Thank you Juddy!

We have a fixed bathroom! The faucet in the bathtub no longer leaks! Yay! Lovin the man! Now, we are off to go to town. I will update you later if I have time if not, have a great weekend!
Love,
Dawn

My indoor potted plants for Maria Tibbs! (Love ya gal)

I just uploaded my camera and found these pics. Please see the captions below them for the info on them.

Maria, this is for you!

My daylillies are starting to come up in the pot! Yay! I love spring even if I have to create it in my own home!

My hosta's haven't come up yet, but I am sure they will. We just have to be patient.

Yesterday this was my stargazer lillies. You can see where I used my paint shop to circle the buds so you can see them easier.
This morning, I woke up to find the 4th bud comming up! How amazing is life? So, Maria, check back often for the flowers as they grow. I will probably take pics of them on a weekly basis so you can see the changes until they bloom! Once they bloom, I will be transplanting them probably to their permanent homes! The Stargazers will be around my mailbox and I don't know about the daylillies yet.

Yesterday, I promised a picture of Ryan painting Kenzie's nails. Here it is. Such a good daddy!

Here were the last two valentine cakes I did. I forgot to add the pics to the blog. The one with the red m and m heart was for Pop. The one with the two hearts was for Maxx and Kathy. Everyone enjoyed their cakes equally! Too bad I didn't get a taste. I had used a new icing recipe that I really would have liked to have sampled, oh well, I didn't need it anyway!

Mr fix it? Nope, Just making Juddy's job easier for him when he gets here tomorrow. We had to bust out part of our closet wall to fix the plumbing problem in Kenzie's bathroom. After tomorrow, it should all be done. Yay!"Mom, I know I am pretty, but could you let me swallow a drink of milk before snapping a pic of the beauty queen?"

Hope you enjoyed all of those pics! I will post more as I can!
Dawn

Daddy's Hands

As most of you know, I love that song, but that wasn't the reason for this entry, I got a pic that I will put on here tomorrow of Ryan and Kenzie. It was so cute. She had talked him into painting her nails! It was a beautiful moment and in the pic, you could see Daddy's Hands. I loved it.
So, today has been interesting, because of the delay, no preschool for Kenzie. Ryan and I were both off of work, but I got the rest of the registration stuff done for school. We went to church (at Mom's church) Ryan had said that he felt like he needed to go to that one so we did and God was moving! Ryan got saved tonight! It was awesome. I thank God that he has been using me to plant the seed and Skip to nourish that on Sundays. Ryan said "I only come to get the kids on sundays" but we all know that in God's time, things will happen and they did! Thank You Lord for saving another soul! And, that is about all that has happened today!
Love,
Dawn

Distracted

Today we have had a very distracted day!

*Kenzie couldn't concentrate at school. Miss Brittany sent home a not that said she was very distracted.
*I couldn't get anything done for the ringing of the telephone.
*Maddie ran from one thing to another all day.

So after all was said and done, I gave Maddie a bath and when it was time to get out, she got mad at me and tried smacking me. Such a rotten kid.

Ryan did bedtime duty tonight. Kenzie had a rough time.

I guess that is it.
Dawn

spring will come if i have to make it! LOL!

I have continued to try and pry spring out of the woods! I now have 3 huge potted plants in my kitchen and one small one. The three big ones are hostas, daylillies, and stargazer lillies. I have strawberries in the smaller one. I am going to have spring in my house if it kills me! I love spring. It is when the world comes to life. I love to see the trees blooming and the flowers comming back to life. Although my allergies go crazy, I love love love to see all the beauty that is spring. And it is the time of year that the kids get to start going back outside on a regular basis! The kids can't wait for that. Kenzie had a good day at school until she had an accident right before getting on the bus. Maddie has continued to learn more new words. She is saying bubble now. So when it is bath time she points at herself and says, "Me bubble" she is wanting a bubble bath! She tells me no all the time now. She also tells me she wants to go to Nana's! How funny. Ryan is doing good. I am the same really. Still congested, but feeling a little better each day. I was so congested that it will definately take some time to get it all out. I haven't heard anything bad about Pappy, so I am assuming he is doing well also. And I guess that does it for updates for now. Talk to you soon!
Dawn

