Cutest Baby Girl!

I feel like I can say that - and I hope I'm not offending anyone when I say I have a baby crush on the cutest baby girl!  And she comes to my small group.  She adds a bit of sass, and I can tell she really gets Esther - even from such a little age.  Tuesday she was the victim of a random photo spree.  But it's ok because her awesome mama captures the majority of sweet baby girl's life on camera, so she is quite used to it.  But I figured mama needed to see the pictures of her sweet pea.  And if you aren't familiar with mama, she keeps an awesome blog that I have a slight addiction to reading.  Fields of Green

Sweet baby girl who has kinda stolen my heart:

Captivated by the peas...

technique: see spoon, and dive mouth first

Yep.  ADORABLE.  

She gives you the stank eye if you try to steal her food

Used to being the center of the camera focus

Mama can pose too!

Let me do it already!

Sass-a-frass lil one <3

Tuesdays with both of these girls and the other 4 that make up my Tuesday night shennanigans is pretty much one of my favorite nights of the week!  (Please note that my camera died minutes before baby girl was put into the cat pjs.  And if you are wondering the cat pj's had a tail - I would tell you yes.  Yes it did.  Sorry for my unfortunate battery regard.)

Bye bye fancy apartment!

Ok, who needs a fancy apartment?
Who needs to live directly across the street from the metro?
Who needs to live above the only grocery store that it's ok to buy sushi from?
Who needs to have a walk-in closet bigger than my current bathroom?
Who needs to have a terrace that wraps around the entire apartment?

Ok.  I need to stop now.  I don't need that stuff, but the minute Joe showed me the terrace I was one smitten kitten.  My immediate thought "I could decorate this with bright outdoor furniture, get a fire pit, and make s'mores and sangria.  Parties at my place every summer night."

I already had it decorated in my head.  Took about 30 seconds.  I had bright Adirondack chairs in bright green, yellow, pink, and blue.  A wine table for my sangria that I will inevitably make every weekend.  And a small garden for my herbs and... what else?  Sunflowers.

Problem.  I have no one to move in with yet, and I hear that eating only ramen noodles is not healthy.  Shame too, because I could eat a lot of Ramen on that beautiful terrace.  But Gracie can't.  My poor dog would need to crash diet faster than an Olsen twin.  I can't make her do that.

So, I am probably gonna move back into the Ashley house.  That is, unless God has some grandiose idea he is just waiting to reveal to me in the next month!

So I did would any woman would do when she finds her dream terrace apartment slipping through her fingers, and ready to move into a significantly cheaper home (at least temporarily).

I got a personal trainer and a gym membership.  Or at least I will have tomorrow.  His name is Hoyt, he is 6'5 and blonde and loves the Lord, is super quirky and random like me, and his biceps are the size of my head.

Ok, that's all a lie.

But still, whether I chose the gym where my YL girls go, with the awesome kickboxing classes and spectacular proximity to starbucks and the sushi place, or the gym that is practically right next door and directly on my way to the office... I will have a gym home tomorrow.  And a trainer.  And be on my way to being one super fit, super chic athlete.  

Unknown

I like knowing the answers to questions before I ask them.
I like knowing that 1 + 5 = 6.
I like having plans, and seeing that plan work out.

But on the reverse, I like learning new things about a person.
I like when people and things surprise you.
I like that feeling when what you thought you knew about yourself was only a fraction.
I like when things look like they are going to fall apart, but then pull together in a way no one could have expected.
I like adventure, and I like being challenged. 
I like changing up my routine, but need the dicipline of a somewhat structured schedule.

Hi, I'm Jennifer, and I'm a walking oxymoron.

My roommate is getting married 2 months from Sunday.  That is soon.  That means that within about a month and a half, I need to find a place to live, and I need to move there.  I need to pack up my life and move to __________. 

I would really like to have that blank filled in.  There are so many questions right now.  House or apartment?  Nice place where I can LOVE where I live, or decent place where I can AFFORD to live?  Will I live on my own, or with others?  What will my commute to/from work look like?  Will Gracie come right away?  Or will I have to send her up to PA until I can find something more structured? 


I feel like I'm about to dive into the unknown.



I have started looking but it has caused me a lot of anxiety.  I know that I have backup plans, but is a backup plan without my dog really a backup plan?  I'm gonna throw up a hail mary pass right here.  I've seen this before where somehow things just happened to work out with my old roommate KJohns, and I trust that it will happen again - even though I don't know how the game is gonna be played. 

