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Category: football

#buildingthegrayhouse/#mailthatmatters/Baby Gray/books/football/George Strait/Legos/Purpose Box/subscriptions/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten/Type 1 Diabetes

Tuesday Ten: Lots of New Edition

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

1. We’ll start with the big new: the boy was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last Tuesday. I’ll share the story soon, but for now, we are settling in...

football/giving/Happy House/journal/Legos/sharing/teaching/TOMS

Tuesday Ten: Back to School Edition

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

It’s Tuesday, so you know what that means. I managed to string a thought or ten together here. 1. We had our first easy transition day at Happy House yest...

#buildingthegrayhouse/Aggies/faith/football/generosity/George Strait/Rolling Stones/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten/vacations/writing

Ten is Really All I Can Manage

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 5 Comments

It seems as though all I’ve got lately are lists. And I think I’m okay with that. It keeps me from missing things (I do actually look back at what I...

#26bookswithbringingupburns/Aggie/Amazon/books/football/Happy House/Purpose Box/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten

Tuesday Ten: Random Edition

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

I find that when I’m missing big chunks around here I just slap it all in a Tuesday Ten. It seems to work. Sometimes I just have random thoughts to throw ...

#teddyelf/2014/Aggies/Angel Tree/Black Friday/Christmas/Christmasday/computer/concert/Elf on the Shelf/family/football/giving/Justin Timberlake/MacBook/Sights & Sounds/tailgate/Teddy/Thanksgiving

Thursday Thirteen

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

Yeah, I made that up. It’s not a thing. When my computer has been crashed, and I have a lot of catching up to do, it seems the best route to take, though....

fireworks/football/interview/Mr. Gray/mustache/spaghetti and meatballs

More From Him

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

After Mr. Gray’s last interview, it was requested that we do them more often. I try to honor requests, so here you go: 1. What’s your favorite movie...

#fridayintroductions/#write31days/Aggies/boy mama/Facebook/football/Friday Five/Instagram

Friday Five: Hashtag Edition

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

1. I think the #write31days challenge helped me loosen up a little on my need to be in this space every weekday. I don’t have to be here every weekday. I ...

Aggies/camp house/fall/football/giveaway/hair/haircut/Happy House/Kyle Field

Just Another Manic Monday

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

A while back I promised I was not going to turn this place into a giant list. I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of that. Apparently I’m ...

#fridayintroductions/Aggie/books/football/reading

So Many Thoughts, A Lot Less Time

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

+ I feel like I have a bunch of ideas rattling around in my head. I don’t really know what to do with them all just yet. I’ll just keep shaking them...

Aggies/camp house/football/laundry/soccer/trash the dress/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten/wedding

T E N

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

1. New Kyle Field. First game. Four days. Who’s ready? (Hint: this girl.) 2.  I definitely received an ice bucket challenge last week and promptly fo...

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Hi, I’m Jolie…

jolie-gray
Wife to Josh, mama to Hays (7), hopeful adoptive mama, and Jesus lover. I founded Purpose Box in July of 2014. I'm all about open sunroofs and coffee dates. Welcome to my space; have a click around. I hope you feel loved, encouraged, and empowered.

Texas forever.

Purpose Box

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Allow me to introduce {our}selves: I’m Jolie. Allow me to introduce {our}selves: 

I’m Jolie. Wife, mama, teacher, friend, daughter, Aggie, writer, encourager, reader, letter writer. 

That’s the boy. LEGO builder, author, advocate, fundraiser, creative, friend, Type One butt-kicker. 

That that’s Mr. Gray. Husband, father, friend, role model, coach, teacher, learner, discerner. 

This is us! (Except now Mr. Gray cut his hair. 😭😭😭) Sometimes we match when we go out. Sometimes we laugh too loud. Sometimes we overreact. We love and forgive each other. We work together to help others and make the world around us better. 

Who are you? How are you? 👇🏻
So, I didn’t tell y’all, but when I posted yes So, I didn’t tell y’all, but when I posted yesterday, I also challenged myself. I challenged myself to show up. For seven days. Or ten. Or twenty-one. Or thirty. I’m not sure how long yet, but I’ll be here. For some consecutive days. 

I want to show up here in laughter or tears in such a way that you can take a little nugget, stick it in your pocket, and save it for a rainy day. 

Sometimes you just have to laugh. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with your spouse. Send your ridiculousness to your friends. Take a moss to dinner. Embarrass your husband. Don’t take it all so seriously. Step back a bit and step out of the deep. Smile. Breathe.
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, I wro Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, I wrote every single day. If I were going to be gone, I wrote ahead of time and scheduled it to post. In a more recent place in time, I jumped online each Friday and discussed the week via Facebook live. In an even more recent realm, I started a weekly newsletter in an effort to get back to some writing roots and offer up another form of sharing ideas and tips. 

Then I stopped. All of it. 

Everything around me began to just sound like noise, and I didn’t want to contribute to that. I wanted to be sure what I bring to the table has some value (even if sometimes that value is that it’ll show up in my @chatbooks later).

Mostly, though, I want what I share to be thoughtful and representative of a safe space in this big ol’ (sometimes mean) internet world. I want people to peek in—to any of my spaces—and see something that saves them time, a way to give back, a reminder that Jesus loves them, a family working on getting back to the basics and focusing on each other.

I want to be a brand and make an impact and be something bigger, but not in such a way that I blend in with the noise. I want to make you think and challenge you and offer up ways to make your life and systems simpler and work for you. I want to be a resource and an encourager.

So, I’m getting back in the game. And I’m starting with this little space. 

*laces up shoes and jogs onto the court*
State testing. ⭐️ When he was in second grade State testing. ⭐️

When he was in second grade, I heard my first account of a child with Type One whose test had been taken due to a monitor not knowing that the Dexcom receiver (not even a communication device of any kind) on the child’s desk was for medical care and taking the test without allowing the child to finish. 

I quickly emailed our counselor (whose campus we were not even on yet) and asked for a plan. She sprang into action and had gotten back with me in less than 24 hours. Plan in place, I felt much better—and we were still a year away. 

Enter the pandemic, and we still haven’t faced a testing day. Until now. While I did a little coaching on a good night’s sleep and how well I knew he would do, my focus was mostly on his medical plan. What to do—mostly proceed like normal. What not to do—anything a monitor questioned. And what to do if the plan broke down. I drilled him with contingency plans and ways to proceed should something go awry. 

Mornings like these, I am so grateful that he does not have any kind of test anxiety or anything to add into the mix.

His campus team does an incredible job day in and day out. I have no doubt today will be no different, but I know their tensions are high, too. It’s not a regular day for them, either. So we’ll face today like we always do and adjust after, if needed.
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