The 4 D's

It is true that the people we associate with tend to be some of the most influential in our lives. To be a successful person, it has been said, that one must associate with other successful people. To be a positive and happy person, it is a good idea to associate with other individuals-who too are positive and happy people! Lucky for me, I spent around 20 years, closely associating with happy, positive, successful people.

I have meddled over how to blog about the influence my siblings have had on me as a person. Should they each get their own dedicated blog post-on individual days? Should I group them into categories-like girls and boys, older siblings vs younger siblings? After several days of pondering over this, I came to the conclusion that my siblings can be described using the 4 D's: DEDICATED, DETERMINED, DRIVEN, and DEVOTED. They each don't get their own blog post, but I will share with my readers how each of my siblings has influenced me through the 4 D's!

Since it is just easier, I will begin with the oldest and work my way down the line to the youngest. A little blurry, but one disclaimer prior to my writing, I discovered that there are not nearly enough pictures of my siblings now that they are parents-lots of pictures of the kiddos, but hardly any of them-I am included in that!

 

My older sister, Amanda, is 21 months older than I am. We grew up together. We had some of the same friends. We were in college around the same time-not the same university, but attending at the same time. We were the first 2 married and the first 2 to have children. My older sister has always, always exemplified the 4 D's. She was driven to be successful. She used determination, drive, and dedication to complete a Bachelor's and Master's degree in about 4 years time-total to have both degrees done! That is an accomplishment! Since then she has become a devoted wife and mother of a large family! It takes a great amount of dedication and devotion-in my eyes-to be able to get up and face the challenges of life with so many other lives that are counting on you. Counting on your guidance, direction, clean clothes, and yes food! She is determined to raise a righteous, hardworking, and independent group of children. Through her choices, which include a lot of sacrificing she is teaching her kids to carry on her character traits of: dedication, determination, drive, and devotion.

 

I always rely on my sister's experience and advice when I am struggling. She is intelligent and in tune with the spirit-which make her a great advice giver! Although she has a lot of responsibility, just caring for her crew-she still makes time to read and stay up on current events. She is interesting to talk to and can carry on conversations that don't have to just rely on the happenings of her children!

 

She is a great example to me of moving forward each day. She sets goals and uses the 4 D's to accomplish them. She has a powerful testimony of the gospel, of those things that are true and important in this life. She has the testimony and she lives it each day in the things she chooses to spend her time on! Her ability to accomplish an insane amount of tasks each day is amazing to me! Thanks for being a pillar of strength to me. Thanks for being a powerful example of dedication, determination, drive, and devotion!

 

Next in line...child #3. My mom likes to remind me that I was not thrilled about the arrival of this sister. We are just shy of 3 years apart and apparently it either was too much time or not enough time for me to be happy about having another sibling. As such, the growing up years probably weren't filled with the most kindness from me toward my younger sister. Since we have became adults that has changed. This sister, much like the older sister exemplifies the 4 D's in her life.

She is a fiercely devoted person. I have never witnessed anyone who is so devoted to her friendships/relationships with others as my sister, Mary. She remembers friends, past and present every year at Christmas time with her yummy treat platters! She doesn't just associate with whoever, so once you are in her circle you are pretty much their for life!

Her drive, dedication and determination have also helped her to become successful in her career as a dental hygienist. She too completed a Bachelor's degree in a short amount of time! She has been cleaning people's teeth for several years now-and to me that in itself takes some dedication! I am not a fan of the dental office, A-T A-L-L!

Throughout her life she has faced challenges, disappointments, and sadness-but it has not stopped her constant desire to better herself and grow her relationship with her Heavenly Father. She too has a strong testimony and lives it. She is the real deal!

I will always admire her ability to constantly be improving herself. She is so determined and dedicated to being the best Mary that she can be! From health and fitness to her fantastic cooking abilities she is always working to be better! I am grateful she is my sister and for her example of dedication, determination, drive, and devotion.

Child #4....The first boy! After 3 girls, my parents finally had a boy! I remember the excitement that was in our home when he was born. Everyone was so happy. He was a cute little baby and grew up quickly. From a young age he exhibited the attributes of the 4 D's. He has always had an insane amount of drive.

A child with  a lot of drive, can be given the label of hyperactive-my mom was not appreciative of that suggestion, nor would she allow it to be affixed to her son. He was full of energy and had an equal amount of determination to go with that energy. At a young age, it was apparent that he was going to grow to be very successful.

Throughout high school he was very driven to be the best at whatever he chose to participate in. I remember him deciding to wrestle. I don't recall which weight class he wrestled in, just that it required dropping a pretty significant amount of weight. With his determination and drive it wasn't a problem. He just made up his mind that he was going to do it and he did.

This attitude has carried forward into his adult years. Through his dedication, determination, drive and devotion he met and married a wonderful woman. One who has, with him, helped to create a strong family. Dan and his family have been very successful in their farming career thus far. This success has not, and would not have come without his drive and determination to achieve and settle for nothing less than success!

