There's No Place Like Home

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's a few thousand words to describe my weekend at home! This will make up for me forgetting my camera all the time - I tried catching everything this weekend! 

Every time I pack to go somewhere I think "I require way too much stuff and I am not this high maintenance!"  

Then I see my bag that holds just make-up and hair products, a bag my dad might call my "anti-ugly kit," and I think "You have got to be kidding me! I require way too much stuff to get ready everyday!" Then I realized it's not that I am high maintenance. {it actually takes me like 45 minutes to be completely ready in the morning!} My problem is DECISIONS. I feel the need to bring many outfits and all my different hair things because you never know 1. what the weather will do {hello, Oklahoma has bi-polar weather!} 2. you never know what you will be doing or how you will be feeling when you are away!
Trips home are always hard and NEVER long enough. My time has to be split between time with Mom and Dad and my little brother and sister and not to mention seeing old friends! 

Each moment spent with Josh and Jordyn has to be cherish because they are few and far between! We have a lot of memories to make in our once a month Saturday's together! Jordyn Kate doesn't realize that I am almost 20 years older than her. I love it. She is one of the few people who don't see me as a grown up. Spending these precious moments with her is something I hope she looks back on fondly because we obviously are unconventional sisters.  It's funny - Jordyn's room is my old room.  I got the privileged of staying in my old room, now loving called the "princess room." It has changed a bit since I lived there. The yellow walls are still around from my reign though!

"I am tired of pictures, drink your tea already Jennifer!" 

I know there will come a day when this little blonde-haired cutie no longer will think I hung the moon. I will eventually become that old lady sister and I won't have the coolest gadgets and most beautiful clothes. So I will appreciate these times when she sees me put a hat on and curl my hair and then go find a similar hat and insist on wearing it! {to clarify, my hat was not a train conductor hat like hers - it was brown and in my opinion quite fashionable!} 

These little kids are growing up so fast. Jordyn is talking so much and Josh is almost the same age I was when he was born! Boy, I am feeling old. I wanted a picture with them because I know I probably won't see them again until the end of March and they both will have grown so much in that short time!

When we get the camera out everyone starts getting crazy - we aren't deprived for attention but some might disagree. Especially me, Josh, and Jordyn - we all tend to act out more then Jonathan.

We found a worm. Josh: "That is cool!" Jordyn: "AHHHH!"
Such a girl!

The question was "Who wants to go back with Jennifer!?" She went as far as grabbing her toothbrush and a bag full of underwear {she planned on wearing the same clothes and shoes all week} and was completely planning on coming back with me!

They did NOT want me to leave. It made it hard for this sister to leave! 
                                                                                                                                        - Jenny B 

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD!

If you are close to me, you most likely know I'm a planner. Let me explain:
- I pick out my clothes at night for the next day.
- I normally write out my to-do list in an hour-by-hour detail.
- When I plan a party or meal, I normally set everything out the night before and have it setting out - For example, last week I cooked for PCDC and this was what my house looked like the night before. 

Everything carefully placed out for the next day!

      I do need to make a disclaimer - I can have spontaneous fun. Normally I try to plan my spontaneous fun but that's beside the point. 
     Even my blog has a little bit of "planning" to it...except for today. I have been so obsessed with plans lately that this has been consuming my mind so I scraped the planned blog and decided to share about this. {Shocking, I know!} My very intelligent mother reminded me sometimes my plans need to take a step down and I need to just live and TRUST. 
     On Sunday, Pastor Todd spoke about waiting on God {check out his blog over the subject} and I know that trusting in God has been something I have been struggling with. {for some odd reason, I think I can do it myself}.
     Because I have this tendency to plan - I want to know where I will be next month, next year, in 5 years! I feel like in the last 23 years in my life it was so much easier. It was high school than college, freshman year then sophomore year, and marketing test than accounting test. But now I feel like I have a blank canvas and that terrifies me. I feel this pressure to plan my next 5-10 years  and paint that canvas. Who doesn't dream of family and success? But I know that all of the dreams and plans I have for my life ARE nothing compared to what God has prepared for me. 
     I have to constantly remind myself that God is in control. Jennifer, the obsessive control freak, has to take a step down and let God take the wheel. {que Carrie Underwood} So yes, I am admitting to the world that I need to stop trying to control and plan everything so that God can truly use me. I think I focus on planning for the tomorrow so much I miss all of today. I need to learn to be more patient so that I can just enjoy each day to the fullest. 

Volunteering

I LOVE spending time volunteering. I wish I could find someone who would pay my bills so that I could just spend my time helping other people! 


I spent yesterday at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma helping package up items for backpacks that will then be given to children in Pottawatomie County that are chronically hungry. {a program called Food for Kids} I wish I took more pictures. I feel like if I am going to be a successful bloggers I need to take more pictures. I mean, I had good intentions to take pictures - but I got to OKC and realized my camera was on my desk. {oops!} Yesterday I volunteered at the food bank as a part of my Leadership Shawnee class. We are "officially" finished but we were wrapping up our project with this week of volunteering. I really expected mundane assembly line work at the food bank. I was so wrong! I arrived and found out I was the ONLY person from Shawnee. I'm glad walking into a room full of strangers isn't really a problem for me! I ended up working with another young girl and we hit it off instantly. She is in school to be a doctor. She was such a fun girl and we had a lot in common. The whole experience was just great. Who doesn't love spending a few hours doing something for someone else. The volunteer leader during our shift was great. He works as a karaoke DJ on the weekends and was a great entertainer. We listened to fun music and he told corny jokes that the older volunteers LOVED! It was obvious that he loved what he did for a living! 


My other volunteer adventure right now is a project in the works. I cannot really go into detail but it's a project that has been placed on my heart and a dear friend's heart and I cannot wait to see how God will use our desires to reach the city of Shawnee. 


