Joy Groblebe

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…undone is beautiful…

March 10, 2015 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 8 Comments

Last July I went to the She Speaks conference. It was a very last minute decision. I had been traveling a lot and the thought of putting my body on another airplane was far from appealing. But, I had several clients attending, some of them presenting, and I really needed to go.

So I did.

undone for blog

One of my clients who was speaking at the event was Michele Cushatt. The day came, she did her presentation and wowed the audience (as usual). She spoke on storytelling and had the audience of soon-to-be authors enamored. You see, my friend Michele has a gift…the gift of storytelling.

That night, after her presentation was over, we went to an evening session featuring two speakers – Lysa Terkeurst and Christine Caine.

Now I’ve had the opportunity to hear a lot of speakers over the last ten years. I’d even heard Lysa speak before. But this night was different. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but as Michele and I sat in that room listening to these two talented women share what God had put on their hearts, it was like it was meant just for us. We texted back and forth during the presentation – quotes we liked, words we wanted to remember and other observations such as “holy cow, this is amazing”, “did she hear our discussion the other day?” and “wow…this is wrecking me”.

That’s what that night felt like. That night, Jesus wrecked us. Both of us.

We were undone. And it was so good.

We went back to our room that night and talked, laughed, cried and prayed together. We fell asleep knowing that God was moving and feeling like the two of us might get to play a small part in whatever grand plan he was orchestrating.

A few months later, in early November, I got a heart-breaking phone call. Michele’s cancer was back – for the third time. It was very serious and the treatment was going to be very long, hard and painful. Over the next ten days we talked, cried, prayed and even laughed a little together.

We were undone again. I can’t say it was “so good” this time.

But still, I knew God was moving.

The last few months have been intense. This is the closest I’ve ever been to cancer. It’s hard and it’s scary and it makes me cry. It wakes me up at night and reminds me to pray for my friend…because what else can I do? Through all of this, it’s become clear to me that God does some of his best work when we are outside of our comfort zone.  It is when we are “undone” that God can really start to mold and shape us into what he has already prepared for us to be.

This is one of the messages in Michele’s new book, Undone: A Story of Making Peace With an Unexpected Life. Our little team has been working with Michele on this book for a few years now and I’m thrilled it’s hitting the shelves this week.

Two lessons I learned from Michele and this book:

First, life – real life – isn’t usually wrapped in shiny paper and tied with a “Pinterest perfect” bow.  Messy can be beautiful. Clutter can be beautiful. Topsy Turvy can be beautiful. Undone is beautiful.

Thank Goodness. Because I’m messy, I’m cluttered, I’m topsy turvy…and God still loves me and thinks I’m beautiful. Amen.

Second, we need each other. There is no way to get through this life in a bubble, relying only on yourself. We were made for community, we were made for family. We were made to find other “undone” human beings to walk this time on earth with us.  Reach out…find someone, even in the middle of your chaos. We are all undone.

Check out this book – I promise you won’t regret it. The story is captivating, the writing is really, really amazing. But the girl…the girl who wrote it is unforgettable. She is generous, kind, encouraging and I’m blessed to call her a friend. I can’t wait for you to get to know her.

 

 

 

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…2014 – part two…

March 1, 2015 By joyjoyg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

After part one of this bloggy little series, I thought – why on earth would anyone want to read what our family did all year?  I mean, really….there is NO value in any of this to any living person except for me…and maybe my grandma.

But then I realized, that’s not the point.  The point is to have a record of the year.  A picture of who our family was and what we did this year.

And then I realized, holy cow…it’s March! This is like sending out your Christmas cards for Valentine’s Day. This is why you should never say you are doing a “series” on your blog when you write on it but a few times a year.  But, as they say…it is what it is.

So, for me and my grandma…here you go. The Groblebe’s 2014, Part II.

