Praise and Prayers

I will open with a praise:

Two of our absolute favorite ladies were spared serious injury today in a car accident. A woman ran a stoplight today and T-boned Grace and Kathi on their way to Mass. Thank the LORD that the timing was just right and neither Kathi nor Grace were hit directly. We hear that Grace has a gash from her seat belt and was not pleased to have wasted a good hair day by getting into an accident on the way to church. The lady that hit our girls had ALLSTATE insurance (I think we all know how I feel about that company) so we hope they do not give the Coomes family the treatment that they gave me. Arf. Praises again to God for protecting those ladies.

And now my prayer request: My sister, Kylie, will be spending another night in the hospital tonight. She went in Saturday evening because she thought she was in labor. It turns out she has a kidney stone and some infections so she had to be checked in. She also is dilated 2 cm so that's not good being that she's only 6.5 months along. We are praying that they can give her some medicine to alleviate her pain and keep Alex cooking for a few more weeks/months. This has been such a trying pregnancy and my heart just goes out to Kylie and Nick (her husband). Please do keep Kylie, Nick, Alex and the medical staff at the hospital in your prayers as they decide how to best deal with this situation.

Thin ice

We took MacKenzie for a walk on a golf course near our condo today because cart paths make for great walking paths in the winter. Then we stumbled upon a frozen lake:

"Boy, my paws are cold!"

Me pointing and encouraging MacKenzie to read the sign that reads, "DANGER Thin Ice KEEP OFF!" Classic.
So when she got home she had to take a bath because the whole icy pond was COVERED in goose poo. SICK!

Death of a shoe

Notice the heel on this shoe: it is BROKEN. Tear.

What happened? Well, interesting story. I borrowed Jackson's FJ Cruiser to take to a continuing education course at the University of Denver. (I have a student parking pass in my car so I cannot park during the day without getting an expensive ticket. Silly. I know.) Anyway, I'm driving down I-25 in the fast lane at about 77 mph when all of the sudden a truck cuts in front of me. The driver was not paying attention. (He was texting, I'm certain.) Then all of the sudden he SLAMS his breaks. I SLAM my breaks too, but I'm just not stopping as quickly as I'd like to and I'm panicking- certain that I'm going into the back of his pickup truck.

Well, praise the LORD above, I was able to swerve and miss the guy. Also, somehow, the person behind me didn't hit me. Amazing. I did, however, BREAK MY HEEL SLAMMING ON THE BREAKS!!!! GRRR!!!!!!!! Those were my favorite work heels. I also hit my bad knee on the dash and it is really sore. I also cracked my head on a bar that is there to help you climb into the beast of a vehicle. AND my iPhone went flying (I was NOT on the phone or texting) and got all cracked and beat up.

All in all, I was super blessed not to hit the guy, but I certainly still got banged up. Sigh. Such is life.

My loving husband arranged a massage for me for tomorrow and we're going to go replace my little shoes, too. What a guy!

Giving thanks

Today, I felt rather grateful for God's provisions in the lives of people around me. (My life, too, of course, but I am focusing on others right now.)

I had a phone date with my best friend, Megan Parton, tonight. She's so good for my soul. She recognizes God in life. Kyle, her Marine husband, will be returning from a LONG deployment just before Valentine's Day. I'm so thankful for God watching over him. Please pray that his last few weeks in Afghanistan are uneventful and he will be home safe and sound in his lovely wife's arms before they know it! The life of a Marine family is not easy. Things are always unknown for them. (more so than for civilians. I know none of us live in a certain world.) Thankfully, Megan and Kyle now know where they're headed next: Dallas, Texas! Megan is so excited because there is a school there for her to receive a degree in Occupational Therapy. They intend to have little Partons running around soon, too. (Does anyone else feel like the whole world is wanting to have children? I missed the bus. Honestly.) Anyway, Megan was happy to see God's plan for their lives and acknowledged that He knew what He was doing all along. (Side note: I've not spent much time in Texas so I am excited to visit the Parton family ASAP! And perhaps go to the Write Plate store. ;)) (To clear up any questions, YES, these Partons are related to Dolly. She's a 2nd cousin, I believe. Cool, huh?!)

I also follow the blog of a family in my hometown of Marion, Indiana who are in the process of adopting a baby boy from Uganda, Africa. Tomorrow morning, Jade (the woman who is adopting) will be on her way to Africa for a hearing and will hopefully return home with her new baby boy, Samuel. It has been a long, hard journey for Jade and her family. I am so thankful that God has been there through it all.

