SUNDAY MEMORIES
FORREST
Okay, I hear the groans already. But I’m proud of my grandchildren and would love to 
share some of their antics with you.
We actually have two sets of grandchildren – one set from each of our daughters. And they each completed the circle with a boy and girl.
Our oldest daughter and her husband gave us our first grandchild – a boy, Forrest. They had originally thought to name him Ian Sean, but then realized that his name would, essentially, be “John (Scot) John (Irish)” and thought that wouldn’t do. So they named him Forrest.
Two weeks after his birth, the doctors discovered why he had been losing so much weight. The flap that opens between the esophagus and the stomach was closed over! He was, essentially, starving to death. So, at the tender age of two weeks, he had surgery to correct that problem. He’s not had any problems with it, since that time.
We’ve seen Forrest do some interesting things with his name: “4est” is just one of them. That was on the back of his t-shirt. I’ve seen “Forrest” with the top of the “F” curved over the remainder of his name.
When he was quite little – even before he could read – he was playing a computer game, quite correctly, and having a great time with it.
Karen tells us that when he was in elementary school, he once told her that he was the smartest kid in the class, except for “Johnny.” When she asked why not Johnny, Forrest said, “Because I haven’t told him yet.”
This picture shows him to be a bit of a monkey – climbing everywhere.
He was always interested in dinosaurs. He pretty much drew stick figures – like most small children – until it came to dinosaurs. Here is what he drew when he was just seven years old! Amazing!
He was always a lot of fun to be around.
He was, and still is, rather fussy about his hands being clean. Once when they were with us, he found a “candy” in our pantry and asked if he could have it. I told him he was welcome to have anything we had – but that particular candy had a gooey marshmallow center. He didn’t eat it. One Easter time we sent them some of those Cadbury “eggs” – you know, the ones with the gooey, runny centers. Karen told us that after he had bitten into it – and found some of that center on his hands, said. “What is THAT???!!!” and flung his hands to rid himself of that offending stuff. Fastidious.
When Karen and Brian celebrated their 20th anniversary by going to Europe to re-visit where they met and fell in love, they left Forrest (16 years old) and his sister with us for the week. We took them to Disney, of course. While at EPCOT, Forrest kept asking us if we were tired, and assured us that they would be happy to go home, rest, and come back later. I finally stopped him and asked, “Forrest – did your dad tell you that Grandpa and I were old and probably got tired easily?” When he sheepishly said yes, I assured him that we do Disney all the time and exercised regularly, and we were NOT tired! We spent all day that the park.
When Forrest was 16, a 16-year-old friend of his drew this picture of him. She complained, “did you really have to wear a plaid shirt that day?” But she titled it, “Only God Can Finish the Picture.” It’s beautiful. And she really captured his essence.
After high school, he went to Wheaton College for study. While there, he met a lovely young lady and fell in love with her. They married on July 12, 2013, and we were fortunate to be there for the event.
They are having a wonderful time together, and we are blest to have her in this family.
We are so very proud of Forrest, and thank God for his presence in our lives.
I have a cow pitcher that my mother filled with milk and we poured it over our cereal. 
(I’ve actually lost that one, but my brother found another one and I have this one to remind me. Here is a picture of the original in our dining room window) 
I also have a small pitcher that was used on the “family-style” table at our Glorieta Baptist Convention Center in Glorieta, New Mexico. They were filled with cream or milk, and several were on each table for the coffee users. 
I have another “cow” pitcher that was for the same use. 
I have a set of pitchers that Aunt Jessie picked up in Pennsylvania one time. 
Yes, they are dust-collectors as well, but they remind me of good times in my life. But I have other “treasures” as well. I had heard of Hummel figurines most of my life, but it wasn’t until we moved to Germany that they came to mean something to me. In downtown Wiesbaden, there was a most unique store. Here is a picture of the storefront. It is one huge cuckoo clock! 
But they had wonderful Hummel figurines there. Fred’s mother purchased one, and, since her death, I have it. It is a treasure.
One of the most fun treasures I have is a German nutcracker. Most of the nutcrackers you find have a smooth, rounded block of painted wood for the face. 
Old Things R New 