Happy 9th Birthday Mackie-Moo!!!

Today is Max Wilen's 9th birthday. I can't believe my boy is 9. I like to say he is the 2nd boy who truly stole my heart! One look into those huge almond shaped hazel eyes and I was taken! He is such a sweet boy.  I wanted a boy so bad and was so happy to finally get my boy. He is such a blessing to us!

Here are some random things about Max:

-He is really good at doing flips!
-He is so handsome!
-He is very smart.
-He is really good at putting things together.
-He is very compassionate.
-He loves Jesus.
-He is so good to his little brother.
-He and Maya are good buddies.
-He is a good student.
-He is a really good basketball player.
-He can be really funny.
-He loves his blankie!
-He looks so cute in his clothes.
-He is super stylish and fly!
-He loves to shop.
-He sings well.
-He adores his daddy.
-He is very snuggly!

There are plenty more things but these are just a few. Happy Birthday Max, we love you more than words can say and we are so thankful God chose us to be your parents!

Happy 7th Birthday Maya!

Maya Jane turned 7 yesterday. She had a fun day. I can't believe my baby girl is 7. She is such a blessing to us and we love her so much! Here are some random things about Maya girl!

-She is hilarious!
-She looks just like her daddy!
-She is a really good basketball player.
-She has one of the softest hearts of anyone I have ever meant.
-She is a perfect mix of sass and sweet!
-She is a good dancer.
-She is a fashionista.
-She is so smart.
-She loves her family.
-She loves Jesus.
-She is easy to discipline.
-She loves her baby dolls.
-She will be a great mommy.
-She is a major Mamma's girl.
-She loves to read.
-She loves babies.
-She is so kind.
-She has the cutest little glasses.
-I love her little baby feet.

Needless to say Maya Jane just all around rocks! We love you MJ!!!

Spelling Bee, Awards, and funny things!

Well today was the spelling bee at school. Honestly I dread this day every year. My Max is ultra competitive and I know if he doesn't do well he is going to get in the car and instantly think he is not smart and cry and be mad at himself. Ella every year has the same girls win and so she does it just for fun not expecting to win. And this was Maya's first year. Luckily I had an inside track to the spelling bee and my friend Joey gave me the heads up. Maya went out the 4th round and Max went out quickly, Ella on the other hand got 4th. So she was pretty excited. I guess when Maya got out she just started crying. Thankfully Jojo was there to comfort her and hug her until she calmed down. When Max got in the car he said he did horrible and got last place and was a horrible speller. I felt so bad for him. I hate it when my kiddos feel bad about themselves and especially feel like they are not as smart as everyone else. We are in a private school and have a ton of really smart kids and sometimes it's hard when you are a good student, just not a straight A student. BUT being the super mom I am:) I bought them a little present to help ease the blow and to let them know that Joe and I were so proud of them for even trying. Lot's of kids didn't even attempt the spelling bee. And we were proud.

When I got home I was going through backpacks and found a character award in Max's bag. He got the "compassionate" award for the month at school! I was so proud of him. I told him that though I was so happy for the kids that won the spelling bee I would much rather have him win an award like that! He is showing the heart of Jesus and that makes my Mamma's heart happy! So he was really proud of himself.

Some funny things Ade said today, Joe had opened the garage today as we were leaving and didn't come in the garage because he was on the phone, so Ade looks over at him and says, "what is Daddy up to?" Totally cracked me up! Then he said Daddy is frustrating! That boy makes me laugh so hard. Then I was buckling him in his car seat and he says in a high pitch voice, "don't hurt my balls!" He is such a boy!

Well, that is about all for now. Have a great weekend if there is anyone reading!

Things are looking up!

Well, we are finally fever free over here! Praise the Lord, that was a rough virus and a long virus! We took the kids to The Great Wolf Lodge yesterday and we just got home. It is not my favorite thing to do, being pale white, in a swimsuit right after the holidays! I also don't like being in a swimsuit unless I am getting a tan, shallow I know! But anyway, the kids LOVED it and it was great for them to burn off some energy. They were so well behaved and we really had a great time.

Tonight Joe and I get to have a date night! We haven't had a date in I don't know how long. I think I've been away from my kids a total of 2 hours in the past month and a half and I am EXCITED. We are having dinner with my lifelong friend Katy Lovill. We have been friends since she was 4 and I was 5. Maya Jane is named after her. I am pretty excited to just chill with adults. But I will miss my babies.

The kids go back to school on Monday and I am excited. This hasn't been a bad break it has just been really long. And boring since the kiddos were all sick. But I am ready for a normal routine. In everything, it seems like I eat more when the kids are home and I don't exercise as much. It's time to get back to normal.

OK well we are off. Some funny things the kids said, Joe told Ade to put his coat on and he looks up and Joe and says, "daddy Jesus doesn't want me to wear my coat!" Oh boy we've entered that phase. 

Christmas Sickness

So Christmas was interesting around here. I had 3 kids with high fevers and croupy coughs:(. But they tried really hard to be happy. On Christmas Eve we have my mom's side of the family over and the last 2 years we have done ugly Christmas. So it has been really fun.

This year Joe dressed as Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation. He was hilarious. We had such a great time. But Maya was really feeling bad so I had to go lay down with her and I missed a lot of the party. But I could hear all the laughs and yelling so I know it was a good one.

