December 2006
Seasons Greetings, Happy Hanukkah,
Merry Christmas, &
Happy New Year
The Fortney's
Pammy & Jimmy, Matt Strock,
Autumn & Riley, Matthew & Reggie
As you can see, we have a new member to our family - REGGIE. Our beloved Nittany [in this 1997 Christmas picture) passed away on New Years Eve day 2005. We were blessed to have had Nittany in our family from September 10, 1994 until December 31, 2005. It was a very hard day for us to say goodbye and we were all so sad, but we understood what was going on, unlike poor Riley. He was just lost without his best buddy and kept vigilance at the backdoor all day and night, waiting for Nittany to come home. It broke our hearts. I did some research on the internet and contacted the Potomac Lab Kennel Club - Rescue Adopt-A-Lab program. We adopted Reggie on January 8, 2006. Since then Reggie has had not 1, but 2 bowel obstruction surgeries due to his "cotton habit" from eating too many socks, wash cloths and rags. His first surgery was 2 weeks after we adopted him and his latest surgery was October 7th. However, The Boys are doing great and just love each other so much.
The week after Reggie's surgery, Jimmy and I headed down to Austin, TX, for The Ride For The Roses. Because of Jimmy's fund raising efforts for LAF, he and his partner, Jeff Lau, were invited to Austin for the weekend festivities and to ride with Lance. Jeff was unable to make it due to family obligations, so I volunteered to go along. We had a fantastic weekend and it was awesome to meet Lance and have our picture taken with him. He signed 3 items: a book, our fundraising poster and Jimmy's Discovery Team jersey, which Jimmy had other Discovery Team members sign at the 2005 Tour de Georgia. On Sunday was the special ride. I have pictures of Jimmy riding right to the left of Lance, but Jake Gyllenhall's big head is in the way. Most of you know what happened, if I have your email address, but a very, very long story short … Jimmy had an accident at Mile 60 rest stop and we ended up staying an extra week in Austin for Jimmy to have emergency hip replacement surgery. At least he had his ride with Lance before his accident. Our family picture, above, is entitled HIPSTRONG … a play on the LIVESTRONG bracelets. You'll notice Jimmy's walker. This was taken the Sunday after we got home from Austin. Well he got rid of the walker after 2 weeks and he's doing great. He goes back to work the beginning of January after his 1-5-07 doctor's appointment. Oh yeah, he also had a minor operation on his bum in early May.
Merry Christmas, &
Happy New Year
The Fortney's
Pammy & Jimmy, Matt Strock,
Autumn & Riley, Matthew & Reggie
As you can see, we have a new member to our family - REGGIE. Our beloved Nittany [in this 1997 Christmas picture) passed away on New Years Eve day 2005. We were blessed to have had Nittany in our family from September 10, 1994 until December 31, 2005. It was a very hard day for us to say goodbye and we were all so sad, but we understood what was going on, unlike poor Riley. He was just lost without his best buddy and kept vigilance at the backdoor all day and night, waiting for Nittany to come home. It broke our hearts. I did some research on the internet and contacted the Potomac Lab Kennel Club - Rescue Adopt-A-Lab program. We adopted Reggie on January 8, 2006. Since then Reggie has had not 1, but 2 bowel obstruction surgeries due to his "cotton habit" from eating too many socks, wash cloths and rags. His first surgery was 2 weeks after we adopted him and his latest surgery was October 7th. However, The Boys are doing great and just love each other so much.
