31 Days: Life, honestly.

Well friends, I'm giving this a shot again this year.  I'm linking up with the nester's 31 day series and I'm attempting to blog a little something everyday.  I did this last year and wrote about our home, which turned out to be such a great challenge and something that I've enjoyed going back to read a year later.  This year however, I'm moving out from the realm of all things "home" related and going just a little broader.  Partly to give myself some freedom to post about whatever tickles my fancy but also because I  really want to capture a slice of my life right now.  I want to be able to look back on this and remember what life was like, today.  This month.  And I want to write about it honestly.  That's not to say that I don't adopt honesty as a daily policy, I do.  But I always find it refreshing when I catch up with a friend and she tells me how she is doing, really.  The honest, raw details about her day.  

I'll be keeping it classy, no juicy gossip or complaining about my family here.  Just some thoughts everyday (that's the goal anyway) and some honest reflections about life right now.  

I think it will be fun, you may disagree.  I'm giving myself MAJOR grace right out of the gate when it comes to posting everyday.  I'm shooting for 31 posts but I'm not promising they'll all appear magically everyday.  I will likely have some catch-up days, I do have an infant after all and two other kids who need a Mom that isn't tied to a blogging schedule.  But I'm going to try to do my best.  I love to write and it's always a great way for me to pour all these words and thoughts out of my head and heart.  You, dear readers, are extremely kind to keep reading after all these years and I hope you'll join me in this series as well! 

Here are some stats to set the stage for tomorrow, when I'll get my first official post off the ground.

Today, I am: 

-34 years old...yikes.  I'm in my mid-thirties.  Occasionally that hits me squarely between the eyes.  Mid-thirties, they're here. 

-I've been married for 11 years and 2 months, so naturally I'm a wellspring of marital wisdom and knowledge.  Oh wait, nope, not so much.  I'm just learning as I go and thankful that my husband is a very patient man.  

-I'm the Mother of 3. They are amazing.  And adorable.  And equally stressful.  Also messy.  But I love them like crazy.  And I will likely write about them a ton.  

-I live in Minnesota.  For about 6 months it's incredible here.  The other 6 months we don't talk about. 

-I'm from Iowa.  No, not Idaho, Iowa.  We do pigs and corn there.  The Idahoans do potatoes.  I'm a Midwest girl and always will be!  I've lived on the coasts and they're great too, but give me some rich heartland soil and I'm golden. 

-I'm a youth pastor's wife and a coach's wife, so naturally I LOVE criticism and find it enriching- Ha ha! Seriously,  I love what my husband does for a living.  Really, I do.  

-I'm a stay at home Mom. Best job ever. Hardest job in the world.  Somedays I vacillate wildly between those two thoughts.  I am incredibly thankful for the privilege though.  

-I'm tired.  My life is just like your life, I bet.  I've got a lot on my plate and some plates get dropped on a regular basis right now.  There aren't enough hours in my days and yet most days feel like they will never end.  I blame parenthood on that phenomenon.  I'd love to take a nap.  With no one in my house. Except for Travis.  I'd probably let him join me.  He's tired too.  

So there you go, that's the backstory and the short story.  Ok I'll be really honest, I never write short stories.  I like words and lots of them.  That was the long story.  

Probably the first of many for the next 31 days, but hopefully there will be some (long) stories that you might enjoy or find interesting or even helpful too.  I'll throw in some pictures for free because I'm nice like that and I love pictures.  I'm just slowly turning one computer after another into glorified photo storage units.  I may have a problem and let's just say that blogging hasn't helped said problem.  

That's all I've got for tonight, that's basically my big plan and I'd love it if you decided to join me!   

Day 1- Home.