What is Your Why

“What’s Abigail doing?”

“She’s at home blogging,” says my husband Jeremy.

“What?”

“BLOGGING.”

“What!?”

“SHE IS BLOGGING!”

“I can hear you. I know what you are saying. But I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Guys, this is a legitimate conversation my husband had with his dad while golfing a couple of weeks ago. I would apologize for calling him out (sorry Frank), but I know he isn’t reading my blog. I mean clearly, he doesn’t even know what blogging is. I am not pointing this out to publicly make fun of my relatives, I am saying this to emphasize how few people might understand what exactly I have going on here.

I grew up, and currently live, in a town of a little over 1,000 people in the very center of Middle America. Blogging isn’t something a ton of people are doing. In fact it has been extremely difficult for me to connect with other Nebraska bloggers because, as far as I know, there isn’t really an active Nebraska bloggers group (keep reading for info about Blog Nebraska- a group I am starting to try to connect). But more than connecting with other bloggers, it has been difficult for me to explain to people what a blog is and why in the heck I am investing my time creating one.

So here it is people. Here is my WHY.

I am a Journalist. I have my degree in Journalism- Public Relations/Advertising from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I majored in Journalism. . I wrote for my college newspaper and also a newspaper back home at a larger publication for a town of a little over 25,000. I participated in The Fund for American studies (TFAS) Institute on Political Journalism program at Georgetown University in D.C. One of my jobs after graduation was as a Sports Editor at a local newspaper. I have also been featured in Darling Magazine in my articles Be A Spy Of Beauty and Respect What You Live In.  So by education and trade- I consider myself a Journalist.

Graduation from The University of Nebraska at Omaha with my bachelor's degree in Journalism

I LOVE to write, take photos, and create content pages. I love the written word. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. After having kids I realized that I hadn’t read a book in an embarrassing amount of time. And as far as writing goes, if it wasn’t something work related, I wasn’t writing. This hurt my heart. Writing has been a creative outlet for me my entire life, and to completely stop doing something you love is always difficult. Also, when I would write- I would tell my family, “Hey I wrote an article about XYZ.” And they would ask, “For what?” “Well for nothing really….just myself I guess.” I literally would write articles, for absolutely nobody to read. So this blog is something I do because it makes me happy. Some people like to cook, others like to play cards, I like to blog.

A bi-product of doing this thing called blogging that makes me happy for numerous reasons, is it is a great way to document this amazing time in my life. We hear it every day and experience it to be true- kids grow up too fast. Amen. I truly don’t know where the last 3 ½ years have gone. My stepmother said something to me this winter while she was staying at my house that really stuck with me. She said “raising my two boys, when they were little like Brecken and Annabelle, was the absolute best time in my life.” Once you become a mom, you are always a mom, but your journey changes as the children grow. I was a mama to newborns, and now toddlers and then it will transition to kids and teenagers and adults. And I’m sure I will find joy in different aspects of the transitions. But, in the event my stepmother is correct :) I want to take in as much of this time as I possibly can. Some people are really great at scrapbooking, I hope to use my blog as a memory book for Brecken and Annabelle.

NOT Reasons I Am Blogging

I am not trying to become famous. I’m not trying to make a million dollars. I am not trying to have 100k followers. I don’t think I am any more interesting than my neighbors or friends. I don’t want you to think that I am more interesting than your neighbors or your friends. I am not trying to pretend to be perfect. I am not blogging instead of taking care of my children or spending quality time with them. This is a big one for me because I don’t want people to think, “Oh poor Brecken and Annabelle. Their mom must be bored and have nothing to do as a stay at home mom so she sits on social media and blogs all day.” It is currently 11:57 on a Tuesday night people. Brecken and Annabelle are sound asleep and I am trying to hammer out some content because I haven’t posted in 5 days. I typically work on blogging early in the morning, during naptime, and late at night.

I currently make no money blogging. I haven’t monetized my site because I want to really create a clean space right now in order for people to want to read my content and return to read again. Someday I may put advertising on my site because gosh if I am spending time doing this, and money can be made, I would kind of be silly not to. We will just see where God leads this.

There is a community of people who blog, specifically mommy bloggers. Becoming a “mommy blogger” has been a huge blessing in my life because I have been introduced to a culture of women online who encourage each other and are currently walking through similar stages. Some of us are stay at home moms, some of us are working moms, it doesn’t really matter. We are all just loving our kids, and creating content.

If you have questions regarding my blog or my social media platforms, feel free to email me, or, if you run into me in the grocery store, feel free to ask. I know a lot of my family and friends connect with my blog via Facebook. If you also have Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest make sure to look me up under Acreage of Grace. You can also subscribe to my blog and posts will be sent directly to your email. The subscribe box is on the right hand side of this page. Also, PLEASE comment on my blog so I know people are out there reading :) I appreciate the Facebook comments, but would love it also if you could comment on my actual blog.

I really appreciate the support I have received from my family, friends and other bloggers regarding Acreage of Grace. Thank you so very much!

**Are you a Nebraska blogger looking to connect with other Nebraska bloggers? I started a closed Facebook group called BLOG NEBRASKA. Please join the page and encourage your other Nebraska blogger friends to do the same! Also, use the hashtag #blognebraska in order for us all to find each other :)