Home Good's :)

If you haven't been to a Home Good's store, I highly suggest you go. ASAP! They have any home decoration you can imagine, for every room in your house, even outdoors & I thought they had pretty reasonable prices. Right before Jordan & I got married, we picked out our family room furniture. At first we thought we wanted a sectional, but with the way our family room is laid out, we couldn't find one that would work. We ended up getting a 3 piece set from JCPennys - we are so glad we did, it allows for much more seating room & many different ways to arrange it. The set includes an over-sized (very comfy) chair, a loveseat & a regular size couch. We also inherited 2 of Jordan's Grandpa's recliners after he passed away. We have rotated each of them in & out of the family room & office :) Our family room isn't particularly large, it fits the 3 piece set nice, but with either of the recliners it was always kind of crowded. Not to mention, there are only 2 of us living here, we really don't need all of that seating ;) So, after saving all of the money I received for Christmas... I finally decided what I wanted to do with it... buy an entry table! I have looked around at a couple of stores, but nothing really caught my eye. I had been hearing about this "Home Good's" store for a while now, the closest store is in Stockton (Yikes!). So this past Saturday - my Mom, Sister & I piled in my car & off we drove to Stockton, in search of the perfect entry table. We arrived & I was excited to say the least... when we walked in... I almost died! That store is aaaamazing! Enough talk... here is the pic of my purchases!

Isn't it THE cutest?! I also purchased the baskets underneath the table there as well. I am obsessed with them & wish I had them in every room in my house ;) I got the little lantern at Mulberry Lane with a gift certificate I had been holding onto for the perfect purchase & my Mom gave me the little tree-book combo!

Our over-sized chair use to be where the table is, that area is also right near our front door, so it was a little crowded before. Now it's nice & spacious - I LOVE IT! The table coming into our house, then sparked an idea in Jordan's head. He wanted to do some remodeling of his own ;) I'll explain with pictures, it will be much easier.

This is where our t.v. use to be mounted. It was always a little high, due to the mantle. Jordan finally decided it was the cause of all of or neck aches, because we were having to look up at it all the time.

So, now our t.v. is here! That nook is intended for a t.v., but originally Jordan didn't want it there. That cabinet under the t.v. use to be a hutch, Jordan cut the top off & made the top of it out of the pieces he cut off, so we could have a place to store our dvd player & cable box. Quite the handy man he is ;)

That mirror use to hang directly across from the mantle on the wall above our loveseat. It's a little small for above the mantle, but it will do for now, until we find a bigger one we like :)

This is where the mirror use to hang. I have always wanted an old window with some cute saying on it... "Believe", "Blessed" & "Est. 2010" are in the running for being stenciled on there. I just need to decide already! lol Thank you to my Uncle Vic for providing the old window, he's the best!

And there you have it - our family room re-model! We love it & keep finding ourselves just staring at it all :) Jordan keeps saying it finally looks like a home, because we have more things up on on the wall & stuff. He's too cute! lol He said that a part of him didn't really want to do a lot to the house, in case we had to move because of the whole FBI thing. Thank God that isn't happening! We also made a few changes in our bedroom... we put the brown leather rocker that we got from Jordan's Grandpa in the corner of our bedroom, Jordan is loving having an area to sit & put his shoes on in the morning before he goes to work :) We also FINALLY put matching lamps on our nightstands (it's the little things that make me happy lol) I have hated the fact that my nightstand was the only one that had a lamp on it. I am so crazy about those things! It's crazy what a difference a second lamp can make, it just makes our room look a little more finished. We have kind of been neglecting it, decoration wise. There isn't much up on the walls in there. No one is in the but us anyway! lol Its slowly coming together & we love it :)


Love & Blessings,

J & J

Re-NEW.

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"
-Jeremiah 29:11

Woke up this morning to this verse playing over & over again in my head. Feeling a little renewed after last night & blogging about what I have been struggling with... it felt good to get that off my chest. I have decided to start my one year bible over again. Jordan & I purchased them last year... sadly we didn't finish them. We let unimportant things get in the way & take up too much of our time. I am going to dive into it heart & soul. I need to let go and let God.

