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Simply Bloom Co.

Where Passion & Purpose Collide

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Oh, Holy Mother of Pearl…it’s SWEET!

You’d never know I gave up sugar for New Year’s…for here, my friends, is a whole heck of a lot of sugar-infused goodness. I teased this baby on facebook a while back {you know, way back in 2011} and totally forgot to share the recipe as promised.  Forgive me.  Sugar coma, what? Here’s the basic cheesecake recipe I follow –… Read More

Crafts and Activities, Cute Stuff, Family, Food

Lasagna {rockin’ the Cupcake tin}

I got adventurous at the grocery store last week and grabbed some wonton wrappers as I walked by the Asian section.  I know, I’m a wild woman. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to make with them, but didn’t care.  I have Pinterest for that. Low and behold…these little suckers showed up.  And I pinned them faster… Read More

Food, Photography

Simply Soup {Pumpkin, Split Pea & Lentil}

While we haven’t experienced anything like our usual winter here in Michigan {and I am not complaining…the sunshine makes this gal one happy mama!}, if it’s not flip-flop weather…it’s soup season!  Regardless of what the temperature gauge says. Soup is cheap, easy and oh so tasty! So I have three of our favorites thick, creamy soup recipes right here for… Read More

Food, Frugal Living, Photography

Crumbling the Silence {with Cookies}

We’re having a grand ol’ time here in the McMilli-vanilli home.  I have no idea where that came from.  You’ll have to pardon me, I’m heavily sleep deprived {sick kids, design deadlines, cookies to decorate, you know…the usual} and mildly medicated {it’s that time…and my uterus hates me}.  And apparently my TMI filter is broken. {sigh} I wanted to take… Read More

Cute Stuff, Family, Food, Home, Photography

Butternut Squash Cake {with Cream Cheese Frosting}

As if we needed more reasons to love squash…I present you with…CAKE!           Butternut Squash Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting                    Ingredients: 3/4 cup butter, softened {not melted} 1 1/2 cups of white sugar 3 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon of ground… Read More

Food, Garden, Photography

Mom…I’m Hungry! {Healthy, Kid-friendly Snacks}

I hear these words often.  Occasionally it’s a less civilized grunt from Bug, or simply the sound of the seal on the refrigerator door breaking, compliments of miss Bean, but without a doubt, it would seem I am raising two little loin fruit who have the uncanny ability to nibble enthusiastically throughout the day.  Which, admittedly, can ruin their appetites…but… Read More

Food, Health, The Kiddos

Baked Zucchini Coins

If you have any lingering zucchini that hasn’t been devoured, grilled on pizza, shredded or chopped for freezer confinement…give these babes a whirl!  They’re easy, kid-friendly and quite delicious indeed! You’ll find the recipe here, at Weelicious

Food

‘Tis the Season…

…to eat obscene quantities of apples, apple-inspired dishes, to throw left-over apple cider into pancake batter, and get the low-down on gettin’ cozy between the sheets. Okay.  So there is no formal season for doing all this, it just so happens that this is what’s happening in my house right now. The hot topics on my mind: apples and intimacy. … Read More

Food, Home, Marriage

Baked Acorn Squash with Cinnamon Apples

You may recall my love affair with squash last Fall. It was an all-consuming, heaven-touches-earth, extravagant bliss in a bowl type experience…and I’m just aching to relive it. If it hadn’t been raining and cold for the past 2 days {and if I wasn’t still wearing slippers…and if I wasn’t feeling lazy}, I’d run out and snap a photo of… Read More

Daily Life, Food, Garden

Meatball Mania {Lady and the Tramp Style}

My little Bean adores books.  So naturally I was delighted when, just a few weeks ago, I was able to track down a family favorite.  A series my mom’s mom read to her, and that my mom then eagerly shared with my older sister and I: The Faraway Tree Collection by Enid Blyton. Just saying “the faraway tree” conjures up… Read More

Family, Food

Sunflower Love (Recipe & October Wallpaper)

Welcome to October!  Here’s a delightfully unusual sunflower from my sister’s garden for you. You’re welcome. For large {1680 x 1050 pixels}, click here For small {1280 x 800 pixels}, click here {just right click and save the image, and then save it as your desktop wallpaper} I just love the sunny disposition of the sunflower! I can’t help but… Read More

Desktop Wallpaper, Food, Garden

Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie

I must confess, I was a little intimidated when a friend handed me a bundle of rhubarb and my husband’s face lit up. He adores rhubarb sour cream pie.  His mama made it.  His grandma makes it.  His wife had never even laid her hands on rhubarb.  And we know how horribly things went last time I tried to make… Read More

Food, Photography

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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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I am regularly overwhelmed by the kindness of God I am regularly overwhelmed by the 
kindness of God in the small + simple.

