Chicago

Mike cutting my hair. His shop is called "The Red Rooster Salon".

Erin and me in front of the "bean sculpture".

Jackson at the Art Institute.

Outside Lincoln's tomb. We got there 5 minutes before they closed it.

Jackson outside Lincoln's law office. Lincoln told his partner to keep his name on it because he would come back to work there when his time as president was over.

Jackson in front of Lincoln's home where he lived with Mary and two of his sons.

Inside the Lincoln's home. This is the parlor.

Jackson and Frankie playing on the front porch. I never got a picture of her smiling!

Jackson in downtown Riverside. He was cold!


Frankie, Erin and Jackson eating ice cream at Grumpy's.

Jackson walking up to the "bean sculpture".

Recently Jackson and I took a trip to Chicago to visit my long time friend Erin. Last time I went I took Grace with me, so this time it was Jack's turn. He was super nervous about flying, but handled it like a champ. Although he kept his window closed and would only peek out once in a while. We visited with Erin, her husband Mike and their little daughter Frankie. As you can see in the pictures, Erin is expecting a little boy in August so we had to get our visit in early in the summer so that she would be up for all the tourist stuff with us.

Erin lives in a suburb of Chicago called Riverside. If you ever saw the movie "The Lakehouse" with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves then you saw several parts of their neighborhood. We walked past where Sandra's character's boyfriend worked, where she road the train and Keanu chased after her...stuff like that.

One of our favorite places to go is the ice cream shop - Grumpy's - that we walk to from her house. We also went down town to Millineum Park where they have the cool "bean" sculpture. I have no idea what the real name of it is, but it's kinda shaped like a kidney bean. We also went to the Art Institute while we were down there. It's soooo cool to see some of the most famous paintings. Jackson can even recognize stuff like American Gothic and paintings by Andy Warhol.

One of the days we were there Erin and Mike both had to work, so Jackson and I borrowed the car and took a day trip over to Springfield where we toured Lincoln's home, law offices and tomb. There's also a museum there and a lot of other cool stuff. Jack learned about Lincoln in school this year so he thought it was all pretty interesting. He especially liked when we were in Lincoln's home and the tour guide told us to follow him up the stairs, then added that the railing was original so if we held onto it as we walked up, we would be touching something that Abraham Lincoln touched. Jackson made sure to slide his hand all the way up it.

All in all it was a really fun trip and Mike even cut my hair for me which was super cool of him, since that's all he does all day. It's always wonderful to see Erin. Now that we are grown, we hardly get to talk anymore, but I love how we can pick up like the little girls that we once were whenever we need to. And of course, little Frankie is still the cutest thing ever!!

It's summer, so I'm back

It's been ages since I've posted anything. Life has been rather crazy these past few months. So, I will try to up date this a little more over the summer.

Some of the posts that will be coming up...Jackson vs. Baseball, Grace as Barbara Mandrell, Chicago, Jackson turned 8, and more.

Stay tuned!

Double Digits

So my baby - my first born - my sweet little angel is 10!

Grace turned 10 years old on January 19th. I'm just now writing about it, because I just now got the picture of her. This year she had a Secret Garden party. If you've ever read the book "The Secret Garden", then you know about little Mary and the robin led her to find the key to the garden that had been closed up for more than a decade. How she brought life back to her ill cousin by taking him to the garden and exercising and how Dickon showed her how to play with animals and love others. If you never read it, then you missed out on one of the greatest books ever written - especially for little girls.

So Philip made her a cake with the rose vines on it (like on the cover of the book). We played games where the girls had to find the hidden key, or see who could jump rope the longest or who could "pin the center on the flower". Each girl had a flower name and they all painted little flower pots and planted marigold seeds in them. We even had sandwiches cut into flower shapes! It was very girly and fun.

Little "baby Grace" is growing up and we are having to talk about all that comes with it. Wow! I'm still not ready for that, but she will be a teenager sooner than I know it.

Treasure your times with your baby girls - they'll be women before you know it!

Finally!

So just over three years ago, I was sitting at a stop light and the light turned green. I began to go - only to realize (too late) that the car in front of me was not going. So I bumped him. If you've ever wondered why my license plate is crooked - now you know. His car wasn't even scratched, but apparently his back was nearly broken. A week after this accident he felt back pain and went to a back doctor who told him to call a lawyer. Needless to say I was sued. And as of Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 I can finally put behind me the accident I had on Tuesday, December 20th, 2005!!!

