Beth’s blog is ONE!!! And no, this is not Beth talking about herself in third person.
This is Carrie from Reading Is My SuperPower. I am a huge fan of Faithfully Bookish – and of Beth. Even though she has chickens. ????
Beth is a champion of Christian fiction and a woman I am honored to call “friend”. I’m so proud of this milestone in her blogging journey, and I’m excited to celebrate with her!!!
About the Blogger
Beth Erin is a Christian fiction enthusiast, book reviewer, and blogger. She strives to edify and connect with readers and authors through her blog and on social media. Beth is passionate about promoting authors and their entertaining, encouraging, and redemptive stories.
Beth lives with her husband and their four children in a close-knit rural southern Illinois farming community. They love their laid back lifestyle and small country church family. When she isn’t reading, Beth enjoys indulging in a favorite show or movie with her family, completing DIY projects with her husband, and seeing the country on long family road trips.
facebook | twitter | pinterest | instagram
Carrie: I’ve seen pics of your DIY projects! They rock! You guys need your own TV show ????
Five Favorite Book Blog Blessings
Beth: Starting a book blog was a huge leap out of my comfort zone but it is a wonderful and rich experience. Let’s start with the most obvious blessing of being a book blogger…
BOOKS! Y’all, I love books! A couple of years ago, I did most of my reading through library books and I only owned a couple dozen paperbacks.
Now I’m the bookishly delighted owner of an entire bookshelf PLUS a loaded Kindle of books I haven’t read yet! ???? Don’t worry, I want to read them and I have a plan!
I’ve also had the privilege of donating books to my little village library and spreading the book love. It feels really good to pass on positive and encouraging titles that will bless others!
Carrie: Is it just me or is everyone else zooming in on those pics, trying to see which books you have on your shelves? #booknerdissues
Beth: Hosting Giveaways blesses my reader heart! I get to notify and celebrate with every winner! These opportunities are also a fun way to spread the word about fabulous books!
Carrie: Totally agree! Getting to share in a winner’s excitement is the best! I think we met through a giveaway that I hosted, didn’t we?
Beth: I can’t remember specifically but considering the sheer number of your giveaways I’ve entered… this seems like a pretty safe assumption! 😉
Being Uncomfortable might not sound like a blessing but hear me out. The fact that I am a blogger still blows my mind. Any paper, thank you note, or greeting card I have ever written could attest to my #swoof (Squeezing Words Out Of Feelings) torment.
Spelling was my worst subject in school. Language Arts became a bleak and tear-filled endeavor for an otherwise enthusiastic student. I spent more time erasing than writing. We won’t even go into the pain and suffering of research papers. *shudder*
So what was I supposed to do about that little nudge in the direction I felt most inadequate and unprepared for? Pray and take a leap of faith! God works through our weaknesses and that makes the outside of my comfort zone a pretty amazing place to be.
Carrie: YES! Amen & Amen. #swoof
Beth: Meeting New People through the blog is another unexpected blessing! After I get over the obstacle of what to say, the anxiety of creating a permanent online monologue develops. I’m thankful for every comment and message from my readers. I prefer talking to you over talking to myself! 😉
Relationships that start with a review or comment or blog hop have the potential to grow deeper and stronger over time. I am so blessed by the kindred spirits I have met through blogging.
From Appalachia to the Pacific northwest and Canada to the Great Plains, we may only see each other once every year (or two) but thanks to technology there isn’t a day that goes by without them in it!
Carrie: I promise I’ll recognize you this year when we see each other at CFRR haha! Unless of course you change your hair style again. Then all bets are off ????
But on a serious note – I’m so beyond thankful for your daily friendship! What a blessing you are to me!
Beth: I updated my profile pic as soon as I got home, hahaha! Who knew people could look so much different in three-dimensions than their online two-dimensional selfies?
Book Blog
Tell us a little bit about your book blog
Beth: Well, y’all obviously know where to find Faithfully Bookish because you’re here! Thank you for that! As far as content, I enjoy sharing reviews, author spotlights, giveaways, deal alerts, and bookish fun! Christian fiction is my main focus but I also feature clean reads, young adult, children’s, and nonfiction titles every now and then.
Launched in April 2016, this book review blog is an outpouring of love for books, authors, and fellow book lovers.
Visitors are encouraged to leave their own thoughts in the comments and engage in positive discussion with the reviewer and author.
goodreads | amazon
Carrie: I’ve loved watching you develop new features, etc. over the past year!! You started out spot-on with this whole blogging thing and you’ve just gotten better and better on top of that.
