Do you know what today is? (Don’t miss this post!)

 

SIX YEARS.

One thousand, six hundred, forty-one blog posts.

Gasp!! Can that be possible?

Who knew I had that much to say (other than my mom and my sisters and my best friend…)?

I didn’t realize when I started this journey that it would take on a life of its own. I’m glad that I made the decision to keep this a personal blog, but that also means that my topics are all over the place. And sometimes I post a bunch about one thing, and then the blog seems to shift as my life does as well. And sometimes I talk even when I have nothing to say.

I’m thankful for this record of the past six years of my life that I would never have kept otherwise.

I’m thankful for readers. And comments. I’m thankful for the things you have shared and taught me.

I’m thankful for the many friendships I have gained.

We really must celebrate.

The only way to celebrate here at Mt. Hope Chronicles is with chocolate chips cookies, sentence diagramming, or books. I already shared chocolate chip cookies for Valentine’s Day, and I’m guessing sentence diagramming doesn’t sound like much of a party to most of you, so books it is.

That’s right. An Amazon gift certificate give-away.


(And you can even get something other than books. Just don’t tell me.)


In a way, I’m just giving back a little portion of what you have given me. Because y’all have been awesome about purchasing books through my Amazon links the past few months. I’m a bit stunned at the response to my recommendations. (It terrifies me just a little.) Did you know that I get credit for all the other items you put in your cart when you go to Amazon through one of my links? So thank you to the fantabulous readers who buy mattress toppers, Oakley sunglasses, golf equipment, Kitchenaid stand mixers, Lego Ninjago sets, almond flour, and all sorts of other interesting things after hitting Amazon through my links. Seriously! Your purchases really make a difference. (Just in case you were wondering, I cannot see who purchased items, just what items were purchased!)

Here’s the deal. I’m giving away one $50 Amazon gift certificate to a lucky winner.

To enter the give-away, leave me a comment on this post letting me know how long you’ve been visiting and what you most enjoy reading about here at Mt. Hope. If you would like, you may even ask your burning questions or make requests for new post topics.

Make sure I have a way to contact you!

The give-away ends on Saturday, February 23rd at midnight, Pacific time. I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday the 26th.

The give-away is now closed. I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday the 26th.

Thanks for all of the kind words, friends and readers. They have meant so much to me!!

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In the beginning, February of 2007, I had a very basic Blogger template. I can’t seem to find the image I added to my header about a year later in 2008 (sadness!), but I thought it would be fun to stroll down memory lane with a few more recent headers. I think the above collage was my first photo header in 2009.

Spring 2010:


November 2010:


Spring 2011 (My favorite!):


December 2011:


I know it is about time to update my current header, but I’m waiting for some super-duper inspirational pictures to choose from, and that just isn’t happening in February at our house.

Where will we be in another six years?

My boys will be 17, 14, and 12!! Lola will be 8! I will have been married 23 years and homeschooling for 13. Golly! I can’t even imagine what life will look like.

Will you join me for the adventure?

ETA:
I'm not sure if this will work as I am away from home and not working from my home computer, but a fabulous reader sent me a link to my archived blog with my first custom header. Let's see if I can get it posted here: