Positively (Im)perfect

Congratulations to our winner, Julie! {If you'd still like to order a journal in time for Advent, you can do so at  http://blessedisshe.net/product/advent-devotional-journal/  Mine arrived last night and it is beautiful -I wish Advent were here already!} So this is the first ever (and likely only!) giveaway that I'll be doing here at Positively (Im)Perfect. But there's something special in the works over at Blessed Is She for this Advent Season, and I really want to be able to share it. It's a journal developed specifically for the Advent season, for reflecting on the readings and role of each week during this season of preparation, and in turn helping prepare our hearts in the best way possible for Christmas. I've already ordered mine, and I'll be giving one away to one of you! I'm so excited about this Advent Journal. Foremost, it's been such a blessing for me to be part of this ministry. It's amazing not only to share wi

What the world needs now is love, sweet [real] love... In Greek, it's called agape . In wedding vows, it's called "for better or for worse." In life, it's called reality . We all love us some romantic love--called  eros  in Greek. Affection, flirtation, flowers, chocolate...it's all very attractive. And it's the spice that any good relationship needs to have sprinkled throughout. But when it comes down to it, life isn't always romantic. We don't live in a movie. Real life can be messy. Real life needs real love. Agape . A giving kind of love. Because romantic love only gets us so far... I had the pleasure of reflecting on real love last week while spending some extended time bonding with the bathroom floor. I was the last Chosen One in the family to have a militant stomach bug bestowed upon me, and I was down for the count. It was a long, long day. Even in my misery, I could only sleep for so long, and watching the sun and shadows cr

Originally published on February 14, 2012 They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well I submit that true love beholds true beauty. And I have never been more in love—nor have I beheld anything more beautiful—than the blessings in my life today. The concept really hit me the other day when I was hanging out and playing with the kids. I’m not sure what we were playing, or what Marie was chattering about incessantly at that moment; all I knew was that all of a sudden, just like in the movies, the background noises faded, time seemed to stand still, and all I could think while staring at my little girl’s moving lips and little face was, WOW. She is SO pretty. I swear she gets more beautiful every day! She quickly shook me from my reverie as she walked toward me, took my face in her hands and demanded, “Mommy! MOMMY! I’m talking to you! Did you hear me?” All I could say was “Umm…no, Sweetie. Sorry. But do you know that you’re beautiful?” And in that moment I had a

Written & Published January 7th, 2013. Archived to previous year.  Happy New Year, my friends! I know I took a rather unannounced break from Make It Count Monday for the past two weeks--my apologies to those of you who came looking for a link-up, although I know you're smart cookies and probably chalked it up to the holidays. Yes, last Monday was New Year's Eve..the Monday before was Christmas Eve, and life just kind of took over for me as I'm sure it did for you. But you know what? I kind of realized that that's okay. And since these Make It Count Mondays have been about real goal-setting and self-improvement, I'm taking a different approach today as we dive in to a new year. Let's see if I can explain: In a word, I've been weary. Lately, I feel like I keep trying to catch up on life as it keeps running away from me. Like the fact that I just finished clearing my camera of baby pictures only to remind myself that my beloved baby subject is now a

Written and published on December 10th, 2012. Archived to previous year.  A link-up of Goals and Accomplishments! Evaluation from  last week : Okay, so Christmas cards are (mostly-ish) addressed and in the mail. Do you see why it usually takes me until February to get these things done? Three weeks running it has been my goal to get these puppies done and I'm still dragging it out. But they will be finished before Christmas this year. They will be! I did get cracking on the reading corner, though...made a few adjustments to the plan that will make it even better--just waiting on some materials now! ~MOTIVATION~  What did I accomplish last week? First of all, I clearly did not accomplish getting around to the rest of you lovely linker ladies' blogs last week! Sorry! So I'm planning on catching up this week on my reading to see all the awesome ways you made it count! As for what I did accomplish, I updated about a million addresses during the Christmas Card

Written and published on November 26th, 2012. Archived to previous year.  A link-up of Goals and Accomplishments! Evaluation from  last week : My first goal of being thankful was an easy one--and give thanks, I did ! Though very different than the past few years, we had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving. My second goal of exercising more also went well; I managed one run, two walks with the dog and kids, and two non-aerobic workouts. More than I've done in a  l o n g  time in terms of exercise (save chasing and lifting kids all day)! ~MOTIVATION~  What did I accomplish last week? As I said, I did a good job with exercise and giving thanks. I also made some Thanksgiving pies, including my mom's award-winning chocolate chip pecan pie, and made homemade mashed potatoes for the first time--about eight pounds worth! And to top it all off, I thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at our in-laws, meeting a distant cousin of theirs for the first time who just mov

Originally published on May 6, 2011 4 generations! The cartoon on my day calendar a few years ago summed it up pretty well. A new mother stood in front of the CEO's desk at “Motherhood, Inc.” listening to her job description. The employer stated, “You will work a 24-hour shift daily, to include weekends. No breaks allowed. You get one vacation day a year…it’s called Mother’s Day, but you still have to work.” There’s nothing like the honest truth to give you a good laugh. I’ve learned a lot about motherhood in the past 3+ years (exponentially more than I had in the 20+ years prior!), and while I'm no expert, I know there's still a lot more to it than is contained in that simple cartoon. I’ve learned that you are a mother long before you hold your child in your arms. From the moment you see that plus sign (or the actual word ‘pregnant’ if you don’t believe that the plus sign is dark enough and you make your husband go get the expensive kind), you’re a mom. From