Happy New Year From The McDonalds

2014 was filled with work and play at the McDonald house.

Dear friends and random internet strangers who stumble upon this,

Each year our little family becomes wiser and so more thankful for the blessed life that we have. This year of course we are also a little bigger than most of our 16 years together, as Cupcake celebrated her 1st (and golden) birthday on October 1. The mite who used to struggle to leap onto the couch can now scale 7-foot fences. She also enjoys magic, able to escape any collar and make it vanish. Except for a tragicomic experience when Joe accidentally locked her in a sock drawer for 12 hours, she's had a charmed year. She loves to greet us at the door, gently wake us in the morning, and play at all hours of the day. She even had fun during her week at aunt Rosann's while Joe and Dena were vacationing in California.

Dena has contributed her artistic skills and helping hands to several charities this year. Her marketing design for OSF hospital's fund raising event was so gratefully received that they comped us a free weekend at Eastland Suites in Champaign, a getaway we made the most of. Her involvement in Kiwanis has also brought her to work in the Midwest Food Bank among other places, and she's supported Eastview Christian Church's food drives and stage set-up. Joe finished his fourth year as class facilitator for the chamber of commerce's leadership program, sings in the contemporary band at Epiphany Catholic Church, performed as the Pied Piper and King Harold in Community Players Theatre's summer performance of Shrek, and sang the national anthem at a couple Cornbelters' games.

Both of us are active volunteers for the condominium association, where Joe passed his 20th anniversary as a resident. Dena serves as the Board's secretary, and Joe as the bookkeeper. Things got dicey during the January polar vortex when a neighbor's burst water pipe turned her unit into an ice castle, but State Farm Insurance took great care of the problem. By the end of the year, the property replaced the 40-year-old carports with shiny new ones, with more exciting upgrades on tap for the spring.

In the world of sports it's been an historic year. Joe completed his fifth year coaching boys' basketball at Normal Community High School, and the team made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the playoffs. He also finished second in fantasy baseball and basketball leagues. Our Illinois State Redbirds volleyball team had a 23-match win streak, and the football team made it to the national championship game. By the end of the year the Cardinals had enjoyed another playoff season, the Bulls led the division, and even the Sox and Cubs were making more noise than usual as possible 2015 playoff contenders.

We did stuff for money too. Dena finished her fourth year working part-time for First Farmers State Bank, continues as editor of the Kiwanis newsletter for the states of Illinois and Iowa, and has helped a local author publish a book. Joe's tutoring business served 82 students spread over 750 hours and grade levels from 8th through college MBA students, expanding beyond math into accounting and finance. He also completed his time at Heartland Community College, and had the opportunity to substitute teach an actuarial science course at ISU for two weeks.

Who needs to rock-climb or scuba dive when you have Netflix? We've been a cable-less household for over a year now, feasting on new episodes of Undercover Boss, ESPN's 30 for 30, and documentaries as well as comedy staples like Frasier, Rules of Engagement, and How I Met Your Mother. Less T.V. means more time to visit the gym which we do as a couple several days a week.

2015 holds as much promise as any other year, and we wish you all the health and happiness and grace of God as we look forward to crossing paths again.

Happy New Year from all of us to all of you!