Getting To Know You

A Few Moments with our New Members – Stephanie Forbes

If you ask Stephanie Forbes to tell you a little about herself, the busy wife, mom and volunteer will tell you she’s trying to figure out what she wants to do when she grows up.

Stephanie and husband Jeff live in Penn Laird with daughters Samantha (9) and Sabrina (4).  A former speech pathologist, Stephanie resigned before Sabrina was born to be a stay-at-home mom.  As is the case with many “at-home” moms, this label doesn’t exactly fit, since she is often on the move outside the home.  On Sunday mornings, you’ll find her helping with the preschool Sunday school class. She is the secretary of the Cub Run Elementary School PTA, chair of the Reflections art program at Cub Run and coordinator of art fundraisers there.  Stephanie is also a Girl Scout leader whose troop has been meeting at MPC for four years.  “My husband thinks I’m insane,” she quips, “and that I need to learn to say ‘no.’”

Stephanie also spends a good deal of time helping her daughters to pursue their passions. Samantha has been dancing for almost eight years and sings in both the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir and MPC’s Joy Song choir.  Sabrina does ballet and loves tumbling and gymnastics.  When not volunteering or engaged in her daughters’ extracurricular activities, Stephanie enjoys crafts, running and golf – a sport she picked up from her husband, the JMU men’s golf coach.  “I think the first gift he ever gave me was a set of golf clubs,” she says laughing.   “I used to go with him when he golfed, but I’d sit in the cart and read.”  Inspired by Jeff’s love of the sport and the fact that she always thought golf courses were beautiful, she gave it a try and has enjoyed it ever since.

Raised Episcopalian by her family in Manassas, Stephanie attended Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg for almost 20 years after moving to the area to attend JMU.  But between her daughters’ experience at Massanutten Preschool and her years of Girl Scout meetings at our church, MPC felt more familiar to her.  “I know the Leggetts really well because Rachel’s in my troop,” Stephanie says. “But beyond that, I’ve never felt as comfortable anywhere else as I do here.  This felt like home right away.  And it really helps when your kids are asking you to go to church rather than begging to stay home.”  Stephanie joined our church family in October, 2011.

Now that’s she’s settled into her church home, Stephanie has more decisions to make. Once Sabrina starts kindergarten, she may explore a new vocation.  Growing up, she was very interested in teaching art until her mother, a former special education teacher, inspired her to pursue speech pathology.  She earned a master’s degree in that field and liked the work, but is enjoying her Cub Run art activities so much that she may reconsider her career options.

Whatever she decides to do “when she grows up,” we are thrilled that Stephanie and her daughters have made MPC their home and are pleased to receive them into our church family.  Welcome Stephanie!