Raising Kids Requires a Lot of Prayer!

As our kids are getting are getting older it is getting harder! I am experiencing all the things parents warned me about your kids getting older. I really thought it would never happen to me. But this growing up thing is creating a huge pit in my stomach. I remember when they were all little and thinking it was so hard and thinking I couldn't wait for them to be older and it would be so much easier. WRONG!!! It is hard physically when they are younger but way more hard emotionally when they are older.

My cousin Robin is a great Mom and wife. She is a prayer warrior and has been a great resource for me. She always tells me you have to PRAY constantly during this phase of life. Pray for your children. That is it so much harder and more stressful when they are older. She encouraged me to get the book the Power of a Praying Parent. I got the book and pray the prays frequently. It is an excellent tool. I keep a journal as well and try to put my thoughts and prayer requests on paper so I can remember them.  I speak lots of scripture over my kids as well.

The issues of kids these days are too much. I feel so bad for them with all the social media and things like that. Social media can be awesome, but it also causes a lot of hurt feelings among teens. They can see where their friends went that they weren't invited to, all this BFF stuff, WCW. If you aren't anyone's WCW then you feel bad. If you aren't with your friends in their 5000th selfie you feel bad. When your friend says someone else is their "Main" or their "bestie" then your feelings are hurt. AHHHHHH It is so frustrating.

Another thing I have learned is that I can't make my child do anything. I can't "make" them have a relationship with Christ, I can't "make" them look to Him to meet their needs. But I can pray for them and encourage them. Christ has to grab ahold of their heart and they have to form their own relationship with Him. It is my job to model Christ to them and to let them see me having a quiet time and looking to Him for answers. And for them to see me pray to Him in situations. And keep praying that He would grab ahold of their hearts and have a relationship with Him.

It feels like too much. It is so much pressure to be a good parent. But people have been doing it for years. I just have to keep my focus on Him and keep praying. In my book I read these great verses and I think they would be a great theme verse for our family.

Romans 12:10- "be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.

1 Peter 3:8- "be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.

Ephesians 4:3- "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

So those are my ramblings today, just really been thinking of the seriousness of parenting!

I Have A TEENAGER…….

Happy 13th Birthday Ella Rain! I can't believe my firstborn is a teen! WOW! Where did that time go? It seems like just yesterday I had my first baby. This little chubby faced, full head of hair baby girl! She was the cutest thing ever. And boy was she spoiled. She wouldn't sleep unless she were in my arms. I could not leave the room without her crying and she was a major mamma's girl!

She seriously had the thickest head of hair I have ever seen on any infant. She was such a fun smart girl. I am so blessed to be her mamma.

Here are some random facts about Ella:

-she has a huge heart for others
-she has a very giving heart
-she has a guilty conscience
-she tells me everything
-she is a baller
-she has a beautiful singing voice
-she loves Jesus
-she is very repentant when she is wrong
-she is strong
-she loves going to church
-she is loyal
-she is very affectionate
-she is super smart
-she is a hard worker
-she is pretty  mature
-she made me a mamma

Ella Rain, you are a joy and a blessing and Dad I love you so very much and we are very proud of you! Keep focussing on Jesus baby girl!

Max Wilen is 10!!!

My first little boy is 10 years old. Where has the time gone? For his 10th birthday he got to go to a KU game. It was so much fun. We got to meet up with Madz and sit with her and it was a blast! We are huge KU fans at this house!

When I think back on his 10 years I ams so proud of him. He has overcome a lot of adversity. When I was pregnant with him I had to have my gall bladder out. Then during his birth his heart rate was dropping so we had to hurry to get him out. He was born a bit early so he had a hard time learning to swallow, he choked on everything. He was a happy to starve baby. And he has had many other things he has overcome.

