The Madsen Family

2010-08-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

FREE Day

Today was a great free day. First we went to Highland to play in the water, which was free, and then we went to Ikea where kids eat for free until the 15th of this month. Aleeya got into the water this time and she loved it. We have only been to this place once before and Aleeya wasn't so sure about it, which really suprised me because she loves water. Halley and Caden had a ton of fun too. I think that the only hard part was that there were soooo many kids there. Ikea was fun as always and was so worth the trip. Although I must say that I get a little frustrated the way that some people don't pick up after themselves. There were tables there that people just left all their food and mess, and so I helped clean up so that there were clean tables for people to come to.
And here are some pictures from our Madsen Family Reunion

The Madsen family reunion was so much fun, well I guess that I should say fun and way wet. We went to Fairview Lakes and at one of the little ponds we found tons of little tad poles/frogs (they were in the middle of their changing cycle). They were only about a half of an inch long and so cute. And while we were down at the pond Nick and Nats dog found tons of pot gut holes and would dig as fast as she could to find the treasure inside - it was fun to watch. While we were at the pond it started to rain so we went under the pavilion and then it poured. It rained so hard that you couldn't even hear the person in front of you. Anyway it was fun and the kids loved it.

So Cute

2010-06-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Isn't it so cute when little babies suck their thumbs. Sadie found her thumb and I think that it is her best friend. I had to take a few pictures because it is so stinkin' cute.

I love being a mommy. I think that it is the best job in the whole world.

My angel baby

Baby Sadie

2010-06-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well what can I say other then my life has been just a little crazy these last few months. Sadie was born the end of March and my two little babies sure do keep me on my toes. I don't have much time to type so here are some new pictures.

Happy New Year

2010-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

Oh what a great Christmas we had this year. My mom was great and made many yummy treats. It was nice to spend Christmas with mymom, brother, and sister and also my older sister via Skype. The kids were so excited to see what Santa had brought and to also watch us open their presents to us. We then were able to go up to Salt Lake for a few days to celebrate New Years with Dan's family. We were able to go to the Discovery kids at the Gateway as well as to the Clark Planaterium, which was fun. Dan and Halley loved being able to go swimming, Caden loved playing his Super Mario Wii game with his cousins, and Aleeya and I enjoyed the time to visit with family. So all in all it was a great end to 2009 and also a great begining to 2010.

Hair..............

I really do love doing Aleeya's hair (minus the screaming), but it is not as easy at it may look. Today we braided all of it which she seems to like, but it took a long time. She was happy for most of it and was a big help with making a mess of the elastic bands. Anyway I just wanted to post to show how cute she looks.

What a week

2009-12-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

This past week has been quite the week. On Monday we were able to finalize our adoption.

Then on Tuesday we were able to celebrate Aleeya's first birthday.

I made a flower cake and my mom and brother came by that night and brought her a doll. Aleeya loved the doll and got upset if anyone tried to touch it. I also got her a little toy music box, which she loved because she loves to dance and sing.

Then this weekend we were able to have Aleeya sealed to our eternal family. It was such a blessing to have all three of our children in the temple with us, and to remember the great blessings that come from within those sacred walls.

"We are a happy family"

2009-10-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dan and the kids were having fun together as they watched "Ice Age 3" Caden looks a little sandwiched, but thats where he loves to be, right in the middle. Halley and Caden are getting so big lately. Caden is such a cute boy. The other day he spilled some noodles on the floor and he kept telling me, "sorry about that", and when I told him that it was okay and I would just sweep it up he said,"thanks, mom". He is so sweet. I love him so much.

Aleeya loves her sister Halley. She loves it when Halley carries her around and plays with her.

Halley had a little Halloween party today at school. She dressed up like a little fairy. I made most of the costume myself to make it unique to her personality.

Her friend Aspen also dressed up as a fairy. Halley is also such a sweet child. Yestrday we had a ward Halloween part and Halley told me, "if you want to dress me up then that's okay, but if you don't want to dress me up then that's okay too, mom". And she said the same thing about today dressing up for school. Although I must say that she looked very excited that I had come with her costume. I love my babies- they are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!!

I took this picture of Aleeya, she had fallen asleep in her high chair.

I also forgot to say that Halley played soccer this year and she loved it. She says she wants to try every sport there is.

