Forester Forum

Chicago

2009-07-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-02T09:28:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

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!

That's My Girl!

2008-12-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

So the viola classes are a hit. Grace had her first round of performances with her strings class this past week. She performed at the Plaza in old downtown Garland and at Northpark Mall. They played songs like "Jingle Bells", "Ode to Joy" and a few others. I have to say, I was very impressed. They sounded great! I will admit that I had the expectation of going and hearing a lot of out of tune music. (Flashback to episodes of the Cosby Show, when the family watched Vanessa play the clarinet...) But these 4th and 5th graders sounded beautiful. She's really enjoying it and I'm getting a little less nervous about taking care of this instrument.

Benny $ the Fits

2008-11-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

Every year GHS teachers put on a show for the students. This was my first year there and I remember how cool I thought it was when I was a student that the teachers were willing to make fools of themselves to entertain us.

Philip and I did our own rendition as Johnny and June doing "Jackson". It was alright except that part where WE FORGOT THE WORDS! But, we recovered and it was fine.

The biggest surprise was that I let one of my teacher friends talk me into joining her and some others in a hip-hop dance routine.

My friend Jenn came to cheer for me and she recorded it. If you go to her blogspot (it's Lambert Mom on my side bar) you can watch us "crunk". I'm second from the end on the right. The one who still has no idea how to cabbage patch!

This is the deal

2008-11-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

This is our next president. I voted for him. I need all of my friends and fellow church members to stop bashing him. The thing is that I was doing what God told me to do. He told me several times that I was to vote for Barack Obama. He told me before Obama had even announced that he was running.

I have almost always voted straight republican ticket in the past, but this time I knew that I could not do that. I cannot listen to those around me - I must listen to God.

I know some of you are very upset about his win, but I can't listen to you talk about it anymore. I have to say also, that I was shocked by how some of my christian friends behaved during this campaign. I received e-mails telling me how bad Obama is, I had people just assuming that I felt the same and saying terrible things about this man - this human being - to me, I even had fellow adult church members saying very unkind things about him to my children.

So, I'm writing this post to say that I voted for Barack Obama and I am thrilled that he won and whatever happens in the next four years will happen. My prayer is that he will do what God asks of him. But, I can only pray for that. I have learned that people make their own choices. I voted for George W. Bush assuming that he would do what God asked of him and I don't believe that he did. I believe he listened to other people - not God. So, you see, it doesn't matter if our president is a democrat or a republican - what matters is will he do the right thing.

Will you do the right thing? In Romans 13 it says that "The authorities that exist have been established by God." I think this means that we should respect the position of president of the United States and do what God wants us to do.

I'm a New Woman

2008-11-01T10:03:00.001-07:00

Grace and Cici

Jackson, Cici and Brooke

Her favorite blanket

Happy Birthday Cici!

This is our dog, Cici. Today is Cici's unofficial 1st birthday. (We don't know what day she was actually born - we've always just known it was around the first of November.)

If you know me well, then you know I'm not a dog person. I don't like the way they smell, the way they bark, and especially the way they jump on me. But, my daughter Grace LOVES dogs, and when she was four years old she asked if she could have a dog when she was eight. I said sure, figuring she would forget all about it by then. But, of course, she did not.

So, on New Year's Day (a couple of weeks before Grace turned nine) we brought home Cici. She was eight weeks old and small enough to fit inside her food bowl. She also won me over - big time. I tell people about her all the time.

Cici is a little white dachshund - which makes her a bit of a conversation piece. We can't take her anywhere without people stopping us to look at her. She's super sweet and even though she still won't fully house train, I totally adore her. She has definitely been the best thing to happen to us this year.

So, for all of you who have been waiting for me to be more comfortable around your dogs

(Jenn and Erin),

you have Cici to thank.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CICI BLOOM!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

This year Halloween was quite relaxed. The kids were ready to trick-or-treat a full hour and a half before it started getting dark. Grace was Sharpay from High School Musical and Jackson was a clone trooper from Star Wars.

