Jen's Journal

DANK

2006-02-07T15:14:00.000-08:00

yeah. do you know what it means? post a reply here, as well as the fcc blogspot, so I am IN THE KNOW... thanks!

..:is it like "dank you"

..:is it like, "I dank my milk all gone, mommy!"

..:is it like, "Dude, she dresses all dank like that..."

hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Watch, Super Dave will reply first.

That's gonna be my new name for him... SUPER DAVE!

Hugs,

Jen

.:amazing:.

2005-11-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from Heaven above
With wisdom power and love
Our God is an Awesome God!

We drove up to Fremont yesterday morning for church. Took all the munchkins, the van, and the car. It was quite an adventure. After church we drove around the Fremont and surrounding areas to check out some of the properties we had called on... some we called on to view, others we were glad we drove by first. We ended up in Milpitas and really liked the couple showing the house. Super nice and they want a family to rent their home, not a group of roommates. :-D Good for us. So, we applied. We are now in the process of trying to get approved. I can't wait!
Matthew was so cute. he was also super hyper... like a puppy. He is excited and nervous about all the changes. Church was huge for him. He knows it will be his new church and new school. That we are moving and this will be viritually his new home. I think it was a bit of pressure. When we arrived at the house in Milpitas, he looked around and deemed it "so cool!" and then picked out a bedroom! LOL
Then I drove all three munchkins home in the van. Darryl is staying in Benicia this week and working. :-D He gets to commute home on Wednesday evening with the rest of the world!

Amazing

We have had amazing situations occur time and time again during this move. We would face a seemly unscaleable wall and not know what to do... then BAM! God would blow us completely out of the water by answering our prayers in a way that either a) sure, we had thought of, just knew wasn't going to happen or b) in a way that was beyond our imagination...
He has been indescribable, uncontainable... this week. It is our hope and prayer that each of you know our Awesome God in a very personal way.
Bountiful Blessings unto you this Thanksgiving week....
Bless those around you - Jen

::wow::

2005-11-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

Here's what happened today...
woke up, not sure of where we would get the money for the housing, or where we would stay , or if we could even accept the job....
within an hour, Pastor Ed from Gateway (the church that spent the weekend with us for Acquire the Fire) returned our call and said...when you get up here don't worry about groceries...we have you covered, and we'll work on finding you housing. (wow)
an hour later, we received a phone call offering us a loan for the deposit and first month's rent. (wow)
an hour after that, we received a "gift" for gas and work clothing from someone who was awed by the whole experience. (wow)
ISN'T THAT JUST COOL?!?!?!?!
God is really big... and really answers our prayers in ways we cannot begin to comprehend. When we started on this adventure, we knew God was changing us, growing us, and using us... we have grown over the past 14 months and learned much over the past five weeks. yesterday was spent in prayer and today... well, God is good. We prayed for a footlamp to light our path and we have had that much, each step of the way. Pray with us through this journey...
Hugs! Jen

Housing Wanted

2005-11-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

Okay...

We have prayed. So now, we will post. It only takes one response. Is that you?!?

We are looking for a three or four bedroom home or apartment in the Fremont area. It could even be a drivable distance to Fremont, but seeing as we will both be in Fremont six or more days a week, it would be nice if it was close... The problem lies in that we don't have much money to start out, so security deposits and stuff are hard to come up with right away. We have both been offered jobs in Fremont, but the paychecks won't officially start until the mid of December and we are trying to move and support the family with little to no money until then. So, will you please pray with us? For us? For our housing? and...if you happen to know anything... drop us a line. We'd really appreciate it.

Blessings!

Jen

Preparing for Something

2005-11-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

Please continue to pray for us as we know God is stirring in us, well, something...and although Darryl had chili last night, I don't think that's it! We know that we are being prepared to move...the question is where and for what. Please lift us up and help us prepare for this change. Remember our three little monkeys and the people we will leave behind here in Fresno when we do leave.

:-) Jen

Lord, use me. Move me. Change me. Amen.

Beautiful Benicia

2005-11-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

I love the weather up here...

so nice.

I had a great time today meeting and connecting with the community.

Lunch was yummy and productive...

as productive as two hour lunches can be! :-)

And coffee went well...

I only cried once.

I never cry.

But that's okay.

The questions were hard,

and you don't normally sit down after just meeting someone to talk about quite so much...

I'm sleepy...

we were going from 8:30 to 6:20 today...

all day.

Meetings and such.

Lots to unload.

God knows we need to "defrag" our harddrives!

I am logging off for the night!

Hasta Luego!

