SPOTLIGHT on ChicaJones !!! « Back to Group Discussions

[travelmumma]

Hey Chica your up!
Take your time with your intro as I know you as busy moving!!
Have fun!!
Go crazy mummas!

[chicajones]

Hey Guys! Sorry to be a little delayed on this -- things have been somewhat crazy. Here goes...

I'm 28 and DH is 31, currently living on the coast of northern Florida. We'll have been married for 5 years at the end of this month, but have been together for almost ten years. I'm the interactive director at a small design agency and have done graphic/web design for nearly five years. DH was a children's minister up until two years ago, when we felt called to plant a church in Wales (UK). We've been pursuing that and training with a local church for the past two years, which as been a lot of fun. DH has been working part time for that church, as well as cooking at a local cafe. We are currently waiting on the church we'll be working with in Wales to get approved as a sponsor before we're able to apply for our visas. We are hoping to be over in Wales by early to mid-October. The sponsorship approval process is taking longer than we thought it would, and we're both very ready to get over there and start getting settled (as well as get everything going with my midwife care there)! 

We started trying for our first about two years ago, and it took nearly a year and a half before I was diagnosed with PCOS (and Insulin Resistance). A couple of months after starting Metformin, my cycles became regular and this past spring we finally got our BFP! It was a hard road but it has also made me so thankful for this pregnancy. So far I've really been enjoying it and haven't had anything to really complain about. We are having a boy, and he'll be named after each of our grandfathers (I'll just call him the Wee Baby Jones on here because that was our original nickname for him). He's due to come somewhere around December 25th -- I'll admit, I'm really hoping he shows up on New Year's Eve, because that would be a fun birthday. I'm looking forward to having a home/water birth with a midwife and doula, and have been getting prenatal care through a friend who is a midwife while we're in the States.

Let's see, what else...I love reading, art, design, knitting, photography, film and travelling. DH is big into music (he sings and plays guitar and has been in a few bands), Batman, vintage records, comic books and CrossFit. We both love exploring new places, snowboarding, and Corgis (it's a bit of a silly obsession, one day we hope to have one). 

Hope that's a good place to start!

[Mamabeakley]

Hi, Chica!

Where did you grow up, and do you have sibs?

How did you meet your DH?

[chicajones]

I grew up mostly near the Detroit area (in Michigan), although we also spent a lot of time in Lancaster, PA. I have one brother who is two and a half years younger than me who lives in California (we'd love to go visit him and my sister-in-law before we leave for the UK).

DH and I met in college in Virginia -- we had a class together and became friends. He was in a long-distance relationship at the time, so he was always in the "friend zone" in my mind. But, they broke up over Christmas and we started hanging out more until all of a sudden, we were having the "DTR" chat. :) We both knew pretty quickly after that that we were meant to be together.

[segolilymama]

I have no idea what DTR means, lol - can you define?

Your graphic design background makes total sense, with your tear-jerker videos! Do you have a favorite project or two you have done that you will share? I enjoy design, and can make passable projects when needed, but I LOVE being inspired by people who REALLY know what they are doing!

[esp831]

How long do you plan to stay in Wales?  I would love to travel to Great Britain, do you have any particular European places you are dying to see?

[chicajones]

segolily, haha, DTR is "Define The Relationship" (ie, that talk you have where it's like, "So, we're dating?" "I sure hope so!"). :) I'm glad you guys like the videos! I'm blessed with a ton of creative friends (and Mr. Jones is also pretty creative), so it's easy to get inspired for that sort of thing. Most of the stuff I work on is pretty local, so I'm hesitant to share too much, but I did the design for these two sites (and helped with the development): https://www.myceportfolio.com/ and http://www.boldbeancoffee.com/

esp831, we aren't sure at this point -- we're going with the mindset that it could be permanent, but we're only able to be there as long as our visas allow. Our initial visas will be for three years, then we can renew for another three, then we have to do a big application to get ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), which would mean we'd be "settled." There are so many places we'd love to see while we're there! We've both been there before, but two new places we really want to see before the baby arrives are the Harry Potter production studios, and the estate where they filmed Downton Abbey (yes, we're nerds). We'd also love to visit Italy, Spain and the Netherlands (I've been to Italy before but DH hasn't).