Jackson was very excited to go to any houses that seemed especially scary. Grace on the other hand, was not thrilled about those places. One house had a couple dressed in costumes. The man was a werewolf and Jackson decided to run across the street and shoot him with his blaster. He had to talk himself into it, but I think the idea of being able to tell his friends the next day that he had done it was motivation enough. Grace on the other hand chose to stay on the other side of the street. She also decided that she was tired and went back to the house to stay with Daddy and pass out the candy, while Jack and I hit up some more houses. He was very thrilled to find the house where they give out the full-size candy bars!

So, we hope you all had a Happy Halloween as well. Don't eat too much candy!

Waiting for the Great Pumpkin

2008-10-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

Project Runway

2008-10-20T16:56:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you are a Project Runway fan, but I have been for the last few seasons. Usually they choose the person I think should win, but the last couple of seasons I have soooo disagreed. This time was the biggest mistake yet. They chose Leeann. Now, she's done some good stuff, but she has nothing on Korto. I mean, what woman wouldn't love to have this dress. The color alone wins the contest - hands down.

Come on Tim Gunn!!!!! I know you liked her collection the best too - admit it.

Georgia on My Mind

2008-10-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Atlanta International School

All IB K-12

So, I've spent the last few days in Atlanta, Georgia for training. One of the new courses I teach now at Garland High School is IB Psychology. IB stands for International Baccalaureate, its a special diploma program that allows students to graduate with a lot of college credit that can be transferred internationally. The goal of the IB organization is to create students who are not just smart, but are caring and service-minded and culturally aware. It's not a bad thing. The training on the other hand is a bit of a beating.

Sitting for hours in the same seat with a few breaks interspersed is soooo exhausting. Plus, there comes a point where I just have to say, "I've got too much information!". I have to say, I was a bit overwhelmed. I think, rather than making me feel more prepared for what I have to undergo this year, it made me feel more terrified. There is a lot of responsibility. And - scariest of all - I have to go back and learn STATISTICS. Arrrrggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!

On a more pleasant note. I did get to visit with Chris and Wendy Trent and their kids. Chris was our youth minister at Northlake for several years and they were great friends. I hated when they moved away, but I can see why they did it. Their church is great (although huge!), their house is lovely and their backyard is AWESOME. Dylan and Abby were cute as ever. I will say, I'm partial to Abby - she talks non-stop and says a lot of very funny stuff.

I'm very glad to be home even though I have tons of work to do. Amazing how the house doesn't seem to clean itself when I'm gone....

Sweetie

2008-09-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a happy post in a while. There are many things on my mind these days. There's been a lot of introspection these months following my mom's death. There's been a lot of soul searching about my current feelings toward my church home. There's been a lot of learning and change at my new school. BUT...

I wanted to blog about something that makes me very happy. This is Frankie Grace. She is the daughter of my best friend Erin. Erin and her husband Mike waited a long time for her arrival. And when she finally came, she arrived quickly and was the Christmas present that they will never forget.

I've only been able to see her in person once when she was about three months old I guess. But, I'm determined to find my way to Chicago this summer if I have to push my way to the front of the line. If you haven't guessed - everybody wants to get time with her!

She's the cutest thing in the world. Erin sends pictures often and they always make me laugh. Not only does she remind me of Victoria (if you know me very well, you know about the "third" child I had during the two years I stayed home), but she has brought this smile to Erin's face that I'm not sure I've ever seen before. And, I've known Erin since she was 4 - so I've seen a lot of different smiles.

So, that's what makes me happy. I love that, even though I don't get to see my dear childhood friend more than once a year, I can know that her heart is overflowing.

Keep those picture coming! Lovell you!!!

Good bye for now

2008-09-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

Krista Erin Brewer went home to be with the Lord Wednesday night. The funeral was today and it was really beautiful. I have never seen so many pink flowers in all my life. Almost everyone attending the funeral wore pink in her honor as well.

