The Cox Family

  This month, we have the opportunity to celebrate a Christian legend! Before we get to the ideas I have for your celebrations, let’s dig into a bit of the history behind St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know: -         St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, but he was born in Roman Britian in the late 4 th century. -         He was kidnapped at the young age of 16 and enslaved in Ireland. -         While he did escape, he returned to convert the Irish to Christianity. -         By the time of his death, he had established monasteries, churches, and schools. -         On March 17, 461 he died. -         In 1737, the   17 th of March became the day to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick In honor of St. Patrick, many celebrate in different ways. Here’s a lis...

  As a busy working mom, sometimes I feel like things haven’t quite been handled as eloquently as I would have liked. There is stress in my life that just seems to take over. Between work and personal commitments, something’s got to give. Am I alone here or is there anyone else feeling similarly?   Let me give you a little information about me. I am a 43-year-old married mom of a 22-year-old daughter and 18-year-old daughter. My oldest has some special needs, but the medical system here is failing her because she isn’t handicapped ENOUGH to get a diagnosis. I was even told by multiple medical professionals “Yes, I can see she’s high-functioning autistic, but because she’s over the age of 18, I cannot give you an official diagnosis.” You wanna talk about discouraging. That doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt last year hearing those words for the third time in as many months. I felt like I’d failed my child.   On the other hand, her sister has anxiety and has ...

 This month, we will embark on yet another beautiful season and perfect opportunity to begin as fresh as the flowers are sure to bloom. Spring is the perfect time to refresh and rejuvenate! Here are my top 10 tips to make the most of the season:  Spring Cleaning: We all tend to gather an excess of clutter through the winter months. Clear out the clutter and deep clean your living space. This is a great time to donate those items you no longer need. Remember, one person's trash is another's treasure!  Garden Preparation: No matter if you have a farm, flowerbed, or container garden, now is the time to start planting flowers, herbs, and vegetables. If you aren't currently, maybe consider creating a small herb garden or adding colorful blooms to your patio.  Outdoor Activities: Now is the perfect time to take advantage of the beautiful weather by going for a hike, having a picnic, or family bike ride. Enjoy the beautiful scenery around you as it blossoms.  Seasonal ...

 Ya know, life has a way of suddenly accelerating its pace. Sometimes it leaves us breathless and scrambling to keep up. Whether it's a surge in work responsibilities, personal commitments, or unexpected events, the sensation of being overwhelmed is all too familiar. I've found that the key to navigating these hectic periods of my life lies in the adoption of strategies that help me maintain balance and perspective. I thought I'd share some of those with you today as a way to get back into writing regularly.  1. Understanding the busy periods Busy periods can strike at any time, and often they appear with no warning. These times may be triggered by many factors such as:  seasonal work demands  significant life changes (i.e., moving, expanding the family) a series of social events Regardless of the cause, the impact can feel like an InstaPot of stress and fatigue.  2. Identifying triggers To effectively manage busy periods, I've found it essential to identify the...

 This year is a year that we can choose to go with the flow, stress over what hasn't come yet, or have an attitude about what might or might not transpire. Either way, we will reap what we sow.  Galations 6: 7-9 states "... A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  In this new year, we are setting our sights on Jesus more than ever before. We are in our bible study. We are plugging in at church just as much as we possibly can. We are seeking opportunities to give back. We are intentionally taking time to just be our little family of four. Some of our plans this year include:  Mackenzie has joined the Fine Arts Program Drama team at church and will be competing against other teams in our region with a skit they are...

 I have tried a few times and failed to save this on my computer, so I'm going to try here. Please see below:  Oatmeal Energy Bites Ingredients:  1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter 1 1/3 cups rolled oats 1 tbsp ground flaxseed 1 tbsp chia seed 1/4 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 1 scoop protein powder (I use Shakeology) Instructions:  Mix all ingredients together well.  Using 1 tbsp of mixture, roll into balls.  Freeze to enjoy later.  Hope you enjoy it! 

 Every year, we set "resolutions" and we fail to meet them. Now, please don't take that as me being judgemental, I'm not. I'm simply stating what tends to happen. We are all excited about the new year and set all these unrealistic goals. We might be good for a few weeks, but as the year goes on, we stop doing our new habits and then we get right back in the slump of the previous year saying "I'll start on Monday" or "I'll start on such and such date" but that time never comes.  This year, instead of setting myself up for failure, I have decided to take a different approach. I'm trying out the idea of a bullet journal. You see, I have always kept lists and lists of things and then I lose my lists. What my hope is is that I will be able to have all of my lists in one location and by keeping the journal in my purse so that wherever I go, it is with me to jot down whatever I need to jot down. Will it work, I don't know. But what I d...

  As we prepare to spend time with our families, let us all pause a moment to think about the ultimate gift God gave us: his son. We wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of New Years. Keep reading if you'd like a glimpse into our day today and tomorrow:  baking cookies with the girls wrapping gifts after they go to bed playing santa  attending Candle light Christmas Service Making a new casserole Making overnight sticky cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning.  Our Christmas morning looks like this:  mom wakes up and makes sure everything is just right mom makes a cup of coffee.  kids wake up and yell from there room to make sure dad is awake before coming out.  they find what Santa left them and we do stockings.  it's break time and we bake our breakfast and eat.  then it's all the wrapped gifts and playing with all our new and fun things!  We have a very casual day planned, but it's how we've done it for years and yes, cin...

 As I sit here, we are just 2 more sleeps away from Christmas eve. As I sit here, I am pondering all that has transpired over the last year. Some of it is great and some of it really sucked. As I ponder, I think about how thankful I am for the things that happened. Then realization hits me that the sucky parts are outnumbered by the really great parts and I remember that without Jesus coming to save me, none of this would have been possible. We've been through working from home because of COVID, schooling at home, challenges with cars, car accidents that total our only car, graduations, learning new things, spending time with our loved ones, seeing Grandma, and the list goes on. With all of those things come many feelings, some sad, some angry, some thankful, and some super proud. What remains steady is that love is what got us through them all.  As we look to the new year, we do not know where life will take us, but we know that Jesus Christ will be our cornerstone as we walk...

 My closest friends and family know what a struggle it's been for me to loose and keep weight off. Over the years, the one thing that remains constant is knowing that I MUST get the weight off. Not because I am being vain, but because my health and future depends upon it. I come from a family with a deep history of cancers and diabetes. I have taken the stance of fighting with all I've got to prevent that from hitting me. In the last year, I have:  established regular care with a primary provider gone to see an allergist gone to see a gastroenterologist had labs done With all of that, what we found was:  I have a fatty liver I am prediabetic I have irritable bowel syndrome type D I have a lower than desired Vitamin D level So, the decision had to be made for what to do about my diagnoses. You see, I went to see the GI doctor because of the IBS and my pre-existing gastroesophageal reflux disease. What he asked was that I try the FODMAP diet to identify my triggers and to t...