I’m Sorry!

To all three of my devoted readers – I feel so horrible that it has been SO long since my last post. I’ve kept this blog up religiously for the last five years or so, with updates about every two weeks. It has been the only decent journal I have ever kept in my life. And one that I know I will treasure years down the road. Which is why I refuse to give up. Even though it is pretty tempting at times.

Here are my excuses for not blogging as of late:

1. I was called as Primary President. Of about 90 kids. On Mother’s Day. With a 4 month old baby on my lap. Of a ward that was just split and basically had to be completely restaffed. Let’s just say it was a wee bit stressful for awhile.
2. Summer. The kids are home EVERY DAY. ALL OF THEM. It is all I can do to keep piles of sticky food off the floor and clean underwear in their drawers. For all you home schooler moms out there – seriously – HOW do you do it? I salute you (and also wonder slightly about your sanity). Nine days and counting till school starts.
3. Vacations and family reunions. Of every shape, name, and sort. More on those later.
4. Reminder: I have FOUR kids. Between the ages of 7 months and 8 years old. Maybe I’m just lazy, but really – isn’t that excuse enough??

Now, here are the reasons why I am bent on continuing to blog:

1. I like to write. No, I love to write. Have since I was a little kid. My mom still brags about all the awards I won for it in elementary school. Ha. It’s true. I remember winning tickets to Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, and winning the essay competition DARE sponsored, and also the essay competition for reading at 6th grade promotion. Ohhh yeah. It’s a passion I carried through high school and college too. I graduated cum laude with an English degree from BYU, where professors asked me if I would try pursuing a masters, Phd, publish? I was even offered a job writing for a big marketing company in San Diego based solely on a talk I gave in church. (I took it. It was awesome.)
   

   *Toot* Toot* goes my own horn. My point here is not to brag. Well – ok it sounds like bragging a little. I’m ok with that. 🙂 My point is that I feel like writing is one of the things I was born able to DO. Ya know? I’m not super crafty or domestic. I’m not great at sports. But I can write a MEAN interpretive essay on Faulkner. Or a funny, touching memoir about me and my little brother.

   
   

   Obviously this blog is not literary greatness. Or even grammatically correct. 🙂 But I feel like at least it gets me WRITING. Something. Which is an escape for me. And something that I take a lot of satisfaction in. Maybe one day when my life is a little less hectic, I’ll be able to sit down and pound out a few best sellers.

   
   

   (For the record – Brent is a great writer too. Did you see Jake’s dinosaur book? It’s in the genes.)
   

2. Even though blogging is so 2008 (aka 2000 and late) – I still love to read the few blogs of my friends/family who keep it up. It’s a great way to feel close to people that are far away. Everyone is so busy Facebooking, Tweeting, Instagramming, Pinning, and Spotifying… nobody has time to blog anymore! Which is a shame. If you are a former blogger – come back! You’ll never be sad that you did.
3. My little family is growing so fast. My kids are going to be 27, like tomorrow. I know if I don’t write down our funny stories, and post our cute pictures and videos, they will be lost to the depths of Nefer-Neferland. And how sad is that? I never want to forget finding out that Danny thought “grilled” cheese sandwiches were in fact “GIRL” cheese sandwiches. Or how Lindsay calls Danny “Nanny”, and Sleeping Beauty “Slip Booty”. It’s the little things.
4. Journals are priceless. This may seem morbid – but when I am dead and gone one day – this blog will preserve my voice. I was re-reading through my late sister-in-law Kaci’s blog a few months ago, and it was such a treat to hear her bubbly and fun personality again through her writing. I may not be able to leave much behind for my kids or grandkids, but I can at least leave this.

And that my friends is my repentant letter and promise to do better.

Get ready for funny stories, summer recaps, and lots of pictures. SOON.