A week off

 Yes, I know, I took a week off. I had only just got back to blogging, but to say that my life has been crazy in the last week is an understatement: 

• One of my neighbors was diagnosed with COVID just about a week ago, so we have been very much watching for our own symptoms and staying away from people as much as possible. She is on the mend and none of us have had symptoms
• Fall allergy season is among us. We've seen a few of the sneezies, but other than that doing well. 
• Work has picked up with me leading one of the largest enablement series we've ever had consisting of more than 40 sessions to schedule, facilitate, package, and communicate out to about 2 thousand employees. 
• Because I am limiting my contact with the outside world until this Thursday, I have been doing all of my Elijah study at home during what would normally be my blogging time. 
• Spirit week is about to start for the kiddo, so we are prepping for that. 
• The Ford had the check engine light come on so we have an appointment for it to go have the thermostat replaced this week (thankful it was only the thermostat)
• Tuning in to church via online is a bit harder because sometimes technology fails us, but I'm doing as well as I possibly can and can't wait to get back on campus. 

Even with all of that, I am still here and working my best to get back on track. One thing I didn't share is that I picked up my first ever quilt from the quilt shop and OMG it turned out beautiful! I can't believe that I took some strips of fabric and ended up with a beautiful keepsake to pass down to generations to come. After that, I was outside for a little bit yesterday and got overheated. My doctor in the spring said that when I have coughing fits to use my rescue inhaler. This was the first time in several months that I've had to do that, but I feel much better today after having used it. 

Let's see, what else - the bible study is really working through 1 Kings 17 where Elijah proclaims that there will be no water to the area for some years and the Lord hides him near Kerith for some time promising that Elijah would drink from the brook. God is saying he will provide. That is something we could all use as a reminder. The Lord provides all our needs. We only need to have faith in Him that he can and will follow through on his promises. 

Finally, Mack introduced me to a new a capella group called Home Free. We are truly enjoying listening to their music together. It's certainly a lot different than her Korean pop she loves so much. 

Until next time, we love you all! 

Do you need rest?

Do you know when you need rest? Sometimes as humans, we try to be like an energizer bunny in the sense that we have very long lists of things to be done, so we don't want to take the time to give our bodies rest. This is not how we were made. We were made to labor, of course, but we were also made to rest and to rest in the Lord. 

 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, or your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns." - Exodus 20: 8-10

This week, I've been laboring so much by fulfilling my commitments at work, with the kids, the house, etc. that I needed rest. I wasn't willing to accept the need for rest, but it was there. Let me tell you, when the need is there, you will find yourself at a point that you aren't going to be able to keep going much longer. 

For me, I typically have very long days that start with a 5 am alarm and end with a 12:30 or 1 am falling asleep. This week was no different until yesterday. I'd started the day like usual, only it was Ryan's day off, so my first alarm was 6:30. Even with that extra rest, I was finding myself running like crazy. Get the kids to the bus. Start work. Stop at noon, take a longer lunch because it was my hair appointment day. Rush through a drive through for some lunch because I was starving. Work another 3 hours. Dinner with the family. We get home and I go to play a few games on my phone before the next task... 

The next task never came. I was so tired, I was asleep before 9 pm. Now, if you haven't figured it out by now, this does not happen for me. EVER. Ryan said this morning, I just knocked out. I hadn't even put my phone on the charger. I slept so hard and for so long, I didn't wake up for 12 hours. 

Today, I feel amazing having had rest. This morning we've already gone grocery shopping, done lunch, and put away the groceries. Next on the list is making a wreath and bible study. So for me, the question becomes "why do we do this to ourselves?" Why do we run until we can't run any longer? Why do we not just rest? All it takes is following a few key words: 

• dedicate time in the presence of God
• devote our talents and treasures for His use and purpose
• prioritize what the world mocks and minimizes
• sacrifice our own selfish desires and ambitions
• feel marginalized and excluded
• break off unhealthy relationships
• uphold our daily spiritual disciplines
• dare to risk bold allegiance to His Word
• resist lifestyles of legalistic, condemning perfectionism
• receive a continuous stream of God's grace
• refuse political correctness over righteousness
• reach out to the weak and disenfranchised
• believe God for more
• pray bold prayers to prove it

All of these things enable us to not only rest in the Lord but to be witnesses to all the world of his love, mercy, and grace. 

Long day

 It's been a crazy long day, but productive one at the same time. 

• Was able to move meetings and get back about 2 hours of my day. That was huge! 
• Got a text from Mack saying she'd had to dissect an earthworm today in marine science. 
• Got tons of prep work done on some projects that are quickly approaching. 

In all these things, I focused on whatever would keep me going because it was a long day. A tiring day. A day when I could have fallen asleep during lunch break and just napped the day away. But I didn't because I have responsibilities and I will not shirk them. Here soon, I'll be leaving with the girls to meet Ryan for dinner and to do some quick grocery shopping. 

The days just never seem to end here lately. The kids have school. The adults have work. We all have life to attend to. There are chores. There are boo boos. There are sicknesses. And the list goes on. Today someone dear to us was laid to rest and we couldn't be there for the service. It broke our hearts, but we couldn't do anything about it. We pray that everyone is doing well and that we will see them all soon. It's hard to be an adult and not be able to go and say our final good byes when our loved ones go to meet Jesus on the streets of Gold, but we have to believe that there's a reason and a plan for us not having been able to go to Florida this time. 

Tonight I have a short post for you because I just need to rest, but I didn't want to not leave you hanging. Because God makes beautiful things and my beautiful friends, we need to lean on one another when we need to. 

Days, they come and they go

 As you are well aware, days may come and days may go, but the important thing is that we follow through on our promises. Just as the Lord follows through on His promises, we must also. This is why it is 9:31 pm and I am just getting to chat with you a little bit. It's been a busy week and and even busier day. However, I am not going to sit here and allow the fact that I am a busy working mom prevent me from entering a journal (blog) entry. So, how did my day go? 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

My day started like no other, it started the night before as I lay in bed trying to calm my nerves. I used to be active in my church. I volunteered on a regular basis. I went to church every Sunday and served on Thursdays (our mid-week service at that church). There came a time when I felt like my generosity was being taken advantage of and after moving out of Florida in 2015, I didn't really settle on another church. God had other plans in mind for me though. 

