Happy Friday, one and all! Today, we’d like to introduce you to Aprille of Beautiful In His Time. Aprille writes about finding God’s beauty among the mess of life. She’s a twenty-something mother to a son with special needs, and a wife to a combat veteran. Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, read a little, and welcome Aprille to the blog.

{Meet} Aprille of Beautiful In His Time

1. How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging in December of 2008, which means I am coming up on the completion of my 8th year! Going on my 9th year of blogging is incredibly exciting!

2. Why did you start blogging?

When I started my blog, I was newly married and living 1,000+ miles from the nearest family members. My husband was military and we were stationed in Texas. He was halfway through his first deployment to Afghanistan. I originally started writing as a way to keep both my husband and all of my family updated on my life. In 2012, I took a turn toward more personal, introspective writing. In 2016, I started monetizing!

3. What do you blog about?

I seriously blog about so many topics! I run a very eclectic site, and there are a lot of topics that are highly specific. First, I blog about military life. A lot of my best content for military spouses is located in my archives. In 2013, when my husband was discharged from the Army, I began focusing more about veteran issues and military caregiving My husband is disabled with an combat-related anxiety disorder, and I am his caregiver. So along with veteran issues, I focus a lot on self-care, mental health, and anxiety.

We have two little boys, so I write a lot of content for moms. I personally have struggled with a lot of fatigue in motherhood, so I have a whole blog series full of real-life encouragement for exhausted moms, called Mothering Through Fatigue.

In 2014, our oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD and adjustment disorder. In 2015, Oppositional Defiant Disorder was tacked onto his diagnoses. Since 2014, I have focused on special needs parenting. I have two series for special needs families: 31 Days of Supporting the Special Needs Family and an on-going follow-up series, Special Needs Survival.

Finally, I talk about faith. I am an outspoken Christian with a unique faith journey. You can read my story in a 31-post series called The Wilderness Between Legalism and Grace.

4. Where are you blogging from in NC?

I am a Midwestern transplant into Winston Salem. I LOVE North Carolina and never want to move!

5. Out of all the posts you’ve written, which one (or two) would you pick as your favorite?

This question is so hard to answer. I have over 600 posts! So I’ll have to go with my top performing posts: How to encourage a special needs mom (when you aren’t one), How to be a better mom while being exhausted, and when you’re “too tired to be a good mother”.

6. What blog(s) do you love?

My two best friends are both bloggers that I met online. They are both special needs moms and veteran/military spouses as well. Kathryn blogs at Singing Through the Rain and Katie blogs at Katie Emanuel: Wonderfully Made Living. I also am currently loving Let Why Lead.

7. What’s one piece of advice you’d offer your fellow bloggers?

Slow and steady wins the race. There’s no quick way to grow a blog. I have found that consistently offering content, being vulnerable, really connecting with my readers through social media, and just being myself has grown me a very faithful readership. I’m not the biggest blog out there, but that’s okay. Because what I have is really beautiful.

Also, don’t box yourself in. Pick a name (or use your own) that is timeless and can adapt to wherever you are in life. What you are interested right now might not be the same in two years (or ten)! It’s okay to take breaks, rebrand, change, rest – just don’t quit!

8. What’s are two things do you know to be true?

• Blogging can change your life
• I love coffee

9. Where can we find you on the web?

• Blog: beautifulinhistime.com
• Facebook: @beautyinhistime
• Instagram: @beautyinhistime
• Twitter: @beautyinhistime
• Pinterest: @beautyinhistime
• Google+: +BeautifulInHisTimeBlog

And finally, is there anything else you’d like to add that you want people to know about you – professional affiliations, any other place they can find you, etc.

I’m very active on all social media, but my favorites and the ones where I interact the most genuinely with my readership are Facebook and Instagram. I have an email subscription list that I am trying to grow, with a lot of different options for subscribing.

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