2009 Elk Hunt

2009-09-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun as a family this year at the elk hunt. We were ble to drive up Wed. night and then stay until Sat. afternoon. It had been about three years since we had gone hunting with Dan's hunting buddies, and so it was nice to visit and catch up with each other. The kids were able to do a few crafts and there were lots of kids their age for them to play with. Dan's hunting team got three elk this year which has been the best they have had so far. I was excited to see Dan enjoying his time both as a family and with his buddies. I think that being up in the mountains and enjoying nature is one of the most calming and relaxing places to be. I love to sit and listen to the sounds and see the beautiful landscapes.

2009-05-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

"Sugar and spice and everything nice..."
"...that's what little girls are made of."

(Aleeya kept laughing, but she would not take her hands out of her mouth)
Aleeya has gotten so big and is becoming very aware of her likes and dislikes. She loves just about everything about paper including the sound the feel the taste and most of all how it sits in her little hands. She also loves to pinch, claw, and pull on anything that she can get her little hands on. Her little feet have also become a favorite thing for her to hold and she loves the taste of her sweet toes.

Do they get any cuter?
(Can you tell she loves her baby food?)

Is there anything better than being a mommy?

2009-04-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Caden is our little trooper

He had surgery to close his hard pallete and to put new tubes in his ears. They had given him some medicine to help him so he would be calm when they took him from us into the surgery room. Well, it didn't seem to help too much and when he woke up he was a monster. He was screaming and pulling at his IV and any other thing that was on his body. I have never seen him like that before. The nurse said that it was probably his body reacting bad to the medicine they had given him before the surgery and so they quickly gave him a shot to reverse the medication. It helped a lot, but he had already pulled his first IV out by the time they got him calm. I was sad that they had to give him another one, but Caden must not have been too sad because just after they got him up to his hospital room he pulled out the second IV. It is always hard to watch your baby go in for surgery, but I almost think that the coming out part is worse. He is doing well now and has now becone very good with the things he can and can't eat until his little mouth heals.

Potty Training

2009-03-08T19:51:00.001-07:00

"Oh no!!! Not the girly diapers!!!"

I have tried and tried and tried to help my son get potty trained but he would have nothing to do with it. I am sure that he found it quite humorous to see me clean up the fun messes he made, and so for his sake alone he peed everywhere but in the toilet. And then like a blessing sent from above we ran out of his diapers and so he had to wear his big sisters pull-ups that she wears to bed. The next day I told him that we had to change his diaper and he told me, "no I want to wear my Spider Man pants" (which are the little under-wear that I had bought for him) or in other words he would rather have to pee in a potty then have to wear those girly diapers. It has been great since then. He has had very few accidents and he has made my life a lot easier by not having to change a three year olds stincky bumb. Yuck!! Don't get me wrong I love him to death but those poopy diapers are enough to take out a whole squadron if you know what I mean.

2009-02-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

Families Can Be Together Forever

This past week we got family pictures with my (Alyssa's) side of the family. It was so nice because my sister and her husband were here from back east and so my mom was able to get the first family picture we have had with all of her grandchildren. The last big family picture we had gotten was when Halley was almost one.

2009-02-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

Halley and Aleeya, my two beautiful princesses

Halley reading the scriptures to Aleeya
Daniel and I were watching "American Idol" and I went in the other room to check on Aleeya and found Halley reading to her from the scriptures. Okay, she wasn't really "reading", but she wanted to. She gets so excited when she learns a few new words and can read some things that she learns either in her class or words she practices reading here at home. I love watching Halley and Caden with how much they love Aleeya and how much they watch out for her. It is so cute because if Aleeya starts crying Caden will yell "mom, baby crying, come get her!" He gives her kisses and pats her little head.

2009-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of people telling me that I need to up-date my blog to show how big our little princess is getting. She is starting to get the cute little fat rolls on her legs and I love it. Daniel and I love her more then words can say. I just thank my Heavenly Father ever day for the beautiful gift of adoption. Just a little over two years I felt the need to have another child. I felt like I had tried every way possible to have one of my own, but adoption just seemed to be the right thing. I had always wanted to adopt since I was a little girl, but I could have never guessed how hard it was going to be both emotionally and physically. And I have to say that I am so grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows all things and helps me to see the very best things for me and my family. It just seems that what I think and what God thinks are always two different things, which definately requires a lot of faith and patients, but in the end I can see the blessings I recieve through the trial of my faith.

Isn't she sooooooooo cute.

