Hold to the Rod

This summer, our youth had the opportunity to participate in a super fun and kind of stressful activity.  It was an "Iron Rod" activity that allowed the youth to step into Lehi's Dream from The Book of Mormon.

In Lehi's Dream there was an iron rod alongside a river that led to a tree.  The iron rod represents the word of God and the tree represents God's love for us.  In Lehi's dream there was a mist that covered the area so that they could not see.  They would sometimes wonder away from the iron rod and become lost.  The mist represents the temptation that we all face.  There was also a large and spacious building.  Some people lost their way and ended up in the large and spacious building which symbolizes the pride of the world. (This is my over simplification to set up the activity, but you can read here and here.)

The "iron rod" was a course of sorts made from a rope and wound from tree to tree.  Several objects were placed in the way.  Ropes that weren't part of the iron rod were also included to confuse the youth, so that they might go the wrong way and be led astray.

The Priests (16-18 year old boys) and their tricky leaders were in charge of the activity. The Young Men leaders served as "tempters" and the Young Women leaders served as "angels."  Well, almost all of the YW leaders were angels.  Anda served as a temptress to confuse them a little.  For some reason they didn't think I would make a very good temptress.  Whatever!!! 

The youth were blindfolded and given a brick to carry at all times.  The brick symbolized their trials.  They were led to the iron rod where angels would help guide them through the course.  They had to keep one hand on the iron rod at all times and hold on to their brick at all times.

  

While angels were doing angel work, the tempters were hard at work tempting.  Some of the tempters would try to gain their trust.  Others were just plain mean.   Anda made me laugh, because she physically got into her job even though they couldn't see her.

Fred and Tony made me so mad. And, I'm not even joking when I say they made me mad.  I literally mean they made me mad.  They were squirting those kids and their angels with water.  Tony started tying ropes on to the iron rod, so that they would think it was a "turn" they were supposed to take.  I took my angeling seriously.  No one fell away on my watch.  I kicked obstacles away.  Yelled at tempters.  And, didn't let them even touch those pesky ropes.  I thought all of that was crazy.  Each time a new group of youth would come through, those men-- especially Fred and Tony would get trickier and trickier.  It would make me more and more frustrated.  They laughed and laughed.  I wanted to cry. This is real stuff, people. I wanted to cry.  I'm not even lying.

Leading these youth seriously stressed me out.  You've heard of No Child Left Behind.  No Youth Fell Off The Path on my watch.  Which was not the point of the exercise.  I get it.  This mama's heart couldn't bear to have one of mine fall off the path.  I wouldn't let it happen.

If they fell away, they were taken to the repentance box where they received counseling from Brother Reinsch and Brother Call. 

Each time they came back from the repentance box, they were given another brick to hold.  My heart broke for Cannon.  He had two bricks and I was determined to get him through without having to go back to the repentance box again.  We worked so hard together.

My own son had 3 bricks!  He said that he had a defective angel in the beginning-- Brother Dwarf!  That made me laugh.  He meant Brother Dorff.  Brother Dorff was a tempter, so he didn't have an angel at all!  In the end, he had his mom, so he made it safely without having to add another brick.

The boys were easily tempted by the men, because they trusted their leaders.  The girls instinctively knew to listen for the women and to block out the men.  When they got towards the end, Bishop would make the angels stop helping.  The youth would have to find their way by themselves.  They would be so nervous without their angels.  They would often call out, "I want Sister Fortenberry" or "Where is my angel?"  That killed me and hurt every one of my feelings.  I think I cried a little bit.  Cute Cannon refused to take another step without me.  Bishop finally told me that I needed to tell him that he should start moving.  When they got to the very end, Bishop was standing there and said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

I took a couple of things away that night.  One is that as the night went on, the tempters got craftier and trickier.  They got more and more cunning with each group that came through.  The adversary is like that, too.  

It was exhausting being an angel.  I gave my youth so much direction that I didn't have a single one fall off the path.  I didn't want to be responsible for a single one having to go to the repentance box.  This is probably why the men got so crafty.  I am this way in life.  I want to be sitting on each of their shoulders helping them when they need me, but I can't always be there.  

It also broke my heart when Bishop wouldn't let me help them.  I know I've been in that situation with my own kids where I've had to let them spread their wings and fly, but they've wanted me to hold their hands.  Or, in BYC, when I've had those cute Beehives and Bishop expects leaders to sit quietly while the Presidents do all the talking, representing and planning.  I had one new Beehive President that was scared to death.  I wanted to rescue her more than anything.  By the way, she went on to be an amazing President.

Those tricky men and Priests put on an amazing activity that our youth (and leaders) will remember for a very long time.

Twisted Twister

Our Young Women had the most amazing game of Twister last week.

It involved what I hope was washable paint.  The bottle said Washable.  I promise!  This activity was on the calendar last year.  I bought washable paint for it and never took it back.  Thank goodness, because it ended up finally happening.  And, it was a winner.

This activity required two Twister mats, a lot of washable paint, a cute caller and some fun-loving young women.  I feel like many of these Yong Women managed to get more paint on them than necessary.  After all, it was Messy Twister, right?