I see the moon, a million stars are out tonight
Gentle reminders of the way You are
A sea of glass, a raging storm has come to pass
You show Your face in an array of ways
My feet may venture to the ground
But You will never let me down
I can't hold it in
My soul is screaming

CHORUS:
Hey you, I'm into Jesus
Hey you, I'm into Jesus, oh yeah
Hey you, I'm into Jesus Hey you,
I've seen the truth and I believe
I know You're there
I feel Your love through my despair
You speak the words that ease away the pain
My heart is free, my eyes are clear
My soul is healed
Now that You have got a hold on me
My feet may venture to the ground
But He has never let me down
I can't hold it in
My soul is screaming
I still believe, I still believe
Hey you, this kid is back
And I do declare the sun is shinning
Hey you, this kid is back
With a red alert and it might be blinding
Hey you, the kid is back
And I do declare the sun is shining
Hey you, the kid is back
My feet may venture to the ground
Hey you, I'm into Jesus
Hey you, I'm into Jesus, oh yeah
Hey you, I'm into Jesus
Hey you, I've seen the truth and I believe
One time, one time Jesus bled
On the third day He rose again
Can I get a witness for the things He did?
One time, one time Jesus bled
But then He rose again
I've seen the truth I believe, yeah I believe

Here is another of the songs I stumbled across. Love it!

I wish we'd all been ready

I was trying to find some DC Talk songs and ran across this one! It speaks volumes to me! Jesus is comming and we all better be ready! Read the words and select it from my playlist to hear it. Just read the words is all I ask...

oooh.....

Life was filled with guns and war,

And all of us got trampled on the floor.

I wish we'd all been ready.

Children died, the days grew cold.

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold.

I wish we'd all been ready.

And there's no time

To change your mind

The Son has come

And you've been left behind.

A man and wife asleep in bed,

She hears a noise, turns her head he's gone.

I wish we'd all been ready.

Two men walking up a hill,One disappears, one's left standing still.

I wish we'd all been ready.

And there's no time

To change your mind

The Son has come

And you've been left behind

(oh yeah, ooh)

(yeah, alright)

The Father spoke, the demons dined.

How could you have been so blind?

And there's no time

To change your mind

The Son has come

And you've been left behind.

No, And there's no time

To change your mind

The Son has come

And you've been left behind

I hope we'll all be ready.

You've been left behind.

I hope we'll all be ready.

You've been left behind.

I hope we'll all be ready.

You've been left behind.

Pikachu Cake

Hey guys! Great news! Dawn got another cake order! YAY! I will be doing a Pikachu cake for a little boy for his birthday next week! I am excited about this cake because I havn't had the privledge to do a pokemon cake yet and I would love the chance to do them all! So, I will post pictures when I am doing the cake so you can see the process I go through. I will be printing of a pattern to go by, so I can cut the cake out in the shape of the little character, then I will be putting buttercream frosting on it covered by fondant! I have it due on March 4th, so I should have lots of fun with this one! I also have a sombrero cake for May that I am still designing, so that should be interesting to see what I come up with for that one. I think it will probably be huge! It is for my Mom's boss's Mom's 60th birthday. So with a big family comes a big cake! I am loving this! I have to go to Walmart now to get some supplies! Have a great day! Talk more later!
Dawn

P.S. I am going to make spring come. I have potted strawberries, stargazer lillies and hostas in the house because I am so ready for spring! LOL!

Acts Full Gospel Borden, Indiana

This morning since I wasn't going to work and we had to pick the girls up at Mom's church, we decided it would be best just to go for the service too. So we did and in this blog, I am going to try and outline what the message was on. I will put vocabulary with definitions at the bottom in case there are any questions about it.

First, the main topic was a covenant with God.

So we learned that in order to have a covenant with God, God requires that we :
promise to obey His word and commandments for Him to meet our needs.

Here are the scriptures that were given during the message:
Hebrews 10: 25

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Malachi 3:8-10

Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In thithes and offerings. You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

10 commandments:

*you shall have no other gods before me
*you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below
*you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
*remember the sabbath by keeping it holy.
*honor your father and your mother
*you shall not murder
*you shall not commit adultery
*you shall not steal
*you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor
*you shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Now for the definitions:

idol-- representation or symbol of an object of worship (false god)

sabbath-- Sunday (for christians) Time of Rest

Adultery-- sex out of wedlock

covet-- wish for earnestly

TITHE--to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church.

