The Madden Family

Teamwork!

2009-03-04T13:51:00.003-05:00

Bat Boys!

2008-12-17T22:03:00.001-05:00

Homemade Ornaments

2008-12-17T21:56:00.005-05:00

Gingerbread House

2008-12-17T21:38:00.005-05:00

Ice Storm

2008-12-17T21:23:00.002-05:00

Ice Storm = Cousin Time

2008-12-17T20:54:00.008-05:00

We had an ice storm here in the Northeast which left lots of people without power. Thankfully that wasn't us. My parents were out for 2 days and the Armstrong's were out for several more. All the kids remember about this time is the extra time they got to spend with grandparents and cousins. They're looking forward to the next power outage.

Sleepover!

Daddy's the Best

2008-12-17T17:37:00.001-05:00

Timothy starts to scoot...

2008-12-17T17:29:00.008-05:00

Notice the nice bruise on the side of Mary's cheek? She was standing on the headboard of her toddler bed to turn on the light and fell onto a toy bucket. Ouch!

Asher is trying to stop sucking his thumb, but I caught him red-thumbed!

Fall Happenings...

2008-12-17T11:50:00.007-05:00

Grandpa Ray and Grandma Mary had the boys overnight and took them to the circus for Asher's 3rd birthday! Grandpa's are good at reading bedtime stories!

Working hard!

Grandma Mary!!

Last minute bulbs...we got them in before the ground froze.

Great Grandpa Ray would have been proud!

2008-12-17T11:45:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tree

2008-12-17T11:40:00.002-05:00

We picked out our Christmas tree! Asher got busy replanting boughs "making his own trees". :)

Helping mom

2008-12-16T23:17:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-16T23:11:00.004-05:00

Uncle Matt came out to visit during Thanksgiving!

We had quite a meal!

Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Candied Carrots, Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Scalloped Oysters, Scalloped Onions, Corn Pudding, Brussle Sprouts, Salad, Red hot Jello, Cranberry Sauce, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls, Homemade Pomagranate Jelly, Apple, Pumpkin and Chocolate Pudding Pies, Mulled Cider, Egg Nog, Raspberry Gingerale and Coffee.

I don't think I missed anything.... :) Ummm, I'm full thinking about it!

End of October

2008-12-16T22:33:00.006-05:00

Ethan and Asher were pirates and Timothy was a monkey. We went to the Harvest Festival at Bethlehem Community Church. The boys had a blast. Their cousins Will and Katie were there as well as a bouncy bounce, games, food and cotton candy!
Mary was in Arizon with her Grandma Mary to surprise her Great Grandma Virgina for her 80th birthday. She enjoyed her trip and all the special time with grandma. I'm thankful they got such a fun visit in. Two weeks after they returned home Virgina Ruga went home to be with the Lord. We will miss her! But as Mary says, "Ginia...happy...heaven".

Crafts with Grandma!

2008-12-16T21:33:00.006-05:00

Apple Picking with the Family

2008-12-16T21:26:00.003-05:00

We love Indian Ladder Farms!

Just another day...

2008-10-18T22:29:00.006-04:00

I thought I'd add some of the projects we've been doing for homeschool. We're reading through the Sonlight PreK Curriculum for ages 3 and 4 books. We read a Bible story a day from the Children's Bible and sometimes do a craft.
Other books we're going through:

The Little Hands Nature Book

Wow! I'm Reading!

Math Play!

Developing the Early Learner (Levels 1-4)

Handwriting Without Tears

We add a new letter each week and practice writing, sounds, do crafts, and several worksheets from websites. Here are some sites I frequent :

http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/vowels/lettera.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphaletter/a.htm

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/index.html

http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/letter_and_rhyme_a_day.html

Washington Park

2008-10-18T16:25:00.004-04:00

Janna took these, I can't get over how beautiful it is here in the fall!

More Fall Fun!!!

2008-10-18T15:46:00.009-04:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-10-10T22:17:00.005-04:00

....We were missing the Lingappa's and Keparutis's though.... :(

At the Park with Grandma Mary

2008-10-10T22:11:00.006-04:00

Apples with Aunt Janna!

