* They’ve grown-up eating and cooking Southern food that would impress any top-notch chef. * In the words of Hank Williams, they “can catch catfish from dusk ’til dawn” and “skin a buck.”(In other words, they all still have their Man Cards.) * They all have an abundance of great people-skills, mixed with interesting stories and funny one-liners. * They’ve been blessed with a strong FAITH and God-given musical talent.
But, with 8 boys in a row, there’s ONE thing the Fortners didn’t have…
I received a text from my friend, Kate, asking if I wanted to trade-out family photos. I was so happy to… pull my camera back out, catch-up with her family, get out of my apartment and, of course, get new family photos!
Here’s a few from our session together…
Gotta’ grab an extra shot of lil’ Ruthie-Ru, just for fun!
Eleven years ago, my mom planned our first trip to pick strawberries. We all loved it SO much, we continued the tradition each season.
During my time in Arkansas (even though it was kind-of sad), I tried to continue our strawberry-picking tradition. So naturally, with us ALL back together in Georgia now, we KNEW we couldn’t miss an opportunity to make NEW memories!
With many of the other strawberry patches either closed completely or not allowing ‘you pick’ this year (curbside pick-up only), we went to Mitcham Farm in Oxford. The strawberries were beautiful! The animals were a bonus! But the HOT strawberry donuts (deep fried and crispy with a strawberry icing melting on the top), boiled peanuts, watermelons, strawberry ice cream and strawberry slushy made it WORTH the drive!
TIPS: * Don’t forgot to call or check social media sites before going to any patch. Normally, they only open based on availability (…and may close early).
* If you’re looking for fun PHOTOGRAPHS: … LIGHTING is KEY! Ideally, choose a clear day and go either in the EVENING or MORNING. Make sure the sun is behind the person you’re photographing. (These images have a lot of unnecessary facial shadows because we met at 1pm and the sun was, unfortunately, directly above us.) … Isles can get crowded with other pickers (which isn’t ideal for photos). Often, I’ll lead my kids to empty areas (even if they are out-of-the-way) where there are no other people (aka: distractions). …My mom always brings pretty baskets. They supply plastic containers with their logo, but we use wooden (yard sale) baskets until we check out. … To all the MOTHERS out there, as ALWAYS, GET IN THE PHOTOS!!! Set your automatic timer, ask a stranger or take a selfie. But, your kids will want to remember YOU being there with them! … Be mindful of clothes. I RARELY say a word about how my kids dress. However, for strawberry picking, I do try to be more mindful about their colors and selections. (This year, for example, Ross spent the night with his cousin and I didn’t realize he had on a logo-shirt. You can see in the first photo, I’m actually using my hand to kind-of ‘hide’ the font where it didn’t take-away from the image.)
* Instead of allowing each child to gather as many as they’d like (and being shocked when it’s time to pay), we always tell the kids to “find 10 perfect strawberries!” Yes, it always turns into WAY more than 10, but with 5 kids, it’s a good place to start (because all those baskets add up quickly)!
Hope this helps! Tag me on FB if your family goes! I LOVE seeing photos!
SUMMARY: You don’t have to share all of Michelle Obama’s political views to enjoy this book. Because, guess what? This book isn’t really political. Although she certainly shares personal stories centered around hate, mistreatment and hurt, the FOCUS of this book is how she used all of her life’s experiences to learn, grow and encourage others.
I’ve never listened to an audiobook before, but I picked-up this audio-book from my library and LOVED hearing Michelle Obama tell her own stories in her own words. On a side-note, there were SOOOOOOO many wonderful quotes to feature; but, because I had to pull-off the side of the road to make notes, I could only list a few.
My favorite things about this book was her honesty and transparency. She talked very openly about struggles in her marriage. She was so transparent about the hurt, fear and resentment that came along with having a traveling (followed by extremely successful) husband. She also spoke about her fears in motherhood. She talked about boundaries, guilt and feeling like she couldn’t be everything to everyone. I also LOVED getting a first-hand ‘look’ into the good and bad of politics, media and the White House.
QUICK FACTS: Faith-based? No Easy read? Yes! Age group? Appropriate for teens and up (My kids really enjoyed listening during a 24-hour road-trip)
“Failure is a feeling long before it’s an actual result.”
