Lance's Birth Story. April 22, 2011

Hello Friends,

Somehow none of you seemed to get the email we sent from the hospital over the weekend. I'm sure you can blame us and our apparent incompetence in pressing the send button to our perpetual state of sleep deprivation! Anyway, here are a few details and pics regarding our n

ew addition to the family. :)

I turned in my last final (Global Mgmt) on Thursday the 21st at 3:15 PM. That night I got a massage and went out for some spicy Shobu Shobu. I thought "hey, I'm already five days past my due date, why not live a little?" That night at about 1:20 AM I woke up to some hard contractions. I was trying to time them but it was really hard. I woke Scottie up when I started to feel nauseous, right around 1:50. We started driving and by that point I was thinking "Why did I choose American Fork Hospital?? My epidural is so far away!" The whole car ride felt like one long contraction. We finally arrived, though, and Scottie said "I'm going to get you a wheelchair" and I thought to myself "No, I can walk. Wait, can I walk? Oh this hurts!!!" and by then he was back. We got to the second floor where my midwives were waiting and the elevator opened and I said "Hello. I need an epidural". They said "Ok but lets check you first". They put me on the bed where I asked for one again and they said no and told me to push. Scottie says that I then said "Ok I'll push but then can I get an epidural?" :) We arrived at the hospital at 2:25 AM and I had Lance at 2:38 AM. Naturally!

His full name is Lawrence Sky Antonelli Waterbury and he was 8 lbs 0 oz and 19 inches long at birth. He is amazing and we are totally in love. :) Each day the eating thing gets a little better. Its been a pretty busy week all around. We got a job this week as the Community Aides in our campus quad and then Scottie got called to be in the ward Bishopric. That means that he helps out the leader of our congregation each week now. So its a little bit overwhelming but we are so grateful that we have each other. Good luck to each of you as we begin this summer. We wil

l miss you all, except for Keeler, Ammon and Bad Ash. We want to hang out with you three as soon as we start telling the days apart again.

Here are some pics.

Love

Nancy and Scottie

James Allen's As A Man Thinketh... and Real Estate.

This book was first written in 1903 and is considered to be one of the pioneering works in the self help arena. It is philosophical in nature but I thought I would have some fun with it and illuminate its numerous applications to the real estate world. It was divided into many chapters, some of which were more relevant than others. Chapters that I gleaned the most from were entitled Effect of Thought on Circumstances and Thought and Purpose. In The Effect of Thought on Circumstances, James Allen proposes that one actually has control over her circumstances by exercising control of her thoughts. He promotes a clear illustration of this theory with the following example:

Here is a man who is wretchedly poor. He is extremely anxious that his surroundings and home comforts should be improved, yet all the time he shirks his work, and considers he is justified in trying to deceive his employer on the ground of the insufficiency of his wages. Such a man does not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity, and is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretchedness, but is actually attracting to himself a still deeper wretchedness by dwelling in, and acting out, indolent, deceptive, and unmanly thoughts.

And then he illuminates the opposite with:

A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.

In the chapter Thought and Purpose, Allen focuses on persuading the reader that it is not enough to simply guard one’s thoughts. A person must also channel and focus her thoughts if she intends to one day become successful. In the competitive world of real estate, a certain strength is required. This can be achieved through focused conditioning and self-control within the realm of thought. As these two quotes extol:

Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment…Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.

To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.

For one whose favorite books are Atlas Shrugged, The Big Short, and Smart Women Finish Rich, this book represented a departure from my usual interests. It was difficult to change gears and explore a philosophical book and I tended to spend a large quantity of time simply pondering each statement. As I did so, though, I was able to recognize truth that could not only be applied to attaining success within the real estate environment, but to making strides in all worthy occupational as well as social and spiritual goals as well.