mental toughness

I can not believe 2 of my favorite teams lost. The Boise State game was the worst game I have ever seen in my life. 9 out 10 guys on there team could have made a 26 yard field goal. Dad could to. I am still mad about that. There is a kid on our basketball team named Briggs. Heres what happened with the game on the line 1 of our teammates shot a 3 and got fouled. He made the first one then the other team called a timeout to ice him. But that is not what iced him. Our teammate Briggs was the one doing the iceing. So we think he iced the Boise State kicker even though Briggs iced him he still should of made it COME ON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same thing with BYU Briggs iced the guy that was suppose to block the guy that blocked the punt COME ON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Momma Raised Her Babies Right

Since Lindsey decided to one-up all of us kids by writing her "Ode to Father" last week, I decided I would write my own Ode... to my dear mother.

Have you ever played the Worst Case Scenario game?  It's a game that provides you with outrageous situations where you have to decide your best exit for survival.  For example, how would one cross a piranha-infested river without a boat or bridge?  Mom has taught me some excellent tips on surviving even the most extreme conditions in life, so that I feel like a boy scout... well prepared.

To start, Mom taught me that when you're under the gun to impress your new ward members that you can make a perfectly round loaf of bread for the ward casserole potluck, you must always add sugar to your yeast to help it grow.  It never fails.  I always have the most impressive loaf at all the ward functions.

Mom taught me to work hard.  Just last week I was telling Adam that Lindsey and I would mow the lawn every Saturday morning when we lived in Ohio.  It was no small yard and I felt pretty awesome that I was a girl AND I mowed lawns.  Super macho.  I gained some nice biceps in the process of pulling the cord 846 times to start that stinkin' mower, so I'm pretty sure I could handle a piranha-infested lake with my nicely-toned guns .

In the area of tying knots, Mom taught me how to tie a perfectly proportionate bow so that I never have a sloppy looking gift to give or wreath to display.  I'm pretty sure the same bow would be strong enough to hold the rope on a bridge with 3 elephants.

Mom taught me to fight off the bullies.  I was as awesome a kid as there ever was, and some of my classmates were intimidated by my sheer awesome-ness as a kid.  So in defense, some of them would make fun of me so that they could feel better about themselves.  Well, when I told mom that the other kids were making fun of my bug-eyed-stellar glasses, she marched right into that school and talked right to the girl that was making fun of me.  Now I can beat off the verbal abuses of 28 bullies at once with the mere flex of my pinky (skadoosh!!)
*This bullet was inspired by Kung Fu Panda

Mom taught me how to inhale a book.  Mom loves to read, and even though I don't read as much as she does, there's a reason for that.  You see, Mom is a temperate reader, she's learned to control and balance her life around reading.  I haven't mastered this yet.  If I start a book, don't talk to me until I'm done.  I can't even take care of my own children when I'm reading a book.  So I'm grateful to Mom for instilling in me the love of a good book, and cursed for it all at the same time.

Mom taught me how to study.  When I was 14, a freshman in high school, I took a BEAST of a Biology class.  It was HAAAARD.  Especially for a 14 year old.  Mom would sit and study for hours and hours with me though.  She would read the material beforehand and sit with me at the kitchen table for hours learning about the Krebs Cycle and meiosis and the role of the Golgi apparatus within a cell.  All this studying allowed me to take some insane classes at BYU, which made me look like a smarty-pants, which landed me the world's greatest husband.  He was attracted to my knowledge on the subject of Pathophysiology.

Mom taught me what it meant to be patient.  Mom and Dad didn't always live in a nice house... in fact, they lived in apartments until I was like 7.  Mom's always had a love for beautiful things though, and she learned to live within her means.  Mom also had Nathan, who was about 3000 times harder a baby than us angelic sisters, and her experience in learning to be patient with him helped me immensely when Hallie was driving me insane when she was little.  Now I can handle any crazed baby with all sorts of tricks and techniques... although I never ever ever want to... ever again.

Mom taught me how to clean.  This one's been on my mind a lot lately as we've been showing our house to renters.  I have to keep the house clean ALL THE TIME, and it completely stresses me out.  I don't know how mom did it like the 86 times we moved.  That's some serious skill.  Her cleaning skills could compete with Chuck Norris' roundhouse kicking skills.

Mom taught me to care for others.  Mom's always been an amazing friend to others.  I've seen it numerous times with the friends she's made.  Pam, Shauna, Vanessa, and many many others.  Mom has also been there for me when I needed a friend.  When I got rejected by a boy in high school (he obviously couldn't handle my awesome-ness), when I was having a rough semester when I first got to BYU, when I wanted to shoot myself in the foot after I had Hallie.  My heart has repaired from the rejection, I learned to eventually like BYU, and I still have my foot.  All because of Mom.