Since moving to Greenville, SC in April of 2019, the Lord has been guiding me to Greenville First Assembly. At first, I resisted because I was afraid that I would have another situation where I would feel like I was being taken advantage of. Then it was that we only had one car and so getting to church on a regular basis would be a challenge. Next, I allowed the idea that I was in college to dictate what I would and wouldn't do. All of these things culminated in COVID-19 shutting the state down last year. I had watched online here and there. Even when I missed a service, I'd go to the app on my phone and watch the service. Slowly, I was realizing that not only was the Lord calling me, but he was softening my heart to becoming part of a new church family. 

I continued to interact online with the church community. Sunday, I watched live and participated in the tailgate events by submitting a picture of Mack in her Eastside shirt for the team picture giveaway they were hosting. I had made up my mind that I was going to join the Wednesday women's group on a study and see how I liked the church. 

So now that you're up to speed, I can tell you about what I was feeling last night. I was all but trembling with fear about going to the church today. I was worried about my outward appearance. How would I be accepted when I am overweight and I wear sketchers sandals (literally everywhere). I don't drive a BMW (a ton of people do here, because we have a plant here that manufactures them), instead I drive a 2016 Chevy Equinox. I don't have brand name, brand new clothes. As I went to bed, I was worrying, but the Lord brought me to Isaiah 41:10. He wouldn't stop saying it until I had read the verse. It reminded me of those t-shirts we all wore when I was in high school (yes, I'm about to give my age away). They said fear not on the front and had a positive something on the back. I remember mine like it was yesterday. It was like a slate gray. I wore that thing til it fell apart. I want my no fear shirt back. 

I fall asleep finally and at 4 am, I hear something and wake up to find Mack standing in our doorway crying. She was trembling in fear because a nasty round of thunderstorms had woken her. She's still terrified of storms and so it was one of them nights. Ryan left the bed and she crawled in. She grasped my hand like nothing I've ever felt before and fell asleep in bed with her momma. Ryan went off to work and as I got the kids and I up at 7, again, I hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit saying to focus on Isaiah 41:10 today because everything was going to be okay. 

Kids are off to school now and I make my coffee, listen to my daily devotional through the bible app, and read Isaiah 41:10 yet again. Off to work I go and I declare that today is going to be a good day and BAM - tree people come and take down a tree that falls within just a few feet of my car and my downstairs neighbor's car. I go running down to move the Chevy as she moves her Seltos to the farthest spots in our parking pad that we could. Our cars were safe. I go back to work and one of my coworkers asks me what I have planned. I confess that I'm questioning going to women's group because I've been worried about going on site because I literally know not one woman in the church. I hadn't connected with anyone that goes there. 

Work is done. Maddie is taking her daily nap (seriously, what 15-year-old takes a nap daily???) and Kenzie is having some decompress time as she's only been home from school for about 15 minutes at this point. I find what I'm going to wear. I'm stepping out in faith that the Lord is going to connect me with a great group of women. I leave at about 10 after 6. After all, we are less than a mile from the church. I get there and open my email to look at the leader's directions for finding the room. She thought it would have a sign out there, it didn't. But, around the corner comes my answer. I recognize her from seeing her preaching. It's the lead pastor's wife. I ask her where Sisterhood is meeting and she introduces herself and takes me to the door I'd passed by. She is seriously the cutest and sweetest gift God could have given. 

I sit in the room waiting for it to begin and she and I chat a little. She said she thought she recognized me. I said "maybe online" and then we go through introductions when the group gets here. It turns out I'm not the first new person in the group tonight. There was a young woman whose parents had died and she took custody of her two younger siblings, she was new to the church and area. Women from all walks were in the room and introducing themselves. I felt like I could maybe grow to love these women. At the end of the lesson as Brittani is about to dismiss, she said if anyone wanted the week's homework printed, she'd be happy to. Before I could even go up to her and tell her I think I know how she "knows" me, she approached and asked if I wanted an extra book she had. Someone had bought an extra and asked her to donate it to one of the women tonight. This was totally God's timing. You see, I was going to order one on payday, tomorrow. 

The morale of my story is that life happens. Storms come in all shapes and sizes. However, with the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Another wonderful woman once told me to step out bold. To do it afraid. Although I hadn't stepped foot in a women's group in well over 5 years and I was really worried about going, I was obedient to the Lord and I went. I was blessed for it. I was loved on. And I came home realizing that every time I passed that church and every time I watched a sermon online was an opportunity for me to connect with these wonderful people. 

Whatever it is in your life you are struggling with, pray over it (as I have for more than 2 years) and then take the first step. God is calling you to whatever plan he has for you. You just have to step out boldly and walk with Him. 

Yesterday....Today....Tomorrow

 "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

As I think about this passage, I am reminded that we are all on a pathway or road. What we choose to do with that road is ultimately up to us, but we should be cautious as it is never good to dwell on the things of the past. We will not forget them, but the things that happened to and around us in our past is what has molded and made us into who we are today. If your life has been full of plenty, maybe life made you unprepared for a season of famine. However, if you grew up like I did, there were seasons of famine a plenty and that has enabled me to endure more seasons of famine as I grew into adulthood. While I recall these seasons, I don't dwell on them because it will do me no good. Remember the story of Lot's wife. She looked back as they were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. As a result of disobeying the Lord's command, she was turned to a pillar of salt. This visualization alone tells me that it is never a good idea to dwell on the yesterdays when there is so much yet to learn about today and the tomorrows that are yet to come. 

Today, I thank God for all I have because just a year ago, we had but one car. We were just coming back from a time when my husband was furloughed because of COVID-19. I was making significantly less than I am now. But... God. God had a plan. He always has a plan. That plan was written long before we drew breath. I do not know his plan, but I know he has one and I have to trust that he will reveal it in His timing, not mine. 

As we look to tomorrow, we are holding our heads up and hoping for the best. We know that things aren't always easy, but we also know that without God's presence in our lives, we wouldn't be where we are today. We look to the tomorrows that are yet to come and know that we must keep growing in the Lord in order to experience all he has to offer. 

In closing, I pray that if you are stuck in a pattern of worry and frustration over what has happened in the past that the Lord will soften your heart and allow you the ability to no longer fret over times that have passed. To live and love in the moment and to look to the future. After all, the future is where we have the most opportunity for growth in our lives. 

