Please click on the link below to read the heart of a young American girl who gave up everything to move to Uganda and help the orphans there. This is just beautiful and very difficult to hear, but I think we all need to hear it. It is so true. What are we willing to give up for Jesus? Take a look at THIS.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Snow, Haircuts & Scripture
Huge Texas Snow: Feb 11-12, 2010
We awoke Thurs morning to a beautiful snow. Since the roads weren't icy, we all had to go to work and school. Unfortunately, Judah was running a fever so my mom stayed with him while I went to work and took Elijah to school. When we got home, Judah was feeling a little better, so we went outside to play.
The boys built a snowman:
They were both so excited to be wearing their "snow boots" :-)
Are you sure we live in Texas??? Crazy!
Judah was all about "boot, coat, hat, hand (gloves), out". When we weren't outside, he was insisting to wear them inside.
These are on Friday morning. It is just gorgeous!!!
You can't even see the street!
The trees were my favorite!
Elijah and I made snow ice cream after Judah went down for his nap on Friday. It was very yummy!
Thank you God for the gorgeous snow...we LOVED it!
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Judah's 1st "Official" Haircut
On Saturday, we decided it was finally time to take Judah to a professional for his first haircut. I mean, he was starting to sort of sport a mullet in the back...NOT COOL! :-) I think everyone at the preschool will be very happy with me for finally buckling down and doing it. It's amazing that he's nearly 2 and we're just now doing this...his hair must grow at turtle speed.
A few "before" pictures while waiting our turn:
We went to the same barber where Elijah got his first haircut. As you can see, he was not too sure about it at first. He was saying, "MAMA, MAMA!!!"
"Seriously dude, quit messing with me, I don't like it!"
"Okay, I guess I need to suck it up, no one is going to save me."
"I am so over this."
"Don't I look handsome? Mama saved all of my curls in a baggy for my baby book."
Then Elijah decided he wanted to chop his off as well, much to Daddy's dismay. Daddy likes it long but mommy is tired of wetting it down every. single. morning for school!
And the finished product for both of my boys. They are so grown up! Almost 6 and almost 2.
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My verse for February 15th:
Ephesians 4:1-2
"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
I have been talking with some lately about your calling and how to know what your calling is. God has a specific purpose for our lives while we are here on this earth...it is not just to coast through until we get to heaven. If we are not in tune with God and His word then it is probably difficult to know what He has called you to do. Also, if we let things hold us back from our calling such as fear, our comfort, money, the opinions of others or anything else, then we are selling ourselves short of the exciting life God has planned for us. I feel like I am starting to get an inkling of some of the things God has planned for me through study of His word, conversations with others and some confirmation...I am praying about this a lot right now and thought this verse would be a good reminder for me to press on in my search.
p.s. I think it's funny after I said the last post was for my 2 fans that I had 2 comments...lol.
We awoke Thurs morning to a beautiful snow. Since the roads weren't icy, we all had to go to work and school. Unfortunately, Judah was running a fever so my mom stayed with him while I went to work and took Elijah to school. When we got home, Judah was feeling a little better, so we went outside to play.
The boys built a snowman:
They were both so excited to be wearing their "snow boots" :-)
Are you sure we live in Texas??? Crazy!
Judah was all about "boot, coat, hat, hand (gloves), out". When we weren't outside, he was insisting to wear them inside.
These are on Friday morning. It is just gorgeous!!!
You can't even see the street!
The trees were my favorite!
Elijah and I made snow ice cream after Judah went down for his nap on Friday. It was very yummy!
Thank you God for the gorgeous snow...we LOVED it!
---------------------------------------------------------
Judah's 1st "Official" Haircut
On Saturday, we decided it was finally time to take Judah to a professional for his first haircut. I mean, he was starting to sort of sport a mullet in the back...NOT COOL! :-) I think everyone at the preschool will be very happy with me for finally buckling down and doing it. It's amazing that he's nearly 2 and we're just now doing this...his hair must grow at turtle speed.
A few "before" pictures while waiting our turn:
We went to the same barber where Elijah got his first haircut. As you can see, he was not too sure about it at first. He was saying, "MAMA, MAMA!!!"
"Seriously dude, quit messing with me, I don't like it!"
"Okay, I guess I need to suck it up, no one is going to save me."
"I am so over this."
"Don't I look handsome? Mama saved all of my curls in a baggy for my baby book."
