Walking with the Forbes

I love this story and thought I would share it. I have read it many times.


The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.
The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and
failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
'We must do something about father,' said the son.
'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.
' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family.. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:
a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands.You nee d to be able to throw something back sometimes.

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you
But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Mattee had her book reading and program for 2nd grade yesterday. Her book was about "The Mean Old Witch". Her little book was amazing and I had to ask her a couple of times "are you sure you wrote this yourself?" I was amazed at the wording she used and her pictures she drew. I am so proud of my little Mattee. Her teacher made the comment that she was her best student and that in all her teaching years she has never seen any close friends as Mattee and Cassidy. She enjoys her best friend Cassidy. Her teacher also mentioned that this years class has been the most acheived mathmeticians she has ever had. Mattee has grown throughout the year. She has gotten almost all A's as her grades. She amazes us every day at how smart, intellegent, independent, loving, and how sweet she is. I am so proud of you my baby doll. Congratulations on graduating from 2nd grade. I love you....Mommy

To my wonderful husband. A day does not go by that I don't thank the Lord for bringing you into my life and for the love that we share. You are a blessing in my life and I cherish every moment we spend together. You have given me four beautifl and healthy daughters whom I love and adore. You are a wonderful father and husband who cares about his girls more than anything in this world. You show us happiness, laughs, love, jokes and always throw us surprises. You are the love of my life and I am truely grateful that we will spend forever times together and watch eachother grown old and our children have babies of their own. Love you Sparky!

I have two magnets on the fridge that are veggies made of cloth but the magnet is inside the cloth. Avree love to sit and play with them. She will take them off and try to put them in the dishwasher, oven, fridge. She takes them off and puts them back on the fridge over and over again. She also loves to comb her hair. I give her the big comb as you can see and she will comb her hair and then set a bow on top of her head. She is so stinkin cute!!!!

We had Avree's birthday party last weekend and had a wonderful visit with family. Most of all we enjoyed observing Avree squish her cake, smear it in her hair and on her face, and eating as much as she could. Thank you for coming and showering her with realy cute gifts. Our cam corder wasn't working so we have to be a miniture cake this weekend just to record her fun with cake. On a note... there was a dragon fly on our entrance wall of outside. Every dragon fly that hangs around us we call it Oma'. So Oma' was visiting us on her special day. I stroked her back and she would just sit there. I love dragon fly's.

Marilyn's mother had a family reunion last weekend. We all met in Orem at Chuck-A-Rama and had a yummy dinner. It was fun that we could support grandma. She was so proud of us all for coming. We love you!

My sweet little Avree turned "1" already on May 30th. How is this possible? Didn't I just give birth to her a few months ago! She is such a joy in our lives. She makes us laugh daily and amazes us at how smart and observant she is. She is stubborn at times when she wants her way but dang her little frustrated expressions are the cutest. She is a blessing to her dad, mom and sisters. We cannot imagine her not being a part of our family. We love you with all of our hearts Avree.

Daddy, Mommy, Kelsee, Mattee