unpacking... does it ever end?

Since we had to run errands when we got home on Friday, I worked on Saturday and Sunday (don't ask!). I decided to start the process of putting things away today. I have 4 of the 6 drapes hung in the living room now and they look great. I will be hanging the big picture on the wall as you come up my stairs. The cake pans are put away. The silverware, and dishes are also in their places. I need to get a plate holder for the 4 saucers. We still have to hang curtains in Maddie's room and put the new bedding on Kenzie's bed. Our suitcases are starting to be emptied. Kenzie and I played v smile today and she loved it! We had such a good time. We also played vet. She loves her animals. I bought Kenzie a webkinz lion on Friday so she comes and helps me take care of it everyday now. Thanks Riley! You got us addicted! Such a cute thing to do with your children. We still have to find a home for the easels. And that is our life right now. Just getting back on track! Talk to you soon!
Dawn

And it is over :(

I always hate to see the end of our trips to Florida end. I love the time we have with our family from out of state so it saddens us every time we have to say goodbye. We will truly cherish the memories we have made. Here are a few of the highlights from our trip.

*Grandma talking on the phone trying to scoop Kenzie out of the pool. Just put the phone down would you? Ha ha ha!

*Grandma drinking out of the jug! So funny. Oh and the Mashed Potato food fight with Riley!

*Christmas Eve we all went to service at the Church where Shelby goes to preschool. Nice service then came home and had dinner. Opened one present before bed. Kenzie love love love loved her HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MOVIE AND BLANKET! The girls (Kenzie, Riley, Shelby) went to Derrick and Amanda's room and watched the movie to fall asleep. Riley ended up sleeping with the blanket!

*Christmas Morning was a great fun time. Everyone got tons of stuff and I think the present that rocked the most was.....

RILEY AND SHELBY'S BIG ONE!

They got a WII! and we all loved it. I think it was played the entire 48 hours after it was opened! How great! We are so getting one. We loved it! Kenzie even played it with us.

* Grandma had a shot of VODKA and I got a picture but will upload it later.

*Kenzie and Shelby got into big trouble having a bubble bath! They had foamy bubbles all over the bathroom. Water damage! Crap! Not a good time for us! Derrick, Amanda, Riley and I cleaned it up and found the damage. Home owners insurance will be called.

And that about summs it up.

We will miss you all and look forward to comming back again when we can.

Love,
Ryan, Dawn, Kenzie and Maddie Cox

Florida.... Kenzie..Pool..Grandma..Mashed Potatoes!

Wow a lot to blog about but not a lot of time, so the highlights are...

We pulled in yesterday afternoon. Had a great time. Kenzie fell in the pool! Wow how interesting. She is fine! Nothing to worry about there.

This morning we hung out. Not much to report there.

This afternoon, Grammy (Yaya) took Kenzie and Shelby in the convertable:

to see Santa:

They waited for 1 hour in line. And then:

Loved the pictures! Great Job Grammy!

I was totally shocked to see that Kenzie went up and took a picture with him.

Grandma, we keep telling you that you're not supposed to drink from jugs....

But for some reason you can't seem to listen to us!

Tonight for dinner, we had samon wellington with mashed potatoes. As we were all finishing up, Riley wanted a food fight and Grandma was the target! Mashed potatoes went flying! It was so funny and here was the reaction:

WE ALL LOVE YOU GRANDMA TIGGER! THANKS FOR ALLOWING US TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT TIME WITH YOU!

Hope all is well with everyone back home. Can't wait to upload Christmas pics! Here are a few random pics as well. "Uncle Derrick, I love you!" for those of you who don't know, Maddie hasn't really wanted to have anything to do with anyone but me when we go visiting family. This is a major milestone for her. INTRODUCING: Rockstars Kenzie and Shelby Cox!All my teeth!Great BIG Beautiful Blue eyes!
Kenzie helping Mommy before we left for vacation!

Love,

Ryan, Dawn, Kenzie and Maddie

(Derrick, Amanda, Riley, Shelby, Maggie (the dog), Sam(the cat), Grammy, Pappy, and Grandma Tigger too!)

P.S. Amanda did a COACH Purse blogworthy. I liked it so much I had to include it on here. Hope you don't mind! Great Job!

Closing in on.... and....

As we are closing in on the last hours before we leave for Orlando and..... I hear a drip... I go investigate and find that Kenzie had plugged the small utility sink downstairs and filled it with water and inserted the nightshirt she slept in last night in it... Ok... NO! SHE FORGOT TO TURN OFF THE WATER! So I had a bar soaked with water. The floor soaked. Go to the laundryroom ofr a towel. NO! THE LAUNDRYROOM FLOOR FLOODED WITH ABOUT 1 INCH OF WATER! So I spent an hour drying up the laundryroom and cleaning up the water mess from the bar area. Shew. That is over, now back to working on getting us mentally ready for a long drive. Maddie is doing great! Kenzie is so excited. She told Mom earlier, "Hi Nana. Merry Christmas. Santa's at the North Pole getting the sleigh and reindeer ready. I am going to Shelby's house. Love you. *kiss* *hug*." and handed me the phone back. So funny. It isn't Uncle Derrick or Aunt Amanda's house. She isn't going to Riley's house. SHE'S GOING TO SHELBY'S. It is cute. Oh and Shelby isn't her cousin! She is her BEST FRIEND! How funny. Ryan will be off of work soon so we can head out. So if you don't hear from me for a while it's coz I am getting tan in the sun! LOL! Merry Christmas Everyone.
Dawn

trip is getting closer

Well, our trip is comming quicker and quicker. We can't wait. We finished packing tonight. Ryan put the gifts, suitcases, golfclubs and anything else we could think we wanted to take on our trip in the van and did a load of laundry tonight while I stayed home with the kids. We are having to take our laundry to the laundrymat until I can get to the place that sells the belt for the washer and pop can have the time to put it on for us. Kenzie had school. She came home singing about Zelda Zebra! It was so cute. She also told me that Mr. Todd was at school today because Ms. B disappeared. Maddie had a good day. Ryan's day at work was quite stressful. I was just getting ready to leave when he got home but found out that Amanda found christmas Jammies for the girls. That was a good thing because I was going to Target to see if I could find any for Kenzie when Carol e mailed me to tell me that Amanda found some. That is good! Ryan still has to pick up his stocking stuffers, and then we have to buy for each other, but that is it and we are waiting until we get there to do that. Other than that we are good. A bit of sad news though, Carol has to have two surgeries in January. Do keep her in prayer. Thanks and see everyone when we get back from Vacation.
Dawn

Starting to Pack

Well, we are officially picking outfits to take to Florida with us. Can't wait. Just can't decide what to bring because you never know about the weather these days. One thing I can say though is that it will be warmer there than it is here. I had a strange weekend. We will leave it at that. The girls went to Mom's this weekend since it is the last weekend she would be able to see them before we go to Florida. Maddie is a jewel. She is just the sweetest baby! Kenzie was up and ready to go to school today. I finally got their last present today. I had ordered books for them. They could always use new books to stimulate their imagination. I got a variety of winter/christmas and others also. Maddie just woke up from her nap and is a happy camper. Kenzie is hanging out. We watched High School Musical again today. Goodness that girl loves that movie. Ryan is now at Maxx's house getting an extra suitcase for us to use for the trip because I don't think we have enough of those. And other than that nothing here. Just getting hyped up for the trip.
Dawn

Christmas Stocking

You Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled with Money

You've either been really really good this year...Or Santa is trying to pay you off!

http://www.blogthings.com/whatwillbeinyourchristmasstockingquiz/">What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?

