Our Fall trip to the cabin...

 As many of you know, Jordan's family has an adorable cabin nestled in a national forest - what could be better?! It's one of our favorite places to escape to, and we go any chance we get :) So, when Jordan's parents said they would be going to close it up for the winter & that they needed some help with a few repairs... we hopped in the car & drove up for the weekend.

My favorite.

Chimney cleaning = precarious ladder situation.

Just a lil' bit of snow on the ground.

Brother's fishing :)

Gorgeous Lake Alpine.

He is too cute!

Waitin' on a bite...

Watch out... professional fisher-woman here ;)

I was actually the only one that caught a fish that day! Woohoo!

This huge mud puddle = one dirty car

THE cabin :)

L.O.V.E.

Getting ready to head home.

Such a great picture of these two!

Momma Jane & I, getting ready to head home.

It was a great time! We can't wait to go back again! :)

Love & Blessings,

J & J

Richards Happenings Update...

Found this yesterday and knew that I had to share it...
"You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense." When I read that, it was like a light went off in my head... I feel like so many times in life we get caught up living for the wrong things - material things, people, etc. I am guilty of this myself. I try to be quick to remind myself that we aren't meant to be 100% happy here on earth, otherwise what would we have to look forward too... that's what heaven is for ;)

Onto The Richards Happenings... There have been a few changes going on in The Richards household. As many of you know, Jordan applied for the FBI some time ago. Well, about 2 weeks ago... Jordan received a call from someone from the FBI while he was at work. We had been talking about the FBI & the possibility of Jordan leaving since he applied, but a lot of things have changed since then. We had actually just had a conversation about it a few days before... we were both discussing the reason why Jordan even applied to the in the first place... because he didn't have job security at that point in time, but now he does. We also weren't married when he applied, we also hadn't gone through all of the things we have in the last year, we also weren't wanting to start a family at that time & now we are. We had been praying for guidance on this for so long, and for one reason or another, things just didn't seem to be happening like they should. Perhaps God was trying to show us that he has a different plan for our life ;) Getting back to the phone convo... Jordan went on to tell me that he told the woman that he appreciated the offer (the conditional letter of employment they had given him almost a year ago), but that he was going to respectfully decline & withdraw his application. In my head I was thinking... "WHAT?! Could it really be that simple to take this huge weight off of both of our shoulders?!" Apparently it was.The woman told Jordan that it was completely understandable, that he shouldn't wait around if he had a better offer. And as a matter of fact, he did! Just the day before that phone call, Jordan had been moved to a new unit, a unit that he has been wanting to be in for quite some time, a unit that he can best use his God given talents & abilities in. (God is good!) Jordan really loves what he does at the Probation Department, he likes the "helping/counseling" aspect of it & he is so good at it. We have seriously been discussing starting a family & we both discussed how hard that would be for Jordan to be away & as our kids got older, how hard it would be to miss out on different activities they might be doing. Financially the FBI would give us a lot more freedom, but God always provides & we are trusting that He will. After Jordan got done telling me about the phone conversation, he said he felt like this huge weight had been lifted from him... the constant not knowing when & if he would be leaving for the academy was draining him, physically as well as emotionally. We are both so thankful how everything has worked out. So, that is one big update in the Richards household!

Our second update... this past week Jenna received a text message letting her know she had been laid off at Shoob Photography. REAL PROFESSIONAL! I was at a complete loss for words! Who lays someone off through a text message?! I had been informed that work would "slow down" during the Fall, but the words "laid off" were never mentioned. So, we are now incessantly praying for me to find a job, we would appreciate your prayers as well. I feel like I have applied for a million, but I will apply for a million more if that's what it takes! God definitely has us working on our "trusting".

Other than those two big things... we have just been living life as Mr. & Mrs. :) We both so enjoy spending time with our families. We have taken a few trips to the cabin with The Richards, which is one of our favorite places to go! We have enjoyed this rather long Summer weather that we have been having, and are anxiously awaiting some cooler Fall weather. We hope this info packed post finds you all happy & healthy :)


Words to live by...
"God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue... He is able to do what you can't. He already has a plan. God's not bewildered. Go to Him." -Max Lucado

Love & Blessings,
J & J

26 Candles!

September 7th marked my 26th birthday... 26 - what?!

