With grace, intention, and a deep breath

I have been blogging for 13 years! I am proud of all I have written and shared on my personal family blog – it has been such a beautiful way to connect with family and friends, meet and build friendships with blogging friends, and find myself as a writer. In all the honesty, my personal family blog was meant to be a place that someday I hope our kids will find themselves sifting through the notes and memories when they are adults.

There were a few times through my blogging experience that I had incredible success – in terms of the internet that is. I wrote posts that resonated with people. I had posts hit millions of views, thousands of people reach out to me with kind words and requests for repost. But no major writing deal appeared out of thin air, no massive amounts of money poured in. I just kept writing and doing my thing, because at the end of the day I am first a mom of six kids and then also lots of other things in my real life: a wife, a teacher, a sister, daughter, friend, non-profit board member, a youth league volunteer coach. My real life was happening and I was documenting it and writing about my reflections on my blog.

But all along there was also this nagging in the bottom of my heart. I’d see pin after pin about these people quitting their jobs to write on their blog full time because it was making THAT MUCH MONEY. I was wanting to help other parents raise their kids with the tips and tricks I have learned over my years as a parent, and as a reader – but my blog wasn’t the platform that was really reaching the masses. Every time I read another article about a successful blogger talk about how important content is – I ended up feeling frustrated thinking – but I have the content! I just don’t want to be like all those other blogs with the pretty formats, fancy landing pages, and never ending How To posts. Ugh, it all seems so phony and commercialized. My soul does not sit well with that, so for a long time I just kept trying to believe that if you have the content; if you are good – it will happen.

And then we got to the point in our life that, ya know what? We need the money. Just brutal honesty for that. I stayed home from teaching this year because we had two babies during the pandemic (!) and daycare would cost about my teaching salary. So I took a year of leave and have been home with our three littlest, babysitting my nephew, and at home before and after school for the big kids who go to public school. It has been hard and exhausting, but most of all it has been life affirming and filled with love and squishy baby cheeks to kiss. And we were doing okay financially because we live within our means and had some savings (and thank goodness for those Pandemic tax credit payments!) But we’ve made it to the point now that we cut cable, we slashed through any subscription services, we are looking at our grocery budget with a tight critical eye…like, maybe we can’t buy meat this week to make budget.

So, I start pinsearching “How to afford a one-income family.” Examples include things like: meal plan and don’t eat out (we do that), cut cable (done), stop spending money on clothes and jewelry (not even a thing we do – thank you handmedowns!) find a side hustle like blogging for money…..UM HELLO.

And it kept feeling like a smack in the face….

…Until I realized it was the universe shouting into my face, “No, you precious, clueless dummy, START A BLOG to make money!!”

So that’s what I’m doing here. I am curating my content about parenting and raising kids intentionally, with integrity, and grace (for yourself and for them). I have the content, but I need a space that is set up in all the monetized ways that I really don’t care about, but also my family needs. My skills are writing and parenting and reflecting, and I am grounded in my soul to not sell out, but to share those skills with you in a way that I can also support my family. It’s so we can buy the meat at the grocery store this week (LOL).

My personal family blog is for my kids and I will continue writing there about our regular life and days together while they live in our house.

But this blog is for you; the mommas and daddas who need help raising up kids in this world we never could have imagined a few years ago. Parents who are exhausted and scared and worried but really want to try to do this parenting thing as right as possible. Who want to raise up kids who with intention, integrity, and grace. Who want their kids to grow up knowing how to live with intention, integrity, and grace themselves.

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