Some pictures from the last couple of weeks...

Emily & Lauren at Fellowship Baptist

Karisse & Me, the same night

Not many people look this cute in rollers and pjs!
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Kay & Brent

Don't all 2 year olds know how to text???

KVYSO

Elizabeth has had the blessing this past year of being a part of the Kankakee Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra. (Say that name three times fast! :o)

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What is especially exciting, is that Lizzy was able to win one of the orchestra members for the Lord!

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This picture was taken at their final concert for this school year.

An afternoon on the Nymeyer Farm

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Sunny Days

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One of the blessings of warm weather is the ability to, once again, hang laundry out on the line!

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Nathan

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Our new blogger!

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With the realization that we will be losing half our staff this August, the blogging corporation of the McDonnell family decided to take on Elizabeth as our new blog "infuser". I am sure with her many creative ideas, she will be a main part of this blog in the coming months. (As long as she doesn't put too many "incriminating" pictures on :o)

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Photographer: Connor McDonnell (NO, I am not kidding!)

The benefits of overalls!

Free rides! :o)

Happy Birthday, Em!

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Last week she turned 15. This beautiful girl is totally wonderful and has been such a blessing to me, personally. We can't imagine life without her sweet smile, helpful spirit... and her baking! She spoils us all with her scrumptious dishes that she makes.

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We sure LOVE YOU, Emily! God bless you in the coming year as you continue to serve and love Him.

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Time for gifts

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She chose, for her birthday dessert, a "Citrus Cheesecake." It was sooo yummy!

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Ready for takeoff!

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Gone... but not forgotten

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The kids got together and compiled an "Easter Box" for Rick, in Florida. We took a bunch of plastic eggs and filled them with this and that. There was an egg from each of us, with a note in it. Also, we put various goodies in some of the colorful eggs!

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Lizzie headed up the project and did a great job at getting it all organized.

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Helping Connor write his "letter."

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This was Jack's idea. :-)
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I don't know what this look is for!

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Smiling again!

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Anna, decorating her egg.

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Some of the eggs.
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Ready to go!

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Free entertainment...

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An interesting video clip that I came across....

For everybody, it is a cute story...

For you car lovers, it is a cute story and an awesome car!

Happy Birthday...
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... to our sweet Mother!

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What would we do without Mom to keep this family going and the schedule running smoothly? It's amazing to think about all the ways that she has influenced my own life, personally. She has been a tremendous example to me of how one gracefully balances being a wife, mother, teacher, daughter, cook, house cleaner, nurse, chauffeur, adviser, encourager... and about one hundred other things.

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Thank you Mother. You mean so much to all of us!!!
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I love you!

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THIS FRIDAY...

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... marks the 2 year anniversary of the McDonnell Family Blog. We did some serious "brainstorming" to figure out how to get every one of our viewers involved with the comments on this post. We resolved to think of a common bond of people in blog world.

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Eventually, we came up with something... your shoe size! Think about it, everyone wears shoes at some point in their life, therefore everyone has a shoe size. Do you know what this means? No one has an excuse not to comment on this post.

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If you wear shoes, this is your moment to shine (uhhh, no pun intended). We want to see how many comments we can get, so join in the fun!

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What is your shoe size???

Our one month anniversary

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Brent came in for a quick, weekend visit, arriving on Friday evening the 14th (exactly one month after he asked me to be his wife). Hard to believe the wedding is less than 20 weeks away!

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Brent is heading to the Philippines soon, after some other meetings this week. He, along with a few other men, will leave March 24th and head back home April 7th. While there, their schedule will be full of preaching and they will have multiple opportunities to share the gospel. Brent is excited to see what the Lord will do through this trip, as am I.

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We would appreciate your prayers for traveling safety, open and receptive hearts in the Philippines, and for God to do a mighty work through the team.

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Psalm 73:28

"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

Spring is almost here!

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Flower shopping...

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Earlier this week, Liz, Em and I headed to Indiana where we met a friend and made flower bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres for the wedding. Besides the trip being great fun, we were also able to find everything on sale. God is so good! Although I don't want to show too many flower pictures, I'm going to post a few (basically, assembling the smaller bunches), to give you a glimpse into the planning.

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Thank you, Sarah, for all your help! You did an incredible job helping us get the flowers all organized and put together.

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Shopping in one of the many aisles of flowers

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Emmy, working on a corsage
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Lizzie was the official "flower clipper", at this point.

A boutonniere for "my man."

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Afternoon with MaryAnn

One of Liz and Em's friends came over on Thursday afternoon, for a couple of hours. As any good blogger would, we snapped a few photos.

At DQ

Lizzie and her "Mint M&M Blizzard".

Trying on sunglasses... classy, huh?

Liz and Em, preparing for a round of Dutch Blitz.

No, there is not an intelligent or logical explanation for this shot.

More Dutch Blitz. This game is marvelous!

The Reign Of Metal Has Ended! (sort of)

Finally...I cannot be called "zipper lips" or "train wreck" or "tinsel teeth" :o) I didn't care about the names anyway, it is just nice to not have a mouthful of metal after a little over a year of constant wires!

So, it is 8:30 this morning.

I walk into the orthodontic office with fear and trepidation in my heart knowing that these little pieces of metal that have remained firmly in place for over a year on my teeth must now be removed.

When I am called by the nurse, I settle myself comfortably in the chair....well....as comfortable as you can be with your ankles at a higher elevation than your head! (Man those chairs!) And prepare to watch them hook up a jackhammer to knock my brackets off.

But lo and behold! She only takes out a little metal pick! I think to myself, "hallelujah!" this won't be hard at all.

UNTIL!! Until she starts picking and grinding and scraping and wreaking havoc on my teeth to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm"!

Do any of you get irritated by the sound of fingernails on a chalk board? If so, let me tell you something. You have never REALLY experienced that feeling fully until the person scraping out the sound is doing it on YOUR teeth!

Anyway, after the nurse is done giving me whiplash by jerking the brackets off, it is time for the Orthodontist to come out and take the metal ring bands (or as I call them...blades) off of my molar teeth.

Now I am really scared! I lie there, closing my eyes. Wondering how it will feel to lose four teeth right in a row without any pain killer. I feel the doctor reaching into my mouth with a pair of gargantuan pliers that he borrowed from the auto mechanic down the street ....waiting......waiting....waiting......

"Alright kid, you can close your mouth now."

Amazing! I didn't even feel them come off! Just remember kids, when you want a pair of quality pliers for your toolbox, buy "Dento Wrencher Thingys" brand! They work wonderfully! :o)

All that to say, my braces are off.

A few pics below to remind myself why I went through all of this:

Before:

After:

The views expressed in above story may be slightly enhanced by the author for reader interest. Please do not hold a grudge against any orthodontist after reading this story or develop a phobia of all things tooth related. Need help? Call 1-800-I-Am-Scared-Of-People-With-Metal-Tools-Designed-For-My-Teeth or go to www.don'ttouchmewiththatthing.com

Recent picture of Emmy and Dree

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Confidence

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