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!

Photo Card

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).