July  –

We headed out, all six of us, on a plane to Washington for our annual trek to Amma’s house for the 4th of July, honored our Papa, spent a day at the beach, played Shanghai, went to a Black Bears baseball game, attended our annual family reunion, went to the 4th of July parade, watched the Fireworks at Uncle Denny’s, got all the kids to the dentist, bought our first Yeti cooler (yes, we’re addicted…well, Travis is), hosted Uncle Derrick & Tristian for a visit, went to Boondocks, had our annual Cholas/Kasper/Groblebe Gong Show camping weekend where we rode ATV’s, went fishing, learned to shoot BB guns safely (kind of) and had a GREAT time, hosted a mastermind retreat with my coaching clients up in Buena vista at Ken’s cabin, attended the She Speaks Conference in Charlotte with some amazing clients and friends (highly recommended) and a Sixth Division Infusionsoft boot camp taught by everybody’s favorite Chief Baller, Brad Martineau (also…HIGHLY recommended if you are an IS user.)

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August –

Got ready for school to start with new lunchboxes, supplies, backpacks – the whole deal, went on a fun double date with my sister Jen and her husband Jared, spent some time with our racing friends, John & Donna Robinson, when they came to race at Bandimere, Jacob earned his yellow belt with a black stripe, we had our annual Summer Slam party complete with an all you can eat cotton candy machine (most awesome as usual), flew to Florida to meet with a new client, Ruth Soukup of Living Well Spending Less, Jacob started soccer, we swam at the pool (a lot), school started – Jacob 6th, Delaney 5th, Sara kindergarten & Ellie preschool (praise the Lord!), Delaney tried out for the Nutcracker (and got a part as a party girl) and I spent a romantic weekend in Terre Haute, LA with my man at the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza where we had several delicious tacos in a bag!

8

September –

Drove to Albuquerque to visit my Great Uncle Doug, went on my 3rd annual bow hunting trip aka Joy & Stacy gone wild in the mountains (score so far, elk 3, Joy 0), attended quite a few soccer games for Jacob, picked apples off the tree on our property for the first time in 5 years (and made a ton of applesauce), harvested grapes on our property (and made A TON of grape jelly), went on a fun trip to Miami compliments of Gretchen at Helms Briscoe, had a great date night with Travis, Trish & Marc at Red Rocks for Kings of Leon, went to the Rapids game for Jacob’s 12th birthday, and flew to Toronto for a video shoot for Ruth’s new book!

9

October –

You guessed it, more soccer games, a birthday celebration for Delaney who turned 10, worked on a massive two day lego project, made a trip up to Beaver Creek for the SCORRE Conference (yes, you should come next time!), took our annual trip to Miller Farms, Jacob competed in his first karate tournament, had a pumpkin carving party, redecorated the little girls bedroom, made Sara an Elsa costume, had lunch with THE Casey Graham, had a date night at the Bronco game, put on another successful Halloween Carnival at the kids school, saw my girl Michele Cushatt in action at the Women of Faith Conference in Denver, and did some serious trick or treating with hockey player, a nerd, Queen Elsa and one cute little Olaf.

10

November –

Headed to Colorado Springs (with Travis!!) for the Dynamic Communicators Platform Conference (produced by The Frontline Group), had a GREAT dinner at the Broadmoor’s world famous Penrose Room and a super fun night at the Golden Bee with Amy, Casey, Matt, Pat, Trivinia, Michele, Troy and Travis (SO FUN!!), headed to Focus on the Family for a video shoot with Crystal, traveled to Atlanta for a meeting, watched Ellie perform in the cutest preschool Thanksgiving program ever, Sara had her first ever sleepover, got pedicures with my girls, traveled to Phoenix for some crazy awesome consulting meetings with Brad & Brian that for sure without a doubt is going to transform our business this year and celebrated a very thankful Thanksgiving complete with pumpkin pie for breakfast and an amazing turkey cooked on the Traeger.

