Phew! We finally moved into our new house! Last Friday morning we got up bright and early to sign our life away and we moved in the next day. It's just crazy to me that this wonderful four bedroom home belongs to me!! I am so thankful for all that God has provided and Austin and I truly feel blessed to be in such a wonderful place. Of course, have to give all the credit to God for He is the reason for everything. However, I do have to give props to my wonderful Hubby. If he wasn't such a great provider and manager of money (that, of which I am NOT!) then we wouldn't be in such a great place in our life. I am constantly in awe of his wisdom and choices. Yes, I am notorious for always having a case of the "gimmes" and Austin has to bring me back down to earth, BUT he always provides and has given me a new motto for my life: "Sweetie, you can have it all...just not all at one time." Then he usually goes out and buys me something to tie me over! So, yes, "Blessings" is a great title for this entry and I'm thankful for the many blessings in my life. I'll be posting pictures of the new house soon...just as soon as I can find the box that I packed my camera chord in! :0)
-Jennifer
Thank you for taking an interest in our family blog! It is a private blog, and I appreciate you not sharing your login information. I hope you can tell that we love Jesus and are living solely to raise our children to make much of His name and to stand out in a world of sin and conformers. I hope you find that what you read is genuine. Nothing is put on for show to make us look ideal. We are ANYTHING BUT the ideal family. We are real. We have problems. We trust Jesus in all we do.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Little Things
So, today when I went to let the dogs out I noticed this in the driveway:
You're thinking, "Well, Jennifer that would be your car!", and yes, you're right, but there's a little more to it. This week we got a notice from Dallas that we would have to move our cars off the street due to maintenance on our street (one of the many reasons I'm looking more and more forward to be back in Wylie). Austin and I always park our cars on the street since we share a driveway with our neighbor. So today, we couldn't leave the cars on the street. All I remember when Austin left for work (early) this morning was he was running late. I asked him (in a half-asleep state), what we should do about the cars. I could tell he was stressed because he was running late, but he said, "I'll take care of it". He came back in and told me he had moved the car in the driveway and then he kissed me goodbye. I went back to sleep...like a bum. Ok, ok, here's the sweet part. Austin knows I am the queen of disaster when it comes to backing in or out in a vehicle. Even though he was running late this morning, he still managed to take the *extra* time to back the car all the way into the looooooooong driveway, because he knew it would scare me to back it out. Just for an example:
You're thinking, "Well, Jennifer that would be your car!", and yes, you're right, but there's a little more to it. This week we got a notice from Dallas that we would have to move our cars off the street due to maintenance on our street (one of the many reasons I'm looking more and more forward to be back in Wylie). Austin and I always park our cars on the street since we share a driveway with our neighbor. So today, we couldn't leave the cars on the street. All I remember when Austin left for work (early) this morning was he was running late. I asked him (in a half-asleep state), what we should do about the cars. I could tell he was stressed because he was running late, but he said, "I'll take care of it". He came back in and told me he had moved the car in the driveway and then he kissed me goodbye. I went back to sleep...like a bum. Ok, ok, here's the sweet part. Austin knows I am the queen of disaster when it comes to backing in or out in a vehicle. Even though he was running late this morning, he still managed to take the *extra* time to back the car all the way into the looooooooong driveway, because he knew it would scare me to back it out. Just for an example:See!! It's forever long!! I know to guys this probably seems like a piece of cake, but to me it seems like conquering Mt. Everest and terrifies me! So, the bottom line is, Austin knew how "backing out" scared me and he took time out of his morning, even though he was running late, to back it in so I could drive it straight out. I can't tell you how something so small like that can make the biggest difference to me. That is why he is the best husband ever (I know, I'm a little biased!)
-Jennifer :0)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Humbled
As Austin and I are busy packing boxes, tossing our things into the "garage sale" or "garbage" pile, I find myself doing A LOT of complaining. Our house, which is quite tiny is becoming overwhelmed with the sight of cardboard boxes and I feel that I could scream due to the lack of space. However, today I have engaged in my normal routine of checking my email, facebook, and blog (yes, in that order... I'm a dork). I remembered my friend, Jess, created a blog, so amazingly titled Finding Courage in Grace. She is doing what many people, I know, would love to do - embarking on a journey to Africa. She, and a few others from her church, are on a mission trip to Uganda, Africa. As I read her blog I can't help but feel silly for feeling so "unfortunate" to be in this beautiful, air-conditioned, newly remodled duplex because I am surrounded by boxes full of my wonderful things??? Doesn't make any sense, right? Sigh, I need a reality check, and I think I got one. Anyway, I leave you today with just a snipit of one of her entries. Read it, take heart, and feel free to visit her blog about her self-less journey to Africa to share the glory of Christ our Savior. You're doing an amazing job, Jess! I can't wait until you get back and we can hear MORE about it! Love you, girl!
