Busy Day!!

Today has been a very busy day. Kenzie and I decided to finish doing the play room (which will have to be painted later on). I have pics, and I will be putting them in here when I upload to the computer next. I want to have a bunch on the camera before I upload since I find it useless to waste my time for three pics. I will put them in here at a later date. Hope you understand. I also found out what she wants "Santa" to bring her for Christmas. She is asking for a desk and chalkboard. I think that I will be able to accomodate that for her. I will do anything that she wants if it is soemthing she can use as a learning tool. She also told me that Maddie wants "Santa" to bring her a bookshelf for all of their books since they don't have one at the present time. In addition to all of that, we decided that she wants me to turn the area where the stove used to be downstairs into a stage. I am thinking about that one. It is big enough for the two girls, but I don't know if I want to do that. I was able to find out some very interesting information about an accelerated equity program through our mortgage company. I think I like that idea. Ryan and I are discussing it now. I like the idea of paying bi weekly and saving tons of money from interest that we wouldn't pay. We would pay off our loan in like 22 years verses 30. We will pray about it and then see where God leads us. Angel has done very well today. She knows now that she can't do certain things, and she is doing much better. Ryan worked and came home then grilled out, and watched wresteling. He also donated blood yesterday. I wasn't really aware of this until I found the t shirt they gave him for donating. I also did some laundry, and unpacked the boxes that were stored under the staircase. Yes I have a "cupboard" under the stairs like in the Harry Potter books, but no, no one sleeps there! LOL! I did some bible studying. I did a over the phone session with Sis. She needed God at the instant I was on the phone with her, so we did our thing while I was on the phone. I read a blog on one of my friend's myspace pages which led to me sending Aaron a message to debate the subject. I will keep you updated on this. Lemme tell you Aaron and I have been friends off and on for years. When I moved from St. Pete to Clearwater, I lost contact with him and only just gained that line of friendship back via God telling me to look on myspace for him. I found him almost instantly. Since then, I have been reading his blogs. He is quite the christian. He does a column then puts it in his blog. I really do enjoy a good debate with him. I have to work tomorrow and sunday. I will keep everyone updated as to next week as it happens since Roy and Carol are comming over from Florida for a visit. I can't wait. I love it when they are in town. It is so nice to see them. I love for the girls to get to see them since they are so far away from us. I just wish there was a way that they could see Derrick, Amanda, Riley and Shelby more often. And I guess that does it for me. Pictures will come later, I am getting tired.
Love,
Dawnie

Day by Day

Although I think I may have done this one before, I felt like we could all use a little reminder that God is here to provide strength and nourishment daily and He will give us just what we need for that day!

Love,

Dawn

Day by Day
by: Sue Monk Kidd
VERSE FOR THE DAY:
Exodus 16:4
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whethere they will follow my instructions."
PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Exodus 16:1-5
Last summer while I was taking drawing lessons, my friend Betty learned she had cancer. The day before she went to the hospital for surgery, her spirit seemed nearly depleted. "What am I going to do?" she said, thinking about the demanding weeks ahead of her. "How will I find strength?"
That evening I found myself doodling on my drawing board, thinking of Betty. Soon I was sketching a loaf of bread. A simple, homemade loaf. Then I put it aside and went to bed. But during that night I had the most curious dream. Betty was sitting at a table before the loaf of bread, eating a single piece.
The next morning when I came upon my drawing, an idea began to stir in my thoughts. I reached for my Bible and found the verse, "I will rain down bread from heaven" (Exodus 16:4), remembering how day by day God sent nourishment from heaven while his people wandered in the winderness. There was always enough for each day. They simply had to trust him for tomorrow's.
I penciled the verse beneath the sketch of bread and carried it to Betty's hospital room. It was to remind us both... when we walk in difficult places, God sends the strength and nourishment to face what comes our way, not all at once, but day by day.
Additional Scripture Readings:
Lamenations 3:22-24
Matthew 6:33-34

Crazy Lady!!!