[madis81]

Chica, my DH use to be a children's pastor! How exciting that you and your family will be moving to Wales. Hope the process moves quickly for you this week. I don't think I saw it mentioned, but after you get visa's approved, how quickly will you be moving? Do you have a home and contacts set up there yet?

[chicajones]

Madis, that's too cool! We do have friends in the city that we'll be moving to (which is where the church we'll be training with is), and will probably stay with one of them for a week or two until we can find a place to rent. We plan to move as soon as possible after our visas are approved, and we're hoping they'll be approved just a week or so after we submit them. Still waiting on sponsorship approval before they can be submitted though! All things said, we're really hoping that we can fly out the first or second week of October. We've already gotten rid of most of our belongings and are currently living with friends. 

[kateadelle]

Corgis! My first two children are a pure bread pembroke and a corgi/chihuahua mix. There are definitely people with corgi obsessions and we encounter them all the time. Just for fun, here is a photo of my guys:

Now on to my questions: Do you already have contacts for doula/midwife care once you move? What is your favorite/least favorite part of being pregnant?

[DeeGee 1873]

I would love to hear more about the church you will be helping to plant in Wales! How did your husband experience his call? What was your reaction?

[chicajones]

Aww, Kateadelle, so cute! I'm a dork about all corgis, and the mixed ones are so much fun too. Yours are so adorable!

Do you already have contacts for doula/midwife care once you move? What is your favorite/least favorite part of being pregnant?

I have some contacts, but won't be able to nail anything down until we get over there. I'll most likely be using an NHS midwife, since there are few independent midwives in the area we'll be (and they're all booked). I have more options for a doula, which is part of why I want one -- so that even if the midwife we end up with isn't someone I'd completely pick, I'll have at least one other person who I'm really comfortable with and is on my side. 

Favorite part of being pregnant...really is just actually being pregnant, lol. We've waited for so long that I feel like I really am enjoying every second. For the most part, I also love having a "bump" -- I've always been little, so I'm able to experiment a little more with certain items of clothing, and I love feeling the baby move around in there. Least favorite, probably the lack of energy and the tiredness. I'm always on the go and it's really hard for me to slow down and force myself to get more sleep. I know that once he arrives it will be that even more, but at least then I'll have a cute incentive. :)

DeeGee, I'll have to answer yours over the weekend -- I'm out of lunch time! But I definitely want to share.

[chicajones]

Sorry, it's been a crazy week! 

DeeGee: How did your husband experience his call? What was your reaction?

It's funny -- we pretty much experienced it together. While he was a children's minister, he'd been interested in planting a church someday, but it's something we thought was a long way off (if at all). I was a Graphic Designer at a natural food distributor. When my company was rumored to be moving to Chicago, I knew I'd have to start looking for another job. After all, we weren’t moving to Chicago! And then we realized–we were making a major life decision without even putting it before God. It was only then, when we decided to slow down and seriously pray about what God wanted us to do with our lives, that we understood that he might have more for us than what we were currently involved in. In that moment of openness and vulnerability, we were able to hear from God where he was truly calling us to, which was plant a church. Through friends and Twitter, Mr. Jones heard about Wales and the need for churches there, especially on Council Estates (the UK version of Section 8 Housing). I do remember the exact moment when he suggested Wales--I was sitting at our dining room table and he said, "So what do you think about Wales?" And I was just thinking...Wales? I don't even know where that is...near Ireland? It's cold? It's funny to look back, but I just went on Wikipedia and started reading everything I could about it.

It's hard to believe it's been 2 and 1/2 years since all of that happened, and we've been really purposeful in training since then. We are so close to leaving now!