The Miami County Fair

I love fair time, it's one of my favorite times of the year. I especially love when our county fair is going because we get free passes through Jeremy's boss so Henry and I go wander around several times during the week and we usually make one or two evening trips. This year we did just that. And loved it. As usual.

Next week starts Darke County's fair. It's one of our absolute favorites!

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's day is always a little touchy for me. I won't go into details but let's just say, I have a couple women who I am absolutely thankful for, and a couple that I would like to sit down and give a stern talking to, all of which are considered my 'mother'.
But, enough about that.
I want to wish all of you mothers a very happy mother's day! You deserve a day just for YOU. You are the world's hardest worker and I truly believe that. I hope your kiddos spoil you rotten today (and your hubby too).
I am a little disheartened that I am miles away from my grandmother today and can not be there to give her her gift and card and tell her how much I love and appreciate her, but I have left a little surprise with her neighbor and I hope it will send her the message that I am thinking about her and love her and appreciate her even when I can't be right there.
I am going to enjoy soaking up some family time, stress free, with my baby boy and husband, which is probably the best gift a mother can receive on her special day.
Happy Mom's Day!

Health with Purpose

January always means one thing, America - time to go on a diet!

I didn't set any 'health' goals this year for one reason and one reason only: I never stick to them and I see no point in going back and being all 'oh snap, about that...' one year later when I fail. Lord knows we don't need any more disappoints in our lives so why even start?

I'm so sick of the dieting 'fads'. One week it's Atkins, the next week Weight Watchers. Something works for someone, another person fails at it, and they all usually backslide and gain 20 pounds more than what they lost in the first place. No thank you.

I decided this year that I'm taking control of our lives in a different way. I'm not focusing on weight-loss or dieting even though I need to lose weight like now; instead I'm bringing our entire lives back into focus in a different way.

This year I am focusing on becoming the healthiest us we can be. This means going back to the basics of food in general, realizing what it is we're putting into our bodies and making drastic changes to cut out the things that are absolutely horrible for us.

Call it 'clean eating' but really it's just finding purpose with our food.

However, I am not just focusing on food alone. I am also putting a huge emphasis on our mental health this year and the image we perceive ourselves to be.

No more negative talk about ourselves or our bodies. We are going to focus entirely on being happy with who we are in the moment, no matter what. I am going to look myself in the eye every day and tell myself that I am enough, right now, in this moment, no matter what.

I know this is going to make a huge difference in our lives and I am fully confident that when I look back, I'm going to be so glad that I did this instead of some diet. 2014 is my year, I just know it.

Being a Mother in 2014

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a mother in our time-period. The more I think about it, the more discouraging, exciting, and mostly confusing it is to me. Well, perhaps not to me alone exactly, but to all of us really.

To be a mother in the year 2014 means a million different things, and that alone is what is so confusing.

It seems like motherhood to our mothers, and especially our grandmothers and great-grandmothers was less confusing. There seemed to be a direct role related to being a mother: you cooked, you cleaned, and you raised the children. A mother's place was primarily just in the home. Now days the role of a mother is just about as diverse as every snowflake that is falling outside of my window right now. No two mother's roles are the same, and no two mother's are going to agree on everything either!

It's really kind of sad when you think about it. Instead of building each other up, supporting one another in our roles, and lending some support when we need it (cause God knows we need it). We tend to tear one another down, judging one style of parenting from another, and acting like we know it all.

Then there is this unfortunate stigma going around that kids are the WORST thing that can happen to a young woman. Have you noticed this? Kids (and marriage, but that's a different topic) are something to be saved for after you've done some living. Ya know, cause kids (and a husband) bog you down, hold you in some place that you don't want to be, and overall ruin you. Where the heck does that come from? I feel like you can do plenty of good, quality living whether you have children (and a husband) or not.

But that's besides the point.

Whether you are a working mother, a stay-at-home mother, or something in between (like me). I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone as a mother and encourage another. We need each other, for support and laughter and kindness and just the know that we're not the only ones doing this thing. And quit judging one another, or at least, really, really try. We're all just doing our very, very best here...

And don't forget, my door's always open if you ever need to talk!

My One Word for 2014

Pur·pose noun

: the reason why something is done or used : the aim or intention of something

: the feeling of being determined to do or achieve something

: the aim or goal of a person : what a person is trying to do, become, etc.

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I'm not sure how many of you have heard of 'my one word' before but it is something that I have done for the past two years and plan on continuing into this year. Instead of making a whole list of resolutions that you are likely not to keep, you pick one word and center everything around it for the year. This word is typically something soul-inspiring, something that will change your character and help you to become more of the person that you want to become. It is still meant to be challenging, but it focuses less on leaving things behind and more on bringing positive things into light. I like that.

This year my one word is purpose. I choose this word for many reasons but mainly because living with a purpose is something that I've been telling myself that I need to do more of for over a year now. I want to do things intentionally, with purpose. For example, dinner should not just be cooked because we must eat, but because I want to purposely and intentionally serve my husband and child by using my own talents and ability to cook them a healthy meal, at a reasonable time, and for the purpose of pleasing them and myself. Food should also be ate at the purpose of fueling our body and not simply for boredom, pleasure, or other random meanings. It's all about finding the true meaning behind the things that we do and then taking those things and turning them around so that they are purposeful, intentional and a blessing.

I truly believe that if I focus on living with purpose for a year, I will find myself happier and feeling more blessed than ever before. 

You can find more information on 'My One Word' on www.myoneword.org and also see my own entry here:  http://myoneword.org/word/jennovey-purpose/#sthash.MIO6mtXN

If you decide to choose one word for this year, please share it with me! I'd love to help support you on your journey.