Silly Love

I was planning on doing this super serious, completely thoughtful blog about what the Lord is showing me concerning my pride, self-reliance, and my own ambitions today. But then I thought about our Sunday afternoon Brian and I spent together about an hour before church and...well...it made me laugh. (you'll see in a few minutes) And that got me thinking about my hubby and then about Valentine's Day and about what I love about my hubby and then about what I wanted in a hubby when I was single and then about lunch. My mind is like spaghetti...it goes everywhere.

When I was single, I had a list of qualities I wanted in my future hubby. And then God humbled me and I threw out my list and said, Ok...I have my ideas, but God has bigger ones. Among those qualities on my list were (of course) Godly, a leader, protector, provider, humble, grateful, loving, supportive, loyal, Gospel-Centered...yeah yeah, you get it right?

Well, one thing I ALWAYS said was important to me was laughter...sense of humor. You have to have fun together, right? You have to be able to laugh at each other. It's important. I love laughing. I love being silly and weird...hey, it's who I am. I love that Brian dives right in with me.

Girls, if you have a list of qualities...yes, Godly and a leader should be numbero uno. But, make sure he makes you laugh. Make sure you make him laugh. Laugh together. You'll be spending the rest of your life together and you. must. laugh! Enjoy each other's humors. Brian and I will fight about who is funnier and truthfully, I am. He knows it.

So Sunday afternoon, after chilling and watching a few hours of House Season One, we drove down to the Potomac River next to the Lincoln Memorial. I have been dieing to get out and take pictures. As a part of our marriage contract, Brian must be willing in any and all circumstances to be my model. It's ligit. (too ligit to quit...)

The sun was setting and the sky was golden. It was beautiful...but cold...and windy. (ONE MORE MONTH TILL SPRING!)

Brian was strolling along the disease infested river bank (seriously, you DO NOT want to swim or even poke a toe in this water). He was looking down like he was searching for something and I liked that...and well...the picture below was of him before I gave him my instructions...

And here's the series where I told him to act like he was searching for something.

"Search for something!! No...what...what are you doing? I said search!"

"this is how I search!"

When we got in the car to drive to church, I was looking through them and just burst out laughing. I laughed so hard I cried.

I love that he is silly with me.

I love that he laughs when I am silly and doesn't look at me weird.

(Ok, he still looks at me weird)

I love that we can laugh together.

I love that our family will be filled with laughter in the future.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I Don't Get It

Because I felt like my blog was naked on my last post from the lack of pictures.

I took a few pictures around/in our house Sunday afternoon.

They really have nothing to do with my post.

I just don't want my poor blog to feel naked again.

And well... no one likes feeling like they are naked.

It's like one of those dreams where you go to school naked.

Or it's like Adam and Eve, when they first saw their nakedness in the Garden and had to hide.

Ok, I've said the word Naked too much. I'm done. This IS a rated G blog.

Brian had to work (I called it study) Sunday after church. And I'm just in love with this candle from Target. So he worked, I flamed the fire :), and turned on Jack Johnson whilst I baked my snickerdoodle cookies where I accidentally forgot to put in the baking soda.

(Btw, can anyone tell me what EXACTLY baking soda and baking powder do anyway?)

I talked about my love for my yellow wall and blue printed vintage plates in our dining room on my last post, so I decided to show you. Aren't they pretty? The yellow wall does my soul some good, especially on gray days.

The Ball jars were from my wedding. I used them as the decor. I just love the color and the light that comes through them. Don't you?

Ok, all done with the pictures. My shutter finger is itching to be out taking pictures again! Can't wait for Spring!!


On to my post:

"I don't get it." If our highschool year book's had a personal quote underneath our pictures, that would be mine. I think I told that to every teacher I had...more specifically to my math teacher. (Sorry, Mr. A!) But not only did I say that in my math class, I would say it in my English class, my history class, so on and so forth. I consider myself a slow learner...yes, slow. I was just trying to think of a time where I was a fast learner so I didn't paint myself as dumb or with a learning disability, but I couldn't. :) I'm slow. It's true. Learning and studying never came easy for me. Math was my hardest and then history. Though I love history now, it was hard for me to learn all the correct dates and get them right with the correct battle. And Math...well, that's just a loosing battle (date: August 31, 1985 - January 9, 2009).

