Temple Trip With Boys

Fred and I had the opportunity to go with the youth to the temple on Wednesday.  I rode with Fred and six 13 and 14ish year old boys.  There was calm chatter all the way to the temple.  We had an amazing experience at the temple and I was so impressed with their reverence while we were there.  The temple workers expressed to me several times that we had a great group.  The spirit was definitely very strong.  It was my first time to go with the youth.  Usually, I have to work, but I took off the whole day, so that I knew that I wouldn't have any conflicts.  Afterwards, there was a stop at Braum's for ice cream.  Again, there was calm chatter all the way there.  While at Braum's, the people there couldn't get over our young men in their white shirts and ties.  They enjoyed their ice cream and we headed back to Frisco at around 9:00 p.m.  Let me tell you, that was the end of the calm chatter!  Pure excitement, bodily noises and gross talk all the way to Frisco.  I guess you can't expect boys to be calm and reverent all night - especially after they've had a little sugar!  They were so fun, though.  I could have ridden in a girl car, but the boy car was definitely more exciting!

Extra Dose of Confusion & Crazy

I found this post in my drafts.  I wrote it exactly 1 year ago and decided not post it, because I sounded like such a complainer.  I have to laugh, because not much has changed in a year!

Confusion at the Fortenberry's

Are we still celebrating Christmas or did we start celebrating Valentines Day?

There is crazy at our house!  It has seeped into every crevice of our house.  Now, I have turned into one big whiny baby.

We had sickness for a week.

Our dryer broke last week.  I was so thankful Fred was able to fix it.

The refrigerator started limping and we had to buy a new one.  Our budget for this unplanned item was slim.  We pretty much bought the same refrigerator that we already had.  While looking at the lovely models with french doors and the freezer on bottom, I fell in love.  But, alas, it was not meant to be.  We decided to stick firm to our budget.  Then, Lowes gave us a credit card with a huge credit limit and 6 months no interest.  Glad we didn't know that before the purchase, because we might have entertained the idea of going fancier.

It is time to start making decisions about Jess' senior year.  Not sure how we will keep her at St. Anthony's, but we will try very hard to find a way.

I got a speeding ticket on the way to work a couple of weeks ago.

I have a new calling.  I love it, but some days I think it is going to eat my lunch.

Gracie is getting old and I spend tons of time cleaning up after her.

These are all such little things.  I have had far bigger problems.  Seriously, I have, but it just seems like a new problem is waiting for me every time I turn around.

I just have to remember that these are all solvable problems.  I have a beautiful family and a Heavenly Father that loves me.

Ringing in the New Year

We spent New Year's Eve at the Garstka's where we enjoyed the company of the DiSpigno's, Miller's, Turner's and White's.  We had a fun evening visiting, eating and playing games.  I failed to take a single picture!

We had fun playing Catch Phrase.  There were a lot of people, so it was really hard to hear and understand what was going on.  You had to pay close attention.  It was chaotic most of the time.  We played girls vs. guys and often one group would be having a side conversation while the other group was trying to play.  We learned that the 13 year olds don't know who celebrities like Dolly Parton are.  Poor Jonathan got stuck with that one, so he started by describing what little girls play with.  His group guessed Dolly, but the timer ran out before we got to hear how we was going to describe Parton.

The most priceless moment of the night was with our poor Jonathan.  I happened to be sitting across from him, so I saw it all unfold.  He grabbed the Catch Phrase from Angela looked at it with complete shock and exclaimed "Oh!"  Then he showed it to Angela hoping she would let him switch it to the next word, but she didn't.  So he muttered, "I don't think I'm really allowed to say this word, but ok."  Fred must have missed Jonathan's shock and the statement that muttered, because when Jonathan said another name for a cat, Fred popped off with feline.  Those of us that were clued in to what was going on laughed our heads off.  Jonathan's phrase was pussy willow.  Poor thing.  He thought he was going to die getting past the first word.

We had a great time and hung in there until midnight.  (I was doubtful that I was going to make it.)

