“About Me” sections historically make me feel anxious and inferior. Mostly because there’s tons of exclamation points going on, and the occasional ALL CAPS words that make me feel like my personal space is being invaded. If I followed that norm, here’s what I’d say:

Hey there!! My name is Laurie and I’m a country girl who’s loving life out here in the great Midwest!!! I have 4 AMAZING boys, and I’m married to my PERFECT match, Brad!! When I’m not caring for my family, I enjoy trying new Pinterest recipes, and hitting the gym!

But here’s my actual truth….
I’m Laurie, and my daily look is best described as “homeless”. That picture of me is pretty fake. I almost never look like that. If I get a shower more than 3 times a week, I consider it a gift from God. I live in the country outside of a small town in Illinois. We moved to the country partially because my husband, Brad, has a career in agriculture and is country born and raised. We also moved to the country because Brad thought it would be hilarious to get me pregnant 4 times, and make all 4 of our kids boys. We tried living in a nice fancy house in a subdivision, but everybody hated us because our kids were always peeing in the front yard and made a hobby of swerving drunkish-ly down the neighborhood roads on their bikes. So, in July of 2017 we packed up and headed to the middle of nowhere so we could be naked and pee and ride bikes without offending anyone. And it’s been glorious.

My average day consists of cleaning up messes I didn’t make, avoiding people I know at the grocery store, trying to locate one of my children (there’s always one I can’t find), and making empty promises to myself about how much better I’m going to be tomorrow.

I’m domestically challenged. I look around at the other wives and mothers who are killing it in their roles, and they are like aliens to me. My kids live off of hamburger helper and frozen nuggets shaped like dinosaurs. The dust on my shelves is like it’s own decoration, and when I’m asked to iron a shirt, I immediately become exhausted and need to lay down. My main hobby is scrolling google looking for evidence that going to the gym and eating “clean” is of the devil. I feel like it has to be if it doesn’t involve McDonalds.

I’ve spent the last 10 years perfecting the art of mistake-making, and almost fitting in…but not quite, and climbing out of rock bottoms…and in the process of it all, going a little insane. It’s a beautiful and blessed version of insane, but it’s insane nonetheless. About 4 years ago, I decided to embrace my insanity and go into a new career that would allow me to help others to embrace theirs. I’m currently on the tail end of a graduate program in clinical counseling.

Stressed-out, messed-up, slightly insane people, are my people. This blog is dedicated to us, and to the God who has been showing me every day how to live wholly in my imperfections. My sincere prayer is that this will be a place that ultimately points to Christ….that it will be become a haven where we can breathe deep breaths and remember we aren’t alone. That we are strong. That we will make it. That we are enough.
You are wanted here.

Laurie