Most importantly, Mom taught me what it meant to love the Lord.  I've grown up and moved out of the house, and in so doing, I've had to decide if what my parents taught me was something I wanted to live by.  Seeing the great example of Mom in her visiting teaching, in praying and teaching us what it means to have a testimony and how to rely on the Lord and to just have faith has taught me more than any of these other great skills.  And that's what has helped me survive any "worst case scenario" the most.  I'm grateful to mom for instilling a love in me for the gospel and a desire to do what's right.  It's why I have such a great husband, kids, and such a happy and peaceful life.

I love you, Mom!!

Whit

I think it's about time for one of us to talk about our parents. I will post about Dad this week since he posted about me last week. Here are some fond memories that I remember:

• On any given road trip (short or long) Dad would always tell us to run into the gas station to grab a treat. This was always a special occasion for us girls!
  
• Dad was and is always positive (except after a loss coaching Nathan's team). All jokes aside Dad has always been very calm with each and everyone of us despite how dumb his daughters could be at times!
• Every Sunday I would make No-Bake cookies and the main reason I would was because I knew Dad loved them! He probably ate 5, 6, maybe 7 cookies at a time! :) I don't know what it was exactly, but just the satisfaction of pleasing Dad meant a lot to me! And Dad if you really didn't love them, then you fooled me!
  
• I never worried that Dad would raise his voice or have an argument with Mom. This brought me great comfort knowing that Dad always loved us and Mom so very much!
• Whenever we would be on the road (driving to our vacation spot) we would always stop at one of Dad's malls so Dad could check it out. I actually loved doing this because I loved to window shop! Good times...Nathan would have hated that!
  
• I knew Dad worked hard so that we could have things we needed and even things we wanted as well. He sacrificed so much for me so that I didn't ever have to go without.
  
• I remember one occasion when we lived in Copley, OH. Whit and I were in the middle school. She was in 8th grade and I was in 6th grade. We had our new school outfits and much to our chagrin our choice of clothes were very uncool! I mean seriously...plaid vests and over sized Christmas sweaters were pretty lame! Well, mom had just bought us new GAP jeans that were straight legged and unfortunately REALLY dorky! I felt like the biggest loser going into the 6th grade because apparently bell bottoms were back in from years ago. I REALLY wanted flare jeans so I could at least look cool being a new student and all. Whit and I confronted mom on the issue and she told us that she had already bought us new jeans and that we would have to wait to get new jeans. I remember crying in my room because it meant so much to me to not stand out...in a bad way! Whit and I told Dad about it when he got home and he immediately said we would go to the mall that night and we each could pick out the jeans of our choice. Looking back I chose some UGLY jeans but I will never forget going to school EVERYDAY in those jeans feeling a little bit more cool! Thank you Dad for understanding how important that was to me to feel cool! I will never forget that day and how grateful I was to you!
• Even though I couldn't hit a ball or even throw a softball for that matter, Dad helped me by spending time in VA throwing the ball to me over and over again (even when he knew it was pretty pointless)! Seriously though because I wanted to learn how to play softball he helped me to become a little bit better.
• Dad understood how important vacations were! When I suggested going to Florida for spring break he took it literally and planned such a memorable trip for our family. After that he took us every year on a fun family vacation....Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Mackinac Island...and then I graduated sadly! Good times!!
• I am also grateful to that you have wanted me and my family to stay here in Rexburg Idaho. It definitely makes me feel loved and I appreciate all you have done to help our little family! You are a huge influence in our lives and especially in mine! Thank you for being a wonderful example of how a parent should respond to their child! I could keep going on with fond memories but to wrap this up I want to tell you....I LOVE YOU!!! and THANK YOU!!! For you and Mom are the reasons why I'm where I am today!!!

Lindsey Jo

Hello Family.

I apologize for the extended delay. As far as updates go, just real quick. I'm really excited for the Morris family to be moving in our realm. It will be joyous to have the family together.

Last Friday, my roommates and I pulled some pranks on some of our ward buddies, hence the picture to the left. We were bandits...but were caught in the act.