2008-10-04T14:57:00.003-04:00

Aren't I sweet at 12 weeks?

2008-10-03T15:14:00.005-04:00

Fall is Here!

2008-10-03T15:05:00.003-04:00

We just got back from apple picking for the first time this season! The kids had a blast despite the cold! Even Timothy joined in. We enjoyed just baked apple cider donuts after our picking was done. Crunchy and cinnamony, nothing like Indian Ladder Farm's cider donuts!

Timothy's Surgery

2008-10-03T14:45:00.003-04:00

So his hernia surgery went great! It's amazing how quickly he seemed to be back to his normal self.

Mat Man

2008-10-03T14:27:00.004-04:00

I thought this was so cool...Ethan is doing a Handwriting Without Tears workbook. In it is this Mat Man activity that supposedly improves kids ability to draw people. They build a person from template pieces and then copy everything from their person to their picture. It really made a dramatic difference for him. These were all drawn the same day.

BEFORE:

MAT MAN:

AFTER:

Deep thoughts from a three year old

2008-09-25T16:45:00.006-04:00

So the other night Asher came home from AWANA and said, "Today I learned that God made women from ribbons." How cute is that :), so we talked about what ribs were. That night as we were putting the boys to bed we noticed one of the fish in their new tank had died. It happened to be one Ethan had picked out, so he was pretty upset. We got the net, took the fish out and sang "Goodnight my fishy, put angels all around the toilet..." (a new version of the song we sing before bed, "Goodnight my Father, put angels all around my bed...") Then Ethan flushed it. As soon as it was gone he burst into tears and was just sobbing, poor guy. As we calmed him down talking about the life span of fish Asher piped up, "It's okay Ethan we can just pray and God can take a rib and make a new fish for you." It's so funny to think what life must be like from their point of view. After talking about what would happen if all the fish in his tank die, if all the fish in the stores died, if all the fish in the lakes and oceans died, etc. We finally had to tell them JUST GO TO SLEEP!

Timothy is growing fast. He's so sweet! The poor guy has to have surgery to repair a inguinal hernia this coming Monday.

Asher just turned 3. Happy Birthday, little guy!!!

Wonder Will

2008-09-13T23:06:00.007-04:00

I thought it was time to put up an encouraging update about my nephew Will Armstrong...He's doing great! I am so inspired watching their family walk through his journey with leukemia. I just watched this You Tube clip of Will's Story, it brings me to tears and does an aunt's heart good to see how far things have come. I'm thankful he comes running up at mom's group saying hi, that our kids can enjoy each other so much during playdates and AWANA. God is good!!

School Days

2008-09-13T22:35:00.004-04:00

We just started doing preschool and the kids are loving it. We're trying out the Sonlight Curriculum. Suddenly there aren't enough hours in the day. We're doing a homeschool co-op one day a week where Ethan and Asher take art, gym, spanish, drama, music, and recitation. They're so excited about it. They are also doing AWANA with their cousins, Will and Katie. Then there's Mom's group and Sunday School... There're loving life and all the excitement.

So Glad You Came

2008-09-12T22:03:00.007-04:00

We were so excited that Beth and her boys could make it out for a visit. We managed to get some good chats in, definately harder to do with lots of kids! We had fun keeping the kids busy, cramming in as much quality cousin time as possible. Love you Beth!!!

Welcome Home Timothy!

2008-07-03T12:53:00.005-04:00

It's great to be home again with our new addition. Thanks so much Angie, Sarah and Mom for all of your help watching and arranging sitters for the kids!!! The Armstrong and Keparutis cousins were all together a lot over the 2 days; that's 9 kids, aged 9 and under....need I say more? So today I'm home alone with my 4 for the first time and I'm able to write because by 12:30 they were all magically asleep. (That's not normal...) It's been quite a week for everyone! Isaiah and I are so happy, loving our full life and each other!