11

December –

Decorated the house for Christmas on the inside, bailed on decorating the outside, celebrated Sara’s 6th birthday with a Princess Tea Party, went to Nashville for GREAT end of year meetings with Ken and Crystal, watched all three of my girls dance beautifully in their Nutcracker ballet recital, had fun ALL month long with Erik, our elf on the shelf, watched the girls dance at the Festival of Lights, watched Jacob & Delaney march in our town’s Christmas Lights parade, watched Delaney dance as a party girl in 7 Nutcracker shows in 5 days (she did a GREAT job!), shipped out a gazillion influencer boxes for Ruth’s new book (they were so cute!), had a fabulous annual planning meeting with Michele (her book Undone, yes, you should pre-order it, it’s that good), made over 200 pieces of lefsa, went to Pinterest night at my sisters house, celebrated an amazing Christmas with lots of family (not all of them though – missed you Bebe & Papa), Sophie & Noah came to visit, we celebrated Eleanor turning four, had a “Noon Years Eve” party for the kids and finished off the year with a fun night out at our favorite restaurant Shells and Sauce with Trish, Scott & Nicolle to ring in the New Year!

12

Wowzers.  2014 can be summed up with this:

God is good. All the time. In good and bad, He’s right there with us. Leading us, guiding us and directing our path. I’m so thankful for people I met, relationships that were strengthened and experiences our family had this year. 2014 was amazing…and at this point, so was the first quarter of 2015.  🙂 I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store.

Ok Grandma…you can stop reading now. 🙂

 

 

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…guess it’s time to write – aka 2014 part 1…

January 1, 2015 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, I was on a business call with a potential new sponsor for one of my clients.  She mentioned that she had ‘read my blog’.

Now, I work in the blogging world, but as you can tell, rarely (like super rare) do I blog in my own little corner of the web.  I didn’t realize just how rare my blog posts had become until she said how much she loved my elf on the shelf post and how I was ahead of the game because it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet.

The thing is…I wrote that in 2013…when we got out Erik, our Elf on the Shelf.  *sigh*

So…here we are, just over one year later.  I guess it’s time to write.

What to write?  Well, since the year is just over…how about a recap? Actually, how about I get real bloggy and it becomes a two part series?? 🙂

January – Ellie had her first trip to the dentist and her first ballet class, I helped launch Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by my friend and client, Crystal Paine (it hit the NYT list!!), Crystal and I spent a week in New York City doing media for the book, went to see Wicked on Broadway, Delaney performed in her 4th grade program at school, I canned 10 quarts of homemade spaghetti sauce, Jacob started karate and we had movie night at our house with about 20 of the kids friends from school.2014

 

February – Jacob competed in the Pinewood Derby for Cub Scouts and won awards for ‘most work done by a scout’ and ‘most patriotic’, Travis and I had an amazing date night with our friends Ricky and Leah Soldinie, the Broncos got killed in the Superbowl (saddest 11 year old ever…), one morning it was -18 degrees, I got a Saeco Odea espresso machine for my birthday (best present EVER!), the kids learned how to slide down the stairs in a sleeping bag, Delaney, Sara and I went to the ballet, our whole big crazy family spent the weekend in Buena Vista for Presidents Day, Travis and I went to Belize for a week with our friends Brian & Traci and Crystal & Jesse (YAY!) and finally….we had to come home from Belize (BOO!).

2

March – it snowed…a lot, my sisters and I had our first ever Pinterest night (so fun!), Fawn Weaver came to town and we had breakfast together (also fun!), I made homemade cinnamon rolls a few times, date night with my man and our crazy Cholas friends bowling, Delaney chopped 10″ of her hair off (and regretted it…poor girl), I went to Colorado Springs with Crystal to tape a few Focus on the Family radio shows, Traci and I had a very memorable dinner at The Red Pony, we took our annual Spring Break trip to Crystal Beach near Galveston Texas (road trip baby!!), stopped at the Cadillacs in Amarillo, the girls and I colored our hair green, blue and pink one day, and we learned Chick-O-Sticks are gluten free and vegan (you’re welcome).