He has been brave and a fighter and for that I am thankful. I love him so much and I wanted a boy so bad. I was so happy to finally have my boy. As a little guy he was always my little buddy, he stuck to me like glue. Now he is a major dads boy. Which hurts my heart a little but I know that is what boys his age do and he has a great daddy. I like to be around his daddy too!:)

Max has been a huge blessing to us. Here are some random things about our guy in honor of his birthday:

-He is so darn handsome.
-He is super fast.
-He is very funny.
-He is sort of an observer.
-He has so much fun with his buddy Lane.
-He is a great athlete.
-He is a hard worker.
-He is very smart.
-He is an overcomer.
-He has some sick dance moves!
-He is very good to his baby brother.
-He loves babies, just like mamma!
-He is a good artist.
-He has an engineer mind.
-He is pretty fly for a white guy.
-He is a trend setter.
-He melts my heart!!!

Max Wilen, I love you so much and I am super thankful for you! It is an honor to be your mamma!

Oh My Aching Heart….

This week has been a very sad week. A friend of mine lost her 11 month old baby girl to appendicitis. I mean seriously? What gives? I can't even handle it. It is too much. I can't even begin to imagine what that poor Mamma is going through. How do you ever recover from something like that? How do you ever get over it. I know that with God all things are possible, but it would seem impossible going through it. I don't know if I could breathe without one of my children.

I am praying so hard for this sweet family. Praying for comfort and peace and rebuking Satan from trying to plant any doubt in their minds. Honestly when I first heard about it I just said, God I don't even have any words to pray. My heart was sick.

Also I read on another friends FB page about a sweet little 4 year old who was adopted from Ethiopia who was burned badly when her dress caught fire from the space heater. Poor baby has to have surgery and has no skin on her legs and tummy right now. Can't even imagine watching your child go through that.

I don't know how I would handle these situations, but the thing I do know is that God is good all the time. I will cherish the moments I have with my kiddos and hug them extra tight. Please pray for these sweet families that are hurting so badly.

Psalm 34:17-18 MSG- Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; If you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.

Come Lord Jesus!

Maya Jane is 8

Yesterday was my baby girls birthday! I can't believe Maya Jane is 8! She had quite the celebration. She decided to use some of her birthday budget for a small spa party with 2 friends. You see the way we do birthdays around here is we give the kids X amount of money and they can either use it for a party or put it in their accounts and use it when they want something. So this year Maya wanted to have a small party. We always have a small family party for them but we learned early on that friend parties were way too expensive and way overrated!

So Friday we took Maya and 2 friends to have a mani/pedi and get their hair done! They thought they were big stuff and there was a lot of sass with those 3 girlies! We then headed on to 54th street for lunch It was fun. Then yesterday was her actual birthday and we had a family party. She had a great birthday and is growing up so fast. Tonight she is staying the night with her cousins. She is big stuff.

Here are some random things about Maya to celebrate her:

-She is one of the most confident girls I know.
-She is very spunky/sassy yet has one of the most tender hearts around!
-She is very funny.
-She is extremely smart.
-She loves to dance and sing and make up songs and dances.
-She loves Jesus.
-She does not like to get into trouble.
-She is such a fashionista.
-She is a good little athlete.
-She is a major mamma's girl.
-She always has my back.
-She has a hard time keeping her hands to herself:).
-She is a hard worker.
-She is beautiful.
-She looks so much like her daddy!
-But she acts a lot like me.
-She was the most joyful happy baby ever!
-She makes our lives very colorful!

I love you more than words can say Maya Jane. You are an amazing little girl!

A Hump Day Post!

Oh goodness the Freudenthal's have been busy. Back to school we went after Christmas break. We got an extra day because it was so cold. It has been nice getting back into a normal routine. Although we get out early tomorrow and don't go back until Tuesday. Didn't we just have Christmas break?

Big things have been going on around here. Little Ade decided he wanted a haircut. And he wanted it cut "all the way down!" He gets so tired of people always touching his hair. His hair was boss, but we let him get it cut. He is cute any way he has his hair and he loves it. We are a big KU basketball family and he LOVES watching with me. He really watches and gets excited with me and mad with me! It is precious. When I put him to bed last night he asked me "Does Wiggins have short hair like me?" Proud moment, always love when my children have KU (and Jesus) on the brain!:)

The 3 big kids are heavy into basketball right now. Max is playing on 2 teams and he put on quite the show at his last game! He made 2 reversible layups so that made his life! We had a great win. Ella is playing travel ball no games yet, we are super excited to see them play this year I think they will be great. Ella has been working on her shot and it is looking so good. Maya is playing in a league and she had quite the game on Sunday, she scored 6 points! Big day for her as well.

