Little Comments Go a LONG WAY!

So Jared is working on the bookshelf in our room and he yells out, "I need someone strong to help me."  Ally (the only girl out of 5 children) replies, "UGHH, I guess that would be me."  A while back we told her how strong she was, and she has definitely taken it to heart. 
It got me thinking.....A while ago Elder Hales gave a talk about how much influence a parent can have on a child, even in the little comments that we make.  This was true in my case, and in the case of my 5 sisters.

My dad was the PROUD father of 6 girls (Susan (the baby), Erin (on the left), JoDee, Kristine, Patti, and ME!)  Do you see how short I am in that picture, it didn't stay that way for long.  I outgrew everyone of them!  Even Papa Joe!  To make a long story short, I was 6 feet tall as a freshman in high school surrounded by boys that were...well, not 6 feet tall.  My mother always told me to "Stand up Straight and Be Proud, because you are beautiful," and that helped, but one rather poignant moment stands clear in my mind. 
I was in about 6th grade,the growth spurt had already started, and I was listening to my dad present a fireside in Sugar City, ID.  He began to introduce himself and said, "I have 6 children, they are all girls, and every single one of them is beautiful."  As the years pressed on and inches stacked upon inches, I thought about that a lot. 
In the Church foyer one day, Brad Reynolds (who was a good 8 inches shorter at the time) said to me, "Kathryn you are SO TALL!"  My dad overheard it, and that night checked my journal to see if I was okay with what Brad had said (It is the Foster Family belief that journals are fair game to parents, it is not spying, it is the parent's prerogative).  The journal entry stated, "Today Brad told me that I was SO TALL in front of everyone, I feel bad for him, he is SO SHORT." 
Dad's never underestimate the value of your words and your actions when it comes to your daughter's self esteem!  21 years later I can still hear him say it.  It doesn't matter what any body else says, Dad's trump them all.