Oh! On a separate and very cool note...

my best friend from HS lives in Berkley...

just a BART ride away.

Very neat to re-connect, too!

Blessings!

Jen

Out of Town

2005-11-03T08:47:00.000-08:00

Headed to the Bay Area again.

Love the weather.

People are nice, too.

We're only taking one monkey.

Leaving the other two with Grandma and Papa.

That makes it even better.

Staying in Beautiful Benicia again.

Hoping to catch B leading worship Saturday night.

...and waffles again on Monday morning...

they were really good last week!

Smiles!

Jen

Whose Space?

2005-11-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

MySpace!

Come visit me there, too!

Search Jen Dote for my MySpace page....

Check out the pics of the kids...they are getting big!

HugS!

Jen

Visit Me & Comment

2005-08-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Come over to the Dark Side...we have cookies!
And visit me at my Xanga site.
Make sure to leave me lots of comments and love and encouragement.
Here it is: LumpyOatmeal
Have Fun.
Blessings!
Jen

Xanga...Of Course

2005-08-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry Cody....
I am on Xanga as Lumpy Oatmeal.
come find me if you like!
Jen

Give Me a Badge!!!

2005-05-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, now, most people that know me know that I get excited over the little stuff... well... Last week when we went to the Harvest Crusade Meeting in the OC, Darryl and I found out that we get to be Field Supervisors for the Harvest Crusade....I am so excited!!!! Give me a badge and send me on my way!!! We get to walk around on Edison Field during Greg Laurie's invitation and then check in on all the counselors in the area. If a counselor encounters a situation that they do not know how to handle, they raise their hand and the "superviors" come over and help. :-)
Well, I am excited that we get to take our youth group down to Anaheim. We should be receiving the training DVD soon so that we can "train" the kids and any adults to be counselors...... gee, I can't wait!
Yea, we have camp coming up, too! I am trying to work on that!!!!
Jen

Derek Discovers Blogger

2005-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hola!!!
For those of you that thought I fell off the face of the planet...well... I almost did! I have been super busy.
Darryl and I are now teaching the Jr. High and High School youth group at church. It's pretty interesting. I think they keep trying to shock me. Nothing much shocks me... We have about four kids that are "Goth/Punk" types if you can even try to label them. It just makes me want to pierce some part of my body and dye my hair (cranberry would be fun), like when I was in High School!!!
We just got back from a trip down to the OC. We had to go to a church, youth, and follow-up coordinator meeting for the Harvest Crusade. It was great to take a trip, even if it was for just one night, with just my husband...we left all three kids at home! :-D
So, while we were gone I received an email that DEREK finally got wit' it and got a blog.... Can I link to Derek's blog? Can I? Can I? (I'm not that technically advanced....got to get help from the big guy!)

Take Care.

Spin & Stir

2005-04-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am glad that Cody has called off the search party... and that Mel is alive and well because she actually posted to my blog. Since certain other people are now linking their blogs to mine I somehow feel compelled to actually update this one. :-D At least once in a while!

We traveled down south last week for a funeral and of cousre everyone has since asked us, "How was your trip?" Well, what are you suppose to say?!? It was great, God really timed it well when he called Jen's dad Home? No. But, in all honesty it was good. Really good. It was great to sit down and chat with Jen and Anne. So much has happened in all of our lives over the past 15 months. Darryl and I were married, Grace, Sarah, and "Grandpa" (Jen's dad) all went home to be with Jesus. Unfortunately we missed the spinster. Hilby was in town for the funeral but had to run down the steps of the church and jump into her car before we were out the door to catch her. I actually called her cell phone and without telling her who it was asked, "Where are you?" We had wanted to meet her at the airport with sign that said "Spin" and "Stir" but arrived into town too late.

Egads!!!

2005-04-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

It's been two months?
No wonder Cody isn't speaking to me! I wouldn't be surprised if my link disappeared from his webpage!

Updated!!!

2005-04-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my husband updated... I guess I should, too!

The kids started daycare three weeks ago and I have been at the office ever since! I am learning more and more things about Pagemaker and Photoshop. Things I didn't even want to know!

We traveled down to SoCal this past weekend for a funeral. But at least we got a chance to visit with some friends.

Hope to update again soon...

maybe even from work!

:-D Jen

Blogaholic Husband

2005-02-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, I agree that my husband is a blogaholic. Check out his post here.

Ode To Cody

2005-02-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

C is for the way you creatively spend your day at work

O is for the zero amount of work you must accomplish

D is for the dedication you have to your online bloggers

Y is for the question, Why do they still pay you?

