The Importance of a History

Today, while I was doing laundry, I was thinking about my blog (remember, artist ... not crazy person). I was curious how I blogged about Aaron when he was born... and how it compared to Audrey. So, taking a break from laundry (let's be honest, a Lady can only do so much laundry in one sitting) I sat down to read my blog. Very narcissistic, I know. But man, was it fun! I loved seeing all the things we did (meeting Mater and putting my child in the fridge as a few examples...)!

What a blessing it is to have this blog! I have kept record of so many events and have posted so many pictures. It is fun to see how the blog has evolved. I started it because 1. Some of my sisters-in-law kept blogs and 2. I had downtime at work where I still needed to be there and the girl beside me blogged during that time. Now, I create many more posts and am always surprised by just how many people read my blog! When I first started, I struggled to come up with things to blog about - and now I can't seem to tear myself away from the blog! I love that through this technological medium I can stay current with the lives of people who have moved away and they can stay current with mine! In 2011, we lost all of our pictures from that year off the computer. I sobbed and cried for a long time until I realized that I had documented the best of them and could download them again!

I am so excited to print my blog and continue printing it so we have a record on our shelf that we can pull off and show our children. I love that we will be able to show them how much we loved them when they were small and how much we still love them as they grow! While they won't have memory of the things we do now, they will be able to see all the fun activities we helped them participate in and how much they enjoyed (or perhaps didn't enjoy) them.

This is my journal/scrapbook combined and I love having a place to put my thoughts and experiences - even if no one read them right now ... simply so I and my children can go back and read them later. I have a written journal for more deep and personal spiritual experiences, but I love having this public one as well - I see it as a tool to share the gospel as well as keep a record of my history!

"Keeping records is essential to building spirituality in our homes. Records of spiritual experiences provide a way to keep track of the Lord's blessings and allow our posterity to know those blessings. In short, records provide a rich pool of spiritual experiences on which family members will draw for generations to come." ~President Kimball

I guess I don't really have a point to this post ... haha ... except to encourage all who do not have a form of writing their history to find what works for them! It doesn't have to be public... it can be private. However you do it, make sure you go back through it! See all the ways you have been blessed. Look back at your trials and see how the Lord has blessed you through them!

Right now, I feel like my life is amazing. I feel like I don't have any ridiculously hard trials (I know, tempting fate, right?) and so this is the time to build up my faith so that when I do get slammed again as life always does, I will be ready. I need to have record of my testimony, of the things I have learned in General Conference, of the amazing times I have shared with my family ... and I need to be able to access them. Our memories are faulty - I can't seem to make it to the doctor's office without forgetting something (like a diaper for Audrey *facepalm*) let alone remember an experience I had last year or even 10 years ago!

Some people scrapbook, others write in journals ... and as for me - I blog!