Let's just squeeze this in before December...

I LOVE Thanksgiving. It has always been all about God, family, food and football. And being thankful for all of those things ... in that precise order. My mom always made it special with her "Spare no frills" Thanksgiving day lunch, and creating an obsession in me for that great "cooked all night" turkey smell on Thanksgiving morning, not to mention just the satisfaction of us all at home together. My Daddy was famous for his ability to make enough spots in our cozy family room for any family that might appear and about 4 TVs. We'd cook, watch the Macy's parade, cook, watch football, cook, watch more football, eat, .... Thanksgiving was always a big deal and I am fighting Malls and commercials to keep it that way. Therefore Christmas is not talked about until Thanksgiving night or you get "thumped" on the ear. I am sure this particular little tradition will be one of the top ten in my children's "The Stupid Things My Mom Used to Do List".
I am bound and determined for my children to have the same warm fuzzy/somewhat bizarre obsessions and memories that I have. So, after all the Scarecrow parades and Thanksgiving "Feasts" at school were over, indescribable joy exploded at the Cox house due to the promise of no school for 5 days and the hopes of family, food and football... and as "The Reverend" always says... that great smell you wake up to on Thanksgiving morning when the turkey has been cooking all night. And, yes, he has had me cook a turkey all night even when we were going to be at someone else's house for dinner. I knew I married the right guy! I just know in all my efforts that one day down the road my grown children will be sitting around the Thanksgiving table laughing about their lives and memories and perhaps.... sharing the aforementioned list.

And then there is Grace....

Our first daughter, Grace Elizabeth, turned eight on November 5th. These pictures of her pretty much tells it all. Grace absolutely loves life. She loves school, she loves church, she loves being with her friends, she loves being with her family. She thinks tests are fun and soccer is even better.She loves to talk.. and talk ... and talk.... and talk.... She loves hot dogs and veggies (shout out to Aunt Angie) and anything sweet. Did I mention she loves anything sweet.... She is not a fan of the tomato sauce but "deals" with spaghetti night as she must in a family of six on a budget. She loves road trips to Waco and continues to be a big Baylor fan even after the many disappointments suffered this football season - I keep telling her she will get used to it! She loves spending the night with Mimi and PawPaw and I am sure "Always ice cream all around " has nothing to do with it.
Her best guy is her daddy with that good ole' PawPaw coming in at a close second. She would rather eat dirt than let any of us down and as sweet and gentle and girly as she is, the words, "Grace - don't hurt your brother" (Jackson) have come out of our mouth. She can get down and dirty with the best of them and makes a great tag team wrestling partner in the floor of the family room.
Of course she is a joy and light of our lives. When I look at her I see ... Kevin much dainiter and prettier, of course. She is one of the five biggest blessings from God in my life wrapped up in its own specific style .... even on spaghetti night... that's just Grace.

Keeping up....

Ok, so I am a bit behind but I just can't let the birthday party and Grace's birthday get by me. As you can see the girls' decided on an American Girl party. They each got to take a friend and I got to take Mimi, Aunt Angie and Olivia. My favorite part of the entire day had to be when some strange woman literally shrieked as she walked by us because the "baby doll" that Grace was holding actually moved it's head. Grace was holding Olivia - who, as usual, was all smiles! It was a great "luncheon" out with my girls. Sigh... how can they be 6 and 8. Wasn't it just yesterday when....

Birthdays... Round One!

Here at the Chaos we do birthdays in rounds due to the fact that in our immediate family of 6 we all have birthdays about 2 weeks apart. However, it is divided into two separate rounds (surely for my sanity). The Fall round - which we just concluded is comprised of Maddie (oct.3rd), Daddy (oct.22nd) and Grace, (Nov. 5th). So, if you will bear with me, we will go consecutively for the next few blogs giving everyone their own seperate blog so that when I am blamed on down the road for their need for years of therapy I can atleast say, "Yeah, maybe so, but on your birthday I wrote about you in your very own blog." Does it matter that it was a month later?.... nah.