COVENANT--a usually formal, solemn and binding agreement.

With all of this said and done, Brother Skip has asked us all to pray over this sermon and on easter to return an envelope to the church with a paper in it. The paper is simply a sheet provided for those who want to have a covenant with God. We will be doing lots of praying over the next few weeks about this sermon and we will see where it leads us from there. I do know that I would love to be able to go back to church on a regular basis on Sundays. We have been going when we can on Wednesday's but sometimes I dont' feel like it is enough for me. I loved it when I could go on both days. Anyway, enough rambling, talk to you soon!
Dawn

Many Days worth of blogging!

Friday:
With the storm we had come through yesterday, I went to the car this morning to see if I could safely take Kenzie to Jay C with me, I decided to go get a snow shovel so that I could get the ice off of the walk way and driveway enough that we wouldn't fall. So we went to the store only to find out one of the cashiers had put her car in the lake around the corner from us because of the ice! Bad Bad Bad weather! We later took the girls to Mom and Pop's office to meet them. Then the girls went home with Mom.

Saturday:
I worked. Ryan worked.

Sunday:
I wasn't feeling well so I stayed home from work and we went to get the kids from Mom and Pop at church and it was a good thing we were there because my Pappy got to feeling really bad so we had to give him a little medical care, but he is doing very well now. We think it was a combination of a few things:
*his blood pressure
*his blood sugar
*he has his days and nights mixed up so was tired.

He is at home and doing well now though.

I am working on some things here in the house so I will let you know of anything new!
Dawn

2 hour bus ride and more of the book....

Today we had an interesting day. From ryan leaving without me even having to wake him up for work to Kenzie getting on the bus like a big girl. Then Maddie waking up earlier than normal and finally, SCHOOL WAS LET OUT AT 11 AND KENZIE DIDN’T GET HOME TIL 1:09PM! Needless to say, I was a little freaked out when I called and they said she is on the bus and will be there. What do you think the first thing running through my mind when the 2 hour mark passed? The bus had been in an accident, but thank God that wasn’t the case. She made it home and I started the transformation from “Mommy who is out of control and yells at me when I do something wrong” to “Mommy who puts herself first and stays in control and doesn’t yell when I do something wrong but instead talks with me and explains the consequences then lets me choose what I will do” today. I have to say that it is going to be a hard change. I am willing to do it for the better of my dear children. So now to the second part of the book:

I have one question to ask myself before getting into any confrontations with my kids now:
“If I am not under control, how can I expect myself to be in charge of the situation?” I think by asking myself that every time I am in a situation with the girls, I will be able to better handle it. I do have to work on Kenzie though. She knows when to misbehave and really push my buttons is when Ryan is home. She already knows that he will let her do anything she wants to without saying a word to her. He simply cuddled her tonight when she ran up behind me (I was sitting in the recliner) and started pulling my hair and then clawed me in the eye. I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. I separated myself from the situation thinking that Ryan would correct her behavior because he was home and had grabbed her as she did it, but he simply sat on the couch with her and cuddled. If you ask me that is sending her a message that it is ok for her to behave like that and I don’t agree with it. So, we will be making family rules, mommy and daddy rules, chores and bedtime routines and it will have to be followed from now on. I am tired of fighting all the time and I am tired of being the target of her frustration and being fussed at when I try and correct her. Not that Kenzie is a bad kid because she isn’t. She is just a kid and she is going to push me. I just have to learn to control myself and then set her limits and teach them to her. Then we will get somewhere. Now back to the book.

Tonight I have learned:

* I have a choice of what my emotional response to each and every situation that I encounter throughout my life will be. I just have to choose the one that is correct (and lease reactive).

*After choosing that emotional response, I have to take responsibility for that action whatever it may be.

*Owning up to my mistakes is the first step in knowing that I am grown up. Not blaming others, my past etc!

*”To be in charge as a parent means inspiring your children to motivate themselves” Hal Edward Runkel, LMFT.