3

April – Amma came to visit and BROKE HER LEG the minute she walked into our house, Amma got a super cool pink cast, we had a birthday party for Amma, the one and only Mark Gungor was in town so of course Travis and I met him for dinner, I got an amazing pedicure at a new place in our little town that I love, I bowled my personal best one night, 122, our company produced The Launch Conference (my favorite event we do all year), Delaney performed in a trio at the Stars of Tomorrow Dance competition and they won first place in the Classical category, Jacob won Best of Show in the science fair at school, I survived another year of the science fair, we had our first ever Roadrunner Race at school (and raised over $7,000), decorated Easter eggs, went to a Rapids soccer game, baked a killer spanakopita, celebrated Easter (Christos Anesti!!), went to the ICON Conference in Phoenix, Jacob earned his yellow belt, and we redecorated Delaney’s bedroom! Whew!

4

May– The Frontline Group produced another great event, The SCORRE Conference, we learned Traci has exceptionally long fingers, spent a few days in the sun in Florida, my cousin Blake graduated from CU Boulder (woo hoo!), hosted a bachelorette party for the one and only Trish, went to Hamburger Mary’s (bucket list, check!), my family treated me like a queen on Mother’s Day, my Aunt Leandra came to visit, I went to Washington DC for a speaking engagement with Crystal, planted flowers for the summer (and kept them alive until August – a HUGE accomplishment), went to Jacob’s 5th grade continuation ceremony, watched our dear friends Marcus and Trish tie the knot, threw a fabulous wedding reception for them at Shells & Sauce, took a romantic trip with my man and spent time with our racing friends at TS in Bowling Green (love those people!!), made the first bacon hashtag in the history of the world, and completely took over a waffle house one night. #heeeyyyygirrrrlllll

5

June – Summer vacation began, we hung out with the Broncos for the day at Mile High on the field and in the locker room, the pool finally opened, Jacob learned to mow the lawn for the first time (he’s growing up!), the World Cup began and we all got a little soccer crazy, we took Jacob and Delaney to Indianapolis for the NHRDA race where we hung out at the pool, I became our race team’s tow driver, we went to the truck pull and heard Jacob utter the phrase, “‘I have dirt in my face, sand in my hair, and diesel smoke in my nose…this is awesome!!”, on Father’s Day we took the yo mama everything tour at the Indianapolis Speedway (crazy cool) where we kissed the bricks and stood on the platform where they “drink the milk”, all three girls had their ballet recital (they danced beautifully!), and finally, we took a day trip to the American Girl store with Angie and Katie (aka once a year is enough).

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And that’s the first half of our year in about 1,000 words.

Stay tuned for part 2….

…the suspense is killing you….I know.

ps – thank you Facebook and iphoto for helping me put this year back together…what would I do without you?

 

 

 

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…the elf, the tree & the manger…

December 12, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 1 Comment

…the elf…

Big news around the Groblebe house. We’ve adopted an elf! A boy elf to be exact. He’s thin and tall (for an elf) with brown eyes and brown hair. His name is Erik. It was going to be Chester or Frisbee or Nutsy….and then the kids decided on Erik.  (Go figure.)

The kids LOVE him!  I have resisted the whole “Elf on the Shelf” adoption for a few years now.  Not because I didn’t like the idea,elf duo 2 but because (for once) I thought we had enough traditions and the idea of taking care of a little elf for 25 days just sounded like more responsibility than I needed to add to my plate.

Now that we’ve made the plunge…I couldn’t be happier!  We are making great memories with the kids and let’s just say that Travis is way more excited about adopting Erik tha thought he would be.  (Almost more than me!)

…the tree….

Usually, I’m crazy excited about decorating for Christmas.  This year, while I was excited about the Christmas season as a whole, decorating sounded like, well, like a lot of work.  I was excited for the finished product but not that thrilled about the amount of time it photo (4)was going to take.  I promised the kids we’d put up the tree Thanksgiving weekend and well, it didn’t happen.

Monday rolled around and again I PROMISED it would be ready to decorate when they got home from school.  Kids get home about 4:30pm on school days.  On this particular day, it was right about 4:27pm before the tree was ready and waiting to be decorated.

For once, I left it up to them.  I didn’t organize or tell them how to do it or where to put anything.  I just let them hang ornaments to their heart’s content.  Sure there are a few spots that are a bit heavy on the decorating (especially at about 2 year old height) and a few other spots that are bare – but all in all, it’s fantastic.