Run Run Rudolf!

That is what I felt like I did today. Ryan only worked until 12 because of the census. So when he got home, we decided we would finish the christmas shopping. We got Roy, Carol, Amanda, Deke, and I got some things for Ryan and Kenzie out of the way. I had to be way sneaky since Ryan and Kenzie were both with us. We got our hair cut. I now have a stacked bob. It is quite short! Wow. I didn't realize how much hair I had, but it can always grow back. I do like it this way, so I might opt to keep it pretty much like this though. Kenzie thought since Mommy was getting her hair cut, that she needed to do the same, so to appease her, I had them trim it up for her. She was so happy with the idea. Kenzie also picked out the presents for Ryan, Deke, Roy and Carol. I already knew what I was getting for Amanda. She did a great job too. We came home and wrapped presents. I then found out that I might have gotten a wrong size, so I will take the reciept with me and give it to the recepient if needed. Since we have already wrapped, I don't think I will unwrap it just to trade the thing out. If needed we can exchange it in Florida since I went to a store they have down there as well as we have up here. Kenzie also found a pair of High School Musical 2 Jammies for herself and Daddy said it was ok for her to get those. So now all I have to do is wrap a few things for Kenzie and Maddie. Then I have to wrap the things for Riley and Shelby when I get to Amanda's since we had Shelby's shipped there and Amanda picked up Riely's for me. We got turkey's at work today, so I will be giving those to Mom and Nana since we probably won't use two whole turkeys. We generally only do the turkey thing once a year. Now for the next week, it will be hectic packing and getting ready for our trip. I have to put together cheesy potatoes for work this weekend. I am baking a cake to take to work as well. Then I am baking a cake for Tina's little boy and Ryan will take that to work with him on either Thursday or Friday and then when Ryan gets off of work next Friday we are Florida bound. AAAAHHHH! The stress has begun. Hopefully I won't forget to have a good time! Talk to you all sooner or later!
Love,
Dawn

Closing in on...

Not only the last shopping days, but also the last few days before the "get ready for vacation" stress begins. I know that next week, I will be crazy to say the least trying to make sure we have everything packed for our trip. I have to remember a list of extra things. I better start working on that now. Hope I don't forget anything. You know, I could go on and pack Maddie's suitcase because she has enough clothes I could do that. Hmmm an idea. I also have to buy the edible image this week, buy the belt and fix the washer. Then I can't remember what I have to do. Kenzie is at school. This week they are doing the letter y. She is doing fairly well with that. Maddie is being a momma's girl. She just wants to be held. She is sitting in my lap sleeping now. I don't know how I do this sometimes. holding a sleeping baby and typing on the puter isn't very easy, but I am a momma and we mommas cand do everything with our hands full and our eyes closed it seems. Ryan is at work and that is that. More to come....
Dawn

Sleep... What is that???

I have not been getting much sleep lately with the girls waking up at 5am! I don't know what is getting into them, but Kenzie has been waking up at 5 wanting to get dressed for school. And it isn't on only the days she goes to school, but she did it on Sunday too! As I was leaving for work she was asking Ryan to get her ready for school! Wow. So now for the weekend. It was rough, but I got through it with the help of God! I came home last night after not having much sleep Saturday night and I stayed up until 1am decorating the cake for Kendra's birthday. I did a stacked construction with imprints of daisies on it. Not real fancy as I was so tired last night, so Ryan took it to work and everyone LOVED it. Maybe this is the break I need for getting more customers. I did find out that WALMART will sell me an edible image for the cake I am doing for Tina this month. Jay C and Kroger won't, but a department store will. I thought the bakery at a grocery store would sell me one before a department store would, but the won't so I go to pick it up on Wednesday. I can't wait to learn how to do the edible image thing. I think it will be sooooo cool! Ryan is at work now and the girls are pretending to be having a picnic right now so it is really cute. I have some time to listen to Christmas Music as I do some work on the to do list. So I thought I would update you all! Talk to you soon!
Love,
Dawn

How long does it take a BRUNETTE to light the pilot light on a gas stove?

Many of you would say, "zero, my husband does that stuff" not here. We didn't even think that it was the pilot light on my oven that was causing me to suffer with not being able to use it! So I got smart and 4 months after the initial problem, I FIXED THE STOVE! So my answer is 4 months! LOL! So needless to say, I AM A VERY HAPPY WOMAN! I have my oven again and I can finally try that lasagne that Roy and Carol brought with them in September. I have had it in my freezer waiting for a new oven. So I called Pop and he told me how to light the pilot on my oven AND I DIDN'T BLOW UP! LOL! So now, I am waiting for the dishes to finish so I can BAKE 2 cakes today. One for Kendra and one for Ryan's birthday. With the help of Anthony, we decided to do a clown cake. Bubba wants to see the clowns that we make on cakes, so I figured I would appease him since Kenzie chose last year. And on Kendra's cake, I was going to do a dumbell, but thought I had more time. Ryan told me yesterday it has to be done for him to take to work on MONDAY! Ack! I am going to do a pretty cake with a rose boquet on it since I love making roses. Yeah I am back in business, so if any of you need a cake, please don't hesitate to let me know. I would love to bake daily if needed! It keeps my mind off of things and keeps me busy. We went to church last night and Kenzie showed Megan she knows how to sing "Beautiful Scandalous Night" she sang loud and proud clapping a long while Megan and Chris were singing it. I couldn't believe that I could actually hear her as she was singing. Such a cutie. Kenzie is at school now. I have Anthony for a couple of hours today so Candy and Kevin can go to doctor appointments. Maddie is running around here getting into everything her little hands can get to. And now off to work on the play room.
Have a great day!
Love,
Dawn

The happenings in the Cox house.