Mary is 15 month, he makes her look sooo big! Hope she doesn't mind not being the baby anymore...

Can you tell who our tired boy is?

He's Here!!

2008-06-30T17:07:00.009-04:00

So little Timothy Russell Madden was born this morning at 10:10am! We are soooo thankful for a healthy, cute little boy! God has really blessed us with our kids! He was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20in long with a little bit of dark hair.

We were making a point to get to the hospital early this time since the others have been fast. So we came in around 8:45 pretty excited and hoping it wasn't false labor. We kind of took our time, then when they checked I was 8 cm. I couldn't believe it. Everything else went fast and I was thankful Isaiah's mom could be there.

The timing really was perfect...my whole family is out in CA for Grandpa Ray's funeral. It was so great to be able to tell grandma exciting news and share pictures with everyone during this hard time.

Our other kids are coming in to visit their new brother a little later which will be so much fun!

Thank you Lord for the relief we feel of everything turning out so well!

Tulip Festival

2008-05-19T14:36:00.002-04:00

The Espinosa's Visit

2008-05-19T14:29:00.002-04:00

Cousins are SOOO MUCH FUN!!

Fall Family Photos

2008-05-18T23:13:00.004-04:00

Halloween

2007-11-01T13:25:00.000-04:00

We had a fun filled day yesterday with a cousins playdate in the morning, lunch with grandma and grandpa, naps, stopping by Matchless to show off costumes and a Harvest Party at night. The Party was at a local church with hay rides, a hay maze, a bouncy bounce, and lots of games and food. Will and Ethan enjoyed just hanging out as you can see. He still has at least two years of maintanance treatment, but he's doing well.

Summer Recap

2007-10-28T22:12:00.001-04:00

It's been a while...The kids sure are growing fast! We had a fun filled summer; lots of time down at the Normanskill River, and a 10 day trip to CA for both grandpa's 80th birthdays. Earlier this fall Matchless Stove and Chimney opened a new showroom in Clifton Park that's twice the size as the Glenmont location. We've been enjoying the season with lots of trips to orchards. The boys have loved doing my version of preschool, they're always begging for crafts. Ethan's loves doing AWANA, kind of like christian boyscouts. Mary is 7 mo. now and so much fun, she keeps up with her brothers, crawling and climbing up on everything. We'll keep you posted, lots of love!

Handsome boys on Easter

2007-04-14T13:59:00.000-04:00

Three Weeks

2007-04-13T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here's an update on our little one. She's changing soo fast (she's really cute too). She's doing great; sleeping good, not too fussy, and her brothers love her.

I love this picture, Ethan and Asher copy and want to help with everything we do. Here is Ethan, helping dad clean up the back yard.

A lot's going on right now. Isaiah's going to a YWAM business conference with his dad IN ISREAL!!! Can't wait to hear how that goes! Sam and Angie Armstrong, bro and sis-in law, moved back to NY from SC. Yeah!! Also Prakash and Mary Lingappa, bro-and-sis in law, come back from India with their little girl this weekend. Yeah! They are all right around the corner from us, literally, so that makes for lots of fun family times.

Mary Christine Madden

2007-03-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

She's here and we are all doing great! She was born Thurs. at 5:45pm weighing 8 lb. 7 oz. and 21 1/2 in. long. She's so cute and changing so fast.

She's a day old in the above pictures. These next three are from her first night home.

