Today's guest is my friend Jenn. I met Jenn several years ago when our girls were at preschool together. Her family joined our church and we have been in the same class together for years. Jenn went through breast cancer over three years ago. She fought it so bravely through chemo treatments and surgeries. Thankfully she is cancer free now. She lives life now with no regrets and as someone who definitely got a second chance at life and she is living it to the fullest!
1. What is your favorite Food? I have so many it's hard to choose (I love food). Pizza is probably at the top of my list but it has to be really good pizza. Living in Chicago for 5 years got me spoiled when it came to pizza. Lou Malnati's has the best pizza I've ever had!
2. What is your very favorite piece of clothing right now? (FASHION) My favorite piece of clothing right now is a soft hoodie that I got at Nordstrom Rack (my absolute favorite store)! It is the softest fabric ever and lightweight but warm enough for a cold day. I love a hoodie!!!
3. Tell us about your Family? I've been married to my husband Shaun for 17 years. We are high school sweethearts who started dating when I was 15 and he was 16. That was in 1991. We married in 1999. We have two daughters, Julianne who is about to turn 9, and Claire who just turned 7. They are the light of our lives. I'm so blessed in my role as wife and mother. They are my biggest fans and I love them so much my heart could burst!
4. What is the most important quality in your Friends? OR tell us something that a Friend has done for you that you can't forget. The most important quality in my friends is humor. I am a very sarcastic person who doesn't take myself to seriously. I love being surrounded by friends who get me, laugh with me, and are just light hearted and fun. I have no time for people who bring drama. I HATE drama.
5. What's something you have learned recently in your Faith journey? And/or share your favorite scripture right now and why or your favorite Bible Study or book you have read recently.
During my cancer journey, I learned that God is there. He is always faithful to sustain me. There were times during that period that I was so discouraged. I literally only had my faith to cling to. God doesn't promise that our journey will be easy and going through that terrible time drew me closer to Him. My absolute favorite verse is Isaiah 66:9 "I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born says the Lord". I clung to this verse during my illness. Through my pain, He allowed something new to be born. I changed for the better. I've been able to help many women who are going through the same thing I did. It is a blessing. I no longer sweat the small stuff. I am thankful for every day I am given. What a wonderful lesson though the journey was painful.
6. What is your biggest Fear? Fear is something I struggle with. My biggest fear right now is a cancer recurrence. I hope as the years go by and I get further and further out from my diagnosis, it lessens.
7. What are some of your Favorite things right now? Furniture shopping. We just built a new home and we are getting all new furniture. It's really fun to pick things out and making our house a home. So I love Houzz, Pinterest, and online shopping! I also am loving the Bible app. We've started doing devotions together as a family and it is so great!
8. What has been your biggest Failure? This is such a hard question. I can think of a few and they are very personal so I won't share them here. However, I can tell you that when I fail, it is usually because I say something in the moment that I shouldn't have. I really need to just keep my mouth shut sometimes. I need to take time to think about what I want to say before I speak, and when I do speak, I need to do it in a loving way. There is nothing worse to me than regretting something I've said to someone I love that is hateful or mean. I'm guilty of yelling and losing my temper easily. It's something I work on daily. I always try to remember that I should give my best to the people in my home that I love the most.
9. What do you do for Fun? I am all about fun. My motto after getting cancer was "all the fun things!" I love going to concerts, girls nights, taking our girls on vacation, going away with just my husband, and trips with girlfriends. I recently went on a girls trip to Vegas with 5 girlfriends and it was the most fun weekend ever! I love my friends. I'm so blessed with the people in my life!
10. Tell me about what animals you have? (Furry things) We have Hadley Grace, a maltipoo that is almost 2. She is so cute and little and she is my baby! We also just added to our family when we got my husband a boxer puppy for Christmas. Her name is Charley Mae and she is super sweet and almost potty trained (fingers crossed).
11. What is your favorite FILM? (movie) I don't think there is any way I can just pick one movie that is my favorite. I love movies! Probably one of my all time favorites is Father of the Bride. It came out not too long before I was getting married and I watched it over and over. I also love scary/suspense movies. Kiss the Girls and The Bone Collector are two of my favorites.
12. What is one Fact we might not know about you? I have a masters degree in Clinical Psychology. I went to graduate school while I was working full-time and Shaun was in medical school. I thought I wanted to be a counselor but ended up working my way up in my human resources job so I just kept doing that. After having Julianne, I decided to stay home full-time. So, I have a masters degree but have never really used it. It's fun to analyze people though. Ha!
