30 Days of Gratitude - Day 11

I am thankful for my parents.

Today is my mom's birthday, so I saved this post for Day 11, so she could get a shout-out on her birthday.

One of my favorite things that my parents have taught me is how to go forward each day with an attitude of service.  I'm not saying that I'm especially good at it, but I certainly have two shining examples.

My brother and I have been so fortunate to have been on the receiving end of their service. I admire the way that my dad was always so good to serve my grandma and my aunt (on my mom's side).
When I was young, my dad's mother (my granny) was in a nursing home.  Every single time we went to visit her, my dad trimmed her nails for her and plucked the hair on her upper lip.  I remember thinking that was love!  It truly left a lasting impact on me.

As long as I can remember, my mom has been so great about serving her community.  She was PTA President, Room Mom and Girl Scout Leader.  For many, many years (dating back to my middle school days), she has coordinated a monthly luncheon for the seniors in the community.  In addition, she quilted with them one day a week and they even had a little band called the "Belles and Beaus." Now, she is a blanketeer for Project Linus and her quilting circle is very passionate about that cause.  Her list of service is endless and I know that my Grandma and Aunt Judy were on the receiving end of her service, too.  She took them shopping, to doctor's appointments and out to eat Mexican food.  I'm sure they were quite the trio as they hit their hot spots in Greenville.

I am so thankful for my Mom and Dad and all they do for my family and all of the people that they come in contact with each day.

Happy, happy birthday, Mom!  I hope you have the best day ever.

Father's Day Tribute

Happy Father's Day to all the sweet men in our lives!  How blessed we are to have strong, amazing men around us that love us so much.

We love our Scoutmaster Fred.  He is the best husband and dad around. He spent Wednesday through Saturday of last week in Galveston with our young men (14-18) from church helping them to have a fun fishing adventure.  He came home excited with lots of tales about the boys.  He had a day and a half to recuperate and then he leaves at 3:45 a.m. tomorrow morning for Scout Camp with our 12 and 13 year old boys.  We'll say goodbye to him tonight and then we'll see him on Saturday. The boys just loaded up their gear and they are excited about camp.  Fred enjoys working with those boys so much!  I am so thankful that Jonathan has been able to share his Scout experiences with Fred.  I also love that Fred continues to love the boys and love Scouts even though Jonathan has moved on up to the next group. 

I love my dad and the kids love their Grady.  When I was growing up, I remember thinking that I had the smartest dad in the whole wide world.  I would get him to help me with math, because lets face it, I am math deficient.  He would walk me through the problems and then I would go to school where I would see my teacher working them a completely different way.  Thinking that my dad must surely be smarter, I would raise my hand in class and declare, "But, that's not the way MY dad showed me how to do it."  I think my very favorite teacher, Mrs. Hannon had a talk with my mom and told her that it would be best if Dad no longer help me with my homework.  I also thought that Dad could fix or build anything.  He built us a multi-level playhouse, for Pete's sake, complete with a sand box and a slide. He fixed my car often.  I also knew that he would help me out of any scrapes.  In college, he drove to Denton when my Ford Tempo died (and, I mean died) on Eagle Dr., and some sweet, greasy men towed me to a gas station and kept my car overnight.  I don't think people really do that anymore. Lastly, he is the king of silly sayings or Dadisms, as I call them.  They don't make sense to anyone, but him.  For instance, I have migraines and I often say, my head hurts.  His reply is always, "A head like that ought to hurt."  Why does he say that to his sick daughter?  (I mean, he has been saying that since I was a little girl.)  I have no idea, but I wouldn't trade him for the world.   

I love my brother and I am so proud of the father that he has become.  He has the cutest 5 year old little girl, Lainey.  They are pregnant with their 2nd daughter.  He is such a fun uncle.  My kids adore him and he is an amazing father.  He tells bad jokes that are in no way funny.  So much of who he is, he inherited from my dad.  His upstanding character and his dumb jokes.

I love these special men in my family!  I hope they have had a wonderful day.  These are just a few of the special men in our lives -- the ones that I happen to share a last name with (or my maiden name).  We hope all of our family and friends had a wonderful Father's Day today.

Grand Fun on the Grand Lake

 We had one of the best Thanksgivings ever relaxing in a lake house on the Grand Lake in Oklahoma. We spent time with some of our favorite people eating lots of food, looking at beautiful scenery, playing games and laughing.  We had a great time with MaMaw, Grady, Auntie Jan, Uncle Joe and Uncle Jeffrey (not pictured).  I took lots of pictures so the story will come in installments.  

