We can do hard things!
Last night my mom, Sister Puzey, Ashlyn, and I had the opportunity to se a Mindy Gledhill concert. It was a blast! She signed Ashlyn and my arm. And we met her and got pictures with her. If you check her blog she might have posted a picture of us.(we made her phone)You should all download her album "Anchor" on iTunes. Here are a few of our favorites!
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We made it!
We were obliged to be out of the house today so that Jodi, Lex and Lily could have their little pan party. I was also helping out with the River Rock Youth Triathlon out in Burton. Since we were so close the the Butte or "R" mountain we thought we would go explore it a bit. It was great, JT, Mason and Olivia climbed like mountain goats. They climbed the whole thing by themselves. JT loved picking up rocks and throwing them, Olivia loved looking at the brightly colored moss, and Mason was on the prowl for lizards and snakes. We saw about 6 of them but they were too quick today for us to catch. I got a kick out of JT as we started walking up the trail he kept saying, "snake, come here snake" he wanted to see some snakes.
As we were hiking back down grandpa called and said he was coming out too. That made us all excited so we hung out and watched for him to pull up. Then we hiked back to the top again and had some fun with grandpa. Good memories for all of us.
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 Priceless! |
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 the “lions mouth” as JT called it |
 Olivia found this pretty rock for Mom, she looked for quite sometime to find the perfect rock. |
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 Tractors climbing the hill |
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 Lizard! |
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 JT loves rocks |
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We lived in a quaint little neighborhood named after terms used in the game of tennis – Tie Breaker. It is while we lived there that our backyard neighbor noticed something I hadn't ever seen before. Like always Stephen was always puttering, repairing, creating around the house. She must have noticed this outside her kitchen window as she did her dishes. One day as Stephen and her husband worked diligently to put a fence up between our two yards, she walked over to tell me her observation. She said, "Your husband is like Charles Ingalls – such a hard worker." I laughed it off as I agreed and we moved away 2 years later.
We moved to a lovely & windy neighborhood next named Quail Ridge. It was our first spring in our house. We were again outside in our yard a lot. I had recently been to women's conference and came home to a surprise. As I was out visiting teaching, my friend asked about it and I told her this. As I was away for 2 days Stephen had made an amazing swing set for the kids & hydro-seeded the entire yard all while babysitting 3 young children. She was amazed and declared, "Has anyone ever told you that your husband is like Charles Ingalls?"
As a matter of fact….
Now we've again moved – to a home where we drive down a lane to get to our house in the country. Stephen is still hard at work and we've been here 4 years. This weekend we went to his dad's "little cabin on the hill". As I looked out the front door and saw Stephen chopping wood for our fire, I thought to myself, "There is Charles Ingalls!"
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If I am like Charles Ingalls, it is only because you motivate me to be and do better. Thanks for the support.
Monday, September 06, 2010 9:58:39 PM
Those Parker guys are something! They were taught well!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010 8:29:51 AM
He has a lot less hair than Charles but is twice the man.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010 4:40:41 PM
lol
Thursday, September 09, 2010 12:24:23 PM
It was a quick decision. Late Saturday evening we decided to surprise our kids with an announcement – "tomorrow after church, we are loading up and going to the cabin on the hill." There were screams of excitement and voices immediately making plans. The biggest smile came from the largest male – Stephen. Just the thought of going was golden to him.
So after church we departed after eating a bowl of cereal and a slice of peach pie. We couldn't waste time on eating. We crammed into the truck with pillows, blankets, four-wheeler, bikes, and a little food. When we got there we all felt it – peace, relaxation, RETREAT! Such a great feeling. Stephen said, "this is heaven on earth." It was so much fun being with our little family and NO distractions.
It was a special treat to get a visit from Grandpa & Grandma Parker for lunch. Definitely a memory to go down in the record books.
I have recently had the opportunity to sing in a trio with two of my favorite people: Jennifer Barrus and Diana Puzey. To top it all off, the chosen song was one of my all time favorites, "O, Divine Redeemer." I have rarely been able to listen to this song, let a lone, sing it without getting emotional. As we practiced I was able to feel the overwhelming truth of the words through the testifying spirit of the Holy Ghost. I feel like this song is very personal – as if it was written specifically from my heart.
