The McDonald kids share a light moment. They are, from left, Melissa 14, Lloyd, 17, Manie, 7, Lewis, 20, Luke 12, Locker, 19 and Mary Eleanor, 16.

Limestone County Probate Judge Stan McDonald knows a thing or two about being a father; in fact, he knows seven things: four sons and three daughters.

McDonald said when people first meet his large family they inevitably ask him about the decision he and his wife, Missy Dye McDonald, made to have so many children.

“We decided to have a big family before we got married,” he said. “We thought one of the best things we could ever do for our world would be to have many children, and to raise them in a godly way to be Christians, and to have a good impact on the world.”

After meeting the McDonalds one still can’t help but wonder what it’s like to have seven children.

“It’s a huge blessing,” McDonald doesn’t hesitate to answer. However he does admit raising them means he and Missy face new challenges every day.

“(Having kids) doesn’t mean everything’s easy,” he said. “People have to take more responsibility around the house or things won’t get done. When there’s seven of them, they create more day-to-day responsibilities than the average child.”

But when it comes to taking care of Lewis, 20; Locker, 19; Lloyd, 17; Mary Eleanor, 16; Melissa, 14; Luke, 12; and Manie, 7, Stan and Missy have plenty of helping hands — including grandfather, and former Auburn football coach, Pat Dye.

McDonald said one day, Dye offered to buy a barbecue lunch for the family. He returned to the house with meals for the kids and their parents.

“I didn’t realize what I signed up for when I did this,” Dye exclaimed.

“Do you realize you have to pay for 27 meals a day?” he asked McDonald, who told his father-in-law he certainly did realize it.

Missy, who was pregnant for most of the 1990s, home-schooled the older children for many years, but when McDonald’s sons expressed an interest to participate in sports, all the children moved to Athens City Schools. Currently there is at least one McDonald enrolled at every level of Athens City Schools. At one time, McDonald said, his first three sons were on the Athens High football team’s defensive line during a game. His two oldest sons now attend Auburn University.

Stan brings his belief in the importance of children into his professional life. He said one of the best parts of his job as probate judge is assisting in adoptions.

“I often explain how precious in the sight of God I think adoptions are,” he said.

Stan McDonald has enjoyed a prosperous career in the real estate and legal fields, opening his own firm and, most recently, being appointed Limestone County’s probate judge. From Montgomery, to Huntsville and finally to Athens, every time a door opened for him, his wife and children would follow him happily, many times when Missy had another little one on the way.