When Monica started SandhillsKids.com three years ago, she never imagined where it would take her. What started out as a way for her to connect to other moms as a new member of the community, became a way for all parents to connect and that's just how we met.

It was her website that brought us together as friends and business partners. This summer we joined forces to give SandhillsKids a facelift and expand it's content. Although SandhillsKids.com has always been a great tool for local families, we now believe it is the best choice for families.

Monica and I have worked hard at creating an active online community for families in the Sandhills Area. We redesigned our site, set up a free e-newsletters, a communtiy calendar and consolidated information for parents. We did this because we're passionate about our families and being moms. We also know that there is nothing easy about being a mom in today's world and anything that makes life a little easier is definitely a blessing.

Our little site is not so little anymore. Since we've restructured things have taken off and each day new moms join our ranks by becoming members of our site. We were even fortunate enough to have one of the local papers offer us space to write about family life.

For the last 4 months, I have been writing a column for the Moore County Independent. Some of you have actually seen my column in the paper and others have read it on SandhillsKids.com. Either way, my little venture into journalism turned out to be a great thing until......

The bump in the road. Just as my family column had creeped forward from the back of the paper to the "A" section, the owner of the Moore Independent shut the doors and terminated the entire staff. I don't know the entire story behind the decision and certainly don't intend to engage in the gossip that will surely follow such an unorthodox move.

But because of that decision, all the great people I worked with at the MC Indy have found themselves unemployed. As a freelance writer, I was given the option to continue to write for the paper. I have graciously decline the offer and have decided to focus more time to SandhillsKids.com.

I assure you that I will continue to write about things to do with your kids, great places to visit and the joys of being a parent (right now one of those joys is poking at me with her little fingers).

So, stay tuned there is definitely more to come. Monica and I see great things in the future for SandhillsKids and hope that you continue to check us out. Things are always changing.

Rollie