Mother's Day 2011...

We had a beautiful Mother's day! We were able to spend time with both of our families, as we do on every holiday. Family is beyond important to us, so making time for them is always an easy decision :) Jordan & I are both blessed with THE MOST AMAZING Mom's, celebrating them both meant so much to us. We hope they may always know just how important & loved they are. We started out the morning going to church, then we headed to Jordan's parents for lunch, and then we ended the evening having dinner with my family. Here are a few pictures from our day...

Jordan & Jane :)

Adorable Grandma Cathryn.

My truly amazing MIL, Jane. I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

Jenna & Grandma Cathryn :)

Two of the most giving-caring-loving women I know,
I feel so blessed to be able to call them family.

Grandma Cathryn, Jenna & Jane :)

Annie & Tia :)

The most amazing Mom a girl could ask for.

Showering her with kisses!

Sisters :)

My Annie Rosie :)

Love her to pieces! She needs to stop growing up though :(

Oh mylanta, such goofballs.

L.O.V.E

Jordan, Jenna & Uncle Vic :)

Thanking God for the gift of family, and especially for the gift of a Mother. We hope you all had a beautiful Mother's Day!


Love & Blessings,

J & J

May... really?!

We can hardly believe we are already 5 months into 2011, time seems to flying by.

Mother's Day is this wknd, in honor of both of our wonderful Mother's we wanted to post these special pictures:

Jane & Jordan

Jenna & Jody

More Than A Mother
When God set the world in place,
when He hung the stars up in space,
when He made the land and the sea,
then He made you and me.
He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?
He knew a mother would have a special place
to shine His reflection on her child's face.
A mother will walk the extra mile
just to see her children smile.
She'll work her fingers to the bone
to make a house into a home.
A mother is there to teach and guide,
a mother will stay right by your side.
She'll be there through your pain and strife,
she'll stay constant in your life.
A mother will lend a helping hand
until you have the strength to stand.
She'll pick you up when you are down,
when you need a friend she'll stick around.
A mother is one who listens well,
will keep her word; will never tell.
A mother never pokes or pries
but stands quietly by your side,
giving you the strength you need,
encouraging you to succeed.
A mother is one who can be strong
when you need someone to lean on.
You're more than a mother to me;
a reflection of Him in your face I see,
a love that knows no boundaries.
I'm glad that you chose to be
all this and more to me.
You share a love that knows no end,
you're more than my mother,
you are my friend.


Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful Mom's, Jane & Jody. We love you both more than words can say & are beyond blessed to be able to call you "Mom".

We hope everyone enjoys celebrating their Mom's this wknd :)

Love & Blessings,

J & J

Inspiring...

So... I came across these quotes this past week & immediately shared them with Jordan. He loved them as well! They are both so inspiring, and really get you thinking...

"I prayed for faith, and thought that someday faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since." - Dwight L Moody

"If today were your last, would you do what you’re doing? Or would you love more, give more, forgive more? Then do so! Forgive and give as if it were your last opportunity. Love like there’s no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again." -Max Lucado

Love & Blessings,
J & J

8 months...

Today, Jordan & I are celebrating 8 months of being married! We can hardly believe that 8 months ago we were saying our "I Do's" :)

In honor of our anniversary, I picked 8 pictures from our day to share...

The was taken pre-ceremony. I love the look in our eyes.

Exchanging of rings...

THE KISS!!

Mr. & Mrs. Jordan Richards

This was taken right after the ceremony :)

We will never forget the way we felt walking into the reception!

First dance as husband & wife. "Steady As We Go" by Dave Matthews

We are anxiously looking forward to what our future has in store, and all the things God has planned for us.

Love & Blessings,

J & J

Some more of what The Richards have been up too :)

Wedding Season has begun... A lifelong best friend of mine named Brandy got married on April 2nd. She was a beautiful bride! I am so happy for her & her adorable little family :)

Happy to see her so happy!!

She has truly been one of the best friends I've ever had :)

Ms. Momma-To-Be, Jenny, Me & Jessica :)

I definitely had the cutest Husband there ;)

Mr. & Mrs. Richards seating cards!!

Brandy & her adorable little family.