Did I also mention that some super-chill leaders were required?  The leaders didn't play-- I don't want to speak for the other leaders, but there is a good chance that I could get into the Twister postions, but most likely I would not be able to get up off the mat.  

Two minutes into the game, I received a slimy hug from our enthusiastic Beehives.  They also painted on my arm.  I don't know how that always happens.

Even Carly's baby was not safe from the paint love.

This picture says it all!  Paint causes teenagers to lose their minds. This is a true story.  

My favorite picture from the night.  Could be my favorite picture ever, because Sydney's face is just priceless. 

I love this cute group of messy girls.  They are amazing-- even when they are completely covered with paint and losing their mind with craziness because of it. I just can't get enough of them.  This activity reminded me why I love Beehives so much.  There is such a sweet and fun innocence about them.  They love everyone and they share that love.  They giggle.  They have fun.  I am also reminded of why I love Mia Maids so much.  They are easily distracted.  They do everything big.  They have big fun and they have big hearts.  And, of course, the Laurels.  Those sweet Laurels have my heart forever and always.  I've known them since they were 12.  They have grown into such amazing leaders with fun personalities.

How blessed am I that I get to rub elbows with these Young Women?

Lazy, Crazy 4th

I just love this time of year.  We had a fun, lazy, crazy 4th of July Weekend.  I'm going to try to summarize it into one post, but it might be kind of hard.  On Thursday, we had a cookout at work AND got off work at 3:00 p.m.  It doesn't get any better than that!  Because, when you think of me, the first word that comes to your mind is brave, I popped over and had my nails done very patriotically.

The nail ladies laughed and laughed at me.  I kept smiling and telling them how much I liked my nails, but they could see the fear in my eyes.  I get to live with these nails for about 3 more weeks.  Lucky me.  Lucky you, because they are very noticeable. We all know how I like to standout.  (That's a joke.  In case, you weren't sure.)

Friday we were invited to go out on  Lake Ray Hubbard with the Moffitts and Palmers.  My cute little Jonathan had the time of his life on the tube.  Jessie was a trooper, but would have rather just stayed on the boat.  The pictures are horrible, but tell quite the story.

Conner would grab Jonathan and pull him back on the tube to make sure that he didn't fall off. 

I guess it pays to have really strong friends.

Jess just put her head down and hung on for dear life.  Seriously, though, the boat was going about 5 mph!  She hated it and was scared to death, but got off smiling!

Given a couple of Excedrin, Conner turns into a stunt man!

Saturday, we attended the Ward Breakfast bright and early at 8:00 a.m.  Who thought that was OK?  I vote that they change it to 9:00 next year.  

(Stole this off of Facebook - this is not my pic as evidenced by the fact that I am in the background!)

We were one of the first ones at the breakfast, because Fred had to prepare for the Flag Ceremony.  He forgot to tell me that he needed to swing by the church for the flags.  I couldn't figure out why I was being rushed out the door at 7:35.  I need to understand these things, because I was planning on leaving at 7:55.

The Young Women were in charge of face painting... again.  We pretty much have the market cornered on face painting.

I scored some sweet art on my arms.  You know you love someone when you let her paint a dragon on your arm.  My goal was to prove my undying love to Jaiden by keeping the dragon on my arm all day, but it was so wet that I kept smearing it on everything.  I finally had to wipe it off with make-up remover towelettes.  Fred suggested Clorox Wipes.  He's hard core!

Katelyn thought I should have a more patriotic star on my other arm.  Maybe the dragon was a bit much?  I'm not sure?

You know you've got skills when you can paint your own face using only the reflective surface of your iPad. 

Later that afternoon, we went to see Terminator Genisys and out to eat.  I tried to take pics of Fred and Jonathan, but they clearly didn't cooperate!  I had never seen any of the Terminators, so I was a bit skeptical, but I watched anyway.  I liked it, but had to ask Fred a few questions afterwards.  Now, he wants me to watch the earlier ones.  I'm not sure if that is necessary.  I thought he could just get me up to speed.

On Sunday, we hit the road for Austin. 

We stopped off at Auntie Jan's and Uncle Joe's to visit with them.  Surprise, surprise... we ran into Mom and Dad there.  We stayed in a sketchy La Quinta. It was quite the adventure.

We dropped our favorite boy off at EFY on Monday!  I am going to miss him.  After we dropped him off, I really wanted to go back and pick him up.  I wasn't allowed to drop him off last year.  This is probably why.

Fred got all the way to Trinity University and we started looking for a restaurant to feed Jonathan.  I started using the GPS to locate eating establishments.  They were all "local favorites." 

We ended up stopping at Burger Boy that was just outside of campus.  Jonathan got the Working Man special.  He thought he had died and gone to Heaven.

On the way home, Fred and I stopped at HEB for some souvenirs...fajita meat and Whataburger ketchup.  I'm serious.  They have the best fajita meat and while we were there we bought some of their Whataburger spicy ketchup and jalapeno ranch dip.  When can we get an HEB?  Can someone please tell me?