Many, many lives were touched by this little girl. They spoke often of her being an angel. The pastor who spoke at the service told us that the word "angel" means "messenger". He asked us to think about what message Krista had delivered to us. I would have to say, for me, it was a message about enjoying the little things in life and taking the time to spend together. So often I am too busy or too tired to play a board game with my kids or just take them to the park or something. I will work harder to relax more often with them and enjoy our time together. One can never know when that time might end.

Thank you for giving me that message Krista. And, thank you for not making me wear another black dress. Our family has spent far too much time at that cemetery in the last year. I hope that this next year has less of a valley and more of a peak to it.

CHECK THIS OUT

2008-09-11T17:43:00.001-07:00

This is the house, or what's left of the house, that belongs to my sister-in-law's parents. Lisa is married to Philip's brother Sam. They live next door to her parents in Tioga, Louisiana. That's close to Pineville which is close to Alexandria.

This is what Gustav did for them when it came through central Louisiana. Isn't that unbelievable? Thankfully, the Lord had them waiting out the storm in another room of the house, so no one was hurt.

They had just finished having the kitchen remodeled. That door you see is the kitchen door. Looks like they're going to be getting a lot more than new cabinets now.

Strings are $20 each!

2008-09-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

So Grace is in fourth grade and at her school that means she gets to choose a stringed instrument to learn to play. She chose the viola. Actually, she chose the bass, but when we saw how much that was going to cost and how big it really is we talked her in to something smaller.

So, she's very excited and we went to a meeting with her teacher Thursday night to learn about how she needs to be practicing and all that good stuff.

Can I just say, "What was I thinking?". Do you know how many times as the teacher was showing the parents the different parts of the viola she used the phrase, "Now, this part can break VERY EASILY and is VERY EXPENSIVE to repair."? Too many times to count. Oh my.

Let me just say that Jackson has been ordered to not even touch the case.

The Family Grows

2008-08-30T06:44:00.001-07:00

It's official - I am really old. Or at least I feel that way, now that I have a new title - Great Aunt Kelley. That's right. My beautiful neice, Audrey, has become a mom. This is her with her husband Eric and their new baby girl, Anita Michelle.

Of course this also means that my brother Martin (Wayne to some of you) is even older than me because he has the new title of Grandaddy!

The First Week

2008-08-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of school is over and I'm exhausted. I'm very thankful that we get a three-day weekend right off the bat!

The students at Garland High School are great as well as the administration. I'm still trying to learn the ins and outs of life there (like when the bells ring!) but I think I'm gonna like it. Plus, I had a great moment of encouragement to keep at it, when after school the second day I got a visit from one of my student's who graduated last year from South Garland. He's one of those kids who was on the wrong path when I first met him his junior year, but he is now working hard to improve his life and was anxious to share with me how his summer went and that he's taking college classes. I was thrilled and very proud.

Grace's first week was good too. She actually said she had fun the first day and was excited about going back for a second day. Of course when we get to like day 84 she might not be so excited anymore, but this is a good start! We have acquired a viola for her to begin learning. I'm sooo looking forward to being able to listen to her practice on it every day. Maybe we'll finally get Cici to sing for us. (I've been trying to get our puppy to "sing", but nothing works. Not even singing "You Are My Sunshine" off key.)

Jackson's first week wasn't quite as great. Well at least not the first day. It seems my precious little boy is growing up and apparently when boys grow up it means they get in more trouble at school. He got a note sent home the FIRST DAY! Apparently jumping on chairs was not specifically expressed to him as a no-no. He also confessed that he thought you couldn't get in trouble on the first day.

Philip's first week was good - I think. He has a lot of good kids and they are already hard at work on the 2008-2009 year book. Of course his week and mine were improved by our Wednesday night outing to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. So much fun and interesting to see that we were in fact among the younger people there. Which made it all the more interesting to smell that lovely aroma wafting down when Petty went into "Last Dance with MaryJane". It was as if they thought the song was giving them permission. I was a more than a little annoyed to have to worry about those old people making my hair smell bad.

