September in Pictures: Count Your Blessings

"When you take the time to see the hand of the Lord in your life, to 'count your blessings one by one,' it might just 'suprise you what the Lord has done.'"

-John Bytheway

I pooped out on my 'September in Pictures' project!  I am so disappointed in myself.  I was having fun with it, but the last two weeks just kicked my rear and I ran out of steam last week.

September in Pictures: Integrity

"The bedrock of character is integrity."

-Richard G. Scott

September in Pictures: Walk by Faith

"In this world, everyone is to walk by faith."

-Jeffrey R. Holland

September in Pictures: Endless Friendship

"We build our marriages with endless friendship, confidence, integrity, and sustaining each other in difficulties."

- James E. Faust

September in Pictures: True, Fair and Faithful

"True to yourself, fair with your neighbor, you will not find it difficult to be faithful to your God."

-Thomas S. Monson

September in Pictures: Spiritual Light

"Spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit... waiting for someone to flip a switch.  It takes an act of faith."

- Spencer W. Kimball

September in Pictures:The Temple At Night

"It is worth every price we must pay to be able to enter and involve ourselves in the blessings of the House of the Lord."

-Colleen W. Asay

September in Pictures: Joy and Hope

"We should find joy and hope in the promises that the Lord has made"

-John Bytheway

Morning Walk

Saturday morning, a small group of our young women went on a walk to prepare for a Temple walk.  We hope to walk from our church building to our Temple in Dallas.  We need to start now preparing for the long walk.  We started with a 5 mile walk.  We left bright and early at 6:00 a.m.  We took Coit to Rolater.  We then went West on Rolater; South on Hillcrest; East on Lebanon; and, then North on Coit - back to the church.  The girls had an amazing attitude and were so fun to be with.  There were 6 beautiful girls there and I was so inspired by them.  It was an eye opening experience, because I don't think they realized how hard 5 miles was going to be, and when we go the temple we will have 16 miles to walk.  Of course, there will be water/snack stops and devotionals along the way. 

I love these girls, their amazing attitudes and their sweet example!

September in Pictures: The Path

 

The path toward fulfilling our divine destiny as sons and daughters of God is an eternal one.  My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, we must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day.  I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live.

 

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Team Fitts - A True Story

Sorry for the repeat picture - but I don't have any pictures of myself.

 

 

I joined the Biggest Loser contest at work.  I hadn't planned to, but one of my fellow co-workers, Scott Pitts, needed a partner and asked if I would help him out.  I couldn't say no, could I?  So, once I decided to join, I joined with gusto.  We are less than a week into it and we have a long way to go.  I hope we survive this journey.  There are 7 teams participating.

 

Initial weigh-in was Monday and the follow-up weigh-in was Thursday.  Then we will continue to weigh-in every Thursday through November.  Many of us downloaded an app called "Lose It."  I plugged in my height and starting weight.  Then it asked me for my goal weight.  I decided to put in a goal weight that would be fun to work toward.  Then it asked me how many pounds I wanted to lose each week.  Your choices were 1, 1 1/2 and 2 pounds.  I thought, "What the heck, let's choose 2 pounds."  No kidding, this app told me that I could only have 762 calories!  (Thankfully, I get to add calories in for working out.)

 

So, for 4 days I lived on lettuce, carrots and tomatoes.  I weighed in and had lost 3 pounds.  I had followed my old Weight Watcher tricks on weigh-in day.  Don't eat or drink before your weigh-in and make sure you weigh-in on an empty bladder and wear lightweight clothes.  Scott had a big loss, too.  Therefore, Team Fitts (get it... combine Fortenberry and Pitts to make Fitts) was the big winner for the week. 

 

Okay, here is where it gets crazy.  After my weigh-in, I got busy and didn't have breakfast  Then, I had a late lunch.  When I finally sat down to have my rabbit food for lunch I was starving.  My hands were shaking.  I had my light balsamic vinaigrette dressing in a tiny Rubbermaid container.  I couldn't get the lid off.  I was holding it in my lap trying to pry the lid off when it finally opened.  And, you guessed it, the dressing sloshed all over the front of my dress.  I ran to the bathroom and did a pretty good job of cleaning up my dress, but it had soaked through to my underwear. It felt like I had wet my pants.  I am not sure what was worse.  Wet underwear or smelling like a salad all day? 

 

How do these things happen to me?

September in Pictures: Sunrise

"Every sunrise is the beginning of a beautiful day, if only you choose to see it as such."

- Robin R. Robbins

September in Pictures: Life Is To Be Enjoyed

 

This is my favorite spot in my neighborhood - it reminds me of home.  It is out of place in an area known for rows of houses and little landscaping, but I love it.  There used to be two cows that would greet me; I miss them.

 

 

"In all of living, have much fun and laughter.  Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

 

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Summer Sun

 

Last weekend, we managed to spend one last time enjoying the sun and the water.  Jess was hanging out with a friend and Fred needed to check out a campsite for his Scouts.  So... Jonathan and I talked him into letting us spend an hour floating in the sun.  We had to make a pit stop at Walmart and buy these bargain rafts, because we had thrown all of ours away.  It was just the three of us, so we just enjoyed floating on the rafts and soaking up the sun.

 

Poor Fred started coming down with a horrible cold while we were there!  By the time we left, he was super sick.  Other than that, I am glad that we managed to enjoy one last time in the water, before it gets too cold.