Mary's Story

Thurs. morning I went shopping and had lunch with a friend. Got home and put the boys down around 1:30 and was going to try to nap, but that didn't work because I kept having contractions. (Could it have been the lugging of the double stroller in and out of the car?) I had so many braxton hix this pregnancy that I didn't think too much of it, just took a bath because that always takes them away. But afterwards, I realized they were still regular, about 5-6 min apart. They weren't painful though. I called Isaiah at work to tell him, and said I'd call again if they started building. This was around 3pm. By 4pm they were more crampy and painful so I told him to come home and we could go for a walk to move things along. My mom and Bekah were on their way too. Everyone got to the house at the same time. Isaiah took a shower singing that we were going to have our girl today. We decided to go to the hospital and get checked out and then walk around there because everything was so quick with Asher. We got to a room at 4:45. The contractions were more painful, but with breaks in between. They checked me and I was 8cm. I was really surprised, I'd had an appt. Wed and hadn't progressed much and wasn't dilated. The braxton hixs really must have been moving me along. My mom, Isaiah's mom, and Janna all made it to the hospital and before we knew it she was born at 5:47. Ouch, but I'm so glad it was quick. We'd been praying about that, and the Lord really answered. The timing was perfect. We didn't lose sleep and feel pretty rested still. There were no complications and I was able to recover quickly. And little Mary looks just perfect. Little ears, little feet, little hands. The boys are so excited to have a little sister, Ethan's been making up rhymes...Mom-the bomb, Daddy-my hattie, his new one is Sister-I kissed her. They're so cute and gentle...relatively...actually more in her face that anything. Isaiah is thrilled to have a little girl. So that's the story in a nutshell. We're happy, thankful parents!

2007-03-20T07:17:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the Baby Shower Lunch Bekah!
Will and Katie Armstrong are visiting...YEAH!! The cousins enjoying their diner experience.

Ethan and Asher are patiently waiting for their little sister to be born. Sweet Boys!

Visiting with the Rutkowski's

2007-03-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

It was great visiting with Karen and her three little ones; Janna, David and little Christina. I can't believe there are six kids between us. (Karen was my "housemate" when I first moved out.)

Two Weeks to go!

2007-03-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

It won't be long now until our little girl is born. Our due date is March 19. Thought I'd put up a picture of me living large. Our hospital bag is packed and the babies seat is in the car. I've been keeping busy cleaning the house and entertaining the boys. I think they both have the idea that a baby is going to join our family, of course Ethan gets it a lot more than Asher. Isaiah really can't wait to meet his little girl. I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it could be any time now. I think we're as ready as we'll be.
Please pray for a quick, "easy", safe delivery and for our little girl to be healthy, strong and beautiful :).
I'll post pictures as soon as she's born.

NYC

2007-01-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

Isaiah and I had a great time in the city. It was so good to have time to ourselves. I love my husband! We took the train down and the subways all over, got tons of walking in despite the COLD, spent time on 5th Ave., in Chinatown, at Ground Zero. We stayed at the Westin, which was great, about a block from Times Square. We had delicious meals out and basically did whatever we felt like. What a fun place to lose yourself in. The boys didn't miss us hardly at all I think, their grandparents did such a great job entertaining them. Thanks guys!

On the homefront

2007-01-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, and we've been busy. Christmas was wonderful! We spent 3 nights at beautiful Wawbeek, in the Adorondack's with the Madden side.
Spent time at the Johnstons with my brother, Matt, and cousin, Paul, from CA, and another cousin, Andrew, from DC.
The Winderfestival Fundraiser to support my nephew Will was a success. His mom Angie was able to attend, miss them all. Go team Armstrong!

Next week Isaiah's wisking me off to NYC for 3 nights without the boys, a final hurrah before our baby girl arrives. My due date was changed to March 13, only 7 1/2 weeks away. Life is good, the boys are so sweet, learning, growing and changing every day. Congrats to Karen and Stephanie on your new little ones!

It's a GIRL!!!

2006-11-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

We had an ultrasound appointment yesterday and they were able to tell for sure that it's a little baby girl. We are so excited, we feel like we know little boys so it will be fun to experience a baby girl. Here's a cool site showing how babies grow and what's developing during the second trimester. (We're at 21 weeks) Seeing pictures is so amazing, there is another little person growing inside of me. Here's our little one. She was burying her head in my back, so they could only get profile shots of her face. Look in the middle of the brown blob, she's looking to the right.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

We Love Great Grandpa Pat

2006-10-28T19:25:00.000-04:00

Lake George

2006-10-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

Isn't the fall a beautiful time of year?

