
well anyway, my aunt has recently been digging around discovering things about our family's past. she sent this picture out the other day from the early 1900's. my grandfather is the tiny baby with curly hair. i mean, do you love the guy in the middle? wow, can we say ROUGH times? or this one of my grandmother's mother.

obviously my ganny and grandpa came from different backgrounds(i'll let you guess who had it a little more rough...ha). i can't help but want to know more about their story. but mostly, i look at that first picture and think about that "baby" who is now my 85 year old grandfather currently residing in a nursing home(remember this story?). it just paints a picture of how life passes us all by in the blink of an eye. people can know our story, or it can get lost.

i say, no more lost stories. what if you as a mom (or future mom) could give your kids a journal of your life and family that they could read over and over again and then...perhaps pass down to their kids? i have wondered lately what it would be like if my mother was a blogger back in the day. let's be honest, there were no blogs and she was absolutely too busy with 8 children to do such a crazy thing as "scrapbook". mind you, we do have lots of pictures and videos from our childhood...i just want to know more detail-ee stuff. how cool would it be to know what your mom was "in to" at your age. like,
what were her favorite recipes that year?
what the H was she wearing?
what was i doing that week that annoyed her or made her laugh?
did she have girl's weekend's?
did she cuss a little like me?
i could ask her all these questions now i guess, but with 8 kids, she doesn't remember anything from back then anyway. it's true. hence, she needed a blog to log all the craziness of having 8 kids. i'm convinced it would be a hilarious best selling book.
to help me log our life, my goal has been to blog twice a week. i often get made fun of for blogging and have been referred to as a dreaded "mommy blogger". make fun of my virtual show and tell of family, crafts, and funny stories...but i bet you'd feel bad about making fun of me for publishing my blog into a book as a memento to leave my kids. BOOYA, players. (you can go here to find out more about turning your blog into a book).

listen, at some point, i will die. it's sad to think about, but i want my kids to know my story and what i loved to do. i want layne and lila to know how ridiculous they were and how much joy they gave me as a mom. i want them to know how much i adored their dad and how much i loved Jesus. i want them to know to put a lemon in their dishwasher to make it smell fresh. so many random things i'd like to tell them that are surely all over my blog(and will of course forget about unless written down).
even if you aren't a blogger, you can publish your pictures in a cute, high quality book at www.mypublisher.com. i've ordered several books from them and i love them. or go to hotprints.com ,sign up for an account and make a book for free! no shipping, no nothing. and you can get one free book a month! i just ordered one from there to document all the fun things we did this winter...so cute. i mean, it's not a hardback and won't be super high quality, but it's free. and there are so many pictures that just sit on the computer and never get printed. might as well do something with them...think long term. it would be nice to have an album, whether cheap-o or high quality, to pass along to those children(or future kiddos) of yours.
do it.
i completely agree!! i'm not a mom, yet, but this is part of the reason i started blogging. i'm horrible at keeping a journal, but the blog has painted such an accurate picture of who i am at this point in my life. and why did mommy blogger get such a bad connotation? blog on!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I love blogging even though I'm pretty sure you are my only reader (and my dad now that he discovered it) lol I think my kids will like having a piece of me even if they think I'm weird or crazy...which would be pretty accurate since I think I'm weird and crazy.
ReplyDeleteAND I love your blog it is one of the most interesting mommy blogs I have ever read :)
first of all...sheye rosemeyer is like, one of my favorite photogs...i didn't know you like her too!
ReplyDeletesecondly, i just started a lil' blogging series about how keith and i met...how funny that you posted this today!
we are soul sisters.
oooh i luv the free stuff! thx james! oh, and don't u think that guy next to the creepy one looks like grant? I wish i knew why Ollie (grandpas mom) was the only one that looks like she "cleaned up" for the picture ... oh the stories behind pictures.
ReplyDelete1. Love the idea! I think everyone should be forced to keep a blog. The world (and future world) would be a better place.
ReplyDelete2. Thanks for the free picture book ideas.
3. Thanks for the "lemon in the dishwasher" idea
4. I really enjoy reading your blog - your recipes, crafts, funny stories. all of it. it's not just a silly mom blog. (Plus I think it's funny that we were both blog stalking each other.)
5. nothing really, just felt like 5 was a good whole number=)
Love this post. I've been inspired lately to really think about our life as a story with all the pieces that make up any good story. And I agree - blogging is a great way to "write" it.
ReplyDeletei love my blog and my blogbooks. i do it for just the same reason...for my kids to read over and over and to pass down for generations. so, haters, keep hating. my your kids will be jealous of what my kids have...a window into their childhood!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post for me today! I have been struggling this week with blogging. What to write. Why I write. Why I'm motivated.
ReplyDeletegenius! i love it. now i have a good reason to tell people why i'm spending my time blogging. thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! I don't know if Mark keeps tabs on your blog (I know my hubby doesn't) but I found your blog through my friend’s and I wanted to tell Mark HI! This is Erin Oborn (Tenney now) and Mark was a great friend of mine in High School.
ReplyDeleteYour kids are gorgeous! Tell Mark HI and to check out my fam's blog: briananderintenney.blogspot.com
thanks for encouraging me to blog again... and THANK YOU finally for my beautiful flower clip. it totally brightened my day {and my wardrobe.} i may just find a creative way to wear it everyday :). i'll have to make some too so i can change it up every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteanyway, you rock.
love, jenn
Hey thanks for the info. I have been putting my life in journals since high school, but I love the idea of pictures and a hardbound book. Yeah!
ReplyDeleteOh and love the first pic of your family...it was a rough life, ha ha
The Blurb book is the best. I made one for my mom too, and she takes it to show her friends. It's so much cheaper than scrapbooking and tells the stories even better!
ReplyDeleteKristin L sent me over here!
ReplyDeleteLoved the encouragement. And I as well found the printing blogs to books and LOVE it!
New friend here! I completely agree with the fact that blogging is a fantastic way to leave something for your children and family to remember you by -- also a great way for them to maybe learn something they never knew about you :)
ReplyDelete