Not a lot of happenings in the Cox house here today. Maddie played and Kenzie went to school while Ryan worked and I did the Mommy thing. When Kenzie got home from school, she went to her computer (Roy's old one) and typed in KENZIE in the correct order. So I am seeing some progress. She is recognizing that the letters make up her name and she is able to put them together to form her name correctly most of the time. She is still struggling with speech at school but I know it will be a slow process. I just don't know why she has such a hard time with the k sound. If we can get her to understand that she is saying it wrong, she would probably correct it in no time at all. We put the bookshelf downstairs today and Amanda, the girls love it. Thanks so much. I went ahead and gave it to them because I knew they would love it and Kenzie knows that it is from Riley and Shelby (and you and Deke) for Christmas. They put their books on it tonight and the books cover where the personalization would have been so it works great! Thanks a bunch. Ryan came home from work late tonight so I cooked chicken, green beans and Mac and cheese. Kenzie fell asleep at about 8 and I am working on planning the two cakes I have comming up. One is for Ryan to take to work with him. He has to provide the cake for Kendra for her birthday since they do an exchange in the therapy department. Tony does Ryan's cake and Ryan does Kendras kind of thing. I also have a birthday cake comming up for a little boy who loves High School Musical, so I am thinking about making a sheet music cake. 2 layers chocolate with white icing and then piping the music notes and bars on it. I saw one and thought it was cute. but I don't know for sure. Will just have to wait and see what I do with it. I still have a week to think on it. And other than that nothing going on. Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Dawn

This week at school.

Hi all! Kenzie here. I haven't posted on here lately being so busy at school. Here is the newsletter for this week:

Animals Everywhere

Dear Family,
This week Kenzie will learn about pets. Using the topic "I love animals" we will read stories about pets and the experiences the pet owners have had with them. You can help your child learn more by talking with him/her about the things he/she is doing at school and the new letters and words that he/she is learning. Here are some ways that you can work with your child at home.

Think and talk:
What did you read today?
What was the story about?
What did you make today?
Do you think ____ would be a good pet for us? Why?

Home activities:
Ff Animal Poster
Draw a picture of a fish on a large piece of drawing paper. Tell your child that the word FISH begins with the letter f. Children can decorate the posted by adding pictures of animals whose names begin with f, such as frog or fox.

Books about pets
Your child will listen to the story "The Greedy Cat" Ask her/him to talk about how he/she feels about the cat that always wanted more. Read other books about pets with your child. Discuss what the pets in the stories are like.

What I learned:
Here is a note from your child and his/her teacher.
Talk with your student about items around the house that start with the letter Ff.

We learned a new song this week also. It is:
Fifi Fish
(tune: "Five Fat Turkeys")

SEE FIFI FISH'S FINS.
SHE CATCHES LETTER F AND WINS.
SHE HAS NO FUR OR FEATHERS ON HER.
SHE WINS AND FLIPS HER FINS.

Here is also our vocabulary development that we are working on right now.
core words:
air/food
animals
bear
care
cat
deer
feathers/fur
jungle
land
living things
owl
pets
rabbit
shelter/water
wild

basic words
big/little
calendar
clock/time
earth
middle
mommy
older
woods.

other words we are working on
calf
caterpillar
chick/chicken
corals
cub
cygnet
desert
donkey
fluffy
foal
fresh
goats
healthy
hen
joey
kit
moose
mouse/mice
need
ocean
polar regions
pup
rainforest
seaweed
sponge
stripes
tuna fish
underwater
baby
bedspread
brown
brave
bridge
echo
eleven
footsteps
greedy
grumpy
gulp
light
pass
plan
polka dots
red
scared
yellow
curled up
ditty
galaxy
howling
nooks
prowling
shellfish
stomped
bigger/smaller
fewer/more
fewest/most
thick/thin
estimate/same
guess/how many
sort/graph
color/size
coin/nickel/penny
circle/rectangle
square/triangle
cone/cube
cylinder/sphere
rectangular prism
feathers/fly
fur
hop/legs
run/walk
wings
animal
child
dog
food
home
pet
air
bam
drink
eat
farm
need
adult
alike
baby
different
elephant
animal
fish
lake
ocean
plant
pond
tank
clean
help
park
throw away
trash
bird
continent
kangaroo
mountain lion
ocean
panda bear
penguin
riendeer
zebra.

I know that looks like a lot, but let me tell you we learn a lot in the little time I have with Mrs Brittany. We have lots of fun but we learn at the same time. I love going to school and now I must be off to bed. I have to see Mrs. Heather tomorrow in speech. I will post again as soon as I can talk Mommy into letting me.

Love you all!
Kenzie

Christmas Carols for the Psychiatrically Challenged.

Christmas Carols for the Psychiatrically Challenged

SCHIZOPHRENIA - Do You Hear What I Hear?

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY - We Three Kings Disoriented Are.

DEMENTIA - I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas.

NARCISSISTIC - Hark The Herald Angels Sing (About Me)

MANIA - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and and Office and Town ...or Deck the Halls and Spare No Expense!

PARANOIA - Santa Claus is Coming To Get Me.

PERSONALITY DISORDER - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, then
MAYBE I'll tell you why.

DEPRESSION - Silent anhedonia, Holy anhedonia. All is calm, All is pretty lonely.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER- Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell... (YOU GET THE IDEA)

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY- The Twelve Days of Christmas (don't make me repeat that again)

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY - Thoughts of Roasting in an Open Fire.

PASSIVE/AGGRESSIVE - Silent Night

What a Friday!

Such a strange day. I took Maddie and Kenzie to Candy's house so that Nick could play with Kenzie when he got off of work. It was a long day and that is about that. Not much else other than watching kids. When I went from 2 girls to 2 girls and 1 boy was bad enough. Adding one more boy to the mix makes a world of difference. I love my nephews to death, but sometimes they can stress me out to the max. I am now catching up on a few things and then off to bed for work tomorrow.

Dawn

THE BEST CUP

A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversationsoon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general.Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive, some quiteexquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee.When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address thesmall gathering. ''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems."He continued. "Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups. Then you began eyeing each other's cups.''''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup,we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has provided us. God brews the coffee, but he does not supply the cups. Enjoy your coffee!''The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. So please remember: Live simply. Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the Rest to God. And remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

A lesson.....

OH MAN I'M TIRED! A man was sick and tired of going to work every daywhile his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went throughso he prayed: 'Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hourswhile my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I gothrough , so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day.Amen.' God , in his infinite wisdom , granted the man's wish. Thenext morning , sure enough , the man awoke as a woman. - He arose ,cooked breakfast for his mate , awakened the kids , set out theirschool clothes , fed them breakfast , packed their lunches , drovethem to school , came home and picked up the dry cleaning , took itto the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit , went grocery shopping , then drove home to put away the groceries , paid the bills andbalanced the check book. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathedthe dog. Then it was already 1P.M. and he hurried to make the beds ,do the laundry , vacuum , dust , and sweep and Mop the kitchen floor.Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument withthem on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got the kidsorganized to do their homework , then set up the ironing board andwatched TV while he did the ironing. At 4:30 he began peelingpotatoes and washing vegetables for salad , breaded the pork chopsand snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper , he cleaned thekitchen , ran the dishwasher , folded laundry , bathed the kids , andput them to bed. At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and , though hisdailychores weren't finished , he went to bed where he was expected tomake love , which he managed to get through without complaint. Thenext morning , he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said:'Lord , I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy mywife's being able to stay home all day. Please , oh! oh! please , letus trade back.' The Lord , in his infinite wisdom , replied: 'My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to changethings back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait ninemonths though. You got pregnant last night.'

