baby, baby, baby ooohhhh

you may have heard this song before.

but have you met our friends?  they love babies & biebers alike...

{yes this is what our friends are really like}

and i don't know this gentleman but since he has given me hours of enjoyment and because he obviously has a love for babies as well he had to be included...

do you see a theme?  welp...baby, baby, baby ooohhhh...



i'm still alive! & here i am with life updates...

well it's been nearly 2 weeks since my last post.  i'm becoming a worse and worse blogger over time.  and here i thought i would only get better and better at it!  we are a little overwhelmed, swamped, {insert all other adjectives that mean WILDLY busy}.  just when you think things are going to ease up, you look at your calendar and realize that this schedule is never ending.


i have 6 posts in waiting.  literally 6 but i just can't find the time to finish even just one.  i will do it.  i will!


the fun news that i wanted benny to share was that he got into his program at uk for elementary education!  yay!  it is such a blessing and he will be right on track to graduate when we were hoping, spring of 2012. only 3 more semesters to go! additionally, he has been observing at a local elementary school in a 1st grade class.  it is so exciting to talk to benny after he's been in the classroom.  i think it has really encouraged him and affirmed him that he is preparing for something that he will really love.  i think he possibly got assigned the most awesome, experienced teacher ever and she has let him jump right in to helping kids etc. he will be an excellent teacher someday.  and it looks like that day will be quickly approaching!

don't you want him to teach your kids?

this past weekend me and 3 of my bestest friends went on {another} adventure to visit yet another bestie...shan shan.  if you are friends with my friends you have likely already read about it {here, here or here}.  i miss shannon terribly and LOVED being with her and the girls for the weekend.  growing up is hard sometimes, its really fun that we still get to have slumber parties and road trips. 

.pure joy.

can't you tell?

we hugged & visited

{me & shannie poo}

{walked, sat, adventured, caught up with our friends}

{outlet shopped, people watched, laughed, ate}

laughing & eating comsumed most of our time.

stop judging.

these girls are an amazing testimony to God's grace in my life.  i am incredibly blessed daily by their friendship & their hearts for the Lord.  He knew 10 years ago when i met these 3 girls that they would be instrumental to me knowing Him.  that He would use them for His glory and that they would be women that impact eternity.  i know many people who aren't surrounded by community, people who don't have an example of a godly woman who is passionate and strong.  i know that i am blessed beyond measure to see the gospel lived out in their lives.

the Lord also knew that we would need jenna, she is all of the above, just entered the scene later for us.  she's the friend behind the camera for most of these pics. we were blessed with jenna when we came to college.  she is so gentle, real & humble.  i love her.  and as we found out this weekend, it was a good thing we weren't friends until after high school because the four of us {above} weren't sweet enough to be friends with her yet.  she's extra sweet.

i took this picture. 

look how good i did!  jenna set all the settings and then i pushed the button.  don't i need a camera of my own!? i vote yes!

after my trip i came home to a perfectly clean home & a smiling husband.  ben had spic-and-spanned everything.  it was a treasured gift.  our house is generally a disaster {i'm a terrible housekeeper / clean-as-you-go-er} and ben knows how a messy home stresses me out more and more as time goes on.  i intend on becoming a clean freak to make this tidy house continue.  thank you ben for this awesome gift!  you're the sweetest man a girl could ask for!

this week held / holds 80's club, ridiculous workout videos with little girls, lots of work, reading, a family birthday/halloween extravaganza, errands, biblestudies, lunch dates and more.  i will be checking in sooner or later!

.fingers crossed.

once upon a time i teased you {and myself} with the thought that my wonderful, smart, sweet husband may post on my little ol' blog.  at that time i thought he was going to share with us all the gory details of his trip to the haunted tb hospital in louisville.  he did share his stories...but not with blogland.  dang it benny!  maybe i'll talk him into it still since halloween is right around the corner.  you all need a good scare right?

this time something much cooler than a ghost story is in the works and i would love for ben to record it here for us to look back on someday.  so let's keep our fingers crossed that we'll hear from benny in the next few days with some life updates {or i'll just have to share them myself}.

c'mon.  please do it?  how can you resist this face?

love-
jen

fall with friends . a weekend away in the woods

this past weekend was absolutely splendid.  ben & i had the awesome opportunity to get away with some of our dearest, merry, married friends to a beautiful cabin surrounded by fall leaves & overlooking a serene lake.  it was warm & sunny, literally the perfect weather.