We begin... with Madeline Kate Cox. On October 3rd, "Pixie" turned 6 years old and still has not seemed to grow into those ginormous blue eyes! She can cling to anyone and anything like a spider monkey (a name given to her at age 2 by her Aunt Sarah), and, according to her Daddy, has her mother's temperment (God Be With Her!) She started Kindergarten this year and continues to crack us up with her endless curiousity about how things work and and why everyone around her doesn't see things her way... the "more right" way. Her best friend is her sister and her best "fenemy" is her older brother. Her best "guy" is her Daddy with her Paw-Paw running a close second. She loves bling, babies,(no way) spaghetti, vanilla ice cream, shoes, anything miniature, and anything messy. She does not like being hot (shout out to Auntie Ang), cheese, or getting up too early.

Maddie is a joy and, of course, a love of my life. My favorite thing about her is her uncharacteristic deep voice laugh. It's contagious. When I look at her I do see God's perfect design, my dad's chicken legs, and amazing blessings that I will never have deserved.

Halloween Hangover...

I don't know about you but I am glad it is November. With all the festivities of school and the "Corner Carnival" (psycho chaos where we gave away 600 bags of candy in under 2 hrs.) that happened in my front yard on Saturday night I can securely say that I am glad October is behind us.October always begins with the joyous occasion and celebration of Maddie's birthday but then takes a total heck raising dive (Kevin won't let me type H---) into what our sweet Mimi calls "The Devil's Holiday". (I honestly can't even type that without laughing outloud - and if you know Paula Cox, picture it - then neither can you.) And, let it be known that she grins and giggles and whoops it up just as much as anyone when she and PawPaw are in charge of the Vista Church Halloween night Hayride.

So, with all that behind us, the girls and I are going to clean the orange and black nail polish off our toes and move the whole family on to November - a month of thanks. Curious... is it possible that November is the month of "Thanks" because we are ALL SO STINKING GLAD THAT HALLOWEEN IS OVER! Praise Jesus!!!! (not the devil)

What happens at Mimi's ...

This morning I dropped our sweet 3 year old off at Mimi's to play while Kev and I went to the hospital due to a friend having some outpatient surgery. When I dropped him off, he was clean, well-groomed, rested, and had had a nutritious breakfast. This is what I got back when he was returned to me this afternoon. Please notice the ring of chocolate around his mouth. We love our Mimi!!!! We wouldn't trade her FOR THE WORLD........ or even a piece of chocolate.

Is there any way I could get him on my fantasy team? ....

Saturday was Jackson's last day for his 2009 flag football season. And I was thinking that I might try to find a way to get his 5th and 6th grade team in place of the fantasy football team that my precious? brother in law has our whole family suckered in to. I haven't won a game yet and am even more disgusted that I care. The only part that gives me any peace at all is the former said brother in law is only one ahead of me. I really just want to beat him now for getting me into it. Love to you ... Dusty.

Eveyone loves a donut...

This week held the ever-popular "Donuts for Dad" event. With the days clearly marked on our calendar by Grace Elizabeth (which, by the way, said calendar had already been checked and re-checked to make sure dad was in town, unlike last year when it had to become "Donuts with Paw-Paw" due to an untimely trip to Seattle) we were ready to have a donut... with dad... Even Jackson was able to set aside his "coolness aura" to allow dad to come have a donut with him (never-mind that you can't get a donut without your dad or another adult with you). However, he did make note that "muffins with mom" might accidentally slip his mind. Ouch. When asked what the problem was, it was something to the affect that I am always loving on him and "Mom always says, I love you." Apparently that is NOT cool. Who knew? (evil laugh)

Nothing to See Here....

Being the top dog on campus this year (5th grade) has also brought on some new opportunities. Some I like. For example - safety patrol. Jackson was excited that he met all the "requirements" to get to be on the safety patrol at school which mostly involves making sure kids get from the streets to the school building safely. Personally - I never saw him as much as wave someone over the crosswalk much less help them - but hey he got to be a few minutes late to class in the morning and leave a few minutes early in the afternoon - not to mention that really cool belty snappy looking thing.

As for the new opportunities I don't like.... that little blonde girl that showed up on my doorstep the first week of school is now very well informed as to the courting/dating practices that will occur at the Cox household once Jackson turns 16. And... if she should still have any questions she knows where to find me.... just go ahead and ring my doorbell again ... precious! Ugh!

Atleast its not a "pallet" on the floor....

