Last day of the journal!

So I have this journal that I got as a gift for my 18th birthday and for the past 5 years I've been writing my thoughts and events in my life into this little book. Well last night I filled that last page. It felt good. It felt like I had just finished something for the first time in a long time.

It made me think that I never put on here my yearly tradition of the things I've learned in the past year. So here ya go!

22 Things I've learned while 22

1. God loves me and there’s nothing I can do to earn it nor do I need to.
2. My number one goal in life is to be who God wanted me to be and I love working toward that goal.
3. I am the only one keeping me from my dreams and that’s a struggle everyday but at least now I realize this fact.
4. Delay the good for the great.
5. Where you are in life is because of all the choices you made so stop acting like a victim and take responsibility.
6. All it takes is one decision to change everything in your life.
7. My attitude when I went back to school second semester of freshman year was “I will do everything I’ve been too afraid to do and do it well” and that was my happiest time in life. I’m going back to that.
8. I have learned SOOOOO much about marriage in the last year and I’m not even married! Can’t wait to learn more, especially as a wife.
9. I love giving people gifts. It is the best feeling in the world to give something that makes them realize how much you care and know them.
10. It’s a good thing that I’m required to talk to people everyday so I don’t let my shy girl attitude stay very long.
11. If I don’t give myself enough quite time in the day so I can hear myself think, I go crazy.
12. Logan humbles me every day by how much he loves and cares for me.
13. I am so excited that my friends are starting families because now I get to be an aunt! It is the most fun to play with a baby, even if they cry.
14. Action and growth solves everything.
15. Working out is an issue for me if it’s not fun like when I was in show choir… I’m working on making it fun again so I can get the body I know is hiding in me.
16. Speaking something into existence is SO TRUE!
17. My mom is the strongest woman I know.
18. I’ve realized how messed up my thought process has been the past few years and especially 4 years ago and am amazed that I have friends, let alone a boyfriend who still love me.
19. It is not enough to want something with all your being, you have to put the action in to get it!
20. I refuse to settle for anything less than everything!
21. I am stronger than I think I am.
22. I am loving the fact that I get to do things most people won’t so I can live the way most people can’t even imagine! I am so looking forward to this year! 2011 and my 23^rd year is going to be MY YEAR!

Here's to my next journal and the next 5 years!

~Jenny

4 Years and counting!

So we've passed the 4 year mark! That blows my mind! I found an entry in my journal the other day that almost made me fall on the floor laughing. It was from our 4 month anniversary and Logan had just told me that he loved me more than just puppy love lol. I was freaking out because I started looking at my Mom and Dad's relationship stats... met at 19 (I was 19 when I met Logan) Dad proposed within 4 months and Mom just said he realized he loved her and that he didn't want to let her go (Logan had just told me he really loved me and didn't want to loose me), they were "promised ringed" within about a year and then Mom planned their wedding in one semester! That last part freaked me out because I was silly enough to believe that Logan and I had to get married right then. I know I was crazy but hey I was only 19 and had a man actually care about me so I freaked. The funny part came when I was saying how we'd have to wait until after we both graduated college and that would be 4 years and I couldn't imagine being with someone for so long and didn't know if anyone would ever really wait that long to get married.

And now you see the humor! Four years later and we're still not married and still waiting... I'm happy that we are but it just kinda cracks me up that what I feared couldn't happen has happened and we're both okay.

I am still baffled at the idea of knowing when you're ready to get married. How on earth do you know? Still lost and that one but happy God has blessed me with a man who loves me and stretches me everyday.

I love you Logan! Here's to 4 more years ;-)

~Jenny

That girl...

So over the past few years God has been working on me in an amazing way. I have had the Holy Spirit bless me by guiding my life and my areas of self study and growing my relationship with my family, my friends, Logan and God. In this time I can't believe how different I feel and think than I did as that young high school graduate going to college feeling lost in the world and even in my own body. I am now on a path of following the guidance of the Lord and I know that I am that girl. I am the girl. I am the girl who knows who she is in the Lord and wants to follow His light. I am the girl that Logan was praying for when he wanted a real relationship. I am the girl my parents were hoping for when they found out they were having their first little girl. I am the girl God wants me to be. I am speaking this into existence and will live it out everyday! Pray for me in the process :-)

~Jenny

And it's a great day to be alive!!!

Ah a new year!!!

I'm not big into new year's resolutions but I am always excited about new plans!! I am so excited about where God is leading me this year! Could I use more exclamation points?! lol

Anyways.

