Madsen Update

My Family at Em's Shower

Top Row: Laurie Brown, Olivia Burr (holding Lillian Burr), Diane Brown, Margaret Black, Kerri Madsen, Emily Conkey (my pregnant sister), Jaclyn Black, Grandma Black, Jana Black Bottom Row: Erin Brown, Audrey Burr, Meghan Johnston, Julie Johnston, Madelyn Black, Abby Black

It's been a little while since I've written so here's an update on the Madsen Family:

1. I went to Utah for a VERY quick trip. I left Friday morning, arrived in the afternoon, visited my mother-in-law, and then spent the rest of the time at my parents' house. Friday night, we had a family dinner and the next day we had my sister Emily's baby shower. My mom invited so many people so I got to see lots of family members and people from the ward where I grew up (different than my parents' current ward). It was so much fun! I especially loved visiting my immediate family and the nieces and nephews, grandparents and hanging out with my pregnant sister Emily. I left Sunday morning and stopped on the way in Denver and Chicago. Taking three planes makes for a long day but it was a great trip.

2. We're back to normal here with school and activities. Basketball finally ended (November-March) and we have another week or two before spring soccer starts so it's been a little less hectic this week. Whew! I love days when we don't have to go anywhere after school. We'll enjoy it while it lasts. Rachel's a little sad because she's not playing soccer this spring. She's too old for YMCA soccer and our township has all their spring games on Sunday. So I just signed up Spencer for YMCA this season. I told Rachel that her spring sport is helping her brother enjoy and succeed in soccer so they are out right now kicking the ball around. She'll play again in the fall.

3. I took my three little ones to the doctor yesterday. We've had some sleepless nights with our sick kids. They all have ear infections and Caitlin has bronchitis. So we're on the antibiotic bandwagon once again. Spencer is having tubes put in his ears next Friday so he might be able to hear again soon. I can't wait. I'm very tired of speaking loudly (a.k.a. yelling) whenever I talk to him. I'm sure his teacher is looking forward to it as well.

3. The kids have the day off today (another one--this time for inservice.) Thank heavens, it's a sunny day so they can play outside.

Rainbow Tea time!

Today the girls had their "Rainbow Tea" at pre-school. They escorted me to my table, sang a few songs and served me apple juice and rainbow colored cookies which they had made themselves. It was a sweet morning!

Going Green!

Happy St. Patty's Day from my squinting kids!

20 Years Later. . . what have I done?

I am having a weird day today. I registered on the OHS 20 year reunion website and started looking at different people's profiles from my high school class. Needless to say, it's been interesting to see where people are and what they are doing. I've also been reflecting on my life and wondering if I've had a positive impact on anyone in the last twenty years. I hope so but I certainly haven't done anything remarkable. However, all the things I dreamed about back in high school like graduating from college, getting married in the temple, having children and serving in the church have all come to pass and that's what really matters. I remember singing "Someday my prince will come. . . in the millennium" and really believing that I was never going to find the right one but here I am 18 1/2 years later and still happily married. I truly am blessed.

We had a great weekend. Saturday, Rachel had a basketball game. She played her best game by far and it was fun watching her and the rest of the team. She has improved a lot over the season and I'm very pleased with her hard work. The girls on her team are such nice girls and she couldn't ask for better coaches. I was just thinking how great it is to have such supportive parents on this team. All the parents are positive and kind to every kid on the team. You hear a lot of "good job ______"(fill in the blank) and never criticism. I've seen other parents who are quite the opposite and what a different feeling you get when you watch a game with what I call the "evil sideline parent." I'll never forget a parent chewing out his daughter when she didn't stop goals while playing goalie. Rachel nearly started crying hearing him belittle his daughter's efforts in the harshest and most public manner.

After the basketball game, Rachel and I went to Friday's for lunch then I dropped her at a friend's house. Later that afternoon, Paul took Spencer to a birthday party (woo hoo) and the girls and I played outside and had a good day.

I enjoyed church yesterday. I know the sac. mtg. theme was virtue but I didn't really hear the talks (thanks kids) but I'm sure they were great. Paul got called as the gospel doctrine teacher and he taught his first lesson yesterday. He did an outstanding job. I am loving the young women. I was told the beehives were quiet and didn't participate that much but I have found them to be talkative and fun to teach. I only had five minutes to give my lesson because opening exercises took so long so I had to dramatically condense the lesson but I did my best with the time I had.

Now it's back to reality--laundry, cleaning and kids so I'd better get back to it. Adios!

Get out your Hankies--the Yankees are playing!

Today Spencer was talking to me and I had to laugh when said, "Last night, Daddy and I were watching baseball. It was the New York Hankies and they won."

Another year older (and I mean OLD!)

Hello! Not much is happening here--just the normal routine of work, school and after-school activities that make me the taxi driving mother that I am.

Monday we celebrated my birthday. Yes, I am getting seriously OLD! The kids all made a picture or card and hung it on our sliding glass door. Spencer was so excited for me to see it. He said, "When you go downstairs, you're going to find a pot of gold." Sure enough, he drew a leprechaun with a pot of gold. During the day, the kids begged me to make a cake and even got out all the ingredients for me so I made a lemon cake. I told them they had to wait to eat it until Daddy got home. He arrived home with a dozen roses and a chocolate cake which he picked up at the store. So after I blew out the candles (only three--gotta save my breath since I'm so old) we each had a little slice of both cakes. Then Paul and I went out to dinner at Cherubima, a little gem of a restaurant here in town that has absolutely scrumptious food. It's been so long since we've been anywhere nice that I forgot how good food can actually taste. Obviously my cooking is not to the chef level (more like cafeteria food.) It was a great evening with my main man!

