Flashback: Allen's Freedom Fest

It is a tradition for the Garstka's, Turner's, White's, DiSpigno's, Fortenberry's and Miller's (when they are able to trek in from Mansfield) to get together and watch Allen's fireworks show every year. Allen usually celebrates the weekend before Independence Day. I'm not sure why, but it makes life easy for me. It means that my family isn't out late the day before I have to return to work. This last July, we celebrated with the Garstka's and DiSpigno's. It was a small affair this year, because one of the Garstka girls had a late soccer game. Usually we get together and grill out for lunch and maybe do some swimming before the fireworks. This year we parked over at Dave and Angela's,and got there about 30 minutes before the fireworks. As always, the fireworks were amazing. The kids enjoyed spending time together, and the adults enjoyed sitting and chatting.

Games are a necessary part of waiting for the fireworks to start!

Jonathan and Madison were buddies that night, and played catch for quite some time.

This is the only shot I got of Ally, and for some reason she stuck the fan in front of her face.  Probably because it was unbelievably hot, and that was the only way for her to stay cool!

 Ally enjoyed hanging out with Jess.  I know that she always feels loved when she is around Ally and Madison.

We had so much fun that night.  Of course, we went back to Dave and Angela's afterwards while the throngs of people exited their neighborhood.  I know that we stayed way longer than necessary, but we always lose track of time when we are with them.  I know that I said it in my last post, but we really are blessed to have such great friends!

Flashback: Laura's Birthday

I am trying to go back and catch up on all of the summer happenings that I didn't write about. We were fortunate enough to celebrate our dear sweet friend, Laura's birthday. I have learned that little girl's want to act older than they are, and the teenagers enjoy things from their "childhood." You'll notice that Laura had a Captain America party, and Jessie is wearing a Hello Kitty top. Little Madison looks to be more mature than both of the big girls put together :)

After lunch and cake, we had a fun time time beating the Texas heat by jumping in the pool. The kids and men had a great time swimming, playing and throwing the ball around.

The kids are so sweet and have so much fun together. Although, poor Jonathan is always the odd man out - he is the only boy in the group.

We feel so blessed to have such great friends.

Merry Christmas From the Fortenberry's

We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We are trying! We definitely have the spirit. I am enjoying the sounds of my favorite Christmas music. Jessica has made a few homemade Christmas presents, and Jonathan had the opportunity to decorate his band locker at school. I have a few presents purchased, and my Christmas cards have been ordered. Other than that, we are woefully behind. The bulk of the presents still have to be purchased, there is cleaning that needs to be done, and the house needs to be decorated. I'm not stressed... yet. It will all happen. It might happen the weekend before Christmas, but it WILL happen. I won't let the stress of the holidays get me down! I am going to enjoy the season. I will just keep repeating these words to myself, and they will be true. That is the way the world works for me. And, that is the way that I tackle life!

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Fanciful Snowflakes Christmas

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Count Your Blessings

Grandma, Jonathan, Mom, Jessica and Lainey
(my brother's little girl)

Some of you might know that we have had a very trying year.  We don't expect our trials to end anytime soon, but that is okay.  There is a reason that we are being tested, and I know that we will all be stronger for having gone through this season in time.  I know that Heavenly Father loves our family, and hasn't forgotten us.  We tried very hard this Thanksgiving to "count our blessings and name them one by one."

Jeff is having to do some training for the Army in Virginia for 2 months, so Mom and Dad offered Aunt Emma a little "parenting reprieve" over Thanksgiving.  Lainey was so much fun, and the kids had  a blast with her.  We left Dad and Fred watching the Cowboy game, and visited with Grandma for a little bit.  She is so sweet, and so much fun.  I hope that I am JUST like her when I am 91 years old.  I will be keeping everyone on their toes.

We had so much fun at Thanksgiving, and everything that mom cooked was delicious!  We are so fortunate to have family close by, and thankful that they are so welcoming.

We ended the afternoon, by stopping by the cemetery to visit our sweet Aunt Judy's grave site.  Oh, how we miss her!