About a month ago Dan took the kids over to the park to be pulled on the sled by our four-wheeler. The kids loved it. Caden didn't last long on the sled and so Dan put him on the four-wheeler with him, and as you can see he loved the ride so much that it put him right to sleep.

2008-12-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

Just a few really cute pictures of Aleeya with her eyes open.

2008-12-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

* Aleeya*

Although things have been crazy. It has been the most amazing experience adopting our sweet baby girl. I thank Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with her. Anyone who has gone through the adoption process knows how hard it can be.

Halley and Caden had to come in and watch daddy give Aleeya her first "real" bath. They had both just been put to bed but as soon as they heard the water go on they came right in to watch their little sister. She loves being on her tummy in the water, which is interesting because Halley also loved her tummy but Caden liked his back. Who knows maybe it's a girl thing.

She loves to suck on her binki and if that is not in sight, her hand is the next best thing.

Thanks to all of you who have been keeping up. It has been so good to hear from you all.

Just an update

2008-12-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Daniel and I signed the adoption papers 0n Wed. and I was able to bring the baby home from the hospital on Thurs. She is doing so good. It is still hard to believe that she is mine, but I am loving every minute with her.

2008-12-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

These past few days have been so crazy. We were called on Saturday from our adoption agency saying that our birthmothers water had broken and so we needed to find flights. Well after we flew 9 hours we got a call from the agency again saying that the birthmother had been sent home from the hospital. I didn't know what to do. They then suggested that we maybe meet with the birthmom for lunch and talk to her and see how she was feeling and so we did that. Can I just say that she is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. She is such a great mom and her kids are so great. She told us about them and their sweet personalities. After that a ton of stuff happened and the agency was talking about having us fly back home. I told them that I could not do that. I text the birthmother and told her our situation and asked her what she truely wanted. She was willing to go in to the hospital. She kept saying that she wasn't in a lot of pain, but long story short she called me a few hours later saying that she was in a lot of pain and that I should come and get her to take her to the hospital. I called her once we got the cab (which was like ten minutes) and she had had the baby at her house. I asked her if the baby was breathing and she said that she couldn't tell. I told her that I would call 911 and have them there as soon as possible to help the baby. About the time that we got to her house the ambulance had gotten there and were willing her in. We went to the hospital with her and after waiting in the waiting room for a little while a nurse came and got us and took us back to where the birthmother was. And after a little bit they brought the baby in and asked if we would like to hold the baby. I asked, what is it (because I didn't know what the mother had had, a boy or a girl) and they told me that it was a girl. She weighs 7 lbs. 9 oz. She is perfect in every way and we can not even put into words how grateful we are for this experience. We will have more later but for now that is all that I have time to write.

2008-11-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween. On the day before Halloween our local rest home had a party. Halley dressed up as Sleeping Beauty and Caden dressed up as Spider Man (Well kind of, he wore black with red and white spider stickers on him). And for Halloween Halley stayed Sleeping Beauty, but Caden did not want to dress up. We told Him that nobody would give him candy if he didn't dress up. Well he decided on a Home Depot apron, a sombrero, and one white glove. Needless to say we got a lot of laughs.

Halley told, "you are a good maker mom" she said that I am good at making her dress and her hair. It was so fun to watch her because she felt so beautiful and she was so excited to wear her costume to school to show her friends.

Look how cute!!!

2008-09-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

*Great news: We have been matched to a birthmom*
The Family, is one of nature's masterpieces.
Halley started kindergarten two weeks ago and is loving it. She has made a lot of friends and enjoys learning new things. I love having her in school, but I must say that it has made her a little bit more "in charge" (for lack of a better word). She tells me how she wants her hair done each day, and she tells me what she wants to wear. I have tried to help her in picking out outfits but she gets upset and tells me that they are her clothes and she gets to pick what she wears. The other day I found a cute shirt that my mom had gotten for her and I asked her if she wanted to wear it and she said that she did not like it and would not wear it. And that was the end of that.
Caden has been so cute this past week. He always says "I love you so much mommy" and he always thanks me when I help him with his daily needs. He has started to play with a toy sword that I got and he always tells me that he has to go and get the bad guy.

