I have to admit that when I thought about hosting my own little party on my blog for Ultimate Blog Party 2011, I got a little nervous. After all, I haven’t had the best of luck with parties. There was the time when I had my ‘Sweet Sixteen’ birthday in my family’s backyard and invited all of my friends. My two-year-long crush actually showed up…with the girl he apparently had just started dating. And then there was the time I tried to throw a surprise 30th birthday party for my husband and made the mistake of leaving the birthday boy with my father; he clearly didn’t understand the timing involved in surprise parties. We waited for about an hour for the chance to yell ‘surprise!’ I’m just glad the guests stuck around.

But as I thought about more party mishaps, I realized they describe who I am and my blog perfectly! The whole reason I started sharing my blog with others is that I know for every ‘mishap’ I have in life, there is another person out there who can relate. When I write, I am honest. Life isn’t easy, and I have found that I fall far-short of achieving the perfect wife and mother status every day. But I want to remember the journeys that I take as I try to get better.

I’m fond of storytelling, and I love to create images of the lessons I’m learning. If you stick around, you’ll find moments when my children make me proud because of their acts of kindness and compassion…and moments when I’m completely embarrassed because they’ve punched each other while praying. You’ll read of times when I think my husband is the greatest, and times when I don’t know how to endure all that’s involved in marriage. I’m not afraid to share some of the ugly moments because I believe God uses those ugly moments to make one beautiful picture.

And, hopefully, through my joys and struggles, you’ll find yourself laughing, relating, and realizing that we’re really not all that different.

If you like what you’ve read so far, I hope you’ll stick around and check out my place. You’re always welcome and can stay as long as you like–I just might go to bed around ten or so. My kids have made me old, given me gray hair, and worn me out!

And you can always subscribe to my blog or follow me on NetworkBlogs–I’ve just added that feature.

Thanks for stopping by, and please leave a comment so I can come visit you, too!