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Blogoversaryfestathon GWP Finale

Thanks so to everyone who participated in the blogoversaryfestathon Group Writing Project.

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The winna!
Chosen at random, the winner of our prize, a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate, is <drum roll>…

…I will be nine years old. by Esmé Maritz

Congratulations! The gift certificate is winging its way to you (well, your mom) from Amazon right now!

What do you think? Should we bring back the Group Writing Project? If you want to participate but didn’t this time, what do you need from me to help you?

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Group Writing Project Entries (so far)

You still have one more day (until the end of Saturday, that is) to enter the MamaBlogga Blogoversaryfestathon Group Writing Project, with the theme of “Five years from now.” Come join these four great entries (and one from me, but I feel weird calling myself “great”):

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And remember, one lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a $30 Amazon gift card!

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Kids/Parenting MetaBlogging Fulfillment

Five years from now

It’s hard to imagine my life five years from now. Five years ago, I’d been married for two years, I was one year out of school, I had one little baby, I worked from home in Internet marketing and I started a blog.

Now I’ve been married for almost seven years, and we have three kids. I’m still blogging, though I have to admit I’ve really dropped off from time to time. I blogged professionally for a long time writing about Internet marketing news and became something of an expert, but for the last year I’ve been able to just focus on my family. I’ve begun writing fiction again, after a long break starting in college. I’ve started a writing craft blog by myself and a craft blog with my sisters. I think I’ve had several more blog ideas come and go in the mean time, but so far these are sticking.

The reason I started this blog was to help me appreciate motherhood more, to help myself and others find fulfillment in a calling I believe to be the most important thing I could do with my life right now—but which was also alternately boring and overwhelming. I wanted to be able to help other mothers feel good about a choice to stay home with their children, even though it can be long stretches of dull, hard work between the few glittering moments.

Sometimes my personal journey goes well, and sometimes it’s still rough. I think if you’d asked me five years ago, I would have told you I’d have everything figured out by now—but I think learning to be happy and grateful and content and fulfilled is a lifetime endeavor, and even if I have to take two steps forward and one step back, even if I can’t see the progress a lot of the time, even if I still struggle, as long as I keep these efforts in mind, rely on my MamaBlogga Group Writing Projectfaith and don’t let myself get too discouraged, I’ll make it—maybe not in the next five years, but I’ll be closer every day I make the effort.

My entry in the Five Years From Now Group Writing Project

What do you think? Where will you be in five years? Share your entry in the GWP today!

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God Gave Us You Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the God Gave Us You giveaway is . . .

Elisa!

Make sure I have your address and I’ll get that in the mail!

Thanks to everyone entered.