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Category: writing

#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...

Friday/Friday Five/goats/Instagram/Legos/puzzles/writing

Friday Five

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

1. I’ve been all over the place this week! Find a post on the second Purpose Box here, a post on being a work at home mama here, and a post on my crazy ph...

2015/make up/who I am/writing

Gimme That Girl

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I was inspired by my friend at Autism in Our House when she wrote I wish I was the kind of girl who… yesterday.  And that’s just it! I wish I w...

cookies/Gilmore Girls/Netflix/shopping/t-ball/Wednesday/writing

Beyond Understanding…

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

It’s Wednesday, and it’s got me thinking. I don’t understand:-why when I have the most going on in my heart, I have the least to write.-why Gi...

go/Monday Blog Tour/Revolution/The Gray Way/writing

Monday Blog Tour

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

Last week, Jodi Gray (see what we did there?) from The Gray Way (see what we did there?) approached me about being part of the Monday Blog Tours. What fun! Jodi...

#SheReadsTruth/2014/blog/Facebook/faith/motherhood/writing

In the Boat

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

I started this blog almost four years ago with zero intentionality. I didn’t know if I would keep up with it. I had no idea if anyone would read it. Someh...

love/love languages/marriage/mirror/Mr. Gray/notes/weather/writing

Lovely Weather

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

I’ve talked before about how much I love communicating with Mr. Gray through notes and written words. We have a shared journal, dry erase markers for the ...

2013/Aggies/art/Baby Gray/baking/Christmas/crafts/Elf on the Shelf/Halloween/Johnny Football/preschool/Teddy/tips/tricks/writing

She Thinks She’s All That Because She’s So Popular

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

Actual words spoken by one of the girls I used to babysit. Words to live by. Really, though, check out what was most popular for The Gray Matters in 2013. ...

2013/Baby Gray/grief/Mr. Gray/tips/tricks/writing

Worth Writing About

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

Every now and again, I wonder why I write. [The search function on the site is apparently not working correctly; I had plans for a screen shot of all the posts ...

grammar/writing

Scrap That

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 5 Comments

Using correct grammar and punctuation is kind of a big deal to me. When I write things, even my typo-ridden tweets, I take grammar and punctuation rules into ac...

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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, leaner, 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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