Photo Shoots...

I LOVE pictures. I have so much fun taking them, looking at them, but when it comes to being in them, I always hesitate. I dont know why, I just do.
A few weeks back however, we did a Christmas Photo Shoot with a family friend. And would you believe that I HAD SO MUCH FUN! I think we all did.
The setting was beautiful, the outfits-perfect. (They had to be, I chose them!) and the photographer? Well she is absolutely AMAZING!
It was a fantastic experience that I got to share with my family. And the best part is, the pictures that captured the memories that we will have forever... ♥

~J♥

My absolute favorite!

Thank You Mrs. Kalter! 

My Bible Characters are... Vegetables?

Sitting around the dinner table, Jo is telling my dad about the Bible study we had Sunday at church. (The Church of Smyrna) Along the way, she says the name King Darius. My mom, looks at us and says,

"Why do i picture him as a vegetable?"

Well can you just imagine what happened? Everyone is laughing hysterically. and to make things even sweeter, my dad says,

"I thought he was the chocolate."

well, we certainly couldnt have our Bible characters mixed around, so giggling, we tell him,

"That is king Nebudchanezzur!" "The bunny, the bunny, oh i love the bunny. i dont want my soup or my bread just the bunny..." laughing with tears, we sing the finale song, "and so we learned that God's word is for everyone, now that our song is done we'll take a look".

Reflecting back on this, I realized that i know most of the stories in the Bible because of Veggie Tales. Yes, it gets kinda confusing when i match up the name with an aspargus, cucumber, carrot, tomato... and yet, i know the story, and most of the time, where it can be found.

So the conclusion to our crazy memory lane of Veggie Tales, is vegetables are good for you.

Who knew?

Now that my song is done,

J♥

SURPRISE!!!!!!

So, Jo turned 16 on wednesday and on Saturday we had a surprise party for her.

**note to self: NEVER HAVING A SURPRISE PARTY AGAIN!!**

It was great, and surprisingly really easy to get her out of the house--totally and completely unsuspecting. we went to a friends house to play "dress-up" and did our hair and make-up, (yes she let us put make-up on her!!!) and then we did a little fashion show. filming everything by the way!!!

The only problem was talking around her. we couldnt say a darn thing whenever she was around. mom and i would stay up till after she was in bed just to see if we invited everyone and what decorations to get. she even brought me along to party city (my least favorite place after summer till december) becuase she picked me up from lunch with a friend.

BUT other than that, it was great! It was really all family, and Jo was really really surprised. after just my aunts from my dad's side were still here, we had worship (the blessings of being born into a musical family: worship wherever we go!!!!) it was fantastic. a really great surprise and i learned A LOT!!

Anyways, maybe if i can drag her to the computer and put her in the chair i will have her come tell her side soon...

Till the next SURPRISE!,
J♥

17 = OLD

Sitting and doing her homework, Jackie is asking everyone what transmission means. I honestly had no clue, so I told her what my parents used to tell me when I would ask the same question: "Go look it up."

***on a side note: i really hated those words. it meant i had to get up, go find the dictionary, and then look up my word, and then put the dictionary back. so much work!!! ;)****

She looks at me, apparently already frustrated, and says "I already did! It didnt make any sense!" i looked at her, remembering exactly what i felt at 10 and didnt understand a word, but i still asked her "what did it say?" "I dont even know!"

Here i couldnt help but laugh. i mean, i LOVE to read, so whenever i didnt understand a word, i dissected it by the sentence and other words surrounding it. call it the writer in me, but i didnt mind learning new words. my lil sis however, wants nothing to do with dictionaries.  

After gaining control, i asked her what dictionary she used, "The Webster's one?" she hesitated. "Um no." i got a really strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, "Then which one did you use?" she hesitates again- "Uh the online one. Janine, it's easier!" I looked at her, "Then go get the actual dictionary, you'll understand it better." But Jackie is adamant that she will not understand what that one says either. i thought i might be able to make her feel better, so i said, "Jackie, when i was your age (uh-oh!) i had to actually get up and get the dictionary, there was no online dictionary." She just looks at me and says, "That is because they hadnt invented it yet!!" (YIKES!)

