New Years Resolutions

Wow! Things have been busy in the Jones family. Here are some things you might've missed:

We've had lots of visitors!

In November, Braden's mom, and then brother and his wife came to visit us! We enjoyed catching up with everyone and actually getting to host people at our house. It was a little difficult to have people stay with us while we were living in hotels! 

In early December, our best friends Phil and Jen from LA came to visit us! We had a great weekend shopping, eating, and visiting Estes Park, and it was awesome getting to catch up. It's hard to believe we were in California a year ago already.

For Christmas this year it was the first year that we got to spend in our own home! My folks ended up driving in from Texas. It was a fun laid back Christmas, although Braden and I were both working a lot. Macie had a great Christmas too- Santa brought her lots of toys!

Christmas Jammies!

Mom and Dad and the pups

We have loved winter so far here in CO. It will get cold and snow, but usually only lasts a few days until it warms up and melts away. The only one who hasn't enjoyed winter is Macie! The little turd refuses to go potty outside when its cold/snowy. She literally screams. It's so embarrassing! We finally gave in and got her a potty patch for her convenience.

Macie and the potty patch

Since we have lived here a few months now, we have really enjoyed getting to know the area. There are several shops and restaurants within walking distance, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that our favorite pizza place that we discovered while living in LA (and thought was local to LA) has a location about 20 minutes from our house. We love Pieology!

yum.

While we haven't made it up to the mountains as much as we would like to, we were able to go snowboarding at Loveland Pass a few weeks ago. I was doing much better with my carving until I had a bad fall- I seriously thought that I was going to have to call ski patrol to come and get me! Luckily it was just a really bad bruise, but that was the end of my snowboarding that day. We are hoping to make it back several more times! The drive up to the pass is really cool- lots of old abandoned mines. Braden and I have even heard there are ghost town tours which sound super interesting!

This new year has started out wonderfully. Braden is working full time at Target and coaching his soccer team. I have actually started my new job! I am now only driving 15 minutes to work instead of an hour, and I am loving working with autistic kids again. I am in the Level 2 autism program which means the kids I work with are higher functioning. I get to work with them on some language but mainly social skills. They are precious! My favorite one liner so far was one little boy who looked at me in the middle of class and says "Mrs. Jones, what kind of car do you drive?" I said "We are thinking about math right now." He got a funny look on his face and says, "well, I'm thinking about what kind of car you drive." They keep me on my toes and they certainly keep me laughing! I am still working on Saturdays at the hippotherapy clinic, although we haven't been able to see kiddo's for a few weeks because of the weather. I am hoping to get that started again soon! I have also been picking up some hours at a nursing home PRN. Since I have so much more time without 2 hours of my day being spent commuting, I have enjoyed getting back into working out. I usually run in the mornings and then I've started going to a hot yoga studio down the street. I have really been enjoying the hot yoga! I've never sweat so much in my life. 

Because this is my first post in the new year, I thought I would share some of my resolutions for this year. I've never been one to make many resolutions, but this is the first year that is really took a little bit of time to think about some of the things I wanted to accomplish. My number one thing is to live healthy- I have really been trying to eat more natural and less processed food as well as drink more water and less non-water beverages. I can really tell a difference in how I feel. Another big part of my health is my THRIVE. It's so important to be able to get a good nights rest and have energy- THRIVE helps me have the energy to wake up bright and early to run, work all day, and then go to hot yoga in the evenings. It also helps me get a full and restful nights sleep. I got a Misfit band for Christmas, and have noticed that if I don't take my THRIVE, I get at least 45 minutes less of restful sleep. That's significant! My body responds so much better to exercise and recovers better as well. I have been taking it for 8 months and have never felt better- if you haven't tried it yet you are missing out! (click here for more info) I also want to run another half marathon and beat my previous time- I loved training and running my half last year!  I might want to add on a full marathon, but I want to see how I feel after running another half before deciding for sure. My running so far has been going well (even in the altitude!) and I have a couple of races I am looking at. I also would like to keep going to yoga! I think the stretching/poses really helps my joints and lung capacity. Along with that, we have a lot of things within walking distance! I want to walk instead of driving. One thing that Braden and I really want to do is hike a Colorado "fourteener". I've seen pictures from the summits and they look just breathtaking! More hiking and exploring is definitely on the list! Another goal is to find a church and small group- We have tried so many churches since moving here and we haven't found one yet that we feel like is a good fit which is kinda discouraging. We keep wondering where do the young married people go to church in Denver? (If anyone knows, please let me know!). We are so excited for what God has in store for us in 2015!

Things since being in Colorado haven't exactly always been a walk in the park- both of us have had difficulty with jobs, finding a church, etc. But it's also been incredible! We look at the mountains and are amazed at the beauty of God's creation and know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be- even in the most trying times, HE is faithful.

Love and blessings to you in the new year!