10 Years of Blogging

Ten years ago today, I typed my first little post in this space, titled "Something new."  Boy, how long ago that seems!  At the time, we had only one child...hence the "samsmommy" blog address.  Sam had just turned one, and we lived in a tiny little trailer while we were building our house. It's funny to think how much has changed in that time...we've added more kids, accumulated a lot more stuff, finally switched to high speed internet (which should make blogging a whole lot easier, but somehow I post even less than ever before).  We've changed in some ways, stayed the same in others.  We've been part of a really big church and now part of a small church.  We've built new friendships and said goodbye to other friends who moved away.  We've gone from the baby and toddler years into the school years, and now back to the baby years again!  I've tried to chronicle the bits and pieces of our life, and though I've missed some things along the way, I feel like we have a pretty good family journal of the past ten years.  I've written here at least once every month except for last November, the month Ari was born.  Not sure how I missed that one, but it was probably because I posted about everything on my pregnancy blog.

I had no idea back then that I was writing on "Pi Day" (3.14).  Today all my math nerd friends have been posting about it on Facebook (apparently today is the ultimate Pi Day that only happens once a lifetime . . . 3.14.15.  Not being a very Mathy person myself , I really do not "get" this, but it's still cool that it happens to fall on my blogaversary!

It's fun to think back on the different looks my blog has had over the years.  I started with a Blogger lighthouse template and have switched things up quite a few times, trying to make it more personal as I've learned a little bit about editing, making headers and buttons, etc.  I still have a lot to learn, but not as much time to play around with things as I would like!

I had really hoped to do some kind of a giveaway to celebrate this fun milestone . . . but of course I didn't plan ahead enough, so I'm not doing one right now.  I'd still like to do one this summer sometime and count it for the 10 year celebration anyway. :)

I'm really thankful I discovered blogging all those years ago.  It was the "new" thing then, and there weren't too many that I followed.  Now it's a well-established part of the internet, and there are way too many good ones to choose from!  Writing here has been a good outlet for me, it's helped me journal and preserve some memories, and while I may not have become a better writer, at least I know I've continued writing (something I love) almost every month.  I may not have achieved my dream of writing a book or doing anything "big," but I get to share things with others and have even met some new friends this way!  And reconnected with some old friends too, which is just so cool. :)

So anyway, I just didn't want to let this day slip by unnoticed, and I wanted to say thanks to all of you who read here!  Even if nobody read my thoughts, I would want to record some memories for our family . . . but knowing people read my ramblings makes blogging even more fun. :)  And if you're reading this and have a minute to comment--even if you're a lurker who's never commented before--I would love to hear from you, just a quick note to let me know who you are and how you found my blog, or anything else you'd like to say!  Thanks to all who have joined me here over the past ten years, and I'm looking forward to continuing the journey for the next ten and beyond!