Say It Enough, You'll Start to Believe It
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You have a few more hours to enter this week’s giveaways.
Go here to enter to win one of two $50 Target gift cards.
Go here to enter to win one of two tickets to dotMOM.
And finally…have a great weekend. I hereby send you all a great big cyber hug! BOOM! Did you feel it?
this giveaway is now closed. I will be in touch with the winners. Thanks for participating!
First of all, I would like props for what might possibly be the most creative blog post title ever. Because we all know that you can take a perfectly mundane phrase, toss in a little French and WHAMO! You’ve created art. (Never mind that I had to look up how to spell deux. Deaux? Deux? I JUST DON’T KNOW!!!)
Artsy, right?
No?
Ah, whatever. I’m not going for the Pulitzer here.
So you can STILL enter to win one of two $50 Target gift cards. That giveaway will be open until Friday so go comment to your little heart’s content. Today’s giveaway is equally as fun, though it may be a little harder for everyone to participate in.
Last September, I had the amazing privilege of attending dotMom as one of their featured bloggers and it was one of the highlights of my 2012. I met wonderful people there and came home so completely refreshed and blessed that I almost felt guilty about it.
Almost.
It really was a wonderful experience. The conference is put together by moms for moms and it is a place where you will be encouraged in your motherhood journey, no matter what phase you are in. Whether you’re pregnant, adopting, a mom of grown children, of toddlers, or children of the elementary school variety. There is something for you to learn, a nugget of truth for you to grasp hold of, a mentor who will give you the tools to keep taking steps forward toward shaping the small people in your midst.
It was such a great experience that I am planning to go back to dotMom again this year AND…
The conference is Feburary 22-23 and, if you think you can make it to Dallas, I’d like to give you a ticket to dotMom. So…you know the drill, right?
Leave me a comment. Any comment. You can tell me why you would like to go to dotMom, what you ate for breakfast or what your favorite flavor of ice cream is (mine is chocolate/vanilla swirl, if you’re curious…). Just leave a comment to be entered to win a ticket to attend the Dallas dotMom event.
If you share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, come back to earn multiple entries (leave a comment for each time you share it. You can receive up to three entries).
I’ve checked the line up of speakers to the Feburary dotMom and am frantically checking my schedule to see if I could possibly make this event. The speakers are a-MAZ-ing!
And those are just the featured speakers. That isn’t the extensive list of wonderful speakers who will lead break out sessions geared toward inspiring and encouraging us moms in every aspect of our jobs.
So, who wants to go to dotMom next month? I will choose two winners on Friday at 2:00 EST.
Disclaimer: Lifeway provided me with the tickets to giveaway. I was not paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are, of course, my own.
This contest is now closed. I will inform the winners momentarily. Thanks for participating everyone!
Five years ago tomorrow I sat down at the computer and entered my first blog post. I did not understand blogging, but I am a natural crowd follower and all the cool kids were doing it so I figured, why not?
To be honest, I’ve often thought about going back and deleting most of those early blog entries because…well, because they’re pretty bad. It was clear I didn’t understand the purpose of blogging and in some cases I overshared while in other cases I just wrote poorly.
But it’s all a journey, isn’t it, and blogging is no different.
When I began this blogging endeavor, I had three children under five. Landon was weeks old and most days I blogged while he napped in a pack and play next to me. Fittingly enough, as I type this entry he is laying beside me on the chair. It is only 5:40 in the morning, but my children all have a sixth sense, which means that there is no such thing as early morning alone time for this Mama.
His legs are slung over the side of the chair, all gangly and skinny. He’s asking me how to spell DOG, CAT and FART. Awesome…
The passing of time is so easily measured when one blogs. Moments are recorded and sent out into the void and sometimes those moments contain a huge piece of your heart. If you’re lucky, the heart pieces that were entrusted to the internet come back to you a little more whole and infused with joy. That’s what you all have done for me this half decade. You’ve infused me with joy and returned my heart just a little bit bigger.
I’ve been fortunate these last five years to have cultivated a small, but dear, community of readers who are the good ones. You all are kind and encouraging. You love to laugh (particularly at my husband) and you’re not afraid to cry. You want to help others and you are always willing to bless.
Google Analytics tells me that on average, there are 10,000 of you who visit this site monthly. That’s not very much in the grand scheme of blogging, I know. My corner is small. But it’s a nice corner. It’s peaceful here. The sun shines and the grass is fluffy and warm. We all sit around the table and drink tea out of Mason jars and eat Nutella without gaining weight.
