It’s one day early, but Empty Branches will celebrate its 8th blogiversary tomorrow. I have to admit that 8 years have flown by and I’ve loved every minute of it.

1. I’ve posted 2,812 articles, including at least one every day since September 2014.
2. My best one-day total views was 831.
3. I’ve had 378, 484 page views.
4. Readers have taken the time to leave 3,802 comments. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to do that. While it may look like I don’t respond to many of them, I actually privately email readers.

I’m not one to spend much time patting myself on the back, so instead of sharing my “best” or favorite posts, I’d like instead to guide you to the tabs underneath the header photo above.

Over the years, I’ve added to and expanded links in each of those categories. Please take a few minutes to check out:

County Histories – links to thousands of digitized county histories for all 50 U.S. states

Education & Methodology – dozens of links to MOSTLY free resources to sharpen one’s research skills

GeneaGems – links great websites that I’ve come across on a wide variety of topics and places

Genetic Genealogy – Just like it sounds – free resources to learn more about genealogy & DNA

Maps and Land Records – self explanatory!

Non-U.S. Links – also self explanatory, but mostly covering locations to which my own research has led

Reference Tools & Organization – self explanatory!

U.S. State & General Links – links to resources in all 50 states, at the state level

Lastly, I’d like to thank every person who has taken the time to read my blog. I’ve heard from so many distant cousins and made many new virtual friends who I someday hope to meet.

Another wonderful benefit that I’ve found in blogging is that it has forced me to learn so much more about my ancestors’ lives, their cultures and the times in which they lived. I’ve enjoyed every new discovery.

When I started Empty Branches 8 years ago, my husband never thought I’d stick with it because of the technology end of things. Well, I’ve managed to learn just enough to make me dangerous, but I’m cautious enough to look for help with issues arise – like a couple of days ago when a new Jetpack plugin update broke my site! Thankfully, the tech support I have fixed everything and problems don’t really happen very often.

I’m looking forward to another fun year of sharing stories, tips and resources. I tell everyone my blog is my baby and I’m loving what I’m doing. 🙂