"Mommy, what are you doing?" asked Kenzie as Maddie looked at me with wondering eyes... "I am cleaning some things up for Yaya and Pappy to come see you" I replied. "Oh, can I help?" Kenzie replied... "Sure, Kenzie, you can help by playing with sissy and cleaning your toys up" I told her. "No, Mommy, I am not a CRAZY LADY! I want to help YOU!" she said. So that is what she is into now. So as I wash the dishes, she puts them on the table after they have been dried, really causing me a little more work, but I don't mind. She wants to help and I let her. When I sweep, she sweeps and I sweep again. Same thing when I mop.... Then we move on to some of the other little things I want done like the vacuuming, and she runs.... She is afraid of the vacuum... Then on to dusting... Which she loves! When I start dusting, she takes over... She even helps with the laundry! I am so fortunate to have a little helper in her! I am so happy that she isn't a rebelliouse teenager yet! LOL! She is only 4 I will give her time! Maddie on the other hand wants to watch and then nap and then chase Kenzie then eat and start the process all over again! She is a hoot. Although, my mom is worried that she needs special shoes because her toes point in a little when she walks. I don't notice it much, but I will keep an eye on her, and then if I notice it getting worse, I will call the orthopedic doctor again and see what he says... She is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she is already 15 months old. Ryan is doing good. He is going to a U of L game of some sort tonight. I will have to get the info from him later. He loves going to any and all sports things that he can and his friend Ty was able to get tickets tonight... So, he gave one to Ryan. I am sure he will have a blast. Angel is doing great! I think we are about to nip the nibbling on us in the bud. She isn't doing it as much now that she is getting older and learning that it isn't acceptable. She is also not going potty in the house anymore... She had a few accidents in the beginning, but she was a brand new pup, so that is to be expected. Now, she knows that she goes outside and when she goes poop outside, she gets a treat! She is such a trooper. I am doing well as well. I have some samples on the way of countertops. I decided to pick a countertop for the kitchen and we will select our paint color from that, then in time when I have the extra cash, I will get new countertops put in. I think it will work very well that way. And when I do the new countertops, I will do a new backsplash in the kitchen. I want to update the kitchen as much as possible in the first few years of being here so that when we decide to sell, we have a great selling point. Since after all curb appeal, and the kitchen are the two main sellers of a house. I will be working on getting that bathroom floor done asap and I am going to talk to a few people I know to see what they would charge to do it for me. If I can get a cheap price, then I will take the help you better believe it. By the way, if any of you have any ideas for remodeling for me, feel free to share them. I know I need to go to a model home or two to see what the new homes are decorated like, but I also want to add my own touch to it also. Anyway, I guess that is all for now. I will post again when Kenzie gets home from school to let you know how that went today.
Love,
Dawn

"Andy Apple"

Today Kenzie came home with a new song:

ANDY APPLE

Andy Apple would like to play
With his animal friends today.
First he'll teach them letter A.
Andy Apple draws A this way!

(tune: "Skip to My Lou")

It is cute. She also had a wind sock she had made at school. She wrote the letter A several times on it! I am so excited that she is doing so well as school already this year and she loves going! That is the main thing. She loves going.... Hopefully we will be able to keep her in this habit.
Yesterday, she brought home a couple of things... One was the New Washington Newsletter.
It basically says that Open House is comming... PTO is starting... and some of the sports are getting started. Right now, we are not putting Kenzie into any sports because they are mostly for the older kids.
In other news, in form of another newsletter, EARLY CHILDHOOD PARENTS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!
The topics were:
Help your preschooler become responsible for personal care
*Cleanliness-- Encourage your preschooler to practice good hygeine.
*Dressing-- Allow your preschooler to help pick out her school clothes and dress herself.
*Outerwear and belongings-- teach to hang up coat and backpack.

The best way to teach respect is to show respect.
*Don't speak harshly
*Don't belittle
*Offer to help
*Give child full attention
*Be calm and fair

Follow a few simple guidelines when you discipline...
* Be battle wise
*Avoid arguments
*Consider chioices

Teach your preschooler to be mindful of the feelings of others
*Teach to look at facial expressions.
*Help your child notice the accomplishments of others
*Discourage your child from commenting on the appearance of others.

(taken from September 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!)

Other than that, I think that will do it for now... I will post again if anything should arise...
Dawn

Allergies... Why must I suffer???

I am having a lot of trouble with my allergies here lately to the extent that I have to type this with my eyes closed and hope that it turns out ok. This week has been ok. No drama. I am starting to have the we have visitors comming from out of state stress though. I want everything to be perfect, but I know that I won't be able to have all the painting done especially when I can't decide on the colors... LOL! I see it like this, I have all the time in the world to paint and when I find the color that I want, then I will paint. I would like to take the time that Roy and Carol are here to enjoy it with them. We don't get to see them very often anymore, so I want to take what I have with them and make the best of it... Kenzie has had a good week at school and now around 8pm, she says "Mommy (or Daddy) please lay with me. I need to rest my eyes for school!" I am so proud of her! I can't wait for Maddie to start school.... I think it is a good thing for the girls. I will try and upload pics later. I think this is all I can tolerate right now.
Dawn

Happenings

Well, I worked this weekend. I didn't reallly have a bad weekend. Although, Sunday was hard for me. I got pulled from the personal care unit to the brain injury unit. It was so hard to see them all in that shape. I am telling you, I just was emotionally drained by the time I left that unit 12 hours later... I then went to the unit I usually work to find two of the people working over there were just trying to upset me by forcing me on an assignment that I had never had. I just decided to do the good thing and take it with stride. I got the assignment done with no problem, then one of the two were having trouble with one on her assignment (which is the assignment I always have) so I told her that I would deal with the person. She said, no, you will need 4 people to deal with this person. I went in the room anyway, did what I had to do and got out with no trouble at all! When I told her and the supervisor, they neither one believed me! I mean, a lot of the time, it is the rappore that you build up that he patients react on. This person trusted me because I have worked with her in the past. Kenzie and Maddie went to Mom's this weekend and had a blast. Ryan had some time to himself. Then today, we got Kenzie off to school and while she was at school, it gave me time to get some pics of Maddie.... so here they are...

"I like books" and so I thought it was a cute time to get pics of her!

