Elvis has left the building!!

So a friend of ours threw Steve a Surprise Party for his 40th, and it was a dress-up party. You were to come as a famous 70's couple. In order to get Steve to come dressed up, he knew it was just a costume party and Steve loves a chance to play dress-up, I mean he will go all out to play another character (he would have been a great actor). He just had no idea this was in honor of him!

Who better to be than Elvis and Priscilla Presley!! I think we pulled our costumes off very well. We had a ball that night, and my feet were never so glad to take those boots off! I think we looked rather HOT!

Yes, Steve even shaved off his go-tee for this party. I loved my make-up. The blue eye shadow looked great..hmm, I might wear it again, but with a little less eye liner!! It was so hot and humid outside that my curls fell, but before I left the house, my hair had a perfect flip. Steve, he just had to throw on the wig--haha I think that is the most hair Steve has ever had on his head even when he did have a head full of hair!! LOL

Private Time

I just had to share. Beau had to potty and grabbed a book on his way to read while he "pooped". Ha, so it is in-breded in boys to just need their private potty time.

Stevie B is 40!!!!

Stevie B turned 40 today!! I can't believe he is entering a new decade! We had a great day. We made it to church just barely in time. Went over to my mom's house for a delicious lunch and hung out there most of the afternoon, came home long enough to get changed and packed up to head to the lake for a nice cook out and relaxation in the nice cool air. Yes, I know it is 100 degrees, but by the lake, in the shade at 6pm, it is really nice!! I think he had a wonderful day.

I wanted to share about the potty experience. BEAU IS POTTY TRAINED!!! I wish I could take full credit for this, but the boy did this all on his own. He is so proud of himself. He wears his monkeys (pull-up with monkeys on them and if he tee-tee's they fade) out in public, and does such an amazing job. He wants to keep those monkeys on there! He has had a few accidents with not "pointing down", but those are minor things. He has caught on so quick! My girls were never this easy. Thank you Lord for giving me this small gift!

Potty Time!!

So yesterday Beau and I talked all day about wearing big boy underwear. This all came about when we went to the pool park on Thursday and he would get out of the pool, run to the grass and tinkle. Thus, he knows when he needs to go! So I have decided to plunge into the potty training. So we made a special trip to Target yesterday afternoon and picked out big boy underwear. He is doing such a good job. Of course I am now asking every 2 minutes "Beau do you need to go potty?" I am sure he is wishing I would shut up!!

Haha, I love this picture. Don't you know when he is older he won't think it is so funny!!! He liked showing them off. While we were at the volleyball game he was showing everyone his "panties". Yes, we live in a girls world at our house and we are working on the whole girls wear panties, boys wear underwear thing, but dang, he can call them panties as long as I can stop buying diapers!!!

Everytime he goes potty in the potty, he gets to get a tattoo. This was his very first Tattoo. Pretty soon he is going to have a sleeve!!! I am so proud of my little man.

Volleyball has started!!

So Volleyball has now officially started. This is a first for us in the Lang household. Aubrey has wanted to play volleyball for a couple of months now. So since she had never played before, she went to volleyball camp last week and loved it. Last night was the first game and we were not sure how the games were going to go since most of the girls had never played before. They played 2 games last night. The first game was rather quick, the other team beat them horribly (They won the first 2 games, so there was no need in a 3rd).

The second game was a completely different story. These girls were busting their tales out there. It was really exciting. The other team won the first game, but not by much. The girls were actually going to the ball rather than watching the ball bounce off the floor. The second game we kicked butt! It was so exciting. So there was a 3rd game to break the tie. We lost by 2 points. We were so proud of the Spikers!!! We can't wait for Thursday!!!

God is Mighty!!

Rick had his surgery on Sunday and everything went just as expected. They do not forsee having to do anymore surgeries at this time, which is wonderful!!! He has plates in both eye sockets, his cheekbones, in his jaw--he is now a true metal head!! They were able to sustain his breathing through a tube in his nose, so there was no need for a trachea!! He has been doing well in the progression of his healing. We spent quite a bit of time at the hospital last night and we were blessed with getting tight squeezes from Rick. He was communicating with his hands. I talked to Kendra this morning and she said they were learning to communicate with his hands, which is very hard communication when it is not actual sign language. He told Kendra he loved her this morning by spelling the word LOVE with his fingers. I believe she was on cloud 9 and is still there!!!!
I just got off the phone with her and he is being extubated right now!! Praise God!! This is such a huge blessing. This is just one more step closer to being home. How far he has come in the past 6 days. Last Thursday we were not sure we would ever get to see Rick alive again. Thank you all for the prayers. The power of prayer is something awesome, and to get to watch, has been a true blessing.