The same applies to when I listen to messages and God is trying to work on my heart. In my pride and rebellion, I will fight and not listen to what God is trying to get across to me. I may listen, but even though I listen, it takes a while for me to really understand what he is saying. I don't get it.

"Hey, Jenny...you have a lot of pride. We need to work on this."

"I don't get it."

"Hey Jenny, there's your pride again...let's work on that."

"I don't get it."

"Hey Jenny, you know what comes after pride? Selfishness. I'm going to work on that too."
"I don't get it."

"Oh! And there's also this issue you have with Trust..."
"I don't get it."

Like I said...slow learner. Thankfully, God is patient and has a steadfast love and mercy with me.

My hubs is pretty patient with me too. ;)

The message on Sunday was good. It was short. :) Usually, our messages alone last an hour long. Which I actually really like. We had a guest preacher from Australia come. He spoke on the 10 Commandments. It was good. Honestly, there was not a lot my heart really grasped (it's the slow learner thing...I'll probably remember something in a few weeks).

But the thing I remember the most was his prayer at the end. This line wasn't meant to make a point. It wasn't meant for anyone to understand the significance. It wasn't a dramatic, spiritual attempt to convict our sinful hearts into submission. It was a simple line that came to me like..."hey! yeah! Ya know, you're right! And I get that!" It was one of those lines that I had to write it down before I would forget. God does that with me sometimes. In his patient character, he'll bring me to a place, or he'll allow me to overhear a conversation about the same thing he is trying to work on with me and I'll get it. I don't have to be at a spiritual conference or emotionally drawn to the worship music, or in a state where I'm crying, at the end of my rope and I FINALLY understand the lesson he is teaching me. Sometimes those things come at unsuspected places.

Anyway, are you dieing to know what the line was now? Did I play it up enough for ya? :) Good.

He prayed this: "Forgive us Lord, for we know so much, but do so little."

Do you get it? We know SO much about our Heavely Father. We know about his loving and faithful character. We know about the salvation he brought to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. We know so much about the Bible and the Truth in it. We know. We know about this. But we do so little. At least, in my humility, I (put in caps, bold, italicised and underlined) do so little. Convicting. Yes? yes. It really wasn't meant to convict me, but it did. So, how do I practically do this? That's another thing I have to figure out...

putting away my fearfulness and just speak truth...and most importantly living it out. It's gonna be hard. But why do so little when I know so much?

I Like...

Well, my photography season is really slow for me lately. I don't have another job/project until the end of February so I have no pictures to show you right now. Plus, I'm just aching for it to be warm to be outside more often to take fun pictures. I know you can take fun pictures in the snow/frigid cold too, but...it's cooooooooold. Seriously, I don't think you guys understand just how much I hate being cold. It takes me forever to warm up. I have to put TWO (count them, 1. TWO.) coats on when I go to work. I walk home from the metro and bus and it's just awful out. Out of all things in this world I hate the most, being cold is in the top 10. I'll take humid days any day over frigid blowing wind/ice in my face. Anyway, all that to say, I wish I had some pictures to show up on today's blog for you...but alas, there are none.

I am excited about my upcoming Spring! Though, I don't have many weddings or really anything, I am excited about a wedding and a few pro bono things happening. I'll be shooting my FIRST 2011 wedding on Febraury 26 for Sarah and Jonathan, a lovely couple from my church. And in March, I'm participating in a silent auction hosted by Creative Memories. Nancy Creighton, from Creative Memories, is the one who contacted me about getting involved. I am so excited to be participating. They will be supporting Make A Wish Foundation. How I will be involved is that I am putting up my services to be auctioned off. So someone will be bidding on either a free engagement or family session to be photographed by yours truly. This will be a great way to hopefully gain new clients and be a part of a great cause. I'm thrilled! If you want to attend, please let me know. It'll be held in March in downtown DC and free to the public! Let me know and I'll shoot you over the information!

Also, I will be meeting with someone from the Sheraton Hotel in Baltimore to do a family session with her. She is the coordinator for weddings at the Sheraton so once we do her family session and she likes me, I'll be put on the preferred vendor lists for Brides. So. Excited!

Neither the silent auction nor the family session will be "jobs", but Lord willing, they will lead to other jobs. Pray!

