In a Moment

After creating over 900 posts since the end of November 2007, I think about my continued direction with the blog. I've been asked many times by many people since starting the blog who my intended audience is. I'll begin to share how and why I started. In October 2007 I was encouraged to share tidbits by coworkers I was leaving behind as I started my new venture as a stay-at-home mom, as a way to stay connected. They convinced me I wouldn't regret even a post with no words -- only a picture was great, if that is all time allowed.  They were right. (Periods of incredibly intense work contracts and life challenges can probably be identified by patterns in my posts.)

It wasn't long though that I zeroed in on my true audience, my children. It's fun to share with extended family and friends, but I know this stuff will follow my kids, possibly forever.I often think if anything ever happens to me, Vanessa and Zane will be able to look back on things I found precious or notable. There are mistakes and things I could rewrite to be better, and there are some unfinished drafts, but anytime I start to think about it more, I remember that it's not about perfection -- it's about documenting. Not getting to document everything can sometime make me a little crazy, but I try to ride the moment with grace, and I think what I do accomplish will pay off in the long run.

So really this blog, in essence, is supplemental and only one way for capturing memories for my kids. Although it is very sweet that sometimes people feel a need to comment on the blog, it's important to me they understand it's not my motivation. Of course it's always fun to hear when someone else gets excited about something my kids did in the post. I think most parents love sharing things with others interested. But I kind of like the feeling of flying under the radar with it. (A recent self-discovery assessment I took supports the idea that I have a desire to avoid attention to myself. Chazown.com) If someone happens to stumble across it or check in from time to time, I view it as if they are visiting our scrapbooks at home, which I'm always happy to share.

"Authentic Christlikeness is your behavior, not your blog. Anyone can say anything. 'By their FRUIT you'll know them' (Mt 7:20) - Rick Warren

It's also been really exciting to share moments for posting and designing with Vanessa and Zane. Vanessa begged that I take a Christmas picture at the end of November to replace the header. The moment wasn't ideal for me since I wasn't prepared to take Christmas pictures, but I wanted to capture her excitement and directing of it, so we went for it. She really liked the header. Zane said he did too.

Vanessa has been blogging at school, creating voice threads, and giving presentations using the classroom ELMO -- so I guess I've also been helping to lay a foundation for that but didn't fully realize it until recently.

This is a screenshot of the end of Vanessa's Avery contact list.

(Note: Vanessa always goes to school layered on extremely cold days. She gets to school and sheds her layers, but at least she's not just in her panties, like at home!)