You all know what I am talking about - when you were a kid and were at your grandma's at Christmas everyone had a bed to sleep in ... everyone except you. Probably because you were the youngest you heard your mom say "Oh, don't worry about her - we'll just make her a "pallet" on the floor". This was mainly because the beds were all taken, your older brother got the couch, and your aunt and uncle were the "lucky" ones who got to sleep on the "rollaway" rented from Heaven knows where. (ick... and to think at age 10 I thought that portable bed that appeared out of no where was cool) I can still see my dad (or one of my uncles) driving up with a "rented rollaway" in the back of the truck. (again... ick) But, not for me -- I got the pallet on the floor!!! Which, by the way was really just a blanket - perhaps folded over twice if mom was feeling generous. But as I lay on the floor I dreamed of a day when I would be sleeping in one of the beds because I would be old and married. Fat chance - I couldn't believe it when my very first Christmas as an old married woman didn't bump me up to the bed or even the "rollaway" - yep - Kevin and I found ourselves ..... on a "pallet" ...... on the floor. Just not folded over twice this time because it has to be bigger to fit the two of us. I thought that I had seen it all at that point. Little did I know....
You see, Sunday night the "whole family" was at Mimi's and Paw-Paw's to celebrate Paw-Paw's birthday and Labor Day. Yes, I mean everyone - all 14 1/2 of us - which is ALWAYS a good time. Lots of laughs and lots of people and lots of fun... then bedtime arrives.
But don't worry - Kevin and I have finally arrived - we were not sequestered to a "pallet" on the floor for all 6 members of our family. And I don't even think people have "rented rollaways" anymore. Oh no! We have entered a new era forever forsaking the banishment of the "pallet". We have stooped to a whole new level .... we found ourselves and our four children laying our heads to sleep ..... in a tent..... out back!!!!!!

Mother of the Year!!!....Again!

Grace Elizabeth - our second child and our first daughter. She loves life! She thinks almost everything is funny and has developed in her seventh year a propensity for talking... and talking ..... and talking. Its's amazing really - there are times we even have to grab her sweet little cheeks and just say "Shhh..." She is easy going and rarely lets anything rock her boat.... which makes this story all the worse.

You see while Grace is all these wonderful qualities and more, she is cursed.... her mother is .... crazy. Granted, church planting, Kevin Cox and 4 kiddos have helped guide me down that looney bin path, but for the most part most just look at me and say, "Aw, its ok - we know you're crazy". Today solidified that point.

As I was sitting in my mother in law's house visiting with her for a minute my cell phone rang. It was the school, Mrs. Dillon to be precise... one of the cafeteria monitors. She had called me to let me know that although Grace had her lunch box.... there was no lunch in it. In my defense there was a capri sun and a chocolate chip cookie and a baggie of cheetos, but as for her sandwich.... yeah, her mother is crazy. I was then told Grace (as usual) told the teacher it was OK and she didn't mind not having it and was giggling... of course. No doubt thinking how funny it was going to be to tell her daddy that Mommy missed her bag this morning when handing out sandwiches. Mrs. Dillon was able to convince her to have a hot dog (SCORE!... that is her favorite) from the cafeteria. Put another dollar in the therapy jar!!!!! .... and have another cookie! I think I'll have one too!

You Never Know Who You Can Trust...

As the very first week of school wraps up - the Chaos seems to be doing well. Jackson thinks 5th grade is "way cooler" than 4th and tries to ignore his mother when she might be walking down the hall. (of course that just makes the waving and declarations of my love all the worse!) Grace loves it all - loves the homework- loves art - loves music - loves her teacher - loves lunch - loves her new purple pencil sharpener - it is ALL good!

Then .... there is the newest school attendee ... Miss Maddie. She comes home with a smile (and a ginormous appetite) But after 5 full days, we have discovered something is just a little bit amiss with her experience. At the dinner table after the first day of school she tells us that the "pretty vice-principal lady" told her she was going to the principals office. Knowing the VP, we knew that something didn't add up as we were trying not to laugh out loud in front of her. Turns out Maddie made a little boy in her class get his napkin out of her face by yanking it out of his hand and throwing it on the ground and then staring him down (can anyone say Aunt Angie). The VP saw it all and went to their table warning the little boy he would have to visit her in the office if he did not keep his hands and items to himself. After getting the real story and explaining it to Maddie all was well.