Then Elijah decided he wanted to chop his off as well, much to Daddy's dismay. Daddy likes it long but mommy is tired of wetting it down every. single. morning for school!
And the finished product for both of my boys. They are so grown up! Almost 6 and almost 2.
---------------------------------------------------------
My verse for February 15th:
Ephesians 4:1-2
"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
I have been talking with some lately about your calling and how to know what your calling is. God has a specific purpose for our lives while we are here on this earth...it is not just to coast through until we get to heaven. If we are not in tune with God and His word then it is probably difficult to know what He has called you to do. Also, if we let things hold us back from our calling such as fear, our comfort, money, the opinions of others or anything else, then we are selling ourselves short of the exciting life God has planned for us. I feel like I am starting to get an inkling of some of the things God has planned for me through study of His word, conversations with others and some confirmation...I am praying about this a lot right now and thought this verse would be a good reminder for me to press on in my search.
p.s. I think it's funny after I said the last post was for my 2 fans that I had 2 comments...lol.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Finally, a new post!!!
I know my 2 fans have been on the edge of their seats for a blog update...so, this one's for you! :-)
Elijah had Western Day at school last week. Here he is in his duds:
He is just growing up so fast! Some things about him right now:
*I think he is officially not a bed wetter anymore (knock on wood :)
*One of his bottom front teeth is still loose but doesn't appear in a hurry to come out yet
*I took him to the dentist a few weeks ago for a check up and he has 3 cavities. :( Poor guy, I guess he gets that from me. I didn't eat a lot of sweets and brushed well but have always had cavities. We will be going back to get those filled in March.
*He is doing really well in school. I met with his teacher last week for a mid-year conference and he is excelling, especially in reading. She said that he had already mastered everything he is supposed to have to go to 1st grade next year.
*He says he is ready for 1st grade because kindergarten is boring. :)
*He wants to have a swimming party for his 6th birthday with a Batman cake.
*He and I have memorized two scriptures together so far. We recite them on the way to school every morning.
*He loves to pester his baby brother...sibling squabbles already.
*He is testing my patience right now as we struggle through homework, video game restrictions and his constant urge to argue with me.
Oh, how I love him though! I mean, just look at him!
Judah at 21 months old:
Oh, Judah Judah. What to say about him. He is a MESS!
*Just this week I have been the parent with the screaming, flailing toddler in the middle of the store TWICE! Once at Walmart and once at Lifeway Christian bookstore. Yikes...I never thought I would be the one on the receiving end of all of the stares.
*Apparently we have started the terrible twos early...I am hoping that means they will end early as well. :)
*His vocabulary has exploded lately, and he will at least try to say everything you ask him to.
*We have started time-outs with him (wonder why:)..and so far they work
*He will be 2 in just a couple of months...I CANNOT believe it!!! Sesame Street party is in the works.
*He is still attached to his pacifier (blah) and blanket (coey)....I have no idea why he calls them that
*He has yet to have a "real" haircut...it may be time soon though :)
*Favorite foods: yogurt, pepperoni, fruit (esp bananas & strawberries), crackers, goldfish, cereal bars and juice...nothing GREEN!
*Recently he adores Kaki, Elijah (yijah), school, his teacher Ms. Pam, his new bff Jace, balls, trains, cars, Sesame Street, dinosaurs and throwing fits (ha ha)
He is teaching me so many things right now and we just love him!!! Don't you like the price tag that he put on himself??? I think he's worth a little more than that. :)
The boys were showing us their muscles here:
We also went to Deacon's birthday party last weekend:
Judah enjoyed his balloon immensely!
And what have I been up to???
*Getting over a cold / congestion
*Teaching at the preschool, which I am loving!
*Spending time with my hubby and boys
*Starting a new Beth Moore bible study with friends from the preschool on Tues nights
*Enjoying bunco with friends once a month
*Growing a precious new friendship (those don't happen as often as you get older)
*A lot of praying, soul searching and growing in the Lord
*Memorizing scripture and
*Preparing for change
Hopefully the next posts won't be so few and far between!
Elijah had Western Day at school last week. Here he is in his duds:
He is just growing up so fast! Some things about him right now:
*I think he is officially not a bed wetter anymore (knock on wood :)
*One of his bottom front teeth is still loose but doesn't appear in a hurry to come out yet
*I took him to the dentist a few weeks ago for a check up and he has 3 cavities. :( Poor guy, I guess he gets that from me. I didn't eat a lot of sweets and brushed well but have always had cavities. We will be going back to get those filled in March.
