How do YOU do it?

Not that I'm worried about being at the point anytime soon that my house is so clean and perfect that when my friends come over they are afraid to touch anything and ruin the perfection.  But a conversation with a friend lately made met think about the purpose of my house when entertaining.  Is it to show of all my projects and gawk over my good deals?  (OK, I have to admit I have gotten really excited about something like that and couldn't wait to tell some CLOSE friends : ))  Is it to get a potential client?  Is it to show off that it is white-glove clean? (yeah, I didn't throw this one out there for me : ))  Is it to show that I'm the hostess with the mostess?

Maybe no one else struggles with the idea of perfection when entertaining...and while I hope my my house is presentable and I am a warm and inviting hostess, I hope even more that my home can be a place of encouragement.  A place where people feel comfortable (both my kids friends and my own).  A place where even though my kids may have chipped paint off the trim (which may or may not have happened during a scooter race during the "Snow Week" we had this year), people can come here to reach out to other people, and not just see the items on my to-do list.  I hope this home is a place where when someone has a bad day, they know they are welcome here and will be welcomed with a hug a big cup of coffee (and I'll even share my hidden Milano stash : )).  I want my friends to know that if they need a babysitter last minute, they can call me, because whether it's before cleaning day in the week or after, I care more about the friendship than them seeing my house in a crazy state.  I hope when anyone walks though the door, they feel comfortable enough to kick up their feet and make themselves comfortable or help themselves out in the kitchen.  I hope out of town family and friends know they always have place to stay or a place at least to hit up for a home cooked meal.  I hope I can become the first person people think when they need a home/hostess for something.  I know I have work to do in this area, but being focused on the goal of loving people instead of solely concerned about the state of my house has changed my methods and perspective.

Ok, so I KNOW some of you reading this, are right on board with me.  How do you do it?  I'd love to hear thoughts on how to do better in this area from other women I know do a great job of this. 

(I was going to post pics of a baby shower I recently had, but I forgot to take any...and I thought our S.S. class member would probably appreciate me not posting pics of the costume parted we hosted last fall....so sorry, for the pictureless post!)