{view from the front porch}

the cabin was cozy, decorated in perfect 'cabin' fare, spacious & neat.  i think i could spend a good hour just wandering around, investigating knick knacks.  stone fireplaces, long farm-style tables, antique fans, outdoor beds, gorgeous views. all things awesome.

we spent time indoors and out.  we arrived late friday evening and hung out at the cabin as more and more friends filtered in.  

saturday we had a great morning inside.  there was so much natural light it looked like you were walking into a cloud when you started the day.  

{i tried to capture it but it was hard}

then off to the house boat.  we didn't take it out since none of us feel capable of driving a giant boat, especially not parking the giant boat into a tiny slip.  but we got to be outside, in the glorious sunshine, producing all the vitamin d my little body can muster to hold me over for the next 6 months.  a bunch of friends pitched in to whip up a delicious dinner that evening.  a birthday celebration, cake, candles and fun were had.  games, slumber parties & pancake breakfasts were all enjoyed before departing.

highlights:

.friends.  being with people i love. catching up with people that its hard to get time with. bonding. visiting. encouraging.

.laughter.  there was a lot of laughter in & around the cabin.  our friends are really funny & thanks to a russell county high school yearbook from 1957 we had a lot to be laughing about.  thank you senior class.

.games.  we love to play games and this weekend i found a new favorite.  telestrations {is that right katie?}.  a combo of pictionary & telephone.  it was ridiculous and awesome.  i highly recommend it for a crowd.  our favorite round was when each pair chose their own word or phrase to use.  hilarity ensued.

the sequeal to games with all our friends was a few rounds of rummy & nerts with just a few girls.  we sang, played, talked, yelled and had a blast.  our friends are really funny {did i mention that?}  megan, rach & julie..i really enjoy playing cards with you, even if you selfishly steal everyone else's cards.

babies didn't stay the night but a baby did come to visit!  and he brought his parents who just happen to be two of our bestest friends.

we were torturing him with this little air shooter.  he was making the most awesome faces.  he moved too fast for me to catch them!

.hugs.  i know that sounds really lame to write but i mean it.  i loved being there with ben and being able to hug my husband anytime i wanted.  we've both been too busy for our own good which results in days {many days} where we don't get great quality time or even many hugs.  {i'm really touchy.  if you know me i'm sure you're not surprised}.

rach's & anne's pics are better than mine.  look at them {HERE} and {HERE}

harleydog

this week i get a little critter to take care of.  i'm so excited to have a tiny furball of a house guest this week.  if you want to come over and play with us, you are welcome!

{he's hard to take pictures of because he's so black and squirmy.  you just can't capture his cuteness on film}

if you come over we'll be sure to give you lots of love...

plenty of playtime...

and we'll let  you watch your favorite shows. which is hopefully football or the reds because that's all that comes on my tv.  harley doesn't seem to mind.

and we promise not to let harley do this to your sandals.  r.i.p. rainbows.

we're going to go on walks. play in the backyard. and romp around the house.

harley's the cutest little cuddle monster dust-mop ever, you really need to meet him

see you there!

.LOVE.
the brzinski's

25 years ago today...

...the world met jen jen. 

a chubby cheeked, bald headed, squinty-eyed little babe.

.hello world.

{here}

i can't believe i'm an adult.


thanks mom for having me.


i'm 25 YEARS old.


YIKES!

"i thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. even though i was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, i was shown mercy because i acted in ignorance and unbelief. the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom i am the worst. but for that very reason i was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. amen."

{paul to timothy} & {me to you}

{here}