And here, she is reading to me! It was so cute. Yes Carol, that is the book you sent her for her birthday.... It plays the birthday song! So cute to see her finally interacting with it!

"Look Mommy, My Book!" She decided she would try and share the book with me. She is growing up so fast! And I can't believe that she is already 15 months old! She is such a big girl now. And we go to the doctors on Sept. 6 for her 15 month appointment. "Mommy, this is how you read a book" and so she teaches me also!

I have decided to start teaching her baby sign language. I will keep you updated on how this goes. I have to send out a big thank you to Beth for the link she sent me for teaching baby signlanguage. I sure do hope she catches on like Isabella has!

Other than that, not much going on. I will post again when we have somthing more to say!

Love,

Ryan, Dawn, Kenzie, Maddie and Angel

Better Day

Today has been a better day. I didn't have all the stress that I had yesterday. I got a few things done like the rest of the tweaks on my computer. Kenzie was home from school today. She doesn't go on Fridays. Maddie and Kenzie enjoyed a good healthy game of chase in the house today. It was so funny, Kenzie would run to a room and there goes Maddie squealing and chasing her at the same time, then they decided to get Mommy involved, so Maddie would run toward me and I would jet to another area in the room. She thought it was so funny. Among other things, I got another large group of pics put on the Kodak. I am trying to get all of my pics put there for back up reasons. I lost a ton of pics when this computer crashed, but that is ok. I have a lot of them on myspace and on this blog, so if I need to see them, they are available. Thank goodness I had put all of my cakes on myspace and here because I don't have those anymore. It is sad, but like I said, I have them somewhere. Ryan had a good day at work and came home with a huge headache, but if that is the least of his worries, he is doing good. Dustin finally came and got his dog. I did take two pics of him so that I would have them. I am glad for the dog that he is gone now because I felt bad for him that I couldn't spend more time with him. I also feel sorry for him because I fear that he won't be properly taken care of. I talked to Angel today. She is not feeling well. She is down in her health and then her daughter (17 years old) doesn't help matters. She is being a teenager, but knows when her mom needs her. And I will leave it at that. I have also managed to with Angel's help figure out where some of the issues in my life are comming from. It is simple. Satan is attacking me and Angel because I am helping her to come back to God and I am becomming stronger in the Lord. I know that this will pass, but it is so hard right now. And I guess that does it for tonight. Lots of Love!
Dawnie

Restore to factory settings....????

Hey guys... I know interesting title, but that is what I feel like we all need to do sometimes... I feel like computers were modeled after humans... Sometimes we all need to be restored in the Lord! I had to restore my laptop to factory settings tonight and with all that was going on here, I think that God was telling me that I needed to be restored to factory settings also. I am so happy that I figured this out. I am in the process of figuring out a schedule so that even though I can't be at church to be fed (restored) on Sundays, but I am working on Wednesday nights. My friend (I hope I can call you that), Maria, and her hubby have invited me to go to church where Brian (Maria's husband) pastors. I think it would be a great opportunity for me knowing that Several of the people I went to high school with go there on a regular basis. I also agree with her in the sense that I need to feed others and be fed at the same time. I am feeling a little hungry for the Lord right now. I know that the devotionals that I do are important, but it isn't the same as being fed in the midst of the Holy Spirit and others who believe as I do. Kenzie had a good day at school today. She came home singing the Weather Song! It was so cute! Ryan had a rough day as did I. Maddie was just about the same. Angel(our dog) has been doing really well with going to the door when she needs to potty. It just took some time to get her trained..... Anyway, enough of my ranting, I am just so greatful for the fact that my good computer is fixed again!
Love,
Dawn

School- Day 2

Hey guys. Thought I would share some of the stuff that is going on with Kenzie at school, yesterday she brought home a picture that they had taken of her for her first day. They also have started a daily notebook that they fill out their portion and I fill out mine every night. I really like this communication with Brittany (the new teacher). Kenzie doesn't quite understand that Ms. Brittany and Mommy are the only ones that are allowed to write in it, but I think that she will get the concept as the days go on. Also, they sent home a few things I thought I would share...
KINDNESS PLEDGE
I pledge to myself on this day,
To try to be kind in every way.
To every person, big and small,
I will help them if they fall.
When I love myself and others too,
That is the best that I can do.

WEATHER SONG
Tune: Oh My Darlin'
What's the weather like
What's the weather like
What's the weather like outside
Is it sunny
Is it cloudy
Is it windy outside
Is it rainy
Is it snowy
Is it partly cloudy
What's the weather like
What's the weather like
What's the weather like outside?

I thought they were really cute. The other things they are doing this week are...
The theme for the week is Welcome to School
*The letter A
*Prewriting activities
*Calandar
*Days of the week
*Colors
*Sorting by different attributes
*Numbers 1-10
*Matching
*Shapes
*Apples
*Learning new songs.