Update on Rick

I got to spend the day with Rick and Kendra. He is looking so much better. He is still horribly swollen, but what an improvement!!! He has a little fever which the nurses told Kendra that is OK.
Steve spent the evening with Kendra and Rick last night and Steve (being Steve) was joking around with Rick and suddenly Rick squeezed Steve's hand. When he is laying there, breathing tube coming out of his mouth, eyes are closed and a protective gel pad is over them to help reduce the swelling, you wonder if he hears anything. Well today I got to witness it!! I was holding his hand talking to him and telling him how gorgeous he looked, that the gown was a pretty color against his skin (I guess I should say real quick, that our relationship with the Cox's has never been one without joking, so it is only right for us to talk with him as we normally are) and suddenly he began moving around and turned his face a little more towards me and made a wincing a little and settled back down. Kendra says she has received several squeezes from him lately. I am not sure if he can really hear us, if these little instances are just coincidental, but I like to look at it as little whispers from God assuring us that Rick is still inside there.
He was going to have surgery tomorrow morning, but this afternoon they decided to move it back to Monday at 3 due to the amount of swelling in his face.

The responding officer from the Lewisville Police Department called Kendra today with some updates about the accident. According to their measurements (and I'm assuming witness accounts), Rick was rounding the corner Valley Ridge when the wheel of his motorcycle hit a curb. Rick lost control of the bike and was thrown 130 to 150 feet. Rick's fall was broken by two pine saplings and their metal stakes, and from there, he tumbled to the ground, landing in the grassy median.
When he spoke to Kendra, the officer expressed amazement that Rick was still alive. He relayed that he and the other officers from the Lewisville Police Department, the officers from the Flower Mound Police Department, and the Care Flight crew all thought he would die from the injuries he sustained. He also said that because of the force with which he was flying through the air, Rick would have certainly died by landing on the concrete instead of in the trees. Moreover, he said if the pine trees would have been just a little older, they wouldn't have had as much give, leaving Rick with more broken bones or killing him.
Thank you all for the prayers. A friend of Kendra's has set up a Caring Bridge website where you can go and check on Rick's progress, sign the guestbook with your thoughts and prayers. There is also a CT Scan taken Wednesday night that allows you to see the amount of damage done on the inside.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/rickcox

Pray for Rick

I need all prayer warriors to get on your hands and knees and begin praying for my dear friend Rick.

Rick was in a serious motorcycle accident last night. He was careflighted to the nearest trauma unit. We met Kendra at the hospital and none us of knew what to expect when we got there since there was not much information given. He was pretty banged up. He is on a ventilator, his jaw is broken in several places, he has a serious fracture on his face from his forehead, down his nose to his left eye socket, and his brain had swelling and bleeding. Last night was very touch and go. They said the 1st six hours were critical, he made it through those long six hours. They then said the next 12 hours are important. During this time they would be waking him up from sedation to see what his responses were, what type of brain damage (if any) was there, along with checking for reflexes to see if there was any paralysis.
We started a prayer chain last night and continued through today getting the word out to as many people as possible. With mine and Steve's job we deal with people all over the US and we have people praying for him coast to coast.
So finally they get results from his CT Scan this morning and the swelling has gone down and the bleeding is minimal!! PRAISE GOD!!! This was the power of prayer!! They have woken him up a few times and he has shown the responses they were looking for (in a positive way) and he is able to do the reflexes as well. Kendra said he is wanting the vent out really bad, but they won't take it out until they know there will be no more swelling in his neck and facial area. He does have another fracture in the back of his head and at the base of the neck they discovered today. They will be doing a MRI today to see deep inside what those injuries entail.
They will begin the first of several surgeries today to rebuild his face. He is not out of the woods yet, but he will soon be!! I have faith that God is not done with him yet!!
Please continue to keep the Cox family in your prayers. Pray for Rick's healing and pray for Kendra to have the strength and endurance to get through this time. Pray for their 2 little children that they may feel safe and secure during this very confusing time.

Alright Already!!!

