Jenny Childress

Little Miss

2012-02-17T00:24:00.001-06:00

I've had a blast the last couple of days hanging out with Kennedy Kate. I can't believe that she is almost 13 months old already. Today she was trying to blow kisses, told our dog Belle"no", crawled/pulled up on everything, and handed me several books for me to read to her. These are fun times for sure!

SOLD!

2012-02-16T16:23:00.003-06:00

Yesterday our landlord called and told us that they sold our condo we've been renting for the last 2 years. We knew this unit being sold was a possibility but I didn't think it would happen this soon. I am really excited about a new adventure in a new place but the idea of moving is just not fun. Who wants to come over and pack a box or two.? TEAM? Together. Everyone. Achieves. More. Right? Oh Lord please drive out anxiety and thank You for working all things out. It is a true relief that you know right where we end up and that You work out all of the details. To You alone be the glory.

3 Letter Words

2012-02-12T21:49:00.001-06:00

DOG: on Friday my chocolate lab Belle fell fast asleep after tearing up one of my couch cushions. Don't worry. I didn't kill her and was able to hand stitch the cushion up.
ZOO: Kennedy loves her zoo now. I mean she squeals with delight over it and makes every animal slide down the slide. #hearthappy
TOM(s): Well I just realized that Toms is plural so this blew my post title but that doesn't change that I finally have my first pair. The shoes took some getting used to but I think I will enjoy their light weightness on warmer days. Thanks favorite sister-in-law.

Hope your weekend was great! Mine was!

28th Birthday

2012-02-10T12:29:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was great!! I received tons, I mean TONS of birthday greetings by Facebook, texts, email, cards, & phone calls that filled my heart full! What a blessed day that went like this:

Woke up to birthday flowers, a pot of coffee, a HUGE chocolate covered strawberry, the sweetest card from Kyle, & breakfast with my family of egg in a hearts
got to spend some much needed quality time with Beth Wittenburg in the morning
Napped
Received pedicure gift cert, flowers, cupcakes, card from my sweet inlaws
Taken to carino's for birthday dinner with dad & Diane.
Home for cupcakes and American Idol
Such a fun fun day! Here are the pics

Birthday Bash

2012-02-09T07:26:00.001-06:00

Every year on a Friday in February there's a party. It's the most fabulous of days (other than the 9th of such month) celebrated with 4 dear friends who all happen to have birthdays in the month of love. Our first one was a pink and black bash and while planning this event there was no intention (at least from this birthday girl) to make this an annual event but it just caught on. The birthday bash has gone on successfully in my book for the past 5 years and it holds the best memories. The themes have been:
1) pink & black bash
2) famous couples
3) 80's bash (I have the perfect curly hair for this kind of party)
4) Wear a Wig bash
5) Gold & Glam
Im not sure of the date for next years party but I CAN assure you that the theme will be talked about soon & you'll have a great time. Here are some pictures from this years party & happy 28th birthday today to me :)
I love you Jenny H, Jill, & Nocona!

Kennedy Kate Turns 1

2012-02-05T21:52:00.004-06:00

It has almost been 2 weeks since Kennedy Kate turned 1! We have had the best time celebrating her birthday and just enjoying her. I attempted to make owl cupcakes for her parties and I think they turned out okay. I am NOT one for making things so I impressed myself for sure. We had a small get together over at Kyle's parents house on Kennedy's actual birthday where we enjoyed burgers, her new cozy coupe, and watching her eat a yummy cupcake. Then on Saturday we had a medium sized family party for her over at my dad and Diane's house which was so much fun. I can't explain how much more exciting birthdays are when they are for your children. So so special. On Monday at her one year check up she weighed 21.8 pounds and was 30.5 inches tall. Here are some pictures from the events. Such a joyous time!

February

2012-02-01T09:02:00.004-06:00

WOW, I did a horrible job in blog world in January. Between church, family/friends, and work I didn't have much time for fun. I know I need to be better at balancing my time but I feel like a total winner balancing the 3 things above. I read somewhere that any human being will feel better with a balanced life. We are at "all times" to strive for a time balance that resembles a table with four legs, each leg representing a different important aspect of who you are. For example for me that would look like:

spiritual
relationally
professional
recreational

Placing a priority on each of these things by ranking them from highest importance to me will help me make sure I am not undermining the things that are essential to me in my life. So, If I have a conference call that I know would benefit my work and am tempted to skip it because my girlfriends are having impromptu pedicures at Pearl Nails, I just simply ask if not listening would line up in my priorities. With a table approach I would be able to also ask myself if I have spent enough time on my relationships this week as well.

What would your 4 table legs look like? What do you need to make sure to make more time for? A balanced life is a life lived intentionally and with purpose (to me).

