Let me introduce myself...

Well...here it is. My very first blog! Are you all as excited as I am? Ok, probably not. I've been told by several friends of mine, "Melissa, you should start a blog." Well, I'm finally doing it. I'm not quite sure what this is going to turn into, but I'll give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe I'll be a big, famous Mommy-blogger someday! Alright, probably not. At this point, being a stay-at-home Mommy (which I love...most days), my adult interaction is very limited. So I will be using this as an opportunity to feel like I am talking to all of my adult friends, both near and far, and I hope to maybe make some new adult friends along the way. So welcome to the life of the Crazy Jones Kids (and their parents). 

Just in case I do eventually gain some readers who I don't know, let me introduce myself and my family. For those of you who already know me, just in case we haven't seen each other in years and you've lost track of where I am, who I married, and how many kids I now have...here's an update! I'm Melissa. I have been married to the love of my life, Doron Jones, for about 7-1/2 years. He is a youth minister and also coaches Varsity track. He is my best friend and I can't imagine life without him.

I know...cute pic, right? Well, my handsome hubby currently looks like this...

I'm hoping the beard won't be lasting TOO much longer. Anyway...

We have moved about 7 times in those 7-1/2 years. Not always to different cities, but nonetheless, our belongings have changed locations 7 times. We were both raised in Illinois but since getting married we have lived in Missouri, Indiana and now call Illinois home again. Hang on...the baby's crying...

Ok, I'm back. That leads me into the rest of this crazy clan. Our kids. Back in December of 2010, we were blessed with our first child, Micah. He is the most amazing little 3-1/2 year old boy you will ever meet, unless of course you have your own 3-1/2 year old boy...then Micah is an extremely close second. 

He loves to play outside and run through the sprinkler, ride his bike, dig in the dirt, climb trees, you know...all that typical boy stuff. And can I just tell you how ornery this little man is? Ugh...the defiance, sneakiness and naughtiness that this child possesses will someday push me over the edge. Yet, somehow, he is the sweetest, most kind-hearted little guy, as I'm sure you will come to see as you read my blogs.  

Then there is Lila, who was born in November of 2012 and just turned 18 months. She is Daddy's little princess! Our little Sweetpea. She is the funniest, sweetest, most sensitive little girl and she makes us smile and laugh so much every single day. We couldn't have ever imagined how much joy she would add to our already incredibly blessed and happy family on the day she was born.

Her favorite things to do include doing everything her big brother is doing (she adores him), swinging, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and dancing. This girl has moves you've never seen! The instant she hears music, she gets those hips swaying and those arms pumping. She is absolutely amazing!

And last, but certainly not least, is our newest addition, Henry. He was born just this past January, and he is an incredible baby. He is so laid back and easy going, which is kind of a requirement to be the baby brother of our first two hooligans. He is just sweet and is already super friendly; he doesn't know a stranger. I could sit and just stare at his precious little smile all day long!

In his short four months of life, he has developed a few favorite activities, including eating, sleeping, pooping and bringing joy to every single old lady who glances his way at church. I am convinced that God has put it in the nature of a baby (at least in Henry's nature anyway) to smile when old ladies look at them. His smile brightens the day of so many, and it is such a blessing to me to be able to see my baby bring a smile to someone else's face. Now, as soon as those ladies walk away from Henry they maybe thinking, "Now if only her other two weren't running around the church building like mischievous little goons!" 

So there you have it. That's my family. Will our family be growing? Quite possibly. Will our family be growing SOON? Absolutely not! If you do the math, you will realize that we had a baby in 2010, 2012 & 2014...Micah & Lila-22 months apart. Lila & Henry-14 months apart. I have done the math and I've been pregnant 27 out of the past 50 months. So, the plan is for my body and I to take a break...a very long break! Of course, God has an incredible sense of humor, so if you see a post in the near future announcing that #4 is on the way, just have yourself a good laugh and then picture God up in Heaven looking down on us, laughing and saying, "HAHAHA! YOU'RE plan?!?! GOOD ONE!" 

But seriously, I LOVE my life. There are days that I feel like I am going to end up bald by the end of the day because I have ripped every last hair out of my head, but in the end, I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I hope to share this life with you. Like I said, I don't know exactly what this is going to turn into; maybe I'll share recipes, crafts, helpful tips, devotional thoughts, rants about my latest frustrations with society, raves about new favorite products or TV shows, special moments with my kids, parenting failures, or encouragement to all my fellow mommies out there. But either way, no matter what this turns into, my prayer is that you will be blessed by my words, stories, pictures and whatever else my fingers spew onto your screen through my keyboard. Speaking of spewing...nevermind, I'll save that for another post! Well, this is me signing off for the first, and definitely not the last, time. Enjoy your day!