I am so glad that she is back in school. She loves it so much and Maddie is enjoying her "Mommy" time. Ryan has been doing good at work. Dustin and Candice have been staying with Tammy, they are acting suspicious, so I think they won't be back. But I think it is for the better. They were getting too comfortable having someone provide for them. I told them it wasn't going to continue and that is when they moved. I have been getting ideas for some of the home improvements that we need to do. I will keep you updated on the developments. I guess that does it for now. Talk to you soon!
~Dawn~

happenings this day....

Well, I have good news... THEY FOUND MY CELL PHONE! It was found at New Washington Elementary in the parking lot, but was dead, so they couldn't do anything with it to find out who it belonged to. They are sending it home with Kenzie today! Yay! I am happy that it was found. Kenzie got up this morning and we got her dressed, but she was so excited when the bus pulled up that she had an accident and we had to change her while the bus waited for her. I was so proud of her for her level of excitement that I didn't even mind that she had had an accident. She got on the bus like a big girl and told me "Mommy, I will tell Brittany to send your phone home with me." I couldn't believe how grown up she is! She is such a doll(sometimes.). Madison is doing great. She is enjoying her breakfast now. I think I want to start teaching her baby sign language so that she can express herself a lot easier, but I don't know where to begin. Any suggestions??? I didn't do it with Kenzie so I know that I want to do it with Madison. The girls got a surprise from Yaya and Pappy yesterday (and Aunt Linda and Aunt Jan). They sent them some new clothes. Kenzie loved her new PANTIES! Yes the panties were her favorite to the extent that she packed them around everwhere with her. I am now trying to figure out all of the hiding places she has for them! I learned that if you want to win her heart, just get her some new panties and you will have a battle won! She also liked her new tennis shoes. She went through and had to try on all of the new clothes. And I think we have her outfit for school pictures picked out now. She loved the purple striped top and kneeknocker shorts. She said she wanted to wear it for school pics. I will have to post one when I get them done. Madison got a new jacket (which fits her perfectly thank you Jan), a peach sweater, a baby gap dress, a long sleeve onesie, and another bluejean dress (thank you Roy, Carol, and Linda) I tried on all of the stuff with her. The dresses are a little big, but she will grow. Ryan is doing good. He is really becomming a great grill master. We grill out about 2-3 times a week anymore. I guess that does it for now. Ta ta for now!
~Dawn~

Is the bus comming????

Well, after Kenzie waking up at 4:30 yesterday morning ready to get ready for school, I got her up at 6:30 this morning thinking that the bus would be here after the teacher assured me on Thursday that it would be. I was shocked when not one, not two, but three busses came and went. None of them were Kenzie's bus. I then came inside and called the Transportation Department. After a few minutes of investigation, I found that the Transportation Department was under the impression that she still wasn't registered! I assured her that I registered her on Thursday and that I was informed that a bus should be here to get her today. She then called the bus driver who said that she was waiting on dispatch to call and tell her to start picking Kenzie up. So now that we have all that sorted out. I have a surprise for all of you. In waiting for the bus, I had a great photo op with Kenzie and I am editing the pics now and going to put them on here for you. So, no, the bus didn't show, but Kenzie was ok with it after a few minutes of crying. She wanted so bad to go to school. It was not a happy morning in my house because of the no school bus thing, but I think Kenzie will be ok with it shortly. Anyway, I will go to edit the pics and be back on here when I get them done since I got about 20 it should take a while to edit then decide which ones to use! And now I am having issues with loading my photo editing software! This is really gonna take a while, but I promise the end result will be beautiful!"Mommy I am patiently waiting for my school bus." this is what I call this picture. She was such a good sport of waiting for her bus. I loved taking all the pics of her too.

She is so beautiful. I just had to take advantage of the natural props we have in our yard. Therefore the tree shots!"Daddy I love you, but go to work already!" Kenzie had a blast waking Daddy up for work. It was the frist time she had been able to do this! I am sure she will repeat this many days to come!"Mom, now I am getting serious. School bus, get here please!" Is the new title of this look. She was getting a little worried here... She had saw 2 of the 3 busses that weren't hers taking kids to school and was about ready to cry I am sure. Watching up and down the road for the bus. Still getting more anxious....
Mommy, I love waiting for the bus, but I wish it would come on already...
"I caught you taking pics of me Mom!"

Miss Priss!

I loved this shot because she was being so goofy! It actually looked like she was doing a potty dance, although, she doesn't do those! She simply RUNS to the bathroom yelling "I GOTTA PEE!"

My happy girl! I love you so much Kenzie, you will never know! I know this was hard for you to wait for the bus and it to not come, but you did great! You are such a special little girl, and I know that you will do fine! Can't wait for tomorrow already! You are going around the house trying to pick out the school clothes for tomorrow and it isn't even 10am yet! Love you so much baby girl (although you are my big girl now, you will always be my first baby girl!) Love, Mommy

And again, she is happy and sitting on the steps! Such a beautiful smile! Love it! Mom, are you sure my bus is comming???"I am getting really nervous now. I don't think the bus will come for me."

"I love posing for you Mommy!"Comming back outside to look some more for her bus. :(
I couldn't resist this pic!
My big girl standing in front of the tree again. She was such a great waiter!

