Traditions – Page 7

Support a Worthy Cause – Host An Elf in Your Home this Christmas!

I know of a family that has mischievous elves visit their house during the Christmas season. These rogue Santa helpers play silly and harmless pranks throughout the month of December. They might, for example, decorate the living room with toilet paper or leave a trail of cookie crumbs in the kitchen. I first learned aboutRead the whole post >>

Madeline’s Birthday Letter

On Madeline’s first birthday I sat down and wrote her a letter sharing anecdotes and chronicling our first year together. I read the letter aloud at her first birthday party and her grandparents and Dave (my hubby) all agreed that putting down my thoughts and memories on paper was a great idea because even ifRead the whole post >>

I’m a wife, mom of five kids, writer, speaker, storyteller, bibliophile, runner, eating disorder survivor, and perfectionist in recovery. I'm the author of Getting Past Perfect: Finding Joy & Grace in the Messiness of Motherhood and Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body.

I’ve tried a lot of things in my life – anorexia, bulimia, law school, teaching aerobics, extended breastfeeding, vegetarianism, trying to be perfect and failing miserably at it – and through it all I’ve been writing. And learning to embrace the messiness of life instead of covering it up, making excuses for it, or being ashamed of my brokenness or my home’s sticky counters.

Nowadays I’m striving every single, imperfect day to strike a balance between keeping it real and keeping it joyful.