The Great Giveaway

So today marks the fifty-second post here on the blog. While not actually a landmark number, still, I'm sometimes surprised that we've lasted this long. We've heard occasionally from different people who have told us that they absolutely love the blog, that they read every post, that they really enjoy our stories, etc.

We, of course, are very pleased to hear this. We think y'all are a great bunch of readers.

However ...

We have wondered why there are so few of you that comment on the blog. We've speculated that perhaps readers don't have time (seriously, you couldn't take two minutes?); that you're not sure what to say (in a pinch, "love it" and "me too" work really well); that you don't want to bother us with comments every time (bother us. Please); or that it's too hard to leave a comment.

As to that last complaint, we have heard you. We've adjusted the settings so that you can comment anonymously and without creating a profile on google. We do still use author approval because that cuts down on spam and, you know, weirdos.

At any rate, we decided to do a three-way post and a giveaway. I'll explain the giveaway in a minute. But first, our three-way conversation started late last night and went something like this:

Jill: Ok so we need to have a conversation because I announced that we were doing a giveaway on the blog this coming week.

Stephanie:  What are we giving away?

Jill:  Two gift cards.

after a long period of no response--

Jill:  *crickets*

Stephanie:  So what do we want to talk about?

I'm pretty sure there was a long suffering sigh along with that response.

Jill:  We can have a conversation about the blog, and maybe our favorite posts so far. Then we can discuss the fact that we don't get many commenters, and we'll announce the giveaway.

Stephanie:  Ok so what was your favorite post so far?

Jill:  Where's Kylee?

Stephanie:  Am I my Kylee's keeper?

Jill:  Brat! I just messaged Matt and told him to tell Kylee to get on her phone. Her phone's usually dead by Sunday night.

A short time later ...

Jill:  I called Matt who said his phone was about to die, but he told Kylee to get on her phone so she should be coming any time now.

Jill:  ... Anytime ...

Jill ... any ... time ...

Kylee:  This family is so demanding of my time. My phone was charging so I could look in Pinterest.

Stephanie:  So selfish ... wanting time to yourself.

Stephanie:  So again, what is your favorite post so far?

Jill:  My favorite post was ... maybe ... Guarding the Gate? About fending off the females. Or possibly the one about living in a household full of males. Which one of y'all's do you like the best?

after a long period of no response--

Jill:  *crickets*

Stephanie:  First, I want to point out that both of those are your posts. Second, my favorites are Crisis of Identity and 2 am Wake Up Call.

Jill:  We're each supposed to pick which one of our own that we like. I can't pick one of y'all's because then I'm playing favorites.

Kylee:  I like all of them. I can't pick a favorite either!

Stephanie:  I also like My Kid Said What. Apparently people only want to read about boys and babies.

Kylee:  I'm working on a sequel to that one!

Jill:  Boys and babies kind of describes our lives. Maybe that's what we should have named the blog.

Stephanie:  I think we need to add something in the post about letting us know why they don't comment. Or give us suggestions to make it easier.

Jill:  So are we giving away gift cards to the coffee shop of their choice, or what? And what do they have to do to enter the giveaway?

Stephanie:  I think either an Amazon gift card or a Starbucks gift card. 

Kylee:  they definitely have to like, comment and share. I think they should get a card to the coffee place of their choice.

Stephanie:  And they need to comment on every post this week, and share each post on social media and they need to tell us they shared it.

There you have it. The gist of it anyway. There was also some discussion about some inappropriate comments that my granddaughters made, but I edited that out.

So here it is in a nutshell:

We're doing a giveaway. We will give out two prizes. They will be your choice of an Amazon gift card or a gift card to the coffee shop of your choice.

You will get one entry for commenting on each post this week. (There will be three posts, including this one.)

You will get a second entry for "liking" the link we post on Facebook or Instagram.

You will get a third entry for sharing the link to our posts on Facebook or Instagram.

So if we have three posts a week (and we do), and if you comment on each post, plus like them on social media, plus share them on social media, you can get a total of nine entries into the contest.

Multiple comments on one post (although they will make us happy) still only count as one entry.

The contest starts with today's post, and the contest closes next Sunday night, July 30th, at midnight eastern time. Monday, July 31st, we will announce the two winners.

So what to comment? How about tell us why you don't usually comment, Or tell us what your favorite post so far has been. Or tell us both. We're not picky.

P.S. The picture is of two of my granddaughters one afternoon after VBS. They were adorable, so I thought I'd share. Feel free to comment on the picture too.

Good luck!