I am now 23 and feel OLD! In my mind I still think I'm 18. You can imagine how odd I feel having a 25 year old boyfriend. But at the same time I feel like I should be further along in life. But I am running my own business with my boyfriend, have an apartment, car, cell phone, health insurance, car insurance, frog and rabbit

all to me. Now all we gotta do is get rid of that pesky job. Logan and I are moving ever closer to that goal and I think Logan and I will be very dangerous when we're free! For example ... when we were first dating at Purdue we would meet up and go downtown Lafayette and literally walk around and take funny pictures.... then go to the Lafayette mall and play with puppies. Then go to pizza hut get pizza and bread sticks and go to his apartment and watch movies. If we thought that was a fun day with no money I can only imagine what will do WITH money ;-)

Well till next time ....

~Jenny

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So it's that time of year where Black Friday is coming, Thanksgiving is upon us and that means my birthday is also coming up :-)

Where on earth did this year go? I still remember vividly my 21st bday and being sick and wanting to have a party but no one came and I wouldn't be much fun anyways. But then Logan made his apartment into a "club" for me and we bought some alcohol and made one drink which was good but... didn't even finish them. lol. Shows how much I care about alcohol I guess. But really I'm going to be 22? That's my lucky number and favorite number so hopefully that means good things! And now some people are asking what I want for my birthday and Christmas and honestly ... I haven't been out and about to even see what I want! lol I would much prefer gift cards (especially to Sears) so that I can actually have the pleasure of shopping! I miss it. Oh well. I don't really need anything I just want to see everyone, eat some good homemade food and play some games!

On a positive note we found out what is wrong with Logan. Apparently he has 2 pieces of bone that had broken off and just kinda slide around near his knee cap and that's why sometimes he can walk and sometimes he can't. That's really gross but apparently very easy to fix with surgery (yeah surgery yuck) but it's a small incision that they make on the side of his knee and they basically suck those pieces out and he can walk on it the next day. Sounds positive! Let's pray it all works out.

Oh and I redid the Christmas tree he got me since my last picture because it looked a little charlie brown ish lol.




Hope everyone has a blessed Holiday!

Love you all and God bless!

~Jenny

Getting to be that time of year

So why is it that whenever the sun goes away all heck breaks loose? Seriously whenever fall and winter get here stress happens. But it's okay. I get way too excited for Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas(s) and of course New Years.

For one thing Logan has been having an issue with his knee for over a week now and last Friday it got so bad that it was swollen to the size of a grapefruit. We elevated it and put ice on it and made him rest which by the way is very difficult to do with someone who always wants to be doing something! Then we finally went to the Dr on Monday where he had to get an X-ray and blood work done. The Dr said the blood work was to test for gout, lupus... and all sorts of things that I knew darn well are NOT good if they come back positive. So I'm praying that the meds he was given work to reduce the swelling enough so that he can walk without pain and the xray will give the Dr a clue to whats going on. Really don't want surgery. That will not go over well.

So we've been keeping positive and watching movies and trying to keep occupied while doing the whole ice and elevation routine. I have a HUGE respect for mothers who are required to do this for their kids. I was helping voluntarily so I could've left any moment I wanted to I didn't but still it would be a different feeling if I were "locked" in that apartment.

I did get to visit with Grandma and Grandpa one day last week and Mom, Dad and Jessie on Sunday. I love my family. Grandma and Grandpa mom and I met at Bob Evans after I got off work and yay for warm cooked food that I didn't make! lol. I got to learn about how people in our family planned their weddings and such. Don't ask how we got on that subject I have no idea lol. Then with Mom and Dad and Jessie we got to eat lunch together which was delicious! It seems that after I moved out Mom decided to learn alot of new recipes because almost every time I go home it's something new! We all watched Transformers 2 together which was fun. I miss doing that as a family. Dad talking about the graphics, Jessie's butt ringing off the hook but telling everyone to shush because she's trying to hear and mom getting bombarded with Lilly needing attention. :-)

So I have yet to get a Christmas tree for my apartment which is sad. This year I have been especially craving one. Yes craving is the right word. I don't know if I'm "nesting" or something but I really want to do Christmas decorations and all that fun stuff. It doesn't help that at work the new way to entice customers is to make our store look as festive as possible so I've been wrapping fake presents and all that.

But guess what? I came home today from work and found a Christmas tree, ornaments and lights from Logan waiting for me! Oh my gosh definitely cried and danced and ripped open everything to put it together! I am now happily listening to Christmas music on Pandora and decorating. Couldn't be happier except if it were closer to Christmas ... or at least my birthday ;-)

Well that's my update for everyone. I hope the beginning of the holiday season is going well for everyone!

I love you all and God Bless!

~Jenny

Some updates

After my friends wedding some of my old friends from high school and our boys went to Cheddar's which is by the way an amazing restaurant and we ordered margaritas :-) Don't worry we didn't drive!
Logan and I at the reception
The look out of the harbor at the business conference we went to in DC.
The hotel we stayed at was beautiful!!
The inside was like a mini city! Gorgeous!

So I haven't posted some new pictures in awhile so I thought I'd update you all!!!

Hope everything is going well and God bless!

~Jenny