We rented a house on the lake this weekend to spend some quality time together with my Grandpa Pat who's visiting from Arizona. We had a great time just being together, watching the boys with their great-grandpa, enjoying the leaves and relaxing in general.

Awesome Concert

2006-10-19T19:48:00.000-04:00

Tues. Night we went to see Matisyahu, Isaiah's favorate band, at the Washington Armory. It was such a great show. The music was awesome. Click on the above pic to enter their site and hear their music. They are a Jewish Rap group that has a Regea sound to them too. It was very different, but it was one of the most fun concerts we've been to. I loved one of the opening bands too.
They're called The Moshav Band.

They're classified rock/indie/folk, I could listen to them all day. Click on their pick for their MySpace site that plays clips of songs.

Two Great Bands you should check out!! Definately worth seeing them in concert!!

Goold's Orchard

2006-10-17T13:05:00.000-04:00

Ethan and Asher are getting some quality time in with their cousins Isaac and Charis this week. Today we went on an outing with my MOM'S group, it became more of an adventure when it started raining, but the kids had fun picking apples and pumpkins, and eating cider donuts and cider. They're all laying down now so I thought I'd put some of these cute pics out there.

I started going to this MOM'S group last year and have really enjoyed it. It's at Loudonville Community Church whose site talks more about it here. I've made some great friends and enjoyed their Bible Study as well. That's just my plug for joining a MOM'S group.

Thatcher Park

2006-10-12T13:15:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed our Fall romp through the leaves on Indian Ladder Trail. It's so great to spend time with dad on his day off.

Sad News

2006-10-12T12:12:00.000-04:00

We just learned that our nephew, Will, Sam and Angie Armstrong's son, has leukemia. He's Ethan's age, a sweet little ball of energy. Our heart hurts for him and his family right now, but we know God is in control. They created a site to post updates, prayer requests and pic. Visit and sign the guestbook. www.caringbridge.org/visit/williamarmstrong

Washington DC

2006-10-11T16:42:00.000-04:00

We had a great time in DC. They boys were troopers getting no naps and going to bed at 10 each night. Grandma and Grandpa got to spend quality time with them, and we got some good visiting in with my cousin, Andrew Ruga. He's in the Coastguard Honor Guard, going on year two. Once again, we saw that DC is way too big to see in 2 days, but we had a blast.

We rode the subway and went through the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Sat. before dinner at Uncle Erastis and Aunt Selma's. Then on Sun we toured Andrew's base. It was very cool to hear and see just what they do. Then we walked around Alexandria, Virginia which was beautiful, Isaiah's going to take me on a long date there sometime. I informed him of that anyway.

Then we went to dinner with my dads cousin and saw the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monuments by moonlight. Spectacular! Poor Andrew got a crash course in toddlerhood with Ethan waking up crying for daddy to him, wondering where we had walked off to. Sorry Andrew :) ! He did show us the stick garden you made for him later.

So We're Back

2006-10-05T13:25:00.000-04:00

Well I might as well jump right in. No way to make up for lost time. Here are some pics from the summer to start off with.

What are we up to now?

Our biggest news is we're expecting. YEAH!! March 19 to be exact. At my next appt. we have an ultrasound to hopefully find out if this little one is a boy or a girl. It's so exciting looking forward to it. So that's occupied a lot of my thoughts.

Isaiah's just going into the busy season at work, but we are still finding time to enjoy the fall. He is such a great dad. He makes life so much fun for the boys and I. We went apple and pumpkin picking on his last day off.

Right now Ethan is trying to get the hang of riding his tricycle. He has just recently gotten tall enough to reach the peddles. He is a ball of energy and thoughts which he shares with me nonstop.

Asher's walking more steady now and is really coming into his own. He looks so grown up to me with his toothy grin. I think the most excited I've seen him is when we saw donkeys, sheeps and goats at Indian Ladder Farms. He bounced and made a racket and would stick his hand right into their mouths if you'd let him.

The boys and I are going to Washington DC tomorrow through Monday with my parents. (Isaiah has to work :(.) We are looking forward to seeing my cousin Andrew who's in the Coast Gaurd Honor Gaurd there. Well, I'd better start packing...