I really do wish that I could just wake up each morning and help at places like the Shawnee Rescue Mission or the food bank. Too bad money pays the bills.


I am sure this was a completely boring post. Especially since there are NO pictures whatsoever! I apologize but this is just a little sliver of what is going through my brain right now {that and a bizillion things about the pharmacy, but you definitely don't want to get me started there!} 

P.S. The spacing on here is really weird. I cannot figure it out. When I post it spaces everything out but it doesn't look like that in the edit screen? 

Oh Brother!

My brother Josh has been the subject of many stories over the last 10 (almost 11 years)! I think I could probably write a book just on the things he has done. Not that I don't encourage his crazy behavior. This particular story took place awhile ago but I'm just now getting a chance to share it on here.

It was December 23, 2010 I was heading into one last meeting before I headed home for Christmas. After my meeting, I called home to let them know I would shortly be headed their way...but when I called mom she didn't answer so I called my brother Jonathan was who screaming and I can hear Josh crying and Mom screaming. Since I have two younger siblings, who both have proved to be a wee bit accident-proned - I was super concerned. Jonathan calms down to tell me that Josh has broken the mirror in our main bathroom. I then receive a picture text. Not only had Josh broken the mirror, he broke it using a plunger.

My mom's version of the story is that he was chasing Jordyn Kate {littlest sister} around with the plunger. {Boys are gross, girls would NEVER play with plungers!} She told Josh to go and put the plunger back in the bathroom where it belongs! In his defense, he took the plunger to the bathroom but his little boy mind started wondering "What it would sound like when I pull the plunger off the mirror" {actually we have yet to figure out what he was thinking, but this is one possible explanation} We found out that Josh is the only person in our city to ever break a mirror by using a plunger! Unfortunately, that award doesn't come with a trophy. 


Despite the MAYHEM of Josh, he is the most compassionate person I have ever met - and he is 10! As a sister, he makes me so proud! He loves people in a way I didn't even know that 10 year old could! My mom recently called me {almost in tears} to tell me about their recent trip to the dentist. Josh and Mom were sitting in the kid's room when a lady walked in and couldn't find a seat and Josh {without being asked} gets up and offers the stranger his seat. It's times like this, that make up for the broken mirror moments. 


To Josh, I love that you are so witty and entertaining. It is probably a good  thing we are so far apart in age because I know Mom could not have handled both us under the same roof at the same time! You are a little bundle of destruction but yet you love unconditionally and I cannot tell you how amazed I am by your compassion. {something I tend to lack} 
Love, Jefner ;) 


Sorry this was somewhat sappy at the end! I hope you did enjoy the little look into my crazy family. 

All in the Family

I am sure the people in this picture will hate me for blogging about these pictures! But how funny is this? I wish we had a better quality picture. How much do Karleigh and I look like our beautiful mothers! 

I love my family. I have been so lucky to be blessed with a ton of wonderful women in my family whom I can look up to! When all of us get together we always have a great time! Miss each and everyone of you! (Oh Schrick girls - I feel so special to be receiving a visit from you all soon!) 

Shovels of Gratitude

It's been awhile since I have been able to breath let alone think about blogging. Between the flu and the snow storm work has been a little hectic for me lately.

This happened almost a week ago but I must share this with everyone! If you read my last blog post then you know that I had to use a plastic tote to shovel my way out of my house to get to work. When I did that I kind of buried Chan's car in even more. Saturday afternoon we wanted to finally get her car free and needed a shovel (well, honestly we needed one all along).  We were inside for lunch when I then received a phone call from an unknown number and didn't answer. Chan then got a call from the SAME number but she decided to answer. It was our wonderful friends from church. They had come to the rescue! Paul and Amy Riggins called to ask if we needed a shovel. Little did we know that morning he had been thinking of us and our possible need for a shovel before we really began our search for one!

I have been so blessed with my church family. I am so thankful for Paul and Amy and them letting the Lord work wonders through them!

Wanted: One Shovel

After being trapped in the house for two days you would think I would have TONS of stories to blog about..well I do, but at the moment they aren't funny enough to share but I am sure as days past they will become funnier.

What the snow storm left me with - a huge snow drift trap!

I do not like to depend on other people - at all. But sometimes you must just accept defeat. That is EXACTLY how I felt Tuesday afternoon when looking at 4 foot snow drift trapping my car in the garage. I decided our road was passable but our driveway was obviously going to be an issue. I began frantically trying to find a ride to work Tuesday evening. I had no luck.

Yes, that is a dust pan. Trying to be resourceful. 

As I went to bed last night I came up with a great idea - use one of Channing's empty totes to scoop up the snow and move it out of the way..and that is exactly what I did this morning at around 7am. 

I have never been one to really just accept defeat so I don't think it surprised my mom when I called and told her my plan. I wanted to get out of my house and to work. So I found a way..I spend about an hour moving snow around and I'm pretty sure my neighbors watched for entertainment. I can only imagine that I looked like a crazy mess while doing this! I finally get to the end of the drive when I realize there's a huge problem! There is drift at the end of the driveway from all the accumulated snow from the road.


Just as I begin to get discouraged a van stops in front of my house and out comes a fellow Kiwanian with a shovel in hand. I know he didn't recognize me because I was covered up except for my eyes! With his help I was able to finish the driveway and well a picture speaks a thousand words - 

An EMPTY garage! Oh how the little things can be exciting!

So proud of my little Toyota! It made me so proud today!

I did it! But the moral of this story is - a  shovel is a necessity around the house! I made it to work --where more fun and crazy adventures began. Check back later for those ....

For now - I'm exhausted. Moving snow is hard work.