Touch and Go

Matt’s youngest brother got married today! This is Levi and his lovely wife, Danielle. They had a gorgeous garden wedding on the property of an antebellum mansion in Louisville, KY. It was a beautiful ceremony and wonderful day — we are so happy for them!  We went to KY a couple of days early to spend time with family and had a lovely week there. Madelyn and Jeremiah were thrilled to spend time with grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles…we really miss living close to family.  If I could change anything about Florida, I would bring all of our family here.  We took lots of pictures of the week and the wedding. If you want to see Madelyn and Jeremiah playing with Mimi and Papa in the garden, splashing in the water and having a ball with their cousin, Xander; visiting with my nieces, Carley and Emily; the radiant bridal couple, and loads and loads of happy faces, click  here.

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 When Madelyn lost a tooth this week, it was unexpected. When our family dentist and a pediatric dentist both turned us down and referred us to a pediatric specialist, we grew alarmed. Children start to loose teeth around 6 years of age and Madelyn is only four and a half. The day before she had told me that her tooth was loose, but  sigh  I didn’t take her seriously. She is around a lot of  “big girls”  at church who are starting to loose their teeth so I thought she was emulating them. Also, we had recently read a Barney book about going to the dentist which made Madelyn start asking when she could go to the dentist (I guess it looked like fun?), so I thought it was just something on her mind. I was barely cognizant  that morning when she excitedly woke me up with the tooth she had pulled out on her own, without blood, without pain. By the time I was dressed and coherent, she had misplaced the tooth and, unfortunately, no one has seen it since.  To make a long story short, her teeth are coming in early and she would have lost it in about six months anyway, but the conclusion was there was some kind of trauma that loosened and allowed the tooth to get knocked out prematurely.  She did have a pretty bad fall out of her bed this week (it happens occasionally) and the terrazzo floors in this house are brutal. So, that is what we think happened. She is excited because she is a big girl now.  She loved going to the dentist. She didn’t cry at all and was such a trooper when the x-rays were taken. Oh, and she has no idea who the tooth fairy is yet, so please don’t tell her. More pictures of her trip to the dentist here.

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We had so much fun with our small group this weekend!   The Hamiltons hosted a  ”How to Have A Murder”  party. If you have never been to one, you need to go.  Better yet, buy a game and host one yourself! The game explains everything from suggesting a menu to providing the invitations.  A couple of weeks before the party we got an invitation with the theme, the scenario, and our character description. Everyone comes dressed as their character ready to adlib the scene. It is very much like playing the game Clue, only with real people, and one of you did it!  We were told to come dressed like it was our 1958 five year class reunion. Matt’s character was the jock; mine was the cheerleader. Everyone had a different character and the costumes people found were great! It was super swell and something we would really like to do again, sooo nifty!

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Today Matt and I had a date with the ultrasound technician for my 20 weeks appointment.  20 weeks: half way there!  We have been looking forward to this appointment for a long time since in the states we only get two ultrasounds apparently, the first one and this one. (We were so spoiled having the first two pregnancies in Latin America where ultrasounds are done at every appointment. I didn’t get amoebic dysentery for once though, so… win some, loose some.)  The baby looks great — healthy, right on schedule. The due date is the same: November 1st. The baby weighs 12 ounces, the size of a Coke can, and does not have any developing issues. And, they were very certain that: she is a GIRL!  We are all thrilled. Madelyn is very excited to have a little sister; Jeremiah is still hoping for a robot.

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Jeremiah is captivated by momma’s growing belly and the fact that there is a baby in there. It is not unusual for him to lift up my shirt to look at the baby or even greet the baby, “Hi, baby!”   But today his salutation was a little different, he lifted up my shirt and planted a great big raspberry on the baby bump, laughed wildly and did it again! I think he is ready to be a big brother.

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Today the oil has reached Pensacola on the Florida panhandle and down here in south Florida we are grieving.  Since the day the oil spill happened I have felt depressed, frustrated, and helpess about this grave situation …and,  increasingly enraged at our Federal government who absolutely is NOT doing enough to stop this.  There are so many things they could and should be doing, but are not.  From what I hear from people who are there and actually allowed to work on the clean-up,  our government is a pack of incompetent, petty, liars bought and sold on every front.  Each and every one of the them should be tossed out of office. If I hear Obama blame BP and defend his corrupt administration one more time, I might throw a brick through our television:  stop blaming and start solving! Talk is cheap; tough words accomplish nothing.  There comes at point in every crisis where the need to know how to fix it far supercedes the blame of how it happened. We are now at such a juncture. There will be time for explanations later, now is the instant for quick action and effective resolutions!

