Happy 82nd Birthday Mom!

Pulling sticks. Winning races. She's amazing!!

I'VE BEEN PAINTING...

GREEN & BROWN SWIRL PAINTING

And thought I may as well show off my most recent little project, since this site needs an update. It's simple, but I like it. :)

Congrats Dr. Madsen!!!

Chris' office is finally open for business!!!! Here are some pictures (with some adorable models) taken about a week ago when things were nearly finished. Skylar and Tanner couldn't be more excited & love "helping" dad at work (which up to this point has been helping set up, sleeping & playing game cube-hard work!). If you want to check out his website, it's www.madsendentistry.com.

Baptizin' Brothers

These pictures were taken the last week of July 2005.
I guess they still like doing things together.

The Girl in a Whirl

Vickie Gunther of Redlands,California, wrote a hilarious poem, Dr. Seuss style, about how much LDS women try to take on. David B. Marsh used it at Women's Conference. You may have seen this before but I thought it was good enough to read more than once!

The Girl in a Whirl
Dr. Suess (a.k.a. Vickie Gunther)

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do
If you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;

I bake,
I upholster,
I scrub,
and I pray.

I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.

I help in their classrooms!
I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice!
I cut all their hair!

I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.

I play the piano!
I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle!
My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)

I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all!
I track my bad habits ~til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed!
My toenails are polished!

Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too.
It's easy to do all the things that I do!

I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children!
I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.

I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)

I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each lost lamb on my Primary roll.

I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all

I write in my
journal!
I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write thank yous to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A's!
And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.

I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires!
I fix the sink's leak!

I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.

I make sure I rotate our two-years supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!

These things are not hard;
It's good if you do them;
You can if you try!
Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!

It's easy! She said
and then she dropped dead.

Janice's Trip to Utah

May the Force Be With YOU!

Audio Blogger

OK.  If you want to learn how to post an audio message to our blog, go to this site and follow the instructions.  It really is simple.

http://audioblogger.com/

Next time you have folks gathered to sing happy birthday, or you just have to share something amazing, now you are only one phone call away from having it posted on the MacLetter Blogspot.

Cool Stuff!!!

Yet another way to POST!

This may be the best way for Word fans.

I am writing this blog in Microsoft Word.  I’ve added a toolbar to my Word software that allows me to write my blog here, rather than online.  I can use all the features of word and even publish my document to the MacLetter without leaving Word.

If you want to learn more about using Word to post, click on this link http://buzz.blogger.com/bloggerforword.html

No excuses!

Hey...you can make an audio post!

MacAssignments

While we all hope that the whole family will use this place to post stuff at any time, I believe we are more apt to hear more from one another if we have an assigned time to post something...anything! Starting with Grandma and Granddad and working our way down to Gordon's family, let's feature one family/extended family per week (but, of course, not limit it to that family).

OK...here's the assignments for the following weeks:

Week of
Oct 23rd: Grandma and Granddad
Oct 30th: John
Nov 6th: Mike
Nov 13th: Janice
Nov 20th: Fred
Nov 27th: Amy
Dec 4th: Eva
Dec 11th: Gordon

Plan on it!!!

Friday Night Fun

Hi Everyone,
This is Laura, Nate, Isaac, Sarah, Eva, and the Eva Clan. We are hangin' out on Friday night, at Eva's House, and getting pretty hungry. (Well, I am at least...I'm eating for two here...this is Sarah.) I just learned about this new invention and so I am excited. This is a great blog. Isaac wants to say something...asdfjhwoeinfa. Okay, well, we're signing off now. Love ya. The Clan.

MacRecipe

I've added a supplemental blog called MacRecipe (See the LINKS in the sidebar). I thought it would be fun to share our favorite recipes or awesome culinary finds. I've started things off with my infamous recipe for pizza crust.

Also, I've asked April to help me handle the administrative functions for our MacBlogs. She and I have invited lots of family folks to join the blogs (not everyone has accepted the invitation, yet), but if you can see that we've left someone out, will you let us know.

I think our blog should be open to all family members at all times, but I also think it would be a good idea to make some assignments. Each week could feature letters/updates from members of the core 8 family groups: Grandma & Granddad, John, Mike, Janice, Fred, Amy, Eva, and Gordon. So, if it was John's week, we might see something from John, Nancy, Aaron, or Diane...or all of the above! The MacLetter was stronger when we had assignments, so I think this would be a way of bringing that back into the MacEquation.

What do you think????

An Update from Jenny & Steve

ME & MY STEVE

Hi family! I am so glad that we have a temporary(?) fix for Macletter.com being down! It's great to have an easy way for everyone to communicate, and I was sad that it was seeming to fade away.

So, I'll give an update now, I guess! This picture is me & Steve at Eric's wedding in August. It was a beautiful wedding and Eric & Christine are just the cutest couple.

Steve & I just bought a condo, and are loving fixing it up to look super cute, and just love being homeowners finally. We have two kitties who are fun to have around, too.

Steve is still playing music 2-3 nights a week in his jazz/funk band Fat Soul, and doing professional gardening during the day. I'm still doing Graphic Design.

That's about it. Now you're up to date. :)

Andy and Maleah

April 2006...

Any guess why these two cute monkeys are SOOO happy? :)

.... yeah, I know it's ABOUT TIME!

GUESS WHAT????! I FINALLY sent out the pictures from the family reunion and the family home videos. Sorry it has taken so long. Let me know if you don't get them within the next week. I've sent them to all SECOND generation and Grandma & Granddad. I'm leaving it up to the 2nds to share it with the 3rds & 4ths. (I hope that makes sense!) Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
April
p.s. GO EVA FOR GETTING THIS SET UP! We've been missing the Mac site. Thanks Eva!!!!

Pics from Granddad

The First Third Gen Post. :-)

This is to encourage the rest of those third generation MacDonalds to stay active with the MacLetter too. Join the fun!

[Jenny, Heather, and Lindsay at Eric's wedding]

Where it All Begins

"Am I related to all these people?" Comment overheard at the family reunion.

Another Space

I think we all loved the MacLetter. It was cool, and all our own. It is hard to explain why posting and interest waned over time, but it undeniable that participation was not all that it could be.

So...what should become of the MacLetter? Do we continue to invest the money and time to maintain our own little spot in cyberspace, or do heed the natural inclinations of our Scottish blood and go for a spot that's free?

I've created this blog space as an experiment, to assess what it is that we really want. If you want to post something to this spot, just email it to me...photos, text, mp3s, etc.

So folks, what will it be?