Cousins Cousins Everywhere

2006-03-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

On the sofa I'll pull your hair
Elephants, hippos, this one's mine
I wish I could play with you all the time.

Katie, Asher, Issac, Ethan
Make sure Will doesn't eat that wheat thin
Lovely Abby likes to dance
Smells like somebody pooped their pants

Abby, Caleb, Charis, Will
So many sippy cups to fill
Laughing, crying, giggles, joy
Mommy, don't make me share my toy!

Ethan's eating what was under the couch
Asher got his head bonked, ouch
Issac's hoarding cars today
Caleb will fix it, "Isaac obey!"

Charis smiles as Katie shrieks
These playdates have been such fun each week

Movie worth seeing

2006-03-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

We just watched the movie "To End All War". It was the best one I'd seen in a while. It's got an amazing message. It's based on the true story of Ernest Gordon, a survivor of a Japanese prison camp during WW2. I'm going to read the book.

Playdate Moments

2006-03-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

Here are some other special times with the Armstrong cousins

About those Armstrongs

2006-03-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday was Katie's dedication and Will's birthday. It was at Sam and Angie's church, Terra Nova Church, which meets in Revolution Hall in Troy. It was a very cool service, not at all the traditional conservative type most think of when you say "church". We were so happy be able to celebrate Will's birthday. The Armstrongs are moving to North Carolina next Tues. We will miss them terribly. What can you say, when family moves, I don't think you can express the emotions right away. We love you guys and are glad we've been able to share the first two years of the parenthood adventure side by side with you. Angie and I have been having playdates with the cousins on Thursdays mornings. We just sit and laugh at the boys enjoying each other. I know that whenever they get to visit they'll pick right back up like this.

On the Mend

2006-02-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

"Don't worry folks, I'm getting better. This morning I ate some oatmeal and mom read me 3 books. Now I'm taking a nap to get some more strength back"

Our poor boys! Ethan had a very high temp on and off since Wed. We were worried because he wasn't himself and he was obviously hurting. Most of the time he just lay there, too out of it to eat or watch a movie. But his new medicine is helping, he's just wiped out. Asher has something similar, but not as bad. He's sick, but is still his cheerful self, just much more pathetic. It looks like it will be over soon, thankfully. Thanks all who were praying. It's so hard to see your little ones hurting. You feel so out of control.

Trip Planned

2006-02-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

It's official. The boys and I are coming to California next month with my parents. For anyone out there, this is a suprise to my grandparents, so please keep it that way. They know my parents are coming, but not us. We're there from March 15 pm to the 26th. Can't wait! Isaiah has the Annual Hearth and Home Trade Show in Salt Lake City coming up around then too.

Matt, I know Ethan misses you because he talks about you every day. Even when he prays before bed, he says " ...... Jesus, thank you .... mommy, daddy, ethan (?) asher..." we ask him if there's anyone else he wants to pray for and he usually says "Matt", with the occasional grandma, grandpa, or pa thrown in, "Amen." Also if we ask him who loves him it's usually, Daddy, Mommy, and Uncle Matt.

Family Pictures

2006-02-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

Time has been flying. Ethan and Asher are growing so fast! They are 5 and 20 months. Ethan helped me make valentine's day cakes for Isaiah. :) He's been talking more and more, starting to learn his letters, and he enjoys making forts in the living room.

Asher has started sucking his thumb all the time. I think he learned from Ethan. He's been rolling over for about a week now, and he's just starting to eat cereal. Isaiah and I are doing great as we gear up for a busy next couple of months. Be sure to check back because I will keep this updated now. Ang, you've inspired me.

We've moved!

2005-12-13T22:20:00.000-05:00

Our house is now a home. It's so nice to finally be settled in. This week is the first chance we've had to sit back and enjoy our boys in our cozy new house. They've been troopers. "How about reading that book to yourself Ethan, Mommy's painting, organizing closets, scrubbing floors..."

We just decorated our tree last night.