The week after Reggie's surgery, Jimmy and I headed down to Austin, TX, for The Ride For The Roses. Because of Jimmy's fund raising efforts for LAF, he and his partner, Jeff Lau, were invited to Austin for the weekend festivities and to ride with Lance. Jeff was unable to make it due to family obligations, so I volunteered to go along. We had a fantastic weekend and it was awesome to meet Lance and have our picture taken with him. He signed 3 items: a book, our fundraising poster and Jimmy's Discovery Team jersey, which Jimmy had other Discovery Team members sign at the 2005 Tour de Georgia. On Sunday was the special ride. I have pictures of Jimmy riding right to the left of Lance, but Jake Gyllenhall's big head is in the way. Most of you know what happened, if I have your email address, but a very, very long story short … Jimmy had an accident at Mile 60 rest stop and we ended up staying an extra week in Austin for Jimmy to have emergency hip replacement surgery. At least he had his ride with Lance before his accident. Our family picture, above, is entitled HIPSTRONG … a play on the LIVESTRONG bracelets. You'll notice Jimmy's walker. This was taken the Sunday after we got home from Austin. Well he got rid of the walker after 2 weeks and he's doing great. He goes back to work the beginning of January after his 1-5-07 doctor's appointment. Oh yeah, he also had a minor operation on his bum in early May.
Thank goodness Jimmy had finished the new bathroom, in the basement with a great big shower stall, before leaving for Austin. That was his summer project and he did a fantastic job! From installing the electrical & plumbing, to the tile work to putting in the shower, toilet and sink, simply a fantastic job … but the most amazing thing is he squeezed a nice size bathroom between the oil tank and the furnace. Who knew there was enough space?
After much research, rapidly declining health and a year-long process with the medical pathway at the York Hospital, I had gastric-bypass surgery on Wed. 12-13-06 and was discharged on Fri. 12-15. Jimmy has been my champion, my hero, and my angel taking such good care of me. I'm on the mend and doing great. My goal is to loose 150 lbs from my 300 lb frame. It will take about 18 months, but I do hope to have some of the weight off in time for the wedding.
THE WEDDING !!! We are in full wedding mode at the Fortney house. St. Patrick's Church and the Stone Mill Inn have been reserved, as well as the dress bought, since last June 05, but all the details are being nailed down and we are all so excited. Friday, May 25, 2007 is the big evening! The brothers of the bride and groom are the Best Man (Eric Strock) and Man of Honor (Matthew).
Matthew has been incredibly busy. Turning 21 in May was a big deal. In early December, he earned his green belt in karate. Today he had his last exam and finished his first term at Penn State York. And he's working part-time at Starbucks. We never see him. He just whizzes through the house, grabbing a shower, clothes change and out the door. He has decided to switch from a business degree to physical therapy, after Jimmy's accident. So he is now looking into switching from PSU to York College. It is less expensive for us if he would stay in York instead of transferring to main campus. Also York College has a great PT association with York Hospital.
Autumn is gearing up for her 3rd tax season. She is in her 2nd year as an accountant with Brown, Shultz, Sheridan & Fritz. On Tuesday before Thanksgiving, she took her 4th, and last, CPA exam. We are waiting on pins and needles for the results ... but I know she nailed it. She has been studying for the past 15 months for this while working 10 hour days during the regular season and 16 hour days during tax season with mandatory Saturday's. It is going to be so much easier for her to handle the 2007 tax season without having to study during every free second for the CPA exam. It'll give her plenty of time to fret over the wedding plans.
I turned 50 this year. Yes … I know … I'm getting old. But so is everyone else! My family surprised me with an awesome birthday party. I was in quite a pissy mood for a few days because they pretty much blew-off my birthday. What the Heck! How many times do you turn 50 for crying out-loud. Little did I know a huge party was in the works. It was held on August 12th at a Cobblestones [local sports restaurant/bar we enjoy]. I was totally surprised. They really pulled it off and we had so much fun.
Jimmy surprised me with a new car in November. Our Volvo is still running, which we gave to Autumn and Matt S. But it has over 225,000 miles and with commuting 60 miles every day, Jimmy wanted me in a new car. Terry Williams, our car aficionado, found us an awesome 2002 Acura TL-S, black with black leather interior & fully loaded. It rides like a bullet and everyone's putting down their bets as to when I get my first speeding ticket. So far, so good.
Well that's it for now. 2006: 5 surgeries and we're still all together! 2007: THE WEDDING!
Please send me your email address so we can stay in touch. Pammy is
As another year comes to a close, we think of our family and friends wishing you peace, joy and love be with you all through the year and we pray for you to have a healthy, happy and prosperous 2007.