We tried our hand at taking our own family photos.  Fred got the award for most photogenic.  He just stood there and smiled in all his pictures.  Pretty sure, Dad and Jonathan tied for most shots with the goofiest facial expressions.  I get the prize for the weirdest poses.

I love my family and I think we got some pictures that show what an awesome family we are!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 26

I am very grateful for my dad.  He is the best dad ever!  I wish I had been more grateful as a teenager.  

My dad is pretty special.  He will go anywhere and do anything for me.  And, he is a pretty good hiking, camping and kayaking buddy.  Again, things I didn't figure out or appreciate until I was an adult.  

I am grateful for my dad and thankful for all of the amazing things he does for our family!

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.

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!

Forthman Fun

I am so far behind that I guess I will just start with last weekend....

We had fun hanging out at MaMaw and Grady's and visiting while Jeff, Emma and Lainey were in town.

Lainey found that Jonathan was an easy "target" and would play with her almost as much as she wanted.  He
tried to fake a nap once or twice, but she wouldn't have any of that.

My camera battery died before I got any pictures of Jessie and Lainey together.  Jess helped her play dress-up.  MaMaw still has all of Jessie's old dress-up clothes.  Thankfully, my battery didn't die before getting a super-cute picture of MaMaw and Jeff - I think Jeff was going for super-cheesy, but it turned out cute.

Generations

“There are few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother.”

-Boyd K. Packer

I want to wish everyone a Happy Belated Mother’s Day to those that have children, or who have influenced the life of a child.  You are appreciated. 

I am really kicking myself for not taking pictures yesterday.  We had a wonderful day.  I love that Mother’s Day is celebrated on Sunday.  I love being treated extra-special at church.  At our church being treated special means they ply you with chocolate all day long.  Treat after treat was passed out and there were so many talks and lessons about mothers and families that touched my heart.

After church, we had my parents over for an early dinner.  Let me tell you, this family knows how to prepare for an early dinner.  We had barbecue chicken in the Crockpot and potato salad already prepared in the refrigerator.  After church, you don’t stand between the Fortenberry’s and dinner. 

Afterwards, we had a fun and informative Family Home Evening.  We learned about our family ancestors.  MaMaw, Grady, Fred and I all shared a picture and a story about a family ancestor.  We all learned something new and saw pictures that we hadn’t seen before.  Fred thought the kids already knew about his dad, but they really didn’t know anything about him.  Jonathan had plenty of questions about his grandfather.  The best part was that Jonathan also had plenty of HARD questions for Grady and then commented that Grady took way too long on his turn. 

We learned that Grady had a pet pig when he was growing up and we learned that half of my grandfather’s family was born in Tennessee and the other half was born in Arkansas.  Jonathan wanted to know which siblings were born in Tennessee and which were born in Arkansas and what years they were born.  I just love Jonathan’s questions.  He keeps you on your toes.

MaMaw taught us about her grandmother, Dovie.  We learned that she had three sons and two grandsons deployed in WWII at the same time.  And, the biggest thing that we learned was that Aunt Judy was everyone’s favorite, but MaMaw isn’t bitter!

Fred taught us about his Dad that left this earthly world way too soon.  He told us about how he was stung by a jellyfish and how he later had to have his leg amputated.  He also told us about fishing trips and father/son campouts.  He and his dad and enjoy doing much of the same things that Fred and Jonathan enjoy doing.  Hopefully, these hobbies will pass on to Jonathan and his son, too.

I told about my Granny.  We talked about how she played basketball and softball in school, and how she only went to school until the 8^th grade.  This was confusing to my kids, but we explained that was very common back then.  The best story that we told was that she married my Papa on December 24, 1929.  The marriage was witnessed by my Papa’s brother and his date.  After the wedding, they each went back to their own homes.  They hadn’t told their parents and my granny was afraid that her daddy was going to kill her.  I think her sister eventually ratted on her.  I passed around pictures and her billfold. 

At first the kids weren’t sure what to make of this activity, but they quickly warmed up and had a great time.   As we started spouting out little known and interesting facts, they really started enjoying the activity.  It is so very important for us to remember and to learn about our ancestors.