I had to laugh at Spencer yesterday. I was going around the house collecting laundry from all the kids' baskets and asked him why his clothes were piled up on the floor instead of in his basket. He said, "Now that it's not your birthday, you have to pick them up." I'm glad I thought it was funny because it was certainly a disrespectful comment and I could have gotten angry. But I did use my birthday as a way to get kids to clean their rooms so it might be partially my fault. Not to worry, I did follow up my chuckling with a little lecture and waited for him to put his clothes in the hamper before I moved on to the next room. Ah. . . the joys of motherhood. I feel like I have to constantly remind children to do their chores. If only I could find a reward system that worked every day and never gets old. Alas, my children are motivated by different things at different times so the system continues to evolve. Sometimes it would be easier to do it all myself but the goal remains the same--teaching them to contribute to the well-being of our family and our home and helping them develop skills that will help them to be productive adults.

Even though it's not exactly warm, the kids have been spending a lot of time outside for the last few days! I love that! They love jumping on the trampoline, playing on the swingset and running around the yard. Last night, just as the sun was setting, they were all playing tag together. It is fun to watch them enjoy the outdoors and it's nice have more activities to keep them happy and busy.

The Wonders of Warm Weather

Courtney has a great time twisting in the swing and letting go for spinning fun!

Spencer with his friend Jake who came to visit today

Caitlin is proud of her ability to pump herself now!

It was a beautiful day here! Notice that the kids are not wearing coats! Spencer even wore shorts today. What a contrast from the big snowstorm on Monday! The day began very well! I drove up to the Stake Center this morning for our stake Women's conference. It was an outstanding meeting. I enjoyed being with my sisters and being spiritually and physically fed. I feel enlightened and uplifted so it was well worth the effort to get there.

When I returned home, the kids and I spent the day outside. We finally took down the Christmas lights (yes. . .in March. . .no, we haven't had them on since January 1st but it was too cold, icy and snowy until today.) It took a long time since Paul decorated every bush and tree in our front yard. There's still one tree that remains covered in lights but I'm leaving it to Paul because it's wrapped around limbs and very high and I don't want to damage the buds so we'll have to use a ladder and I didn't feel like dragging it out into the mud. It was extremely muddy today and my shoes are filthy but the lights are gone.

Spencer's little friend Jake (who moved during the summer) came over to visit Spencer and played all day. They had such a good time together. I wish he still lived in the neighborhood. Rachel had a friend over and then went to a friend's. Yes. . . she's still my Miss Social. We all enjoyed the balmy weather today. Oh, that it would last!

Last night, some of my friends took me out to dinner for my upcoming birthday. It was so much fun. I am so grateful for my wonderful friends who help me survive living in the East so far away from my family. They are such generous and funny girls and they made my birthday terrific even though I'm practically middle aged. We laughed and laughed about the silliest things. It was a night to remember!

I'm so excited for spring. I noticed my irises are poking out of the ground and I saw a robin yesterday. I cherish every little sign of spring because I can't wait for this winter to end.

Want yummy food? Try the floor for flavor!

Caitlin dropped her English muffin on the floor this morning. I had to laugh when she picked it up and started eating and said, "Mmm. The floor made it yummy!"

A Tasty Breakfast!

Kerri: "What do you want for breakfast today?"
Caitlin: "Gorilla."
Kerri: "Do you mean granola?"
Caitlin: "Yes, gorilla. That's what I said!"

There's no day like a snow day!

My guy

Getting ready to slide!

Caitlin on the swing


Spencer, Rachel, Megan (R's friend) and Caitlin


Rachel, my total snow bunny

Courtney has a great time swinging!

Courtney: "Mommy, I weally need socks. My feet are shivering."

After I gave her pink and white striped socks to wear:

"I like these socks. They are fashion."

Once again, school was cancelled for today's snow storm. Somehow, Paul makes it to work 40-60 minutes away each and every snow day but the kids can't get to school a few miles away. It's so silly! Poor Spencer--because he was sick last week, he only went to school twice and now he's missing another day! I've lost count of how many snow days we've had this year but it's a lot. I'm afraid to know when we're getting out of school in June (or will it be July?)

We just got back inside after playing in the snow. It's pretty deep today. The kids had to find their sleds because they left them outside. They were buried in the snow. We still are missing one but I know it's somewhere out there.

I rediscovered my breadmaker this week and I decided to try some different recipes to see how they turn out. It's been gathering the dust for years in the basement. Courtney begged me to make bread the other day and I made some in the breadmaker and remembered how easy it is to operate. Anyway, I tried a new recipe today: cinnamon rolls. They turned out nice and big and were delicious! The kids loved them and so did I! The best thing was that it was easy to make them using the bread maker and there was hardly any clean-up involved.

With our new Bishopric, changes are afoot in the ward. I always love it when this happens. I think most of the time, change is good and I confess that I enjoy speculating about who will fill different roles in the ward. Yesterday, I was released as choir director and ward music chairperson and called as beehive advisor. It's going to be so much fun! I love working with the young women, especially the youngest girls, who are full of enthusiasm about being in young women. I'll miss leading the choir but I was getting burned out so I'm happy to do something new. I am still the preparedness coordinator so I will to continue encouraging people to get their houses in order. Speaking of order in houses. . . I'd better get my dinner made. Adios!