Settling into these very early stages of parenthood has made me more interested in seizing an opportunity to make writing a part of my life.  I’m kind of surprised by this development—I know I’m about to embark on a huge time and energy commitment and yet I decide to do more—but I’m hoping and praying it’s part of some larger plan that I’ll have to wait a bit longer to see.

This blog, of course, is Exhibit A of my new phenomenon.   When I started to think seriously about blogging about my experiences as a young married mom, I did a quick search to see if, or more realistically, how the same idea had already been explored.

The first link that showed up on my Google search was Confessions of a Young Married Couple at MarriageConfessions.com.  I started reading right away and fell in love with Katie, Chris, and their adorable little Bean.  Now I’ve never really followed a blog before, at least one that wasn’t work-related, but from the first post I read, I was hooked.  I was instantly thinking how much I’d like to have lunch with Katie—which is my yardstick for how effective an author/writer is.

The idea behind her blog was very similar to what I’d been considering:  Before they had their child, Katie set out to tell about a real marriage in the real world.  She was committed to sharing the ups and downs, the joys and the struggles, and she continues to do that in every post, including those about her son.  She’s full of humor and honest insight, much of which is realized as she goes, I’m sure, but a good deal of it, too is that she’s just a smart person with her priorities in order.

One of the things I love most about her blog is the chance to see someone just a few steps ahead in action and to imagine the times when our baby’s here.  As much as I’d like to think I generally live in the moment, I do like to have some perspective on what’s next, on how things might work out.  And watching this little boy grow, seeing him interact with his family, is just what I need, especially when I’m not feeling well or I’m getting discouraged.

Another thing I love about this blog is how ridiculously cute the Bean is.  Until the ultrasound we had done yesterday (post coming soon!), I was absolutely, without a doubt convinced that Bean is the cutest baby in the entire world.   I apologize; I know it’s not fair to other babies (and their parents) to say that, but get a load of this kid’s huge blue eyes, mop of hair, and fantastic facial expressions, and I don’t think you’ll try to argue.  When I’m starting to feel like it would be great if our baby were just born already, I go on Marriage Confessions and gawk at baby photos.  And there are oh, so many of them, strategically placed within stories or posted on their own with hilarious captions.

Besides the sheer good looks of her child, though, the number one thing I love about Katie’s blog is how she writes about her interactions with Beanie.  She doesn’t treat him as a baby; she treats him as his own person who happens to be a baby right now.  This is just the kind of parenting attitude I’ve been trying to instill in myself—that our baby is not just a baby, but a whole person; and not just our person, but his or her own person.  It’s very cool to see how this idea manifests itself in Katie’s parenting.  For example, she posted about Bean crying in the middle of the night.  As tired as she was, her instinct was to consider what was going on in his life, and she was able to recognize that if the same were happening to her, if she were teething, she’d be upset, too.  She was able to respond to him with compassion that I guess to some extent is natural mothering, but seems to be a bit stronger in her example.

And on top of it all, Katie writes about her beautiful relationship with her husband.  If I didn’t have such a superhero of a husband, I might be a bit envious, but fortunately I’m simply reminded more often how much I appreciate all that John does for me (for us!).  I’m blessed to have found Katie’s writing, and grateful that she and her family have been so willing to share their lives with us.  Thanks, Katie!

If you missed the link above, here it is again: www.marriageconfessions.com.  Check it out, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  But please come back here!  I have more to share.  Namely, the first sneak peeks of the Peanut via ultrasound . . .  [Note my first shameless plug to lure your back with cuteness of our child.  There’s more of that to come, I’m sure.]