I can't believe I'm almost 30 is all I kept thinking that day lol

The Monday before my birthday, we celebrated my birthday at Jane & Joel's house. Jane made one of my favorite dinners (her homemade mac & cheese), along with lots of other yummy things :) It was a great night out, and we were able to sit around the table outside and talk & laugh for a few hours. On my actual birthday, Jordan had my family over for a BBQ - always a fun time :)

It may not be the prettiest cake, but it was sure delicious!

26 :)

My Mom made me take this picture, literally! lol I felt like I was 5 all over again ;)

Blowing out the candles! Jordan of course got "trick" candles, so it took a while ;)

Looking forward to all the things God has planned for this next year of my life :)

Love & Blessings,

Jenna

365 of the greatest days...

So, I know I am a little late with this post, but we have been very busy! Regardless, this is a VERY important post & I finally have time to blog about it :)


August 28, 2011 - marked day 365 of the greatest year of my life. I have never made a better decision in my life than marrying my very best friend. Jordan, you are my everything. Thank you for loving me, supporting me, working so hard to support us, always making me smile and laugh, kissing away all of my tears, for always cheering me on and encouraging me, and for giving me the greatest gifts in the world: your love, your friendship, and the greatest 3+ years of my life. I love you most.

God has surely blessed me with an amazing man to spend my forever with. We celebrated by spending a beautiful week in the mountains. We talked about our life, our love & our future - which all rest in God's hands, for there are no better hands for it to be in. Our first year has definitely been a whirlwind, the love that we felt for each other on August 28, 2010 has grown ten fold. God has so richly blessed us with a beautiful love for each other, a beautiful life, and a beautiful future. We look forward to all He has planned for us and starting our own family very soon :)


Celebrating our first year of marriage at beautiful Alpine Lake-Bear Valley

One of my most favorite things to do.

On one of our many hikes :)

Love

On Friday, we went to Calaveras Big Trees

On Saturday, we went wine tasting at this super cute little vineyard in Murphys.

The Richards :)

Love this one!

Can't get enough of those ;)

Our Saturday night dinner - yum-o!

Bonfire time :)

1 year!!

Happy :)

Love him to pieces.

On another one of our many hikes.

Gorgeous view.

8.28.11 - Starting out our anniversary at Lake Alpine :)

It was a beautiful day :)

Getting ready to head to dinner :)

So handsome :)

Lucky in love.

Delicious dinner @ Lake Apline Lodge

Yes - our anniversary dinner was cheeseburgers & fries. It was deeeelicious!

It was the cutest, quaint little restaurant :)

Happy Anniversary to us! :)

Toasting our 1st year of marriage :)

Love our rings, and everything they mean.

I have the sweetest husband, ever! He wrote the cutest little notes on each candy :)

Looking forward to the next 100 years & all that God has in store for us.

Love & Blessings,
J & J

Heaven

I find it hard to believe that I have lived 1 year without her... her love, her amazing advice (she would always say; "everything is going to be all right.") & her sweet-funny faces. I love knowing she is with God & all of her loved ones that she missed so much, but that doesn't make me miss her any less. I have truly missed her every minute since she left. I was given this advice this morning... "Think of it like this... She's not really gone, she's just away & we will all be together again one day. Live your life & make her proud... look up... she is just beyond the clouds." -My Momma

This past year... heaven gained two of the most important people in my life. My Nanny, and my Dad. One was sadly expected, the other, completely unexpected. Death is never an easy thing to understand, but I was hit head on with having to try & understand, while all the while knowing I shouldn't ask "why?". A few things I know for sure that have gotten me through the heartaches of the past year... The first, is my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Knowing that He has the plan, that He sees the big picture, that one day I will see all of those that have gone before me... that gave me hope. The second, my amazing Husband. We have faced more things in our 1st year of marriage, than some couples face in 20 years. We believe the trials & struggles we have endured have only made our relationship stronger, and have brought us closer than we ever imagined. We are reminded that the trials & struggles of this life, only help us to draw closer to God, and make us appreciate our blessings even more. These are lyrics from one of my favorite Christian songs... "Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?" -Blessings by Laura Story. The third, my wonderful family. They haven't invented words for how much I love them. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

If you haven't heard the song "Knowing What I Know About Heaven" by Guy Penrod, as well as "Blessings" by Laura Story, please look them up on Youtube. They both have the most amazing lyrics.

I'll end with these...

"God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue... He is able to do what you can't. He already has the plan. God's not bewildered. Go to Him." -Max Lucado

"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



The most beautiful, sweet, amazing woman I've ever met... I will miss her everyday until we meet again.
I love you, Nanny.


Love & Blessings,
 Jenna