-Jennifer
"Today, we went out with a medical missions team to a camp. Oh, man it was good. I was completely humbled and privledge to get to pray for 3 hours over and for all of the sick sick people...elderly people...young ladies...little tiny sick babies. Igot to hold little hands and shake strong ones,..I was able to see many come to trust in Jesus as their savior as we shared all He has done for us..I cried...laughed..and cried some more. I was so dirty and hot and sweaty and LOVED every single minute...and GUESS WHAT?! (don't freak out mom and dad) I may be able to stay in the camp in a hut with the people tomorrow night if the locals tell us it's safe. They are here for our saftey first and they will definityly let us know if it's not safe. HOW COOL IS THAT? No one else wants to...Lord willing, I will get to KNOW the people and love them with the Love of Christ. It's a live changing thing being here. I will never be the same and it's not even half way over."
-Jennifer
"Today, we went out with a medical missions team to a camp. Oh, man it was good. I was completely humbled and privledge to get to pray for 3 hours over and for all of the sick sick people...elderly people...young ladies...little tiny sick babies. Igot to hold little hands and shake strong ones,..I was able to see many come to trust in Jesus as their savior as we shared all He has done for us..I cried...laughed..and cried some more. I was so dirty and hot and sweaty and LOVED every single minute...and GUESS WHAT?! (don't freak out mom and dad) I may be able to stay in the camp in a hut with the people tomorrow night if the locals tell us it's safe. They are here for our saftey first and they will definityly let us know if it's not safe. HOW COOL IS THAT? No one else wants to...Lord willing, I will get to KNOW the people and love them with the Love of Christ. It's a live changing thing being here. I will never be the same and it's not even half way over."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Waiting on Love...
Not that kind of love...I already found that 8 and a half years ago! :0) The Love that I am waiting on is a Monarch butterfly. ??????? Let me explain. Every spring I go out and find baby Monarch eggs on milkweed plants in a field and my class and I raise Monarch caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies. It is by far the coolest and most amazing thing I've ever seen. We watch them hatch from an egg about the size of the tip of a ball point pen, so you can imagine how tiny the caterpillar is. The caterpillar then eats and eats AND EATS it's way into a really big caterpillar. Then we watch it make it's chrysalis and then emerge as a butterfly. Well, those series of events did take place this year...but it was delayed due to not being able to find eggs like I do every year. So, I had to order them off the Internet. Unfortunately, since it took us so long to get the eggs, my kids got to see everything except for them becoming butterflies - THE BEST PART!! So, I had to bring the Monarch chrysalis' home with me and I've been watching and waiting myself. Our first Monarch, which my kids so graciously named, Mr. Austin (hmm...I wonder why!), emerged from his chrysalis on Friday. I wasn't there when he came out of his chrysalis, so Austin filmed me releasing him and I posted it online for my kids to see. So, our last Monarch, Love, is almost ready to come out of her chrysalis and I just can't go to bed until she does. I'm bound and determined to get her emerging from her chrysalis on film. When Monarchs are ready to emerge, their chrysalis turns completely clear and you can see their beautiful color and markings. I just know the second I go to bed she'll come out...so this is why it is 4:30 am and I am awake!! Mr. Austin really was a Mr. You can tell the sex of a caterpillar by two black dots on the lower part of the outside of their wings. If there are two black dots, then it's a male. It was pretty neat how we got the correct sex of this caterpillar, so for all the girls in my class I'm really hoping Love really is female. Here are some pictures of the Monarchs as caterpillars and Mr. Austin when he came out of his chrysalis.
This is Mr. Austin about a week after he hatched! They grow really fast in a week. He's almost 2 inches long!
Here is Love a couple of days before she made her chrysalis! She's A LOT bigger.
Here is Love in her chrysalis!