This semester has been really great. I've slowly but surely been progressing and growing closer to my Father in Heaven. I've been called as a Sunday School Teacher and have learned a great deal. I taught from the book of Jeremiah concerning our covenants and writing the law upon our hearts. So I'll just share some thoughts about what I learned as I prepared for my lesson:

Having our Father's law written upon our hearts is a process of coming to know our Father--it's a much more personal covenant than the covenant during the times of Moses. We have the blessing of the spirit to receive our own revelation. This process also allows us to access the atonement and to receive the forgiveness He offers.

I know that as we act upon promptings we receive, the process will be edifying and sanctifying as the Holy Spirit attends and we devote our agency further to God.

Anyway, I love you all!

Kelsey

Lindsey Jo

In keeping with my theme of recording memories and thoughts about each of our wonderful children, Lindsey is next on the docket.

Lindsey was born right after Becky's grandfather passed away. Grandpa Parkinson would always give us a $50 bill when we came to visit him and Grandma Parkinson in Idaho Falls. We were almost shocked to find that Grandpa P. hadn't tucked a $50 bill in her hand to bring with her on the day she was born. Not so ironically, a couple of weeks later we were at Becky's Aunt Roma's house and Harvey tucked a $50 bill in Lindsey's diaper, which Becky found when she picked up Lindsey......so maybe there was a roundabout connection to Grandpa after all. We picked the name Jo as Lindsey's middle name in memory of Grandpa Joe Parkinson.

As a toddler, Lindsey's true nature didn't always shine through. She was a bit feisty and strong willed. As she grew past the terrific two's, her loving and kind nature began to shine through. She quickly became a very kind and thoughtful child - often she would be most sensitive to others needs and wanted to help make others feel better. She loved small children and was the first to volunteer to babysit whenever she could. She was also quick to listen and to think deeply about the things she was taught and was willing to act upon them. One time when we were living in Clovis, NM we pulled into Sonic Drive Inn (our favorite place to eat was Poor Boys), but this was a Sonic day. After getting the car hop delivered meal, we were ready to return home but our car would not start. We sat puzzled at what to do after trying several things to get it started. Lindsey, calmly said, I think we should pray. Well, we did and sure enough after the prayer, the car started and we were able to return home. Another time we spoke to Lindsey about her mood swings. She did not dispute our counsel, simply listened and really worked hard to over come it and did. She has always been determined when she sets her mind on achieving something and sticks with it until she conquers or completes what she sets out to do.

Through all of her years of school...grade school through high school....Lindsey made friends very easily. In fact, Whitney would hesitate to bring her friends over to the house for fear that Lindsey would steal them away. She also had a very fun and sometimes silly streak in her, especially when you put her in front of a video camera. The actress in her really came out. I still like the commercials that she, Whitney and Alaina Tegland produced in the family room of our home in Copley.

As a child Lindsey had a great love for animals. She loved to go to Grandma Crandall's house to play with bunnies. She was also heart broken when Kelsey accidently smothered "Hammie" in the blankets. (I think she lost a bit of her love for animals after that traumatic experience). Her cousins always loved it when we would come to Idaho Falls to visit. They would be waiting on the front porch for her and Whitney and played long and hard until the minute we had to return back home. The departures were always sad as the cousins would be standing in tears as we would drive away.

Lindsey had a bit of tomboy side to her, yet she has always been very feminine and lady like. She had interest in softball, so we gave that a whirl but she go never make the over the shoulder catch or could drive the ball much beyond the infield, but she tried hard. In high school, however, she picked up the lacrosse stick and in a short one season of playing became one of the better players on the team. I always felt bad that Revere didn't allow the Copley girls to play after that season. I think Lindsey would have been a really great player had she been able to continue.

After high school, we were pleased with Lindsey's desire to attend BYU-Idaho. Okay, maybe it wasn't a very intense desire as she really preferred to attend the Southern Virginia University, yet we were glad she followed our counsel. After just a few short weeks, we were very pleased when she called to report, with a lilt in her voice, how much she loved BYU-Idaho. Given her self-proclaimed "I am not interested in boys" position, it was quite a shocker to learn that after just a few short months that she was seriously dating Stu (some cowboy guy from Washington). We met Stu for the first time at Smitty's in Idaho Falls, now Stu's favorite restaurant, and loved him from the very beginning. Happily they were soon married and we really enjoyed having them and Stu's family come to Ohio so we could share in their excitement with all of our wonderful Ohio friends. Later, when we decided to move back to Rexburg, the most exciting part for us was to be able to be close to Lindsey and Stu and their wonderful kids. We love that they come and see us everyday. We love the way Lindsey and Stu are teaching and raising them to be great kids. We are very happy and grateful grandparents and very blessed parents to have Lindsey as our daughter. We love her and her family very much!

Love Dad