family. This year was a very hard year for me. As many of you know....Dave and I are not going to be able to have any more children and this has affected not only me, but also Dave. We are heart broken that we won't be able to have a child of our own between the two of us, but we are diffidently grateful to have Harley and Carly in our lives and can't wait until we can have both of them meet each other.

So I am posting pictures of her here and also giving some snips from the letter that Greg and Monica have sent to me. I hope that you all enjoy the update as much as I have.

"In March we surprised the kids and went to Moab for a long weekend. We had a great time visiting the National Parks. Our favorite was Arches National Park. I can't believe that in all these years I had never been there. The kids loved it but the hike to Delicate Arch definitely wore them out. We are hoping to go back again soon. Logan wants to do a Hummer excursion next time.


Last year, Carly and Logan transferred to a different school. It was a hard decision but we feel it was the right one for them academically. Carly is really excited because the school has little lockers for the 6th graders. She is really good student but it doesn't come easy for her. she has some difficulty focusing (ADD) and I have to keep on her so she'll get her work done. Homework can be challenge at times. She does really will in spelling/vocabulary, loves to read, is learning Spanish, and drives the boys crazy. She doesn't know how to behave around boys her age -- especially if she thinks the boy is cute. Yes....she has had few crushes already, but I have to say she has excellent taste. They were awfully cute boys. YIKES! Fortunately, even though she thinks boys are cute, she really isn't interested in them yet. Thank goodness.

Carly also danced again this year. She tried out for an advance dance group and made it, so starting at the end of August, dance class will be more intense than she's used to. I am excited for her though. She's in the dance class with her BFF, Abby, and it is something they really like doing together. Plus, Carly is a great performer. She gets pretty nervous but once she's on stage, she is NOT shy. People always tell me that they like to watch her because she is so dramatic.

Yes......she is the resident drama queen in our home. I'm not sure many could compete with her. She has the eye roll and occasional melt down nearly perfected. But, she is maturing and melt downs are becoming fewer. Let's just say that there is never a dull moment in our house hold. In fact sometimes it feels like a three-ringed circus.

Some other things Carly loves: reading, swimming, sewing, baking, painting her fingernails, necklaces and scarfs, cute clothes, shoes, riding her bike, rootbeer floats, Justin Bieber, Hershey's Cookies & Cream, going to movies and buying popcorn, playing cards, watching DVD's, playing Wii, Littlest Pet Shops, and arts and crafts. She took a sewing class with three of her friends throughout the spring and made some really cute things. I am going to sign her up for babysitting class soon too. I know it won't be long before people in our ward call her to watch their kids.

It is truly amazing to see Carly begin to change and mature. She still likes a lot of little girl things. She still pays house, plays with her dolls and loves little trinket toys (like Squinkies and Littlest Pet Shops.) I am glad she still likes those things. But at the same time, she is slowly developing more mature tastes in clothing, music, etc. She has a terrific sense of humor and is known for delivering some good punch lines. I thought you would appreciate a comment she made recently. So, last spring I was prepping her because of the Maturation program was going to be given at school. We had a heart-to-heart and afterwards she plopped down on the side of my bathtub and said 'this is deeply disturbing.' If you could have seen her face, you would have died. It was hysterical. Since then, she has adjusted to the fact that changes will be occurring in the next few years, but I think she's relieved not to have crossed that line yet.

I am also grateful that Carly has been blessed with good friends. There is a group of girls in our neighborhood that stick together and watch out for each other. I am certain they will remain friends for the long haul. They like being around Carly because she is so lively, but they are also good at keeping her on course when she gets carried away. Honestly, Carly is one of my favorite people in this life. Greg and I love her so much and we are so grateful for her presence in our family. She is a loving, special girl and I know she has a unique mission to fulfill in her life. She will be able to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. As long as she makes good choices, she will be unstoppable."

I hope that you all have enjoyed this post and will let me know all about your schedules. Love you all and hope that everything is going good in your lives as well as they are going in mine.