just keepin' it real

Oh boy, I have been waiting to write this post for a while now! :) There's so much to share that I'm not even sure where to begin!

For my friends who have blogs themselves, why do you have a blog? To keep memories for yourself? To keep family and friends who live far away updated on your life and how your kids are growing? Because you like to write? Or is it something more? I think that in a sense, we all want our life to matter. I mean, of course it does because we are children of God and we matter to Him and ultimately that is all that really "matters". However, I think that we also enjoy knowing that there are people out there reading about our day, which, as a stay at home mom - or stay at home nanny as the case may be :) - makes our sometimes seemingly insignificant day, spent discussing life with people under three feet tall, suddenly significant and meaningful because someone out there is noticing, reading about our day to day lives, and hearing our hearts - even if it is somewhere out there in "blog land". Does that make sense?

Well, if it is an encouragement to you to know that there are other people - other mom's, other sisters-in-Christ, or even brother's in Christ - out there reading and in a way sharing your life with you, how many more moms are out there needing the same encouragement? If we can be an encouragement to one another simply by following each other's blog, how easy is that?? I know, I know, right about now you're saying "I hardly have enough time to sit down and write on my blog, let alone read everyone else's blog! And that's totally fair and valid! So, just check in every now and then - just whenever you can! I love when people leave comments on my blog - and I'm guessing you do to - it's...what's the word? ... oh yeah - encouraging! :) And by the way, even if you don't blog yourself, we still love getting comments from you too! ;)

Ok, so why all this talk about other people's blogs and being an encouragement to one another? In the weeks when my kiddos were sick with the flu last month, I discovered a new friend. At least, I hope she'll be my new friend! :) And I want to introduce you to her. I found her blog through the Cake Wrecks blog (which is listed on the right of this page...) when Cake Wrecks won the '09 BlogLuxe Awards for Funniest Blog. The writer of this blog listed all the other winners - including the winner of the Best Eye Candy Blog, written by my (hopefully) new friend, Meg Duerksen!

And let me tell you, she won Best Eye Candy Blog for a reason! Just wait till you see the pictures she puts up on each of her posts! But before I get to that, let me tell you what I've learned about her from having 3 weeks off of work in which to read through her entire blog like a book I just couldn't put down! :)

She is a wife and mom of five adorable (and beautiful...for the benefit of her 14 year old daughter ;) kids, Lauren (who reminds me SO MUCH of my own "little sister", Lauren!), Scott, Sean, Talby (is that not the cutest name ever??), and Annie, who lives in Kansas...a state I have to admit I usually only think about when I watch the Wizard of Oz...but now very much want to visit because her *gorgeous* pictures show off just how beautiful her state is! Oh yeah, and she has a dog. Named Waffle. (Meg, the "waffle cone" completely cracked me up! Haha!)

Ok, I could go on in paragraphs telling you all about Meg, but what would a post be without a few photos?? :) I am going to share just some of the things I realized that she and I have in common (like fall birthdays :) and maybe that will help me tell you about her. You may have seen a few of these pics before.... :)

We both love color and she totally understands what a happy thing it is in general and finds it simply everywhere!

Fall is her favorite season. Mine too. Mmm...hearing the leaves crunch under your feet, the BeAuTiFuL colors on the trees. Fall even has it's own smell! :) (Including leaves, bonfires, burnt marshmallows...)

She understands the need to be creative. Whether it's scrapbooking, sewing (ok, the one thing I don't do, but you know...), doing/baking fun things with her kids, decorating ridiculously cute bathrooms...etc.

Apple-tinis are a yummy treat.

Tea is ok.

Coffee is better.

Starbucks is the best!

(and sometimes necessary...!)

Meg is the only other girl I know of that would buy something (like this wallet - or a pack of rainbow colored twizzlers...;) just because it is colorful and happy!

She knows that 4 year olds say the best lines....and come up with the best outfits!

Chocolate is a necessity of life. In pretty much any form. For example...hot chocolate, as evidenced on my baby's face! :)

RED is one of the best colors ever.

She even used to be a nanny!

We both love photography...although she runs circles around me in that area! (Just wait...you'll see!) And can I also just admit how, ahem, jealous I am of the HUGENESS of the photos she can put on her blog??!

And also as far as photography goes, Meg understands that a picture doesn't have to have a perfectly smiling face (or any face sometimes!) to be beautiful. :)

Most of all, Meg is a sister in Christ. Her love for our Father is so evident in her blog. It is an encouragement to me to read her posts and I was rather sad when I realized I had caught myself up on all her posts and now have to wait each day or so for a new one! :}

She has already helped make my day on several occasions with the stories she tells of her kids, or just her photos. She has changed the way I think about blogging on my on blog...and how I think about my photos. Oh, one more thing about her that I appreciate. The title of this post. She says it a lot. :) For all the beautiful photos and words she writes on her blog, she plays fair and adds the not-so-pretty parts of her day every now and then..."just keepin' it real." :)

So, now that I have hopefully given you a glimpse of her, go check out her blog for yourself! Just click right here. She has photo albums on the left side of her blog too. Scroll down to the one titled Our House and let yourself enjoy a tour of her FANTASTIC and BEAUTIFUL home!! I want a playroom/guest room like hers. :) LOVE the colors in it!

Oh, and you know that ridiculously cute bathroom I mentioned? Yeah. Click here to see how she did it, and here to see the finished product. I totally want to let my kids to that someday! (My own kids...) :)

And after you explore her wonderful blog...leave her a comment! I know she'll appreciate the encouragement! ;)