Sunlit Pages Turns Three

It's that time of year again. If you're a blog, is it a birthday or an anniversary? Whatever it is, Sunlit Pages is having its third one!

Three years ago, I started Sunlit Pages as an outlet for all my bookish thoughts. It is something of a testament to my Upholder personality that I've stuck with it for three years--through times when it seemed like no one was reading as well as two moves and a new baby. But I thought about it for a loooooong time before I actually launched it, so once I did, I was very committed to it.

During these three years, this blog as become something of a haven for me--a place where I can write out my thoughts, click "publish," and know that at least one thing I did that day will stay done.

Sunlit Pages has evolved over the last three years. It is still, first and foremost, about books. But there are also posts about crafts, activities, hobbies, opinions, and just family life in general. In short, this blog is a (hopefully authentic) glimpse of myself, and although books play a part of it, they're not the whole part.

I always have such big ideas for this little blog, but I find that just trying to get out three posts each week takes up almost all my free time, so I have almost nothing left over to devote to blog redesign, improving my photography skills, commenting on other people's blogs, advertising, or keeping up with social media.

However, I did accomplish a few extra things, and that makes me happy:

• Sunlit Pages got its own domain name. The first time I opened up the page with the new domain, I yelled out, "I'm a dot com!" 
• I joined Instagram. I think out of all the social media options, it's my favorite. Hence, I'm most active on it. Follow me here!
• Speaking of social media, I all but said farewell to Twitter (don't know that that counts as an accomplishment, but it happened). I didn't delete my account or anything, but I've basically stopped tweeting. I gave it a decent effort, but I just couldn't get into it. I'm finally accepting the fact that it might just not be for me . . . and that's okay.
• Thanks to my friend, Erica, I discovered PicMonkey and wished I'd known about it sooner. It is so much easier to use than Adobe, which is what I was using before.
• I joined the modern world by getting a smartphone. It's kind of changed my life. It's so much easier to listen to books and podcasts, and of course I wouldn't be doing Instagram if I didn't have it.
• I've had four posts published on What Do We Do All Day. It's so much fun to see my writing somewhere else, and I've loved collaborating with Erica.
• And speaking of collaboration, my friend, Sarah, and I have started getting together and working on ways to improve our online presences. We've been exploring things like SEO, pinterest, design, blog stats, etc. (She was the one who finally helped me take the plunge and buy the new domain). It's so fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and I'm grateful for a friend who understands why I love my blog so much.

It's been a fun year here at Sunlit Pages. Here are a few of the highlights:

•  In June, I kicked off our Summer Fun series with ice painting. I also shared (almost all) the details from Clark's birth.  
• In July, I wrote about one of my favorite books of the year, and I also told you all about the summer goals I was doing with my kids (we are gearing up for them again this year . . . stay tuned!).
• August saw Max reading his first official book, and I also introduced you to our little caterpillar.
• I got real in September and reported on what it's like having four kids. I also made the goal to stay off-line during the hours 8:00-1:00. That's still what I'm striving for, but getting a smartphone derailed that just a bit.
• October was filled with great reads for the season and also one of my more opinionated posts: On Saying the Wrong Thing.
• November kicked off our trip down under. I also shared a list of nine super simple books for new readers.
• In December, I wrote a review about Brown Girl Dreaming (a favorite from the year). I also gave the final report on my reading goals (I accomplished all of them!).
• In January, I turned it right back around and made new reading goals for 2015. And I said hello to a new decade.
• February was a great month, with opinions shared about the ALA Youth Media Awards and recommendations for nine children's music albums.
• In March, I talked all about personality (I'm an ISTJ) and riled people up about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
• We talked about overbuying and underbuying in April (I'm a clear underbuyer). Mike and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.
• Finally, just this month, I offered a comparison between How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Phonics Pathways. I also shared how I get the most out of Goodreads.

As a way of saying thank you for being a part of Sunlit Pages over the last three years (or if you're brand-new, then welcome!), I'm giving away a copy of a favorite book of mine. You can have your choice between a paperback copy of The Trumpet of the Swan (on our readaloud agenda for this summer) or a hardback copy of Mercy Watson to the Rescue.

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment (you'll want to make sure you're signed in before commenting, otherwise your comment will disappear). Open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 3rd, at 11:59 pm.

The giveaway is closed! Congratulations to our winner, KT! Please email me: sunlitpages {at} gmail {dot} com to let me know which book you'd like and also your address so I can mail it to you!

Now, onto year four!