God's calling part 2

 As I went through the day, I wanted to provide some additional verses that may speak to my readers more than the one I posted earlier may have. Here's a collection of verses that just may do the trick for someone: 

• Ephesians 2:10
• John 6:28
• Ecclesiastes 3:10
• Acts 2:37
• Acts 16:30
• Acts 22:10
• Matthew 9:16
• Mark 10:17
• Luke 10:25
• Luke 18:18
• Matthew 7:24
• 1 Samuel 10:7
• 2 Samuel 7:3
• Haggai 2:4
• Zechariah 8:16
• Matthew 7:21
• Matthew 7:12
• Matthew 7:26
• Luke 6:31
• John 6:29
• Luke 24:19
• John 4:34
• John 5:36
• John 9:4
• John 10:32
• John 10:37
• John 15:24
• John 17:4
• Acts 2:22
• 1 Corinthians 16:10
• Revelation 2:26

As you read through these, my prayer for you is that God would reveal ways in your life that you can be living his calling. 

Lord, as we all rediscover what you have called us to do, I pray that you would give us the ability to discern exactly what it is you want us doing in that very moment. I pray that no matter what season we are in, you reveal what we should be doing in that season. Amen. 

A calling

 

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Have you ever stopped dead in your tracks and wondered, "what on earth am I doing with my life? what is it that God wants for my life? how do I know I'm on the right path to doing God's work?" I know I have. At some point in all of our lives, we have to wonder if we are doing what he's planned for us. The answer is a very intimate one and one that only you and God can answer, but we can discuss how to arrive at that answer pretty quickly. To do so, let's ponder a few more questions: 

1. What does your daily life look like? Is your life filled with praising the Lord, prayer, and blessings? Are you giving to others or are you being selfish? Are you seeking the Lord daily? Are you in the word being fed? All of these questions will help you discern if you are truly walking with the Lord or if you are just going through the motions of daily life. 
2. Are you plugged in with like-minded people? I'm not saying you have to be in church every time the doors open, but it has been found that we behave in the same way that others around us behave. If we are hanging out with people who do drugs and curse like a sailor, chances are, we are going to repeat that behavior. 
3. When things go wrong, and they will, are you freaking out and giving up, or are you saying "God, I give this to you"? The reaction we have to unplanned circumstances has a major part to play in how we are walking. 

Let's take some recent things in our lives and think through them. Not many know that in February just before we'd had our Honda CR-V for a year, we refinanced to get a lower interest rate. The day after doing so, Ryan was in a car accident which resulted in the car being totaled. He was doing the good thing - taking our neighbor's daughter to her school while her mom was working so she could pick up something she needed. I got the phone call no one ever wants to get. The teenager was hyperventilating and telling me to get her mom and to get down to the scene that there had been an accident. I immediately went into "oh crap" mode. However, not once did I freak out and give up. Instead I started praising God and praying that they were okay. I got to the scene and Ryan was okay. He was hurt but okay. Both airbags had deployed, I thanked God again. The car was totaled - that's okay, God, you spared their lives. We were without a car - That's okay, the Lord provides (and He did - not only did he have a ride to work everyday, but we had rides to go and find a new car). There are medical bills - praise you, Lord for providing a job that gave us the ability to get good health insurance. The other driver might sue - so what, the Lord has this - and this is why we have car insurance. 

As you can see, every attack that hit us that day, and the days to come, were meant to bring us down. We didn't let it. Our mindset was in the right place during a very difficult time. I can say we were very much blessed that not only have we been able to get the car replaced, but the Lord blessed us in a life-changing way and we've been able to pick up a second vehicle since the crash. Now, we are paying a pretty penny for it, and we now have two car payments. This is tough, but through the use of biblical principles, prayer, and planning, we are making it work. Do we go out on the town all the time, nope. We work God's plan and he blesses us. 

So what's next for us? We believe we may have found a new church family, finally, and will be getting plugged in during the weeks to come. But what about the blog? At this time, we are going to keep it right where it is and continue (or get back to) documenting our thoughts and the adventures we go on (because y'all have missed too many of those). Will the blog always be here? I can't make promises, but I will say that it will go where the Lord leads. 

Much love and many blessings, 

The Cox Family. 

Coming soon

 Although I've been hit or miss, I have loads of new content and ideas coming soon.  The blog is getting a face-lift and I'll post more about the changes later. In the meantime happy Sunday!

We're all human...

Another week has come and gone. I'm already entering week 3 of this 11 week term at school and kicking myself. As I write this, I realize we are all human. We all make mistakes. I accept what I did or didn't do, however I also realize that when paying for an education, you expect certain things. The things I expect are:

• instructors who practice what they preach
• open communication from the school and all who they employ
• instructions that do not leave the student wondering what they are supposed to be doing. 

Instead of my expectations, I have gotten: 

• instructors who do not even bother with hosting a welcome to class session. 
• instructors who do not believe in holding one one-hour session per week to provide an opportunity for the students to gather context into their assignments
• instructors who do not communicate regularly
• an increase in the feeling of not knowing what I am doing. 

As a result, I misinterpreted the assignment for week 2 and didn't realize I needed to include a very important portion of the assignment. This means that I will have a failed grade for that assignment. This particular instructor has stated very clearly that she will NOT accept any do-overs no matter if the issue was at the fault of the student or the instructor. She does not communicate and when asked if she would host weekly live lectures so that our questions could be answered, she responded in no uncertain terms to tell us that she would NOT be offering ANY live sessions during the course of the entire term for BOTH of the classes she is my instructor for. 

What this means for me is that I have to work even harder to try and learn information that I really could use support from my instruction team for. I am incredibly upset with myself for misunderstanding the requirements, however I will be bringing all of this to the attention of the college. I understand that each instructor may interact differently, however when the entire class is online and they know that students are going to have questions, to just block the ability to get those questions answered is just not acceptable. 

On to bigger and better things. Everything in our personal lives is pretty normal, except for our car bahahaha! Ryan and I went into CityTRENDS the other day just to see what they had and wouldn't you know that by the time we came out, Sir-kicks-alot decided that he didn't want Ryan to be able to open his door. We are blessed to have a neighbor who is a mechanic so in a couple of weeks, the guys are going to take the door apart to fix it. He said that it's a quick fix because some pieces inside of the door have just dry rotted over the years and so it's time for a little maintenance. 