Now, my goal tomorrow is to try and keep myself under control more than I did today. I did have a couple of slip ups, but all in all, I did much better today. I am also going to sit with Ryan and discuss the rules/consequences/discipline that we need to be consistent on. And we also need to make sure that it is fair for a 5 year old and a 1 year old. Hmmm that should be interesting. Will keep you posted!
Dawn

A trip to the library....

I got to feeling much better this evening, so I made a much needed visit to the library tonight. I got my library card (no, I hadn't gotten one yet!) and a few books. I got a book for Kenzie. It was one I read as a child and have continued to love because my neice created a soup named after the book. It was Stone Soup by Christianne C. Jones. We loved acting this book out as we made our soup with her. It was so nice to be able to share one of the books we cherish with Kenzie. I think I will have to add this book to her wish list because she had me read it several times tonight. Then I picked up a couple of board books for Maddie and I to read while Kenzie is at school. I then got a book for me. YES I SAID ME! I don't usually do that, but I decided it was time to approach parenting a little different. I picked up a book called: ScreamFree Parenting The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool. by Hal Edward Runkel, LMFT. I will put here what I have learned by reading this book. If you would like to learn some of the stuff here, please see your local library for this book.

(and now that I have more room and light by going to the kitchen, I can do this much faster)

First off, I learned that by me not being permissive all the time, I am doing my children good. Secondly, I learned that I need to be more unflappable when the kids are flipping their wigs. Third I have been searching for someone to show me how it could all be different and through Jesus and this book, I know I will find the happy medium I am searching for. I also learned that I need to stay focused on my children, but not so much that I don't enjoy life for myself. I need to pamper myself now and then (which I currently don't do). I learned to calm myself before approaching a situation that may anger me and then to remain fully connected and stay involved in the situation as I make the children know who is in charge. I also have learned the the leadership role I need to reassume is a calming authority figure in my childrens lives. I will do this and there will be a completely different Mommy by the time I am finished with this transformation.

Now, on to other things, we all know that I am trying to figure out what to do with my house, so with spring fast approaching, I decided to pick up a book on landscaping for me so that I have something fun to do with my time as spring comes into action. I am planning several landscaping projects. (I will be taking my time with them, so I will try and keep you updated as I do them.) Below is a list of the projects and what they will take. Keep in mind I plan on doing all of the work myself and I am only doing it in little pieces at a time.

Around my shade tree in front yard I will put:
flagstone path (I will select and lay the stones myself!
6 francee hosta's
8 gold margined hosta's
10 gold standard hosta's
7 honeybells hosta's
15 small green hosta's
9 krossa regal hosta's
75 creeping phlox
3 planters each containing 6 annuals to add color to the area
and a bench for sitting.

the side of the garage around to the back of the garage:
1 pink spires crab apple (maybe)
2 climbing roses
7 frau dogmae hartop roses
13 anthony waterer spirea
4 maney juniper
6 broadmoor juniper
6 marshall's delight bee balm
8 honeyhock mallow
5 bashet of gold
22 white coralbells
1 trellis
mowing strip to define the flower bed so to speak.

sidewalk/entryway to front porch:
4 william baffin climbing rose
17 little princess spirea
3 sea green juniper
11 moonshine yarrow
34 stella d'Oro daylilly
arbor.

I will like I said keep you posted as I do these projects and they will likely be a continuous work in process, but I know I can do anything I set my mind to. I will be having some help with making my own arbor, trellis, bench and installing the flagstone myself. I want to do this so I can say I did something to make our landscaping look good! More to come at a later time!
Love,
Dawn

a little better but still not feeling good

I have been pumping the vitamin c and taking dayquill and nyquill to get rid of the funck. I am feeling a little better, but I still don't feel good enough to go out anywhere so I doubt I will be at church. I wouldn't want to get anyone sick. Hope to see you all next week though.

Dawn

Weekend

Friday--

Mom came and had dinner with us. Then we took Mom to meet Pop so they could take the girls home with them for the weekend. Nothing out of the ordinary there. So Friday was normal.

Saturday--

We got up and went to work like normal. I had a crazy day but all in all everything was normal.