Ok, so I have now updated my blog. You will find the next 4 blogs to be a great addition. I apologize for being gone so long. Ever since the kids have been out of school I am finding my days to be consumed with my girls social lives. Taking to friends houses, picking friends up. It has been non-stop.

I will add more soon. Aubrey has just started volleyball. She is in v-ball camp this week. Bless her heart, she is soo tired, but she has a smile on her face every day when I drop her off, and a ton to talk about when I pick her up. I am so glad she has finally found something that she loves. Her first game is next Thursday so I will post more pics soon!!

I hope I have given you all plenty to be entertained with!!! Until next time...Tah Tah for now!!

Boot Camp

We had VBS last week and it was a blast. This was the first year that Steve and I were so involved and we really enjoyed it. The theme was B.O.O.T. Camp (Biblical Outlook & Outreach Training). I helped with the 4th grade and Steve played a drill Sergent. I gotta say, he was mean!!! When he was on stage playing Sergent Will he was great. The kids really digged the theme this year.

This picture is funny is so many ways!!! Baron Kane was Sergent Go. These 2 guys did an awesome job owning the stage that week. Where ever they were, they were in character. (Except for this picture. I am not sure this is allowed in the reserves!!)

The last night, one of the volunteers was chosen to be Tarred & Feathered. Of course Kodi was the lucky chosen one!! They poured 3 bottles of molases all down his head and threw a ton of feathers on him. It stunk really bad. I never knew molases smelled so bad. Kodi ended up having to take a swirly shower in the bathroom to wash his hair out at the church!! Too funny!!

If you need a place to take your kids for VBS, Walnut Ridge is the place next summer!!!

Sex & the City

My sister and I went and saw the greatest movie ever a few weekends ago. I can't say enough how much I love the movie. I can't wait to see it again--anyone??

There are a few places in the movie that are STEAMY, but it is the dialogue that all the women in the world love, adore, and admire (and even wish we could live that life).

Watching the movie made me think though about my friends. I have friends that I have known nearly my whole life, and I wish more than anything we had stayed closer as we got older, but I wouldn't trade my bestie for the world!! A true friend is there in all types of need; laughter, tears, anger, more laughs, lots more tears, and even the fights, and the cycle goes again!! I am lucky enough to have a bestie that is there for all of it. She and I have weathered the worst of a fight and we made it through--ha, she is sooooo stuck with me!!!

Beau and the Potty!!??!!

So a couple of weeks ago (I know I am way behind here!) Beau decided he wanted to potty. Steve and I were both on conference calls and Beau brought his potty out to the office and proceeded to pull his pants down and sit.

I am not sure what was funnier to me, the fact that he KNEW what to do and just plopped right there in the middle of the room to do his business, or that he fixed the potty to face the outside where he was talking to birds (We were not fast enough to get that picture).

Unfortunately he never made any boom boom or pee pee, but he had a great time sitting and contemplating life while on the man's throne!! (Plus I got another great picture to show his girlfriends one day!!!)

Note: The flip flops he is wearing, rarely leave his feet! He cracks me up.

Aubrey is 10!!!

I can't believe my oldest is 10!! It just seems like yesterday that she was born. She had those sweet little chubby cheeks. Aubrey was the happiest baby ever! I had more fun dressing her when she was little. She had a bow to go with every outfit. I think I did too much dolling up with her, now she will barely let me put her hair in a pony tail!
I am so proud of the little woman she is becoming. She is a wonderful daughter. She is an incredible big sister. The love she has for Anna and Beau is amazing, so protective! She is amazingly smart. I couldn't be more proud!!

So we decided to give her a cell phone for her birthday. Well, this is all we see now a days. I think the phone is glued to her hand. At least you can call the house now and actually get to talk to Steve or I!!!

Aubrey had a few of her friends spend the night on her birthday night. We went to play Lazor Tag, ate dinner, and came back for loads of ALL NIGHT fun! You know, I thought that having 4 girls spend the night would be no big deal. They are 10. I don't have to entertain them, they do that on their own right!!......WRONG!!! You could say I was up most of the night "monitoring" the activities they were choosing to do. Oh man, can I just say I know the type of kid I was, and that is why I realized I could not leave them unsupervised.
(I was fine until I heard the words shaving cream come out of the mouth of one of the girls. I am not sure what the context was, I didn't need to ask.)

We survived the evening. It took me days to recuperate from that evening. Staying up all night is not as easy as it used to be!!