September in Pictures: Miracles

"All kinds of things - you could call them miracles - happen to all kinds of people when they lose themselves in the work of the Lord."

 

-Marjorie Hinckley

September in Pictures: Grounded

"We can learn a lot from trees; they're always grounded, but never stop reaching heavenward."

 

-Everett Mamore

September in Pictures: God's Light Is Real

 

The sun setting behind the temple.

 

 

"God's light is real.  It is available to all!  It gives life to all things.  It has power to soften the sting of the deeper wound."

 

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf



September in Pictures:Simple Pleasures

"The real things haven't changed.  It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and to have courage when things go wrong."

 

 

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

September in Pictures: Pure Delight

 

Is there anything better than a small child enjoying a roasted marshmallow?

 

 

"We want to see every countenance full of cheerfulness and every eye bright with the hope of future happiness."

 

-Brigham Young

September in Pictures: Backyard View

 

This is the backyard view from my mom and dad's house.  How lucky was I to grow up in a wonderful family and with something other than fences and houses everywhere.  I don't think I knew to appreciate it when I was young

 

 

"Every day brings something beautiful if we are willing to look up and see it."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

September in Pictures: Do Not Be Afraid

 

That poor kitty seemed apprehensive, but sat calmly for a little preschool loving.

 

 

"Character is the one thing we make in this world and take with us into the next."

 

-Ezra Taft Benson

September in Pictures: Firepit Fun

We enjoyed a fire pit over the Labor Day weekend.  It made me long just a little bit for fall, but not too much.  I really like the warmer weather!

 

 

Fan the flame of your faith.

 

-Jeffrey R. Holland

September in Pictures: Reflection

Don't you quit.  You keep walking.  You keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead.  Some blessings come late, and some don't come until heaven.  But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.  It will be all right in the end  Trust God and believe in good things to come.

 

- Jeffrey R. Holland

September in Pictures: Tranquility

This is he picture of tranquility.  I think it would be awfully peaceful to be a duck... except for all that quacking and begging for bread.

God doesn't care nearly as much bout where you have been as he does about where you are.  And, with His help, where you are willing to go.

-Jeffrey R. Holland



Cousin Love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September in Pictures: Stand Tall

 

This little pelican (or something like it) friend greeted me at the duck pond.  I like this guy.  He stands up tall and doesn't bother anyone.  The geese on the other hand are mean and chase me.

 

-The trick is to enjoy life.  Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead." 

 

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Playtime with Cousins

 

Cousin playtime includes lots of picnic time.  Jonathan spent hours on the floor playing!

 

 

Not many of us could get away with sitting in Grady's chair rocking like a mad woman!  If you're small and cute, you've got it made!

 

 

We played quite a bit of Hide and Seek.  We need to work on Lainey's hiding skills.  She stuck her hand out and yelled, "Here's my hand!"... so I could be sure to find her.  I guess we don't really understand the goal of the game yet.

 

 

The kids had fun with her and she let Jessie give her bath. I think she cooperated until the end when she went streaking through the house naked!

 

Cousins are so much fun!



September in Pictures: Pink Passion

 

I am not a photographer, but I do love pictures of pink flowers!

 

 

"Find joy in the journey"

 

-Thomas S. Monson



Scrumptious S'Mores

The Fortenberry Summer bucket list included a fire in the fire pit and s'mores.  We hadn't completed the item, because Fred said that it was too hot outside.  Jeff, Emma and Lainey were in town over Labor Day weekend, so MaMaw and Grady helped us check that item off of our bucket list.

 

 

We had really big marshmallows to work with and short skewers.  Jonathan, the Boy Scout, seemed concerned about this prospect.  He wasn't interested in roasting a marshmallow if the skewer was too short.  

 

 

Somehow I didn't get a picture of Jess.  I must have put the camera up by the time she started working on her marshmallow.  She did a fine job - making sure hers was sufficiently burnt.

 

 

When we first stared gathering supplies and getting the fire ready, Lainey was very excited. Instead of requesting that we roast marshmallows, she yelled, "Let's marsh mallows!"

 

 

Thanks, MaMaw and Grady, for a fun evening!

September in Pictures: Land of the Free

The Star Spangled Banner

 

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Cleaning With A Happy Heart

We had toyed with the idea of heading out of town for the holiday weekend, but we never planned anything.  We ended up with errands and trying to get a few things done around the house.  Jess got her hair cut.  Fred and Jonathan went to see a movie.  A portion of the Simmons family dropped by to show us their super cute new car and then we all went out to eat. 

However, the day started bright and early at the church.  We were assigned to clean the church and Jonathan wasn't happy about it.  I tried telling him how blessed he will be for his efforts.  I knew how lame it was and I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes. As soon as we walked in the church, his attitude completely changed.  He spent 2 hours working with a happy heart.  To celebrate our hard work, we went to Bahama Bucks for snow cones.  Jonathan enjoyed his reward.

September in Pictures: Sunday Morning Sun

 

It is a beautiful and peaceful Fast Sunday.  A nice morning where the temps are still at 80 degrees and I was able to spend the morning sitting by the pond reflecting on all the things I am fasting for.  A day when the beautiful morning sun is shining down and there is so much to be thankful for.

 

 

"I am grateful for the dailyness... Nature shows the strength and joy of dailyness.  I am grateful for daily sunrises and sunsets, for the stars' and moon's appearance daily.  In times of great stress and trial, the routine things sustain us - daily prayer and daily scripture study."

 

- Elaine S. Dalton