Sunday--

I woke up hacking. My throat was a little sore. I didn't feel good. I went to work anyway because I hadn't woke up early enough to call off. So I get to work feeling bad and it only got worse. As 2pm. approached, I told the supervisor that I was feeling so bad I needed to go to home, she replied with, "take two tylenol and tough it out!" I was very upset by this becaues I guess she would rather that I give whatever the patients had given me to the rest of the building. I mean, in a health care industry, I would think that infection control would be one of the top priorities. Anyway, I stayed and worked although I could barely make it through, I didn't leave work until 10, I made it and now I am so sick that I don't know if I will be blogging or doing anything for a few days. So if I don't, you know why!
Dawn

Our Day....

A typical Friday in the Cox house....

We all get to sleep in until the kids wake up. Usually around 830. Then we have down time. The only day that we don't have to do anything. Then we start packing the kids. We either have dinner here with Mom and Pop or we go to their house for dinner. This week was our turn. Ryan grilled steaks (yummy) and I made cheesy potatoe casserole. Also a very yummy dish. We had dinner and then the kids left. After that we went to town for a couple of hours. We came home and showered. Played around on the net for a few minutes and then it was off to bed because of work early in the morn. So, needless to say, nothing much going on today.

Dawn

Snow Day #2 this week.

We have had a pretty interestingly white week. Mostly because we had 2 snow days. I of all people HATE snow days. I am the type of kid who was very upset when we had to stay home because of the pretty white stuff. I would rather to have gone to school. So, I had to try and find things to keep my kids busy. I took them to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Candy's house yesterday so that they could play with their cousins for once. I did get some good pics of the kids. While we were there, we sent Daddy and Uncle Kevin off to Paoli Peaks for some big boy fun. I can't wait for Maddie to be old enough to go because then we can make a family fun trip out of it. Needless to say, Ryan is very sore today. He said it was quite interesting because he can ski (he has been skiing before) and Kevin can snowboard (that is what we get for him loving skateboards and bikes growing up) so when they were on ski's, Ryan was constantly helping Kevin up and when on snowboards, Kevin was constantly helping Ryan up! Go figure! Anyway on to the pics:
On the left we have Anthony "Bubba". He is always quite the rough one! And on the right we have Nick. Nick is now 6 and Bubba is 3. I can't believe how big they are getting.

Here is a picture that was supposed to be Nick and Kenzie, but it didn't turn out like I wanted it to, so I cropped it to be only Nick. He is such a hamm! Love you Nick!

Since Mom needed a carseat for her car, we bought Maddie one that was on sale. It is totally up her alley. Pink with flowers! She loves it! She sat in it inside Candy's house for ever!

Bubba loved his mess free art thing that the girls got him for christmas. Yes, we just did Christmas with them. We just never were able to hook up a time that would be good for both families.

Look at me! I have blue eyes! Actually this was a picture that KENZIE took with my camera! I had to crop it but it really did turn out good.

Now, Ryan is at work and I am here with the girls doing the valentine thing. I will post those pics a little later!

Love, Dawn

No School today :(

Maddie had another hay day in the cottage today with her big sister. She loves that thing so much! Great job Ryan!

Here is the first of several pics I took of the winter weather we had last night.
And here you can see where our van was parked and exactly how much snow/ice Ryan had to try and battle to get out of the driveway to go to work at 5am.
The girls got matching hoodies, but Maddie wasn't going to hang around for the picture!
Such a ham! Kenzie posed for me so I could get a good pic of the hoodie. I really liked it and they were 40% off at Old Navy!
Kenzie "napping" in the cottage today!

The snow/ice build up on the back porch!
And more snow/ice build up on our back porch!
See the icecicles hanging from the swingset? How crazy!
I don't know what that pic is but it is white so there it is!The front walk way to the house. Iteresting!

Ryan made it safely to and from work today in this mess. I stayed in the house with the girls. There was no way I was going to take them out in the nasty weather. And that is that. We did get a valentine from Roy and Carol today. It was quite interesting because when they opened them, they traded movies and stuffed animals. Hmmm. Don't know what they were thinking. LOL!

Dawn

You mean DAWN is posting PICTURES!

So, Finally I decide to upload some pics, and I go crazy!

Not the best pic of me, but I loved Kenzie's face here, so just don't look at me! LOL!
"MMMMM" her fingers must taste good!
"Mommy, is this really for us?"
"I know how to brush my hair! Watch me!"
"Mommy, thank you for putting together our cottage!"

