Putting On My Big-Girl Pants...

I often find that I'm getting ahead of myself... My thoughts and ideas and plans move faster than real life. I can get a bit extreme. For example, when I thought about starting to write, in my head I moved from Instagram/Facebook posts to an exploding blog to thousands of followers to a book deal, all in the span of a few months. Ha. EXTREME. I've returned to the place where I am writing for myself and if others are encouraged in the process, then great! But I am taking the pressure off. If my writing stays between me and just a few of you, that is ok! If nothing else, I've got these two super fans spurring me on... ;-)

That said, I am open to more people reading my words. Honestly, this makes me a bit nervous... I've mentioned I'm somewhat scared of the internet, so this is a big step. But I'm trusting that there are ears that need to hear, so I'm going to speak a little louder, if you will. I've set up a Facebook page for my blog. Here it is! This is so that people can more easily follow along without having to personally know me or one of my people. Plus, it can be shared more simply and openly. Again, tempted to start biting my nails and stress-eat all the graham crackers and gummy bears... But I'm putting on my big-girl pants and going for it. I've been so inspired and encouraged by a few others who were brave enough to speak to a wider audience, so I'm taking the plunge myself. 

I'm going to start by way of one of my love languages: giving gifts! It's one of my most favorite things to do, so I've gathered together a few of my other most favorite things to share with one of you lucky people. I'm doing my first giveaway! I, personally, don't love when bloggers do giveaways by making readers 'like' and share a million things a million different places.. I get why they do it, but I'm just not techy enough to figure out how to do all of the things! So I'm going to make this really simple... 'Like' my Grace and Graham Crackers Facebook page. Right here! That's all you have to do, and I'll put your name in the hat. (Yeah, we are not sophisticated enough yet to use a fancy online drawing generator... The good old names-in-a-hat trick will have to do!) Plus by following the Facebook page, you'll be the first to find out when I post to the blog and I may just do more giveaways because I LOVE GIVING GIFTS!!! This will also be an easier way to share the blog with others, if you feel so inclined. 

So, here's what one lucky follower will get:

- Weekly planner: I love these! It's a simple pad of paper making it easy to plan out my week. Meals, reminders, plans... It can all go right on there and they tear off making it easy to post the week on the fridge. And they are cute. Thank you, Target Dollar Spot!

- Grateful notecards: I also love these. They can be used as Thank You notes or as a sweet way to let someone know how grateful you are for them. Also, Target Dollar Spot. 

- Gretta's Goats soap: My parents gave me a bunch of this goat milk soap for my birthday and I LOVE it. So I'm sharing a sample because the world needs to know about Gretta and her goats and their soap. 

- Peppermint and Wild Orange Lip Balm: This is my fav lip balm. It smells amazing and works great! And it's made with essential oils, so WIN. 

- The Lotion Company hand lotion: This is a local company here in Muncie that makes some amazing products. Very popular with the residents and sold at the hospital. 

Thanks for all of the ways that you all have encouraged and pushed me to keep this up. You have all been so kind with your comments and messages and I'm so thankful for the connections that have been made just by you reading the things that I've written. I'm so excited about the possibility to reach more people with some encouraging words. So, 'Like' away, my friends! I'll pick a winner sometime early next week and mail this fun little care package out to one of you pronto! ;-)

Sarah

Stress-Inducing Risks

We had dinner at the hospital again. And every single time someone walked past us, Lyla shouted "Hello people!" while waving as big as she possibly could. At first I tried to quiet her down, thinking people would be annoyed or someone might be offended when she hollered "Hello man" and they were a woman... But then I realized those "hello"s and waves and smiles were needed. The risk of annoying a person was outweighed by the potential to encourage and brighten someone's day.