This is just a first world problem, and so we are blessed that it's nothing more serious. Ryan and the girls are up in the mountains today while I'm here getting a headstart on some homework and housework for the week. 

Yesterday, while grocery shopping, we stopped in the Christmas Shop at Walmart to price our next christmas tree. I am happy to reveal that this year, we will have the biggest tree we've ever had! We are going to be getting a 7.5 foot tree and the topper will be just as magical as ever! We've decided to go with Frosty's Magic Hat for the topper and traditional red, green, black, white ornaments. We may add just a touch of rustic, but really, it's just going to be a beautiful explosion of classic on our tree. 

The girls had a ton of fun going through and looking at ornaments and trees. We then had a discussion about how they really never got interested in halloween and that I am perfectly fine with that. We talked about how we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior and that we bless others because we have been blessed. 

Really, it's been a great week! 

Current Happenings

So, I started working on this one over the weekend, but life happened...

Today, I want to write about things that have been happening in our lives. As everyone is aware, we are no longer living in Florida. As much as we loved the weather there, it just never really felt like home. We felt like we were working simply to pay bills and nothing more. We wanted so much more out of live and for our children.

You'll also remember that we tried Western North Carolina. We felt closer to home there, however due to extenuating circumstances we found ourselves back in Florida for a stint. We knew that this was just a temporary thing as we explored where we felt like we could be "home". This was a longer process than we thought as it lasted 3.5 years, but what we learned during that time was so very important.

We made friends. Some were but for a season and others were lifelong. We learned that while working full time, I could homeschool the girls if necessary. We learned just how responsible our oldest daughter could be when needed. There were so very many more lessons learned during this time. Our family as a whole really did some growing up during that time.

Over the course of that stay in Florida, we had opportunities to do fun things, yes, but it did not come cheap. We could have used the money experiencing the area to secure housing elsewhere, but we didn't know where we wanted to be. Where we wanted to be hadn't surfaced yet, so we allowed our family to have some get-aways.

This past January we took our family on our first ever family cruise. We came away knowing that we wanted to go again, just as soon as we could. We knew this would be the last hurrah before our move. We had decided to give Greenville, SC a try. More on our experience to come.

During the 3 months before our move, we grew ever so close with our neighbors and friends. Nick, Rebekah, Walter, Alex, Krysta, Liam, and baby Izzy will forever have a place in our hearts. We miss them so much that it hurts. They started as neighbors, but by the time we moved they were family. During one of our evenings of sharing a meal at their large outside table, Kenzie even learned that Toby (their beautiful dog) was a friend. For the first time in I couldn't tell you how long, she loved on a dog. She's tolerated them in the past, but she just wasn't a fan. So now, we can add Toby to the very short list of dogs she loves.

Maddie became one of the best baby Izzy sitters! She absolutely loved loving on this precious miracle baby. There was never a time when I needed something for her that Maddie couldn't go right over and pick it up for me. You see, we loved having the opportunity to babysit her from time to time. There were even times when Izzy became part of one of my afternoon meetings :)

The experiences with this family could go on and on. That's a whole other post.

As a final hurrah and my birthday party, we decided to have a grilling session over at their house. The love they showed all of us was just nothing short of JESUS.

Fast forward a few days and we found ourselves leaving the love of this family for our new home in Greenville. We had looked at several cities in South Carolina, but none really worked out. I was on a call with work and Ryan applied for an apartment. Within an hour, he got the call that we had gotten the apartment. That was the sign for us that it was time to go. We had just a month to get things packed up, purged, etc and leave. We left a few days early and went up to his parents house for the weekend and then move in day.

During the weekend, we shopped around for furniture and were blessed with the use of a truck. More than that, we were blessed with a recliner and sleeper sofa. You see, we needed to replace our furniture, so we were starting from scratch. When we moved in, we were on air mattresses and had just the bare essentials due to some blessings we've received.

I am not going to lie and say that it hasn't been a tough few months, but I will say that even through the trials and tribulations we have walked through, we are right where we are supposed to be. We are in one of the best apartment complexes we've ever lived in. Yes, the base rent is a bit more than what we were paying in Florida. However,  it includes so much more. We now have at least double the space we had there. A pool, outdoor kitchen, dedicated balcony with storage room, fishing pond... The list goes on. What is even more impressive is that this complex comes with water, cable, AND internet included! How often can we say that. Because we have so many of our utilities included in the base cost, it ends up being that we are paying less for the apartment and utilities than we did in Florida.

The girls are in the best schools in the district. Maddie attends the only middle school for global and traditional studies in the district. She was one of the blessed kiddos who was zoned for this school so she didn't have to go on the lottery pick list. She was a little nervous starting school this year because she'd never had to change classes, but she's a pro at it now. She loves her science teacher, but her favorite class is Math. She's part of a release program where every Monday she goes over to a local church for some enrichment on a spiritual level during her related arts program. She's a Greenville Middle Academy Spirit Lifter. You may ask, what do you mean?... Well, she joined the chorus! She's doing amazing and learning so much! She's looking forward to the big chorus winter concert and going a few days later to see A Christmas Carol at Logos Theater. More than that, she's excited that her mom gets to chaperone this event.

Kenzie (or as the school counselor knows her as, Mack) is doing so very well at her high school. She enjoys being an Eagle and that was so very evident during this past week where her school raised over $100,000 for a charity that supports programs like Make-A-Wish. This was an absolutely amazing experience for all of the children. They got to have fun dressing up for various days, but more than that they realized that they were blessing others when they attended paid events, such as the bonfire they had on campus Thursday night. She's a second year freshman because of the way credits transferred in, but she's only a few credits shy of being a sophomore. With taking a few courses online over the summer, she will be right there! She loves science class and her least favorite is math.

My girls couldn't be more polar opposites could they???

When we came up, we didn't have a job secured for Ryan. We came on the faith that within the first few weeks he would be able to secure work. He did, but then he got a call from THE job saying he needed to come in for some stuff during the day, so he ended up needing to resign his job because they wouldn't let him have the days off he needed in order to take care of the onboarding requirements. So this meant to get the job he really wanted, which was much better paying and a really great opportunity. He resigned from the other one so he could go through that process. It took about 6 weeks and that was pretty tough for us financially, but through blessings we were able to get things taken care of while he was onboarding.