I haven't done many cakes, but it seems that right around Valentine's day, I get a sloo of orders. I made this one for MaryBeth and Ricky. I did theirs last year too, so I figured what the heck. After making this one I got 2 more orders for the same cake! Yay! That is what I am talking about!
And this is what I do at work! LOL! Just kidding. Work had a Massuse and Chiropractor (sp?) come in on saturday, so while she was working on me the Doc took a couple of pics.
He loved this pic, so I decided that I needed to put it here for the DOC! His exact words were "THIS IS SO GOING ON THE BLOG!"
Kenzie sitting in the cottage.
I love this pic! It was the first one of me and Kenzie but my face was 1/2 cut off, so I cropped it to be just her. Looks great I think!

We are expecting 3-7 inches of snow tonight, so maybe tomorrow I will bundle the kids up and get some pretty pics in the white fluff! If I do, expect more good pics tomorrow. Hope all is well. Got to go check dinner and then the scan I am doing on the computer!

Love,

Dawn

wireless router, dsl, allz kindz of stuffz!

We have been talking for a long time now about getting a wireless router so that the laptop can be connected to the internet at the same time as the desktop and I broke down today and bought one. It is made by linksys and I love it. I know it has only been a few hours since I got it hooked up, but now we aren't both running to the same computer at the same time. So, now for the rest of the day's happenings. Ryan worked. Kenize went to school and had a good day. She wrote her name all by herself with some verbal cuing, but that is all! Yay Kenzie. Maddie learned how to brush her own hair. The girls are loving all over each other. I can be in the other room, it get quiet, so I go to check on them and I find Maddie leaning in to kiss her sissy! So cute! I love that they are so close. I talked to Carol and she is getting along with that knee operation. Roy is doing good I would assume, the phone went dead while I was talking wireless router stuff with him. And that is about it. I babysit for Candy tomorrow so she can go to a doctor's appointment and I go to sign my schedule at the college tomorrow. I can't wait. I will be sure to update you all on that. Oh one other thing, in March, the class that I have to take first term is on Wednesdays, so for those of you who have become acustomed to seeing us on that night (Megan, Chris, Maria, Brian, etc) we will not be able to be at CIC until after I get through the first term of school. It saddens me, but I just know that this is a very important class, and I will be back to normal as soon as it is over. Well, that is all for now. Need some sleep.
Dawn

Jesus Freak

In this day in age, a song we fell in love with because it was more rock/rap than people assumed it would be back when we were teenagers really speak a message to us all and we should take that message out into the world. BE A JESUS FREAK! Go as God has commanded you and speak your mind and heart. Tell the world of Jesus! So what if they label us "Jesus Freaks" it is what we are called to be so go do what you are lead to do! SAVE someone today!

And now that you have heard my rant for the morning, here are the words to a great message. I am working on finding the music for my playlist as we speak, so gimme a few minutes and you can hear it too!

Seperated I cut myself clean

From a past that comes back in my darkest of dreams

Been apprehended by a spiritual force

And a grace that replaced all the me I've divorced

I saw a man with tattoo on his big fat belly

It wiggled around like marmalade jelly

It took me a while to catch what it said

Cause I had to match the rhythm of his belly with my head Jesus Saves is what it raved in a typical tattoo green

He stood on a box in the middle of the city

And claimed he had a dream

What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak

What will people do when they find that it's true

I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak

Cause there ain't no disguising the truth

Kamikaze my death is gain

I've been marked by my maker

A peculiar display

The high and lofty they see me as weak

Cause I won't live and die for the power they seek

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head

The sand that he walked was also his bed

The words that he spoke made the people assume

There wasn't too much left in the upper room

With skins on his back and hair on his face

They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate

The Pharisee's tripped when they heard him speak

Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak

People say I'm strange does it make me a stranger

That my best friend was born in a manger

People say I'm strange does it make me a stranger

That my best friend was born in a manger

What will people think

What will people think

What will people do

What will people do

I don't really care

what else can I say

There ain't no disguising the truth

Jesus is the way.

When the music Fades

Several years ago, while going to Suncoast Cathedral in St. Petersburg Florida, I heard this song played by the praise band in the youth group, I fell in love with the message it brings. When nothing else surrounds me, I can sing this song and know that my heavenly father is there waiting for me to call on him. I also know that through this song, I have become much closer to God! I want to thank Sonic Flood for recording this wonderful praise song!

