I know no one really reads our blog but for any who do, you may be wondering why it is called the Mad Art Family. Mad Art is the name of lifestyle brand I planned on running. I have been wanting to own my own clothing company since before Kimm and I started dating. I have tossed around lots of different names, most of which have been taken. Then one night I was laying in a very uncomfortable full size bed in Tucson at my in laws and I couldn't sleep. I had been telling my mother and father in law that I really want to get a company started and it was amazing the support they were giving me. They both kept saying how they thought I would do great at it and that clothing is totally something they see me doing. So as I was laying I was trying to come up with a name. I was thinking about what this company would be to me... a dream come true. I love new fashion and love creating it and as I thought about the "dream" aspect of it... it came to me. Make a dream a reality today. I knew it was time for me to make this happen and get things going if it was ever going to happen. So I look at the first letters of that. Make A Dream A Reality Today... MAD ART!!! I just knew that was it. I started out thinking that the company was actually going to be M.A.C.C. (Mad Art Clothing Company)... but the more I messed around with the name and thinking of logos and all of that, I just knew I had to emphasize Mad Art. So once I get this biz going, it will officially be Mad Art Clothing Company. I will use M.A.C.C. here and there but you will see more of the Mad Art.
I love how supportive my wife is in this. She wants me to live out my dream and knows that I will succeed. It's such a great blessing to have her behind me on it. I'm also very blessed that she has an artistic because she is going to be one of my main designers. She's the one that came up with the possible logo.
So with all hopes, by the end of this year we will have Mad Art Clothing Company made as an official LLC, have Mad Art Clothing Company and Make A Dream A Reality Today both trademarked, and have our first shirts printed and maybe our first sales. I plan on doing a lot of OT at work when I go back so that we can make this dream come true. What is your dream? Are you making it a reality? Cuz it's never too late!!!! Until next time!
Man o' man has it been a crazy week and a half. We went down to Tucson two Saturdays ago. We wanted to get away from the house and we needed to go down there anyways since Kimm was going to be there while I went to California. We didn't really do a whole lot Saturday night. Just hung out and relaxed. Sunday we went to one of my best friends little brothers "farewell talk." Zac Baker gave a great talk and it was evident that he is going to be an amazing missionary. I believe he goes into the MTC tomorrow and there is no doubt in my mind, he will do great things as a missionary. It was the first time we have taken Ollie out in public really. Other than one or two trips to the store. It was great to take him out and just show him off to people. It wasn't my home ward or anything but there were a lot of families there that I knew very well and it was great to see how they marveled at my son. I mean, I do it every day but to see other people do it too is great. My love for my little man is beyond anything I could have ever imagined and it grows deeper each and every day. Through all the sleepless days and all the times I get peed and pooped on... it is so more than worth it to have this little guy with me. I'm so blessed to have the job that I do, where I have the opportunity to be with him for 12 weeks so that I don't miss any opportunity to bond with him in the very beginning.
We spent Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday just hanging out at Kimm's parents house and helping out where we could there. My in laws are some of the most amazing people I have ever met and I am so insanely grateful for them and all they do. Right now that are housing a foreign exchange student from Thailand and she is a very sweet girl. For FHE Monday night, we had the opportunity of eating Thai food and she taught us a little about her home and culture. It was amazing to see the beauty of another part of the world. Tuesday was a very heartbreaking day. We were sadden to hear that a family member of someone in my in laws ward had died. Vanessa Bentley was serving as a missionary in the Utica, New York mission when she was in a terrible car accident. She was on life support for a few hours before she tragically passed. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Vanessa very well but knew her family very well. They were in my ward growing up and then when our wards split when I was 17 she was in what is now my in laws ward. I grew up knowing her older sister Megan, who was one of my sisters best friends so I had been their house many times. In reading a lot of her friends and family talk about Vanessa on her memorial page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/groups/VanessaBentleyForever/) it was evident that she was a very kind and loving person. Always happy and always wanting to brighten peoples day. I have no doubt in my mind that she was an amazing missionary and although it is hard to understand and comprehend, I know that the Lord had a greater need for her on the other side. My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Bentley family as they just had a funeral service for her yesterday. That night, Kimm and I went over to my brother Josh's house and we were able to see 4 out of 5 of his and Trish's beautiful kids. I was so surprised when Trish told me that we hadn't seen each other for a year and then as I looked back, it was true. It was great to see my little nieces and nephew taking pictures of holding their newest cousin Oliver and how excited they were when they got the chance. I love my family so much and could not have asked for a better one. As we sat there and talked about the Bentley family and what they were going through, we started talking about when we went through a similar experienced with my nephew Loren. It was a hard subject to speak on and as we did, I could not keep my emotions together. To this day it is still hard for me to talk about losing him and it is hard to know that other people have to feel that same heartbreak and sadness that I did and still do feel.
Wednesday night I drove out to Long Beach with Evan. It seriously felt like the quickest trip ever and I think it was because we talked non stop the whole way there. My brother (in law) is one of the greatest guys I know and I love discussing our lives and goals with each other. We got there around 3 a.m. and it was great to be able to talk with Jess, my sister in law, as well. She is so awesome and I felt bad that we kept her up until after 4 a.m. haha She was so awesome to let us stay with her.