I got this in my e mail today and thought I would share it with you!

Christmas time is in the air!

Last night I wanted to post because I had a couple of pics for the blog, but it was so late, I decided to wait until today to do this. Kenzie and I put up the tree. Well I put it up and Kenzie decorated it. I had bought one that is a prelit one so I don't have to fight with lights anymore. They didn't have the green one so I settled for the white one. All in all, I like it. Kenzie told me where to put the bulbs on the top of the tree, but you can really tell that a child decorated it because most of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree. Kenzie and I decided that next year we will get all new ornaments since ours are getting a little old and broken... That kind of thing.

In addition to decorating the tree, we went shopping last night. We got Kenzie's winter coat for this year and hopefully next year too. I bought a size big. She wanted a High School Musical one, but they were out, so she settled for a Bratz coat. It is real cute. Then she found Bratz shoes that really look cute with the coat. She needed a new pair of shoes anyway. So now she has a new coat and new shoes. Ryan and I got new jammies. They were on sale. Then it was off to eat. After eating, off to walmart to get the tree. 6.5 foot prelit white colorado pine for under $30. I thought it was a good deal since we had paid that for our other tree that now mom is keeping and it was only 6 feet. So, all in all, we did good. We started out going to the license branch in Jeffersonville, and I WILL NEVER GO BACK THERE AGAIN! They are so rude! So we are going to try and go to the Sellersburg branch tonight. Jeffersonville needs a lesson in manners! After that we dropped Anthony off at his house to his Daddy (my brother Kevin) and he was a happy camper. The we did the above described shopping fiasco. By the time we made it home and finished with the tree it was almost 10, so I snapped a few pics and went to bed. Here they are.....

Kenzie and her Daddy! I can't believe he agreed to take a pic! We have such a hard time with him. "Mommy, look what I did!" Kenzie had such a good time putting the balls on the tree! And the last one for right now. I will get the girls in red or something and do some more pics as soon as I can get the batteries charged on the camera since I rean out as I took the last pic.

Love,

Dawn

Mommy, can I have more brussels sprouts?

What a week this is starting out to be....
BLUE Pancakes were the request for lunch and MORE Brussels sprouts for dinner! Interesting. I couldn't believe that they loved them that much!

Kenzie came home from school and told me to look at "w". She was talking about the page she had brought home from school. She has been pretty good today.

Maddie has been quite the whiney thing! I think she missed me as I was being a trouble maker at work LOL.

Ryan just keeps telling me that he wants a WII for Christmas, do you think it is a hint?

Pappy has to go in and get a pace maker tomorrow.

I guess that sums it up in a nutshell.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We were totally busy! Will tell you more later! Off to bed now!

Love,
Dawn

Why is JESUS better than Santa Clause?

Santa lives at the North Pole...
Jesus is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh...
Jesus rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year...
Jesus is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stocking with goodies...
Jesus supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited...
Jesus stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited.

You have to wait to see Santa...
Jesus is as close as the mention of his name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap...
Jesus lets you rest in his arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?"...
Jesus knew your name before we did.
Not only does he know our name,
He knows our addresses too.
He knows our history and future and
He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly...
Jesus has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is Ho Ho Ho...
Jesus offers health, help and hope.

Santa says, "You better not cry"...
Jesus says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa's little helpers make toys...
Jesus makes new life, mends wounded hearts,
Repairs broken homes, and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but...
Jesus gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree...
Jesus became our gift and died on a tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison. We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about. We need to put CHRIST back into it. Let's all try to help others remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

Kenzie brought this home from preschool one year, and I found it when I was getting out the Christmas boxes. I know I agree with all of the above. Do you? If you do agree, take the challenge I am offering and repost this on all of your blogs, myspace, etc and help to bring CHRIST back into Christmas!

Love,
Dawn

BABY STEPS

Baby steps is what life is full of. When we are born, we take babysteps as we grow reaching each of the milestones that we are so farmiliar with. Then as we go through school, we take babysteps even though we don't realize it and when we get out of high school or college depending on our situation, we take babysteps to get our apartments, then on to that first house. That is just how life is. God created us to take these baby steps as to not overwhelm us I guess. And what am I getting at? KENZIE TOOK SOME BABY STEPS TODAY! She is in speech therapy as you all know, but we haven't had much luck with getting her cooperation because mainly she has to hear that she isn't speaking correctly before she can correct it, so Heather(the speech therapist) and I came up with this idea to purposly ask her if tookie is correct or if cookie is correct. Once she said her answer to me she said, "No" and I watched to see what she was doing, she put her hand on her throat and took a few times but she said "COOKIE" I was so proud of her. She did the same thing with car, key, kangaroo, and cake. I even got her to say "Kenzie" instead of "Tenzie" I was so happy I almost cried. We have been trying for more than a semester to get her to produce the correct sounds, but it only happened this week. So for thanksgiving this year, I am thankful for a lot:
*I am thankful for GOD'S LOVE. He loves us so much and gives us everything we need out of LOVE.
*Family. Without family where would we be? Mom has been so great to help us this year. Roy and Carol have also helped us where they can throughout the years. Kenzie and Maddie are just precious. I don't think I would ever ask for two better girls although they fight like sisters do. Candy is great. She came through when we needed extra cash and this goes back to the first thank! God made sure she was in need of a sitter when we could use the extra cash!
*I am thankful that on of my paitents and Papaw Sonny are no longer suffering. And this may sound mean but those two are very special people and they were suffering here on earth. God took them at the right time. They are now up there rejoycing with Him!
*I am thankful that we can all express our thanks to one another.
*FRIENDS. I am thankful for all of the friends we have. Beth and Josh-- you two have been great even though you don't realize how great you have been. Know we appreciate the advice you give me. Maria and Brian-- the two of you (well really Maria) introduced us to a great church and we will continue comming as long as we feel welcome which we home will be a long time. Megan and Chris-- you guys made us feel like we were at home the first night we met you. Thanks for that. I was really debating even trying CIC and so wasn't sure if we would like it or go back, but thanks to you we are hooked! Thank you for that. Karen-- just for being a good person! I don't know you that well yet, but hopefully that will change in the future. Amanda-- you are a great sister in law, but I consider you a better friend. I can ask you anything and you come through when you aren't loopy on pain meds due to intestinal blockages! LOL Thanks for always being there when I needed a question answered girly! And the most important thing you do for me is inspiration. When I need inspiration, I look you up and bam, I have it! Ilean-- you are like another momma to us. We could never ask for a better friend in a person as you have been. Maxx-- THANKS FOR THE BREAKS. You go golfing with Ryan and it gives me a break not that I need it, but he adores you. He can't wait to go out again as soon as he gets home. And I know there were some left out, but know that each of our friends have special places in our hearts. I just can't sit here and type everything we feel about every one of our friends or I would be here for the rest of time!