What is your most popular book blog feature?
Beth: Five Favorites Author Spotlight posts are popular with both readers and authors. In fact, I’m thrilled to announce the addition of Saturdays to our author spotlight line up! Two authors a week, y’all!
Carrie: WOOHOO! The author spotlights are my favorite of your newish features – such a creative idea, to do the five favorites thing. I love it! Yay for more!
Beth: PLUS in honor of the first Faithfully Bookish Blogiversary, I’ll be introducing you to a few of my bookish blogger buddies for Five Favorites Book Blog Spotlight posts! Watch for them each Thursday in April starting with Carrie at Reading Is My SuperPower! Let me know if y’all love it, we’ll find some more bloggers to feature.
Carrie: More WOOHOO! I bet no one can guess what my five favorites post will be about haha!
Share a little bit about your reading journey.
Beth: I’ve always dearly loved reading yet I cherish my family and my role as wife and mother even more. In my early twenties, my habit of getting lost in a good book began to overshadow my joy as a young wife and mother. My perspective was clouded by fictional comparisons that my life (in my immature thinking) did not measure up to. When I recognized that I was choosing book time over family time more often than not, my self-imposed pleasure reading ban began.
In hindsight, seeking out different book sources, learning to manage my time more wisely (still working on that one), and finding accountability with a Titus 2 woman would have been more beneficial measures. Some MOST days, I still have little to no bookish self-control… I’m a lifetime bookaholic.
Fast forward ten years (because that’s what a decade of raising babies feels like… FAST) and suddenly my babies aren’t babies anymore! I have time and energy to devote to my favorite pastime (cue the confetti) READING!!! As you can imagine, my bookish appetite was voracious after the ten-year famine. I consumed over 350 books in little over a year. I was snatching up every Kindle freebie I could find and more than a few at 99 cents when I discovered the world of goodreads, author websites, book blogs, and giveaways!
Carrie: I. Love. This. Being a wife and a momma should take priority, especially when fiction starts to blur reality. So proud of you for taking steps to protect your family time, and I’m super excited that you’ve been able to regain that favorite pastime again!! Because… READING!
Why did you start blogging? Who inspired you?
Beth: In my pursuit of book giveaways and freebies, I came across a blog post about the importance of book reviews and how valuable they are to authors. Armed with that information and a new sense of purpose, I started writing book reviews and posting them on goodreads and amazon in the fall of 2015. It’s really wonderful that we as readers can give a little something back to all the wonderful authors who give us so much!
Getting to know some of the ladies behind my favorite book blogs at the time through their writing inspired me to join in on the book blogging action. Shout out to Relz Reviewz, Reading Is My SuperPower (yes, I am a Carrie fangirl!), Just Commonly, and Christian ShelfEsteem, just to name a few. I spent months taking note of what I really liked from one blog or another before I took the plunge last year.
Carrie: Oh I love how you set out with such purpose – even without a blog yet – just because these books and authors are so beloved to you. And I’m laughing at your process because that’s basically the same thing I did before I started my blog in 2015 – I stalked Rel haha!!
What do you hope to accomplish through your blog?
Beth: I want every person to be encouraged and hopefully my readers are inspired to encourage an author or fellow reader as well. When I was thinking and praying about starting this crazy wonderful journey, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 was on my heart and it has since become my compass.
Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
Carrie: My sweet friend, you ARE such an encouragement. To me. To authors. To readers. To anyone who crosses your path.
You are such a beautiful reflection of Jesus as you live your wife and momma life with honor and strength – and that passes on to everything you do with Faithfully Bookish too.
Congratulations, again, dear Beth on reaching this FIRST YEAR milestone!! Here’s to at least another 10 ❤
Beth: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Carrie!!! You not only swooped in and rescued me from talking to myself… or worse, interviewing myself (awkward!) You are a dear friend and my very special “big sister” blogger! ????
Your Thoughts
Now that y’all know just about every bookish thing there is to know about me… I would love to hear from you, dear ones! I’ll be around for a bookish chat in the comments! Let me know what you like and what you want to see more of.
Faithfully Bookish 
Congrats again, my sweet friend! Love you!!
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Thank you, Carrie! ???? I love you, dear friend!