You know, it's scary - not knowing.  Especially when it is something big like where I will live!   But I have trusted God before when it looked scary, and I am really excited to trust him again!  Time to step to him, and walk on the water and take some bold steps!

Found a cute story when looking for a good image for right here: http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/01/31/how-to-walk-on-water/

However scary it is, I know I'm the person to embrace adventure.  So, I go to my users-guide of life, draw out the map of my adventure, and set off.  (Hint: I've included peices of my map right below here!)

Don't fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. *Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Therefore, do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (Or 'Where shall I live?' could fit nicely here)  For they seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.  Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  *Matthew 6:31-34 (ESV)

It's nice to not have to worry about things.  To trust that his promises do not fall short.  And in the skydive of life, he's our parachute.  (Have I mentioned I'm going SKYDIVING?!?)

You don't have to tell me how cheesy I am, I already know it.

Life is so good.  And I do believe, it's getting better <3

Adventures!!

Yep.  I'm going to here at the end of April.  Oh, and here.  And I get to see some old roommates and younglife friends.  And... maybe I'll go here for a day too, and see this awesome thing.

I'm jumping out of a plane with some friends that I love.

I'm moving into a new house or apartment.

And this morning I signed up for my first ever half marathon.


ahhhhhh!  things are going pretty well you might say.  There is a lot of change going on.  A lot of adventure.  One change coming up is me stepping out of Younglife next year.  Since moving to the DC area I have been a Younglife leader.  And my first year was SO trying.  I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't break into those girl's hearts.  Well, I figured out why.  I needed to let them break into mine.  And I did.  And I LOVE those girls so much, and am delighted to watch them grow with God after leaving high school.  I had 8th graders who grew into high schoolers, who I have walked through the last 3 years of their lives with.  

So what's next for me?  What's next for them?  I know that leading where I was was NO mistake on God's part, and he reminded me of that every week.  But what now?  This is one adventure I am ready and excited to seek out what he has in store for me.

What's a girl to do?

I'm getting back to my old self, after a few weeks of health issues (almost going to the emergency room, sinus infection, etc) stressing to get up to PA for a family event, trying to find a place to live, and dealing with the peak of work stress.  I am usually laid back, but this week has been exhausting.

So what's a girl to do?



I mean, easy decision...



Ahhhh... suddenly everything seems a little better :-)

That, and well this: Great Music Playlist

Life is so good.  And I do believe, it's getting better <3

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Family and Facebook

Ok, so my old Catholic roots are coming out in me, and I've given up a few things for Lent, so that I can use my time, relationships, and money less for myself and more for focusing on God.  So far, I am pleased, and it has not been easy!  One thing I gave up was facebook.  Which I almost messed up three times, when I just out of habit clicked the icon on my bookmark toolbar.  Thank goodness I undid the auto-login.

But I have some great pictures from my trip home that will have to wait until Easter to make it up to facebook, but I felt that I owed it at least to my blog.

Home was AMAZING.  Seriously, if you couldn't tell from my last post, I LOVE my family.  So enjoy some pictures from my time home for my grandma's 80th.  

"If you eat the wasabi, we will give you 20 bucks."  Apparently that means you get "bucked" at like a chicken 20 times.

OMG, I love them.

So beautiful, and not at all awkward.

"Hannah had this great new idea.  She put some soy sauce in the bowl for her sushi.  And THEN she put in wasabi.  So creative!"

Trying each other's favorites

He's a balla

Awww... brotherly love.

<3

Me and gram.  It took fourteen tries, because every picture we took turned out like...

this.   Yep.  Enough said.

Not rotated.  Who cares?  My brother, everyone!

Our regular photo shoot.  Only 1/20th of the shots made it here.

Sisters?

Struggling, the other wrestling pictures didn't make it here.

Trying to prove I love her.

HOT

But I'm leavingggggg!

But for reals... this is why I love mah seester.

Pretty ballin goalie

And another great save by my brother.  The awesome goalie.

Tired much?

That is my weekend summed up in pictures.  I just loved so much being home with my parents, and can not wait to see them again for Easter!  Happy Saturday everyone, now get out while the weather is getting nicer!  :-)

Life is so good, and I do believe it's getting better <3