Family Reformation

I plan on changing the picture on my header from time to time to give you a sense of life in the McDonald family, our church, and our ministry endeavours. We are real people living real life seeking to honor the Lord. I pray you enjoy this peek into our home.

Due to the download time of this page, I have made individual photo pages for previous years. You can access them from the links below.

2007    2008

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May 2009 – With help from Caleb, William, and a friend, we accomplished a fun project. We dug a hole in the yard, leveled out the cavity, added some sand and gravel, some brick, and “ta-da” – we built a great fire pit for under $120! We have used it a couple of times already. Marshmallows and S’mores galore. Of course, in the midst of the project, William donned his pith helmet, grabbed his pistol and binoculars and dove in. Our fire pit made a great foxhole, for a few minutes. This was a great project to work on together, and now a great asset for fellowships. I recommend this project for all families!

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April 2009 – The snow has departed, bringing with it the green of spring – and many, many showers. Emma loves these days. She enjoys frolicking with umbrella in hand and, of course, splashing in the many mud puddles that pocket our country lane. We all enjoy the spring, the new life it brings, and the promise of the warm days of summer. Our lambs are enjoying these days as well, following Emma on her adventures on our 2 acres of heaven in Central Illinois. We have also been quite busy of late. Conference speaking, presbytery, weddings to attend, and many, many visitors. We are also gearing up for an upcoming ladies tea and, of course, the Reformation Day Faire! We rejoice in God’s showers of blessings!

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March 2009 – Emma finally has her wish. We have adopted two baby lambs. They are pretty much helpless. This is giving Emma as well as her siblings plenty of practice caring for babies. One of the lambs seems pretty much helpless right now. We are not sure if he is going to make it. Nevertheless, the children have all fallen in love with them. Everyone wants to help bottle feed them. So now, we have 26 chickens and 2 lambs. Do we qualify as agrarians yet? I suppose we will soon hear the refrain from that classic of yesteryear, “Old MacDonald had a farm…” Moving to the country has given our family many new opportunities! We are ever so thankful for our two acres of heaven.

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March 2009 – The snow is gone. The sun is shining. What a day for the children (well, some of them) to go for a walk. Abigail missed this outing as she was working on an essay for Liberty Day. To help make the house peaceful, the older girls led the younger children on an adventurous walk. And you know that a camera had to be around. Caleb and I missed the adventure as well, being away at a meeting in Indianapolis. Maybe we can all get together next time! We have grand plans soon. Rescreening in the deck. Digging a fire pit. Fence work for lambs and maybe a pig. And, of course, some relaxing walks in the country. Ah, Spring!

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February 2009 – Valentine’s Day 2009 was quite a treat. Our daughters banded together to make Stacy and I a special evening at home. A nice Cabernet, a salmon steak, and crème brûlée for dessert. Romantic music playing in the background. Candlelight and stars outside our own bedroom window. We were able to just sit and talk in solitude. This was indeed a great treat. Thank you girls!

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February 2009 – I had to share this picture of William before church last Sunday. He was all ready, hat in place, bow tie just so, ready to worship the Lord. It is amazing watching our children grow. God has given this young man quite a spirit of adventure and yet also a spirit of compassion. We have been struggling with the flu this past week. William has been the first to the side of an ailing sister with words of cheer and a prayer for comfort. How thankful I am for this young man.

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January 2009- One more try at a snowman. I went out to help the girls. I shared with them that the trick to snowman was making good snowballs. We worked and worked. Yes, he still looks pretty pitiful. The snow was very powdery. Powdery snow does not make a great snowman. But the girls had a great time. I promised them we would try again next year. The snow is now all gone. Spring time is coming. But I have a couple more photos to share for the friends and family that come to this little blog.

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January 2009 – By the look of this snowman, you can certainly deduce that we are still Texans at heart! Abigail and Virginia Grace did a good job attempting to make a snowman, but he looks more like a Hershey’s Kiss. In fairness, however, the recent snow was very powdery. It was difficult to make a snowball. My plan is to go out with the girls and make a real snowman before the thaw comes. I am sure we will add in a little sledding and some snowball tossing. Maybe we will even get a photo or two to show we can make a real snowman!