In the mean time, I was promoted to a new position in my department. The manager had decided that we needed someone dedicated to managing our projects. Because I was already juggling most of the tasks of a project coordinator, but this new position meant widening the scope of my role.

[I will go into more details on my position at a later date as things are still being fleshed out.]

As you can see, our lives have reallly changed in the last 6 months and we couldn't be happier. We are in a great location, great schools, and we are starting to bloom where we were planted. Until next time, my friends.

We were lost...

There are times in our lives when we may feel lost. Over the years, I have had my fair share of this feeling. One time comes to mind that I want to share with you. This happened quite a while back, but it is something that I am reminded of frequently.

At the time, Ryan was working for a steel decking construction company. That meant that he was away from home more than he was at home. There were times when he would be gone for months on end. I was a full-time stay at home mom working a 31 business for something to be on the side. I hadn't decided to go back to school yet because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. Being that caregiver of two children is a big responsibility.

On this particular day I had to take him to meet the crew so he could go off on a stint of out of town work. I hadn't driven to this location as he normally carpooled with others. We get him there and on my way home, my GPS malfunctioned and had me going the wrong way on I-75. I had no choice but to look for something familiar. In that moment, I uttered the words "Jesus, take the wheel". A few moments later, I received a sign from above. It was a sign for a city and road I knew would take me back where I needed to be. Yes, it was a much longer route. Yes, I was nervous. No, I did not freak out. I knew that I would arrive where I needed to be.

I drove about an hour out of the way going the back roads through a town I had only been in one time, but knew this road would take me back to where we were living because we frequented the other end of the very road I was travelling.

The morale of this story is that sometimes we rely too much on technology and not enough on our own knowledge of our surroundings to get us from point a to point b.

In Isaiah 41:10, we are reminded "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". As we go forth in our everyday lives, I challenge you to remember not to be in fear. The Lord has this!

Just the other day, we had another little "lost" moment. We had driven home from Walmart in Wade Hampton, SC tons of times because it is our preferred store. Not only is it closer than the one here in Greenville, but it's not as busy. This night, we had gone to pick up some of the things we needed for Mackenzie's eagles day at school. On our way home, we didn't even contemplate what route we would take because we knew it well. Or so we thought...

It was dark due to this being one of Ryan's mandatory overtime days. We still knew the landmarks to look for.

We make the first turn. No issues.

We make the 2nd turn and about 200 yards down the road, it's closed. Every emergency vehicle you could think of was there with the road completely blocked. It was time for the little sedan we drive to take a U-turn and we would have to navigate ourselves out somehow.

We took that about-face and found ourselves turning right on a road we had never been on. We traveled down it for about 20 seconds and both realized this wasn't going to help us. We pulled out our technology and programmed in our home. It turns out that staying on that road for a couple miles would take us right where we needed to be.

Being new to the area, we are learning all kinds of ways to get places. We may have been lost for a moment, but like the old hymn says, we were found.

Share a time when you were lost and how that situation was worked out.

Love,
The Coxes

World Changers

As I sit here pondering how amazingly awesome my kiddo looks with all her crazy blue and yellow hair for school today (I'll include a picture below), I can't help but think how awful that spray was for the ozone layer. I then morph into a thought of what would I do if I could change the world?

Really thinking over it, I think I would do what I am already doing and hopefully others would catch on. You see, it only takes one person doing something repetitively for others to catch on and really want to be part of the cause.

For about a year, I have made it a point to do at least one thing that brightens someone else's day. You see, I firmly believe that it is better to spread love than hate. If we make it a point to be nice and uplift others, they will do the same for us.

I think that if we were more supportive of one another rather than critical and demeaning, we would live in a completely different world today.

Think about it:

You are in a public place and someone is having a conversation with a waiter or cashier and realize they don't have the money they need for the basics. Do you ignore that and then make snide comments or do you give the person what they need so they can buy whatever it is they really needed and pray for them?

I would hope you would say the latter of the two. A quick story from a few years back is why I started this. I was having a girls lunch with my bestie, Juanita. Nita and I were just having a blast talking and catching up as we ate our Apple-bee's. We were going to go to Hobby Lobby after for some shopping around. We sat kitty-corner to an older man who enjoyed his lunch. When it came time for him to go, the waitress came and said her manager wouldn't allow her to pay for his lunch this time. My guess is that he was a frequent and that she normally covered his meal from her tips. Without hesitation, I walked over to him and thanked him for his service and laid $20 in hand. This many was brought to tears by the generosity of a stranger who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The waitress came over to my table after he had paid and left to thank me because she didn't feel right making him pay for his lunch after all he'd done for our country. You see he was a war vet and he was left with little-to-nothing with the state of the economy that year.

After that time, I never saw the man again, but I came away knowing that I had just done the work of Jesus by loving on someone in need. I also made the decision that I needed to make it my mission to lift the spirits of others daily. It may not always be by giving money, maybe they only need a friend to listen to them or someone to pray for them. Whatever they need, I like to provide. Some days, it's a sneak attack on Facebook or Slack to let someone know you are thinking of them. Other days it's making cookies and taking them to a neighbor just because.

What can you do to make our world a better place?

And finally, that photo I promised you:

She's all dolled up and ready to show her school spirit! I'm so excited for all that this year has to bring her and can't wait to see where she goes from here.

Although we have aged... Class of 1999 is still teaching us things

Aged

Recently, I had the displeasure of missing my 20th high school reunion. We have only been in our new home for under 6 months and so we are still becoming acclimated to our new surroundings as well as having to adjust our budget to meet the new cost of living in our new city. This meant that my husband had to get a new job and that was quite the process. As we are bouncing back from a time where I was the only one working for a couple of months, I was reminded that some of the things I thought I "needed" to do were only wants instead.

• We didn't get to go to the lake this summer. 
• We didn't get to go to any of the activities downtown. 
• We didn't get to go to Pretty Place. 

There are so many things we didn't get to do. This doesn't sadden me at all. It just means that I have the opportunity to plan for them and make our trip next year or later in the fall even more memorable.

Last weekend I was hoping that I would have been able to have gone home for my reunion. It has been 20 years since I've seen anyone from high school and to be quite honest, I needed an opportunity to mingle among people my age who had at least 1 thing in common. We are Pirates. Class of 1999. We are unique.

