I can’t tell you how many coversations I’ve had that have proceeded something like this:

Anonymous: Hi, my name is Anonymous.
Jonathan: Oh, hi, I love your books. My name is Jonathan.
Anonymous: Cool… so, you have any brothers or sisters?
Jonathan: Yes, six.
Anonymous: WHAT?! Are you (Mormon, Catholic, Mormon Catholic, crazy)?

For some people, the idea of a family with seven children is absolutely unthinkable. If you have, say, one brother and a sister, Anonymous might proceed to ask where they live, or how old they are. But at seven, all they can do is try to recover from the surprise, and perhaps ask “where I fall in the lineup.” (I always say that “I am the eldest,” though I am aware that this only further propagates our image as home-schooled fuddy-duddies.)

So, if you read this blog, I thought I would introduce you to my family, which really doesn’t feel all that large to me at all. Here is a photograph of us, taken this past Christmas Day:

Now, I realize that there are a lot of people here, and it does not help that their faces are about the size of postage stamps for mice. So here’s what you can do to learn some names:

1. Open the annotated photo, and move your mouse over it. Look, boxes appear on each person’s head! Those will tell you each person’s name, with annotations for non-immediate family.
2. Got everyones’ names? Good! Open the large photo to see what we actually look like.

Perhaps one day I’ll give you a more personal introduction to each of my siblings. But for now, Anonymous, I hope this helps de-mystify the McPherson clan just a little bit for you. And the next time someone tells you they’re from a big family, smile and think of the McPhersons. We’re regular people. There are just a few more of us.