goodbye eighteen

I'm turning nineteen tomorrow. I'm leaving eighteen behind. and honestly, it makes me sad and I have cried about it.

so much has happened over the past year since I turned eighteen. the first few months of being eighteen were the absolute worst months of my life. I cried so much in those first few months, over personal issues, family issues, church issues. issues that no one outside of my immediate family knows about. issues that I couldn't tell other people about and issues that I didn't want to tell other people about. 

but then, when June came along, life got a hundred and eighty times better. in fact, the whole year got better. and I wouldn't change my eighteenth year for anything. because all those tears and rough days taught me lessons that I won't forget. 

they taught me to forgive, to move on, to depend on Jesus when others let you down. they taught me that my family loves me way more than I ever realized, that they will stand by me when the whole world is throwing stones. and honestly, it was worth it. 

bye, eighteen. thanks for the lessons. for the trip to slovakia. for the friendships formed. for the hours worth of good music. for the hugs. for the laughs. for the money made. for the delicious food. for the time spent with my favorite people.

thanks for being better than i had ever imagined.

a happy birthday post for my girl Kenz

today...well, today is a very special lady's birthday. and honestly, I so wish I could be with her today to go grab coffee and give her birthday hugs and gifts. but unfortunately we live hundreds of miles away from each other.

this girl, well, she's quite the character. she's funny. she's sarcastic. (just like me!) she has a huge heart. she loves Jesus so so much. she struggles daily and she still smiles. she loves running and coffee and One Direction...specifically Niall Horan. she may be a wee bit obsessed with that blonde Irishman. oh, you want picture proof? here ya go.

isn't she cute? yep.

she and I "met" via Instagram. she sent me a request to follow my IG. I clicked on her profile to check her out. she had this witty bio written out, and I learned one BIG thing from that witty bio. Kenzie and I are. twins. except...she's younger than me...and we don't look anything alike. and she lives in Minnesota and I live in South Carolina. but other than that, yep, we're twinners.

so she's basically gorgeous and funny and my hero. this girl struggles with Juvenile Arthritis. some days she hurts so bad, and she's real about it. she admits that some days it kills her. but the next day, she is smiling again, taking small steps towards heaven, where she can run her heart out and not worry about the pain.

she is such a great girl. really.

Kenzie, Kenz, Kenz. girl, I can't tell you how glad I am that you started stalking  following me on Instagram. I am so so so thankful for your friendship. someday we are gonna meet up and jam in one of our cars to really loud music, and then drink way too much coffee and just have a great time. can't wait.

sooooo...today as you're turning the big 1-8, remember that I love you very much! and hope today is awesome and totally rocks your socks off. LOVE YOU! xoxo.

the hobbit, birthdays, christmas and other things

Hi! I pinky promise that I haven't forgotten about this here blog of mine. In fact, it has been very much on my mind lately. I've been thinking about writing and why I write and what I want to write about and when to write and all those fine details lately. I've come to a couple of conclusions that I'll share with you some time soon.

on to the past two weeks in review:

Tuesday, December 11th: we performed our annual Christmas program. I wrote a song about Mary and my siblings performed everything from James Taylor's Jingle Bells to The Jackson 5's Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.

That night we also celebrated mine and Michael's birthdays! Michael was born December 16th, and mine is the 15th. So we always celebrate together. It's special to me that our birthdays are close together.
I was given all my birthday presents that night. I. was. shocked. They gave me a 3 day trip to Savannah, GA with Mom!! We left on a Sunday (December 16th) after church, drove the hour to get there and stayed til Tuesday. Those three days involved: a photo shoot with a dear friend, Starbucks date with Becca, Barnes and Noble, Catholic church tour, more Starbucks, watching all of Gone With the Wind, lunch with Heather and baby Zeke, attending Catholic Mass, and then going to surprise Becca at the coffee shop she works at. It was so much fun. And I took minimum pictures. ;) sorry.

