A Life And Blogging Update (PLUS A Fun Giveaway!)

One of my favorite parts of working in education is that life comes in seasons.  The excitement and newness of fall  lead into a perfectly-timed break at Christmas, followed by spring break just as we start to feel weary and need a break.  Summer break is the best part because it gives us a time to recharge – to spend slow time with the people we love and soak in the long, warm summer nights.

This summer has been everything I’d hoped for.  Jordan didn’t teach summer school so he could be home with me and Caleb and our days together have been more wonderful than I could say.  We’ve done a whole lot of nothing in the best of ways and I wouldn’t trade our slow days of Netflix binging, baby snuggling, coffee drinking, house projects, and general silliness for anything.  One of our biggest goals as a couple is to go against the grain and live slow, to say no to the whirlwind of commitments and activities so we can say yes to our family and the relationships and people God has for us. And this summer, we have done just that.

I’m so grateful for this time we had together, time where we put down our computers and phones and sat on the floor with our quickly-growing little boy. These last six months (maternity leave + summer) have been a break from so many of life’s pressures and a chance to focus on the things that matter most.  Yes, it has meant that I haven’t posted as regularly on the blog or even really thought about this upcoming year at all, and that’s okay.

But with July coming to a close and August and the start of a new year rapidly approaching, my mind and my heart are starting to beat a little faster.  I’m excited to start my new life as a stay at home mom with Caleb, even though I’m nervous too (for all the reasons I listed in this post about my fears about being a stay at home mom).

I’m starting to think more about what I can do to work part-time and make a little extra income for our family.  I’m starting to think about what the rhythm of our days will look like when I’m home with Caleb on my own.  I’m starting to think again about my dreams for this blog and my writing and how I can pursue those in the months to come.

There are so many unknowns in the next year, and even though it can be scary sometimes, I am so excited to see what God will do.  I have a feeling that as we settle more into a routine, I’ll have a better idea of what this little online space will look like, but for now, here are a few of the things I’m dreaming about when it comes to my blog.

1) More House Posts: After a few crazy months in a newborn haze, I’m rediscovering my love of decorating. Envisioning projects and changes in our house is such a fun creative outlet for me and I am excited to share some of the projects we’ve been working on soon.

2) Monetizing: Like I mentioned earlier, I’m hoping to use my blog to earn a little extra income from our family.  I’d love to write an ebook or do something along those lines one day, but for now, I’m hoping to collaborate with some brands I love to create posts that are relevant to y’all and earn me a little extra cash.

3) Social Media: I love the community I’ve found on social media, especially with Facebook and Instagram, and I’m excited to jump into that more.  I want to be better about consistently posting on both of those outlets and am thinking of strategies to do that!

Stay tuned, folks! Lots of good stuff ahead and I’m excited to get to it.  But for now, I have something fun to share with you all….I’m taking part in my very first giveaway! I’d love to give something back to all of you wonderful folks who read this blog regularly and the goodies in this giveaway will be such fun ways to brighten up your homes and your workspaces!

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway, so all you have to do to enter to win all of these goodies is to complete as many tasks as you would like to from the Rafflecopter below! Each task you you follow is another entry in the giveaway, and I can tell you right now you won’t regret following any of these ladies.  They are some of my favorite writers in the blogging world and I know you’ll love seeing all that they share.

The giveaway runs from July 26th – August 3rd and the winner will be notified and announced on the Rafflecopter form by Saturday, August 6th. All entries will be verified before choosing a winner. Enter fairly!