Grateful

Grateful for a babe who is starting to sleep through the night,

and learning to crawl. 

Grateful for cousins who have bed head and make each other smile.

Grateful for long peaceful hikes in the mountains that make me feel strong again.

Grateful for Grandpas and Uncles who teach little boys how to become great men.

Grateful for modern technology so lullabies and bedtime 

stories can be heard timezones away.

Grateful for temples because he's mine forever.

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, 

but for the world's joy, including yours."

~Henry Ward Beecher

Here's to gratitude turning everything into enough!

xoxo

Remembering Robin Williams

I am a big Robin Williams fan. I was so heartbroken to hear the news about his passing away. So for our Friday Links, here's to a wonderful man that made us all laugh and take our blues away.

Favorite quote.

How can anyone forget this? Or this?

Genie in the stars.

Spread joy not only through laughter but giving as well.

He was truly Peter Pan.

Lastly, "Make your life spectacular, I know I did."

For me, I will never forget the afternoons my brothers and I spent watching Hook and loving Mrs. Doubtfire. Aladdin was my favorite Disney movie growing up and I always wished the Genie would come visit! The world was so blessed to have Robin Williams share his talents with us.

Curious, what's your favorite Robin Williams moment? There are so many to choose from!

xoxo


(Photos via NYTimes)

Live Your Dream

Dreams are scary. They're scary because they're big and practically unattainable, or so it seems when you first start out. But I'm a dreamer and I believe that if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.

This fall, I'm taking a chance on my family's dreams!

It has been the biggest adventure we've taken on yet.

We're moving to New York City! 

The city is my favorite place to escape and we're always heading there on our free weekends. I always thought it would be great to live there. I have missed living in the city and having places to walk to.

Yes, it will be quite the adjustment. 

But remember how I said I'm taking a chance for my family's dreams? Well, it's my dream to be in New York City but it's my husband's dream to get his PhD. 

Believe me, he wasn't sure about it but I urged him to at least apply. Then it was more difficult to make the call when we found out I was pregnant with Henry. Give up our steady paycheck? I look at it as an investment not only for a better job, but as a happiness investment which is worth more than any dollar amount. 

When he said that he was accepted to New York University last winter in the field he wants to study in, there was no way I could say no. Let's live both of our dreams at once!

There have definitely been roadblocks, hiccups, whatever you want to call them. As for the Jones, we're taking a chance on our dreams, working our way a step at a time! 

The biggest roadblock has been finding an apartment. (Did you know that in New York, most apartments rent out on the same day they're listed?!?) We have a detour planned of having Kevin sublet a room for a month while Henry and I head to Utah to live with family for that month. I think it will be so much easier to find a great place when in the city already! I have full confidence that Kevin will find us a wonderful home to live out dream for the next four years. 

We laugh and joke that Henry will start out having a New Yorker accent. 

Here's to knowing what your dream is and making it happen! What's your "I've always wanted to do . . . .?" There's no better time than the present! 

xoxo


(This is part of Kabbage's "Live Your Dream" Campaign. Kabbage helps small businesses get the funds they need to make their dreams come true.)

Hiatus

I've been taking an unofficial break since Henry was born. It has been the best break ever getting in sweet baby cuddles, coos, giggles and simply feel renewed. I truly needed to disconnect and have been pretty good about only posting a few photos now and again to Instagram while I enjoy my little baby.

On the other hand, I have really missed journaling our adventures and sharing them with everyone! So get ready, next week I'm back. I want to tell you Henry's birth story and all of his amazing firsts (especially the first time we took him to New York City!). Plus, now that I'm a mama, I've got all sorts of dos and don'ts and what you'll want to register for if you're a new mama or a seasoned mama. It seems that we can never have too many cute baby things!

Let's meet back here this coming Monday, okay? You bring the hot chocolate and I'll have the posts with pictures waiting just for you.

xoxo

Every Mother Counts

He made me a mother. Not in the way I planned, not in the way I expected. In fact, not even in a way the doctor had expected. But he still made me a mother. They said he was supposed to be born on April 4th or April 6th, it ended up being the 5th. They said he would be too small and have no problem coming out. He ended up being too big (8 pounds, 5 ounces!) and requiring an emergency C-section. But no matter how you look at it and how many twists and turns we went through to get him here, he made me a mother. I will forever love my Henry and he will always be my son.



Did you know that one woman dies every two minutes from complications during pregnancy and childbirth? Go here to find out more about how to make a difference. We couldn't have made it without the amazing team of health care professionals who helped bring Henry into the world.

Alt Summit believes every mother counts. It's the month to celebrate mamas!

xoxo

Simple Things: Sunday Best

"To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world." 

xoxo

Finding JOY in the ordinary

Hello dear! I'm still taking a little break to enjoy some little snuggles and maybe a nap with my new babe. In the meantime, I've asked a few bloggers to share how they find JOY in their every day life. They are amazing and I hope we can all apply their tips to our lives! I'll be back soon with an overload of baby photos. Until then, enJOY! xoxo ~Lis 

Hey y'all my name is Paige and I blog over at Moments for the Journey. I am a born and raised Southern girl currently living in Ogden, Utah with my hubby. When Lis asked me to guest post for her I was thrilled, and I am so excited to be here with all of you - her lovely readers!

Do you ever feel like your life is too boring - too ordinary?
I know that I have. I have the tendency to look at my life and see all of the things that aren't "just right" or super exciting. I see the unfinished kitchen in my house that has been unfinished for over 3 years. I see the constant dust on my furniture that appears two seconds after I dust. I see the old decor of my home that looks nothing like the beautiful homes on Pinterest. I see my normal daily routine of work, home, clean, and sleep. And I see the typical night at home with my husband that is boring and ordinary.

Here's the thing, if I based my joy off of the way I negatively view these ordinary aspects of my life I would be an extremely unhappy person all of the time.

So instead I have chosen to find joy in the ordinary moments of my day. Instead of thinking "Ugh I hate this kitchen. It's so ugly." Every time I walk in it I find joy in the fact that the kitchen, although unfinished, looks ten times better than the disaster it was when the hubby and I bought the house. Instead of seeing my daily routine as boring, I intentionally look for moments - big and small - that make me smile. Instead of thinking that my evening in with my husband is boring, I take pleasure in just being with him.

 God blesses my life in so many ways; He gives me so many ordinary moments take joy in. The older I get the more I realize that true joy does not come from things. True joy comes from God. Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

God is the source of true - real - joy. Do you struggle with finding joy in the ordinary?