Now that all of that is done, you can see what I did this morning, and , no I didn't get to take a nap when the bus didn't show. Poor me! I really needed that nap, oh well, I will sleep good tonight! I will update all of you more later.

Love,

Dawn

To Win a Battle Over the Devil

One of my patients over this past weekend really blessed me! She recited a poem to me that was written for her! I asked her permission to share it with all of you! She said it was fine.

To win a battle over the devil gives one a good feeling inside,
When he's temted you with your weakeness and you've been able to push him aside,
When you've said "Get thee behind me satan you'll not use me like a toy,
for greater is He that is in me and you're not gonna steal my joy!"

I loved it and she told me who it was that wrote it. I want to say her name was Catherine Puckett. She has since passed on to a better life with Christ by her side. I just felt compelled to share this poem with you all.

God is AWESOME!

As most of you know, I don't usually blog on Saturday nights, but I felt compelled to do this tonight because God is AWESOME!!! At work today, He was speaking to me. He was telling me that one of my patients needed to know that God was working miracles as we speak! After a lengthy conversation with her, I had come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter if I make it to church because I take church with me wherever I go. The bible says to be Missionaries for God, that is exactly what I am doing and well, I didn't realize it until tonight, but I think that God has called me to be a missionary in the Nursing Home to these people who can't go to church. If you don't agree with this, tell me where in the bible it says that you have to go to church and be judged over what you wear in order to be saved. If it is there, I need someone to point it out. I know that in the bible it says to be saved to accept Jesus into your heart as your savior and then to minister to others the love of God! I am trying to do just that. When I had finished my conversation with the lady at work, I kid you not, it really made Satan mad! I instantly had two sores on the tip of my tongue. It was like he got mad at me for teaming up with a fellow christian and discussing THE WORD! It was amazing at what little I did and the reaction that Satan gave to just discussing him. There is also a poem I learned today, I will be putting it on here this week. If any of you have any daily devotions that you wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know. If you have any bible verses that you would like to share, I am open to that too. Thank you for listening to me in this matter as I know that GOD HAS GREAT PLANS FOR MY FAMILY and I am just waiting until He says the TIME is RIGHT. For it is in HIS time that the plan will be revealed.
Love,
Dawn

:(

Still can't find my phone. I have called the post office because we stopped in there, no luck. The police department hasn't had one turned in. The school office couldn't find it. The teacher hasn't seen it. I called the cellular store I bought it at and they are going to confiscate it if anyone comes in trying to sell it back. I will be having the teacher check through all of the toys Kenzie was playing with yesterday so that if it is found she can send it home with Kenzie from school on Monday. Other than that not much going on. I will update you more next week!

Love,
Dawn

Gulp..... I lost it....

I have not had a very productive day. Yes, I got Kenzie registered for preschool, but in the process, I lost my cell phone. I remeber the last time I used it was in Mom's van, so when I got home, I called the school teacher and office, neither had seen it. Mom is going to be searching her van for me. Kenzie is so excited that she will be starting school on Monday. She has been carrying her back pack around all day. Maddie was a little strange today. The pics will tell the story. And I guess that is about all that went on today. Instantly Kenzie became our little model. She loved posing today. I am just so happy that she likes this. She was ever so excited that we were getting ready to go register her for school. So she was willing to take pics. Hope you enjoy them.

I took this picture the other day when Kenzie decided that she would dress herself. And asked Candice to do her hair. Then instantly she decided her name was "Sassyfrass" it was so cute.

So, Maddie was ok for a few minutes. I had put her shoes on her. She was doing ok. Dimples and all, but not for long. I call this one "NO SHOES MOMMY!" She was so upset. She hated the idea of me putting the shoes on her. She continued to take them off and Kenzie kept putting them back on her. It was hillarious. I took more pics, but chose to only post a few. Hope you enjoyed seeing my baby upset with me.

"Mommy, thank you for letting me take my shoes off." She was so much happier after the shoes were off. And just to let you know, Maddie is such a smart baby. She saw Kenzie turning on a light, and when she did this, I said, "Light" Maddie looked at me while pointing to the switch and said "MaMa, light" it sounded more like "lie" but she tried.

Anyway, that was our update for today. Hope you enjoyed it and I will be letting you know if we find my cell phone since I am lost without it.

Love,

Dawn

Falling into place.

It would seem that everything is falling into place! I go to register Kenzie for preschool tomorrow and she starts Monday. We have a play date with Lindsey on friday at the Elementary school playground. Then Crystal is going to bring her kids over next week sometime for a second play date. Tiffany is looking at bringing hers over on Weds for a playdate, that would make three, and Holly wants to bring the boys over for a play date sometime after she gets out of school which is this month. Wow! Lots of kids. I guess that is about all the update for us right now. I will blog better tomorrow.
Love,
Dawn

Why Parents Drink

A Mother passing by her son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up.
Then she saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to "Mom" With the worst premonition she opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.
Dear Mom,:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Mom she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.
Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone.We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy. In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Mom. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.
Love,Your Son Jon
P.S. Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my center desk drawer.
I love you.Call me when it's safe to come home.

