Blogging Friends; the unexpected benefits of a blog.

I started this little old blog a little over a year ago merely with the intention of sharing my life with my friends and family. It sort of all started with Facebook. I had been trying for DAYS to get some photos of my kids loaded up for grandparents to see and it just wasn't working.

I thought to myself, "This is crazy! There has to be an easier way. Hey, why don't I try starting one of those blog things?"

I'd read a few blogs like Pioneer Woman and Chickens in the Road and I knew a few friends who kept blogs about the happenings of their families. I could do one, sure! All I wanted was a place for my family to see what my kids and I had been up to.

And my blog has done it's job. My mom and grandma both read my blog practically everyday. Then I found my sisters and cousins keep up on my blog too. Without my blog it would be months or years between times I see or talk to some of my relatives and let them know what we were up to.

My blog has been a place for me to share some of my interests and creativity as well. I probably wouldn't take nearly the photographs that I do if I didn't have a blog to share them through.

One of the most surprising benefits of having a blog has been some of the 'blog friends' I've made. I have people following and commenting on my blog whom I've never even met and in turn I've started following and commenting on some of their blogs. In the process I've come to really enjoy hearing and caring about the lives of these women.

First, there's Lana who is Walking the off-beaten path. I've actually met Lana but I bet she doesn't remember it! Lana lives back in Indiana and she is an acquaintance of my sister's. For years my sister kept going on about what a fabulous mother Lana is and how we would have so much in common (we were both teachers in a former life) and we really should meet one another. Well, my sister introduced me to Lana in the middle of the county fair one summer. After a bit of chit chat I had to run off to chase a toddler and Lana had to return to the Farm Bureau booth she was manning. I never met her again but shortly after coming to Kansas my sister passed on her blog to me. And boy do I wish I'd gotten to know Lana in person. She's a spunky farmer's wife who's not only busy with the farm life of raising crops and cattle but is raising two girls and continually promoting agriculture in her area. I admit though my favorite part of Lana's blog is the pictures of her farm that she shares. They make me feel just a bit less homesick for the Hoosier State.

Abby is a blogger friend I met through her blog, They Lend Me Their Hearts. (She's the very front nun!) There are days I feel like Abby and I must be living very similar lives although she's in the frozen north...Minnesota. She's a stay at home mom but runs a day care/preschool from her home. Isn't she brave? Abby posts a lot of what really is important in her life and her thoughts in the moment. She has three young kids like I do and shares a lot of her kids' shenanigans. Her blog cracks me up because a lot of days we seem to be having the same mom issues. Temper tantrums, coffee addictions, getting the perfect Christmas Card photo, you know...those kinds of issues! One of my favorite group of posts from Abby was when she chronicled her part in her community theatre's Sound of Music performance. It's really great to see another stressed and frazzled stay at home mom take the time to do something for herself and nurture her own interests. Abby you make me want to be more like you!

My blogger friend I would most like to meet in person would have to be Amy. Amy's Assorted Adventures chronicles her honest to goodness adventures as she and her family are managing an orphanage in Zambia, Africa. She posts about her own kids, new babies who are brought to them, their animals, their adventures traveling for groceries 2 hours one way every week and their adventures traveling back to Texas once a year. Amy has literally lived around the world and she holds me riveted with every one of her posts. Most of her stories make me laugh but some have made me cry. The most disturbing part of her blog however is the list at the top of her homepage of things that have bitten her husband, Tom. Seriously, the first time I read that list I had to Google half those critters to see what they were! Now I pray for Tom everyday that he isn't bitten by anything else. Stay safe Tom! Amy has to be one of the loving patient women on the planet. She seems to handle every 'adventure' with a great deal of grace. Maybe if I read her blog long enough some of that poise may rub off on me.

When I started my blog I never expected to connect with such interesting and vibrant women. These ladies have inspired and taught me. They've made me smile and cry and laugh in ways I had never expected. What a great benefit of blogging! If I'm really lucky, one of these days I'll get the chance to give these ladies a big Thank You Hug! I'm so glad I've 'met' you, you wonderful women!