By the way, Fred got off the interstate for something.  I think it was for the HEB and he said, "Well, the Whataburger is on the wrong side of the freeway.  There is a McDonald's."  I let him know that I could wait, because he had already fed me McDonald's one too many times.  Now, here is where communication is key!  I should have said I can wait about 15 minutes.  Fred had it in his mind that he was waiting for the optimum Whataburger.  I started noticing that we were passing eating establishments right and left and I heard him mention his dismay over all the Whataburgers being on the wrong side of the road.  Finally, I pointed out a Zaxby's, because I know that he really likes that.  I've never had it, but at this point I would take the McDonald's that I turned down.  He passed the Zaxby's up!  Finally, he found the perfect Whataburger at 3:30 p.m.  I was so HANGRY (hungry/angry) that he ordered me a #1 without even consulting with me.  We ended up throwing away half my sandwich, half my fries and a jug of drink. But, I guess Fred figured that he would rather be safe than sorry, since I was so upset!  

We'll head back to San Antonio on Friday after work so that we can get our boy on Saturday morning.  

Other than our Whataburger incident, we had an exceptional holiday!

Celebration!

We enjoyed attending the annual Allen USA celebration on Saturday.

Allen does their fireworks a week early and we always attend with the Garstkas and assorted friends and family.

Fred had just gotten back from Scout Camp, so he was exhausted.  If we had to do it all over again, we might have stayed home and watched a movie.  However, it's always fun to spend time with the ones you love!

The kids enjoyed shaved ice and for some reason had fun posing for me.  I told them to give me an action shot.  Jess went above and beyond.  I had about fourteen shots of her eating shaved ice.

So glad that we could spend a fun evening together.

And, I Rejoiced

Last Friday, I rejoiced because it was the last day that I had to get up early and take the boy to seminary.  This morning, I rejoiced that I only have one more breakfast and one more lunch to make before school is out.  Next Friday, I will rejoice that Driver's Ed is over (only I will have spent much of my week at Girls' Camp) except for the drive times.  The girl is helping out with summer school at TSAS all month.  I will be rejoicing at the end of June that I no longer have to cart her around.

I feel like a poor excuse of a parent for all of this rejoicing.

And, I really feel like a poor excuse of a parent when I realized that all the boy expects or wants for breakfast is a cup of chocolate milk and 3 little donuts.  Therefore, why would one rejoice that she gets a summer long break from preparing breakfast?  I don't really know and I don't care.  I'm just tired.  So, judge me. Mock me.  I'm excited to have a break!  I will be rejoicing.

Fortenberry Four Fish Camp

This last week has been about preparing Jonathan for his Freshman year!  We had our own Fish Camp at our house.  It was mostly about having fun as a family and gearing up for the big day.

We always introduce a new theme and usually forget all about it about a month into the school year.  This year, I printed it off and framed it, so hopefully we can keep it top of mind!  Last night, we said that our 2014-2015 theme is going to be "Pure Christlike love flowing from righteousness can change the world" by Jeffrey R. Holland.  We talked about what this meant to us and how we can apply this theme to our daily lives.

I left prizes on the mantle for Jonathan each morning.  Sometimes there was a bonus prize for Jessie, too.  The prizes were all kinds of things like a new watch, new water bottle, candy and a gift card.  Just little stuff to get Jonathan excited about being a Freshman.  Jonathan's favorite prize?  Jolly Rancher popsicles.  Yuck!

Saturday, we had to run a few last minute errands and stopped for some wings.  I have to admit that I think wings are disgusting.  Jonathan likes the wings without the bone, but here he is tackling some wings with the bone in.   He looks a little possessed and scary!  We had a nice fun and relaxed afternoon before the crazy school year starts.

Then, on Sunday, we all took care of our ALS ice buck challenges.  It was cold to say the least, but we did it!  So glad we can mark that project as done, plus it was super fun to do it as a family!  We also made treats for all of our Independence High School fellow freshmen.  Jonathan and I went around town delivering treats to all of our friends.  So much fun!

When it was all said and done Jonathan was relaxed and ready to begin his High School career.  Too bad Mom wasn't ready.

Happy Graduation - Someone Get the Garstka Girls a Pool

 Ally and Madison loved the pool so much that we almost couldn't get them out.  Kelly and Tony were hungry.  I didn't really stop to eat.  However, if I had stopped to eat, I'm sure that the bird/rabbit food would have been amazing.  (As stated in an earlier post, Fred wanted Chick-fil-a.) However, our finger food left them starving and they were ready to go to dinner.  I was trying to shoo these precious girls out of the pool and they could not stop diving, flipping and swimming.  

While I was trying to clean up, they would yell out to me to watch.  Not only was I supposed to watch, but Madison wanted me to sit very still and watch.  She told me that she would KNOW if I wasn't watching.  Is this girl kin to Angela Garstka, or what?

Ally and Madison have to be the two most photogenic girls in the world.  They are even photogenic while they are in the water.  I am so jealous!  

We just can't get enough of these two.