We woke up on Christmas morning and read our birthday letters to Jesus and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and then it was on to opening presents. The kids had so much fun and I feel like Joe and I did a good job. We didn't go overboard and they were happy with everything they had gotten. Poor Max Maya and Ade were all still sick. Later we headed over to my parents to eat dinner and open gifts and by this time 2 of the kids had spiked fevers and they were ready to go home. They were done. But we had a wonderful time at my parents, just felt bad that we had to leave so early.

Today has been cleaning and organizing. The kids were thrilled about that let me tell you. Actually Ella helped me a lot. She can be really helpful if she wants to be. I got all the Christmas decorations put away and got the house mostly put back together.

We had to take Maya to Urgent Care because she is so congested and her cough is awful. They gave her a steroid and she is much better. Poor little thing. I am ready to have 4 healthy kiddos again. I'm sure they are ready as well.

A few things I want to remember from this Christmas: We had told the kids not to guess their presents because it is really annoying to the people giving them. So every time Ade would open a gift we would say, "what is it? and he would say, DON'T GUESS!" He is so obedient. He was very into opening presents.

Ella opened a One Direction blanket and said, "Ok boys, come to Mamma!" She is too much.

Maya Jane got black American Girl Bitty baby twins and she named them Tariku and Mekdes. Tariku is Ade's birth name and Mekdes is his sisters name. Very sweet and precious.

Max kept telling us this is the best Christmas ever that we did the best buying that we ever had! It was really sweet.

Sickness, Christmas programs, Snow Days, Tis the Season

Oh boy it has been an eventful couple of days. On Monday I was so tired couldn't even stay awake and I wasn't feeling well, by Tuesday I had the full blown stomach flu. I really think there is nothing in the world worse than feeling nauseous. Can I get a witness? Anyway, I had to miss the Christmas program at school and it was Ella's last elementary program. So that was quite the bummer. But I hear she did great on her speaking parts and she nailed her solo. Maya Jane seems to be quite the performer, Joe said she had strangers coming up to her saying they couldn't keep their eyes of her! And Max was trying to get out of the whole thing! Such a boy, but he did well and they all looked really cute!

So we have a snow day here. I was excited about it until 3 of my kids were up by 6:30. One of them up at 5:30 and I might add she is soooo pleasant today. I decided to make cookies with the kids and my lovely tween daughter started in with an attitude. Oh Jesus please help this to stop. I can't take much more of the attitude. Daddy stepped in and she shaped up eventually. Maya had a blast making cookies and we had to clean up several messes, but it was fun.

Then it was off to play in the snow. Can I just say getting snow clothes on your children is one of the worst most frustrating parts of being a parent. I can't tell you how many times I yelled, "STRAIGHTEN YOUR ARM AND MAKE IT STIFF!" Can we just say Mamma is in a mood today? So I told them I would dress them once and if they cried, whined or complained about ANY item of their snow clothing they were staying in the house. Needless to stay they went out and didn't complain and had a great time.

OK so have I mentioned the mice in our home? I am going to die if we don't catch them. We have one that I think may be a genius and he is in our room and bathroom and he somehow escapes the snares of death we have set up for him every day! So it was wrapping time I needed to finish it up. And it took me 3 and a half hours I might add. I smelled something awful in the storage room and found a dead mouse in one of my rubber maids. Come on people I can't live like this!!! My husband said I was being a bit dramatic and I was having a pity party for myself. In my head I thought it is my party and I don't remember inviting you!:) Did I mention I am in a mood?

I am in a grouchy mood and I don't know why. Maybe it is because I was sick and I feel overwhelmed. But I feel so guilty when I get like this especially at Christmas. But I will ask for forgiveness remember the reason for the season and bomb my house with mouse killer and all will be well with the world!:)

Wow It's been a long time!

It has been a long time since I have posted on here. I was just reading through my book of my blog when we were adopting Ade and it made me realize how much I enjoyed writing and keeping track of things the kids say and fun events in our lives. So I am going to try to do a better job of keeping up with this!

So let's see, Ade is doing fabulous! He is 3 now and I'm pretty sure he NEVER stops talking! It has been amazing how he has just molded into our family. He is a total Freudenthal! He acts a lot like me an says all sorts of funny things that I say! Like "that's cray cray!" He makes us laugh every day and he is such a blessing to our family. He loves his daddy like no other and I'm pretty sure his big brother Max may be his favorite person on earth. He is so darn cute and has the cutest haircut ever! We call it his Fresh Prince hair. He has a serious 90s fade going on and it suits him well!

Maya is in 1st grade and is so smart. She is growing up so fast and she is just so much fun! She makes our life very colorful. She is a fashionista and has such an eye for detail! She is very observant and quite the basketball player. She is a blast.

Max is in 3rd grade now and he is just so handsome. He also is a really good basketball player and is amazeballs at Hap Ki Do! He is so little and flexible and I'm pretty sure he is the best big brother in the whole world! He loves being home with Joe and I and is content to just hang out with us and be with his family.

Ella Rain in in the big 6th grade, she is rulin' the school!:) She is growing up so fast and she is so incredibly smart. She has such a missions heart and such a heart for others. She is such a blessing. She and Joe just got back from a week in Guatemala. They had such an awesome time and it was so great that they got to spend that time together just the 2 of them! I love to see her missions heart!

Joe and I are doing great. It seems like we barely have time for a 5 minute conversation and barely have any time together, but we do have time as a family and we are enjoying this season in our lives, soon enough we will have all the time in the world for each other and we will miss these days.

So that is a little update, I'll post some pics.