Speaking

Although I had a rough morning, I think that God was speaking to me. He told me that I needed to look at a bible study that I had done before about temptation. After doing this study with my sister, I can feel that God is teaching me a lesson about how Satan tempts us. I am so feeling better now.... I did talk to my mom tonight also, that has helped. I have talked her into helping me with making some decisions on some of the stuff I want to do with the house. She will also be letting me get the stuff that she was going to be using to remodel one of the bathrooms in this house so that I can do that soon. I can't wait to have some progress done on this place. I guess that I am making a list that will serve as my goals. As I get them done, I will mark them off and I will do before and after pics for everyone. I also will be changing the color of the shingles on the roof from black to brown. They are all the same price only the brown add curbside appeal. That helps with the sale of the house. So in the future when I want to sell, it will be nicer looking to have that done. I am also hoping to make the garage one of the first things that get remodeled. It won't take but a couple of days to fix what is wrong in there. Basically all I need is a little more drywall and some primer and paint. It will be nice to have that done. I don't think it will take much to fix the things that I want to do, but the end result will be nice. And then so will the sale of the house. I want to treat this like a flip but take longer to flip it than most people would. I want to flip it within 5 years, most want to flip in 12 weeks. I think this way, I could make more profit. I mean look, the sewers will be commin in and no one will want to buy right before they come to the neighborhood, but after, property value will go up, so increases my profit.
The girls have been kids today. Kenzie wanted to play with Maddie, but Maddie didn't want to play, so she bit her sister! Kenzie cried, I looked at it and within seconds, she had bruised and I could see where Maddie had penetrated her sister's skin. Not a good thing. Other than that not much going on here. Ryan and I are looking forward to working on the house some, so that is about it.
Love,
Dawn

Thank You!

I normally would blog about my family and the happenings in the house on that day or past weekend, but today, I feel like I need to blog a special thank you to someone very special to me. Years ago, before Ryan and I even started dating, one of my sisters(keep in mind all of my sisters are half sisters as my mom miscarried my only full blood sister, so when I refer to my sisters, you know what I am talking about) and I were best friends, then when I graduated from High School, I moved to St. Petersburg to be with her. Over the course of about 2 years we met a neighbor who in the end proved to cause us to split ways and Angel moved away and wouldn't try to contact me until she felt she was ready. After we reconnected, we learned that my best friend and that neighbor had fueled us against one another. Since then, we have been in contact on a daily basis. Her daughter, Lucky, is doing great. She is a senior in high school now. As you know I am married and have 2 kids whom she thinks the world of. Now today, I was having a bad day and if it wasn't for my sister, I probably would still be having that same day. I learned some things that bothered me and she was here to be my shoulder to cry on. Although she is many miles away, she is here via telephone, blogger, myspace, and msn messanger. I really appreciate her just being an ear. Thanks a billion. You don't know how much that means to me.
Now for some of the other stuff. Kenzie is getting even more excited about going to school next week. We are going around putting together outfits for her to wear to school for the first week. It is so cute. She is really doing a great job being a big sister to Maddie. Angel is doing ok(the dog that is). After I made that cake, Tammy has yet to pick it up. It is starting to upset me about that. I put all that time into the making of that cake. I also had my oven go out. So, I have a call out to Ilean who's daughter is going to check prices on a scratch and dent gas stove for me. I would like to update it rather than just fix the one in there because it is so old, it is probably needing to be replaced. Also by doing it that way, I won't need to replace it before I sell the house. We are looking at some options there. Mom wanted me to fix the house and resell so that I can get the gift of equity in cash. That would be nice. I will keep you all updated and take pics as I do things in the house.
I will update more later.
Love,
Dawn

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American Cities That Best Fit You:

75% Miami 70% Austin 70% San Diego 65% Honolulu 60% Seattle

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Bad Day!

It was not a good day at work. And I came home to nothing but stress! That is all for now!

The Meeting....