…the manger…

At our house, Jesus really is the reason for the season.  We read the “real” Christmas story, work on our advent poster each night and talk about how Jesus was born a little tiny baby in Bethlehem so many years ago.  We remember that God sent His only son to the photo (5)world to save us.  That by walking daily with Jesus, our lives will never be the same.  That it’s Jesus that makes our house a home and the people in it a family.

This year for Christmas, I hope you and your family enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas.  Look for your elf, write letters to Santa, bake cookies, shop for gifts and decorate your brains out.

But at the end of the day, my wish for you is that you realize the REAL joy of the season.  It’s Jesus….nothing more.

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…potty training, for the 4th time…

October 24, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 3 Comments

You’d think by the 4th time I’d have it together.  This should be easy, right?  For the love, I’ve already done this THREE TIMES!

That’s the thing about potty training.  It’s not easy, nor is it fun.  But it is a milestone – more so this time, my 4th and most likely, my last time.

Travis and I always said we’d have four kids.  Well, I said I wanted four kids and he agreed.  🙂  We were very blessed in the fertility department and the babies came, one after the other.

After Ellie was born in 2010, Travis took control of the situation and “made sure” we were done. While I was in agreement, I definitely never had that feeling of “yes, we’re so DONE”.  Many of my friends who are moms have a few kiddos and “know” they are done.  I’m not one of them.

I still get the urge to have another baby.  I’m not sure if it will ever go away. But I’ve been told that having all of my children out of diapers will help.  It’s the big cross over from having babies to having kids.

So here we are.  Ellie is almost three and today was the first day she made it through pre-school and her nap without having an accident.  My guess is in another week she’ll have it down and diapers will be a thing of the past in the Groblebe house.

Without a doubt, this being a mom thing is the absolute best job I’ve ever had.  We are crazy blessed and four kids keeps me plenty busy.

But look at this face!  With or without diapers, how could you not want a dozen?

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…holy cow, it’s September…

September 4, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 4 Comments

Seriously.

September.

I have no idea what happened to August.

Actually, I do.  August for our family included our annual Summer Slam party, a business trip for me to New York, a visit from my Amma, a visit from my brother in laws Scott and Daren and their awesome kiddos, zip lining, paddle boating and alpine sliding at Heritage Square, a visit from my dad (who’s moving to Colorado…yippee!!), Broncos Bunch movie night, a Colorado Rapids game with about 17 of my favorite people, the first day of school for all four kids, planning our elementary school’s Back to School Bash and (possibly my favorite) heading up to the mountains for opening weekend of archery elk hunting.

That’s a ton of fun, crazy, random stuff in a month…even for me!

That’s also about 10 different blog posts.  You know, those things I always think about writing but never do?  Honestly, it’s so nice of you to still stop by this little site considering how little I’ve posted the last few months.  🙂

I have two choices when faced with this much activity:

1. Freak out.

2. Take a deep breath, do one thing at a time, and count it ALL joy.

Of course I picked #2….did you even have to ask?  🙂

I’ll be back soon with some great stories, lessons and nonsense I picked up over the last few months.  In the meantime, here is one of my favorite photos of the summer – my dad with all his grandkids.

...Papoo and all the kiddos...

…Papoo and all the kiddos…

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…if I only had more information…

June 5, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 4 Comments

How many people do you know who have a problem to solve and instead of solving their problem, they research it.  Incessantly.

research

They continue to think, “if I just had more information, then I could _______________.”

  • lose weight
  • read my bible
  • get organized
  • get out of debt

The problem is, we live in a world with way too much information. For better or for worse, everything is accessible, available, and in most cases, immediate. Why is this a problem you ask?

Because at least half of it isn’t true.

I heard a story on CNN this morning.  It was about how new homes are expanding in size.  The premise was that the downsizing our economy has experienced the last few years is over because people are building larger homes again.  The reporter said,  “Downsizing is over and McMansions are back.”  Luckily buried in this sensationalism was the truth.