Now that I have said my thanks, Have a great HOLIDAY season!
Love,
The Cox Family

Will this day ever end?

Today has been a busy day from the start. We put Kenzie on the bus and I took Ryan to work. Then swung by and picked up Anthony, and took Maddie to the doctor. Good news is she is 22.5 pounds finally. She is doing great in her height and head measurement too. They did a platelet count and found that she has a tiny virus, but they said they are totally not worried about it and to come back next week to have another one drawn as well as her next shot. Not to mention Kenzie's flu shot. Then we came home, got Kenzie off of the bus, everyone took naps, and then we picked Ryan up from work, dropped Anthony off at Kevin's house and went to Floyd Memorial to see Pappy since he had pulled his iv line out at some point today. After a while, we came home only for me to have to load Maddie back in the van since I forgot to send Anthony's blankie home with him. So finally I am home and worn out. Talk to you all later!
Love,
Dawn

You Go Girl!

I just have to give Amanda props for this....

Now for the explaination, I work at a rehab center, so I work with bedpans all the time.... And I have to admit I was jealous when I heard about the idea. I wished that I was getting the cake! Great job Amanda!

Now for the rest of the day... I got Anthony today. The first day having three kids. Wow what a difference one child makes. He was great, it was Kenzie who wanted to act up. Candy dropped him off right before Kenzie got on the bus. And he played with the girls like he has never been away from them. Then Ryan got home from work, and Candy came to get him. He was such a doll today. I have him again tomorrow, so I have to take Ryan to work, and on the way pick him up, take all the kids back to the house, then it is play central until about 230, then I go to pick Nick up from school, off to Louisville, pick Ryan up from work, then drop the boys off at their house to Kevin who should be home by then, and off to the house. It will be a busy day, but I think I can handle it. So I will talk to you all later.

Dawn

Papaw Sonny is at Peace with Jesus

Just a quick note...

Papaw Sonny went to see Jesus just before Midnight. Mom called me this morning. She didn't want to wake the kids by calling in the middle of the night. Thank you Jesus for taking him and making sure that he wasn't in pain for the last hours of his life. Papaw will be missed dearly, but we know he is in a better place now.

Papaw Sonny we love you and will see you when the time is right for us to be reunited!

Love,
The Cox Family

Papaw Sonny

My Mom's foster dad, whom Kenzie calls Papaw Sonny, is in the hospital. Floyd Memorial. He was given 6 months to live a few months back, well they did a CT scan and the cancer has spread throughout his body. Please keep him in prayer that the nurses and doctors can keep him comfortable. He is a very special person to all of us. I know that Papaw Sonny will be in Heaven rejoycing with Jesus soon. The Doctor has said that he will not be leaving the hospital alive this time. I just pray that he will be comfy the last days of his life. Kenzie loved her Papaw Sonny! And He loved her! Keep our family in prayer through this ordeal please.

Dawn

A Whirlwind Of Events!!!

Wow what a trip! Here is a review for you!

Weds-- We took Ryan to work and then came home, packed up the van, and then picked up the v smile from Candy. Then it was back to pick Ryan up from work and off to OHIO! So we made it to Kent in 5.5 hours. It was a good ride. The girls were great travelers. They watched the vcr tapes that I had packed and listened to their children's music. Then got a little restless and so I got out the v smile controllers and they pretended they were playing a game. When we got to Grandma Tigger's house, we visited and went to bed early that night. We were all tired from the trip.

Thursday-- Pappy, Yaya, Uncle Derrick, Aunt Amanda, Riley, and Shelby came in from Florida. We hung out most of the day and then went to Hartville Country Kitchen for dinner. It was great. Maddie didn't want to let me go. When we got there I snuck her to Uncle Derrick and then hid behind Grandma so that He could hold her and then when she noticed I was gone, I took her back. Sorry you didn't get more love from her! Maybe next month when we come to town. So after dinner, I rode back to Grandma's house with Deke and Amanda, Grandma and Carol also rode with them. We went through a DRIVE THRU Liquer store. I have never seen them. Amanda got this PARROT BAY stuff (I don't normally drink, but I had a taste and it was great!) and Deke got beer. YUCK!

Friday-- This was one of the big days! Roy, Ryan and Deke went "over to Timmy's" to decorate and help cook for the surprise party. In this case, "Timmy's" meant the church hall at Kent State University! Then when it was time, Grandma, Carol, Roy, Kenzie, Maddie, Ryan and I all went to KSU. Deke, Amanda, Riley, and Shelby were already there with the rest of the people who came. As Grandma walked in and noticed that it was a surprise birthday party for her, she was so shocked! I got a few pics, and when I get others e mailed to me I will put them in here. We had a great dinner, and shared stories. It was just a nice time to be together with everyone.

Saturday-- Mike made breakfast for the Cox Clan at Ottos. Then we were off to Mentor for Grandpa Craig's birthday bash! He just turned 90. We had a great lunch, then went back to Uncle Dave and Aunt Vicki's for the OSU game. TOO BAD THEY LOST! We had some dinner, and Ryan and I took Maddie back to the Hotel for some much needed rest. I forgot to hang Kenzie's Jammies on Pappy's door, so they accidentally woke Maddie up when they brought Kenzie and Shelby back to put them to bed. The two girls got in their Jammies, then laid on one of the "big" beds and rubbed each other's faces until they fell asleep.

Sunday-- We got up early had breakfast, then it was off to Uncle Dave and Aunt Vicki's again to visit some more before everyone left. After they left, we watched the BROWNS LOOSE! And we took the girls back to Grandma's but Roy accidentally told us to take 90E instead of 90W and we ended up 40 miles from Erie, PA before we realized we were going the wrong way! (OUT OF STATE DRIVERS!) So we made a 1 hour trip into a 2 hour one. We got to Grandma's and hung out. Aunt Terri was there coloring Kristen's hair, and Kenzie wanted her hair "painted" so we let her get some streaks in it. I have pics, and I will put them in at the end!

Monday-- We got up early and headed home when Butch got there to pick Grandma up for the airport. She was leaving for Florida at the same time that we left to come home.

Pappy's Angels! He asked for girls, and that is exactly what he got! 4 of them. From Left to Right: Shelby 4, Kenzie 4, Maddie 1, Riley 7. They love each other!"Riley, read a book to us please" is what I call this one!BEST FRIENDS! These two were so cute together, they held hands and hung out the entire time we were all in town! It was great to see the love they have for one another even though we don't live close to each other. I have never seen a little girl with as much love for her cousin and Kenzie has for Shelby. She just loves her to pieces and hated to see her have to go home, but she was a champ. I told her that Shelby had to go home and take care of Maggie and Sam and get her house ready for us to come next month then she was ok. Goofy girls!Sleepy Shelby! This was taken at Grandma's Birthday party!