"Are you saying I am old?" I demanded. "Yes!" she yells. i shook my head before i pointed out to her that i was born in the same decade she was. then i commented something about putting that on facebook, and walked away, not able to believe that at 17, I am OLD..... :)

J♥

P.S. Transmission means: to send or forward, as to a recipient or destination. (Just in case you were wondering...)

Take My Breath Away

I once read a quote that said
"Count your life not by how many times you take a breath, but by how many times you get your breath taken away."

Hmmm, interesting right?? Well, I think it was great advice. Today was an absolutely amazing day to have my breath taken away.
First it's raining and thundering while it is still warm out (totally Hawaii weather), then i log onto facebook to find pictures my friend posted of a beautiful, clear, double rainbow.
Then I see the amazing sunset, and i realized that God could take my breath away every single day, if I would only step out of my own little circle and look around at His absolutely breathtaking creation.

So Dear Lord,

PLEASE TAKE MY BREATH AWAY...

Breathing in your beauty, J♥

A Thankful Heart....

I was washing dishes after dinner (a chore my whole family will tell you I dislike with a passion), and grumbling. "Ugh I hate doing dishes." "So many dishes..." and so on my complaints went. Then, very quietly, subtley, I heard a small voice saying, "well at least you have dishes to wash." Now I dont handle these quiet voices very well. Usually I get emotional and contrite, filled with sorrow because I was so foolish. The same thing happened tonight- minus the tears. And as I stood there washing plates, cups, and utensils, instead of grumbling I turned my heart to thankfulness. I thanked the Lord for plates, and bowls, and cups. I thanked Him for the hot water to wash the dishes, and the soap and sponge to do the job. I thanked God for the food we were able to cook in the pots and pans. And then I thanked the Lord for opening my eyes to see how truly "rich" I really am. I have so much compared to some people who have nothing. And I am so thankful for that. So as I washed dishes and prayed, my heart became lighter, and the chore went by faster. Now, I dont love doing dishes (in fact I left a couple pots to soak, to come type this), and it is still a chore that I probably will not enjoy doing. But before I start complaining, I have to remember to be thankful that I have dishes to do. And talk to God, because then the chore goes by faster.

With a thankful heart,
J♥ 

And Our Story Begins...

"Once upon a time, a long, long time ago...yesterday" Well okay, maybe not yesterday but 17 years ago, the JC Family began.

Hi, I'm Janine. I am the oldest of 5 kids and, let me see, i will probably be the writer of this blog 99.9% of the time. :) Anyways our family of 8 includes my dad and mom, myself (J) (17), joelle (Jo) (15), johnny (13), jacklyn (Jackie) (10), and jeremy (JJ) (8)  otherwise known as the JCs; and above all, the head of our household, Jesus Christ.. 


A little bit about us....


My parents have been married for almost 20 years! They were married in February of 1991. Two years later, I was born. Then Joelle, Johnny, Jacklyn followed, and finally (our family's SURPRISE! gift), Jeremy was born in 2002.

My siblings and I have been to church our whole lives. Today, both my parents, and Joelle, Johnny, and I are really involved with our church; It really is our home away from home. We love helping out in Children's Ministry, and the highschool and Jr. High.

Besides helping out at church, Joelle, Johnny, and I are homeschooled. (The 2 younger ones, well lets just say we dont have the patience to keep them at home.) This year is my SENIOR YEAR!!! and I am totally thrilled to be almost in college. Jo is  a junior, and Johnny is in J-High. It's a lot better than actual school, and i can say that because i have been in real school before. 

I think that's enough for now.... besides if i dont get off now and get to finishing some school work, well i will have a lot more to do tomorrow! And I just wanted to say Welcome! 

Until the next time...

Following Him,
J♥