Things have been quiet on here recently, and I've been trying to figure out why I haven't had much to say. I keep sitting down to write, but stopping before I even get started. I keep taking pictures, hoping to find some inspiration but... nothing. I've looked back at past things I've written, hoping for some drive but... nothing. And this afternoon I realized my issue. I've got that all-too-familiar anxiety creeping back up... I know it well... That feeling in my gut and my throat that nags at my soul and tells me that I'm doing all of the things wrong. That I'm not patient enough. That my house is too messy. That I'm not as eloquent a writer as so-and-so and that I don't have the same photography skills as them. That I will regret some of the things I write. That someone will judge me harshly. That I'll share too much. That I'll share too little. That I'll be misunderstood. That my blog won't go anywhere and no one will read it. That my blog will explode and strangers everywhere will read it. I'm noticing that many of these fears make every possible scenario into a lose-lose situation. Not cool. 

Perhaps I need to consider risk vs. reward with my writing, just like with Lyla's loud, cheerful greetings. I might annoy someone with a post now and then. Someone else might be offended by something I say. I might not have the same exact gifting as everyone else. I may have to apologize for being insensitive or for not considering everyone's feelings. I'm not going to be able to please every single person with every single post... And that stresses this people-pleaser out just a little... But what if my words are just what one other person needed to hear.. What if someone else is encouraged by my honesty or my struggle.. What if my gifts are enough.. What if someone else is able to say "me too" after reading my thoughts, just like I've been able to after reading others'.. What if I'm just able to process my life better by writing and working through everyday struggles in a healthy way..  The stress-incuding risks will always be there, but so will the potential rewards and I'm pretty sure those will always win out. 

So, I'm not done. I'm going to keep trusting that the rewards will outweigh the risks. I'll be back, hopefully this week, with a little snippet of exciting blog news and a give-away because I LOVE giving gifts and it seems like a good thing to do when I'm struggling a bit for words. Thanks for showing up and for showing grace... There's enough for all of us. 

Sarah

Welcome!

The other day I woke up with the husband's alarm at 5:15. Usually I go back to sleep. But this morning was different. I laid in bed, checked the news, had a thought and wrote... Before doing anything else with my day. I wrote. The rest of the day was profoundly better than most. Nothing particularly unique or fantastic about it. I just had a clearer head... An unusual motivation to do the sink-ful of dishes... To pull out the massive roll of craft paper, paints, crayons, markers and stickers and let the mess happen. For the first time in weeks I didn't go back to bed to take my own afternoon nap but instead sat in the sun and read. I still skipped a shower and wore my yoga pants that have yet to do any actual yoga, but my heart and head were right... From the early morning on. This is what I need to do every. single. day. (Or at least most...)

For years people have told me to write. Mainly just three people... My mom. My husband. And my best friend. They know me all too well. This is how I process best. Over the last four years I did very little writing. And they were four pretty hard years. So, here I am. Hoping to make the next four a little better. And hoping to share my heart with the world. A little bit at a time. I truly think most of my thoughts and words have been shared already, which is why I didn’t do this for so long… ANOTHER BLOG?? Do we really need ANOTHER MOM BLOG?? But maybe, just maybe, there’s one person out there that needs to hear what I have to say. I’ve been that one person. I’ve been over-the-top grateful that others have risked opening their mouths and saying the words I needed to hear. So, now it’s my turn. This is mostly for me, but it's also for you... Anyone who needs to hear a few encouraging words from this real-life mama.

Can I be honest with you for a moment? This. Is. Terrifying. For multiple reasons. One, I’m pretty scared of the internet. It’s a mostly healthy fear and usually it keeps me from doing stuff like this. But my passion and hope to make the world (including the internet) a better place is outweighing my fear. Two, anytime you share thoughts and opinions chances are that someone will disagree and WILL LET YOU KNOW IT. This freaks me out. I cannot stress enough how much I do not like confrontation. But, again, my vision is somehow outweighing my anxiety. Still, please be kind, internet-world!

So, welcome to my little corner. Stay a while, if you like. Or just grab a quick ‘bite’ between midnight feedings and diaper changes. You will not find perfection in this blog. We do "real life" here, just like in our home. Things are not always spotless and perfect. Pictures get blurry, toddlers cranky and mama often reaches the end of her rope. Maybe you can relate. Much grace is needed on a daily basis. And you'll find plenty of it here.

Sarah