This is all I can handle doing right now. I will add the other pics at a later time. Hope all is well.

Love,

Dawn

We will be out of town until Sunday

Yay! It's finally here. I leave in about one hour to go get Ryan from work so we can drive to Grandma Tigger's house. We can't wait to get there. It is about 6 hours from here, so it is a long drive, but nothing is too long to be with family. I will get as many pics as I can, but no guarantees since I have troubles with my camera since July. Riley, Shelby, and Kenzie are going to have a "slumber party" in the middle of Grandma's living room. I will be stopping by Candy's house soon to pick up the v smile that she is loaning me for the trip so the girls have something to keep them busy. Maddie smashed her fingers in the cabinet last night. Poor baby! She cried and cried! I practically hung up on Mom when it happened. Kenzie went to bed with not a problem last night because we told her that we were going to Grandma Tigger's house. Ryan is so excited! He can't wait to get there. I think I have everything that we need, but I know that we are bound and determined to forget something. It never fails. Anyway, I will put something on here as soon as I can to let you know we are home safe!
Love,
Dawn

HMS... and other things...

HMS HOME WARRANTY-- is not a warranty I will recommend to anyone! I know I have said this before, but now, I am positive that I was taken to the cleaners! They denied my claim on the heater stating that "the cracks were caused by everyday wear and tear but the claim is denied because the tech said that the furnace hadn't been properly maintained over the years." It really upset me because I know he got mad at me for calling to verify that I didn't need to pay a second deductable to him and then he chewed me out for it. I have since filed a complaint with the BBB only to find out that there have been HUNDREDS of complaints in the last 36 months.

FAVORITE LUNCH-- The girls have found their favorite lunch is ramen noodles with egg and cheese. It sounds grose, but you fix the noodles, then just before bringing off of the heat drop an egg in and scramble it. Put in bowls and then top with cheese! They love it.

Kenzie is doing well. She is excited about comming to Grandma Tigger's house. She can't wait. She says, "Mommy, can Riley and Shelby sleep on floor with me like a party?" So hopefully, they will think it is cool too. She loves her cousins so much! Her other cousin, Nick, is letting her borrow her v smile so she will have something to do on the way to Ohio. I can plug it into the input and she can play the v smile as we drive. I think she will enjoy that.

Maddie is getting into everything. She has figured out how to open cabinets. So, I put all of the chemicals in the shelving that is in the basement. She has been saying "me, you and numm" here lately. She says numm when she is eating! And when I talk about her she says "me" then I was running around the house and she started yelling "you" I thought she was being silly until she kept following me saying it.

Ryan is doing fine. He can't wait to see his grandparents. We haven't seen Grandpa Craig since Kenzie was only 2, so we are all excited about that. I will try and put some good pics of all of us on here when we get home.

I talked to Grandma Tigger today and she has been making all kinds of goodies for all of us. Fudge, Buckeyes, Pumpkin rolls, etc. I love it when she does this! She enjoys it and we like to eat it. Not that I need the calories, but who is counting... LOL!

I talked to Mom today and she is going to help us with the furnace expense and let me pay her back. Thank GOD for Mom! She has been a GODSEND here lately. She bought a new car over the weekend so that we could buy her van from her. That helps us out tremendously.

Well I guess that is it for now. I will update again when we are home from Ohio which won't be until Sunday! Wow that is going to be wierd, no updates until Sunday. What will you do? Anyway, have a great week!

Love,
Dawn

Wow Weekend.

Where to begin??? Still no furnace. Car still messed up. Mom didn't get the kids this weekend because she was buying a new car. I worked my tooshy off on Saturday. First shift I put up with two people who think they can run the world. Then second shift we decided to have a shower aide and then the shower person would do other things to help out when one of our aides walked in the shower room as I finished the 7th shower, and said, "WHAT ASSIGNMENT ARE YOU TAKING WHEN YOU GET DONE!" I went awol! I was not going to do all of those showers 6 of which were his showers and then have to do an assignment. He had made sure that NONE of the people on the assignment he was trying to pass off on me were put to bed and it was almost 8 pm by the time that I got finished with the showers, so one of the nurses took charge and told him not only was it not appropriate for him to do that but that he was not to take his break while someone is showing a person leaving one aide on the floor, but he did anyway, then she said, that I would pass Ice, answer lights, pull linens, trash and straighten every room. I ended up having to put some of his people to bed anyway because he was mad that I didn't take an assignment, so he just was hiding in rooms to avoid having to work. Sunday, not much better. I didn't get any of my breaks. There was a mandatory inservice to tell us about the annual mandatory inservices that have to be done from now on on the computer, but it has to be done on the computer at work. That really is hard for me because I only work the two days a week, and long shifts, so if I am going to do them I have to stay late on a Sunday night to get them done. They also said "you could come in on your day off" I was like, no way am I going to have my children running all over the place, plus, why would I come in when it is a 40minute drive each way, I will just have to figure it out. Then, Bob (the supervisor) told me that I could leave at 8 pm because they are cutting costs again, so since I didn't get any of my breaks, he was letting me go early! That was nice. I got home, showered, checked e mail and went to bed. Woke up this morning with a horrible head cold! And I am supposed to be leaving in two days for Ohio. Gosh this isn't fun! I really don't want to be sick on my trip! I just hope that the kids don't get sick! Anyway, I will let you know anything else as I can!

ttfn (ta ta for now)
Dawn

Many things!!!

A SHOUT OUT TO BETH SPENCER!
Thank you Beth! You don't know what you have done for me just by sending me the link for Dave Ramsey! I have fallen in love with the program and I have only read some about it. As soon as I can afford it I am going to take his 13 week program and put everything into play! We are going to start the process of the saving/giving asap! (Meaning at our next pay check) and we will go from there. I learned today that the budget I am currently trying to make work isn't working because I am doing it wrong. I am trying to save and give to God last, when those should be the first things I think of on pay day. What I didn't learn was the percentages I should be putting into those categories because I haven't bought the program yet, so I am kind of in the dark about that. I guess I will learn those things when I start the program. I will just have to see! Thanks again Beth! You got the ball rolling!

Kenzie-- didn't even ask me about going to school today. I think she finally realizes that Friday's are her day off! Yay! She has been some better today. She is starting to listen a little better here lately.

Maddie-- is pooping everyday. Still no rings. I am basically thinking that she didn't swallow them now. She should have passed them back now if that was the case. She has been so funny. She is now interested in walking up and down the stairs but only with help.

Ryan-- Has been himself. He is really going through some changes. He is accepting the fact that we have to make some changes financially and with the girls. Namely Kenzie. He has always been the slacker with her discipline, now it is changing.

Me-- I am myself. Not much other than the Dave Ramsey thing with me. I do wish I could start baking cakes again. I really enjoy it, and it brings in alittle extra money when we need it. But right now I just can't do it. I don't know when I will be able to start doing that again. I wanted to call in the claim on the stove, but we had to do the furnace instead and we are still without one of those. I suppose we will have one when it is time.