Since I wasn't able to go, I have been seeing pictures on Facebook of the event. Everyone who was able to go had a great time! One thing I noticed was that although we had all aged, there was the group of people together who taught me so many things.

• Leah - to believe in myself
• Jay - that no matter what anyone says I am me and that's all that matters. 
• Cassie - that even if you don't feel it right now, others love you for you. 
• Cindy - that as we grow we only become stronger individuals than we were yesterday
• Leigh - that volleyball is cool! (I may have learned that from your kids though). 
• Amanda and Amanda - that there couldn't be two more beautiful or more friendly Amanda's on earth and that beauty comes from within. 
• Rita - that the strength from within will come at the perfect time. 
• Debbie - that listening to others opinions isn't necessary
• Shamar - that being "short" is perfectly fine because God only let's things grow until they reach perfection
• Daniel - that no matter what others say the only thing that matters is that we do what is best for OUR families. 

This is only a small list of lessons that my CHS Class of 1999 has taught me. Many more have taught other lessons over the years and will continue teaching me lessons. The key is for me to remember that no matter how much I age, I must remember the good and not the bad. Focus on the positive because the negative never gets us anywhere. See you in 10 years friends!

Much Love!!!

Bye bye expectations of others... Hello JOY!

It's hard to write about things that are tough subjects and that is why I simply haven't been writing over the last several years. You see, I have been told what I should be doing for so long that I feel like a shell of a person just striving to do what others think is best for my family.

You see, for so many years I was judged and I still am. People who are supposed to be in my corner are just sitting back there looking at what I do and shaking their heads. They shake their heads because what I am doing is not what they think I should be doing. As I explore more of expectations in this blog post, let's take a step back and see what is really going on.

I have brothers and sisters, yes. However, when was the last time one of them contacted me just to say hi? I can't remember a time. Instead, they reach out when they want something. Whether it's to ask if I know how to do something or to simply tell me that I am stupid, that's the kind of contact I get. You see, when I decided to move out from home at the young age of 18 and move nearly 1,000 miles away they made their decisions as to if they wanted to be part of my life or not. Their actions over the years have proved that I am the black sheep. The one no one wants to be near. This has not only hurt, but also proved that I was right to move away from the dysfunction that surrounds my family.

I have friends, however they are all far away. I am not the type of person who easily makes friends. It takes boatloads of trust for me to build relationships with anyone because of the number of times I've been burned. As sad as that is, I am constantly reminded that my mind works this way for a reason.

I work from home. I am blessed to have had this job for more than 3 years. However, many have shown just how much they disapprove of my keeping this job simply because it doesn't pay as much as they think it should. They don't care that this job has been what has supported my family when it needed to or that it has been what has kept me mentally able to deal with everyday.

I was a stay at home mom, but I was too afraid to tell anyone because my husband didn't make a ton of money, so we would have been judged for me being a stay at home mom.

Even after I started working and my children were bullied at school, I pulled them home and they were doing great with homeschooling I was judged. Because others thought that the children weren't getting enough socialization.

You see, no matter what I do, others see this as not good enough. Because I don't make nearly $100k a year, I am not doing enough for my family. Because I don't always have a smile on my face and willingness to go and do what others want to do, I'm not good enough. Because I don't have a 2nd car I'm not good enough.

There are so many things that people can judge me on, and I am just so tired of it. It has gotten to the point to where I ask "what would so-and-so say about this decision". I can't just do something because it's something that I or my family wants to do. We can't live where we want. We can't work where we want. We can't celebrate milestones the way we want. The list goes on and on. We are all but destined to be robots doing whatever everyone else wants us to do.

This leads me to an article posted on Huffpost where Arabelle Yee discusses expectations and whose we are really fulfilling. The main points of her article are:

1. What ifs
2. Fitting in
3. Expectations
4. Norm

Basically she says that because we have become a society that lives our lives by weighing the pros and cons of every situation, we will always come back to the negative and not do what we really want to do. For me this translates into "what if so-and-so disapproves". I should not have to think about what other people will think about a decision that I have made. I should not have to worry that one of my brothers will tell me that I need to find a place to love and stay there. I should not have to worry that because I have made a decision others will think my children will suffer.

We do this because we are afraid that we will not fit into the mold that society has created for our lives. Because we have grown up in the land of opportunity, society expects so much out of us. These high expectations is what leads to people being depressed. It is what leads to failure. As friends and family  members, we must remember that it is our job to support and uplift one another not judge and talk about our loved ones behind their backs. I am excluded from many things and purposely photo shopped out of pictures people post online because I don't fit the mold that they want to display. This only alienates people further.

Society has decided over the years to apply expectations. This goes all the way down to when we are infants. We expect our children to be sitting by 6 months and walking by 12 otherwise there must be something wrong with them. We expect our teenagers to get perfect grades because we are expecting them to attend ivy league schools on full ride scholarships, but when do we stop and listen to what they want? We do not realize that our fantasies (our expectations) are just that... a fantasy. In the real world, we cannot meet fantasies because that's just what they are. Hopes and dreams set so high that a normal person would not ever be able to reach it.

Finally, we need to take a step back and think about the norm. We need to realize that the norm is only as such because that's what others are doing in a similar way. We must become aware of what the norm is and then live our lives the way we want to live them. We must set aside what others think is best for us and simply do what brings us the most joy.

Dalai Lama said "I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path".

If we really take hold of those words and find a way to make sure that we are not allowing the expectations of others to dictate our lives, we will slowly see the joy come back into our lives a little at a time.

What are some ways you can work to do this?

Trying a weekly menu thing

As I sit here getting woken  up enough to start my work day, I was wondering what I should blog about today. I have Abba playing in the background and thought that I might give you a glimpse into trying new recipes. I'll post a few of the recipes throughout the week, but since the girls and Ryan are a bit pickier about what they eat, I find that incorporating new recipes is the only way to make sure everyone has something they will like.

Since we are on bi-weekly pay cycles, I meal prep and make menus for 2 weeks at a time. Since we are already a few days into it, I'll just start with today (Monday).

1. Bacon Cheeseburger Biscuit Bombs
2. Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers
3. Salisbury Steak
4. Slow Cooker Tortilla Casserole
5. Beef Stroganoff
6. Chicken Fajita Bubble Up Bake
7. Cowboy Casserole
8. Tortellini Soup
9. Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Quesadillas
10. 8 Can Taco Soup
11. Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

A few of these are recipes we have had before and they are amazing. Some of them are new to us and yet others are new spins on things we already eat. We are big on tex-mex inspired foods, so we have that up there several times. 