My brother Dan is a powerful leader and always has been. He is extremely devoted to what he knows to be true and right. Like my grandfather, and most of my other siblings he does not have a large amount of patience for ignorance or lazy individuals. He has a strong testimony of his Savior and I have been able to witness his growth and maturity over the years.

I am grateful for a brother who has goals and does everything in his power to achieve them. I am grateful he puts his wife and family ahead of everything and everyone else. He is extremely focused on providing and protecting his family. Through his character traits of dedication, determination, drive, and devotion he has put himself on the path for success!

Child #5....little sister, Ruth-not to be mistaken as Ruthie! She has always been determined to be called Ruth, not Ruthie-she was known to correct people when they would accidently make such a mistake-even as a little girl. I don't remember much about Ruth as a child, since she is 8 years younger than I am, but since we have become adults I look to her example regularly.

She is very driven. It has been challenging for her to find daily satisfaction with the sometimes menial business of being a stay-at-home mom. Somedays, you just don't feel like you accomplished a darn thing. For people with such a drive and determination for success and accomplishment, that can be very hard to accept. Not that you aren't doing great work at home-rather it is just different!

This sister of mine is also very goal driven. She is constantly thinking about her goals, writing them down, and putting in the work that it will take to achieve them. She is determined to make correct decisions and always do what the Lord wants her to be doing. Having a desire to live your life closely to the Lord-requires that you make hard choices sometimes. Sometimes you have to chose between things that are good, better, and best-which is not always easy. But, when you chose the best things in life and it is in correlation with what the Lord would have you to do-you will find success!

Whether it was pushing through college with her husband-while they were both working-to ensure they would graduate debt free, or saving for a home to buy in an expensive housing market of the Portland area, Ruth has shown her dedication, determination, devotion, and drive to stay near the Lord and do what he would have her do.

I know that she fights daily for a positive outlook and attitude on life. For some, being positive and happy comes easily-for others it does not. I have been impressed with her desire to have those attributes in her life and through her use of the 4 D's she is getting there! She is a great example of waking each day with a fresh start and a determination to be better than she was the day before!

Child #6...this is my little, big brother, Kevin! Kevin was such a little guy when he was a kid-then he grew and now he is a big guy! He has always had lots of personality and loved to talk. When I was in high school my family took a trip to Disneyland. Kevin was maybe in grade school at the time. Anyhow, he sat down in his seat on the airplane and immediately introduced himself to his fellow airplane passenger-he continued to chat with that man the entire way to California! Once he started talking, I don't think he has stopped much.

Of all my siblings, I think he is the happiest one! He is generally easy going and optimistic about life. He is a smart guy-which  comes as no surprise, since he devours books like no one else I know! He will read anything. He is a fast reader and very knowledgeable about a lot of different topics. As a young boy I remember he wanted to read the Book of Mormon. Most children, heck lots of adults have never read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover, but he did. He was determined to do it. So he put in the time that it required, which probably wasn't a ton-because remember he is an avid reader!

He too shares the attribute of being an extremely devoted friend. He has friends of all ages, and he cares about them fiercely. He is determined to have a successful life, and is taking the steps today to ensure that! Unlike some of my other family members, this kid enjoys recreating and traveling a lot. Not to say he isn't a hard worker too, but he enjoys making his work, work for him-so he can play!

I would say that requires all 4 of the D's to accomplish! He is a very kind person and extremely tolerant of others. It has been fun to watch him grow in the gospel and in his personal testimony of his Savior. He teaches me to be more friendly and that it is ok to have friends from all walks and ages of life!

Last, but not least....child #7! Rachel was born when I was nearly 14 years old, so she was like my own little baby. She was learning how to write when I headed off to college, so I was lucky to get letters and pictures from her during my college years. Looking back now, she grew up really quite fast!

From day 1 she was a determined and driven soul. She lost her teeth early, learned to read and write early, skipped a grade in elementary school-resulting in graduating high school a year earlier than most. She had her Associate's Degree when she graduated from high school also. She married earlier than any of her other siblings and has a baby at a younger age than any of the rest of us.

She is a smart one also. She has always been mature beyond her years. She too is very tolerant of others and thrives on having relationships with people that are different from her. She enjoys learning about different things, cultures, beliefs, and people. She believes that people from all walks of life can become friends! A rare attribute in the world we live in today!

I know she is the major role model for my kids, probably many of her nieces and nephews. She babysat many of them, so they have a special relationship with their aunt Rachel. I guess there are lots of perks to being the baby of the family!

Rachel is now learning the adventures of the ranching life. She has been determined and dedicated to learning and embracing her new life. From helping with the branding of calves to managing the financial side of the ranch, she is learning and participating in it all!

As you can see from my short summaries of each of my siblings, they all are examples of dedication, determination, driven and devoted people. They all work hard each day to be better than they were the previous day. I appreciate their faith and optimism towards the future. I appreciate the wonderful spouses they each have chosen. I am grateful to be part of a family that is the real deal. There is no shortage of challenges and trials in any of their lives. However, it is through their dedication, determination, drive, and devotion that they meet these challenges head and push through! President Hinckley said, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured!" I believe that each of my siblings tries their very best to live that statement!