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YAY Beth!!! Go you!!! 🙂
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Thank you, Kathy! 🙂
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Congratulations of the one year blogging! I love what both Carrie and you do so just keep it up and have fun doing it. ❤
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Thank you, Kay! I appreciate your support. 🙂 We do have fun blogging (especially when we get to collaborate!)
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Thanks so much, Kay! I love hanging out with my Beth! She makes everything more fun 🙂
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Congrats! I’m very blessed to have found you this year. I love reading about new books and authors from a trusted source.
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Danielle! So glad my honesty outshines my craziness ???? I’m honored to be part of your bookish journey!
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Happy Blogivesary! I wonder if Hallmark has designed a card for this occasion yet?
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I’m thinking this would be an appropriate occasion for an ecard 😉
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Happuest of blogiversary dear Beth!
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Happiest. Of course I will be the one to have a word misspelled. LOL
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Lucy, you sweetie! Thanks for making me feel better about my spelling, we all make mistakes, right? Thank you for dropping by, friend! ❤
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Love this, Beth and Carrie ???? I feel very much honoured that my blog has encouraged you to create you own…and such an amazing job you do. Love and hugs to you both and HUGE congratulations on your blogiversary xo
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Rel! Thank you so much! ???? I’m looking forward to hugging you in person.
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Congratulations! I really enjoy your posts. I think what you and the other reviewers do is great. My only complaint is that y’all add too many books to my wish list and introduce me to too many great authors ????!
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Connie, thank you! By the way, we’re really good at pushing books on one another too 😉
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What a great interview! Carrie, thanks for highlighting Beth’s blog. It was new to me, so thanks for the introduction. Laughed out loud at the #booknerdissues. Yes, there I was zooming in on Beth’s bookshelves to see what was there.
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Jeanne, it’s so nice to meet you! No shame in scoping out the shelves, books can tell a lot about a reader 🙂 Thank you for hopping over to celebrate!
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CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS, BeTh!!! And Happy Birthday to Faithfully Bookish! Thanks for all your hard work bringing readers GREAT reviews and giveaways! Wishing you God’s richest blessings in the years ahead!
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Thank you so much, Alison! You are a joy to have here!
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congratulations!!!! Yes, break out the balloons and confetti! So awesome to hear more about your journey! Looking forward to more great things!!!!! Yes! Yes! You do have fans in Canada— me!
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Melony, thank you dear friend! I’m thinking there are some shy Canadians hanging about as well (I’m a stats junkie & I love the map most) You can be leader for team Canada! ????
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Congrats my dear! So excited for you!!!!
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Thank you, little mama! It wouldn’t be half as much fun without you! ????
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So excited about this anniversary! Great interview. I know you a lot better now.
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For better or worse, it’s all out there now 😉 Thank you, Marguerite!
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Woohoo! Congrats on your one-year blogiversary! I love reading your blogs and spending time on Facebook with you. You’re amazingly fun and awesome, my dear friend! I can’t wait to hug you in person at CFRR. I didn’t zoom in on your bookcases, because our reading tastes are so similar, they are probably pretty much the same books as are on mine. I think you have a bunch more than I do, though. I can probably beat you on Kindle books! 😀
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Winnie! ???? I’m always so happy to see you here and I am looking forward to hugging you at CFRR (literally counting down the days)!!! Thanks for hanging out with me all over the interwebs!
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Congratulations on reaching the one year mark! Your blog is so good that I would have thought you’d have been doing it for far longer than a year! I enjoy reading your reviews (I’ve added several books to my TBR list from them) and giveaways. First line Friday is fun, too!
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Thank you, Elizabeth!!! That means a lot to me and I’m so glad you enjoy the blog! 🙂
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Congratulations Beth! I think I first saw you at a Facebook book party. Then I found your wonderful blog by clicking on a link from Carrie. I’ve been so blessed by your book reviews and author spotlights. Keep up the good work!
I think we will have to set aside some time at #CFRR for a hugfest 🙂
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Thank you, Andrea! Count me in for the all the hugs! ❤
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Beth Erin, Thank you for the mention. Your sweet personality and heart for Jesus resonate through your blog.
Cheers to books and blogiversaries! ????
Amanda
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Thank you, Amanda! It’s so nice of you to stop by 🙂
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Happy anniversary! ❤ You have a great bog!
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Thank you, Angela!
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Whoooohooooo!!!!! Happy Blogiversary, Beth Erin!!! 😀 I love reading your posts and can’t wait to meet you in person at CFRR in August!!