If you listened closer, you heard the real story:

  • The average new home is 2,300 square feet (a big house, but hardly a “McMansion”)
  • The size of homes is up 8% over the last year.  (on a 2,300 square foot house, 8% is equal to 184 square feet)
  • The reason new homes are bigger is because the only people who can get a loan are people with a large income.

Here’s the problem, the average news listener doesn’t take the time to listen for the real story. They read the headline.  They listen to the teaser as the news goes to commercial.  They don’t take time to get all the real information.

They walk away with just the headline…not the meat….and they share.  They share with their friends, through facebook and email.  Bad information spreads quickly, rumors begin.

Often, more information is helpful.  It’s good to be thorough and to do your research.  But be careful. Pay attention to your sources.  Make sure that what you are reading, listening or watching is the truth.

And while research is valuable, it can’t solve your problem.  Through research alone, there’s no way for you to lose weight, get organized, read your bible or pay off your debt.

You have to take action!

Eventually, realize that you have enough knowledge.  Make a plan and get started!  If it doesn’t work, do a little more research, tweak the plan and try again.  But move forward. Take that first step.

And by all means….don’t believe everything you hear on cable news.

 

 

 

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…21 reasons may was awesome…

May 28, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 7 Comments

May was an incredibly weird, busy and out of the ordinary month for our family.  I started traveling May 5th and through a mixture of business and vacation travel, was gone all but one night through May 21st.  While I had a fabulous time, this is not a schedule I’d care to repeat very often.

Many normal things, like grocery shopping, laundry, yard work – blogging – etc. ceased to exist this month. Let me tell you, as mundane as those things normally are, I’m excited to get back to my normal routine.

So…without further hesitation…here are my 21 reason that May was awesome:

1. The SCORRE Conference in Orlando was a huge success.  We had a sold out event – over 125 students, coaches and staff all gathered for one reason – to be better communicators.  Not to mention, I got to meet very cool people like Kimberlee and Connie.

2. While at the SCORRE Conference, I got to room with two of my favorite people in the world.  Traci and I have been friends since elementary school and she is my long distance BFF.  Stacy (my in-town BFF) and I are “neighbors” and have a mutual addiction to Ikea and Starbucks. Lucky for me – they also like each other.  🙂

3. We had 25 students at SCORRE register for the September LAUNCH Conference.  If you have ever considered a career as a speaker – you should check it out.

4. My husband traveled with all four kids to Disneyworld – by himself!  He managed (with a little help from Grandma) to get everyone up, to the airport and on a 7:30am, four hour flight to Orlando with no problems to speak of.  Yes, he is awesome.  I am a lucky girl.

Here are all four kids upon safe arrival in Orlando.

Here are all four kids upon safe arrival in Orlando.

5. We got to spend a week at Disneyworld with some of our best friends the Scheer’s and the Davis’.  Picture eight kids ages 2-13, four parents, a grandma and a grandpa….it was the BEST kind of chaos.

Almost the whole gang...just missing Ken.

Almost the whole gang…just missing Ken.

7. We learned that Jacob does NOT like the big drops on roller coasters.  Not at all.

8. We learned that Delaney likes EVERY kind of roller coaster – even the ones that make her mom want to puke.

Jacob and big drops...not so much.  Delaney on the other hand, exact opposite!

Jacob and big drops…not so much. Delaney on the other hand, exact opposite!

9. Ellie got to feed her old obsession with Dumbo by riding on the Dumbo ride….several times.  I think Dumbo has now been replaced with Nemo.  Every fish we see – “there’s my Nemo!”

IMG_1821

Snow White and Merida aka Ellie and Sara on Dumbo….again.

10. In any family at Disneyworld, there is always at least one person who is mad, tired, cranky, crying (insert negative emotion here).  Luckily, it’s hard to stay crabby for long at the happiest place on earth.

6. Sara got to meet Merida – the princess from the Disney movie, Brave.  This is a picture of her at Halloween last year. As you can see, Brave hysteria has been high in our house for awhile.  Meeting Merida – priceless.  Sara had big plans to curtsy to the princess and to find out if her horse Angus likes apples or not. (Turns out, he does.)