Happy love month y'all! I'll be posting about sweet Kennedy Kate's 1st birthday soon!

This Time Last Year

2012-01-25T00:03:00.001-06:00

This time last year I was tossing and turning and excited about heading to the hospital at noon the next day to have our baby girl. I really cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. Pure Joy!

Can't wait to publish her birthday post :)

Your Great Name

2012-01-22T23:54:00.002-06:00

So blessed by this beautiful song at church this morning. I think we all need this reminder. May your Monday (and week) be blessed!

31

2012-01-15T08:41:00.001-06:00

Today is my sister's 31st birthday! Where has the time gone? I'm blessed that I got to see her and my nephew for a bit this weekend! So fun! Happy birthday Lindsey Kay. 31 is your year!

Friday Fun Fact

2012-01-12T22:44:00.001-06:00

I need the quote below on a coffee mug!

Happy weekend! What are your plans? Isn't it amazing that the God of the universe knows how things turn out for us? So comforting! As you go throughout your day on Friday and then on Saturday and Sunday my prayer is that you know you are forgiven and loved. That you know and rest in the fact that you are dearly loved and fought for and sought after. God loves you and has the most amazing plans for you! Grasp Him dears. He's the only way to peace.

4

2012-01-11T22:49:00.001-06:00

*This week Kennedy got 4 new teeth! She now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom. So cute! She is getting even more lively by the day.
*This week we have had 4 meetings with 100% sign up rate
*This week I saw the 140's (149.8) for the first time since February 2009 (that was about marathon time)
*This week 4 of my old dresses sold on eBay for a total of $64.00
*This week I've talked to or texted with a dear lovely friend 4 days in a row
*This week the Lord has revealed 4 people I need to talk to soon to move forward with ministry
*This week we received 2 cards from our church, 1 Facebook message, & 1 phone call letting us know we are covered in prayer (that equals 4)
*I've gone to sleep before midnight 4 nights in a row
*Tomorrow we have 4 meetings scheduled and I know they will be great too
*AND tomorrow Lindsey & Landon get here (well to my dads in Seguin) for 4 whole days!

Count your blessings for the week so far! What pattern have you seen this week? God has a glorious plan for you. Drink Him in & be present in every moment.

Life on Purpose

2012-01-07T10:28:00.003-06:00

I love my new blog layout from Small Bird Studios and I am loving 2012 so far! I've got a lot of things in the works for 2012 and can't wait to share them all with you! Thank you for stopping by!

What do think of the new look?

Makeover?

2012-01-05T11:20:00.004-06:00

I guess it's the new year change but I am craving a makeover. I want brown hair again but every time I go brown I regret it soon after and then find myself going back to a blondie. I should know myself by now but I am still very tempted to go and get brown hair. Probably won't. With that being said I am officially in line for a blogger makeover. I am really excited to see my new layout and blog title. I have gone through some training for social media and have decided that for what I want to achieve in the future my blog title needs to be my name. You'll love how I incorporated the blog title that was voted on a few months back.

I appreciate each of you that read and participate in my life and am just thankful.

My friend Lauren over at The Rescued Home had the following to say about 2011:

"As I reflected on all God did and all we accomplished I kept coming back to this question. Did I love well? I read this quote somewhere and I feel it captures my desire for life, 'I’m not too concerned with what I am going to do. I am more interested in who I am becoming. I WANT TO BE A LOVER OF GOD AND PEOPLE.'"

I think I'll make that my sentence for 2012. A makeover of heart if you will: because I’m not too concerned with what I am going to do. I am more interested in who I am becoming. I WANT TO BE A LOVER OF GOD AND PEOPLE

Thank you Lord for a brand new start!

11 Months

2011-12-28T16:12:00.002-06:00

I can't believe our sweet Kennedy Kate is already 11 months old? Where did the time go! You are officially down to 2 naps a day and sleeping from about 9-9. This schedule is MUCH better for everyone and you seem much happier throughout the day. I'm really excited about planning your first birthday party which will be a barnyard bash since you love animals so much. You are cutting more teeth and still growing like a weed. You haven't gained much weight lately but I know it's just because you are on the move. You love to be chased around the living room while crawling away from mommy or daddy so very fast. You started standing on your own on Monday and I believe will be walking soon.

You are so very dear to us! We love you very very much

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T14:58:00.001-06:00

6am: shower get ready
7am: Wake up Kennedy
715: Little perfect Christmas with Kyle, Kennedy, & me
745: Arrive at Kyle's parents
8: breakfast
830-930: gift exchange which was a blast
930-noon: playing with Kennedy and all her sweet gifts
Noon-2: lunch & grazing on desserts
2: started watching True Grit by the fire & naps

Plans for later:
850 showing of Sherlock Holmes with friends who are dear to my heart.

