Happy First Anniversary To The Aardsma Weekly!

Yes, I'm serious. It has been one year today since I started this Weekly. I can't believe it has been one year already. It only seems like a few months! I have covered one whole year of our life here in Loda, and I'm looking forward to covering another one! But in this particular article, I'm going to tell you all about how this paper got started, some of my favorite articles, and a little bit about what I do to bring this to you. So, lets get started!

How It All Began: The idea behind this paper came to me one day while I was loading up our dishwasher. (Incidentally, some of my best ideas have been born while doing dishes!) I was imagining a few years into the future when Beka and Matthew will be off at college. That led to thinking about how they wouldn't know what was going on over here while they were engrossed in college activities. So, I would write them a long letter every month to tell them all about what we were doing. Then the letter became a newspaper. I liked the idea of a little, monthly newspaper that I would write and send to Beka and Matthew to keep them up to date. I kept thinking about it, and by the time I had the dishwasher running and the kitchens cleaned up the newspaper had changed from a monthly and become a weekly, had been named, and I already had the first issue planned out. Why wait until Beka and Matthew were in college? I decided to try my hand at it right away.

So, as soon as I had a few minutes, I slipped away to my room and began working on it. Using different graphics and tools I had on my computer, I soon had the Weekly looking just like I had imagined it. (I have to confess that I wrestled with the heading for quite awhile before I got it to work.) I wrote the little paragraphs, and then, feeling very proud of myself, printed the one page out and carried it to Beka. She read it, laughed, and said, "Show this to Mom. She'd like it." I did show it to Mom, she liked it too, and the next morning, Sunday, suggested I show it to Dad. He liked it too, and said to Mom, "You know, your old newsletter subscribers might like having something like this. Rachel could write them every week and you could post them on your web site. It would give people a view of our life from a kid's perspective." Mom loved the idea (I wasn't quite sure), and I became an employee of the Mother's Companion, with a salary and my first job!

Here I am, hard at work, writing an article. Photo by Timmy.

The Process: How do you get this every week? The process usually starts on Friday afternoon. If nothing worth mentioning has happened all week, I walk around and ask everybody, "What can I write about?" Somebody might have a suggestion, but in the end it is usually up to me to come up with something. I sit down at Mom's computer, and write the main article. Sometimes the articles write themselves. Other times (like with this article, for instance) it requires a little more work and thought.

Once the main article is written, I flip through a Bible to find The Weekly Bible Verse. Depending on what catches my eye, anything can end up in that particular part of the Weekly!

Then comes one of my favorite parts: 'Bits and Pieces'. That can also contain just about anything. Any event or happening that is too small to be an article, but deserves at least a little attention, is put in there.

'A Word About The Weather' comes next. That's easy to write! Sometimes it gets a little repetitious, when we have dry, hot weather for weeks on end, but most of the time I have something new to write, thanks to Illinois' rapidly changing weather!

'A Word Of Wisdom' definitely is my favorite part of the Weekly. That often requires some thought, but I enjoy writing that alot! This section of the Weekly is also a favorite with many of my readers.

I then walk around the house or outside with our digital camera, taking pictures that have to do with my article. These are then loaded on the computer, and I edit them and put them in the Weekly at various parts. This is my favorite part of the process.

Once the Weekly is completed, Dad, who plays editor, reads it over for me. He gives me the edits, and I make the changes. And then I go through a very long process to post the edited Weekly on Mom's website. It's a very long, complicated job, but I'm learning. At the beginning, Mom posted them, but recently she's been teaching me how. This is the last step of the process. The whole thing takes about one to one and a half hours.

Dad editing 'The Aardsma Weekly', in his office. Photo by me.

Reader's Feedback: By far, the best-loved article this year was 'Just Call Me Rosy' (June 17, 2007). The most enjoyed section of 'The Aardsma Weekly' is 'A Word Of Wisdom'. As far as my favorite articles go, I enjoyed writing '"Uh, Dad, Is That Poison Ivy??!!?"' (July 22, 2007), 'Alone In The House' (June 24, 2007), 'Excitement' (May 27, 2007), and 'A Tribute To Mothers' (May 13, 2007).

I Need To Hear From You! I very much appreciate all the feedback I get from my readers. Now, for this special anniversary, e-mail me at rachel@themotherscompanion.org. (Make sure you add the code TAW549 to the subject line so your e-mail gets through my firewall.) Or you can snail-mail me at 414 Mulberry St., Loda IL 60948. Let me know what you like about the Weekly, what you think should change, or give me any suggestions for this coming year. I would especially appreciate article ideas. Do you have something you'd really like me to write about? Write me and let me know! Or just send a line to let me know you're a reader. It always encourages me when I hear from somebody else who reads The Aardsma Weekly faithfully.

So, here I am finishing my last article for this 'year'. Thank you all for your encouragement and support! I hope you're looking forward to another year of Weekly's just as much as I am. Thank you for reading!

The Weekly Bible Verse

Psalm 103:1: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bits and Pieces

My 13th birthday cake. Photo by me.

I had my birthday this Saturday, August 15th. I turned 13. Beka and I made a doll cake using the Wilton Wonder Mold doll set. We had a lot of fun, and it turned out beautifully. I used royal icing for the first time. I was apprehensive about drying the icing flowers, but fortunately everything went well. I received various presents, including my very first makeup, treats and toys for my cat, and a pretty candle. I also got a hope chest, which is a tradition in this family. (Every girl that turns 13 gets a hope chest. Jennifer, Laura, and Beka have all gotten theirs before me. I am the last girl to get one.) Matthew said that 13 wasn't that big of a step, but I disagree with him.

My hope chest. Photo by me.

A Word About The Weather

We've finally gotten rain! And it never rains but it pours around here! We got 3 and 1/2 inches all in all, but it hasn't made very much mud. Our garden is already pretty dry. But not too dry to keep us from weeding, unfortunately! (We weed the garden when the soil is moist, because it is much easier to pull up the weeds than when the soil is dry.)

A Bit Of Humor

While Beka and I were decorating my birthday cake, I commented to Beka that her hand was shaking like a leaf. "Oh, no, it isn't." She replied. Timmy, who was near by eating icing at every available opportunity, laughed and said, "Yah, Beka. You're shaking like a leaf on a still day."