Preschool Field Trip

2008-07-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on Halley's field trip day. The kids got to see fish, lamma, a donkey and a lot of different kinds of birds. We learned that lammas and camels are closely related and they share a lot of the same fun characteristics. They are not able to bite because they only have bottom teeth that they use to eat grass, but they sure do know how to spit. It is funny to watch them get angry with one another becasue they just start spitting and giving each other the most discusted look.
Every once and a while they would get upset at us and so they would have to go to the cage, but for the most part they were pretty cool animals. I told Dan that I wanted to get one to be our next pet. Of course he just laughed it off.
The kids loved to feed the animals and enjoyed all of the beautiful music that the birds provided. They got to see a peacock that was very pretty and they also got to buy a peacock feather at the end of our visit.
The birds liked to talk and would repeat things that you would tell them like, "preety bird", or "hello" . We loved our visit and hope to make a lot more in the future.
Halley graduated from preschool (for the final time) this was her third time so she had a great deal of practice. She says that she hates kindergarten and never wants to go, because some how she knows it is a horrible place.

2008-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Forrest Gump knew what he was talking about when he said, "life is like a box of choclates - you never know what you're gonna get". Just in the last twelve hours since I posted about the children that we are adopting, I found out that another agency had already picked the baby that I was planning on adopting and that the little girl that I wasn't quite sure about might have HIV. My heart breaks to even think that such a sweet little girl has to go through so much at such a young age. Our agency is only allowed to adopt out healthy children and so there is no way that we could adopt her even if we wanted to. Our agent said that Eden (the little girl in the picture that I was sure about adopting) is healthy and I hope that everything works out with her. There is also another baby that might be a possibility but again they have to make sure that he is not HIV positive. I think that this exsperience has made me look at my life and the many blessings that God has given me. I hope to make my life count for something and so if there is anyway that I can help make someone elses life less difficult and less painful I pray that I will have the strength and ability to do it.

2008-05-07T08:39:00.001-07:00

2008-05-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

We have pictures of our children in Africa. And aren't they sooooooo cute.
A week ago we found out that Abdisa (who we were planning on adopting) was really a boy and seven years old. In the beginning I had found her (or he) through the Village of Hope and was told that she was five and an orphan. But as we all know life is full of suprises and wouldn't you know it was actually a boy. I really don't have any problems with boys I just didn't feel good about it where our oldest is a girl and five. I just can't risk what habits he might have picked up. I am pleased to announce that we have found our daughter though

her name is Eden (she is the one on the left) and she is so cute. I think that her and Halley will have so much fun being sisters and doing everything together. The sweet girl on the right is a maybe. I can't stop looking at her and who know maybe she is ment for our family. I am just so excited to be getting our babies home.
Our adoption agency has our file in Ethiopia and we have all of our shots done, so we are just waiting for the documents to be translated and then taken to government officials.

2008-04-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Madsen's

Daniel and I got married on September 15, 2001. We have just loved life and are enjoying being parents.

Our son caden was born with a cleft lip, cleft palet and has had to have a few surgeries. He has done so good with the surgeries and has recovered so quickly.

Our daughter Halley has also had her share of trips to the hospital. When Halley was nine months old she was diagnosed with a disease called hyperinsulinemia. Her specialist says that when I was pregnant with Halley a few of her pancrease cells mutated and they produce insulin like crazy. We have been to several hospitals and they have never heard of her disease let alone know how to treat her in the event of an emergency and so we try to stay close to Primary Children's where her specialist is. They have found a medicine that kind of caps these cells so that she levels out, but we still have our ups and downs on occasion. But all in all things are going great with both of them. They have both overcome these great trials so well and we have grown so much as a family because of them.

Things have been a little Crazy for us this last little while, to say the least. We have moved around a bit and have ended up right back where we started...in Spanish Fork.

***We are excited to announce that we will be welcoming two angels into our family within the next couple of months. They are both orphans from Ethiopia and one is five and the other is just under a month old. ***

Halley, our oldest, just turned five in January and is so ready to start Kindergarten next year.

Halley is a daddys girl. She loves to go camping with her dad and four wheeling. She also loves to be a little mommy to her baby dolls. Her favorite color is purple and she thinks that Caden is the best brother in the whole wide world.

Caden turned two in September and is full of energy. About eight months ago I bought a rocking horse and Caden decided that he had to wear his helmet to ride the horse. He insisted that his helmet had to be on backwards and that his horse be put in a box to keep it up right so that he could ride it. He is so funny because he just loves to do silly things like that.

Then just a few months later he got really into wearing hats. As you can tell he really had fun.