I've been thinking a lot about where the Lord has me with my photography dream. Right now, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Which makes my heart hurt. But, I'm learning to give it up to the Lord. Trust him that if he wants me to be a full time photog, then he'll make it happen. Right now, being a full time photographer AND working full time is a lot to handle. It means that I not only work on the week days, but I work on the weekends too AND week nights to finish all the editing. It's a process. Right now, I can't fully commit to photography. Ooohhh how I wish I could, but God is teaching me something through all this waiting. Right?

Anyway, I didn't want to bore you with my thoughts about my continually aspiring photography business.

I wanted to share with you things I like...things I think are funny...things that just make my day.
By the way, all these thoughts began this morning because of a doughnut and my love for them. The first Friday of every month my work gives the employees a breakfast which usually consists of bagels and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Oh man. I never partake of this day because...well...trying to watch what I eat in my almost 30 age. (I turned 28 on Wednesday) Well, anyway, I was really really hungry this morning. Really hungry. And I brought in my usual breakfast, Greek yogurt with Pomegranate seeds and coffee. It wasn't doing anything for me. The kitchen near me usually has the doughnuts...I ventured out of my desk to grab one. Came into the kitchen only to find muffins, bagels, FRUIT!, and OATMEAL! What is this crap??? I want a doughnut, dang it!! DOUGHNUT! Then I remember our other kitchen on the same floor. AH HA! They were there. The chocolate one starred at me...I starred at it. We fell in love. I FOUND THE DOUGHNUT!! I HAVE FOUND IT!! WE HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER! I WILL RAVAGE THIS DOUGHNUT AND BE UNITED WITH IT FOR...the next 5 or so hours until it's digested. I didn't eat the whole thing though...oh how I wanted to. I tried justifying it. But I couldn't. I still have left over birthday cake I want to sink into tonight. I don't think anyone really understands just how much I LOVE cake and other such things. Anyway, my love affair with this doughnut had me thinking about all the other things I like...and so...welll...here's a list.

I Like...
- the fact that Brian was racing me to finish my piece of birthday cake the other night, and I didn't eve know it. He said he seriously had to rush to eat the cake before me. I didn't even think I was going that fast. But apparently, I eat my dessert's really quickly. hee hee :)
- my birthday cake Brian bought for me (Obviously). It was Oreo!!
- that I bit into it before he even sliced a piece.
- Avocado's.
- my rock climbing harness Brian bought for me to go rock climbing this summer.
- Brian.
- weight training better than running. (Who'da thunk it??)
- my new blue phone! (Jess, we have the same one now!)
- Verizon and no more stupid AT&T dropped calls and late incoming texts.
- the fact that my phone is considered "basic". The iPhone stressed me out too much.
- Spring and all the fun Spring and Summer things Brian and I have planned...kayaking, rock climbing, many beach trips, a day trip.
- getting my hair highlighted tonight!
- Brian's eyes.
- that I get to spend much quality time with my Sexy Kitchen Aid this weekend making cupcakes and cookies!
- the new rug we bought from Costco.
- my new (but used) Craigslist Vaccuum. I love love love a clean floor...a floor so clean you could roll around on it...not that anyone would do that...Ahem.
- My yellow wall in our "dining room" and the blue printed vintage plates hanging on it.
- Brian.
- the fact that I can be the weirdest and silliest I've ever been around Brian and he totally gets it and laughs.
- Brian's smile.
- my sense of humor. It doesn't make sense to many people, but I think it's funny.
- Coffee, coffee, and more coffee (who doesn't like coffee, right?)
- wearing sporty/yoga clothes all day, everyday.
- getting up Saturday mornings, not taking a shower, leaving the house in a baseball hat, and still feeling cute.
- Brian.
- Brian's fashion sense.
- talking with Brian about how cute/weird/hyper our future kids will be.
- the fact that today I am wearing Hollister pants I bought 6 years ago, an American Eagle sweater I bought 3 years ago, an American Eagle shirt I bought 2 years ago, and Gap shoes I bought 2 1/2 years ago. :)
- Brian's cute butt. (oops!) ;)
- Capturing people with my camera in mid-laugh.
- Pictures of Brian on my desk at work.
- Brian's ability to cook!
- NoiseTrade.com where you can find new artists and download their music for free! (totally legal) I highly recommend Ben Rector and Nate Fowler.
- Magazines. Mostly Health, Fitness, and Bridal.
- Dancing in the gym to whatever gangsta music is on my iPod.



Well folks, I like many things. You get the idea. I want to hear some of YOUR favorite things. What are things that are worthy of the Facebook Like Button? Let me know.

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