Why I Blog

As I've considered sharing my blog lately, I have examined my reasoning for blogging.  I think it's relevant to document as a reminder for myself if I get tired of it, or the focus shifts or others who read it are confused by this public outpouring of our private life.

In order of priority, here is why I'm blogging:

1. To Remember:  I realize how quickly our lives pass us and I want an accessible documentation for Chris and I and our kids to see who we were, how we lived at a given time.  I want to remember good and bad times for what they were in the raw moment.

2. Deane's ASD (Autism Spectrum Diagnosis):  2011 has been the hardest year of my life (I recognize my life is easy compared to so many people in the world; just talking about my experience.) and as we come to terms with the challenges we all will face with/for Deane, I want to keep track of his progress, our struggles, and our successes.  I think this information could be useful to other autism moms out there (im no expert) and to those who care about us in understanding this process and understanding Deane.  My son is a rockstar and if you read my blog, you'll see why.

3. Creative Outlet:  When I began staying home earlier this year, I threw myself into a lot of creative outlets that I had only dabbled in throughout my 30 years.  I LOVE mom blogs, craft blogs, etc. and I want to participate in this technology driven community that is celebrating good old fashioned ingenuity, being thrifty through upcylcing and reuse, and supporting each other through the day to day challenges of being a mom and wife.

4. Encouragement: Autism diagnosis and becoming a stay at home mom have been very isolating for me.  Sharing our life in this form might just be the boost we need on a given day. 

5. Monetizing:  A distant last on my list at this point is monetizing the blog.  I know this will be part of the plan and I hope that it will help to supplement our family income in the future and assist with unexpected expenses that have become our norm.
So, that's my story....I think I'm very close to sharing this.  I have big dreams for my blog, but I plan to take it slowly because that's one of the many realizations of our new lifestyle...God has a plan for us far beyond what we can imagine.