Decision process for us is always a challenge. If it was up to me, I could eat chicken every day of my life and be fine with that, but the rest of my family needs variety. I try to accommodate them as much as I can. Here's how it went down: 

• Kenzie loves cheeseburgers, so I needed to have something that would give us a spin on a cheeseburger. I've never made biscuit bombs of any type, so I am hopeful these will be okay. 
• Maddie has been asking for a chicken pot pie (she loves it when I make them from scratchish), so Kenzie found this turnover recipe and we thought it might satisfy that craving. 
• We all love Salisbury Steak, but I have never made it, so we thought it might be fun to learn. We normally just buy them premade. Nope, not this time. 
• I love using my crock pot, so I needed a few things that I could use that for. 
• Tortilla casserole because we wanted to try something enchilada inspired. 
• Tortellini Soup because it 's on that my mother-in-love makes and we love it! 
• 8 can taco soup because I've made it before and it's one of my faves! 
• I've been wanting to learn  how to make beef stroganoff, so that was a no brainer. 
• We needed a few more casseroles to round out the menu, so we added: 
• Chicken Fajita bubble up bake to try as a possible new addition to our list of faves. 
• Cowboy casserole because we've had it many times and love it! 
• Maddie and Kenzie love when we have brinner (breakfast for dinner). I am tired of pancakes, so I wanted to do something different. Using our tex mex love, I was able to find a recipe for the quesadillas. I'm hopeful that this becomes something they really love going forward. 
• Last, we love having pizza night, but the girls especially love when we make our own. This time around, we are doing 1 large pizza since it's one of our favorites. The Philly has been one that we have made before and we absolutely love it! 

Shopping process: Last night, with our list in hand, we went to the store and got everything.  Before leaving, Ryan asked if we were going in for a big shop or just for what I needed for a day or two. I said the whole 2 weeks. He rolled his eyes like a teenager afraid of what was to come. As we went through the store, he realized that it wasn't as bad as he thought. For the 11 meals, lunches, and picking up a few things we needed and wanted, but forgot to put on the list, we still had plenty of room in  the cart and I hadn't even spent $110. 

I'll share photos at the end of the week of all of the yummies! 

Performing what mom???

Since Miss Mack is headed to high school, and is 15-years-old, I've been trying to figure out how to approach her about post-secondary education. She's been very rooted in the "I don't want to go to college" thing. This has been a grumbling point for the two of us because I know how hard it was for me to go back to college after 15  years being out of high school. I only want what is best for my kiddos, so figuring this out early is a huge thing for me.

Mack has been in choir since 4th grade. She has loved being able to have that release. Additionally, when we lived in North Carolina, she was asked to be in the high school rendition of Peter Pan. She was a lost boy. We were so used to going into the auditorium for practices and lately, I've been missing that whole lifestyle. She loves singing, and she's known she's wanted to be in music, but she was allowing mainstream media to really impact her decisions. It wasn't until she realized that Mamma Mia was a broadway show before it was a movie that she realized what she really wants to do.

After a quick history lesson from her momma, she revealed "I want to do things like Mamma Mia". Well, with that information, I had a quick talk with her. We discussed her time on stage with Peter Pan. She said she loved it, just not to say her stage cue (Uggawugga meatball). She wants us to look into how she can start to get involved now and not later. So, knowing me, I went right to work.

I contacted our cousing Genevieve and found out that we just need to look around through the local smaller theaters for volunteer opportunities and go from there. So, with that, I found a local theater and I have an email out to them. I don't anticipate an answer today, but I look forward to finding out what we can do. Not only can she go and be part of the education and audition for different roles, but I can go and be part of props and dressing and what not.

Being involved in Peter Pan really brought me back to when my high school concert choir put on Les Miserables. It was one of the funnest things I've ever done. While I didn't try out for a lead because of stage freight, I truly enjoyed being a supporting role, much like Mack when she was a Lost Boy. I really think that this opportunity will be great for her and if she does it and doesn't like it, we will just re-evaluate and then figure out something else that she will love to do since she will be doing it for many many  years.

Jump Off Rock

Jump Off Rock is one of those places that many thing you can go to one time and be done with it. For me, this couldn't be further from the truth. It holds special meaning because it was here that I was introduced to the beauty that is mountain scenery. I wanted to provide some  history into the place for those of you who are interested in going.

At this scenic overlook, you will find panoramic views of the mountain ranges and rolling pastures of the Blue Ridge and Pisgah Mountains. This beauty is unlike any I've seen before. I think that for me it's because of the following passage:

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible" Matthew 17:20

I look at those mountains up on the outlook and am reminded that even with the smallest amount of faith, I can move mountains. It's like my soul receives a hug from the Lord when I see these ranges.

Additionally, when I was told of the Indian history behind the location, something was moved inside of me. This legend has been passed down through many generations and it tells of a young Cherokee Indian maiden more than 300  years ago who heard that her young Indian chief had been killed during a battle. It is said that she climbed to the edge of the rock and jumped off. Indian legends say that on moonlit nights, the ghost of the maiden can be seen on Jump Off Rock.

This legend makes me remember just how much the maiden loved her chief and couldn't live her life without him. Many times through live, we think that we can't live without someone in our lives, but going back to our verse above, we can always know that even with a little bit of faith, our Lord and Savior will help us through. His love for us is beyond anything imaginable.

Ultimately, the view and hiking trails are well worth it to go for a visit, but the history is what really is interesting to me (and this is coming from someone who didn't care for history class in school). 

Our first trip to NC (2004)

Miss Maddie said she had promised that I would give you some history from Jump off rock this week. I am typing this on Sunday and will have it scheduled for one day this week. I wanted to do more than just Jump off rock. I thought I'd give you a run through of just how much NC means to us as a family.

In 2004, Roy, Carol, Grandma (Pappy's mom), Ryan, Mack (15 months old) and myself made the trip from the Clearwater/Tampa area for a long weekend in the mountains to see some family. We met Uncle Dave, Aunt Vicki, Uncle Danny, Aunt Sam, DeeDee, Courtney, Chase, Grandpa Craig, and maybe a few more family memebers (I can't remember because it 's been so long) at the "cottage" that Mr. And Mrs. Walker owned.