However, to top off the week, this morning when I handed Maddie her money to buy her first ever hot lunch, I put it in the appropriate bag and told her to give it to Miss Miley and she would give it back at lunchtime. To which her reply was: "Momma, if I give her my money, she'll use it for herself!" Well, ......OK. It took a few minutes but we were finally able to convince our sweet five year old that Miss Miley could buy her own lunch and was not going to need Maddie's money when she got hungry.... go figure. She's such a trusting soul.

Just Me and "Homer" .....

Our first walk to school - Why are we all following Homer?

Maddie and her new teacher Miss Miley

They're devastated to leave me..... right.

This morning had the audacity to show up whether I wanted it to or not and despite my efforts to make summer last longer, the troops headed off to school today. As you can see it was a big event as usual especially since we have a brand new school one block from our house with a great staff that we have known and trusted for the past two years at the old school (God is so good.) It was a beautiful sunny morning and even Mimi came (as has become our custom) for the walk over!

As I was following my kiddos down the street (and trying to be a big girl about it) I was reminded that I am lucky enough to still be left with the one we affectionately call, "the beast". I am sure he and I will find many ways to fill our days.

When I was thinking about how weird it was going to be to only have one munchkin at home, I was reminded of some infinite words of wisdom stated by my oldest daughter when she was only 3. She and her Nana were having quite the in-depth discussion the summer before she started pre-school. The intelligent conversation came to an abrupt halt when we doubled over in laughter as Grace labeled everyone appropriately by saying, "Nana, Jackson is going to be a Fioist Gwader, and I am going to be a Pwee Schoower." Nana's reply: "What about Maddie?" Grace: "Maddie - she is staying home - so she'll be a 'Homer'. " Well, now my Maddie is in Kindergarten (sob). So here I sit ignoring chores and waiting for the latest "Homer" to get up from his nap!

"I get it... You're Sentimental."

I had those very words said to me yesterday by a dear friend who decided she had finally figured me out. Feeling perhaps a bit guilty over being excited that school was starting she wondered if there was something wrong with her due to the fact that I do not share those same feelings. In fact, I love summer. Don't get me wrong, having them home with "All Mommy all the time" does have its red-head spinning moments, but I love having no schedule to follow but our own and being able to go swimming, bake brownies, or trump up a game of "Uno" on a whim.

So, with the beginning of school approaching ("3 more sleeps" as Maddie says) I do have a knot in my stomach. On Monday - it all changes for her - the start of Kindergarten means now I have to share her. (I no want to sare) But, the excitement on her face puts my selfish feelings at bay and I move on .... in tears... but moving on. But as long as we are dealing with change why not torture ourselves with ill-timing........ Walker asked for a big boy bed "like Dackson's" .

Granted, it is time. He is 3 1/2 and has feet hanging out of the baby bed but he has not even attempted to climb out and well.... he is the 4th...... and the baby..... and ..... quite honestly being "parents of the year" most of the time we would just forget he needed a new bed until we put him in the crib every night.

So, as I watched, Kevin began to disassemble the baby crib that has been assembled for 10 years. I looked at all the teeth marks remembering their evil grins as they chewed on the railings, saw a few dings and scratches from heaven knows what toys they had snuck in, and even an old orange tag with a number on it that the movers had put on it before they loaded it onto the truck for our move to Texas from Seattle. So many memories that all seemed to happen way too fast. Ten years ago as I sat on the floor in our tiny home in Maple Valley, 8 months pregnant watching Kevin put it together I could not have begun to imagine what all God had planned for us and that bed! Yeah, ... I am sentimental.... and I have a baby bed neatly tucked away in my attic now to prove it.

Welcome

OK - here it is- write it down, take a picture, I'm sure I'll even be getting a few phone calls about this (Ashley). I have created a blog. I have had too many people from near and far want to see pictures, etc... of all that is going on - so here you go. I made a blog. I can say it has taken me waaaay to long to figure this out, but I think I may have it by now and will try to keep you (whoever that may be - I find it hard to think anyone really wants to know besides those who are closely related and are required to love me) informed. If anything - you can see what the kids are doing and be updated since I AM NOT COOL ENOUGH FOR FACEBOOK.