“I grew up with a disabled dad in a too-small house with not much money in a starting-to-fail neighborhood, and I also grew up surrounded by love and music in a diverse city in a country where an education can take you far. I had nothing or I had everything. It depends on which way you want to tell it.”
“I was determined to be someone who told the truth, using my voice to lift up the voiceless when I could, and to not disappear on people in need. I understood that when I showed up somewhere,”
“It hurts to live after someone has died. It just does. It can hurt to walk down a hallway or open the fridge. It hurts to put on a pair of socks, to brush your teeth. Food tastes like nothing. Colors go flat. Music hurts, and so do memories. You look at something you’d otherwise find beautiful–a purple sky at sunset or a playground full of kids–and it only somehow deepens the loss. Grief is so lonely this way.”
“I’ve learned that it’s harder to hate up close.”
“I didn’t want them ever to believe that life began when the man of the house arrived home. We didn’t wait for Dad. It was his job now to catch up with us.”
“If I were to start a file on things nobody tells you about until you’re right in the thick of them, I might begin with miscarriages. A miscarriage is lonely, painful, and demoralizing almost on a cellular level. When you have one, you will likely mistake it for a personal failure, which it is not. Or a tragedy, which, regardless of how utterly devastating it feels in the moment, it also is not. What nobody tells you is that miscarriage happens all the time, to more women than you’d ever guess, given the relative silence around it.”
“For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others. And here is what I have to say, finally: Let’s invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.”
“I’ve smiled for photos with people who call my husband horrible names on national television, but still want a framed keepsake for their mantel.”
Can we all just agree this season has had some challenges?
Personally, I’ve struggled with not carving-out (much-needed) alone time, which has always resulted in me feeling over-whelmed and under-appreciated.
I’ve also been reminded that, just because I’m around my people all day, it doesn’t mean we’re actually getting good, healthy, quality time together.
With a handful of daily challenges, my family desperately NEEDED to #GetBackOut ! So while the boys were in the barbershop, the girls and I planned a Photo Adventure around downtown Loganville!
GAME: Each person gets 5 minutes with the camera to go anywhere and take anyone’s photo!
When we sat down to eat dinner and asked “What was your ROSE and THORN from today?”, Ruthie said, “My rose was TAKING PICTURES!”
Rayna and I agreed! That was the BEST part of our day too!
I’m convinced Matthew would do just about anything for me. But every birthday when I tell him I’d like a professional photography session of our family, he just smiles and says, “Ohhhh, YOU just need to take them!”
If I insisted, I know he’d agree. But at this point, it’s just become a funny tradition. (A tradition that, for-the-record, NEVER, EVER leads to a decent family photo.)
So on my birthday a few months ago, I managed to round-up some school clothes for the kids (because who needs a fun, new wardrobe when there’s not even going to be a PERSON behind the camera?) and told them to load-up for a quick ‘birthday‘ shoot down the road.
Once I set my tripod up, Ross remarked, “Once again, we’ve managed to find the cheapest photographer.”
Although I don’t have any family photos to post, here’s a few that made my birthday complete!
I love comparing images over time!
When I looked through my birthday photos and saw Ross being silly as the automatic-timer kept shooting, it made me think of when he was SO young and would jump in front of the camera…
Christy, these are beautiful of course you know I want some copies. LOL !! Pretty please & thank you, don’t have to print them out you could just private message them to me on facebook. I would like a copy of all of them if it’s okay. These are awesome !!! Love <3 you.
Debbie 🙂
BOOK: When Life Gives You Pears AUTHOR: Jeannie Gaffigan
SUMMARY: Jeannie Gaffigan (wife to comedian Jim Gaffigan) takes the reader into her journey battling a pear-sized brain tumor. Not only was this book really honest and funny, it was written in such a way the reader feels right there with her each step of the way. She is naturally quick and clever with the way she explains each difficult step in her recovery process.
YOU’LL LOVE THIS BOOK IF… The book takes an unimaginably difficult situation and transforms it into an interesting and funny story that you don’t want to put down!
.QUICK FACTS: Faith-based? The author ‘warns’ at the beginning that it IS faith-based; however, I only picked-up on a few ‘lighter’ references Easy read? Yes! (The book was SO good, I forfeited my only free day in downtown Chicago to stay inside my hotel room to finish it!) Age group: Any
