The Cox Family

 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, cinnamon rolls is a must for us.

 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 the

 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 try to

 Many times, we don't take the opportunity in life to think about connections. Much like the way legos connect to erect the building or vehicle you are trying to create, without connecting pieces, our lives would fall apart. It's not often that we take time to reflect on those connections in meaningful ways. If I am honest, when we moved from Indiana back to Florida, we didn't appreciate the connections we had and so as I look back I wonder what life would have been like if we'd not only appreciated those connections, but supported them in meaningful ways.  Since moving to Greenville, not only have we made connections, but we've made it a part of life to connect with those people we've met that have become more like family than friends. We took the time to find a church that really believes in connecting with their people and not in a way that makes the patrons of the church feel like they are just a player in the game of chess and that player's job is to be

 "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galations 5:13 As we continue on the path to the holidays, we are finding more and more ways to give back to our community. Giving can be simple, as you saw in my last post.  Today I bring you the next installment of Grils giving back.  Last night, Maddie and Mack had the opportunity to further their footprint on humanity. They took a case of water and 40 packs of cheese/peanutbutter crackers to youth group and proceeded to fill two LONG tables full of bags they had helped stuff for the homeless in our area. While what they did won't last for long, it will help those in need even if for just a moment.  Furthermore, Mack is signed up to go volunteer with Operation Christmas Child in Charlotte again this year. She will be helping to fill boxes for children in need.  We are fostering a heart for serving our community and pray th