In conclusion, I have to say the week was not bad. A little hectic and VERY sleepy but overall a good time. I'm looking forward to seeing how the year turns out as a whole. I better get lots of rest this Labor Day weekend - I think I'm gonna need it.

Hail Garland High School...

2008-08-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has finally come. I am back where I started. But, now I'm on the other side of the desk. I am officially a teacher at Garland High school, my alma mater. I have to say that as a student there, I had little school pride. But, as I have been around a few other schools since, I have come to appreciate the specialness of GHS.

I'm also very excited to be working at the same campus as my husband. Attending games will be a lot less complicated now. And, I have the privilege of working with a few of the outstanding educators that taught me as a teen.

It is strange seeing all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on - faculty rooms and teacher meetings - but I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly.

Braggin' Rights

2008-08-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have to take a moment from my vacation to brag on my children.

Grace is the artist. Last night I was at the beach with her and I told her we were going to leave in about 10 minutes. She quickly went to work finishing this "sculpture" that she had just started. This is her dolphin that she made by mounding up the sand. She was quite proud of herself. And, frankly, I was impressed.

Then there's Jackson. He went with his dad and Grandad on a little fishing trip this morning. They caught 15 fish! A total of 85 pounds. Jack caught two reds himself and then after having to have help hauling them in he switched to being the net man. The three of them caught 10 reds, 4 black drums and one flounder. (The flounder was most exciting to Grace. She's fascinated with the idea of a flat fish.) We asked Jack what his favorite part of it all was and he answered, "all of it".

They finally got me

2008-08-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

This is the 12th year that I have come to Port Aranasas, TX for summer vacation. Every year I have a fear. A fear that has never been realized...until now.

A couple of years ago almost everyone who came to the beach with me was stung, but I managed to stay clear. This year there was no sign of any thing scary in the water. I was splashing along with Philip enjoying myself. I thought I had walked through some seaweed - until my leg was suddenly screaming at me in pain and I reached down to pull the "seaweed" off and realized that I had just pulled a sea jelly off of my leg! Of course I went running out of the water yelling "ow! ow! ow!". Man do those things hurt!!

I would put a picture of my leg, but 1) I don't know how to get a picture off of my camera and onto this blog yet and 2) I don't think it would look that impressive. The sting (or searing pain) was worse than the mark.

But, I do feel better now knowing that I have survived one of my fears and lived to tell about it. Now, I just have to keep shuffling my feet and watch out for those sting rays...

Krista

2008-08-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is my cousin Justin Brewer and his youngest daughter Krista. She's eleven years old and has spent all of her life fighting off a variety of brain tumors. She's an amazing girl, but the fight is getting long for her and the family is having to come to terms with the end, very possibly, being near. Last month they found, yet another, mass on her brain. This time it is on her brain stem and they feel their options are extremely limited. They have actually given her about six months at best.

What's most amazing to me is her mother, Janice. Janice has kept a website going for sometime with updates on Krista's health. Her posts are always very confident and fully relying on God. As a matter of fact, that's their motto "FROG". That may be why Krista has so many stuffed frogs now, I don't know. Any ways, the last few posts have really shown how worn down she is getting. So, if you are reading this I would love for you to say a prayer for Krista and her family right now. Justin is her dad, her mom is Janice and her big sister is Shelby.

Also, go to her website http://www.kristabrewer.com/ and read about all the benefits that have been planned for her and if you feel led, you can even donate money. After about 4 brain surgeries and countless hospital stays you can imagine what their doctor bills must be like!

Sylvia

2008-07-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

I went to a funeral today for the woman who was my children's minister at church growing up. She was an amazing woman. One of the things most people remembered about her was her love of butterflies. She collected them and had them all around her office. She said that we are like butterflies in that we are like icky worms until we accept Jesus's forgiveness and then his grace makes us beautiful.

He makes us butterflies.

summer lovin'

2008-07-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Some days they are the best of friends and then someone snaps.