Just kidding, Cody dear, thank you for caring enough to send the very best in comments my way!

Suspension

2005-02-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

To the one person that reads my blog...

Where to begin?

My son was (gulp) suspended!

He hit a kid, then the teacher, after staying at school until 10 the night before for a performance and then had to be back to school at 8:30 for a call time the next morning! Grrr. So, I wasn't mad that he was in trouble.... but I was mad that the punishment didn't fit the crime. he was pulled from clas before the school day even started and missed a whole day (Fri) then the principal calls me to tell me that he will be suspended for 5 more days (M-F) and that since monday was a holiday, he should come back 11 days after the offense......GRRRRR

So, my son started back at his NONperforming arts school today. Yep, too much stress for a kindergartener!!! (not to mention his mommy!)

What an 11 days!

Oh well.... lalalala Life Goes On

Stage Mom for a Munchkin

2005-01-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

Help!!!!!
My kindergartener has a call-time!!!!
Our kindergartener performed three shows (2 matinee, 1 dessert show) of OZ on Tuesday, one dinner show tonight, and has a morning matinee tomorrow. Isn't this a little rough? Or is it cool? I'm not sure, yet.
Tonight, my husband and I got a sitter for the baby monkeys (Thanks, Grandma!) and went to the dinner performance. We had "lion seating" with was a clever way of saying "cheap seats" at $15 a head. As you may have guessed, "Dorothy seating" was $40 a person. (sheesh!!!)
We were treated to a relish tray, rolls, & salad. Then the main dish of green beans with almond slivers, scallop layered potatoes, and Chicken CordonBleu. During the intermission we were brought sherbet with a rolled cookie. :-)
Okay, I guess it was worth the money...especially to see my baby on stage.
Oh! By the way, DVDs will be availible for $15 each, VHS for $10. He received his cast t-shirt and autograph book today. Cast pictures are on sale through Sat.
What's next?!!?

Zero Tolerance

2005-01-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

As a mommy you never want to hear that your child is having problems at school... well, the teacher waited almost a week to tell me (because I'm the mommy) that my oldest was having issues at his new school. Of course my husband (who has taken and picked him up each day) has not heard about any of this... why? Because HE'S the Daddy... grrrr.
What's a mommy to do?
Well, I drove home having this conversation....
Let's talk about good and bad and right and wrong, ok?
-ok
If Daddy takes you to Blackbeard's, is that good or bad?
-good.
If someone takes something that's not theirs, is that good or bad?
-bad.
[this continues for about 5 minutes]
Okay, now let's talk about zero tolerance....
-zero tulluolencents?
Let me try that again... what does zero mean?
-none
Right. Or no, not, nothing, not even one... What does tolerance mean?
-shrugs shoulders
okay, it means accepted, acceptable, okay... so, zero tolerance means not okay, not acceptable, no, not ever okay.
-ok
So, if the teacher comes in and spanks all the kids, is that okay?
-no, no way
Not ever?
-no, not ever....
What about is someone gives you ice cream, is that okay?
-yummy, yes
What is someone pinches, is that okay?
-no not ever
punches?
-no
hits?
-no

Then we discussed if someone does something wrong, what could their punishment, consequence, or "trouble" be?
-spanks
-no recess
-timeout
-no movies
-no tv

Thus concludes my explaination of the Zero Tolerance policy that is in our public school system.

Ugh! Some days are rough for mommies!
I am going to take a mommy bubble bath tonight... then put myself in a mommy time-out.
'night!

Dashboard Hula Chick

2005-01-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I put the "twins" in their high chairs and gave them each a puzzle.

I headed back to the bathroom to blow dry my hair. After a moment I turned the dryer off and heard my son's voice, "Ba-beeee, Ba-beeeee, Ba-beeeeee......." and Baby saying, "aahhhhh-ahhhhhh-ahhhhhh." So, I came in to check on them.

Baby was standing on top of her highchair tray (about 4 1/2 feet above the floor) with her arms out on each side. She looked like she was surfing!!!!!

Ahhh, my little Hula Chick! Whatever will we do with you?