Sara "Merida" Groblebe

Sara “Merida” Groblebe at Halloween

Sara and Merida...bow hunters!

Sara and the “real” Merida

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. I wish Disneyworld wasn’t so dang expensive.  We had a magical week there and I’d love to go every year or two….we just need to win the lotto.

12. It is hard to do six people’s laundry, grocery shop, unpack, catch up on work, hold a meeting for 75+ people at school, repack and get on another airplane – all in the course of 24 hours.

13. The TS Diesel Performance event is a blast!  Oh. My. Word.  We had a good time.

14. Drag racing is way more fun when you win.  Travis helps crew on two trucks driven by Seth and Micah Sullivan.  Seth won the event and ran his best time ever of 8.83 seconds and 164 miles per hour….in a 4-wheel drive Dodge diesel pick up.  You can watch the video here.

15. My friend Cristin is awesome and I wish she lived closer to me.

Heeeeyyyy girrrrl!!!

Heeeeyyyy girrrrl!!!

16. Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil.  Words to live by.

Trouble...

Trouble…

17. We got to spend time in Kentucky, an absolutely a beautiful state.  I’m glad we have a lot of friends there so we have a reason to visit.

18. The home office of my business, Frontline Management, is located in Franklin, TN.  Why does this matter?  Because in two days, I had meetings at Puckett’s, the Red Pony and the Frothy Monkey.  One word, delicious.

19. My business partner, Brian Scheer, is married to my BFF, Traci.  That means, business trips to Franklin = girl time.  We didn’t get much sleep, but we did solve the world’s problems from 10:30pm – 12:30am while eating a box of dunkin’ doughnut holes.

20. Southwest gives lots of free drink coupons to frequent flyers.  My “on the flight home” drink of choice (Bailey’s over ice if you must know) has become my own little delicious, decadent tradition.

21. Home, there’s no place like it.  Sometimes it takes going away from what you know to realize, it’s the best place on earth…even better than Disneyworld.

SShhhhh....sleepy babies!

SShhhhh….sleepy babies!

 

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…best place to meet a man? at a wedding…

May 7, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com Leave a Comment

“I met someone this weekend.”

My friend Traci was being subjected to yet another call from my 24 year old single self about a man I had met.

Travis and I today...

Travis and I today…

“Where did you meet him?” she asked.

“At my cousin’s wedding in New Mexico.”

“Where does he live?”

“Well,” I said, “he works construction and kind of lives on the road. He travels for work and stays at his brother’s house in Missouri when they aren’t on a jobsite.”

“What does he look like?” she said.

I proceeded to describe him.

“Well, he’s about 5’10”, has a great smile, dark hair and blue eyes.  His hair is long and curly and he wears it pulled back in a ponytail.  He’s got quite a few ear piercings, tattoos and a stud in his tongue.  I’m going to Indianapolis to see him in two weeks.”

“Let me get this straight,” she replied.  “You met “the one” and he’s a homeless guy with long hair, tattoos and piercings who you are flying to another state to visit???”

Thus began our whirlwind romance that, 13 years later, is still going strong.

Travis and I met on May 5, 2001, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at my cousin Doug’s wedding.  They had previously worked together as bartenders in Dallas and had been friends for a number of years.

This is him, lower left corner...at the exact table he was sitting at when we met. :)

This is him, lower left corner…at the exact table he was sitting at when we met. 🙂

When I first saw him, he was sitting at a table in the back yard with a bunch of his buddies.  He was drinking a Corona (it was Cinco de Mayo after all) and wearing a black, buttoned down shirt…covered in pictures of colorful cocktails.  He was laughing and telling stories. Loudly.  His smile lit up the place and his stories had everyone laughing hysterically.  My kind of guy.

Throughout the weekend, he asked me to spend time with him, brought me a gift, danced with me at the wedding and asked my mom for her permission to kiss me goodnight. We laughed and we talked and we laughed some more.