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Kella!!! Squeee! You are definitely getting a hug at CFRR! (I might not be able to stop at one though) ❤
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Haha right back at you!! 😀 Hugs for everyone!! 😉
p.s. This is totally what came to mind when I read your comment (I really hope this link works!!): https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/17/23/c9/1723c9a133f3973fd5fef33382fed6bb.jpg
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HAHAHAHA! YES! TACKLE HUGS! ????
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Beth & Carrie: I loved reading this interview so much! I was fun to “hear” your friendship, and I enjoyed learning about your blogging history, your purpose, etc. What a blessing you are! And let me say, Beth…as an English teacher I give your blog and your writing an A+! 😀
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Karen, thank you! My first A+ for writing ❤ Blogging is more fun than classes 😉
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CONGRATULATIONS, Beth! It has been a pleasure getting to know you! Hope to meet you in person soon. ((((HUGS))))
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You too, Caryl! I appreciate your support so much! You are my reigning top commenter and seeing a little message from you never gets old! HUGS ❤❤❤
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Happy blogiversary! I’m a terrible speller, too, by the way! You truly are an encouragement, and I’m glad I met you!
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Thank you, Janet! I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, too!
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Such a fun post!!! Happy blogiversary!!! So glad we are friends and got to meet at CFRR!!!
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Yay, Sydney! Thank you! I’m so happy we were able to meet and I enjoy each opportunity we have to join forces 🙂
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Rel stalkers unite! ???? Congratulations on your one year Blogiversary!
I can relate to so many things you’ve said. Especially having to give up reading for a season as a busy mum, and purging myself of unrealistic comparisons. And the ongoing struggle to maintain a balance amidst all my bookish love…
I’m so glad we found each other. Nothing quite enhances the reading/blogging journey like the friends we meet along the way. CFRR 2020 is sooooooooo far away! Cyber hugs until then! ❤️
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Thank you, Fici! ???? My blogger sister down under! ❤ 2020 is going to be a year to remember! I’m looking forward to it! HUGS & MORE HUGS!!!
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Congratulations my friend. Facebook is killing me this week. No notifications and blank feeds. Didn’t see this until now. LOVE YOU and your blog. Thankyou for the shoutout too! Here’s to many many many more years!
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Boo to Facebook being unkind! Thank you for your kind words and your friendship, Annie!!! I love you, too!!! ❤
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I. Love. This! Beth Erin, you are a beautiful one! 🙂 And guess what? Twinsies on the Language Arts probs. I go by Jen because there are fewer letters to mess up that way. English is hard!
Happy blogaversary, awesome lady!
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This makes me happy in all kinds of ways I can’t even swoof! It is quite likely that I’m going to hug you longer and more often than absolutely necessary… don’t be alarmed!
Thank you so much, Jen! ????
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I simply cannot love this enough! ❤❤❤ Happy birthday, Faithfully Bookish! You (ahem Beth) are amazing!
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Aww, shucks! Amy! Thank you!!! You’re too kind ????
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Thank you so much for #swoof
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HAHAHA! You are welcome my friend! #swoof well!
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Congratulations! 🙂
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Thank you, Deanna!
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Congrats, Beth on your first anniversary!
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Thank you, Dianne! I’m happy to have you here!
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Congrats on your first anniversary!
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congrats on your aniversary
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Thank you, Marlene!
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Congratulations.
Marilyn
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Thank you, Marilyn! 🙂
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Congratulations on your one year blog anniversary! Thanks for writing a blog that is a great source for info about quality Christian fiction.
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Thank you, Pam! It is my pleasure 🙂
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Happy 1 year!!! 😀
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Thank you!
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Congratulations on your anniversary!
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Thank you, Marilyn!
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Happy birthday to you! I just found you from Carrie at Reading is My SuperPower. I might have to follow you too!
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Thank you, Michelle! Carrie is a wonderful book blogger and dear friend! I would be honored to have you here, Carrie and I are good at sharing all kinds of things!
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Happy 1 Yr Blogiversary Beth Thanks for everything you do for us book lovers
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Thank you, Linda! It is my pleasure!
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Congratulations Beth! I wish you many more Blogaversaries and Carrie, you have just proven again how supportive you are of authors and how dedicated you are to sharing the written word. You have also shown just how generous you are!
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Thank you, Connie! Carrie is a real peach, no doubt about that! ????
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I admire all your support for so many fabulous authors! Congrats on ONE YEAR!
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Thank you, Emilee! 🙂
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Great Job!
I really like your post. Thanks for sharing.
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