Ohio-- We are leaving on Weds. for Ohio. We are expecting to come home on Sunday after Deke, Amanda, Riley, Shelby, Roy, and Carol go to the Airport to go back to Florida. Will keep you posted as I can.

And I think that does it for now. Will post more as I can. I am just getting tired and can't think of anything else to say!

~Dawn~

budget

Well, we have decided we need to be strict on ourselves for the budget. I am sure that we can save money if we are just strict on ourselves and Ryan actually had the idea the other day which surprises me. He figured out that when we weren't sure if we could go to his grandpa's birthday that we needed to really stick to a budget. I know that Beth and Maria stick to theirs, so I am hoping that we can follow suit. If you girls have any ideas to help us stick to it, please let me know!

Cookie Fun Suckers

I have decided to share the recipes that came in the two books I bought from Kenzie's fundraiser. I think that a lot of you will enjoy doing these with the children in your lives!

Cookie Fun Suckers

3/4 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Assorted colors of paste food coloring (I use wilton gel colors)
12 lollipop sticks

In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
Add egg adn vanilla; beat until smooth

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms. Divide dough into fourths. Tint each with a different food color. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350. Working with each color, shape dough into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie place 1 pink, 1 green, 1 blue, and 1 orange ball together to make one large rainbow colored ball. Shape into a 12 inch long roll (like a snake); starting at one end, coil roll to make a 2 3/4 inch round cookie. Place cookies three inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Carefully insert lollipop sticks into bottoms of cookie.

Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!
Dawn

Here at the Cox's

Today has been an interesting day... It started with me waking Ryan for work at 5 am. He requests that I get him up that early on Thursdays because today is the day that the doctor comes in and does rounds on all of the therapy patients. So he has to be there early to pull all of the charts that doc needs. Then I got Kenzie off to schol. While Kenzie was at school, I did a load of dishes (oops I forgot to start the dishwasher last night) and a few loads of laundry. Maddie and I played in the Playroom. We had another heater guy to come out for the warranty company's second opinion and before he left he tried collecting another deductable then when I called the warranty people, he got mad and started being a jerk! He just wanted to pocket more money! I showed him my duplicate check showing that I had paid the whole deductable. Then by the time Kenzie got home, I did a little more laundry and put Maddie down for her nap! It was a well needed one. Kenzie and I hung out for a while. Then Ryan came home from work. We went to Lowes and picked up a thing to cap off the hole where the pipe for the wood burning stove used to be. Ryan and I actually got something accomplished in the house! Awesome! So, then we hung out with the girls until their bed time and we put them down, then I watched Grey's Anatamy. Great show tonight. I still have to watch private practice from last night. I am now sitting down to type in the happenings.... Next week we will be going to Ohio, so I will probably only post after I get back. I guess that does it... Wait no it doesn't. On our way home from Lowes, we decided to pick up the car since Mike couldn't get it to act up and less than 5 miles from home the check engine light comes on! So we bring her on in the driveway and call Mike. When he called back, he just laughed! He told us to take it to Auto Zone and have them run a test that will tell him why the check engine light came on. He thinks it might be the crank sensor. Which is what Pop has been saying all along, but no one would listen to us when we say those things! So now, the car is in the driveway just sitting until we can take it by Auto Zone and back to Mike's house. And that is about it. I am pretty sure this time that it is it!

Decisions Decisions

Well, we had to make a decision between church and taking the girls trick or treating. We chose both. We went to a trunk or treat at a church and they showed a video about Jesus, then we went trick or treating around the neighborhood. I wasn't satisfied with my decision not to come to CIC, but Kenzie didn't go to the Nursing Home last night, partly because I didn't know about it. Now since we went tonight, I did get a few pics. Here we go....

My little flower! I just loved the costume. I don't know where Mom found it, but she got it for like $2.00. That's my kind of buy! Love it! And Maddie had a blast too!

Our ballerina Princess. She is just too funny! She had a great time. We got so much candy we had to empty her bucket (seen here) into a pillowcase we took with us like 3 or 4 times. I will have to limit her on candy she got so much!

After we got home, I let Maddie have her first sucker, she loved it but my camera batteries went dead in the middle of trick or treating so I couldn't get a pic of it. Anyway, hope you all had a great night talk to you later!

Love,

Dawn

looking for a home warranty

do yourselves a favor when looking for a home warranty, DO NOT GET ONE THROUGH HMS. They suck. Here we go into another coldfront and we won't have a heater until at the very soonest Monday could possibly not be until AFTER we get back from Ohio and they might not even cover it. I hate that company and I am looking for a new one!

Furnace update

I had the heater people come out to look at my furnace and they confirmed what Lloyd said. They went back to the office to send the report in to the home warranty and we are waiting for them to call and let me know when they will be installing the new one. Thank God for the warranty! I don't know what we would have done without it. Maddie is doing fine. Still can't find my rings, but on a lighter note, she pooped twice today. Kenzie had fun at school. Ryan called and we decided for me to do cupcakes, but I decided to do a cake for him to take to work with him. I made a pumpking cake. He will take it to work with him on Weds. I will probably post the picture tomorrow. And now for the funny part of the day... WITH AS MANY DIAPERS AS RY CHANGES, HOW COME HE PUT MADDIE'S DIAPER ON BACKWARDS? I got a good laugh out of it! Anyway, Amanda had her surgery and I am waiting to see how it went will update you when I know more.
Dawn

Taco Salad

This is a really fast, easy recipe that Ryan loves!

BROWN ONE POUND GROUND BEEF, DRAIN, PUT BACK IN POT WITH ONE PACKET TACO SEASONING. PREPARE ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS. ADD ONE TABLESPOON TO TWO OF RANCH DRESSING. IN THE MEAN TIME, CHOP ONE ONION, ONE TOMATO, TOSS WITH 1/2 PACKAGE CLASSIC TACO SALAD, TOP WITH CRUSHED TOSTITOS AND SHREDDED MEXICAN CHEESE. ADD THE MEAT AND TOP IT ALL. SERVE WITH SALSA AND/OR TACO SAUCE. (I USE ONE WHOLE BAG OF SALAD AND DOUBLE THE RECIPE, THEN WE HAVE LEFTOVERS OR WE USE THIS RECIPE FOR A CROUD. I ALSO USE ONE WHOLE BAG OF TOSTITOS)

There is my recipe. Tweak it how you like and then let me know what your family thinks. Ryan absolutely loves it!

Recipe Exchange

1. Karen Carter
2. Dawn Cox
> You've been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange. Please send a recipe to> the person whose name is listed in the number 1 position above (even if you> don't know them) and it should preferably be something quick, easy and without> rare ingredients. Actually, the best one is one you know in your head and can> type out and send right now.> > Then, copy this letter into a new e-mail, move my name to the number 1> position and put your name in the number 2 position. Only my and your name> should show when you send your e-mail. Send to 20 friends.> > If you cannot do this within 5 days, let me know so it will be fair to those> participating. You should receive 36 recipes. It's fun to see where they> come from!! The turn around is fast because only 2 names are on the list.