Those are my little praises for today. I just love it when you can see God's hand at work in your life and in the lives of those around you. God is good.

Elmo has been adopted!

I made Susie feel so guilty about Elmo that she's been showing him to everyone. Low and behold if today he did not get adopted! Alright!

We do not know who adopted him, but we're thankful that he has a home! :)

COLTS WIN!

We could not be more excited to see the COLTS play the Saints in the SUPER BOWL on February 7, 2010. Let's go HORSE!!!! :)

Hittin' the books

Jackson was trying to do homework before the COLTS game, but MacKenzie got in the way. She is such a little study puppy. ;):)

Mountain puppy

I'm pretty sure that this is when I butt dialed Meg. :)

Palmer Park

Today we decided to test out my new wheels with a trip to Colorado Springs. (About 50 miles south of us.) We took MacKenzie and promised her a ball game. Look at her protecting that darned pink ball. Love it.

She really hates to be left alone.

The 3 photos above are of the view from Colorado Springs' Cracker Barrel. Gorgeous.

Then we took MacKenzie to Palmer Park to do some hiking and go to the dog park.

Pike's Peak from the top of the mountain that we climbed. Pretty amazing.

Our view of Garden of the God's - it looked so small from there!

This was me taking a phone call from Meg Lewis. She called to let me know that I had butt dialed her and that she was sure that MacKenzie was a "great mountain dog." (She had heard us praising MacKenzie's climbing skills!) Too funny!

MacK and me pointing out Pike's Peak. :)

Wow.

Jackson and MacK climbed some rocks.

"I think I see my pink ball..."

MacK in action!

Still playing with pops.

That little dog has NO fear!

We had such a fun day. It is days like today that make us appreciate living in Colorado. Yes, MacKenzie was bathed as soon as she got home. No, she did NOT like the dog park. At all.

Help Elmo!

My sister texted me the other day to tell me that she saw a white schnauzer listed on her local humane society's website. (At the time there was no photo.)

I called my sister-in-law, Kathi, to tell her to go adopt him. She refused.

Jackson called Susie (his Mom) to go get him. No luck.

Then next day, I get this email sent to me and Kathi:
"I looked at the puppy on line and he doesn't look very cute. So I am not going to think about him anymore. Mom/Susie"

I was shocked! I had not seen a photo so I hopped on the website to see Elmo. He was not MacKenzie cute, but he wasn't terrible.

I wrote this email back to Susie and Kathi:
"It is unfair to compare him to MacKenzie aka the cutest puppy ever. Did you at least show him to Mary and Tom???? He is homeless, poor little guy." (Note: Mary and Tom are Susie's neighbors that had a schnauzer die last year.)

Kathi responded to me:
"I do agree that MacKenzie is one of the cutest puppies ever. Monty is a little rough but he wins you over with personality. Jenna, you know how that works you have Jack. I had thought about visiting him however, if he had a great personality. I might be in great big trouble. Have a great weekend. Grace has had a rough week and I have too. So have an appointment to get pedicure on Sat morning. Monty is getting to go to the puppy salon at the same time. Love Kathi" (Note: Monty is Kathi's part-schnauzer rescue dog. He's a great dog! The part in red is my favorite part of the email. Gotta love siblings. :))

Susie ends it with:
"No, I did not show him to Mary and Tom."

I know. I know. I married into the meanest family ever. What a tragedy. This poor homeless puppy is all alone tonight.

If anyone is interested in adopting Elmo please visit:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15159667

Babies

Today I got on Facebook and saw that my best friend, Danielle, had posted some pregnancy pictures. She's 20 weeks today- carrying twin boys!! Holy hades. I think she looks soo cute. (It is also very typical of Danielle to take her own photo. I laughed.)

The strangest thing about my friends growing up to me (notice that my friends are growing up. I'm going to stay young forever.) is seeing them become parents. It blows me away. Unfortunately, I do not live close to any of my pregnant friends (Danielle is in So. Florida, Heidi is in Noblesville, IN, Kylie is in Newburgh, IN and "Pooch" is in Baltimore, MD to just new a FEW of my friends and acquaintances that are pregnant currently) so I feel like I've missed a pretty special time of their lives. (I have, however, sent/will send a lot of gifts across the country and have been there in spirit.) Jackson says he never had a hard time adjusting to his friends becoming parents. I argue that is because men don't change as much as women when they become parents.

Anyway, I look forward to visiting all of these babies scattered across the U.S. of A. After all, I love holding and spoiling babies and then leaving the dirty diapers, feedings and messes for the parents. :) (Note: As of press time neither Jackson or I have changed a diaper. We are "saving" it for IF we ever have children.)