Catching Some Zzzz's

I was going through some pictures, and found this one.  That is Jessie and my Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe's dog, Josie.  It pretty much cracks me up every time I see it.  If I could sleep ANYWHERE in the entire house, I can guarantee you that Jessie's bottom would not be my top choice (or any choice for that matter). 

Precious Girls

I LOVE... LOVE... LOVE... these girls.  They are so precious to me.  They melt my heart every time that I am around them.  I hope they know how much I love them.  I am truly blessed to serve them. 

And, no, I'm not pregnant.  I'm not exactly sure why my shirt is puffed out like that!

The Tuba Man

Jonathan started playing the tuba this year in the 6th grade beginning band.  He has come a LONG way.  Those first few weeks were pretty miserable.  It kind of sounded like a sick elephant.  Practice time took a lot of patience for the rest of the family.

He recently had his first band concert.  We were excited to go hear him play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" along with some of his practice scales.  The tubas performed with the euphoniums and trombones.  Those little tuba players were super cute when they walked on stage.  They had to balance their tuba stand and music binder along with their tuba.  One little boy lost his balance, and almost dropped his tuba.  He made a lot of noise, and it was hard for the audience not to giggle a little.

Jonathan was excited to tell me about some of the songs he was working on for an upcoming performance.  He said that he would be taking a field trip to "some beach" to play these songs.  Having been in band myself, I had a suspicion that his beach was really Sandy Lake Park.  When I asked him he thought that might be it.  I could see where he might get Sandy LAKE Park confused with a beach!

I am so glad that Jonathan is taking band this year.  I hope that he sticks with it, because I think there are so many wonderful skills that can be taken from the music program.

The Demonic Baby

Jessica brought home this crazy baby last week.  It, seriously, cried every 15 minutes.  I think she named him Gavin, but I called him "The Demonic Baby."  My own babies did not cry this much, and they were much easier to soothe. 

Jess had to wear a wrist band with a magnet on it.  When the baby cried, she had to scan the magnet across the baby's back.  It would make a chiming sound.  The chiming sound was confirmation that the baby recognized Jessie as his mother.  If the baby cried for more than two minutes, then it was recorded somehow and the student would get a lower grade.  There were special bottles and diapers.  You had to burp, feed, change and cuddle your demonic baby.  Should you damage your demonic baby (or should your dog lose her mind and decide to chew up demonic baby) you must pay $675.

The day that Jess received Demonic Baby, we decided to run over to Costco.  Actually, I was reviewing the frameboards at the optical center.  Baby was set to turn on at 5:00, and it was 4:45.  I asked Jess to stay far away from the optical center while I worked.  At precisely 5:00 Demonic Baby began to scream, and Jess didn't quite know how to make him stop.  She went crazy during the time we were in Costco.  Many people thought it was real, and many people just stared at us like we were crazy.  It was so embarassing! 

The craziest part of our Demonic Baby experience was bedtime.  As I've said before, Jessica takes medicine for insomnia.  I was concerned that she would not hear Demonic Baby crying in the middle of the night, and I didn't want her to get a lower grade because of this.  I decided that DB would sleep in our room.  I would just bring him into Jessie's room when he cried.  Sounds easy enough.  Imagine Fred's surprise when he came to bed, and found me curled up in bed sleeping next to DB.  When DB sleeps, he breathes really heavy.  Fred woke me up to find out a) why DB was in our bed, and b) why DB was breathing like that - it sounded like he had a cold.  By the way, the instructions said that you weren't supposed to sleep with DB, because you could damage him.  I figured that I slept with my infants when they were 4 pounds, and I managed not to damage them, so I should be okay. 

I just want to go on record as saying that the flour babies are much easier!