That’s what this space is to me. It’s peace. It’s a gathering of friends who get to enjoy the best parts of life with me. Even when those best parts are hard.
I don’t share everything about my life in this space. That would be weird. I share the good, mostly. I share the funny, the sometimes mundane , the deepening of faith and the always changing craziness that makes life so exciting. There are times in the last five years when I’ve considered throwing in the towel on the whole blogging thing, but then I write a post that resonates and I remember that this life journey is much better when taken together.
I don’t know what the next five years holds. Hopefully more blogging, more growing and a lot more laughter. I may even have a book for you all to read by the end of this year! Who knows.
Life is an adventure, isn’t it? A grand, grand adventure.
So…
I’ve decided to thank you all, my sweet readers, for walking this path with me. Especially the last few months as we’ve worked toward our adoption and as we now hang in the balance. I can’t tell you what it’s meant to know you guys have our backs. I have two awesome giveaways for today and tomorrow that I want to share with you all to celebrate five years.
Because if there’s one thing we have all agreed on over the years, it is that Target is The Promised Land (LEE!). So, leave me a comment for an entry to win $50 to the land of milk, honey and super cute, reasonably priced clothing. I will draw the two winners randomly on Friday, January 11 at 2:00 EST.
And come back tomorrow for a chance to win two more great prizes that I’m so excited to give away!
Now at the end of the week, I will only be able to give away four prizes, unfortunately, but NEVER YOU FEAR DEAR READERS! No one will walk away completely empty handed because everyone (EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU) who comments is going to receive a cyber hug, a cyber fist bump and five cyber high fives – one for every year I’ve been a blogger.
You. Are. Welcome.
So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment to win 50 smackers! Want me to sweeten the deal? Okay, sure! If you share this giveaway on Facebook, you can come back and leave a second comment for a second entry. If you share this giveaway on Twitter you can come leave a thrid comment for a third entry.
This means you not only have three times the potential to win – it also means you will receive 15 cyber high fives! I am nothing if not generous.
I love you all. I really, really do.
(And to keep the government people happy, I will let you know that I am purchasing the gift cards to Target myself to give away. I have not been endorsed or paid by Target to write this post, but if Target would like to endorse or pay me, I wouldn’t argue so…)
I became a mother nine and a half years ago.
For the most part, transitioning into motherhood was a very natural thing to me. I wasn’t overly cautious or concerned about germs and allowing others to hold my baby didn’t send me into fits of anxiety. I had no problem letting my infant cry it out when he needed to sleep and I never felt guilty leaving him with a babysitter or grandparent so I could sneak away for a date with my husband.
But there was an area where I felt almost completely inept as a mother, and that was in taking care of my child alone if Lee had to travel. Thankfully he did not travel often, but when he did, I almost always asked one of the grandmothers to come stay with me because I did not think I could handle solo parenting, even for a weekend.
I had no idea, friends, how easy it was back then. No idea! My child slept for twelve hours, napped twice a day and could not argue with me. What the heck was I afraid of?!
Last October, Lee began a new job. Yes…another new job. We like to keep things exciting around here. When he began this new venture, I knew he would have to travel more and the old me – the one who thinks she is incapable of flying this ship solo – had a slight panic attack.
But you know what? I’ve got this. I have got it.
Moving from St. Louis to Florida a year and a half ago was one of the hardest things we have ever done, but as we exit the fire and fog of the year, I see so many good things that have come out of it.
Our marriage is stronger.
Our family is stronger.
We are no longer afraid of risk.
We no longer feel confined by the trappings of comfort.
We have seen and experienced God in a whole new way.
And for me, personally, I realized I’m a heckuva lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for.
We moved to Florida and in the midst of an emotional crisis, I somehow managed to band my little family together. Homeschooling the kids for that first year here, while by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, allowed me to fall in love with being with them. It gave me the opportunity to flex my mommy wings and see that flying this ship isn’t so bad after all.
And while I know that putting our children back in school was the right decision, there is a big (HUGE) part of me that really, really misses homeschooling. I miss being with them every day. Yes, I like the time I have to myself, but when I put my kids back on the bus this morning, I had to swallow hard over the lump in my throat.
They make me happy
Lee’s been at his new job for three months now and I have never seen my husband so happy in work. In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen his eyes light up the way they do with this job. He loves what he is doing and I love how happy he is.
But…
The travel is intense – for right now, anyway. For the next three months, Lee will likely be traveling three-five days every week. Is this ideal? No, not in the slightest, but this type of intense traveling will be temporary and so, once again, I am digging in my heels, clenching my teeth and pep talking my way through the days.