Friday, December 14th: Dad, Michael, Heather, Jamie and I went to see The Hobbit. Okay. Let's just say I was blown away. I'm a Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit fanatic. I have read the books several times, written a ballad based on the LOTR books, written music to one of J.R.R. Tolkien's poems...yeah, it runs deep. I was so nervous when the movie was starting, and, let's just be honest here, I cried. Yes I did. It was an amazing movie.

Saturday, December 15th: I turned 18. Enough said.

Sunday through Tuesday: (16th-18th) in Savannah

and then Saturday, December 22nd: saw the Hobbit again with three friends. It was so much fun. Then went Goodwill shopping with one of the friends. We had a blast. :) (Em, we definitely have to do it again!)

And then Christmas. And now here I am. Ready to get back to normal life. Ready to start writing again!

Have a great weekend, friends, and I'll see you soon!! :)

 

happy birthday

to Michael.

My big brother. My mentor. The one who watches me cry and makes me feel better. My boss. My hero.

Thanks, Michael, for being there for me for the past 18 years. Thanks for the long talks, the times you watched me cry, the emails, the job, and so many more things. I love you. :)

Happy 25th birthday! :)



Your,
Jen

this girl (a post about me)

In only 17 more days, I will be 18 years old. That is freakily exciting. Scary and wonderful. Honestly, folks, it blows my mind. Tell me it blows your mind too so that I will feel better. (Mom, it doesn’t count for you. Of course it blows your mind that your baby girl will be 18 in only 17 days!) But seriously, I feel slightly intimidated, like I’m not ready to be eighteen.

I think my uncertainty about this age started when a certain boy had his 22nd a few weeks ago. We talked on his birthday about how 22 was so official and old and adultish... (not technically a word, but who cares?). He said, “Yeah, today just felt like a normal Wednesday. I got up, went to work and came home. It was uneventful.” We laughed about it and then he said, “It’s kind of like turning 35. Like my life is officially over.” It was a sarcastic comment, but it got me to thinking. That’s always dangerous.

I started thinking about growing up. Growing old. I know, I know. I’m not going to be ancient when this birthday comes around. But I’ll be 18! Thomas turned 22 this year. Michael will turn 25 the day after I turn 18. We’re all getting older. It’s crazy. Michael’s married and runs businesses and  has a kid. (and a cute kid at that). Thomas is married and living in Savannah and working and hiking mountains.

And then there’s me. 17-almost-18-year-old Jennifer Mole. A wannabe author. A girl who’s biggest dream is to get married and have babies. Someone who when she is at home with her siblings will blast the music and have a dance party in the kitchen. The girl who wishes she could sing like Whitney Houston, or play piano like Lionel Ritchie. 

The girl who loves loves loves old music, (go look up Sherry by Frankie Valli. You’ll love me.) and the colour blue and the smell of coffee and soft hair and hugs from her brothers and long talks with her mom and driving her car and cell phones and friends and role models and old black and white movies and TV shows and emails from friends who live far away. The girl who cries easily. 

The girl who loves hard and has given her heart away too often. The girl who feels like a hypocrite because she doesn’t live out some of the stuff she blogs about. The girl who reads minds and can tell when something is wrong with one of her friends. The girl who loves being around people. The girl with many friends. The girl who dislikes conflict but isn’t afraid of it. 

The girl who always speaks before she thinks and then ends up feeling bad later on. The girl who is discerning, but sometimes not discerning enough. The girl who gets irritated easily but can’t stay mad for long. The girl who absolutely cannot ignore a person. Doesn’t do the silent treatment. The girl who laughs really loud. The girl who isn’t at all afraid to speak her mind or tell a person what she thinks of them. 
The girl who has a reputation for being a talker, not a thinker. 