Happy Wednesday! Be Blessed!

Love & Blessings,

Jenna

Baby Hopes...

Lately, I have needed an outlet.... to vent... to express... to take a load off my shoulders. I don't know why I didn't think to blog about this sooner. I really find that blogging can be quite therapeutic sometimes :) So, here it goes... I can't promise that this will all be sweet or happy, or even make much sense - but it's how I have been feeling lately & if I can reach just one person out there who feels like they are the only one feeling like I do... then it will be worth it.

"Baby Hopes"... I feel like Jordan & I have been praying so fervently about God blessing us with a baby for the past few months, but month after month... no baby :( I'd be lying if I said that each time I start my period, a part of me just doesn't want to break down & cry... sometimes I do just that. I know it's disheartening for Jordan as well - he sees how upset it makes me, sometimes I try to hide it, but he knows me all too well. It's hard to not get excited & hopeful each month & think maybe, just maybe this time will be the time. We firmly believe that everything happens in God's timing, it's just hard to want something so bad & have minimal control over it. God only wants good things for us, sometimes I like to think that He is helping Jordan & I work on our patience ;) Another thing that weighs heavy on my mind... our previous miscarriage. I will never forget the way I felt, physically or emotionally... it was by far, one of the hardest things I've ever been through. I know it was for Jordan as well. A piece of me is fearful that it may happen again, my Dr. told me to not let the miscarriage discourage us from trying to get pregnant again & that it was just God's way of ruling out a baby that could potentially have had many problems. Does all of that make me worry any less? No. I wish it did! I've also been struggling with the fact that if we hadn't lost the baby, I would be due at the end of this month. But, we did lose the baby & I have to keep reminding myself that God knows better than I do & He has the perfect plan... no matter how much it hurts. Another huge thing I've been struggling with (I've even talked to Jordan about it), it seems like every girl I know is getting pregnant, like it's the easiest thing in the world! I try my best to put on a smile & be happy for each of them, which I truly am, but I am also wondering why it isn't our turn yet & why it isn't happening so easily for us :( I feel like we have done everything in the right order (while others that are getting pregnant haven't) - we met, fell in love, got engaged, got married... a baby just feels like the next step, and we feel more than ready. Each month is a waiting game it seems, a game I so deeply wish I had control over. I'm trying more & more to wholeheartedly surrender this whole situation to God, I know He only wants what is best for us. Worrying definitely won't help the situation. Jordan seems to be dealing with it all okay, we talk about it often. He is my rock & keeps reassuring me that it will happen when God wants it to happen. <-- Which is what I am struggling with, because it isn't when "I" want it to happen. As I just re-read through this post, I found that I was saying "I" a lot, that "I want control" over the situation, but the fact is "I" don't have control over it. God orchestrates everything with perfection, I know I couldn't do that job, He sees the big picture & I just need to believe that He sees a baby in our future. Prayers about all of this are greatly appreciated. As I said, it is something that I have really been struggling with as of lately. It is not altering my faith in God by any means, I believe it is making it stronger. I have faith that He will bless us with our little miracle, all in His timing. Then what a testimony to Him it will be! If only I could have a little hint as to when that would be? ;)

Love & Blessings,

Jenna

NYE @ The Richards :)

NYE is a bit of a difficult day, do to the fact that my Dad passed away on NYE last year. 1 year... 1 year that I've missed his smile, his hug, his laugh, his voice & his silly jokes, just to name a few. I can hardly believe it's been one year since our good Lord called my Dad home. I have missed him everyday since he left & I'm sure I will until we meet again.Most of the time I find myself envious of him, because he is where we all long to be. We had everyone over at our house last year, for a few reasons... to be together, to celebrate my Dad's life, to cry, to smile over the memories we all shared with him. So, as NYE was approaching this year - we decided to have everyone over again! Why not keep up with the tradition. We celebrated with everyone he loved so dear, we shared a few laughs & a few tears about all of the memories we had with him. Love you, Dad... you better be keeping my seat warm up there ;) Jordan & I are looking fwd to all 2012 has in store for us & everything that God has planned for our little family. We feel so grateful that our future is in His hands, there is no better place.