The Walkers had let us all meet at their cottage, and it was big enough that everyone had plenty of room. It was the largest cottage I had ever seen. It is situated right on the golf course, so we had lots of fun with a toddler on the green after the golfers had gone in for the evening. At one time, I had a photo of her trying to pick up golf balls from the green. She put one in her mouth so she could get more. Immediately, we got it out of there and helped her, but man was she determined.

Over the course of the week, we enjoyed the cottage and all that Cummings Cove  had to offer, but we also enjoyed historic Main Street in Hendersonville. The trip wouldn't have been complete without going to waterfalls and other fun places.

The ladies went to Biltmore Estate. I kept Mack at the cottage because she was young and I didn't think we would have a good time with a screaming toddler. I made a goal that one day, I would go back to this marvelous place. (More about meeting this goal in a future post).

We visited Looking Glass Falls. It's another of my favorite places. It 's just off of the road and you can go down into the water, if you'd like. It's just so beautiful. Hearing the water splashing down the falls and the smells of nature are just what a city girl needs every now and then.

We also visited Chimney Rock. This was AMAZING. The walk up to it was long and wow! The view was just spectacular. On the way back down, I had Mack on my shoulders since that was one of her favorite ways to travel at that age. Out of no where, Uncle Dave grabbed her off of me and packed her like a little football to the bottom. When I got there, she wasn't so thrilled, but he'd had fun doing it, so that's all that matters, right?

Jump off rock was another place we went on our first trip to the mountains. It was this place that would become near and dear to my heart. The view was spectacular. The ride up to it was slightly nauseating, but it was well worth it. As you saw in the post that Mads did earlier in the week, it's just breathtaking.

After this trip, I knew that I had to make sure that we made it back to the Asheville and surrounding areas. It was just something that had been laid upon my heart. Over the years, we have made a few trips back and each time, we visit new falls and places, but Jump off rock still is one of my favorites. It may be because that was the first place that I visited where I could really enjoy the view and feel so connected to the world.

Here's a list of the places in the Hendersonville/Asheville area that we have visited over the years. If you are planning a trip, it would be worth your while to take some time out for some of these:

• Biltmore Estate
• Jump off Rock
• High Falls
• Triple Falls
• Covered Bridge Falls
• Looking Glass Falls
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Pearson's Falls
• Hooker Falls
• Dupont Forest
• Mount Pisgah
• Ceasar's Head (Greenville, SC)
• Omni Grove Park Inn
• Sierra Nevada Brewery
• Historic Main Street (Hendersonville)
• Pretty Place (Greenville, SC)
• Apple Orchards (tons in the area)
• Feed and Seed
• Chimney Rock
• Lake Lure (On our goal list)
• Woolworth Walk (Asheville)
• Soda Fountain (yum)
• Asheville city trolley tour

As you can see, we've got quite the list and it expands into areas that are not central to Hendersonville, but if you have the time and want to explore, there's plenty to do. I'll schedule posts for each of these areas going forward, but if you have questions about any area, just ask. 

A week with Yaiyai and Pappy in the mountains

Sunday: Mom and dad left to go home while we went to putt-putt golf with yai-yai. We couldn't end our day without a little bit of ice cream. A trip to Mast General was in store for us too. We took a trip to the candy barrel there and brought home a baggie of yummy treats. Yum!

Monday: We went to a place called Bird Rock Falls. It's one of Mom's favorite waterfalls. Pappy took us since Yai-yai was golfing.

 That night, we visited Oscar Blues. There, we got to hear music and see tons of dogs. We've decided we want a golden doodle.

Tuesday: We went to the pool in the community. This was one of our favorite things. Since we don't have a pool at home in Florida, we love having the chance to go to the pool whenever we can.


Wednesday: Another day of fun in the pool. We event went to a water aerobics class with Yai-yai one day. That was really cool.

Thursday: Jump off Rock! Another of mom's favorite places. Yai-yai took us to get some photos that Mom said she wanted.

 Mom has a collection of photos of us around this tree. I think she is tracking us as we grow by seeing us near this tree.

 The last photo we have on this rock was with Dad. It's another one of the favorite photos. I think mom might have 3-4 of the group of us posing here.

We can't get over the history of this place, but the view gets us every time. I'll have mom do a post this week with the history of this place. It's simply really cool. When Dad comes with us, he likes to go exploring so I'm sure that will be in our future too.

Friday: Mom  had been teasing us saying that she was going to go to Mama Mia, here we go again! without us. So.... We got tickets and went with Yai-yai 7  hours before mom and dad had their tickets to go. HAHA! For dinner we had pizza with Pappy.

Saturday: The trip home. We were sad to head home, but we had to. We had McDs for breakfast and then snacked and snoozed all the way home. We saw a black bear on the trip down. Mom surprised us when we got home and bought both of the Mama Mia soundtracks on iTunes. We absolutely love those songs and now we can listen to them anytime! 

After a week visiting with Yai-yai and Pappy, we are happy to be home. Mack chased mom around their SUV so she could hug her first. I sat in the SUV and laughed at them. After the longest hug ever, it was my turn. We had so much fun and can't wait to go it again, but we are happy to be home for a mundane few weeks of rest before going back to school (although Dad has a trip to Busch Gardens already planned and he and I go to wrestling in Gainesville very soon).

Lots of love,
Mads

Planning the Sweet 16!

A child only turns 16 one time. Over the course of history, the age of 16 is one of the big celebrations. When a child turns 16, they are considered to have come of age. Yes, legally they are still a minor, but they have added responsibility.

• They are in high school and must think about their future
• They can get their driver's license
• They are expected to start looking for work in many cases. 

Due to the history, we decided that we would do something epic for Mackenzie's Sweet 16. 

Plans: 

• 5 day CRUISE to Grand Cayman and Cozumel! 

What kid wouldn't want to have a week long celebration, right? So we decided a few months ago to purchase a cruise and take her out on the open sea! Watch for some upcoming posts as we start to shop for the things we will need. 

SPOILER: There will be a formal wear shopping trip in the future! She's not looking forward to that because she hates to try clothes on, but she knows it's for a good reason. 

So, if you have great deals on anything we may need, please post in the comments :)