Nothing serves as better motivation than seeing others you\nadmire doing great things. I was blessed to grow up in a home with a Mother and\nFather who both did great things on a regular basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Mother had ten children and was a devoted full-time Mom\nwho had one of the hardest jobs in the world. She was the chauffer, the diaper\nchanger, the cook, the maid, the accountant, the tutor, the nurse, the referee,\nthe stylist, the laundry service, the therapist, the negotiator, the Dad whisperer\u2026she\ndid all of those jobs and many more and still found time to always serve in\ncallings in our church, she managed to write and publish an amazing book on the\nhistory of the tribes of Israel, she sculpts beautiful statues that get bronzed,\nshe writes amazing poetry, she sketches beautiful drawings, she has written and\npublished lyrics for songs, and she will kick anyone\u2019s behind at Jeopardy that\ndares to take her on\u2026which all of us have learned is not a wise thing to do\u2026 She taught me that a woman can do anything\nand everything in life. She is the OG Wonder Woman in my life, and this last\nweek she celebrated her 77th<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there is my Father. My Dad put up with ten screaming\nchildren wreaking chaos and havoc at all times on his life. He put up with more\ncars getting ruined by teenagers learning to drive, and the angst of dealing\nwith five daughters who were all prolific daters as teens. He worked incredibly\nhard every single day, first as a Special Agent for the F.B.I. and then as head\nof International Security for several large corporations around the world. Then\nhe\u2019d come home from the office and work his tail off at home. He taught through\nexample the value of staying focused and getting things done. He taught me to\nwork first and play second. By example he taught me I should always act with\nintegrity and always stand up for what\u2019s right even if at times I it means I need\nto stand alone to do so. And he always made sure to serve faithfully in every\ncalling to serve extended by our church. \nHe is always there when I need a shoulder to cry on and he is the world\u2019s\nbest listener and advice giver. He is my hero, and this weekend he will celebrate\nhis 81st<\/sup> birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My parents aren\u2019t the only ones who have provided motivation\nfor me by doing great things. Other members of my family and so many friends have\nas well. And tomorrow I get to celebrate a great thing my daughter-in-law\nAlexis has accomplished as I get to present her with her Master\u2019s Degree in\nAccounting at the Commencement ceremony at Utah Valley University. Alexis is\nnot only graduating with her Masters, but she is also eight months pregnant\nwith her second baby, so any young women out there wondering if you can finish your\neducation while working a job and being a mother, the answer is YES! And I\ncouldn\u2019t be more proud I am of Alexis for this great accomplishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we do great things in life we should remember that we aren\u2019t just benefiting ourselves, we are benefiting others by way of the example we are setting for them so they too will be motivated to do great things. KEEP DOING GREAT THINGS!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Happy birthday Mom and Dad and congratulations Alexis. Thank you to all of you for being such a motivating influence in my life. \ud83d\ude42 I love you all tons!<\/p>\n\n\n\n