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Simply Bloom Co.

Where Passion & Purpose Collide

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Because Parenting Isn’t For Sissies {Part 1}

Because Parenting Isn’t For Sissies {Part 1}

I’ve been waiting for the perfect occasion to use this photo I snapped at a mountain zoo in Colorado last summer.  I LOVE everything it represents…the detail it captures, and all the emotion it evokes. This little babe had been born just 6 days prior to our visit and it took everything in me to peel myself away from the… Read More

Family, Grace, Motherhood, Photography

Thoughts on Motherhood & November {Desktop} Wallpaper

How on earth is it possible that it’s November 2012 already? Next month is Christmas, ya’ll! Yay and… yikes. I realize I may be a little slow on the uptake here, but weren’t we just getting all giddy {and awkwardly terrified} by the notion of a new millennium around the corner? Has it really been 13 years already? Gosh, it’s… Read More

Daily Life, Designs, Desktop Wallpaper, Grace, Motherhood

Thoughts on Identity, Parenting & Tortilla Chips

I’m tickled pink to be sharing my messy story of redemption with another group of women this weekend.  I love, love, LOVE sharing my heart…my brokenness…His goodness with others who ache to know their Creator hasn’t abandoned them, that He is intricately involved in the details of their lives – even if behind the scenes, that He is big enough… Read More

Daily Life, Faith, Family, Grace, Motherhood, Redemption, The Kiddos

Fabulousness {in Human Form}

Meet my girls.  For almost 10 years now, the gorgeous gal on the left has been my best friend.  We have walked through newlywed awkwardness, new-mama sleeplessness, thick {waistlines} and thin {wallets}, blissful friendship and miserable disappointment {in each other}, and the sweet friendship we revel in today couldn’t be stronger, because of our rich history together. And then 5… Read More

Food, Friendship, Keepin' it Real, Motherhood

The Bridal Bean

Ever since stumbling upon the idea on Pinterest a while ago, I’ve been wanting to snap some photies of my beautifully growing Bean in my wedding dress.  For visual & nostalgic wonderment now, yes, but also for display on her wedding day.  In, you know, 35 years. To say she’s been eager to don “the dress” for the camera would… Read More

Cute Stuff, Motherhood, Photography, The Kiddos

My Children Are Going To Need Therapy

It occurred to me, while sending my hubby a desperate “pray for me…and while you’re at it, pray harder for your children” text earlier this week, that our little loin-fruit are going to require an exorbitant amount of therapy as they age.  Compliments of their mother. I have no idea what the state of your relationship with your hormones is,… Read More

Keepin' it Real, Marriage, Motherhood

Dear Unpleasant Children

This is your mother.  I wanted to clarify in case you mistook me for a crazy, grocery-cart-pushin’ gypsy– which, admittedly, is wildly tempting right now – but it’s not.  It’s just me. The little shreds of me that are still clinging desperately to what sanity is left, that is. I considered myself a roaring success when the thought of listing… Read More

Faith, Family, Keepin' it Real, Motherhood, Redemption, 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

Letting Go of Super-Mom

It occurred to me last summer, while slathering my child from head to toe with diaper rash cream, summoning every ounce of determination I could muster to rub the white paste into her sweetly resistant skin, that motherhood didn’t look much like I envisioned it would. Come to think of it, it doesn’t smell much like I had planned, either…. Read More

Family, Home, Keepin' it Real, Motherhood, The Kiddos

Baby Smooches

I’m home.  The retreat was fabulous {or at least I thought it was…and I didn’t put anyone to sleep}. Our 1st annual church harvest party was a blast…we broke in our new fire pit, took 17 people on a hayride behind my hubby’s sexy tractor, taste tested 8 different pots of chili, sipped hot cider with entirely too much whipped… Read More

Complete nonsense, Friendship, Motherhood, Photography

Fun School Printables

We’re headed into our fourth week of school for our little lass and I must admit, apart from getting to spend precious time alone with my sweet Bug, one of my favorite parts of her being in preschool is getting to pack her lunch. I love it! Because I’m easy to please like that. And because I love punching cheese… Read More

Designs, Motherhood, Printables, The Kiddos

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 photo Joy.jpg

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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Permission Granted. In case you needed someone t Permission Granted. 

In case you needed someone to tell you: yes, you should absolutely make the impromptu stop at the roadside farm stand and buy the $5 bouquet of flowers.

No, you do not need a reason.

No, you do not need to be buying them for someone else (although that is a perfectly lovely thing to do, too).

Buy them for yourself.
Put them in your kitchen.
Smile every time you walk past them. 🌸

And support your local flower growers and farm stands while you’re at it.

