Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival… Ready For Launch!

The Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival is officially ready for launch!

Finding Courage Through Sharing will be now be a monthly blog carnival hosted at In The Life Of A Child on the last Thursday of each month. Mark your calendars because you’ve waited long enough! The very first edition will be this month on Thursday, April 24th.

Now I bet you have some questions… yep… I thought so. I see that hand!

So, what is this all about?

Oh, I’m so glad you asked! Through blogging, I’ve become aware of a large community of parents struggling through extreme medical challenges with their children. The purpose of this carnival is to give these parents a voice, a place to connect, to grieve a loss or a setback, to share a concern, a frustration, or to share those rare and wonderful triumphs… and to begin trying to heal. It is meant for any parent who has been through any form of medical challenge with their child, and also for those who are still in the midst of facing those challenges.

So, where do you fit in?

Me? I’m one of those parents. I’ve been there. I get it. I’ve seen my child code in the NICU, and again in an MRI suite. I’ve done that emergency trach change all by myself as my child turned blue before my eyes. I know what it feels like to not be able to hold your baby because of all those wires and tubes blocking any chance of a cuddle. I’ve fought with those insurance companies while I was ready to drop from exhaustion so my child could have a shot at life. I know what it feels like to get up every ten minutes throughout the night to alarming feeding pumps and apnea monitors. I know how intimidating those laundry piles look when your child suffers from insanely relentless reflux. Just take a peek at Jacqui’s Story and you’ll know why I have a heart for this sort of thing.

How is this going to work?

On the 15th of every month, I will post a topic for the month so you can start working on your post if you choose to participate. Then on the last Thursday of the month come back here and you will find a post entitled ‘Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival ~ April 2008′, or whatever the current date is. The first part of the post will contain my post contribution and at the end of the post you will see a little “Mr. Linky” box that looks like this:

In the first blank in the box, enter your name or your screen name. In the second blank box, enter the URL (Uniform Resource Locater, or web address) of your post. This is different from the web address of your blog. To find the web address of your post, simply click on the title of your post in your blog then look up at the top of your screen in that first really long white box up there. The URL of your post should start with “http://”. Copy that whole line and paste it into that second blank in the box at my place. Then click enter. Your link will now show up in my post. Note that it will say “delete link” next to your name, but don’t worry… you are the only one who can see the “delete link” next to your name. Since you are the author of the link, it gives you the option to delete what you just posted if you choose to. Finally, scroll down and leave a comment with anything you have to say (hopefully nice) about my post and you can leave a brief note about your post there as well, if you like. Some people like to leave a link to their post in the comment too, and you are welcome to do so. Then go start clicking on some of the other great posts that start showing up and share a few tears, hugs or a good laugh. Make some new friends, or get to know some old friends better. Find the courage to get up in the morning and start the day over again… that is what this is all about.

Are there any rules?

Oh, don’t be silly… of course there are rules. I’m a mom… rules are what I do. Don’t worry… they won’t be too hard.

1. Please keep in mind when you are writing posts for this carnival, that In The Life Of A Child is “family friendly” blog and I work very hard to keep it that way. I reserve the right to remove links to posts which include offensive or inappropriate language, or those containing rude, or objectionable content. I will always make an effort to contact the author of such a post, refer them to the participation rules, notify them that their link has been removed, and offer them the opportunity to reformat their post for re-submission.

2. Please mention the Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival in your post, and publish a link back to my master list here at In The Life Of A Child. Please make sure you link specifically to the URL for my blog carnival post for that month and not just to my home page.

3. You are most welcome, and I encourage you to publish the button code provided below in your entry post and/or your sidebar, but it is not a requirement. It just helps spread the word so that more parents will be interested in joining in. (And you’ll have my undying gratitude!)

Get The Code For The Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival Button:

(Just copy the code below and paste into your post or sidebar template)

<br /> <a href='http://inthelifeofachild.com/index.php/home-of/' title='Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival'><img src='http://inthelifeofachild.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/cmcblogcarnivalimage.jpg' alt='CMCblogcarnival' /></a><br />

(Note: You won’t be able to see this code if your are viewing this post in a reader. It will just show up as a second button… you’ll have to actually come over to my place for the code ~ sorry!)

If you need more detailed help on how to add images to your post, click here.

4. Please only leave a link if you have written a post specifically for this carnival. Empty links, spam links or links that are off topic will be deleted.

5. Please link specifically to your Finding Courage Through Sharing post, not to the front page of your blog. This is called a permalink and you can click here for an explanation of how to set one up and why this is important.

6. I prefer to keep things simple, with In The Life Of A Child as the only home page for Finding Courage Through Sharing and have registered it through Mr. Linky as a private meme. Please do not attempt to host a copy of Finding Courage Through Sharing at your own site using your own “Mr. Linky” account.

What is the topic for April?

After April, I will be posting the topic for the month on the 15th of each month, but this month you get to see it early. For our first edition here, let’s just get acquainted. In whatever format you choose, write a post sharing who you are, the basics of your child’s story and one thing that really stood out to you from your child’s first major hospital or medical experience and why. I’ll put up a reminder post this month one week before the 24th so you don’t forget. Click on the “Subscribe” button in the upper left corner of my blog and you’ll make sure you never miss an update. Sound like a plan? Ok then… start writing, spread the word, and we’ll see you back here on the 24th!

And coming to you on the second Thursday of every month, beginning May 8th… The Picky Eaters Club!

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