Thursday - Saturday was a blur. I was able to spend a lot of time with one of my closest friends, Marc Leilua. I was blessed to meet a lot of his family and close family friends and can say that I have many new friends. His cousin Rob, who picked me up in Long Beach and drove me everywhere Thursday, served in the same mission as me, just a few years earlier. He is such and awesome guy. We went from Lakewood, CA to Marc's parents house in Moreno Valley, CA and there practiced for a dance number that we were going to be performing Saturday evening at Marc's wedding reception. Many hours of practicing later and I could barely walk. haha I was amazed at how out of shape I am and it was a great motivation for me to fix that. We practiced until about 10 that evening and then I went back to Rob's house in Lakewood with Marc. We got to bed around 3 a.m. and were up at 4:30 getting ready to drive to the LA temple. I was so lucky to be a part of Marc and Jessica's sealing. It is always an enormous blessing to see two amazing people being joined together for time and all eternity. I know that are going to do great things together and I was so happy to see the joy in my compas face as he was united to the one that he loves. Congratulations to Marc and Jess!
The rest of the day Friday was filled with shopping, driving, decorating, and more dancing. At the end of it, I got back to the Leilua house at 12:30 a.m. and witnessed one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Stepping in the backyard all I could smell was delicious food. Marc's parents, aunt's and uncles, brothers and cousins... gathered around to cook all of the food for the reception that was going to be held the next night. Every one was working hard so that Marc could have an amazing reception. When I got there, there wasn't a whole lot for me to do, especially since I have no idea how to cook and so I sat around with Marc's brothers and cousins while they played the ukulele and guitar and sang in four part harmony. They sang these amazing island songs that they all just knew off the top of their heads and as I listened I just couldn't help but to be dazed into sleep. I finally decided to go into one of the HUGE tents Marc's parents had set up and fall asleep. There is nothing better to fall asleep to than the sounds of cooking food and amazing island songs. It was so surreal.
Saturday was hectic as we made final preparations for the reception. We met up early again to run through the dance one more time and from there I went with Lorenzo and Malae, two of Marc's younger cousins, to get last minutes things. It was a blast riding around with those guys and we became the three best friends that anyone could have (The Hangover). We were able to get it all done and the reception was like one I had never seen before. All of the wedding party were served their own platters of food, with ENORMOUS portions. Marc's uncle, who was the MC of the event, did amazing job. There was food, dance numbers... performed mostly by Marc's cousin Junior, and then it was our turn for the final number. After many hours of practice, we performed for all of Marc's friends and family and it was insanely fun. I was glad I was not the only white boy on stage but I am still amazed at the moves of Marc and his family. One day I hope to be able to dance like them. Then a few of Marc's uncles were given the chance to get up and give their best wishes to the couple. As they did so in their native tounge of Samoan, it made me want to learn that language even more than I already do. After the reception we helped clean up and went back to Marc's parents home to relax and spend time together. It was cool to have just family there and that I was able to be apart of that. The Leilua family has always made me feel like one of their own and even now in meeting cousins and everything, I can tell that, that is just how they are. Every one welcomed me with open arms in to their homes and families and it made it a little easier to be away from mine. But once that dance number was over, I was ready to drive straight back to Tucson to be with Kimm and Ollie. It was so hard being away from them that long and hope that I do not have to do that for a very very long time. That night I drove back to Long Beach and stayed with Jess and Evan again and then Sunday we came home. Before leaving I was able to talk to Jess about my goals of my company and the message that I want to bring and it was such a relief to see her light up and tell me that it was an amazing idea. I have so much to do to get it started but she gave me some tips on where to start and that was a huge help. Evan and I then drove to Huntington Beach and I had the best burger ever at TK burgers. We then walked around for a little bit and made the voyage home. We finally got back to Tucson a little before 2 and although they were asleep... it was SO GREAT to see my wife and son again.
After such a long trip, it was so great to be back in our apartment. I miss having our own little space that we share as a family. I am so grateful that I have been so blessed with my beautiful wife and handsome son. They mean everything to me and they are the reason why I dream. I want them to have dreams and to reach for them and that is why I want to live out my dreams. Until next time!!! :)
Welcome everyone to the Anderson Family a.k.a. Mad Art Family blog. We have been married for almost a year and a half now and we hear this is what married people do so I decided to go for it. Actually, I'm only doing this because I have been up with Ollie since 4 a.m. and it now after 8 a.m. He's not awake of course, but any time I put him in his swing... he grunts like no tomorrow because his tummy just does not feel good but when I take him out and lay him on my chest, he's silent. So rather than neither Kimm nor me getting any sleep, I decided I would take one for the team and come out to the living room with him so Kimm could rest.
Boy oh boy what a crazy month it has been. We have been so blessed it is ridiculous. Oliver Clayton Anderson was born on August 2nd, 2011 at 12:55 a.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs 6 ozs and was 19 and 1/2 inches long. After only 3 days we went to the doctor for his first visit and he had lost quite a bit of weight but he has gain it all back now... and then some. He is growing everyday and it is amazing to see him starting to look like a litte person instead of just a newborn. I never thought being a dad would be so awesome, tiring, exciting, stressful, money consuming... the list goes on and on but all I can do is give thanks to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with my little guy. He is perfect in every way and I could not be happier than I am at this moment in my life.
