Stephen and Jodi Parker Family

Welcome to my most favorite season. In honor of this special first day of autumn we ate pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for an after school snack and toasted it in this morning with a cup of hot chocolate. Just puts a smile on your face doesn’t it? Here is the easy breezy recipe used for the cookies:

Comments:

Magan said…

My favorite cookie, I have a really good family recipe from my grandma I will have to share with you. This looks very easy though I will have to try it
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 5:25:38 PM

Megan said…

Yum! My kids will like it when I surprise them with this! Thanks.
Friday, September 25, 2009 11:40:04 PM

I came across some of the quotes I’ve randomly written down and decided to place them here so that I can toss the papers cluttering up my night stand:

CURRENT FAVORITE QUOTE: "Good decisions don’t make life easy, they make it easier." From the movie Forever Strong

This set of quotes come from the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. As I re-read them I realized that I really need to apply the words to my life more.

• "People justify & don’t take responsibility for criticism."
• "Judge not that ye be not judged!" (isn’t that a scripture?)
• "Change yourself (NOT OTHERS) – it is more profitable than trying to improve others & a lot less dangerous."
• Benjamin Franklin said, "I will speak ill of no man, … and speak all the good I know of everybody."
• "Father Forgets" by W. Linvingston Larned. "What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, or reprimanding – this was my reward for you being a boy…it was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years." (This story is touching and heartbreaking and stares us all in the face! Take a second to click on the link and read the whole thing)
• UNDERSTAND don’t condemn
• Charles Schwab said, "I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people, the greater asset I possess. And the way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation & encouragement."
• Martin Luther King said, "I judge people by their own principles – not mine."
• La Raochefoucauld "If you want enemies, excel your friends; but if you want friends, let your friends excel you."
• Listen! Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
• Have an increased tendency to think always in terms of the others person’s point of view…from that person’s angle.

Tonight Stephen and I attended a concert at BYU-I featuring the Nashville Tribute Band perfoming the albums, "Trek" and "Joseph" . These are 2 staple church CDs at our house and are beloved by each member of our family. If you haven’t heard the songs to these tributes please come and borrow ours or better for you in the long run, buy them! There was a lot to live up to tonight for us and we were not disappointed.

Getting to know the face behind the music was absolutely my favorite part…Jason Deere is the founder/writer and is seriously one neat dude. He has a soft heart and is a musical master. On the way home I kept wondering (even out loud) who he reminded me of…I finally came up with it – my little brother Scott. If you didn’t know it, I really like my brother – so that explains why I instantly liked Jason Deere. He is like a giant professional missionary. In fact, I was delighted to hear him say that he is making a new Nashville Tribute about missionaries! It will be out at the first of the year…you know I’ll be getting that.

Just to those of you who don’t know me well enough to remember that country music isn’t my first choice of music style, this stuff mixed with gospel content just hits the spot for me.

Also something to look for is the newly formed band,"Due West". They have a hit on the country charts, "I Get That All the Time." The band is produced by Jason Deere, and three members of the Nashville Tribute Band make it up. They formed this secular band because they wanted to have a band sing in Nashville with standards to look to (they won’t be singing about tears in their beers or cheatin’ hearts). They hope to someday draw a crowd that will be interested in hearing their testimonies through the Joseph and Trek music. I get it…wish I could explain it better.

Here are two of our favorite songs from these tributes for you to sample:

1. "How much can one heart take" – song about Emma Smith (I love Mindy Gledhill)

2."Crack of a whip" – My children’s personal favorite!

Doesn’t this make you happy too?

1. Parting HUGS from my family as they left for work/school
2. Morning STARS in the brisk cool September air
3. Red POLKA DOT Pillows
4. Rocking JT’s boy legs
5. My Wall QUOTES
6. Black Eyed Susans
7. A good book to read
8. Talking to Olivia
9. The 26.2 sticker on the back of my friend’s van
10. Bathroom Hair organizer

*HERE IS AN UPDATE ON the TRICK or TREAT campaign…*

Monday I found out that my nephew will be getting baptized at 9 am on Halloween morning – I would be sad to miss it!  So my possee and I will be postponing  our run until early afternoon – it will be warmer then too, right?!  It has been fun to hear from various people who are joining the campaign…we have some walkers, runners, daily exercisers, who have committed themselves to a trick and treat! I have been motivated because of you (from CA to AZ and right next door)- so fun! Now I just need to go pick me up some new running shoes…

One of my favorites	Thanks Jana for the great idea, what did we do before this?	only 1/4 into this one, but it is delightful
Ooooh, do they have to grow up?	Cheerful, no?

I am so excited about my latest idea – I really hope it makes many people excited,  because wouldn’t that be just grand to have lots of people excited? Excited, eager, energetic, I wish I could think of another "e" word – that was fun.

Anyway, here is my great idea that is going to make you so excited (and me too remember?)

I am here to launch the first ever,

"Trick or Treat" Half Marathon.

O.k., did I loose you when I said half marathon? Keep reading because this is part of the trick.

DATE: Saturday, October 31st

TIME: 8 a.m.

