Welcome to our “new” blog – Never a Dull Moment

In Kyle’s immortal words: “It’s up, it’s up, it’s up!  It’s a high fly ball to center field!!!” And “Never a Dull Moment” is here – welcome to our “new” blog!  And thank you so very much for all the input and feedback – that was pretty amazing and humbling.

So, In addition to updating the blog in a way we felt good about, we really tried to incorporate comments from everyone.  Some of that will be reflected in what we post about, and some is more structural (as noted below).  We’ll also be posting plenty of pictures, just a little more careful than we were – but not fewer!

Also, in October we’ll be doing another “Open Book” post and we’ll be answering lots of questions then, and we’re looking forward to it!

In any case, here is a brief run down of the “new” blog.  Please let us know what you think.

1. A nicer look: with a new header and cleaner lines!  We’ll keep this one fresh for fun.  The tree photo is not here, but we’ll try to find a place for it.  Also, we’ve taken a lot out of the side to make it easier to read for now. One day we’ll do a totally custom site, but for now we’re pretty happy with it.
2. Find content easier: Check out the categories above (eg: “Bambinos”). These should make it easier to find posts that may interest you
3. Find other content you’ll like: Speaking of interest…. at the bottom of each post are a few other posts loosely related that you might also like.  Easy to click and read, and read, and read, and read.
4. Get it in your blog reader: For everyone who emailed about your RSS reader – yes it’s back – you can get RSS feeds now.  Phew!
5. Sharing the love: There is a little button at the bottom of each post – share this – you can use it to add to your facebook page, twitter, etc.  If you think people you know would like that post (like our adoptive family friends who have friends who want to adopt), use that to share.
6. Start the conversation: When you comment, not only can you subscribe to the comment feed, but you can carry on a dialog with others with threaded comments.  So, when you want to reply to a specific person’s comment, feel free – the comment is specific to the reply – so go for it!
7. Logon how you like: We still require logon for comments (and user validation too), but now you can logon using your old Five Free Spirits ID, or via lots of social networks – however you want to logon – feel free!

Lastly – we’re thinking of adding community features, but want to see if you think it’s a good idea.  With a community, not only can you see who the other members are, but you can see what they write/comment, what they like, who they respond too and a little about them.

There would also be forums that users can logon and contribute to as well (with topics that you create and are interested in).    Is this something you would find valuable at all – any part of it?  If not, then we won’t do it, but if so, then we’ll put it in.

Please let us know what you think and if you have other suggestions – we really, really appreciate all the input!