Things like twinkle lights + Christmas jazz,
scraping out the peanut butter fudge pot
all by myself while sitting on the counter,
and walking around the corner to find my
loin fruit snuggled up together over tea.

They may fight like cats + dogs at times,
but their bond is deep and true and sweet.
Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛 Written at Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛

Written at the intersection 
of faith and psychology, 
this book is yet another 
soul-nourishing,
heart-healing, 
boundary-fortifying 
gift from Alison Cook
(if you’ve had a heart-to-heart
with me in the past two years,
you know how much I loved 
‘Boundaries for the Soul’). 

As an enneagram 2 who was raised 
in the church, this book was a timely
and liberating read. Pure balm for the 
weary, recovering-people-pleaser soul. 

I am beyond grateful for the wisdom, 
compassion + experience that Alison 
brings to all she shares (and it was
such an honor to be on her launch 
team for this beautiful new book).

Need a survival guide for your growth
and healing journey? Here you go! ✌🏼

#thebestofyou #thebestofyoubook #womenoffaith #healthyboundaries #healthyyou #healingjourney
Find yourself a tribe of people who will, togethe Find yourself a tribe of people who will, 
together, spend a beautiful Saturday
morning pulling this workout off:

• 20 mile run
• 340 tire flips
• 2,000 air squats
• 1,000 pull ups
• 1,500 box jumps
• 2,200 pull ups
• 600 devil press
• 3,300 sit ups

Brutal. Amazing. 
Exhausted.
So grateful for these two - their friendship, enco So grateful for these two - their friendship,
encouragement and wise counsel over the
past decade of being our pastoral couple
has been such a gift to our family 💛

Congrats on your retirement, dear friends!!
“Over the years, I have come to realize that t “Over the years, 
I have come to realize that 
the greatest trap in our life is not 
success, popularity, or power, 
but self-rejection.”
 :: Henri Nouwen

Somewhere along the journey of 
life, we start to believe the lie that - 
despite being made in the very image 
of a good and beautiful God - who we 
are is inherently bad and broken, and 
we learn to cover that deep sense 
of inadequacy (and the shame that 
accompanies it) with performance.

Because our visceral 
human response to 
‘bad + broken’ is 
‘reject + conceal’.

We think it’s the rejection of others
that cuts us to the core, but the truth
is…most of us walk around wounded 
by a constant and unrelenting sense 
of self-rejection and self-loathing.

Want to know why we feverishly seek 
out the approval and validation of others?
Why we desperately want others to like us?

Because we’re out of touch with our
inherent value and worth, and we’re
not sure that we even like ourselves.

We resent our weakness,
and abandon ourselves.

/ / /

But this good + beautiful God of ours…
He is drawn to our weakness like a
moth to a flame, swooping in to
bring strength and grace.

Paul writes in Corinthians 12:9 that 
he learned to delight in his weakness 
because it was when he was week that
“His strength is perfected in me”. 

Or, as the Passion Translation so 
stunningly puts it, “my weakness 
becomes a portal to God’s power”.

Precious ones, we can shun our tender
still-in-process places, pretend to have 
it all together, and hustle for our worth…
OR we can drop the masks, offer kindness 
and curiosity to our hurting, broken parts,
and learn to live fully seen and known.

But we can’t have both.

And yes, it’s scary.

Today may we choose
…grace over perfectionism
…curiosity over shame
…acceptance over rejection
…gentleness over judgement
…wholeness over pretense

You are loved.
And they’re off! Alathea is in 10th grade and A And they’re off!

Alathea is in 10th grade and
Aiden is heading into 8th grade.

Here’s to a year full of grace,
discovery, friendship + growth 🙌🏼
"Faith isn't the ability to believe long + far i "Faith isn't the ability 
to believe long + far 
into the misty future. 
It's simply taking God 
at His Word + taking 
the next step."

:: Joni Eareckson Tada
Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep We fly out late Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep

We fly out late tomorrow evening so today
has been a lazy day of laundry, laying in the
sun, a petshop visit (where Aiden fell in love 
with a cute rat + I discovered zebra finches), 
an impromptu stop for bubble tea + stuffed crepes [oh my word, were these delicious!!],
shopping [I found the best, comfiest - Joe
would argue ‘ugliest’ - romper at the thrift
store that I can’t wait to wear on our long
journey home], and Aiden is currently off
doing his thing: fishing right from the pier.
Our view from the lodge last night ✨ Our view from the lodge last night ✨
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