LOCATION: To be determined

 Here’s my story: I have been feeling rather stagnant about my exercise regiment…meaning I am getting sloppy and basically want to be lazy. I decided I need something to shoot for – I need a goal. That is when I decided I should train for a 1/2 marathon. It isn’t too time consuming and it would keep me motivated without being overwhelmed. (To most non-runners this would seem overwhelming I realize. This is the beauty of my idea. You can pick your own goal, maybe you’re a biker, or swimmer, or walker, or even just getting started?) The main idea is to do something more than you are doing now and set a deadline to be better.

Anyway, when I thought about doing this I realized I didn’t want to pay for another registration and also incur travel expenses. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS REALLY FUN! I rationalized that rather than pay a registration fee and/or travel expenses – I’ll pay myself with a special prize. I don’t even know what it is yet, but i"ll let you know.  (I’m leaning toward a new pair of leather boots, a fabric jellyroll, or a zip-up hoodie) It becomes a win/win situation. I get in shape, feel good about myself, and also get a little something something! Maybe that should be called a win/win/win situation.

When I told Stephen about my idea he said we should make a shirt (the man will do anything for a shirt). He said we could get them for $5 each? So there might be a shirt in the deal for you too for a small price.

Notice the location is to be determined – I’m hoping that lots of you will be excited – people that don’t even live near me. So you will have to pick a place to accomplish your goal. If you want to come to my neck of the woods, I would love to lace up my running shoes next to you – I’ll keep you updated on the course selection.

I really want some friends/family to get tricked into treating themselves with me! Don’t delay. Leave a comment to commit yourself and add what your fitness goal will be. If you are like me, you need a friend so call one and let’s get moving.

I am sitting here plum tired! I started to wonder how I could be so tired and then I began to add up what we have accomplished in the past week.

Because it is "that time of year" again…(you know the part of the year where all of the sudden the fruit and veggies are ready to be packed up and preserved for their long winter’s nap?)I found myself being pulled against my will to prepare certain fruits – peaches, apples, and tomatoes to be exact – for the coming months ahead.

When I use the words "against my will" I am reminded of my Tuesday lecture prepared just for Mason after he said, "I don’t want to practice the piano. I just want to take piano lessons and know how to play." It became apparent  that I needed to remind him how it just doesn’t work that way. Every day progress is being made helping him become a better musician, the small things add up to something big! We all know that, right?!

Now back to my canning diary:

Monday Stephen had the family up at the crack of dawn ready to go pick tomatoes out in Salem.  We (along with our friends the Puzey’s who wanted to learn how to bottle tomato juice) went out and picked 5 bushel of tomatoes. We then came home and set up tomato juice production. We had quite the set up as  you can tell from the photos. We had a successful day ending up with 114 quarts. We did have 3 casualties which spooked us all and made us get jittery…kind of funny now that I think of it.

Tuesday I picked up my peaches from my mother-in-law Sharon. As we talked we both realized that we were out of canning jars. Just as I was about to pull out of the driveway Aunt Dot pulled in. Low and behold in the back of her trunk were boxes of quart jars. I offered to help carry some and as I was unpacking boxes, Sharon said, "you should take these wide mouth jars – they would be perfect for your whole tomatoes." I tried to rebuttal say they would be great for her peaches, but she quickly ushered them into my stead and I was left humbled and grateful. I came home and told Stephen the story and he just beamed, so proud of his mom. It was a small act, but the selfless example made a large happy spot.

Then I found myself Wednesday afternoon with ripening peaches & a bushel left of tomatoes in my garage, 1 1/2 week old apples in my mud room, and 10 dozen ears of corn to take care of. I sat on my back porch with my sinus infection feeling sorry for myself – much like Mason must have felt sitting at the piano! The words I said to him rolled through my mind as I wondered how I would fare. Sniffing up my pride I became determined to practice what I preach. I ended up on the phone sorting through my plight with a cheerful friend when suddenly I heard her say, "I will be over in a minute." She came to my rescue, not only physically but emotionally. I knew if was a sacrifice and wanted to resist and then I looked down at my lame finger and surrendered. She came for an hour and Stephen popped out from his home office to show his support. I was officially up to my elbows in ears of corn, but my spirits were soaring at the heart.

This morning I set my alarm for 6:30 am so I could get an early start without interruption from my children. I took care of the peaches and apples! I wish I would have kept track of pits that were exiting my finger tips…it felt good, it smelled good, and it tasted good! I made an appeal to Stephen a couple of times for help and finally as he was walking out of the kitchen I declared, "I have decided that when the canning is happening, you have to be right next to me." He is efficient, quick, and really cute.

Even though the fruits of our labors are acts performed solely by ourselves the love & support from others become paramount in the quality and enjoyment with which we perform . I am grateful for the boost from friends and family and was able to accomplish more than I originally sought out to do a week ago. Waiting in my deep freeze and storage room shelves are:

57 bottles of tomato juice, 14 bottle of whole tomatoes, 25 quarts of freezer corn, 14 quarts of frozen peaches, 7 quarts of apple pie filling, 7 quarts of peach pie filling, strawberry, peach, and raspberry jam.

post edit: Sorry Stephen, I didn’t know you had already blogged about the tomatoes! oops 🙂