My Favorite Time Of The Day

I never thought that I would say it, but I just love the early morning when I'm getting my kids off for the day.  I love taking Jessie to early morning seminary in the wee hours of the morning when things are still calm.  At 5:45 a.m., the house is still quiet, and the chaos of the day hasn't begun.  I enjoy her enthusiasm for seminary, and love hearing about the lessons and the antics of her friends (usually the boys).  Unfortunately, she takes medicine for insomnia, so we monitor when she took her medicine and how many hours of sleep she was able to get each night.  Because of her sleep situation, I don't wake her up every morning for seminary.  I am supposed to ensure that she get 9 hours of sleep, which is almost impossible.  I try for 8 to 8 1/2 hours.  We do our best, though!

Jonathan rides his bike to school every morning.  My heart soars every morning when I walk him out. He has a bright red helmet that is really for skateboarding, so it is hideously ugly (in my eyes, of course).  However, Jonathan loves it!  I asked him if he would like a new helmet, but he is quite happy wearing his "special helmet."  Jonathan was recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS (which means that his diagnosis is really close to Asperger's), so this means that he is a creature of habit.  We have a morning routine that Jonathan makes sure happens EVERY morning.  Before Jonathan rides out on his bike, we always have a morning prayer, and then I watch to make sure that he gets down the street safely.

I am so thankful for my "alone" time with each of my kids in the morning.  I feel like we are working towards righteous goals.  During this time the kids voice concerns to me and we offer prayers of safety and gratitude.

Scout Camp

Back in June, Fred and Jonathan went to Scout Camp.  While they were at Scout Camp, I was in Vegas for work, and Jess stayed with my parents.  The boys returned home to tell us all about their adventures.  We heard about every little detail, and not once did they ask us about our adventures!

Basketry was one of the merit badges that Jonathan earned.  Honestly, I didn't even know that was a real word until he came home from camp!

 I think they spent a lot of time in the water working on their swimming merit badge.  They had to be able to save themselves and others in several different situations. 

Jonathan looks like one worn out boy!  When I downloaded the pictures off of our camera, there were tons of pictures taken at their camp on the last day.  The boys look very tired, but the dads look EXHAUSTED.  There are even a few pictures of some dads trying to nap in their camp chairs.

Scout Camp wouldn't be the same if you didn't get a little fishing in.  And, of course, Dad had to join in on the fun!

The boys made so many memories!  I am still hearing about how much they loved camp!

Logan's 1st Birthday!

Jonathan, Logan and Corey

In August, we spent an afternoon celebrating little Logan's first birthday.  Logan belongs to my cousin, Corey and his wife, Lucy.  As you can imagine, with the super-hot summer temps, Jonathan was glad that it was a swim party.   Logan is as cute as he can be, and seemed to enjoy the water, too!

We are so thankful that we could be there for Logan's birthday!

Hanging with Jonathan

I'll just say it... Fred and Jessica can be party poopers.  Their idea of a fun summer activity is going to see a movie.  Jess would also say that going to the mall is high on the list.  For that reason, I call the two of them party poopers, and Jonathan is my summer buddy.  We bike (don't look at my outfit... it was too big, thus making me look chubby), swim, hike, feed the ducks, and walk the dogs together.

Jonathan is such a sweet guy to hang out with his mom.  I'm very fortunate that he heads out with me on the weekends.  (Don't you just love the picture of our little pond?  We could definitely use some rain.  Those poor ducks need some more water to swim in.)

Jonathan's favorite summer activity is swimming.  He expects (or maybe demands) to swim as many nights as possible during the summer.  I usually sit in my little chair reading Fitness or Women's Health.  However, the sun usually gets to me, and I have to cool down and swim for a few minutes.  Jonathan and I sometimes race.  I LET him win!  For real!  I LET him win! 

My heart is touched by my sweet Jonathan.  I love him so much, and enjoy our time together.  I do wish that Jessica and Fred enjoyed these activities.  I would love to share them with the entire family.  However, since they don't, it gives me some precious time with Jonathan.  I know that these moments are fleeting, and this might be my last summer to spend so much time with him.  I love you, Brother!

