Photo by Larami Serrano Photography
Welcome to my little bubble! Some of you may have known me a long time ago as Jonnelle Arnold. Some of you may not know that my name is really pronounced John-nelle. I was named after my mother's mom, whom I called Nana and she was Mrs. Johnnie Mae Jones aka Mrs. Jones. I live in Houston, Texas in a 1958 house that my husband and I refer to as our sanctuary in the city. We have almost 10,000 sq feet of property that we are slowly transforming into our dream space - inside and out. We have four beautiful children, two boys + two girls. In 2018, the year after our last child was born, we built a garden out of cinder blocks so I like to think of it as my 5th baby ; )
I'm actually a Florida transplant. I met the love and partner of my life online (surprise) & quickly fell in love with him and this city of his. I knew this was where I wanted to establish roots and build a family and legacy. When I moved to Houston in 2009, however, I had no idea what I was in store for nor the amount of growing pains I would endure and the amount of blessings I would reap. Writing this makes me feel super grateful for it all.
I came here with very high expectations, I was a newly engaged young lady fresh with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design & Digital Media and Photography from The University of North Florida. Before that I had completed an Associates in Graphic Design from then Pensacola Junior College now Pensacola State College. In Jacksonville, Florida I had started a small business for myself doing photography for some of the city's most talented underground hip-hop artists and doing all sorts of design work for up and coming entrepreneurs. I loved working for myself, but I always craved more stability. Don't get me wrong, I had a corporate job to pay the bills but I wanted my bill paying job to be the one I got to use my creativity in. So I just knew I would find a day job within the arts in my new city (which I had a zero network) easily. Ha! I look back with a lot of compassion and grace for that determined girl I was. Long story longer, none of my plans went as planned. Some my fault, some not. From my living situation to my career goals, everything seemed to get swept up from under me. I was forced to decide what was my biggest priority at 26 years of life. And that priority for me was family, the new one I would be creating with my then fiancé. I chose love.
So we quickly picked a wedding date and eloped on 9-9-2009. No big wedding, no frills, just my new mother-in law, brother-in-law and a very cool Carpenter/Deacon/family friend who married us on Lake Houston on that Wednesday full of nines. Since then God has truly shown me that he has blessed our union by having all of our children born on the 9th or multiples of 9 since then. So, so amazing. I'll have to make a stand alone post about that one day...
There was no wasting time starting our family. I mean according to most doctors, 26 is old in child-bearing years. We knew we wanted at least four children (Huxtable goals okay?). We also knew that we were going to be "those" attached type of parents, I would become a SAHM as soon as we could afford it. Initially after our first born, just 3 weeks after to be exact, my husband began his new career and started training at the Academy for The Houston Firefighter Department (HFD). He was in school/training 4 days of the week and I worked part-time in retail the other 3 days (weekends) after my 9 weeks of maternity leave ended. That first year was rough, but I was thankful that we did not have to rely on strangers for childcare. We weren't making much as a collective so we were forced to get our money right (IYKYK there's a whole podcast my husband created about it that you can find here). We sacrificed what a lot of people our age wouldn't so that I could stay at home full-time and we could live on a single income.
Fortunately, God has increased us little by little, but faithfully since then. Fast forward to 2014, we had 2 children and were ready to buy our first house. Over the next 3 years after settling in our home we went on to have two more children. Our last child, was born at home in our sunroom.
A lot of life continued happened and although I have felt called to homeschool from the start (I even avoided sending the older 2 to preschool) I didn't have the courage to do it until the events of 2020 went down and we got a taste of "virtual learning". I needed no further signs that it was time and I was more than able. I withdrew my two elementary age kids from our local public school and we started a new journey, one that I have no regrets on.
So here I am now, there's been a lot going on in the past 5 years since I first started my YouTube channel sharing my last pregnancy & home birth experience, lifestyle & gardening. I thought I wanted to be an "Influencer" back then. But I didn't realize that lots of attention and demands and requests was exactly what I did not want! I'll say it again; family is my priority so I had to take a pause - a very long 3 year breath - to adjust to being a mother of four, navigating major personal & world changes and oh yeah, the start of our family business: Peaceful Lawn & Garden : ) But I'm here as I said, and I cannot deny this feeling of needing to tell my story and share our lifestyle -even if just a little bit of it - for any longer.
Facts about me: I am a true homebody. I believe my childhood as a navy brat constantly moving around has built a craving for stillness within me. Having a lovely home that I feel at peace in is important to me. I'm a Cancer & Enneagram 4 if you're familiar with those things. I'm very sensitive to others. I'm deeply motivated by beauty, art and nature. I'm passionate about creating an atmosphere that oozes all of that - but with order - because I love organizing. I also love things from the past, I'm like an antique grandma (tend to dress like one too from time to time ha ha) I'm drawn to objects that are unique or tell a story. My home decor is made up of mostly vintage/thrifted/second-hand things, things I made or gifts - which always remind me of how blessed we are because who could afford new in the beginning? Not us. Decorating has always been fun for me, ever since styling my own childhood bedrooms, but having a whole house to design is a dream come true and we are slowing updating this fixer-upper in phases ourselves. I've really loved being able to do whatever I want with this space, it has unlocked a passion for interior design I didn't realize was that strong. I think it up and my husband builds it. Creating things, cooking from scratch, treasure hunting aka shopping, growing stuff and documenting life are probably my biggest hobbies. Making space to do them while raising our children is vital for me. Creating this website is a part of me making that space.
I am not here to "influence" anyone, just to inspire. Maybe share a good cup of tea or a good book I've found. Or things that have helped create more ease in my own life... Throughout all the stuff life has brought us, I've found one thing to be true and that is the JOY really is in the journey (it's even written in the picture behind me, a housewarming gift from our friends ; ) I strive to find this joy in everything now, because all things work together for our good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
Did I say I'm really happy you are here? Please join me in finding that purpose, friend.
With love,
Jonnelle