My blog has always ebbed and flowed with life and the growth of social media. The last few years, however, the ebb has been more often than not.
It has to do with my kids a bit—as they get older, the stories I used to tell about them are kinda not mine to tell. I wonder if my daughter would like this conversation retold for others to hear. I wonder if my son would think this picture is as cute as I do.
It also has to do with homeschooling. Our curriculum and school leads us to what we are studying so I’m sometimes bound (and usually in a good way) to what we’re studying.
There’s also this thing of my-kids-are-getting-older-and-I’ve-already-written-about-this-a-billion-times. We’ve gotten into the phase of life that things start to be traditions and not brand new.
I say all this to say, I can’t (like CAN’T EVEN) write about the minutia of our day because we’re just in a different phase of life. I thought that when the kids were older I’d have more time and stuff to write about. Now, it’s a new kind of busyness that requires long conversations and slower walks through books and life-lessons.
I’m also noticing something else about myself. I’m sorta quiet. I don’t like self-promotion. Back in the bloggy day, it was less self-promotion and more connection. Now, it’s all that Pinterest-worthy stuff I’m not good at.
Therefore, writing again about garden books, or again about Lydia’s trip to camp or again about my favorite Christmas books seems more about me getting traffic, clicks or comments. I honestly don’t want to add to the noise of your online life.
Wow. Am I grumpy blogger or what??
This was supposed to be a happy post about my new and improved website and a little this-is-where-we’re-going conversation. So, let’s just record scratch jump to that, ok?
HOW GREAT DOES MY WEBSITE LOOK? IS IT THE CUTEST THING OR WHAT??
Karla from Archer Creative designed it (and did my Truth in the Tinsel site) and I love it. I told her I wanted this blog to be a little toolbox for parents. I have a ton of great content (if I do say so myself!) and I want people to be able to find it.
Now, it’s all spiffied up, organized into just a few categories and is laid out so much clearer and easier. Wanna go on a little tour?
If you don’t wanna hear my sultry tones for 2 minutes, the important part is that you can view the whole blog—all 9 3/4 years of it—by category.
Just click TOPIC above to see all the…er, topics.
Or on an individual post you can click the topic title to see more from that category.
And each category has it’s own sweet description and popular posts. It’s so organized that the rest of my house is jealous!
So, whaddya think? Pretty nifty, huh? I’ve still got a few (dozen) posts to categorize but I’m working on it!
I hope this is a place you can use as a tool box, look at as a treasure chest and enjoy along the way. I pray you and your kids will draw closer to God and His Word because of the posts life on this blog. I’m so thankful you stick around and listen and share and use the ideas on this blog–I’m honored!
Even if I’m not updating daily life here, you know you can find that kinda stuff on Instagram. And I’m always linking to great resources and posts on Facebook. (I’ve even done a few Facebook Live videos that were pretty fun!) So, make sure you’re locked in there so we don’t lose track of each other!
OK. That’s all. For real. Have fun storming the castle!
Ky says
I love your new website.. and loved the old one to. Even more i loved hearing about the new place your at… because were right there to. Changing and growing and still intetested in the life of OhAmanda!
ohAmanda says
Thanks, friend! I appreciate you! 🙂
Becky Daye says
I love it, Amanda!! You are one of my favorites and I am so grateful for your faithfulness to all God calls you to do!!
oh amanda says
Becky!! You are the best!! Thank you for always being so encouraging. Love you, friend!
a
Dawn says
Not sure when you posted this announcement, so sorry if this is uber belated, but just wanted to let you know that I love your blog. I have little kids and your older posts are meaningful to me, as is what you wrote above – a taste of where we’re going. An example of how your blog has had an impact…We did God’s Little Explorers in 2014 with my oldest, per your recommendation and God used it to lead us down beautiful paths I couldn’t have imagined. I’m about to start GLE again with our youngest & can’t wait. I don’t follow blogs often but I check in on yours every few months simply for refreshment and really good ideas on how to keep prayer and Bible more central in our family. Thanks!
Narelle says
So agree with the last comment-don’t want to lose the gold God has put here as my kids reach the same age as yours in the older posts