The girl who started a blog simply because her best friends begged her to. The girl who gives in easily. The girl who hates doing laundry and ironing but has conquered her hatred for washing dishes. The girl who has bad days. And I mean really bad ones. The girl who sometimes wonders if she will ever get married or be in a relationship or have a guy for her best friend.The girl who would die for her younger siblings, but has a hard time being nice to them on a daily basis. The girl who hates math. The girl who has a love affair with music. The girl who thinks her mom is the bomb. The girl who loves her daddy. 

The girl who loves Jesus more than anything else. The girl who will be 18 in only 17 more days. The girl who feels like she's only 8.

Yep. That's me. You probably just learned more about me in that post that you have in every other post I've ever written. Honesty isn't always easy, friend. Sometimes it means telling things about yourself that you might not want to share. But I promised myself I would always be honest on my blog. So there's my honesty for the day. 

Today remember that Jesus loves you just as you are. It's not based on anything you have done, but based on what He has done for you. He is good and His love endures forever. Have a good day, friend. 






 

thanksgiving and a birthday

Happy Thanksgiving! Friend, remember everything you have to be thankful for. Give thanks today, and enjoy your time with your loved ones. And eat as much as you want! :)


Today is a very special girl's birthday. Last year at this point, I had no idea this girl was even on the planet. She is a California girl and I live in South Carolina. She's a dreamer, and so I am. We met through the blogging world, and became friends. Many comments and some emails later, we've realized that we're kindred spirits.

isn't she adorable? (stole this right off her blog... ;)

Today is Erin's birthday. Head over to her blog and give her many happy birthday wishes. :)

Erin, thanks for the many encouraging posts you have written and for your heart for Jesus. You are a light shining in a dark world and I am so glad we connected! I hope that this next year is one in which you can serve the Lord more fully and be fulfilled by Him more than you ever have before. And make your dreams come true, girl. :) Love you! (and one of these days I will come visit you! promise! :)

happy birthday

to one of the best boys in the world.

He makes me laugh.

He makes me cry (basically because I miss him all the time)

He is so talented.

He loves Jesus. He loves Becca. He loves his family.

And he loves me.

So a very happy birthday to my boy, Thomas. I love you more than you could possibly imagine. Thanks for making my life happy. 

I hope that this next year brings you many opportunites to make
your dreams come true. 

Happy Birthday

Today is a very special girl's birthday. She's turning 21. And I'm super happy and excited for her.

On Michael's and Heather's wedding day (May 2011)

I've known Becca since my childhood. We've literally known each other all our lives.

But then she and Thomas started hanging out and being buddies and then eventually fell in love and

now they're getting hitched.

Christmas Day 2011

So now, a girl that I've known for forever and a day is one of my best friends ever. She's

the bomb.

Over the past two years, I've shared so many secrets with Becca and just laughed and talked and

prayed with her.

Once tomorrow comes, it'll only be 36 days til the biggest day of Becca's 21st year. Her wedding day.

The day she marries her best friend and lifetime crush.

The day she marries my big brother.

September 15...the day that two of my best friends get married. To each other.

November 2011 (shortly before Thomas' 21st birthday)

When I say that Becca is my best friend, it's totally true. 

She's funny. She can make me laugh really hard. And we always have a good time together.  Even when I'm spilling all my secrets, we end up laughing and just acting like girls.

She loves Jesus so much. She makes me want to love Him as much as she does. She's so good at bringing Him up no matter what we're discussing. She always has some encouraging words no matter what the situation. And I love that about her.

Long time ago...

I can totally trust her. She knows all my secrets. That's what big sisters are for, right?

Becca is everything a big sister should be. She's funny. She knows when to just let me talk and when to give me advice.

She loves Jesus more than anyone or anything and it's totally obvious.

She loves Thomas so much. She's creative and crafty and artsy and all that good stuff.

She is everything she should be and so much more.

So here's to Becca's 21st birthday.

And here's to many more long talks, much laughter, maybe some tears here and there, lots of water,

some running, hundreds of songs, many birthday cakes and secrets.

Here's to you, Becca. :)

Love, Jen

p.s. I love you :)