Resolved... to write!

It's time for New Year's Resolutions. I actually really dislike resolutions because they are addicting to me. If I make one resolution, I have to make 10. There are always plenty of things I want to accomplish and if I start thinking about it, my list will be a mile long and who can ever keep all those? Plus, the typical resolutions are always at the top of my list... lose weight, get in shape. I don't like jumping on band wagons so even if it would be good for me to resolve to do those things, I don't want to do it because it's what everyone does. Nevertheless, here I am making New Year's resolutions. But I won't write them down here. They will remain personal, so then I don't have to feel like a failure if I don't keep all 92 of them. The only resolution I'm writing down is to actually write something on my blog this year. And look... I just kept it. Whew.

I started this blog in 2009. I always wanted to write a blog, but for much different reasons than I have now. I like to rant and rave and offer my opinions and I thought a blog would be a perfect place for that kind of an outlet. I can get in trouble with that a lot though, so I changed the purpose to be a place where we can just report on our family activities, post pictures, etc. I started with a Christmas "Yule Blog" and posted our annual Christmas letter as one of our first blog posts. God had different plans for the blog, as it suddenly became a good place to share news, prayer requests and updates regarding my brain tumor, surgery and recovery. In that way, it became a huge blessing for me and for our family. Keeping it up without a crisis has been a little more difficult. I never actually expected anyone to read the blog, but so many people read it during my surgery that I think I began to think I was actually writing it for readers, rather than just for myself and maybe the family to read. That is a lot of pressure and can really induce writers block!

So my resolution this year is to just write. It is "Adventures with the Graves", so I will write about stuff that is important to our family. When the kids get older they can read about what we read, what we did, what was important to us. Ultimately the purpose of the blog is to glorify God through our family and what I write about it. My passions are reading, homeschooling, theology, history, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our family enjoys books, riding bikes, camping, church activites and all the joys and perils of raising boys. So these may be some of the topics that I write on this blog. If I have readers (other than my mom), it will be based on God bringing them. If not, I will enjoy the process and think of it as a record of God's mercies and grace in our family as we depend on Him and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Happy New Year!