I thought it would be fun to do this on the blog, so, here are the rules, instead of emailing it to me, post it on your blog then send me a comment saying that you posted your recipe. I will tag each of my blog friends to tell them to check out the recipe exchange to get it started! I don't know if we will get 36 recipes, because it is being done on the blog, but all in all I think it would be interesting. Have fun with it!

~Dawn~

Wonder where they are....

Ryan found my heart ring last night. We have torn the house apart looking for the other two. My wedding band and engagement ring are missing. Don't know if Kenzie got them down from the bathroom and was playing with them or what but two of my three rings are missing and I pray to God that neither of the kids swallowed them. We don't know that either of them did they are not having any symptoms of having a foreign object in their bellies, but it is in the back of our minds since we can't find them. Work was work was work today. We are still awaiting word on the car. Ryan says the girls have been good today. He has been hanging out all day with them and watching some of the college games that were on tv today. That is about it. Mainly just me a little upset about the ring thing. Oh and Lloyd came to service the heater today and told Ryan to call in a claim to our home warranty people because there are cracks in it and we need to have it replaced! Thank goodness for family friends. So, I had Ryan find the claim phone number and the 8 digit account number thing and called, but they can't come out on the weekend unless it is an emergency. I told them that it is supposed to get below 40 this weekend, they said if it does to call back and they will upgrade us to emergency status and send someone out to take care of it. When Lloyd was here, he said he found some cracks and that that was probably why the gas company wouldn't lite it for us when they were here in July. Vectren told me to have it serviced because it needed cleaning. I should have done it earlier, but figured if it only needed cleaning I had time. Lloyd also said that it is "antique" and probably as old as the house. So, if it gets below 40, we will call and have them come out and take care of the furnace. I can almost guarantee that we will end up with a new one out of this and the good thing is it will only cost me a co pay! Furnaces are very expensive, but with a home warranty, everything works out! And that is about it. Got to shower and head to bed for work tomorrow! God Bless everyone!
Love,
Dawn

Check out my Slide Show!

My Grammy Nomination....

I am nominating Mackenzie Lynn Cox for a Grammy! (No, Carol, she didn't start calling you that). She has been going around singing "Go on up to the Mountain of Mercy" here lately, but everytime she sings it she learns a few more words to it. So she goes something like this.

"GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN O MERCY,
....... TIDE
KNEEL DOWN ON THE SHO THIRSTY NO MO..."

I think you get the picture. It is so funny to hear her trying to sing it! I thank Megan and Chris for that one too! They sang it at church one night and she loved it from that moment so I play it all the time for her!

Maddie is doing really well. She is such a hammmm. She woke up from her nap and when I went after her, she looked up at me, smiled and said "Hi" I couldn't believe it. Although, I know my baby is growing up and she is the last one for us. We can't put another baby through what she went through or worse, so we decided right away that she would be our last miracle and that she is!

Ryan is working today. He should be home in about an hour..

We are still waiting to hear from Mike on the car.

I got my vacation for Florida in December.

And that is about it.

Love,
Dawn

ZZZZZZ

"I wanna watch Gray's Anatamy" Kenzie said an hour ago. She is now leaning on my shoulder snoring now. She was just so tired. She had a good day. She is helping me teach Maddie what the potty is and what you do on it. Maddie was running around talking all day. Ryan had a good day. It is still raining here. Good for us. Just wish it would rain in California and give them some kind of relief. Wendy, my friend, is loosing her house tonight. They said that they can't save it because the fire is too out of control in that area, but Allstate and FEMA are taking care of it for her. They sent in a tow truck and got the cars out so that they didn't loose their vehicles in the fire. And that is about all that I have going on.
Love,
Dawn

Megan gave me....

A new favorite song. You will find it in my playlist over there >>>. It is called Grace and the lyrics canbe found on Chris and Megan's Blog. The link for their blog is over there >>> too. To me the song just means so much. When we need Him, most times, we are so worried about the situation and forget to ask. I really love this song because of the lyrics. Oh what the heck, I will copy past them here for you.

Phil Wickham Grace Lyrics
The sky is grey and the light is far
The sea is a rage within my heart
I turn my sight to the crashing waves
I cry in the night just to be saved
I need eyes to be my guide
I need a voice that’s louder than mine
I need hope and I need You Cause I can’t do this alone
Grace I call Your name Oh won’t Your smile fall over me
I’m cracked and dry on hands and knees
Oh sweet grace rain down on me
I need You grace
I pray for dawn a new day to live
I pray for mercy only Jesus gives
Though darkness falls and a million cry
I believe over all there’s a greater light shining for us
I need eyes to be my guide
I need a voice that's louder than mine
I need hope and I need You Cause I can't do this alone
Grace I call Your name Oh won't Your smile fall over me
I'm cracked and dry on hands and knees
Oh sweet grace rain down on me
I need You grace
Come down and save me

God is good and I LOVE this song now! Thanks Megan.

Love,

Dawn

P.S. My finger feels much better today! Chat more later!

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Brrr

Brrr it's cold in here. There must be a cold front in the atmosphere! LOL. I still am not used to the change of weather in the fall. I must say that Fall/Winter is my least favorite season when it comes to the weather. We wanted to go to church, but we have to stay home and wait for the heater man. He couldn't tell me today what day he would be here. He said he would call when he is on his way. So that could be any day tonight through Saturday. I will be back into the swing of things next week. And now I have cut my finger! Wow that hurt. I will blog later if my finger feels better! Missed you guys tonight! See you next week!

Cassie.....

I took Maddie out for a ride today and ended up at the Dollar General here on Highway 3 in Charlestown only to run into Cassie. It was great catching up with her. I haven't seen her since March of 1999. We graduated together. By the time we left, we decided to keep in touch via myspace for now. I have already sent her a message. Maddie was quite the happy kiddo. She loved seeing a new face. By the time I got home, Ryan was like "What took so long" so I had to tell him where I went, I was only supposed to go for a ride around the neighborhood to get Maddie to calm down. She was having a rough afternoon until I put her in the car just like Amanda used to do with Shelby when she was a baby! How funny! I have found out that Amanda's surgery is next Monday not yesterday. So keep her in your prayers. Kenzie has been crazy today. She just danced and danced and danced. I would hear her repeating the following "Go on up to the mountain of mercy" that is the only line she remembers to it! And thanks to Megan and Chris, I don't think she will ever not want me to play it on my playlist! She loves the song. We have had to make a deal that I will add new songs when we get home from church on Wednesday evenings. How funny! Ryan had an ok day. It was so nasty out today that I didn't let the kids outside at all! Other than the goofy girls and seeing Cassie, nothing new! Talk to you all later.
Love,
Ryan, Dawn, Kenzie and Maddie Cox