here goes

All right, folks, here's our "home page." This is sort of a test: anything can be changed and we can scratch this for something better if the format doesn't work out too great for us. And seriously, anything can be changed...if you're not a fan of the font, colors, whatever, let me know.

First off, some common terms defined:

• post: what you call what I'm writing now
• sidebar: what you call the stuff on the left side of the page. It can be moved to the right, or basically do anything you like. I can add anything to the sidebar you like - just tell me. We can put links to old posts in the sidebar...things we might commonly refer to, like a list of birthdays.
• archives: what you call old posts. blogspot automatically archives things, and I've selected to have our posts archived monthy. You can peruse through the archives in the sidebar.
  
• labels: when you put a label on each of your posts just so that you can read similar entries together. For example, one label might be: old family pictures, and every time grandpa posted one, he could add that label to the end of the post. If you ever wanted to peruse through them all, you could just click on that tag in the sidebar.
  
• comment: v. adding a note at the end of a post. n. a note at the end of the post. To post a comment click on "0 comments" at the end. You don't have to have a blogspot account to do this: just click on "other" and type in your name.
  
• template: the huge mess of computer language that makes the blog look like it does. Our new blog from blogspot is very user-friendly, and a lot can be changed very easily. The real template is harder to manuever, but it's like a fun puzzle trying to figure it out. I don't think anyone will be able to see it but me. But if something looks weird, let me know.
  
• If anything is still confusing, just comment on this post and ask.
  

Now, how you can be a part of this.

• Check it for updates. Use bloglines.com to tell you when there are new posts.
  
• Link. Use the sidebar to link to our personal blogs....You can send me your blog/page to be added to the side bar. (Let me know if any links are "broken.")
  
• Post comments. It's fun to read what others have said about a post, and it will make this a fun place to visit. =)
• Post. There are 2 ways to do that. 1. When we're up and running, I will email you all a email address that you can write to that will then post it directly onto the blog. That will be an easy way for everyone to post. (Just make sure you delete any extra stuff that normally goes out at the end of the email.) I'm not sure how easy it is to add pictures that way; we'll see. 2. I can invite you to be a member/co-author. You will have to have a blogspot or gmail account. Of course it's free, and really quite easy. (And a gmail address is the best kind of have =)