22 things i love about mr. jolley

Mr. Jolley's birthday is the day before mine. August 31. So fun right?

So it's a little late, but I wanted to wish a happy 22nd birthday to my handsome and wonderful husband.

 I love you!

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1. How romantic he is. That man is always writing me notes & buying me flowers.

2. What is important to me is important to him. Even if it doesn't make sense to him, he makes it important to him.

3. His passion for the restaurant he opened with his brother. Just ask him about a sconeburger and his face will light up.

4. How good he is at communicating. If he needs something he will let me know, I never have to guess what he's thinking.

5. The way his family is so important to him. He is constantly making sure they are a priority.

6. He is a hard worker. That boy NEVER stops! But I am so appreciative for all he does.

7. He fills a very masculine role. This was one of the things that first attracted me to him. We are very complementary. With an 'e'.

8. His giggle when I grab his side and unsuspectingly tickle him. It really is the cutest thing ever.

9. The way he cuddles me while we watch movies. Especially scary movies!

10. His love for Kentucky, where he served his LDS mission.

11. He tells me I am beautiful when I first wake up.

12. The determined look he gets on his face when playing Plants vs. Zombies.

13. He always initiates family prayer. I've never met someone who loves to pray more than Mr. Jolley.

14. The gentle way he kisses my forehead. On our second date he kissed my forehead, and I was long gone.

15. His stubbornness. I know his stubbornness gets him in trouble sometimes, but it is one of the things I love about him. He always goes after what he wants. Including when he went after me ;)

16. He loves to watch Disney movies with me.

17. I get random texts from him all the time that say "I love you!"

18. The way he just understands my Coke addiction. And loves me in spite of it. And even buys me Coke sometimes!

19. The way he doesn't demand things from me, and is one of the most appreciative men I know.

20. His love for the Lord and the gospel. He honors and uses his priesthood.

21. His crazy sense of humor. And how he can make the most ridiculous silly faces in the entire world!

22. That he has chosen me as his wife. Now and forever.

__________________________

my birthday wish

Hello friends!

So, Sunday September 1st is my 20th birthday. And this year, I'm asking for something really special.

I think I tried a million hashtags to find one that worked, but I ended up choosing #spreadthejolley because it included my last name/blog title, and kind of sounds like spread the jelly. Like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. But anyway...

Some ideas...

-Write a thank you note

-Call your mother

-Pay for someone's lunch

-Give someone an hour of your time

-Mow an elderly lady's lawn

-Read to a younger sibling or small child

-Tell someone you've been neglecting that you love them

-Buy your spouse their favorite treat

-Etc, etc, etc.

All I ask is this...

1. Do an act of service.

2. Share it on social media using the hashtag #spreadthejolley

3. Come visit me here and let me know what YOU did to help make my 20th birthday the best ever!

Because I'm a goal setter, I'd love to have 20 people do an act of service and share it using the hashtag. 20 acts of service for my 20th birthday. 

In order to reach this goal I NEED YOU! So share my birthday wish on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and let's spread some jolley for my birthday this year.

Thank you!

love story part two: the set up

READ PART ONE HERE.
It was March 21, 2013. I was out with Elisabeth taking pictures for our blogs when a fellow blogger that I had never met in real life sent me a Facebook message.

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 Brielle: K... this is so random but are you dating anyone?

Haha my friend just got home from his mission & asked me to set him up with someone and you are the first person that came to mind! Is this awkward? Maybe.

Just go with it..

Me: Not awkward at all!! I'm 100% unfortunately single! Haha id love it 

Brielle: haha awesome! he actually lives in Salt Lake for now but i told him you lived in Logan & he's totally up for a road trip. 

Me: As long as you trust him with me I am so down! He can Facebook friend me if he wants  you are so sweet to think of me!!

Brielle: I think he'd really like you  I will tell him! and I will let you know what's gonna happen

Me: Sounds great Bri!!

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Let's talk blind dates. Hate them. I have been on SO many. And it usually involves me talking ALL NIGHT LONG and prying words out of the other person's mouth. I was trying to be kind, one date couldn't hurt right? It probably comes with free dinner. Or ice cream... One more blind date won't kill me.

 And then it happened. The boy messaged me...