He said he’d call, and he did….before I even got home to Denver. We lived on the phone the next few weeks.  I learned he had four brothers and liked to work outside and get dirty.  I shared that I had four sisters and a brother, worked in an office and preferred to stay clean. He told me he loved crawfish, Pearl Jam, the Sooners and his mama.  I told him I was a terrible housecleaner but I loved to cook and family was everything to me. We talked about our childhoods, our dreams and our shared love for Jesus.  And we laughed…a lot.

The night we got engaged...

The night we got engaged…

After dozens of hours on the phone, it was less than two weeks later when I saw him again.  Within two months he had moved to Colorado and within 5 months we were engaged. Three months later, on January 20, 2001, we were married in front of God, our family and about 250 friends.

When people ask, “how do you know if he’s the one?” the answer is often, “when you know you just know”.  Extremely annoying to a single person – but so true.  When you know, you know.

I met my Travis. After all the false starts and stops and several times falling (hard) in and out of love, this time, it was real and easy and obvious. Without a doubt – he was the one for me.

It’s been 10 homes, 4 states, 4 babies, 3 dogs and 13 years since that day in New Mexico at my cousin’s wedding and I wouldn’t change a thing.  Travis, I love you…you are my everything.

What about you?  How did you know that your spouse was “the one”?

 

 

 

 

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…be bold, it’s kind of a big deal…

May 1, 2013 By joyjoyg@gmail.com 4 Comments

In 2008, before we moved back to Colorado, my mom would always tell me about this girl who worked in the office next to hers.  She’d say, “Oh Joy, I wish you lived here, you would just love her!  You two would be such good friends, you’re so alike, blah blah blah…”  (To clarify, those blah blah blah’s are written with great love and affection for my mom.)

keep-calm-and-be-bold-20

Little did I know, my mom was also saying the same thing to her.  “Oh, I wish you could meet my daughter Joy, you would just love her!  You two would be such good friends!”

She couldn’t have been more right.

When I did move back to Colorado later that year, we quickly became close friends. Four years later, our kids go to school together, our husbands get along great, she’s my bow hunting buddy, and we are both hopelessly addicted to Starbucks. I love her like one of my sisters.

Sunday we were talking on the phone (shocker) and got into a deep discussion.  It quickly went from “on the surface” spiritual stuff to deep “how do I know my sins are forgiven” stuff.  Through this conversation, I openly shared my heart, shared the gospel and shared how the Holy Spirit works in my life and what Jesus means to me.

She said to me, “How is it that we’ve been friends for years and we’ve never had this conversation?”  My answer came quick and easy. I told her how it’s not just something you throw out there uninvited. You don’t just sit someone down and tell them how to live their life.  I didn’t want to offend her and I just figured when the time was right it would be obvious.”

Her answer is burned in my brain.

She said, “Really?  You didn’t want to offend me? Joy, it’s kind of a big deal…I don’t think that it matters if I would be offended or not.  This isn’t the kind of thing you just hold back on.”

Wow….punch to the gut.

About six weeks ago, a sixth grader in our community was killed in a tragic accident.  I talked to her dad shortly after.  He told me that, since the accident, the only thing holding him up was Jesus.  He had been a christian for over 25 years and until this happened he had been timid in his faith for fear of offending people.  In his whole life, he could count the number of people he had shared Christ with on one hand.

Since losing his daughter, his entire perspective had changed.  He didn’t care who he offended.  He wanted everyone to know the strength and security that true relationship with Christ had brought to his life.  He wanted everyone to know what the love of Jesus is really all about.  He was going to shout it from the rooftops – that true joy comes from only one place…Jesus Christ.

New plan…share Jesus with those around me. Explain how the Holy Spirit works in my life and how He wants to work in theirs.  Tell them that Jesus loves them, that He died for them and that He has a plan for their life.

I will be bold…because it’s kind of a big deal.

When it comes to your faith, are you bold?  If not, what’s stopping you?

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Hi! I’m Joy…

An entrepreneur, I work from home, am madly in love with my husband and the mom of four crazy kids. Life is a blessed mix of friends, family, travel, OU football, and venti non-fat no foam extra hot Starbucks lattes.
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