When the music fades

And all is stripped away

And I simply come

Longing just to bring

Something that's of worth

That will bless Your heart

I'll bring you more than a song

For a song in itself

Is not what you have required

You search much deeper within

Through the ways things appear

You're looking into my heart

[Chorus]

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And its all about You

All about You, Jesus

I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it

When its all about You

Its all about You

King of endless worth

No one could express

How much You deserve

Though I'm weak and poor

All I have is Yours

Every single breath

I'll bring you more than a song

For a song in itself

Is not what you have required

You search much deeper within

Through the ways things appear

You're looking into my heart
[Chorus]

Ancient of Days

Thank you Chris and Megan for singing this song. It is one of my all time favorites. It speaks to me every time I hear it!

Verse:

Blessing and honor

Glory and power

Be unto the Ancient of Days

From every nation

All of creation

Bow before the Ancient of Days

Chorus:

Every tongue in heaven and earth

Shall declare Your glory

Every knee will bow at Your throne

In worship

You will be exalted, oh God

And Your kingdom will not pass away

Oh, Ancient of Days

VERSE

CHORUS

Ancient of Days...

Kenzie is da bomb!

I recieved this note via e mail from the teacher today and thought I would share it with you all:

Dawn~
I LOVE that she really enjoys doing the homework! Kenzie has perseverance that I typically don’t see this young!! I am so excited about the new v tech write and learn smart-board!!! She has just come out of her shell this week with counting….we have been working on 1-5 for so long and I think she’s really got the hang of it now WOOHOO!! I’m glad that Ryan is getting involved, I was a daddy’s girl growing up and it’s always good to hear when the Dad gets involved!! Keep up the great work you are doing at home, again any type of games or turn taking is a wonderful chance to teach those basic communication skills. I agree with you, I think we have great communication and I feel we’re on the same page with Kenzie. We don’t have to meet, I will be starting the sign up for home visits for March and April (if the weather ever picks a season to stay inJ) I would love to come and visit you all at home. It is completely optional though so no pressure!! Thanks for the update!!

Brittany

Kenzie is doing so well with the whole learning thing. She has really blossomed this year. I never expected for her to pick up so much so fast with letters, numbers, colors, shapes, writing, speech and all the other stuff they do at school. She is just a trooper! And PROPS TO RYAN! He has really started trying to be a major impact on her education! It just took him a good minute to jump on the bandwagon!

Keep up the great work Kenzie!

Dawn

grrr up most of the night....

Thanks to mother nature, Ryan and I were up most of the night last night trying to console Kenzie. She is terrified of storms and well at about midnight, it got really bad. Tornado warnings and all. Then about 1230 our power went out and I had to use the backlight on my phone to find the candle and lighter. We laid in the bed with Kenzie by candlelight trying to get her to sleep and about the time we did(230) the phone rang. It was Mom calling to check on us and after that the lights started flickering on and off which made Kenzie even more scared. So as she was screaming "get me ready. my bus will be here." Maddie was sound asleep in her bed! So amazing the difference between the two kids. Finally we got her to sleep and she woke up to my alarm clock saying, "Momma, get me ready for school." So I get her off to school and lay back down til Maddie woke up. Then it was off to the grocery store. Then Kenzie came home from school. We ran errands all day. Then to church and now here I sit wondering what the sermon was about due to my having to go to the nursery with Maddie. She got upset right when Brian was starting to speak. I think I might e mail him and find out some of the key points he made. I did get this out of it.... What was the baby name that was in the top 20 in 2k6 but then drop to the 300's after? it was Katrina! So other than that I didn't get to hear anything. There were some good praise songs (thanks Megan and Chris) and Kenzie was a sweetie! See Megan and Chris' blog for the details.

Dawn

QUEENIE QUEEN

QUEENIE QUEEN
(TUNE: ON TOP OF OLD SMOKIE)

QUEENIE QUEEN VISITS THE CITY TODAY.
QUEENIE QUEEN WILL BUY Q'S FOR GAMES THAT SHE'LL PLAY.
QUEENIE'S NOT QUIET WHEN SHE SEES A Q.
QUEENIE IS SO QUICK. SHE KNOWS WHAT TO DO!