We have also been trying to go to more high school games, so last week we took the girls and a friend and went and watched my old high school play, it was great. They had a lot of fun.

Maya packed lunches for me one day when I was sick and she put a note in Max's lunch. It said, "max you are the best white brother!" Seriously made my day. I had to hashtag it #interracialfamprobs. I seriously love having a family with different colors. I would like to have one more, but I don't see that happening.

Maya's birthday is Saturday so we went and picked out her decorations and treats for her class tonight. It was fun getting some one on one time with her. She had a blast. And of course we got Dance Party decorations. So appropriate for that girl!

OK I"m signing off for the night just wanted to update.

Cold Busy Day

Brrr today it was soooo cold. There is no school tomorrow due to the temperatures. We had a busy day today. We got up early and went to early church, there was like no one there. Then we zoomed over to Maya's basketball game. It was such an intense game. The team we played apparently doesn't like our team and is out to beat us. I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that they talk trash on our team. Which is kind of crazy because Maya plays softball with a lot of the girls on that team. Anyway, they were up 6-0 the first half and we ended up going in overtime and beating them by 1. Such a sweet victory! But seriously, it is 2nd grade basketball people. Maya played great. She took some great shots and played excellent defense. Just needs to work on using her left hand a bit more! From the game we came home and settled in and watched the KU game. It was a frustrating loss. I was seriously not happy!

For some reason yesterday and today I have just felt a nervous feeling in my stomach. Like I can't relax. A real anxious feeling. I hate it when that happens, it is the worst feeling. I can't stand it. But I can't pinpoint where it is coming from. I just keep praying and giving it to the Lord. Like the verse says, "When anxiety is great within me your joy brings comfort to my soul."

So tomorrow I am going to breve the cold and try to head to the gym and Hyvee, we seriously have no food around here. And they will need to bring a lunch to school on Tuesday and we literally have nothing! Until tomorrow!

"Fun" Day!

So we decided today we were going to get the kids out of the house and take them shopping to spend some of their Christmas money. They have been asking me to do this all week mind you. So Joe stays home from work to go with us and we are getting everyone ready. They ask what we are doing and I say going to the mall and Target. "What??? I just want to stay home." I hate walking around the mall!" Uh…..really, wasn't this your idea guys? So we explained to them that this was something we were doing for them and it was going to be fun. So change your attitude. After Judy and Rudy Attitudey straightened up it ended up being a fun time.

Ella is staying all night with a friend tonight. Maya and I have been playing some serious Skip-bo and Joe, Ade and Max have been playing football and xbox. Lots of fun around here.

And a funny story from last night. The 3 big kids go to Bookball on Thursday nights and Ade sits and watches. We are there for 3 hours. So he plays ball and plays his iPad. So he is playing a game on his iPad and Joe hears him say, "I'm gonna get you you son of a bitch!!!!!" Apparently when Joe let him watch Back to the Future with him he picked up that little gem! So daddy had to explain to him that we don't talk like that! That boy is something else!

Hello 2014!

It has been awhile since I have posted. This year I am going to try to keep up with this. Just post different things about the day. That way I will have some things documented!

2013 was a great year for us.  We have started the process of starting a non profit called Orphan Free. Our goal is to help make our world Orphan Free. Not only through adoption, but through family preservation and list of other things.

Adoption has been such a blessing to our family and we feel like God is calling us to help others as well. As many of you have probably heard, Ethiopian adoptions are close to closing. That makes me so sad. When I am there every year I see the need and the number of children who are in such sad situations. But God is in control and He has a plan. We just need to trust in it.

At this point I don't think we will be adopting again. Joe is just not there and I think another one would put him over the edge. It has been a process for me to accept that and honor him. I think I will be 90 years old and still think we need a baby!

Anyway, I hope to keep up on this and I will try to post some pics. Have a great week!