Being married...

One of the funny things about being married is that you learn to know more about your spouse than they know.

For instance, I knew that Jackson had NO idea when I asked him this question last night:

Me: "Does Orchard run into University? I'd rather avoid the interstate."

Jackson: "Yeah. University runs parallel to the interstate."

Me: "You're sure? I feel a bit uneasy about it."

Jackson: "I'm sure!"

Today, I'm driving down Orchard headed for school when my phone rings:

Jackson: "I'm nervous about Orchard running into University!"

Me: "I'm shocked. Really, I am."

Jackson: "Hush. It is going to get curvy and you'll get there EVENTUALLY."

678 turns later (with my Garmin turned on), I made it to University. Sigh.

Thanks, Jack. I knew you had NO idea. Why do I ever listen to anyone but Gabby the Garmin when it comes to directons?!

100%

I've still got it. That's right, I "helped" Jackson with his homework last night and "we" got a 100% on it. YEAH! I've still got it. There is no such thing as a 100% in the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Denver so it felt darn good to do so well on "our" assignment.

Let's see..."we" wrote the admissions essays and "we" did homework "together" yet I won't be receiving an additional degree. Shoot. :)

Alex

My sister got good news at the doctor today: she's starting her 26th week of pregnancy and still does not have to go on bedrest. Praise the Lord!

P.S. She's 26 weeks pregnant and weighs in at just over 100 pounds. Life is so unfair.

She's baaack

Just in case anyone was wondering how MacKenzie was adjusting to being home again- she's totally fine. She has already found her spot on my side of the bed again.

We had Guy cook for us today: 2 batches of mac-n-cheese (1 to freeze), 3 pot pies to freeze and tuna salad. YUM! I love that we do not have to really prepare meals for DAYS! We took him to the airport tonight and he's on the road from Indianapolis' airport to Upland right now.

It was a good visit. Tomorrow is the real beginning of TAX SEASON. Only 88 more days (I heard an H&R Block ad with a countdown tonight and almost puked. Ha!) until April 15th!

Duckie in Denver

This morning Guy came over and made us homemade biscuits and gravy and hashbrowns. It was delicious. Then we headed out to do some sightseeing.

We packed MacKenzie in the car and headed for Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Guy was not impressed by the climb to get into the theatre, but he did enjoy the sights.

Then we headed over to Lookout Mountain/ Buffalo Bill's grave. The views from up there are just awesome.

Duckie takin' it all in.

The view of downtown from the top.

It is always so awesome to see the mountains from this angle.
We took Guy to dinner in LoDo (LOwer DOwntown Denver). We went to The Keg- the same place where we had our Christmas dinner with my employer. The food did not disappoint.

Finally, we came home and watched the COLTS beat the Ravens. Woo hoo! It was a fun day. :)

Good to have her back

I am very pleased to report that Miss MacKenzie Petefish made it back to Denver yesterday afternoon. I was so happy to see her. She was happy to see me, too. She peed all over the place- thankfully we were outside. (Later, she was happy to see Jackson, but no pee. Sorry, Jack. ;))

Guy and MacKenzie made great time getting out here. They drove all the way to Colby, Kansas on Thursday. (That's 931 miles in one day with a dog. Pretty impressive.) I requested that they not do the entire drive in one sitting so they spent the night in Kansas. They got an early start on Friday and were here around lunchtime. My boss was kind enough to give me the afternoon off (with a caution to enjoy it as it was the last time off granted for 3 months...eek) so I took Guy to lunch at our favorite Mexican place. Then we went to get my NEW (to me), GORGEOUS RED Audi A4 convertible washed. That car has some power. I may or may not have driven it at 113 mph down I-25 yesterday. You decide. Anyway, I think I am going to love having my own freedom wheels again. I had not been so happy to drive since I was 16! (And that's been a long time ago these days.)

Guy needed a nap so I dropped him off before said speeding down the interstate. Guy mentioned that he wanted a good pizza so Jackson got a recommendation from his boss. The boss is a good man. We went to Big Bill's New York Style Pizza (us along with the rest of metro Denver) and had a great meal. We even had good service. GASP. That never happens to the Petefish family. We came back to the condo and had Guy watch "The Hangover" with us. I think he liked it ok. That movie just cracks me up. We all agreed that my Mom would NOT appreciate such a film so it was a good thing that she was back in Upland.

