Invitation to the Larry and Leslie Sidwell Family

I have just returned from the Charlottesville Family History Conference. There I learned the advantages and blessings of having a blog where I could post things for others to see and/or participate in. I came home straightaway and created this very basic family blog, in which we, your Mom and Dad, Mimi and Papa, hope all of our family will participate. There are a number of reasons we are doing this:
First, we want to keep up with all the activities of our marvelous family. I want to see entries of what you are doing, pictures of your children and your families. Anything--whether happy feelings, triumphs, concerns, needs, that you would like to share with each other, I hope this will provide a way to do so.
Second, we will want to share with you our thoughts, our testimonies, our great love and hopes for each of you. Perhaps we will find information and articles we wish to share.
Third, we want to provide a place that might serve as a central planning site for a future family reunion. I have talked with several of you, our children, and you all seem amenable to the idea of a family reunion. Too often we delay, and then the moment and the year has passed without planning or executing this family reunion. For a family so close as ours, I am sure you all agree that we should have a family get-together, perhaps on a regular basis. I know that with being so far from each other, and each with young children that such an endeavor takes real and timely planning, so let's get started.
We are not locked in to the way this blog looks nor even the location, i.e. blogspot.com. We have very talented website designers in our family, and some of you even have your own blog. Please feel free to change this site around to make it better or even propose moving our information to a new website. We are open to any such suggestions. I have made each of you, our children--Shannon, Jared, Allison, Melinda, and Nathaniel--contributors to the website. You just need to sign in. If you want your spouses or children to contribute, let's make it happen. Please let me know.
I also need guidance as to who we should allow to see our website. Should we allow the world to view our site, or should we restrict access to our family only?
Please tell us what you think. Post your own profile, post your own thoughts, add pictures, we hope you will participate. Love Mom and Dad