That is all.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled scrolling.
If you are an Eight, my prayer is that you would n If you are an Eight, my prayer is that you would
never lose your fierce love for justice, your courage,
or your willingness to protect those who cannot protect themselves. 

Those are holy gifts.

But may you also discover the freedom of being protected yourself.
May you find people with whom you no longer need armor. And may you know, deep in your bones, that the God who fights for you is inviting you to rest...
not because you're weak, but because you were never meant to carry every battle alone.
The year we moved into this house, a peach tree sp The year we moved into this house, a peach tree spoiled us thoroughly. It produced more peaches than we knew what to do with—cobbler, galette, crumble, smoothies, fruit leathers, and basket loads given away.

Our expectations for peach season were high.

Turns out, that tree was throwing itself a retirement party.
It died the following year.

We’ve since planted two more. The one that has always been unproductive surprised us this summer with these gorgeous, generous peaches. The healthy, established tree that usually produces? One. Single. Peach.

Fruit-bearing is an interesting thing.
Unpredictable. Relatively unmanageable.
Sometimes delicious and sometimes disappointing.

And maybe that’s why I love the reminder it offers:
performance isn’t always a good indicator
of what’s happening beneath the surface.

Take heart, dear one.

Some seasons, you’ll crush the to-do list,
accomplish the goals and have plenty to show for yourself.

Other seasons, you’ll simply keep showing up.
Quietly. Consistently. Faithfully.

And that is enough, too. 🌱
What if your greatest strength was never meant to What if your greatest strength
was never meant to become a hiding place?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, we're continuing in our Summer Enneagram Series by exploring the Type Eight: The Challenger.

Many Eights learned early that strength was safer than vulnerability.
But what if healing isn't about becoming less strong?

What if it's about discovering that courage
and tenderness were never meant to compete?

God isn't asking you to lay down your strength.
He's inviting you to lay down the armor you no longer need.

🎧 Episode 036 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
If you identify with the Enneagram 7, my prayer fo If you identify with the Enneagram 7, my prayer
for you is that you would never lose your capacity
for wonder, laughter, creativity, and hope.

Those are sacred gifts.

But may you also discover the freedom of staying present
when life feels heavy. May you trust that joy does not disappear
when sorrow arrives. May you find that God is not only present
in the moments of celebration, but also in the quiet,
painful places you once tried to avoid.

The One who created your joy can also hold your grief.

You are loved.
What if the thing you've been running from is actu What if the thing you've been running from
is actually the doorway to healing?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, as we continue in our Summer Enneagram series, we’re exploring Type 7: The Enthusiast - their gift of joy, the longing for freedom, and the ways we sometimes run from pain because it feels too heavy to carry.

Sevens remind us that hope matters.
That beauty still exists.
That tomorrow can hold something good.

But joy was never meant to require us to avoid sorrow.
The invitation isn't to become less joyful.
It's to discover a joy deep enough to hold the whole story.

🎧 Episode 035 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.

#OhGoodGriefPodcast #SimplyBloomCo
If you identify with the Enneagram 6, my prayer fo If you identify with the Enneagram 6, my prayer for you
is that you would discover the freedom of loosening
your grip on certainty and opening your hands to trust.

May you never lose your ability to notice, prepare,
protect, and care deeply. Those are beautiful gifts.
But may fear no longer be the voice that leads you.

May you discover that courage has never meant the absence
of fear, it has meant knowing Who is with you in the middle of it.

The God who holds tomorrow is already present today.
What if the voice you've trusted most...has been f What if the voice you've trusted most...has been fear?

This week on Oh, Good Grief, we're exploring the Enneagram 6: The Loyalist, their gift of preparation, the weight of uncertainty, and the journey from fear to trust.

Sixes are often the ones who ask the important "what if" questions,
notice the details, protect what matters, and stay when things get hard.

But sometimes the same voice that helps us prepare can keep us trapped.

Fear is a wonderful informant.
It makes a terrible leader.

The invitation isn't to become fearless.
It's to discover the One who walks with us through every unknown.

🎧 Episode 034 is available wherever you listen to podcasts.

#SimplyBloomCo #OhGoodGriefPodcast
If you identify with the Enneagram 5, my prayer fo If you identify with the Enneagram 5, my prayer for you
is that you would discover the freedom of stepping out
from behind the walls you've built for protection.

May you never lose your curiosity,
your wisdom, or your love of learning.

May you discover that your needs do not
make you a burden, and your presence 
s more valuable than your productivity.

May you trust that God is not asking you to have
all the answers before He invites you closer.
The One who created your mind also created
your heart—and He delights in all of you.

You are loved.
Follow @SimplyBloomJoy

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