So, yes, this is by far the most exciting thing that happens in my classroom all year. Too bad the butterfly part didn't happen in my classroom, but at least technology comes in handy here! STILL waiting on Love. It's almost 5 am and I really need to go to bed...but I just know the second I do, she'll come out of that thing! If I can stay up long enough and get it on video, I'll be sure and post it...it's really a cool thing! Oh, well. Night!
-Jennifer :0)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Out with the old, on with the new.
Even though the new house is so incredibly exciting, it's all a little bittersweet. It's hard to think of leaving our little one bedroom duplex in Dallas. I LOVE this house! It's teeny tiny, but it was our first house, together. It's also in "old Dallas" which makes it even more special, because I've always loved being in the old part of Dallas. When I was a little girl I always wanted to drive around this area and hear stories about where my mom and dad grew up. So, you can imagine how stoked I was to be able to live over here, even for a short period of time. We are slowly, but surely, outgrowing this little place...not to mention that the 35 minute commute I have to work everyday is killing us! So, as wonderful as the new house is, the old one is just fine and I will be so sad to leave it. Our landlady has been showing our duplex for the past week since we just gave our notice, so I've had to keep the house SUPER NICE (which is a huge pain in the rear!). One day I decided to bust out the camera and take pictures of the house, because it was all clean and all the blinds were open and the sun was coming in. I knew that I would just kick myself one day even I didn't have pictures that captured every aspect of the house, so I went around and snapped a few. They're ok, but you certainly don't get the same feel as if you were standing in it. :0)
Something you don't see in the new houses! I love not having to go outside and check my mail. I'm lazy...
The view of our little living room as you walk in the front door, and Scout in her usual place!
The view of the kitchen from the dining room.
One side of the kitchen - my favorite room on the house!
The other side of the kitchen! :0)
Yes, it is...a wonderful life!
I LOVE the flooring in the kitchen!
Our bathroom and the shower that I will GREALY miss!
The other side of our tiny bathroom!
Our bedroom...hmm that picture is a little dark, huh?
That's better.
I put these different pieces of "art" work up from some of my Kindergarteners into these frames as a temporary thing until I found some 8x10's that I liked. I ended up liking this better!
My wedding dress, still hanging on my closet door since December 15th. I know, I know, it should be in a protective cover...but it's just so pretty to look at! I only got to wear it once!!
Scout, looking very humbled because she knows she's not supposed to be on the bed when it's made! How can I tell her "no", though!!??
Our backyard! I love the trees...something our new backyard is lacking as of right now!
Our little home on Martel Ave.
We only occupy this half of the house, though! :0)
Something you don't see in the new houses! I love not having to go outside and check my mail. I'm lazy...The view of our little living room as you walk in the front door, and Scout in her usual place!
Another view of the living room!
One of my very favorite things about this house! I'm crazy about the fireplace!
Our dining/breakfast area.
The view of the kitchen from the dining room. One side of the kitchen - my favorite room on the house!The other side of the kitchen! :0)
Yes, it is...a wonderful life!
I LOVE the flooring in the kitchen!
Our little hallway.
Our bathroom and the shower that I will GREALY miss!The other side of our tiny bathroom!Our bedroom...hmm that picture is a little dark, huh?
That's better.
I put these different pieces of "art" work up from some of my Kindergarteners into these frames as a temporary thing until I found some 8x10's that I liked. I ended up liking this better!
My wedding dress, still hanging on my closet door since December 15th. I know, I know, it should be in a protective cover...but it's just so pretty to look at! I only got to wear it once!!
Scout, looking very humbled because she knows she's not supposed to be on the bed when it's made! How can I tell her "no", though!!??
And Kemah who could care LESS if she gets in trouble or not!
Our backyard! I love the trees...something our new backyard is lacking as of right now!I hope to duplicate this in our new backyard one day!
Well, that's about it. It's itty bitty, but it has been a fun starter home and I will REALLY miss it! However, I think God has some great things in store for us! I can't wait to see what all I have to look forward to!
Have a blessed day,
-Jennifer :0)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Call Me a Hypocrite!