We had several practices because of the level of difficulty of the music. I loved spending time with these lovely women and enjoying the sound we were able to produce. Several moments as we practiced I became overwhelmed with tender feelings toward my Savior. It is special to me.
So as you can imagine, I was very fearful of singing in front of our ward Relief Society after a lesson on the atonement. I have learned something about myself as I've dared to perform in church settings. I am a very emotionally charged singer… I really listen to the words I'm singing and make them about my own life, which in turn causes me to feel emotionally overwhelmed. This causes me to be very embarrassed and I have recently written myself off of singing in church as a special musical number. Even while singing in the ward choir, my emotions will get the best of me. I honestly want to run out of the room and hide out for a few days so I don't have to face people. So I have begun to pray that I I would be able to handle myself.
The performance day came and I jokingly pleaded with my friends to pray for my emotions. They assured me I would be fine, but I was doubtful. We sang. The spirit was present. I made it through until the last phrase. That is when it all got to me! We sang "….have mercy!" (in a resounding chord) Then finished with, "Help me my Savior." I forgot to mention that I decided before hand to not look out at anyones faces. I am certain that I came across very mechanical, but it definitely helped.
The weeks went by and we were asked to sing again. This time for the singles branch. We got together to practice again – I loved it. Still had the same feelings. Still felt fearful of becoming too emotional.
We sat in sacrament meeting waiting for our turn. The talks were on pride. I listened to my dear friend, Ruth Miller, give a beautiful sermon on the subject. I love her faithful & constant approach to living the gospel. As she spoke I realized that my nervousness with my emotions while singing in essence is a form of pride. I am worrying too much about myself. I thought about the truth that faith and fear cannot coexist. I leaned over to our accompanist and said, "this song we are singing goes perfectly with the message." She said, "I was thinking the same thing." I looked at her as I was trying to muster up my faith and not be fearful and she said, "Heavenly Father gave you a talent for a reason – you can do it." This vote of confidence, combined with the pride talk and my faith and fear thoughts gave me just the mixture of what I needed.
What a wonderful feeling to know that I could completely turn it over to the Lord. In the past I had prayed and included the Lord, but I still tried too hard to stay conscientiously in control. It wasn't until I surrendered all of myself that I felt the peace and confidence to let it be what it was suppose to be.
I stood up, held the music without shaking, sang as I looked out to the audience, and had full confidence (not of myself but in the Lord) that I could accept whatever was to happen. I sang with feeling the words, I wasn't mechanical. The words took on more meaning as I realized how the Savior was helping me as I sang. I was humbled and know with a surety that my small need was heard as I was prepared to let it happen.
This is a tender mercy I hope to always hold close to my heart and remember when I face the rest of my mortal life's challenges and uncertainties.
Me + My Redeemer + entirely submitting = a perfect trio (for me).
The women in England thought that the pale look was sexy. They would paint their faces with arsenic ( it's white) and thus came the saying, "Drop dead gorgeous".
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this you were considered "piss poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot…they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be: Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor . Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive… So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
Olivia was so excited to have us come home from a date one summer night. She and Lily had a surprise for us. She hopped on her bike and very determinedly spun her legs round and round her pedals without the help of training wheels. Her smile was beaming.
She now wants to ride her bike everywhere we go and on our family rides. She has gotten up to 2 miles before I make her ride in the Burley because of busy roads. It is fun to watch her grow up and gain more independence. Did I just say that?
Back to school Feast with a summer table cloth
It's official – the children are back in school!
I was getting close to pulling out my hair, closing down the kitchen, and getting a whistle to referee. Now I am feeling like all of my friends are gone. Are they all happy, will they make good friends, will their teachers be good to them, will my kids be good to their teachers? This seems to be my plight at this time of year – completely contradictory with my feelings. Somebody once told me that they wished they could be with their children one on one more instead of collectively trying to manage. I think there is a great truth in that – it is one of my new goals: find more one on one time with each child.
Everyone was excited for school. Lex – the socialite, was excited to see all of her friends, Mason – the biker, was excited about an automatic bike ride each day, Lily – the learner, was excited about a routine & attacking cursive writing, Olivia – the pre-schooler, was sooo excited about riding the bus home with all of her siblings (her preschool is at our elementary school)!