Here are some pictures from our night...

The Richards NYE 2012

Pre-midnight kiss ;)

Ashley, Me and Catrina :)

Midnight kiss take 1...

Midnight kiss take 2... much better! ;)

The whole gang :)

Quite the crazy bunch!

We hope everyone had a fun NYE! :)

Love & Blessings,
J & J

1 Year.

(Back date to 12/30/11)

I can't believe 2011 is almost over. This week I have been thinking about all the things that took place this past year or so of my life. I went from being the happiest I had ever been, marrying my best friend & love of my life, Jordan :) Then just four short days later, my Nanny passed away. I've truly missed her every minute since she left. Three months after that, my Dad passed away. It didn't & sometimes still doesn't seem real. (I can't believe tomorrow will mark 1 year since he went to be with Jesus. That hardly seems possible to me, just like it doesn't seem possible that I wont feel his hug again.) I kept feeling like I was counting the days & months since "this or that" bad thing happened. Life finally started to feel like it was settling down. Then On May 19th, Jordan & I found out we were pregnant, we were elated :) We felt like we finally had something exciting to look fwd too! 2 1/2 weeks later we had a miscarriage, it was so hard to understand - we were heartbroken :( We know God has a plan for us & we felt His comforting arms around us through it all. I still never could have imagined all of the life changing events that would take place or that I would lose two of the most important people in my life all in 1 year. My relationship with God, my amazing husband & my family are truly what got me through this life changing past year. Jordan & I are looking fwd to all 2012 has in store for us & as we've been saying... "it can only go uphill from here" :) And if/when there are bumps along the way, as I'm sure there will be, we'll get through those too. With God on our side, there is nothing we can't do.

"My life may not be going the way I planned it, but it's going exactly the way God planned it."

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy & blessed 2012!!

Love & Blessings,

Jenna

SOOOO last year!

Well, the holidays definitely got me behind on our posts! I was really trying to keep them updated & then completely fell behind on our Christmas post & now we are already into the new year! What?! Well, I'm going to blog about our Christmas real quick & then share our NYE post!

Christmas Eve morning was relaxing for Jordan & I, we spent the morning just lounging around until it was time to go to The Richards. We went to Jordan's parents house a little earlier than everyone else, because we would be leaving later that evening to go to my Aunt & Uncle's house to celebrate with my family as well. It was nice being able to spend time with just Jordan's family for a little bit, we had a blast playing the Wii, it was also nice to spend time with almost all of The Richards family when they came over, we miss all of those Richards that are out of state though! We spent a couple of hours at The Richards house & then we headed to The Schott's, Christmas Eve is also Adam's birthday (Jenna's cousin), so we do some extra celebrating! Usually by the time we get there, everyone has eaten, which is totally fine - because we munch on some finger foods at The Richards beforehand lol I didn't take 1 single picture with either family on Christmas Eve, I couldn't believe it! I don't know what my deal is lately with the lack of picture taking, that is totally not like me lol I didn't even take a picture with Jordan! :(

We started out Christmas morning going to church, I love that my whole family goes to LaLoma Grace :) It was so cool to see that we took up an entire pew! I love how close my family is with Jordan's, how every one knows every one & we all get along so well. That had always been a huge dream of mine, when I thought about how my life would be after I got married. It is truly a blessing! PJ gave an inspiring message that morning at church, as usual :) Directly after church we headed out to The Richards again, for lunch/early dinner with Jordan's immediate family as well as Grandma Cathryn & Aunt Joyce :) After we ate, all of the "kids" fell into a food coma & took a little nap lol I did manage to get some pictures, but only of The Richards family! I don't know what my deal is, seriously?! haha

The Richards beautiful tree :)

Love.

Christmas Kisses!

The Richards Family.

Christmas evening, we headed to my Mom's house, for some more celebrating & yummy food! We had an amazing weekend celebrating with both of our families. We are truly blessed. We are looking forward to what next Christmas will hold, hopefully we'll be holding a little one ;)

Love,

J & J