The oil spill is already seaping into my children’s subconscious.  “Oil spill”  is a game they play — avoiding a part of the rug like it was molten lava, trying not to let their toes touch the imaginary pollution. We go to the beach as often as we can to assure them, and ourselves,  that our beaches are still okay. Madelyn asks about the animals everyday. Our beach,  Anna Maria Island,  is one of the most beautiful beaches in the US.  (The one farther south, Siesta Key, keeps getting awards and attention in magazines, but that is only because AMI is still a well-kept secret — shhhh!)  For now, the brilliant sand is as soft and white as powdered sugar; the azure blues and greens of the Gulf are teeming with silvery fish and frolicking dolphins. The sunsets are unbelievable, glorious beyond description… it truly is a paradise. To think of all that beauty and creation destroyed by the greed and ignorance of man is deeply disturbing…

We need to pray for Divine intervention. We need to pray against pride, miserliness, and corruption. We need to pray for mercy and the hand of God to heal, to save, to act.   Let us call out to the Almighty; I pray He pours out all wisdom, resources, ability and cleansing power to heal this catastrophic disaster.

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What is this new fad? A rubber band around one’s wrist?  Hmmm.  I’ve been wearing a rubber band around my wrist for years, but it was never considered cool before. Of course, it is for the purpose of quick pony-tail making. True, my bands don’t make fun, colorful shapes and no one has ever wanted to with trade me, but they have come in handy in some emergency situations. There was that time in Costa Rica when Ray’s Land Rover broke down and my hairband saved the day by  holding together some kind of part until we got home safely…What I find striking about this latest trend is how it appeals to kids of all ages. I’ve seen kids in every grade of high school down to elementary that wear them. I was very surprised when the other day Madelyn, my 4 year old, asked,   “Mommy, can I have some Silly Bandz?”  Really?  Really? She is so cute; I couldn’t resist. She was thrilled with a pack of princess ones and Jeremiah (not yet 3) is quite satisfied with his dinosaurs.

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The last day of school is not my favorite day. Maybe most teachers feel relieved and excited, but I always feel a little melancholy and nostalgic. This year in particular because I am saying goodbye to the same students I have had for two years. Also, with baby number three arriving this Fall, I will not be returning next year. Because I love teaching, love my students, and love the school, this makes me sad.  It was a  big year for our school because we graduated an eighth grade class — two boys and two girls, some of whom have gone to this school their entire life. Today we had our Awards Program where we recoginized the student’s achievements. One of the 8th grade girls asked me to accompany her on guitar while she sang  “Goodbyes”  by Savannah Outen. I thought that was reallly sweet.  This year my class blew me away with a very generous parting gift.  They gave me a blue  iPod Nano (to replace my missing Shuffle) with the inscription:  “We love you Mrs. Cox!! 7th and 8th grade class of 09-10.”   Wow! Unbelievable! I am speechless, floored, and so blessed!  I’ll embrace summer next week. For now, I’m letting myself grieve, reflect, and rest.

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  Jeremiah:  “Too high!”

  Madelyn: “He’s going to fly to Jesus’s house!”

This was a very exciting weekend for our family! It started on Friday when Matt and I both took the day off from our jobs to take the kids Titusville. Titusville, the town acros the river from Cape Canaveral,  is about a three hour drive from here. It is a perfect place to view the Kennedy Space Center launch pads and the shuttle lift off. At approximately 2:20 pm, on May 14th, we joined an estimated 40,000 people to watch the space shuttle Atlantis blast into space for its last mission. We wanted to make sure we got see this historic event (especially since our current adminstration has diabiolically decided to discontinue the space program).  There are only two shuttle launches left. It was a perfect sunny Florida afternoon, absolutely gorgeous. It was totally worth the drive, the traffic, and the crowds to experience the thrill of the launch. On the car ride home the kids passed their space shuttle toy back and forth reinacting the count down and blast off.

Only we did not drive all the way home. We drove to Kissimmee, home of Walt Disney World (and a dozen other theme parks). We got a great deal on a kid-friendly hotel and spent the evening there in the hotel pools. Madelyn is an absolute mermaid and it is fun to watch Jeremiah grow in his confidence around the water. They thought the hotel was a great vacation in itself. The next morning, we thrilled the kids even more with their first trip to the Magic Kingdom!  We spent all our day between Fantasy Land and Toon Town. Madelyn got to meet three Disney princesses (Cinderella, Belle, and Jasmine) and saw her favorite, Ariel, in the afternoon parade. Jeremiah loved the Dumbo ride and Madelyn loved “it’s a small world.”  Matt’s favorite was the train and my favorite? I don’t know… I loved it all!  The most precious thing to me was seeing their faces light up and their eyes get wide. Everything to them was “real” and new and exciting. Madelyn cried when we had to leave, and we were all pretty worn out at the end of the day. We didn’t take a lot of pictures due to the heat and the crowds, but here are a few with a funny video: here.

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Hurray!

Keegan Riley Cox,

born to Jesse and Vivian Cox, entered the world today!  

He arrived at 11:17 pm;

8lbs, 9 oz, 21.5 inches long.

Congratulations Jesse, Vivian and, big brother, Xander!

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