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Category: goals

2016/Adoption/faith/family/gather/goals/God

Reflect: Gather

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Jolie / 0 Comment

2016 was the year of gather. So many times, it was affirmed that this word truly was meant to be my word this year. I ended the post at the start of this year w...

#TGMcentury/bike/goals

Shiner GASP

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Jolie / 0 Comment

Sometime after my last triathlon (not necessarily last ever, just the last one I did), I decided I wanted to train for and ride the MS150. Then we had the whole...

2014/Adoption/birthday/car/date/date night/family/go/goals/high school/kids/marriage/Marriage Matters/mom/motherhood/suicide awareness/top ten

Cream of the Crop, Top of the Top

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

A look back at the top ten posts of 2014 by the numbers. 1. Six-tea Surprise 2. The Next Big Step3. Marriage Matters: Life Happens4. Happy Wife, Happy Life5. Ha...

2015/community/go/goals/settle/unsettled

Settle.

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

When I first shared my word for 2015 with Mr. Gray, it gave him pause. I don’t blame him. It’s a strange word to choose to strive for: settle. It...

2014/2015/Baby Gray/birthday/camp house/country life/go/goals/marriage/memories/move/Mr. Gray/prayer

Gone.

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

This year, I went with a word instead of a list of goals. I liked it. It encompassed many areas of my life. Go. Some days were easy. Some days were hard. There ...

2014/Adoption/Christ/Christmas/go/goals/hashtag/Instagram/Recipes/Sea World/Tuesday 10/Tuesday ten

Tuesday Ten-sel

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

1. This weekend, we had Tinsley Christmas. Aunt Carrie had her props for a fun photo shoot, so we have some great memories on camera. 2. Also at Tinsley Christm...

2014/community/faith/friends/go/goals/moving

Thankful.

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

Emotions tend to get the best of me sometimes, and I definitely know better. Emotions are fleeting; they’re circumstantial. Lately, though, I have just fe...

Adoption/dreams/goals/happy mail/purchase with purpose/Purpose Box/subscriptions

Life with Purpose

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I joked a bit about my secret-keeping abilities last week, and then I promptly spilled the beans via social media. Are you in on it? I’m pretty sure my lo...

2014/goals/guest post/running/triathlon

Not-So-Cinderella Story

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

As promised on Tuesday, I’m over on the Jack & Adam’s blog today sharing my not-so-Cinderella story of the Skeese Greets Triathlon. Head on over...

2014/dreams/goals/ideas/mentoring/putting it out there

Hair-Brained Idea

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

A friend posted today that she is going to start offering mentoring as part of her services (she has a laundry list of things that she does). I’m interest...

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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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