The weather is supposed to be great today so we are headed to Red Rocks and Lookout Mountain. Then we're going to that steakhouse, The Keg, for an early dinner before we come back to the condo to watch the COLTS game. GO HORSE! :)

MACKENZIE IS COMING HOME!!!

MacKenzie and Guy will be leaving God's Country (Upland) to head to Denver tomorrow. Guy will be here until Sunday night. I was able to use some Southwest rewards points and get him a flight for $2.50. So I went ahead and paid for the $10 upgrade to allow him the best chance at a window seat.

Please pray for their safe travels and a fun-filled weekend! :)

Crazy Kylie

So yesterday my Mom sent my sister and I an email with a note saying, "please read this- I really enjoyed it."

FOOTPRINTS....A New Version

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much
of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely
varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops,
turnarounds, circles, departures,
and returns.
For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints
come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently.

You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints
that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His
steps.

Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are
becoming one.

This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The
footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints.
They have become one.

This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is
back This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops.
Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.

You are amazed and shocked.
Your dream ends. Now you pray:

"Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new
Christian; I was just learning. But you walked on through the storm and
helped me learn to walk with you."

"That is correct."

"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually
learning to walk in your steps, following you very closely."

"Very good.. You have understood everything so far."

"So...When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I
was becoming like you in every way."

"Precisely!" said Jesus.

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated,
and this time it was worse than at first."

There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.
"You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"


To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A
time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4

I really enjoyed the email. Then I got this in my inbox:

Kylie: "I got confused on the dancing part..."

I reply, "They say you dance in Heaven, silly."

Kylie hits me back, "God has seen me dance and I do not think he would appreciate me doing it there. Anyway, i have never heard that...who says that? I think Heaven smells like cherry lemonade candles and has unlimited frozen cokes

Me: haaaaaa I just laughed so hard at your dancing and ideas. Can we add cinnamon free?! :) And don't you know by now that "they say" means we don't know who said it first?

Kylie: I like cinnamon. Your Heaven can be cinnamon free. I think we all have our own versions anyway so my heaven and yours may intertwine but you will not smell cinnamon or lemonade even if I do. I've thought long and hard about this previously. I'm glad you got a kick out of it though. I am, however, quite serious on the smell and frozen cokes because without them how in the heck could it be called Heaven?

She cracks me up!!!!!

A map that made me laugh

This made me laugh. A lot. :)

Who is that boy?!

I may have gotten a bit tight with money, but Jackson has not!

This weekend alone he got a new t.v. for the kitchen and a new laptop for school! It must be nice to be so spoiled. ;)

Who is that girl?

Do you ever have times where you say something, you know you said it, but you cannot figure out where it came from? I have had a few of those lately.

1. On the Champs de Elysee in Paris in the Louis Vuitton
Jackson: "I'll buy you a purse if you want."
Jenna: "No, they're too expensive."
Jackson: "Oh come on! We're in PARIS!"
Jenna: Exits store
WHAT?! WHO WAS THAT GIRL?! She's the reason I do not have a nice new purse to go out with- how annoying.

2. In Best Buy
Jackson: "Do you want to get a new computer tonight?"
Jenna: "Oh, I do not know. Do we really need one?"
Jackson: "Sure. Let's get this one."
Jenna: "Nah, let's just get you to 'Hangover' DVD and go."
Jackson: "Are you sure?!!"
Jenna: Already at cashier with DVD only
Again- who is this chick that keeps turning things down?! What is happening to me?

Someone help me. FAST. :)

Reward!

Since Jackson has been such a good husband lately, I decided to get him the t.v. he has wanted for the kitchen. He had it all setup within 15 minutes of our return from the store. I think he was just a little excited. I mean, look at that smiling face. :) It is like the Christmas morning we didn't have this year!

A Real Trooper

My Jackson is a real Trooper. Today, we're going to see the totally girly movie "Leap Year." He's not complained about it once.
AND when we saw the trailor for this movie, coming out in February, he said it "looked good." WHAT?! A Nicholas Sparks' book-based movie looks good? Yep. He is a keeper. :) (Read the book before you see the film because the books are always better and that book ROCKS!)

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

Today is our dear friend Heidi Porterfield's 26th (old lady!) birthday! Heidi is waiting on her very own baby to come quite soon, too. We hope you have a fabulous day, H'ie!! :) We miss you.

Travelin' Pup

My Mom picked up MacKenzie from Grammy's today because she has a "spa" appointment on Thursday. She's a little shaggy!
It doesn't take long for her to make herself at home! I like that couch, too. :)