Merry Christmas! It's been the best one yet!

Oh, and our chocolate lab Jingle Belle turned 2 today. Happy birthday Belley Brown

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T17:53:00.001-06:00

Totally resting today. It's been very nice to cuddle up with my little family and coffee and hot chocolate. We are excited about spending Christmas day with Kyle's amazing parents tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Here are more pictures from the week:

Snap Shots

2011-12-23T11:41:00.001-06:00

Here are a few precious pictures of my nephew Landon & our girl Kennedy. I love them so much!

Wednesday and Thursday

2011-12-22T23:49:00.001-06:00

Wednesday was a great day and "Christmas" at my dad and Diane's house in Seguin. I gained 2 pounds. That should tell you how great it was :) We had a wonderful lunch, exchanged gifts, and played all afternoon. It was so much fun to watch Landon and Kennedy interact. They are becoming little buddies! It was such a great day.

Thursday my mom came to our house in Austin and surprised me with the best surprise. She handed me a very heavy box and kept telling me to open it all day. I kept putting it off because I like Christmas to last longer. I finally opened the box to find HER WHOLE LIBERTY FALLS COLLECTION! This might sound boring to some but to the girl who went to Dillard's every week with her momma to get a new little house for the collection and then strategically placed the new house in it's new place in our Christmas village It's THE most perfect gift! I'm still in shock! Yay! I LOVE them and pray that Kennedy will cherish them as much as I do.

Merry Merry

A Quick Trip

2011-12-21T08:22:00.001-06:00

A quick trip to Houston with Kennedy Kate on Monday did my soul good. The book I've been working on is my testimony and I've learned that to move forward in complete freedom I've gotta deal with some stuff instead of my normal (unhealthy) mindset of "Gotta Run" (see the blog title really does need some changing). So I thought and prayed some things out and im taking some steps I'll fill you in on soon.
Kennedy loved visiting with her Grandma, aunt Lindsey, cousins Landon, Valentina, & Alek, Aunt Candy, & great grandma & grandpa. She's such a trooper and didn't get grumpy at all. It was a quick trip that ended with me taking Lindsey and Landon to my dads in Seguin and I loved every second. Today we celebrate all that is Christmas with my dad and step mom Diane. Can't wait!

"Hope is here!
Shout the news to everyone
It's a new day peace has come
Jesus saves"
-Lyrics from Jeremy Camp Jesus Saves

The Festivities Begin

2011-12-17T21:40:00.001-06:00

Denton with Kyle's dads side of the family was fabulous!
We have enjoyed so many things like:

The crammed family car ride with 5 adults, a baby, & all the stuff that comes with that.
Staying up late.
Sleeping in.
Snuggling.
A gift exchange.
Pies.
Brisket.
Naps.
Football.
The Pioneer Woman's Christmas special.
So much fun!

How has your weekend been so far?

Life Planner

2011-12-13T21:50:00.001-06:00

I don't care how great technology becomes in the future I will always use a day planner pencil paper system for my scheduling. There's something satisfying about writing what needs to be done down and crossing things off the list. I can't wait for my personalized Erin Condren 2012 Life Planner to get here. I've waited several months for it and my husband thinks being this excited over a day planner is ridiculous. He'll thank me for keeping our family organized soon enough. Go to http://www.erincondren.com click on calendars and then on life planners. There's a video you can watch too!

Merry Christmas to me from my loving loving husband!

Candy Cane Christmas Girl

2011-12-11T18:49:00.001-06:00

Stepping Up

2011-12-10T23:47:00.001-06:00

I'm really excited about launching me (but it's not about me) Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere with FHTM I just got an idea on a run and I've decided to go with it. Today I launched a "social media & your business" class in Austin and 30 people SHOWED UP!!!! So I guess the official launch of Jenny Childress Communications is launched. AND several people asked if I would be willing to work with them individually on branding themselves through social media sites! So fun! Please pray! I was frustrated one day because I want to be crafty and make stuff and earn money by doing my talent like many of my friends do (but I'm in NO WAY crafty) and I heard a voice deep inside say, "you're real good at talking. And inspiring. And Facebook. Why not?" and I went with it. I'm also in the process of working on my very first short book for Jenny Childress Ministries because let's face it: I was called to ministry in the fall of 2003 and I can't ignore that call anymore! God has awoken my soul and set my feet upon a rock and I'm just thrilled about this life I'm called to.

"I will rise when You call my name. No more sorrow no more pain I will rise on eagles wings. Before my God fall on my knees and rise" -Chris Tomlin

Please pray!

And this girl is cute in a Christmas hat :)

Christmas Days

2011-12-04T00:06:00.001-06:00

Here are a few fun pictures I've snapped of Christmas around here so far. I'm loving having a little girl to love on during the holidays!