My name is Jen. I live in the Midwest with my husband and our 4 kids. The year 2008 was a busy one for us– my husband and I graduated college, got married, went on a honeymoon, moved into our first home and started new jobs all in one weeks time. I am exhausted just typing that! The only thing we didn’t do that year was have a baby.

Babies didn’t come until 2012 and then again in 2014, 2015 and 2017. That was a whirlwind 5 years! After my first baby was born I quit my job and became a stay at home mom. Along with being a stay at home mom, we also homeschool our kids.

My family and faith are the pillars of my life. They are the reason I do anything. My life is loud and messy… I can actually feel the house getting dirty– name that movie… it’s my favorite! But at the same time my life is abundantly peaceful and overflowing with joy!

10 facts about me

• Most importantly, I love Jesus. Living for Jesus is not just something I do on Sunday, but it’s what I do with my life. I want my words, thoughts and actions to be in agreement with Him. My desire is that my life, all aspects of my life, would glorify God.
• I grew up with horses, however I haven’t had a horse since 2012. Now that my kids are getting older we are talking more about getting horses again. The kids and I are so excited, just need to fully convince my husband, but it’s 5 to 1, so it’s looking good!
• I have Celiac Disease. It’s an autoimmune disease where my immune system is triggered by gluten. Basically, my body thinks gluten is a foreign invader, so my immune system goes into attack mode. It was definitely hard in the beginning to switch to a gluten free diet. Today though, 8 years in, I can say it’s become a normal way of life for me.
• I can play the alto saxophone. I played in high school and then stopped playing after I graduated. It wasn’t until recently that I pulled it out and started playing again. I’m definitely a little lot rusty, but it’s so fun playing again.
• I am a planner. I love outlines and categorizing. I can’t plan a vacation without an itinerary (I’m grateful for my husband though who is the spontaneous one in this duo.) I get extreme joy out of seeing something I planned come into action. I truly believe in the saying, A goal without a plan is just a wish.
• I hit the sibling jackpot! Between biological siblings, step-siblings, and in- law siblings, I have 7 sisters and 5 brothers. They are the most wise, talented and caring people I know. I am crazy blessed to have them for sisters and brothers!
• I love garlic, citrus and cilantro. My favorite dinners are lemon garlic fettucine, cilantro lime quinoa bowls and chips and guac (yes, that’s a dinner in my opinion!) Next time you make sugar cookies add some orange zest, you will wonder why you never did that before. So good!
• I do not handle insects well. Here is an insect incident gone wrong- My husband, who works from home, had a performance meeting via video with his manager. He was up in his office, door closed and it was quiet. Meanwhile I am downstairs with the kids and I see a spider. It’s one of those spiders that sits still and then suddenly is going full speed. I start screaming, the kids start screaming but I somehow manage to get the spider on a piece of cardboard, open the door and throw the cardboard outside. Little did I know, in the chaos of catching the spider, that my son had rushed upstairs into my husbands office and yelled, “There’s a spider!” BUT, in his garbled toddler speech my husband heard, “There’s a fire!” So my husband, thinking there is a fire, tells his manager to hold on, during a performance review, and runs downstairs to see me screaming while throwing something outside. He yells to me, “Where is the fire!?” To which I yell in total confusion, “What fire!? There’s a fire?!” My husband responds to me, “He (our son) said there was a fire! Where is the fire?!” I finally see what happened and say, “There’s a spider!!” It was a mess, but his manager still gave him a wonderful review, so I guess it wasn’t all bad.
• I find budgeting and financial planning to be exciting. It’s a good thing too because I also find shopping at Target, Hobby Lobby and Amazon Prime to be equally as exciting.
• Before the kids graduate high school, my husband and I want to take them to every state, including seeing new places in our own state. We haven’t started on this yet, but will in the next year or so. Our first state is going to be Wisconsin.

Why Planted For Glory

I have actually had this blog since 2017 but didn’t write anything until 2021. That four babies 5 and under thing left me with very limited free time, which I truthfully spent mostly binge-watching shows on Netflix. It wasn’t until December of 2020 that I heard God tell me it was time to start the blog, for real this time. Years prior to this, there were some days I would wonder if I did anything purposeful at all that day. I would ask myself if sweeping the floor 4 times that day and remembering to put the clothes in the dryer counted as being purposeful? Every day God would whisper to my heart that He has great purpose for my life, my right now, sweeping the floor for the fourth time, life. So Planted For Glory was born because my heart is for all mothers to know they have tremendous worth. I want all mom’s to know the work they are doing inside the walls of their home and in the hearts of their children is important and giving God glory.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12