- i'm back -

I took my blog down for a couple days to do some soul searching, and to make some tough decisions...specifically regarding my blog. It seemed a little early to already be reconsidering my blog (it's only been up for one month!), but this week, two people we know have had some blog scares. One friend had her entire blog stolen and copied. Someone was using a copy of her blog to make money off of sponsors. The other family had an even scarier situation. They actually had a stranger try to pick up their daughter from her preschool...he learned the daughter's name, the parents' names, and what school she went to all from their blog. Luckily, the preschool had security steps in place and did not let the girl go with the stranger...how scary is that??

Both of these stories (told to us on the same day) freaked me and Matt out, and I decided to take my blog down until we could sort these scares out in our heads.

Here is what it came down to...I love blogging! I have wanted to start a blog for quite awhile now, and I was so happy when I finally took the time to do it! After only a month, I have met some amazing fellow bloggers who have already said the nicest things about my posts. I didn't want to stop blogging. I also didn't want to make my blog private. As much as I blog for my family and friends, I also blog for the other mommy bloggers out there that I have just met, or that I have yet to meet!  I also didn't want to take all of my pictures down, or stop posting anymore pictures of my family. I am fairly new to photography, but I have found that it is something that I absolutely love so much. I am obsessed with everything that has to do with photography, and I yearn to learn more and become better. I want to share the photos I take on my blog. That was a big reason I started blogging.

So, knowing those two things, I had to decide if I wanted to continuing blogging, (knowing that I would not be okay making my blog private, and I would not be okay not posting pictures of my daughter and the rest of my family). Matt supported me and encouraged me to continue. I just couldn't get the thought out of my head...what if my blog led to something scary happening to my family, either on the internet, or in our town? I made the decision that it wasn't worth it, and told Matt  I was done. Then, the next day I talked to my sister, who told me I couldn't live in fear. She told me that as long as I was blogging carefully, there should be no reason I need to stop. Not long after that, one of those friends that had the blog scare talked to me about her situation. She had made the decision not to stop blogging, even after her blog was copied and used for someone else's profit. She told me that if this was something I enjoyed, that I needed to continue. She commented to me how much she was enjoying my blog and encouraged me not to stop.

And so, I'm back!  I will be extra careful never to refer to our last name, and I will also not  be revealing details of where we live or work in any of my posts. That is just information that internet creeps do not need to know!

My photos will also all be watermarked from now on. A little sense of security knowing if someone else does try to use them on their own blogs, websites, etc, my watermark will give credit where credit is due and stop people from claiming they are their own images. And likewise, if I borrow or use images from the web in my posts, I will be sure to credit the images properly, so the correct people are getting credit.

But all in all, after a couple of days of soul searching, I realized I enjoy blogging...a lot. And I don't want to stop. I will be very careful when I blog, to protect my loved ones, but I will not stop blogging...It's a decision that came from the heart...

(Image credit chronophasia)

Have any of you fellow mommy bloggers shared these same concerns when blogging? What have you done to protect your family while still maintaining a personal blog that other people can connect with? I would love to hear other suggestions and tips!