Best Buds

Jonathan and his sweet friend, Perrin, are such kindred spirits.  They have similar struggles in life.  They are quirky, but in different ways.  Yet, they accept, embrace and forgive the other's little odd behaviors.  Perrin and Jonathan have such a good time when they are together.  Unfortunately, Perrin goes to a different school, so they only see each other at church on Sundays and Wednesdays.  They both love video games, scouts, poking dead birds with a  stick, swimming, and playing the tuba.  What did I tell you?  Kindred spirits!

Called to Serve

We are so fortunate to have wonderful missionaries serving in our Ward.  Jessica goes each Saturday to a "Missionary Pow-Wow" where she and other youth in our stake get together.  The missionaries have an object lesson for them.  Afterwards, the youth usually hang out and have a snack, enjoy each other's company and then sometimes watch the BYU game.  Jess has grown to enjoy and respect the missionaries so much.

We recently had Elder Draper and Elder Moli (the kids enjoyed calling him Elder Guacamole) over for dinner.  They were so fun.  They gave us a wonderful object lesson that involved Jonathan holding a tea bag in his had that was on fire!  He was brave and didn't move.  Obviously, that was a lesson in faith.  Then, Jonathan talked them into a game of Skip-bo. 

We really enjoyed having such wonderful men in our home.  They taught our family so much about faith and staying true to the gospel.  I am thankful for the example they are to Jessica and the other youth each week.

These Shoes Are Made For Walking

Just before school started, I had some special one on one time with each of the kids.  Jess and I went to see a chick flick (no pictures to prove it).  Jonathan and I went hiking at the Arbor Hills park in Plano.

Jonathan and I went hiking in the evening to try to beat the heat.  Of course, that meant he needed to stop and have a snack. The Boy Scout motto is Be Prepared.  Jonathan was certainly prepared with a drink and Cheez-its!

Jonathan captured me in my visor and fanny pack.  I thought if I had it slung low, it wouldn't look so nerdy.  However, we all know that a fanny pack is a fanny pack!

Jonathan and I had a great time!    He is definitely my little buddy.  I always have a great time biking, swimming and hiking with him.  I should clarify that I have a great time with him, once we get past the complaining.  You can always count on him to do a little complaining about every activity (except swimming).  It cracks me up, because he almost always ends up having a wonderful time.

Court of Honor

Our church places a strong emphasis on the scouting program.  Through the years, Jonathan has struggled with the program.  For the most part, he has not found it enjoyable.  Last fall, Fred was called as one of the 11 year old scout leaders.  Fred loves his calling, and Jonathan has learned to love scouting.  We recently held a Court of Honor where Fred was able to award Jonathan with some merit badges that he had been working on. 

Baby Lainey

In early August, the kids were excited that their baby cousin, Lainey was coming for a visit.  (They were also excited to see Uncle Jeffrey and Aunt Emma.)  The couldn't get enough of little Miss Lainey.  We all enjoyed loving on her. 

We learned that Jonathan is great with kids.  He was so sweet with Lainey, and wanted to help her do everything. 

Jessica also had a great time with Lainey.  She is a natural with little ones, and they always love her. 

We were so glad that Jeff and his family were finally able to come for a visit.  We scored big, because we were able to see them about a week later when we were in Austin visiting Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe.  Jeff, Emma and Lainey came for dinner one night, and we were able to spend a couple of hours with them.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures from that visit.  I was fighting a migraine, and didn't think to record the night.  Hopefully, we will see them more often if/when they move to Oklahoma. 

Dance Fever

I had the pleasure of taking Jessica and her sweet friend, Nicole, to a recent church dance.  They were so cute and funny as they discussed boys and gave them code names.  As youth leaders, we take turns chaperoning the dances.  This wasn't one that I was scheduled to chaperone, but I jokingly told the girls that I would be happy to chaperone.  I was assured that they just needed a ride to the dance, and not a chaperone.

These girls are absolute dolls, and I had a blast with them!  I am so thankful for the wonderful friendships that Jessica has made in our church, and for their sweet influence on her.  I am also thankfurl for the opportunity to serve these wonderful youth.