I've been happy to hear about Lexi's digital photography class, watch Mason becoming more responsible with his own binder and initiative with homework, Lily's report and goal of never getting her name written on the board for bad behavior the whole year, and Olivia's happy smile and new found independence.
Our back to school dinner was fun, as always – the traditions have become expectations and something we all look forward to as a symbol that change is here. The bus cake was a little rough (my fault) but it still tasted the same. The girls made the mini candy bar books, and we all tried spelling words with our alphabet soup.
After a week of the school life I can assess that it is nice to reunite at the end of the school day and nice to see them walk out of the door in the morning. 🙂 (Back & Forth emotions resurface each day)
 Ready to go… |
 Hitting eighth grade in skinny jeans and peacock feather earings – she bought the backpack, boots, & earrings with her own hard earned $. |
 Mason was totally hapy to ride his bike to school! |
 Mason and his teacher, Mrs. Daniels |
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 Lily & Mrs. Gee all in purple |
 everyones favorite are the donuts – I think that is why we make this cake. |
 JT loved all of his candy and the chocolate milk with a straw! |
 Always a picture on the first day of school by the front door. |
 Olivia – first day of preschool, TODAY! |
 Mrs. Clarke & Olivia |
It was mostly fun to make this ticket booth as a family 🙂
Olivia is feeling great being 5. She had a fabulous day Monday with a fun Carnival Birthday Party and 7 friends to share it with. All of our family was there (plus our friends) to help run the carnival booths. Since friend birthday parties don't happen at our house very often we pulled out all the stops. The cotton candy was a crowd pleaser as well as the pony rides – which the Puzey' s so graciously volunteered to add. It was a lot of attention for a special little lady. She was very happy to receive cards and money from both Grandparents – it was the icing on the cake.
 Invitations |
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 Opening Granpa & Grandma Baldwin’s Card from the mailbox |
 Clown Cones became mom’ s worst nightmare |
 Lily’s crew: Sam, Brynne, & Hannah – all of her best friends |
 The Birthday Gang |
 cotton candy babes |
 or not? |
 how many’ kids get a poney at their party? THANKS PUZEYS & Ash! |
 Concessions & Face Painting |
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 This is one happy 5 year old |
 sweet shades from the fishing pond |
 Crash the Clown – kids threw bean bags at the dancing clown (lily’s Idea) |
 Mason & Parker made balloon animals |
 tightrope walk a.k.a. slackline |
 Crash the Cans |
 Ping Pong Toss |
 Lexi’s Crew: Cortnie & Christina – best buddies |
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 one cute clown |
 loved her bike helmet! |
 Birthday morning with anticipation |
 School Clothes & the grand prize helmet (thanks D I for having the perfect helmet!) |
wow-you guys know how to throw a party! Jessie wants a pony at her party too. Happy Birthday Olivia-you are such a fun and sweet little girl.
Thursday, September 02, 2010 8:52:06 PM
What a fun party Olivia! I wish we could have been there to party with you.
Friday, September 03, 2010 1:42:53 PM
I tried something new on this run, I listened to an Audio Book (The Mocking Jay) while running. That worked great I was at mile 18 before I even realized it. I made friends with another runner that seemed to have the same pace as me, that kept me on track. I held a 7:50 to 8:00 mile pace until I reached the 4 mile hill. I slowed to more like a 9:30 to 10:00 mile because of the steepness. It was great to see Dad at mile 14, he even ran a mile or two with me. He really motivated me when as I ran up the daunting hills he said, "This is where Mountain climbers shine".
Seeing Jodi and the family cheering me on from mile 18 and on kept me moving on. At about mile 24 Jodi ran up the road to me and ran with me for a bit. I was feeling real great until about mile 22, that is where my legs just said that's enough. I had to push through the pain from then on and boy was it a painful push. It was so great to make the final turn into town, but that run down main street seems to last forever. I loved giving the kids 5 as I ran past them to the finish line. Great experience all in all, next up is the AMA Challenge!
You getting to where a marathon is a pretty common thing. I was impressed with the grind of running so far. It has to be a test of determination as well as conditioning.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 7:10:56 AM
I loved seeing your name in the paper – #22 overall, very impressive!
Thursday, September 02, 2010 9:38:50 PM
WOW! That’s incredible Stephen. You’re amazing, you know that?
Friday, September 03, 2010 1:31:54 PM