Who would have thought I would gain the title, "Blogger?" As a matter of fact, I was probably one of the most anti-bloggers EVER. So, yes, you can call me a hypocrite and you can criticize me...I deserve it! HOWEVER, it is all Nicole Gooch's fault. ;0) Her and her husband were in town last night and stopped by, and she just HAD to show me the most adorable family's blog. That did it...I'm hooked. Although, this particular family has an ADORABLE baby and so much to "blog" about, I can't imagine anyone wanting to actually read what I have to say, especially compared to them...but I'm gonna do it anyway. It's ok if you think mine are boring...I'll have to agree with you. But really, the reason I decided to become a "blogger" is because a lot of exctiting things are about to take place in my life, and I wanted to document it all! God is REALLY good and is providing for Austin and I and I want to share it with the world! So, here I go...I'm now going to begin my "blogging career" and bore you with all the extraordinary details of my life. Btw, my husband is currently napping on the couch, but I'm expecting him to wake up any minute, clue into what I've gotten myself into, and roll his eyes and give me a lecture. (I'll let you know if that happens.) Until then, let me catch you up to date with what has been going on with the Aldrich's: As of December 15, 2007 I became Mrs. Austin Aldrich, the BEST day of my life. We were married in Dallas at Royal Lane Baptist Church, the church I've dreamed of getting married at since I was about ten. It was a beautiful Christmas wedding and it was everything I had dreamed of. I had seven gorgeous attendants who were there for me every every step of the way.
I had nine amazing and ADORABLE children as jr. bridesmaids, jr. groomsmen, ring bearers, and a flower girl - too cute!
Our reception was in Garland at The Atrium. We honeymooned in Mexico, the Riveira Maya, and had a GLORIOUS time. This was what we did on a daily basis and enjoyed every second of it!
We live in Dallas in the M streets and LOVE it. We have two babies, Scout and Kemah, our dogs! They are incredibly spoiled and will be our babies until we have one of our own. We are ADDICTED to the T.V. show LOST and have never missed an epidose. If there is some sort of support group for Lost addicts...we should join it.We are enjoying being newlyweds and having this time to oursevles. Living off Mockingbird and Greenville has been a neat and fun experience, but it's time to get practical and live closer to work and family. We are buying a house in Wylie, which is where I currently teach Kindergarten and LOVE it. The house is a big reason I am creating this blog - it's just the beginning of great things. The house is pretty close to the perfect house for us and has everything we've been looking for. We are so blessed to have found such a beautiful place in a beautiful neighborhood just minutes from my school. So, I'm planning on documenting all these wonderful events in our lives so I don't miss a thing! Thanks for stopping in and catching up with Austin and I and all the wonderful things God is doing in our lives. Oh, and incase you are wondering, "Who the heck are 'The Dubs'?" In college, Austin acquired the nickname, "Adub." Naturally, I became a "dub", too and so I acquired the nickname Jendub. So, that's us...The Dubs. :0)
p.s. He's still asleep...so I'm in the clear...FOR NOW!!!
- Jennifer :0)
I had nine amazing and ADORABLE children as jr. bridesmaids, jr. groomsmen, ring bearers, and a flower girl - too cute!Our reception was in Garland at The Atrium. We honeymooned in Mexico, the Riveira Maya, and had a GLORIOUS time. This was what we did on a daily basis and enjoyed every second of it!We live in Dallas in the M streets and LOVE it. We have two babies, Scout and Kemah, our dogs! They are incredibly spoiled and will be our babies until we have one of our own. We are ADDICTED to the T.V. show LOST and have never missed an epidose. If there is some sort of support group for Lost addicts...we should join it.We are enjoying being newlyweds and having this time to oursevles. Living off Mockingbird and Greenville has been a neat and fun experience, but it's time to get practical and live closer to work and family. We are buying a house in Wylie, which is where I currently teach Kindergarten and LOVE it. The house is a big reason I am creating this blog - it's just the beginning of great things. The house is pretty close to the perfect house for us and has everything we've been looking for. We are so blessed to have found such a beautiful place in a beautiful neighborhood just minutes from my school. So, I'm planning on documenting all these wonderful events in our lives so I don't miss a thing! Thanks for stopping in and catching up with Austin and I and all the wonderful things God is doing in our lives. Oh, and incase you are wondering, "Who the heck are 'The Dubs'?" In college, Austin acquired the nickname, "Adub." Naturally, I became a "dub", too and so I acquired the nickname Jendub. So, that's us...The Dubs. :0)p.s. He's still asleep...so I'm in the clear...FOR NOW!!!
- Jennifer :0)
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