My Sweet Girl

On the way to school yesterday, I mentioned to my sweet girl that there was someone that I thought we should do something special for.  I asked her if she might help me out.  I had visitors coming during the evening and would be occupied, so I asked her if she would make brownies for us to take over after my visitors left.  Instead, she decided to make a homemade cookie cake.  Now, it always drives me crazy that Fred and Jess love to try new recipes on other people.  I tend to think that we should try them on ourselves before inflicting them on other people, but who am I to argue with Jessie's generosity.  She jumped into action as soon as we got home and went to baking.  We each put together cards and headed out with our 'fresh-out-of-the-oven-treats.'  It was so cold outside that those treats probably weren't very hot when we delivered them, though.  

Some days she drives me crazy with her teen angst, but most days I have the sweetest girl ever!

Happy Hysterectomy

On January 7, I joined the bazillions of other women that have had a hysterectomy.  I was fortunate to bounce back quickly.  I was back at work one week after my surgery.  However, I am ready to have my energy back and to feel really good.  I am tired of having aches and pains and feeling sluggish.  Although, I shouldn’t complain, because I have had it really easy compared to a lot of other women.  I tried to workout ten days post surgery.  I was proud of myself.  I kept up with the class for the entire hour and didn’t take a single break.  I was careful when we worked our core, though.  And, let me tell you, I was exhausted and tired at the end.  I decided to take it easy since then and just now started trying to ease back into exercise. 

I am so thankful for Fred and the kids.  They were sweet and took great care of me.  By the end of the week, the laundry and dishes were piled up and they seemed very confused.  I guess Mom can only be down for a couple of days.  I had wonderful friends that checked on me at the hospital and dropped by my house.   My parents brought dinner one day and enlisted the kids to help with some chores.  There were sweet text messages and my friends from Nouveau sent me a fruit basket and an awesome card with Brinker’s gift cards.  I am very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

The week before going into surgery, I talked to my nurse at the doctor’s office.  Her exact words before hanging up were, “Happy Hysterectomy!”  I don’t know about all that!  I’m just glad it is over and that I am on the mend!  Thanks to my family, friends and co-workers that picked up the slack and did extra work while I was down and checked on me!  I appreciate you.

Grandma

Here are some pictures of my Grandma.  She is the cutest thing in the world.  Everyone needs a Grandma like mine.  She is funny, sassy and sweet... all rolled up into one Grandma.

The Purse

My sweet Fred recently surprised me with a purse.  He ordered it online.  I didn't know how to tell him that it just wasn't me.  So, I carried it to the mall one night.  My friends were tickled, because they also didn't think it was me.  So, I went home and told Fred how very sweet it was of him to give me the purse, but that it just wasn't my style.  I asked him if it would hurt his feelings if I didn't carry the purse.  He was really nice and assured me that we could give it as a Christmas gift.  We used it as a game prize at Christmas, so that is where the purse landed.  My brother is the one that "won" the purse.  I don't think it was his style, either!  In the end, it was given to my Grandma.  So, Fred's purse went to a good home.

Merry Christmas from Lavon

We spent Christmas Eve in Lavon with my parents, my brother's family and my Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe.  We had great food, fun games and had a wonderful time as a family.  We lost track of time and ended up getting home very late.  I still had a lot to do to get ready for my own family Christmas!  I think I ended up going to bed around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m.  It was well worth it.  

We played a game called Mad Gabs (I think). It was very fun.  The words are kind of phonetically spelled and you have to look at them and figure out what they are meant to say.  They guys had William Shakespeare.  The girls couldn't see what they had, but we could hear them sounding it out and could tell what they had.  However, they just new they had William Shatner!  They just kept yelling it over and over.  "I said, Shatner, Shatner, William Shatner."  We laughed so hard.  I thought we were going to cry!

One of Lainey's favorite gifts was a dress up trunk.  Hmmm.... my daughter got an entire armoire (which she still uses) when she was that age.  I guess MaMaw was afraid Jeff would kill her if she got Lainey an armoire.  He must be more intimidating than I am!

