I first started blogging back when Carter was 3 months old.  He’s now FOUR(I know…hard to believe, right?), and I’ve been through a lot of different blogging phases since I started.  At first it was just pictures with little captions beneath each one(kind of like the slideshows I do now).  I had 3 megapixel camera.  Yeah…3 megapixels.  I think my blackberry is 5mp.  My big camera is 10mp.  I didn’t know how to edit anything.  And I really didn’t know what I was doing!  (I’ve learned a lot by trial and error since then!)

And then there was the “newsletter” style webpage I had, which was still predominantly pictures with a running list of what we’d done and what he’d said.  I documented Lydia’s birth and early months this way.

And then my photo-blog host went out of business and I had to figure out a new format.  I went from queenofhaddock.com to theiveyleague.com.  My new blog host offered many new and exciting options-formats, widgets, etc.  And I played with those and set up a “pretty” site, but it was still mostly just a play-by-play of our lives.

It wasn’t until November 22, 2007 that I really found my blogging voice.  That is still, to this day, the hardest post I have ever had to write.  Can vividly remember sitting at my computer desk in the basement of our old house.  I remember typing and sobbing and typing and crying.  And I promise you that it was better than any therapy session I’ve ever been in.

Since then I’ve blogged my way through Marshall’s residency, a move, and another baby.  Sometimes it’s a glimpse into our lives- little stories about the kids, pictures(there will always be pictures!).  But a lot of times my posts are like my journal-what I’m thinking about, what’s important to me.  I’ve heard some people say that blogging is narcissistic, and to a degree it is, but to me it’s more about having something to look back on.  One day I’d like to take all the posts and all the pictures and have them bound into a book.  My journal.  My heart, my thoughts, my feelings…laid out not only for you to read now, but for me to remember later.

I will admit, however, that there is definitely some degree of satisfaction when I get a comment about a post.  Sometimes being a stay-at-home-mom gets really lonely, and it’s nice to have adult interaction-even if it’s through a computer screen!  And there have been times when I’ve posted things I’d never ever say out loud, only to be greeted with more love, compassion, understanding and uplifting than I could have imagined.  (Thank you for that, by the way!)

A few days ago I took a trip down memory e-lane, and had a look at some of those old posts.  It was then that I realized that I have, as of now, posted 300 times.  Three hundred posts.  (If there’s something from the past that you want to re-read, but can’t find…you can use the handy-dandy search box I’ve placed at the very bottom of the page.)

To celebrate my 300th post, I’m gonna be passing out door prizes to those of you who come visit my site!!  Nothing high-tech, big or fancy.  But some fun stuff that I love.  I will be having 3 give-aways, each lasting 2-3 days.  Hopefully one on Tuesday, one on Thursday, and one on Saturday.  Check back each of those for details on what the products are and how to win!