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              Hey Brooklyn, so I was just talking to Brielle and she was telling me about her awesome friend that I should get to know, so I thought I would talk with you and get to know you if that's okay.

------------------------------

I remember reading this message to Elisabeth and saying, "He wants to 'get to know me.' That sounds super creepy. He will probably never even take me out. And his last name is Jolley! If that's not a reason to marry him I don't know what is! What a great elementary school teacher name. Mrs. Jolley (insert laughter here). But he IS pretty cute... Well what the heck...."

(to be continued)

giving attention to critics

I posted on Twitter last night.

"What if instead of talking about people, we prayed for them?" 

It's a thought I had been pondering for awhile and thought it was worth sharing. How quick we are to gossip and judge. How quick to spread the word when we hear bad about people. Or how quickly we become angry with the things people say to us.

A few hours later, someone tweeted back at me. Something not very nice. Something about not believing in God and prayer. And then she attacked my faith.

My stomach sank. I got bright red in the face. I wanted to curl up and die. Or at least give her a piece of my mind and include a few choice words about what I thought she deserved in life.

Then I thought of this quote...

"Pay more attention to your Creator than your critics." 

I don't want to force anyone to believe what I believe. I am a praying woman. I will ALWAYS be a praying woman. And I will worship God through the good and the bad. And there will always be someone who disagrees or disapproves of the way you choose to live your life, even when you are doing your very best.

It's not between you and them. It's between you and your Creator. An Almighty God who believes in the very best of you. <3

How do you handle the critics? 

inspired to change

I love being married.

I really, really do.

And I haven't even been married two weeks yet! But even already I can see things in my personality that might cause some intense bumps in my marriage. I'm defensive, have very selfish tendencies, and can sometimes be downright bratty.

I want to start habits RIGHT NOW while my marriage and newlywededness is fresh. Habits that will bring me closer to my husband and help make my marriage the best it possibly can be. I want a marriage that gets better with time.

Thanks to Amberly, I have decided to set weekly relationship goals. Being who I am I went and bought a cute notepad and set the first few things I want to work on in my marriage.

I will be back with a full report next week. But I CAN tell you that my goals are inspired by this quote...

"Make it your goal to create a marriage that feels like the safest place on earth."

What are YOU doing in your relationships to ensure that they get better with time? 

love story part one: disappointment

On March 11, 2013 I wrote in my personal journal...

"Disappointment. That's what I'm feeling right now. A boy I am interested in had planned a date for us but he ended up canceling tonight. Sometimes I really hate dating. It is SO hard and SO frustrating and sometimes I wonder if I'll really ever know what I want..."

I was upset and feeling hopeless. I had been spending my time chasing boys who didn't like me and pushing away boys that DID like me that I DIDN'T like. It was a vicious cycle. And I had just ended things a few weeks earlier with a boy I really thought I could date, when I decided that I wasn't interested enough and quickly ended things. And now the new boy I liked wouldn't even make me a priority.

So in all of this frustration, I made a decision. I was going to enjoy being single. I was going to throw myself into projects I loved. I would focus on school and work and make the most of every moment. I decided to trust God and let him write my love story on His time. I turned it all over to Him.

And of course, ten days later I got a Facebook message that changed everything...

(to be continued)



to be loved like an only child

Why hello there old friends! I am SO excited to be back to blogging. But right now I am mooching off my husband's phone internet hot spot so I don't have much time. And I promise to give a full wedding/honeymoon report when we DO get internet.

 

But I've been thinking a lot today about something I heard a speaker say last month and wanted to share my thoughts with you.

 

 

An ONLY child! I remember being jealous of my friend who was an only child. She got ALL her parents attention and love. And was spoiled beyond belief with worldy possessions. I wanted that. And guess what? I've finally figured out, I CAN!

 

God can truly love us each like an only child. We might not quite understand that. I know I sure don't. But when I hear it, I know it's true. He listens to each prayer. And cheers you on in your successes. The most powerful being in the universe, watches over YOU.

 

YOU!

 

I know that God loves us each individually. He knows each of our names and he speaks them regularly. He won't rest until we are saved. He RUNS to us when we start walking toward Him.

 

Tell me that that isn't amazing. Because I can't think of anything I know that is more important than the knowledge that I am known, and that I am loved.

 

Happy Sunday loves.

<3