Blog Tour
http://live-laugh-and-learn.blogspot.com/
Honestly, most days I’m working on keeping my kids clothed and fed! I have a preference for getting them where they need to go and picking them up generally on time, but beggars can’t be choosers! In between all of that drama, I’ve been working on getting my blog up to date. Since I’m a failure in the hands-on photo album department, my blog is as close as I’ll probably get to a visual record of our lives. Unfortunately it’s waaaayyyy behind! So it seems that I need to quit living life long enough to catch up on all of the things that I haven’t blogged about yet. So, yeah. I think for now I’ll focus on keeping my kids clothed and fed.
How does my work
differ from others of its genre?
I’d have to say the main thing is that my blog is about my
kids. I don’t believe that there is
another blog out there about my three girls! *wink* Honestly, though, there are a lot of “mommy
blogs” out there. Some people cringe at
the label, but I’m a mom and it’s my blog.
It’s about my family, my kids, and our crazy, hectic, wonderful life. I don’t have a specific agenda with my
blog. It is what it is. All of the other mom’s with blogs out there
are doing what feels right to them. None
of us has got it wrong or right.
Why do I write what I
write?
initially started my blog after we got Cadence’s
referral. I had people asking me every
day what was going on with the adoption so I thought a blog would be a great
way to get information out to people, especially when we were in China, as well
a good way to keep a record for us and for her one day. I plan to have some of my earlier posts about
our time in China put into a book format for her one day. After we came home from China I realized how
much I enjoyed writing about my girls and our lives. I followed a lot of adoption blogs and I took
comfort reading about families going through similar struggles. I like feeling connected to others and
finding ways to cope was so helpful. My
blog posts can really vary. Sometimes
it’s more of a family photo album, something that I can look at and reminisce. Occasionally I’ve used it to advocate for
someone or something that I feel very strongly about. It’s also a place to talk about our moments
of pride and moments of heartache. My
blog is also just a place to share my experiences. I am always so happy to hear that something
that I have written has touched someone or to know that they have had similar
experiences and felt a connection to me.
I like connecting. It’s one of my
favorite things about the human experience.
How does my writing
process work?
I go through phases with my writing. Sometimes I’m on there just to catch up on
the pictures and experiences that I want to have in my “album”. Other posts are inspired by a picture. I’ll take a photo and then a story forms
around it that I want to share. At times
I just need to get something out of my head.
Often it’s something that has stressed me out or made me sad and it
continuously occupies my thoughts until I get it down on “paper”. It’s these ones, though, that I usually pause
before I hit the “publish” button. Am I
sharing too much? I try to be aware of
my girls’ feeling and how it might affect them if it has to do with one of them
specifically. Sierra is old enough now
that if I write about her I always let her read it before I share. Usually though, these are the ones that
resonate with people. Knowing how I feel
when I read a blog that touches me I feel validated that it’s often the right
thing to do when I share a little out of my comfort zone. That’s when connections happen.
Coming up next week:
TheresaTheresa was introduced to me by a mutual friend when we got Cadence’s referral. Theresa and her husband brought their daughter home from China just a year earlier and she also had an unrepaired cleft lip/palate. We communicated through some emails and then followed each other on Facebook and through blogs as we discovered that Cadence and her daughter Mali were freakishly alike in so many ways! Even our extended families are connected enough that we all vacation together in the summer. Theresa’s blog is a wonderful journal to her daughter Mali that she religiously writes every week. She shares their experiences together and the highs and lows of both motherhood and adoption.
Megan
Megan and I have been friends many, many years. We started out in playgroups together and have watched our children grow. Her blog tells stories through pictures. Megan is an amazing photographer. Her photos are so beautiful it "almost" makes me want another baby just so that she can take their pictures! She started her business about four years ago. I remember when she got her first DSLR and how intimidated she was by it. It has been awesome to watch her grow as a photographer. She touches peoples lives through her pictures.