So after a full day of talking to the judge, selecting the jury, testifying, waiting for deliberations and all that stuff I'm finally done with it. And the lovely gentleman got his money - except he got $400 less than what was offered to him to settle last week.

So fine - the jury said I was negligent - but he still didn't get what he wanted.

Greed will get you no where! Especially when you are up against the prayers of God's people.

Pictures from our year

The Forester Family 2008

The Forester cousins. Adam, Grace, Jackson and Peyton

Santa brought a Wii!

Cici even got her own stocking

Thanksgiving in Graham. This is my cousin Jane Anne with her youngest daughter, Jaycie.

One of the crazy new co-workers I mentioned

Swimming with the Lamberts

Saying goodbye to Don as he leaves for Washington

Saying farewell to the SGHS Colonels

Happy Harry Potter Birthday Jackson!

A Look Back

So 2008 is over and I thought I would take a moment to look back at the year and forward some to the future before I start my work for today.

Here is a list of some of the things I did this past year...

• We brought home Cici, the tiny white puppy on New Year's Day. She quickly became a member of our family, and I became a lover of at least one dog. Grace turned nine in January. She had a Luau slumber party. She is becoming a tweenie. Those little girls all sang along with the High School Musical gang with enthusiasm.


• In February my dad, Don, scared us to death after falling and hitting his head. We thought he was having a stroke, but it turned out to be fluid on his brain. He did have surgery to take care of the problem and it took him several weeks to recover, but he is doing well now.


• In March Jackson became a christian. We had several talks and he really understood what he was doing and very much wanted to make that decision. His Grandad (Philip's father) came over to baptize him as he had done with Grace.


• Also in March we had to move my parents into assisted living. My mother had been have confusing health problems over the past months and the doctors finally decided that she was suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig's ). It was a hard thing to have to move them, but it allowed us to be close enough to take care of their needs.


• April brought us Jackson's 7th birthday. He had a host of wild boys over for a Harry Potter birthday. They played crazy games and made pipe cleaner glasses.


• May was the month that I will never forget. On Mother's Day my mother passed away. It was unexpected. We knew she had a terminal illness, but believed that she still had years left. Her passing was something that has changed my life forever. I will miss her always.


• June was another tough month. My dad (who is actually my step-father) moved away to Spokane. He has daughters who live up there and felt it was time to be with them again.


• July...honestly the summer was a blur...there was a lot of introspection and just being. I would not have made it through without Jenn and the boys hanging out with us at the pool.


• August brought me to a new job. I was thrilled to be moving to my Alma mater, GHS. There are some great kids there and a great staff. Some of the people I work with have encouraged me and I have enjoyed many amazing conversations. There are also some rather crazy teachers there who have kept me entertained.


• September was a blur of learning my way around a new curriculum and a busy life of baseball and viola practice. We also said goodbye to a little girl who touched many, many lives.


• October was more of the blur. I took a trip to Atlanta. We had Halloween. Philip continued to spend a great deal of time with other committee members searching for a new youth minister and I spent time with other committee members discussing the future of our church.


• November brought my first attempt to dance on stage, as well as Thanksgiving. We went to my Aunt's house this year in Graham. That was very nice. Usually we spend most of Thanksgiving with the Foresters, but they were meeting in North Carolina this year and that was just too much of a trip for us. Aunt Jane invited us to her house. I hadn't spent a Thanksgiving with them since I was a teenager and it was very comforting to be with people who not only understood my sadness at missing my mother, but missed her just as much.


• And finally December. I was dreading Christmas this year. I knew it would not be the same as any other and I wasn't sure how I would handle it. But, it went well. The kids were thrilled that Santa brought them a Wii. (Philip was too...) We had a great time with Philip's family (despite the fact that some of them were very disappointed with my presidential choice). We even went to a Star's game on New Year's Eve and I watched my son become a real sports fan.

Over all this has been a tough year, but there have also been a lot of good things. I have hopes for 2009. I pray that we will grow in the Lord and make the choices that He desires for us. I also pray that the Lord will bless you.

Happy New Year!