Hey guys. I got home from the Conference Committee meeting. Here in a nutshell is the results.
* They will be sending a bus out startng 8/20/2007 for Kenzie to go to Preschool at New Washington Elementary School.
*Kenzie qualifies for Speech Therapy. She will recieve this while at school. They will provide 180 minutes per week.
*There will be like mentor kids to help Kenzie progress.
*She will be going Monday thru Thursday.
*She will be re evaluated by 6/1/2008 to see what they need to do for her for the year of Kindergarten.
*They will do a test in the beginning of the school year and the end to see how she has progressed. It is called i.s.t.a.r. It is the preschool version of the ISTEP test that all other grades take. Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting.
I have a brochure on it and if you want more information on it e mail me and I will type it in for you.
*These are the basic sounds that Kenzie needs to master... k, g, f, th. These are the sounds that typical 4.5 year olds make, but Kenzie doesn't quite get them.
* Now for the specifics of the meeting, we reviewed Psychological test results, speech/language test results, academic test results, and parent information. It was determined that Kenzie doesn't need any special classes meaning that she can attend in the regular class. In this category, the student recieves education programs in a regular classroom for eighty to one hundred percent of the school day. Of course, the program level is preschool. I of course agreed to the recommendations for her. We went over the present levels of educational performance which was just more in detail than the report itself was. Decided that we will have a progress note sent home every nine weeks. In addition to a daily log of the things that are going on with her at school. I can also send notes back to the teacher/speech therapist on questions or comments that I have for either of them.
*Academic Skills-- they will be working on improving her cognitive matching skills and cognitive counting skills.
*Communication Skills-- basically, working with speech therapy to correct fronthing and other speech issues they noticed with Kenzie.
*Motor Skills- they will be working on bringing her motor skills up to snuff with the other kids her age.
*Mackenzie will increase her fine motor skills from 39 months to 54 months with in one year (this is the goal).
*Mackenzie will increase her cognitive skills from 30 months to 42 months in one year (another goal).
*Mackenzie will increase her gross motor skills from 45 months to 54 months in one year (goal).
*Mackenzie will reduce the interference of velar fronting from 42% to 10% or less at all levels within one year (goal).
*Mackenzie will increase her listening comprehension skills from 42 months to 60 months in one year (goal).
*Mackenzie will combine words using age appropriate syntax and another word i can't remember... (goal).
*Fine/Gross Motor Skills, Cognition-- Peer Models, Direct instruction and praise will be used as ways to teach Kenzie
*Articulation/Language-- Small Groups, cues, hand signals, phrase attempts are all ways we are using to teach Kenzie in this category.
*Mackenzie will be working on her speech in a quiet setting. I decided for them to do this with her because I wanted her to be able to work on the speech the most. I felt like with too many distractions, she wouldn't be able to get all out of the session that would be possible in a quiet place. She will have 6 sessions per month, so I think this will help a lot.

Hope that helps with the evaluation that was done... Well, I will talk to you all later!
Love,
Dawn

Blueberry Girls and more.....

I found out this morning that Maddie loves blueberries just like her sister! Kenzie had gone to the refrigerator and gotten a container out of the frige, they sat in the middle of the floor and ate and ate and ate! I should have known that Maddie would love them just like sissy does! And Kenzie thinks she has done a great job sharing with her sister. It is great. Yesterday we didn't have too much going on... We got up, had breakfast, played, and when Maddie went down for her nap, Candice and I worked on the Playroom. When she got up, I cooked dinner, and we ate. Then Candice and I went to the store. We needed to get the grocery shopping done, and boy did we do it... We saved almost $67 in store coupons with using the Jay C Card. I was so excited about this, but come to think of it, if I were to use coupons from the newspaper, wonder how much we would save.

Tammy decided to bring the dog back, she said she thought that Angel missed Kenzie. So we pretty much decided to share the pup with her. I put a few pics on the computer of her, so here they are...

So, on to other things, I am baking a cake today! The first one in a while. It is a monkey! I will post a pic as soon as I get it done. I can't wait to see how it comes out. It is for Jenny's best friend's birthday! It is so cool! Hopefully it will come out nicely. I also plan on doing more pics of the girls soon.

Other things that have happened lately, I sent Ryan to Once Upon a Child for some clothes for Kenzie for school. He did great! He got a never been worn, tags still on Old Navy t shirt, a pair of Levi Strauss blue jean shorts, a pair of Mossimo Jeans and another pair of jeans with flowers on them all for only $27. I was so happy. He did awesome and Kenzie loved them.

So I guess the last thing is that I have a meeting to go to, so I will post more later!

Love,

Dawn

How well do you cook?

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

Only One Mother

Someone at work gave this to me and I wanted to share it with all of you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have...

Only One Mother

We can only have one mother,
Patient, kind, and true.
No other friend in all this world
Will be so true to you;
For all her loving kindness
She asks nothing in return;
If all the world deserts you
To other you can turn.

Many tears you’ve caused her
When you were sad or ill,
Maybe many sleepless nights,
Though grown, you cause her still.
So every time you leave her,
Or when’er you come or go,
Give her a kind word and a kiss,
‘Tis what she craves, I know.

We can only have one mother,
None else can take her place;
You can’t tell how you’ll need her
Till you miss her loving face.
Be careful how you answer her,
Choose every word you say,
Remember, she’s your mother
Now and every day.

We can only have one mother,
Oh, take her to your heart;
You cannot tell how soon the time
When you and she must part.
Let her know you love her dearly,
Cheer and comfort her each day,
You can never get another,
When she has passed away.

--unknown--

Cox Family Happenings....

Last night Tammy came over along with Quinton (Q-tip) and Arajuana (Q-tip's girlfriend) for a visit since we haven't really seen them in a while. We really enjoyed visiting with us. Dustin, Q-tip, Tammy and I all reminisced about the things that happened when we were kids and the things we used to do. I heard about Q-tip being chased as a baby by a cyote! Scary! And Tammy and the boys removing the valve stem things from our father's truck... It was great visiting. I got in bed about 1:30 this morning. Today, Maddie has done great. She even started trying to sing to me. Kenzie keeps asking me when she gets to start going back to school. Joshua has been an absolute prince today. Dustin was off work so he and Candice just tried to relax most of the day. Ryan worked and now that we are all home, Ryan is going to help me set up the den to turn it into a playroom for the kids. See if we do this, Kenzie won't be waking Maddie up when she is napping from playing in her room (Maddie's room is next to Kenzie's and Kenzie gets loud when playing) so that is why I want the playroom. It appears that Mom wants the girls this weekend. We will see what happens there. The car seems to be working better here lately. Candice is trying to help me decide what I want to do with all the rooms in the house. I noticed today that Fiesta came out with a new color. It is called evergreen and I LOVE IT! I will be telling Ryan to go get it for me for our anniversary soon. I can't believe that in a couple of months we will be married for 5 years. It really doesn't seem like we have been together for 7 years, but we have. Wow! Anyway, enough of me going on and on. How are all of you doing? Hopefully well. From what I hear Amanda is doing much better!
~Dawn~

Update!!!