"Smack Your Brain"

2005-01-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so last night, half-way through rehersal I went back to the bedrooms to get our six year old in bed for the night. We have been trying to get him into bed by 7:30 and possibly asleep by TEN!!!! He fights getting to sleep, but will actually get in bed.
When it was time for prayers he was mad. He was mad that we would try to put him in bed with SINGING going on in the house. "Mommy, I can't be in bed! There is muuuuuu-sick!" My shoulders shook as I tried not to laugh and convinced him to get ready to pray. He didn't WAN-to pray first, so I did. Then it was his turn... "Dear God (angry voice)....dear God (softer voice)... please help mommy and daddy... they are sooooo mean to me and I don't wan them to be mean to me...so please, God, can you...smack daddy's brain a little and tell him not to be mean...and dear God, can you please smack mommy's brain a little and make her not mad at me when I don't listen...."
So then I prayed, "God, Thank You for my son. Please help him to listen and understand that just because he needs to go to bed does not mean he's in trouble. Please help him sleep well, ("I don't wanna sleep well") and have a good night ("I don't wanna have a good night!") and stay in bed...Amen."
Whew!
So, what DOES it feel like when God smacks YOUR brain? :-D Where do they get these things?!

The Couch

2005-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

Last night...I moved...the couch.
It was actually the loveseat, but I pick the most inopportune times to do such things. Just ask my husband.
Last month we decided to move Worship Team rehersals to our apartment so that the kids could be caged. I mean, so that they kids could relax in their room, stay in jammies, and stay warm. This really has worked well...but, back to the couch.
So, around five I usually go into hyperdrive realizing that in two short hours I will have company in my house (apartment, whatever!) and I start enlisting everyone's help to get the front room, kitchen, hall, & bathroom decent. Thank goodness! Someone actually wanted to use it (the bathroom) last night and it was (almost) clean!
And at about 6:45 I decided to rearrange the furniture! Yeah, my hubby thought I was off my rocker, but oh well! Then I had to vacuum the spot where the loveseat WAS. Oh well.
So, I think having company over once a week is good for us. Have you ever noticed that you clean more when you know a guest is coming? I can actually see the fake wood finish of our desk!!! It is normally covered with sheet music, coupons, notes, and CDs by the spindle-ful (only not actually ON the spindle, just here and there in stacks).
I woke this morning to an almost clean house! Yay!

Duck for President

2005-01-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

My son recently received the book Duck for President for Christmas. He loves it, almost as much as Click, Clack, Moo and Click, Clack, Quack. We went to an open house a couple weeks ago... at that home, the owner had several Duck for President buttons floating around. We were able to get two from Mr. Scott and our son was so excited. He was so excited that last Tuesday he gave a button away! It was a friends birthday and he thought long and hard about what to get him. He searched our house high and low for something important to show this person that he, too, is special. At long last he came up with a button. A Farmer Brown, Duck for President, highly cherished button. With pride he placed said button in the envelope with the card and delivered it to the birthday boy. I am not sure that the now fourteen year old had ever read a Farmer Brown book, nor planning on it... but my son's face beamed with honor as he handed over his "gift." Cameron, buddy, wear it proudly! It was given in love.
Y jen

Questions To Ponder

2005-01-17T01:49:00.000-08:00

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
How about a first? In Fresno. A second? Somewhere in SoCal so we could have a place of our own to stay at when we go down there.
2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
My jean capris
3. WHAT'S THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
Passion Worship
4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Morning?!?! Ugh. Only if I have to... and about 10
5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE?
You've Got Mail, 50 First Dates, Down With Love,
6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Keys, so that I could play around with the piano and keyboard at home
8. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
SUV- Dodge Durango, please
9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTER LIFE?
Yes
10. FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
Chrysanthumum
12. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A healthy body
13. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
If I had the nerve, I would get a daisy
14) CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Not even a little!
15) THE ONE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
My birthmother
16. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK?
Sunday
17. WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR/VAN?
what isn't?
18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Hamburger with Cheese
22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWER?
Daisies and roses and those tropical looking pink flowers
23. DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?
No, but first email maybe! Okay, maybe not!
24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL?
Tsing Tao Chinese Food
25. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM JOB?
Being in charge of a ministry and paid for it

Screaming Baby

2005-01-16T23:52:00.000-08:00

What to do? She goes to sleep at the normal time and wakes at eleven. No amount of pretending to be asleep can fool her. She is a girl on a mission. She stands at her crib rail screaming, tears streaking down her face. Finally silent and curled up in a ball with her blankets. The hall light goes on, as it is time to move the big one on to his top bunk... but then, she stands, she screams, and the cycle begins again. Ahhhhhhhhhh! Daddy has fallen asleep on the couch waiting for the tears to end. Mommy is up organizing events for church. Bed seems like a long shot from here!

Y jen

Newbie

2005-01-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

So, as I said above... everyone has one, except me, but now I do too...hmmmmm. Newbie to the blogger. Gotta post this and see what the lime green template looks like.

And I do wonder how many people are actually bored enough to read other people's journals!!!!

Y jen