a blog mission statement

I've been thinking about my dear old blog lately, and what I like/don't like about it. Maybe I first started thinking about it because I read a few posts on other blogs about the purpose of blogging, blog tips, etc. So I began to wonder, why do I blog, and what do I want my blog to be like? And because I am that big of a nerd, I came up with a simple little three-part "blog mission statement" for my small corner of the world wide web:

The purpose of my blog is to remember the good times, to share ideas, and to enjoy writing. 

It's really that simple. I started this glimpse into my life almost 4 years ago, when I was pregnant with Noah. At the time I honestly hadn't read many other blogs or really even knew what this whole blogging thing was all about, but I knew a few people who had started these online family scrapbooks once they had kids and I thought it was a good idea. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and 4 years later I'm still on it. I really enjoy blogging for so many different reasons. Writing that "mission statement" is really just me being silly, but it does answer the question why do I blog?

I blog to remember the good times.

During my regular blogstalking adventures, I keep seeing people implore us all to "keep it real" on our blogs. Now, I think that different people may have different definitions for that statement. I'm all about not pretending to be someone you are not or making it a goal to show people that you have a perfect little life. However, if by asking me to "keep it real", you are asking me to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of my life on here--well, sorry. Not gonna happen. The number one reason that I blog is to document these precious days with my family. One day I plan to print this puppy out in yearly books that I can treasure forever, and in the future when my kids are grown up and going down memory lane, I doubt that they want to read the details of the stomach bug that they had at age 3 or the big argument that their mom and dad got into back in 2009. On top of that, though the main goal of my blog is to document memories for myself, I know that many others are out there reading it. (which, of course, is also part of the point. I love reading other family's blogs and I think it's fun to give each other these glimpses into our lives). But anyway, I honestly have no desire to share the nitty gritty of my life with friends and strangers on the Internet. Sure, there have been times that I've fired off a post about frustrating toddler behavior or a series of illnesses that our family has been dealing with, but Negative Nelly posts like that aren't my favorite and will never be the norm around here. I'm not trying to put up any false pretenses about a perfect little life--I am a normal person who has bad days and gets into arguments with her husband and gets frustrated with her kids. You're just not going to read about it too often on here. It's much more fun for me to share about our fun trip to the zoo or Sam's first steps (it finally happened!) or the funny thing that Noah said last week. Those are the things that I will treasure and want to remember. 

I blog to share ideas.

This actually applies even more to why I read blogs. I love to find fun new craft ideas, recipes, fashion advice, decorating tips, etc. from other "real people" out there on their blogs. (and now that I have Pinterest for that, I think my head just might explode). I'm not the craftiest person, the best cook or the biggest fashionista, but I do enjoy sharing ideas when I have them. That's why I started trying to post recipes each week (I really need to get back on that) and why I usually share my favorite crafts that I've done with Noah. I also plan to start sharing things that I have "pinned" and then actually done. It's just good fun. 

I blog for the love of writing. 

I really love writing. Back on the topic of things I am not best at--I am certainly not the best writer. But it's something that I enjoy doing. For a long time as a kid/teenager/college student  I always said that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, and for awhile there I was sort of on that path in some capacity. For now I'm perfectly happy being a mom (plus so much more, by the way. Let's not sell ourselves short, stay-at-home mommies. Okay off my soapbox) But I am grateful that I have my blog as a creative outlet for writing, and I do plan on using it that way more often. I've written some posts before just for the sake of writing about a particular topic, but honestly a lot of times I give up in the middle or I stop short of actually posting them because I start to think, "who actually wants to read this?" or "won't people think I'm a weirdo for writing this random post?" Well, no more! I like to write and I have the perfect place right here to do so. 

So there you go. I guess my blog now has a purpose moving forward. I hope you will enjoy reading it, but if not, that's okay, because I will enjoy writing it! 

One more thing about blogging--as I said, I love reading other blogs and like a lot of people, I read some blogs of people that I don't know from Adam. Though I like to comment on my friends' blogs I rarely comment on those "random blogs" because I don't know how people would feel about that or if they would think I was a crazy blogstalker. It doesn't bother me if I don't have comments on my posts, but getting comments is fun too, and I don't mind getting them from other bloggers that I don't know. All that to say, if you ever want to comment, feel free!

PS. Computer is still being resuscitated. Right now it's touch-and-go, and we may have to lay hands on it in prayer. Therefore, a picture-less post.