That is the song to go with the letter of the week!

Enjoy!
Love
Kenzie

OK SO I DID IT!

After months of consideration, and talking to my HR director, and Nursing supervisor, I have decided to do a tuition reimbursement program through work to gain my Bachelors Degree in Health Care Management. So, I will be starting school next month. I am only taking one course the first term, so I will be able to get back into the swing of things. It is called PROSEMINAR. It is basically a writing class. So, the bad news is that it is only offered on Wednesday nights, but I really need to get started, so I have to take the opportunity to go on and further my education to better me and my family. Then after the first term, I can take my classes online. I can also opt to take them oncampus if I want to. After I get the degree, I will be able to obtain a job that will enable me to be home with my kids on the weekends. And by the time that I do this, I may even be able to have the kids in daycare the days that Ryan and I both work. Which is only 2 days a week! Yay! Can't wait to get into college and get it all done! So now that you know what I am up to the rest of the family:

Kenzie: just got home from school. she is happy for now. They did the letter q this week. I will post the song in a few minutes for you all.

Maddie: is talking up a storm. She even told her cup "I love you" it sounded like "iyubu" was so cute. She also taught herself how to eat dry cereal with a spoon. I usually eat dry cereal with my fingers, but she wanted a spoon, so I let her go with it.

Ryan is at work and having an ok day.

So, that is the cox family update for now.
Dawn

Are you a morning person or night person

You Are an Afternoon Person

You can find energy any time of the day ... or night!You prefer to be out and about when most other people are.Very early mornings or very late nights aren't really your thing.You're practically solar powered, and the afternoon is when do best.

http://www.blogthings.com/areyouamorningpersonornightpersonquiz/">Are You a Morning Person or Night Person?

happenings around the cox house

well, let me see here, what has been going on?

i worked this weekend and managed to split my fingernail into the nail bed. ow!

kenzie and maddie went to nana's house.

ryan picked them up from church on sunday.

they watched the superbowl and then came to get me so they were late, but i didn't mind.

today, ryan put kenzie on the bus so i could sleep in.

when maddie woke up i got up. i took her to our room where ryan was and we all hung out on the bed. maddie started playing peek a boo. and i would ask her where her head was, she would put her hands on top of her head and say "up" it was so cute.

her words now are:
up, ow, here, mom, dad, sis, juice, nana, papa, bite(biiii).

when we ask for a kiss, she blows spit to us.

she is growing so fast.

and that is the update!

dawn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENZIE!

Kenzie has had a good day! It was her birthday, she got presents, cake, and to go to Nana and Papa's house! What a lucky kid! She is 5 and we can't believe it now! Such a big girl. She did share her day with her sissy! Such a sweetie! We took one of the certificates that she got from her bus drivers and took the two of them to McDonalds. They got their Cheeseburgers and were happy. We made Taco Salad at the request of the birthday girl for her dinner! She played all day and that was that. She still isn't back to normal. She still has her nose running like a sugar tree! But then other than that, she is fine. She got money from Uncle Dave and Aunt Vicky and Great Grandpa Craig, so this week when I go to town, she is going to go pick out presents to replace the money. She keeps saying she wants a horse (webkinz) so I think that will probably be one of the presents. She can get up to 4 webkinz on the amount she got from them. So, we will just have to see what she does. She also got a belladancerella cheerleader thing from Amanda and Deke. (She opened that the other day because we were not sick that day but could feel it comming, so I went on and let her have the present from you and Carol and Roy). Carol and Roy got her a whiz kid learning system and we LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Then yesterday or the day before, Grandma Tigger sent a package to her. She had it ripped open before she and daddy got in the house from getting the mail. She got an outfit from her. She loved it. Then Mom and Pop gave her candy hearts, an outfit and a unicorn stuffed animal! So, all in all she did well. Ryan and I are still waiting on what we got her to be delivered. We got her a phonics kit, and it hasn't been delivered to the school yet. When it does, I will either save it for valentines day or give it to her now. We are debating that because there is something else that Ryan wants to get for her for her birthday, so we will see! The girls are gone and I am about to do a little laundry, so I will check in again probably Monday!
Dawn