Jessie loved her Doctor Who shoes.  She is very careful with them and checks the weather each time she wears them. 

Jonathan received a shirt made of money!  He's like Grandma.  Green is his favorite color.  He loved it.

What a great Christmas and what a great night!  I love my family and I am so thankful for them.

My Favorite Pen Pal

I have the most awesome Grandma in the world!  She and I are pen pals.  She frequently sends me sweet little notes in the mail.  She has shaky handwriting, so I’m not sure how our US Postal Service manages to get them delivered to me!  Once she told me that she had saved all the letters that I had written her, because they were so special.  I realized that I need to write her more often.  This last note was a get well card.  It was my favorite.  She made a point to let me know that she didn’t know that I was having surgery, because my mother hadn’t told her anything about it.  That means that she learned about my surgery from my Auntie Jan.  That card made me smile… a lot!  My grandma is the best pen pal ever!

Memories

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk and heard that familiar ding from my phone.  My friend, Angel, had sent me a text.  Only, I had never dreamed this little gem of a picture was what she was texting me.

This was taken in one of those little photo booths at Mountasia.  I'm guessing it was taken in 1992.  Fred and Dave were inseparable, so Dave went everywhere we went.  That meant that the three of us were inseparable.  It was a great thing when Dave and Angel finally started dating!  I joke that it was like dating two guys at once.

Those were such fun times!

Christmas Morning with the Fortenberry's

As always, I'm running behind and I am just now working on my Christmas post.

We had a very special Christmas.  We invited Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe over for breakfast.  

Fred is our resident cook, so he handled those duties while I made sure everything was in order for Christmas. He made sure we had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs.

Jonathan serenaded us on the tuba.  You don't hear that everyday!  He had been working on a compilation of Christmas hymns in band.  Unfortunately, he didn't have the melody, so it was a little hard to discern what he was playing, but it was still really special.  I was especially touched that he wanted to play hymns for us on Christmas morning. 

After breakfast, we read the Christmas story from the Luke Chapter 2.  I cried when I read "For unto you is born this day in th city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."  My aunt cried with me.  We're big babies like that.

 Then we transitioned to the kids' favorite part... presents.  This year we had a very modest Christmas, but no one seemed to mind.  The kids really didn't have a wish list, so we didn't do it up big.  We just enjoyed the morning.

We had a great morning and were so thankful that Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe could be there to help us celebrate.  We were especially thankful that we were able slow down for a few minutes and remember the true meaning of Christmas. 

Gracie Photo Bombs

While sorting Christmas pictures, I found these sweet little photo bombs from our Gracie. 

We miss her so much!

Our cat, Princess is checking out the presents while Gracie is on her bed taking a much needed nap!

There is just a small glimpse of our sweet girl.  Probably headed for the doggy door.  She could care less about all the Christmas hoopla.

 This one is my favorite!  Her cute little booty heading out the doggy door.  It is a wonder she made it outside to do her business.  Usually, she was headed that way, but didn't quite make it.

We all miss our sweet girl, but know that we did the right thing.  We still have her ashes that we need to bury and that will be hard.  We were lucky to have such a wonderful dog for 16 years.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan

Our sweet Jonathan turned 14 on Saturday.  Jonathan is a creature of habit, so he celebrates the same way every year.  We had a family dinner at Fudruckers on Friday night.  Then on Saturday we went to Main Event and enjoyed games and the gravity ropes with the Garstka's, Miller's and DiSpigno's. We finished up the the evening with Pie Five where Jonathan ate everything in sight.  I think I am going to be in trouble very soon.

On Sunday, Jonathan was ordained a Teacher by his dad.  He also received his Duty to God certificate that he folded into tiny squares and put in his pocket, so that he could pass the sacrament. He knew Mom was going shake her head over that one, because the first thing he said when he handed to me was, "I HAD to fold it."

Jonathan brings so many blessings into our lives and we are so thankful for him.  Each day he puts a smile on our face.