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Where Passion & Purpose Collide

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All in a Week’s Whirl

It’s been delicious madness around here lately.  Between fun and food and friends and farting children and family {please notice the pause between children and family} and…fesign fork…I haven’t had a moment to sit down and tell you all about it in mind-numbing detail, as I am accustomed to doing.  {Clearly there’s no way to get ‘design work’ to start… Read More

Complete nonsense, Crafts and Activities, Daily Life, Designs, Family, Frugal Living, Keepin' it Real, The Kiddos

Busy, Busy, Bug, Butter & Bars

{If you’re here for a recipe…scroll down and avoid the dross.  You’re welcome} As I type, my loved ones are passed out in their respective rooms, drooling, quite possibly, the dishwasher is running, the yogurt and kefir are culturing in their respective jars, the kettle is boiling {hallelujah!} and the wheat berries are soaking in preparation for sprouting. I love… Read More

Daily Life, Family, Food, Keepin' it Real, Photography, The Kiddos

Here’s to 2011

We cannot believe we have come to the end of yet another year…and what a fun, full year it has been! We’ve enjoyed our first full year in our new home, along with all the fun ‘firsts’ that come with it… like taking in the beauty of the ice-covered lake from our kitchen window {a far cry from the partially… Read More

Daily Life, Family, Home, Motherhood

Letting Myself Off the Hook

I am so enjoying life right now.  Soaking in my little ones.  Chillin’ with my man.  Connecting with family and friends.  Digging into some really interesting books {3 paragraphs at a time}.  Purging my cupboards and the forgotten corners of my house and shipping boxes off to Goodwill.  Occasionally trying new recipes – just because I want to, or sitting… Read More

Daily Life, Guest Post, Keepin' it Real, Marriage, Motherhood, Quotes and Scriptures

Ramblings & Us {Through the Ledford Lens}

I’ve had a deliciously full week; opportunities to connect with girlfriends I don’t get to see even remotely often enough, dinner with a wonderful friend I haven’t seen in over 7 years, an out-of-town conference with my hubby {which boasted paradigm-shift-inducing teaching by Carl Medearis…he rocked our world}, and was sprinkled with precious family time {my favorite type of “busy”}…. Read More

Complete nonsense, Daily Life, Family, Home

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

The Pierced Bean, An Escape & Other Such Nonsense

Meet Bean.  The Rockstar. Sporting jeans, a tutu, and cowboy boots, and rocking the glittered hair, tattooed arm and pierced nose, she was quite the sight to see, riding along on her preschool “Little Rockstars” parade float.   She rocked!  And I was one proud mama. Speaking of piercings and pride, miss Bean got her little earlobes pierced on Saturday. … Read More

Complete nonsense, Daily Life, Home, Marriage, The Kiddos

Excuses, Updates and an ATW Guest Post

Contrary to what a lack of posts for almost a week may depict, I’m alive and semi-well.  Emphasis on semi. Our wee babes and I are all fighting colds, a sinus infection and an ear infection {nicely distributed between the three of us}.  Life is peachy!  Speaking of peaches…our little tree is dropping gorgeous, juicy peaches daily and I’ve been… Read More

Complete nonsense, Daily Life, Family, Guest Post, Photography, Quotes and Scriptures

Oh, How He Loves!

If you know anything about me, you’ll know how easily my inner-child is delighted.  It’s rather ridiculous, actually. I don’t think she gets out much, personally. Remember the time God scribbled a heart of clouds in the sky for my wee lass.  Woah mama. Well, He did it again…{while this photo does it little justice…this blueberry was heart shaped!} …and… Read More

Cute Stuff, Daily Life, Faith

Poppin’ Up!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled {thoughtful} post… to bring you this {rambling} drivel: In addition to the massive quantity of squash we have poppin’ up in our veggie garden, there are a few other fabulous thing-a-ma-bobs poppin’ up around here. Namely… The first 4 of 125 giant wind turbines nestled nicely into the fields of the farming communities near us…. Read More

Complete nonsense, Daily Life, Home

Happy Birthday, {Big Boy} Bug!

I was examining the fine, downy swirls of peach fuzz on your neck and arms the other day when it hit me.  One day this stuff is going to be courser.  And darker.  And most likely, spread across your face in some sort of suave goatee fashion.  And I’m not quite sure how I feel about all this. I now… Read More

Daily Life, Family, Motherhood, The Kiddos

Scriptures for {Weary} Mums

Scriptures for {Weary} Mums

I don’t know about you, but I need clear reminders, throughout the day, of how to behave. {Oh, be-have!} Stop laughing.  I’m serious. In the midst of upturned bowls of tomato soup, leaky diapers, sassy ‘tudes and unfinished adult conversations…I need to be reminded how to love well. With patience, compassion, kindness, grace, hope…and perseverance.  Bucket loads of perseverance. So… Read More

Daily Life, Designs, Printables, Quotes and Scriptures

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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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