Nine years ago I couldn’t have done this – I couldn’t have handled him being gone this much.
Five years ago I couldn’t have handled this.
Three years ago I couldn’t have handled this…not emotionally. I would have been a basket case…and I probably would have gained a rather unhealthy dependancy on Nutella to get me through my days.
But God has walked us through the fire and prepared us, prepared me, for such a time as this. Do I like flying solo this often? No. Does Lee like traveling this much? No.
But I’m stronger than I give myself credit, we are happy and thriving and we are going to be just fine.
And…I have a massive jar of Nutella if the days get to be a little too overwhelming. (Yes, my dad got us another twelve pound jug of Nutella for Christmas…because he loves me.)
So Mama’s, if you’re feeling weary and tired and alone, don’t forget – you’ve got this. You can do it. You’re stronger than you think. And a spoonful of Nutella always makes things a little better.
*wink, wink*
Happy Friday, everyone. We are at the tail end of our break and I am relishing the laid back days. Next week life starts back in full swing. Until then, I hope that these images will bring a smile to your face, because they honestly make me laugh out loud.
Of course, I am only slightly partial to these tiny people, but whatever. Laugh with me, won’t you?
I puffy heart love this photo
Super Spy...
I have no idea...
I don't know why this one makes me laugh. I think it's Landon's too small coat and trucker hat. And Tia's toothless grin...
I first met Jessica in September when we both attended the dotMom event. I found her charming and sweet. She’s the kind of person you wish you could tuck in your pocket and carry around for those dreary days when you just need a little encouragement, which sounds a tiny bit creepy and stalkerish, so don’t tell her I said that, m’kay?
When I agreed to read and review Jessica’s new e-book, 100 Pound Loser, my intentions were simply to do a favor for a friend. What I didn’t know, though, was that her book would be exactly what I need right this very minute.
I am officially in the worst shape of my life. While I have always made health and exercise a priority in life, in the year and a half since we moved to Florida, I’ve allowed that priority to slip down to the bottom of the pile and I feel sluggish, tired and quite frankly I’m tired of my pants cutting off circulation to my lower extremities every time I sit down.
So what started out as a favor for a friend grew into encouragement for my soul.
Jessica’s book is witty, refreshing and encouraging in more ways than one. The before and after pictures alone motivate you me to get up off the couch and move. Pair that with the knowledge that she had four babies in four years and she still managed to lose and keep the weight off and you will understand the motivational aspect of this e-book.
But there is much, much more to this book than that. This e-book is encouragement for the soul of every woman who has ever looked in the mirror and not liked the image who stared back. This book is a reminder that our bodies were made for a purpose, and that purpose is not just to look good in a rockin’ pair of skinny jeans. You (and I) are so much more than anumber on a scale or the size of our jeans.
This was my favorite quote from Jessica’s book:“You probably can’t run four miles, strength train, do Pilates, eat appropriate portions every three hours, and perfectly balance your carbs, protein, and fats at each meal every day. Frankly, I probably couldn’t do all that in a week! Remember, juggling the myriad things God has given you takes skill and concentration. He will certainly equip you, but it’s up to you to add, subtract, and balance the balls wisely…
…Truth: It’s more important to live life and enjoy our families than to obsess over weight. I’m pretty sure no child has ever said, ‘Gosh, I wish my mom had lost that last ten pounds when I was five years old.’” Jessica Heights, 100 Pound Loser
It’s a new year, friends. A time when the slate is cleaned and we can all start fresh. While there is some humor (at least for me) in the idea of beginning a new weight loss/fitness routine in the beginning of January, the fact of the matter is this: There’s no better time to start than today!
Jessica’s book will motivate you to take that step in the right direction. Her list of resources at the end of the book will give you tools to succeed. What if we all took our health (not our weight) by the horns this year and decided enough was enough? What if we all believed that now was as good a time as any to start living freely in the body God gave us?
To grab a copy of Jessica’s book, click here. (It’s a very quick read. You can finish it while babies are napping…or, in my case, while children are busy arguing over the Wii remote…) You’ll also want to head to the 100 Pound Loser Facebook page and click that little ‘Like’ button to receive bursts of encouragement in your Facebook feed (and we could all use that, now, couldn’t we?)
Happy Losing, friends!
PS: I did not receive compensation for this review and all opinions expressed are my own. I received a free copy of the book to read and I am grateful to Jessica for the opportunity.
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