“There really can be a bond and a sense of belonging that ties together generations. ... This bond gives us a sense of identity and purpose. Our ties with the eternal world suddenly become very real, sharpening our life’s focus and lifting our expectations. ... We can discover within ourselves a reservoir of patience and endurance that we never will find without the deep commitment that grows from a sense of real belonging. Exerting such immovable loyalty to another person teaches us how to love – indeed, how to be more like the Savior. Our sense of belonging to one another...foreshadows our belonging in the eternal family of God. Our willingness to discipline our individual desires enough to honor [our] loved ones prepares us to belong to Him who is our Father.” Bruce C. Hafen, Liahona, June 1998, 16

Flashback Friday: Jon The Builder

September 2007

Who knows what he was building!  He was probably just practicing his hammering skills.

Forthman Fun

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration with MaMaw and Grady along with Uncle Jeffrey, Aunt Emma and Lainey.  We gathered on Christmas day and opened presents, ate and visited!

Lainey liked the awesome Little People Cinderella and coach that we got her for Christmas.  It was something that Jess would have loved, but wasn't sure if Lainey would like it.  Thankfully, she played with it all afternoon.

We got MaMaw a Vera Bradley bag for knitting/crocheting or whatever else she bags up.

We got Dad a Route 66 book and Fred picked out an array of hot sauces.

Dad was completely shocked by the computer that Jeff and Emma got them for Christmas!

Jess and Jonathan enjoyed their stocking goodness!

I guess I didn't get pictures of Fred, Jeff or Emma!  I promise... they were there and enjoyed their Christmas!  Thank you so much for a wonderful Christmas.

Game On!

We celebrated Christmas with the Bond side of the family on Christmas Eve.

It was a crazy get together that involved games, food and loud family members!

We were so happy to have

MaMaw and Grady (our host and hostess)

Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe

Tammy and her family

Jeff and his family

Corey and his family

and, of course, Grandma

Before the games started, Auntie Jan brought out the Karaoke microphone that played Christmas carols.  Slightly annoying, you say?  No, majorly annoying!  It transforms your voice into some kind of elf/Alvin and the Chipmunks voice.  Seriously, it makes you want to pull every hair from your head!  I told Uncle Joe that he was on my list for letting Auntie Jan buy that and bring it with her.  He assured me that it wasn't his fault and he had no control over the situation (which I am sure is the case).

The theme for our White Elephant gift exchange was... As Seen On TV.  Hmmm... it made for some interesting gifts, but not much fighting!  Jonathan seemed to be hanging on to his Snuggie and Uncle Joe didn't quite know what to make out of his Trendy Top!

Although, Emma seemed to be making a trade!  I can't tell if she was stealing or having a prized item taken from her!

We had so much fun playing, laughing and hanging out together.  I wish there were other holidays, besides Easter and Christmas that we could get together and play.  We should just make some up.

Thank you all for such wonderful memories.  The Fortenberry's love you!

The House That Built Me

Mom and Dad's house as it was snowing yesterday

 

 

"The House That Built Me"

Miranda Lambert

 

I know they say you cant go home again.
I just had to come back one last time.
Ma'am I know you don't know me from Adam.
But these hand prints on the front steps are mine.
And up those stairs, in that little back bedroom
is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar.
And I bet you didn't know under that live oak
my favorite dog is buried in the yard.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
this brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here its like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself
if I could just come in I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
from the house that built me.

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years.
From 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines.
Plans were drawn, concrete poured,
and nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama's dream.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
this brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here its like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself.
If I could just come in I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
from the house that built me.

You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can.
I got lost in this whole world and forgot who I am.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
this brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here its like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself.
If I could walk around I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
from the house that built me.

Gratitude: Day 4

 

I am grateful for my dad.  He has taught me so many things, but mostly I am thankful that he has always enjoyed doing things with me.  He took me to concerts when I was 12, helped with endless math assignments, fixed anything and everything.  Even today, he still likes to head out on an adventure whether it is hiking, kayaking or indoor rock climbing (I hope our Groupons haven't expired, Dad).  My dad is always there for me... especially when I need help with those hard things in life.  This is a lesson that I learned so well last December when he took a trip to Austin with Jess and I.

 

I love you, Dad!

Service-minded Family

I feel very fortunate that I come from a service-minded family.  My mom coordinates a luncheon once a month for the senior citizens in her small community.  I don't exactly know when she became involved, but I think was probably about 12 years old.  I am not going to do the math for you, but as you can imagine, that is a whole lot of years.

Mom recruited Fred to help Dad grill hamburgers.  Fred gets recruited to grill a lot at family get togethers.  When we are together with family, he is a master griller.  When he is with our family, he starts the grill and then forgets to put the meat on the grill, because he started watching TV.  Once he finally he gets the meat on the grill, we encounter more problems involving the TV.  With family get togethers, he does well because the TV usually isn't a factor.  Maybe I should unplug the TV while we are trying to prepare dinner?