Hey all! How are you? I had a rough weekend, but I did get the results for Kenzie's evaluations. I will post the results after the meeting.... on Friday. Ryan and Dustin both worked a long day today. Maddie was a little jealous of Joshua today. She didn't like me helping Candice with the baby so she showed me who was boss or atleast she thought she did.... lol... Kenzie decided to give her dog away today because she said that the dog is trying to bite her. So I gave it to my 1/2 sister who lives like 10 minutes from here. She is gonna train her and work with her and keep her near Kenzie. I thought it was so cute. She was like, "Mommy, please can Tammy take my doggy" it was sad but cute at the same time. I made a cake tonight just to make one, but I didn't like the icing that I decided to do, it was tooooooo rich. Anyway, I think that is about it, wait a sec, Kenzie locked Candice and Dustin out of their room! I guess it was pay back for them putting a lock on the door since I can't get in there to do laundry, so I guess Kenzie thought it would be funny to make them suffer and not be able to get into their room. lol...
Love,
Dawn

Wow! We Finally Did It!

We haven't really been counting on closing this quickly since there were so many troubles with the appraisal, but in the end, we closed on the house today. I am so very happy for that. We are now home owners. I am so excited for the future that we have before us. I know that it is a long road, but I believe that God wouldn't have opened this window if He didn't have a plan for us. We have been working with Leslie from the mortgage place for quite some time and this past week, she called to say that the first lender backed out because there were problems with the appraisal, and that she had tried a couple of other lenders. Then Thursday evening, she called me back and told me that we are closing on the house Friday at 5:30pm. She gave me directions and when I asked why so soon if we were having issues with the appraisal, she said, she wanted to save us money. If we closed today, we didn't have to bring anything to the table, but if we waited and closed Monday or Tuesday, we would have to bring an entire month of interest to the table. That was not fiesable, so we closed today and all is good. I am sitting here enjoying a Mikes Hard Lemonade, which I don't do often, but I thought that the close on the house was enough to allow myself to drink one. I don't drink on a regular basis... I mean it has been probably almost 2 years since I had anything with alcohol in it. I could take it or leave it, but sometimes, I enjoy a MHL. Kenzie is doing well. She is missing her friends from her old school. Her teacher Amanda Monroe called to check on her today and said for us to keep in touch... Maddie is doing really well. Growing like a weed. I have to load all the pics on my camera to the computer and then order prints so that I can clear the memory card. Dustin and Candice filled it up when they had the baby and I haven't cleared it since. Ryan is doing good. Angel is getting used to all of us. And I work this weekend, so I will be going to bed in about an hour. Talk to you all next week!
Love,
Dawn

Please

I am seeking any and all prayer I can get for my sister in law. Her name is Amanda. I don't have very many details, but I know that she was rushed to the hospital. I will give you updates when I know something. I just would request prayer because she was supposed to be moving in about 1 week and 1/2 to Orlando from Dallas. I know that God has a plan that He will reveal in His time, but I would love to know that she is ok.

Onto other things. Nothing new here really.

Love,
Dawn

Oh Happy Day!

Hello all! How are you? Well, I have good news and some not so good news....

I FIXED THE COMPUTER THAT ROY GAVE US WITH NO HELP! I am so proud of myself. I was able to take numerous viruses and other troubles off of here. And I have to give it to God! I was at my witts end last night and just started praying about it. Today, He gave me the wisdom to do a few things I hadn't thought of. I started taking programs off of the computer that we no longer use when I remembered that someone told me about irfanview. As soon as I put it on the computer is when I began having the troubles with it. When I uninstalled it, the computer crashed. I waited a few minutes before booting back up and then my antivirus stuff went to work and took 3 back door trojans off of the puter. I haven't had anymore trouble with it since. I thank God for that! My mother-in-law now thinks maybe I should take up a career in computers! I don't know about that.

The bad news, the car is sputtering again, but we think we have it figured out this time... We think it is the gas tank is full of dirt because the new fuel filter was ruined after just a couple of months of use. So we put a new one in and changed the spark plugs too. We will keep our eye on this situation and let all of you know how it goes as we have new developments.

Now for the reason of the title of this blog... Kenzie and I sang that song yesterday. I think it was God trying to tell me that if I ask, he will help me! I have had a Happy Day today! She repeated every part of the song like you are supposed to! It was so funny!
Love,
Dawn