My sister Catrina & I took a little road trip to Lincoln to watch Jordan, my Uncle Victor & some of our close friends play in a softball tournament. It was a beautiful day & I loved watching him play, he really loves it!!

The Boys

They weren't exactly sure what place they took in the tournament lol

I'm really going to try & get better at updating more frequently. That way I won't have to play "catch up" every time ;)

Love & Blessings,

J & J

God must be preparing us for babies...

At 4:30 this morning, Jordan & I were woken up by a sick doggy :( They both sleep in our room on their beds, so we weren't sure who the culprit was, we decided to just put both of them in their crates. Jordan always lets them out to go potty before he goes to work & I just happened to be up when he left, Emme wasn't coming inside when he called her, so I gave it a try... as she came running towards me I noticed immediately that something was wrong. Her entire face was swollen :( I had never seen anything like it! Our dogs are definitely like our kids, so we hate it when they don't feel good. I took her to the vet as soon as they opened, the Veterinarian wasn't sure if it was a bee sting or a spider bite, either way she said to definitely keep an eye on the dogs when they are outside. They are both so curious about everything & have been caught chasing after bees on more than one occasion :-/  

Our poor baby girl on the way to the vet :(

Miserable at the vet.

Breaking my heart :(

After her Benadryl she passed out on my lap.

Stuff like this definitely gives us little glimpses into parenthood, although a human baby being sick will be much more heartbreaking I'm sure. Praying for a quick recovery for our sweet Emme girl.

My oh my...

Wow... it has been almost 2 months since I have updated our blog! Where does the time go? If you find out, let me know ;) Well, lets see... where to start? Brody has gotten much bigger! He & Emme have become the best of friends, which made Jordan & I very happy. Things were a little rocky in the beginning. lol Emme also turned 3 years old on April 3rd :)

We just love our little chocolate dog-babies ;)

Jordan & I celebrated 6 months of wedded bliss...

Jordan took me out to a very yummy dinner & then surprised me with the most precious toast when we got home :)

"Happiness is being married to your best friend."

We can hardly believe that we have been married for half a year already.

 It amazes us how we keep finding new ways to fall in love with each other each day. God has surely blessed us :) We can't wait to see what our future holds & are anxiously looking forward to spending a lifetime making memories with each other.

We took a trip to Jordan's parents cabin... it was an amazing-fun day, and we couldn't have asked for better weather either :)

Me & Ms. Annie Rose. That is the path we normally take to get to the cabin, yikes!

Jordan & Annie :)

The front door to the cabin is on the left side of the picture, there are also 7-8 stairs leading down off of the porch... they are buried underneath all of the snow!

Almost as high as the roof!

Lake Alpine, covered with snow.

Beautiful snow capped mountains.

My beyond adorable MIL, Jane :)

Sledding :)

We LOVE being there, as you can tell by the big smiles on our faces :)

I have the best MIL that any girl could ask for.

L.O.V.E

Jane is an expert snowman maker ;)

The whole gang, before we headed back home.

We have been doing quite a few home improvement projects around the Richards household. When we moved into our house the carpet was pretty yucky, so when it came time to put new carpet in we decided to rip up the carpet that was in our master bath, we thought it would be best for preventing mold & stuff like that. For the last 7+ months there has just been cement flooring in there. A couple of weeks ago, my Uncle Victor & Jordan laid tile in there & it looks amazing :)

Before

Before

In the process...

Almost finished...

Lookin' great!

It looks absolutely beautiful :)

This weekend is Easter, we are very much looking forward to relaxing & spending time with our families. God's love is unfailing & truly the most precious gift we have ever received. We feel so blessed to have been raised in families where we were taught all that God did for us. He truly paid the ultimate price & gave us the most precious gift... life. I  feel so lucky to have a relationship with him, and to have married a wonderful man who has helped & shown me how to grow even further in my relationship with Him. Not to mention my wonderful FIL Joel, who every Sunday provides the most beautiful incite on how to use God's word in everyday life.

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by your side. I can only imagine what Imy eyes will see, when your face is before me. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel, will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall, will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine."

We hope everyone has a blessed Easter.

Love & Blessings, 

J & J