It was a super rainy day.  Jonathan had the very important job of holding the umbrella for people as they came up.  Due to the weather, there wasn't a big turnout for the luncheon.  Therefore, Jonathan didn't have very many customers.  I decided to take a peak to see how he was doing.  I found him holding the umbrella over his head twirling around.  I guess he got bored.

For the most part, we had fun helping out.  There was only one snag... Jess and I forgot to pack her an alternate lunch.  She is a vegetarian and they were serving hamburgers.  She ate peanuts.  Other than that, we had lots of fun and appreciated the opportunity to serve.

Flashback Friday: My Town

Malvern, Arkansas

A couple of years ago, Fred and I went back through Malvern, Arkansas, so that I could see my grandparent's house.  I posted pictures of their house, but not the pictures I took as we drove down the streets.  This is the town that my dad grew up in.  This is the town that I was born in.  This is the town that my grandparents lived most of their adult lives.  I have fond memories of this town.

This is my town!



Happy Father's Day

I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.
And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.
You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.
Years of work and worry had left their mark behind.
I remember Daddy´s hands, how they held my Mama tight,
And patted my back, for something done right.
There are things that I´ve forgotten, that I loved about the man,
But I´ll always remember the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

I remember Daddy´s hands, working 'til they bled.
Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed.
If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.
And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love .....
In Daddy´s hands.

-Holly Dunn


We Are Family

We recently found ourselves in a very stressful place.  We were blessed to have so many of our sweet family and friends that pitched in and offered support.  It was very humbling to say the least. 

My dad went with me to Austin while I took care of some difficult business.  It was very comforting to have him with me.  I could have taken care of it by myself, but it was so much easier to have my dad with me.

We also found ourselves needing to spend a lot of time in the Austin area.  For about 2 1/2 months, we spent every other weekend in Austin.  My Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe live in Austin and opened their home up to us.  It was such a hard time, but we also had some really great times.  Our sweet little family of four had some wonderful family moments, and we had some really great times with my Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe.  I think that Auntie Jan and I are closer for having had that experience.  We had lots of talks and "bonding" time when we come in to town on those Friday nights. 

 My brother was so sweet to give us gas cards and restaurant gift cards for Christmas to help out with the travel.  It was a huge lifesaver.

My mom and mother-in-law gave so much moral support.  Cards, letter and phone calls. The cards and letters are all saved and tucked away.  Anything we needed, my mom sent our way.  

Our friends sent their love, support, cards and packages. The Young Women at church were so sweet and wonderful. So much love was offered that it was unbelievable. 

It was hard to accept help.  In some cases, I think that I might have accepted help kicking and screaming.  This experience, while difficult, brought so many blessings into our lives.  I hope that I sufficiently thanked everyone, and showed my love for them. 
I don't know how I will ever repay them for their love, support and kindness.

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!

I Love My Family

Saturday was a day spent celebrating with family.  I love my family so much, and I am thankful for their influence in my life.  I took some special pictures, and wanted to share them here. 

Grandma - getting her to pose for a picture is like pulling teeth!

Uncle Joe and Dad - I love this picture!  Side by side taking pictures of the pinata fun.

Sweet little Cheyanne

Don't you just love little girls?  Mismatched flip flops and dirty feet!

Jonathan brought this butterfly net as one of the prizes.  He ended up picking his own prize.  Funny how that works.  I didn't quite expect him to put it on his head though.

Sitting on the tractor.  Jonathan was so intrigued with Randy's tractor.

The highlight of Jonathan's day came when Randy let him drive his tractor, and then later he got to drive it again with Grady.  Jonathan is already making plans to go visit Mamaw and Grady, so that he can drive Grady's tractor.

Uncle Joe has an armful of dogs.  We brought Mollie, because we thought she might have fun Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe's dog, Josie.

It is so embarassing when Mommy has to trim your ears.  Mollie has a double ear infection. She scratched her right ear until she had all of the hair matted.  I ended up having to cut both ears super short to match.  Cut is too nice of a word.  I whacked at the hair on Mollie's ears.  The groomer is going to be so mad at me!

Tired kiddos!

While we were missing our sweet Aunt Judy this weekend, I'm sure that she was watching us from Heaven.  I think I might have heard her laughing during the confetti egg fight!  Cheyanne inherited her Grandma Judy's luck, because she won $10 in the Easter egg hunt.  Judy was always our big winner, so it is only fitting that she passed her luck down to her granddaughter. 

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!