*He is doing really well in school. I met with his teacher last week for a mid-year conference and he is excelling, especially in reading. She said that he had already mastered everything he is supposed to have to go to 1st grade next year.
*He says he is ready for 1st grade because kindergarten is boring. :)
*He wants to have a swimming party for his 6th birthday with a Batman cake.
*He and I have memorized two scriptures together so far. We recite them on the way to school every morning.
*He loves to pester his baby brother...sibling squabbles already.
*He is testing my patience right now as we struggle through homework, video game restrictions and his constant urge to argue with me.
Oh, how I love him though! I mean, just look at him!
Judah at 21 months old:
Oh, Judah Judah. What to say about him. He is a MESS!
*Just this week I have been the parent with the screaming, flailing toddler in the middle of the store TWICE! Once at Walmart and once at Lifeway Christian bookstore. Yikes...I never thought I would be the one on the receiving end of all of the stares.
*Apparently we have started the terrible twos early...I am hoping that means they will end early as well. :)
*His vocabulary has exploded lately, and he will at least try to say everything you ask him to.
*We have started time-outs with him (wonder why:)..and so far they work
*He will be 2 in just a couple of months...I CANNOT believe it!!! Sesame Street party is in the works.
*He is still attached to his pacifier (blah) and blanket (coey)....I have no idea why he calls them that
*He has yet to have a "real" haircut...it may be time soon though :)
*Favorite foods: yogurt, pepperoni, fruit (esp bananas & strawberries), crackers, goldfish, cereal bars and juice...nothing GREEN!
*Recently he adores Kaki, Elijah (yijah), school, his teacher Ms. Pam, his new bff Jace, balls, trains, cars, Sesame Street, dinosaurs and throwing fits (ha ha)
He is teaching me so many things right now and we just love him!!! Don't you like the price tag that he put on himself??? I think he's worth a little more than that. :)
The boys were showing us their muscles here:
We also went to Deacon's birthday party last weekend:
Judah enjoyed his balloon immensely!
And what have I been up to???
*Getting over a cold / congestion
*Teaching at the preschool, which I am loving!
*Spending time with my hubby and boys
*Starting a new Beth Moore bible study with friends from the preschool on Tues nights
*Enjoying bunco with friends once a month
*Growing a precious new friendship (those don't happen as often as you get older)
*A lot of praying, soul searching and growing in the Lord
*Memorizing scripture and
*Preparing for change
Hopefully the next posts won't be so few and far between!
Monday, February 01, 2010
Memory Verse #2
Philippians 4:6-7
6 "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus".
I tend to worry, worry, worry about things I just shouldn't worry about. I want to experience the peace that God has for me in letting go of those worries and giving them over to Him. I am excited to commit this scripture to memory, and pray that it takes hold in my own life.
I am a bad blogger lately and I apologize for that. I will try to get some pictures up of the kids soon.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
200th post
I just noticed that this is going to be my 200th post - wow! I have been a bad blogger lately and this one is not going to have any pictures - sorry family! We have been busy but I have not taken many pictures lately, and frankly I feel like God is refining me right now. I have more questions than answers, but here are some things that have been on my heart lately:
*Haiti. This just breaks my heart and I feel this pull to do something big to help, but at the same time having the responsibility of my children here at home. I saw a picture from Haiti yesterday that just brought me to tears and my breath literally caught in my throat. It is unthinkable what those precious people are going through and I am really searching to know what it is that God wants me to do about it. We are His hands and feet.
*A major life change is in the works for our family. Jason and I have spent a lot of time on that lately. It will be posted about soon enough but it's not time yet. God is teaching us patience through all of it right now.
*New relationships are challenging me and drawing me closer to God. I am feeling incredibly blessed by church family in the way that I think God intended it to be. Sharing life together and struggles with one another brings you closer to each other and closer to God. I love it.
*I want to be intentional about learning scripture and teaching it to my boys. A friend of mine posted a great idea on her blog that a friend of hers is doing and I am following along. Twice a month (on the 1st and 15th) you pick a new, short scripture to memorize and by the end of the year you'll have memorized 24 scriptures...that's better than the zero I have been trying to memorize. :-) Get a spiral, note card holder to write them in each time and you can keep it with you at all times in your purse or car, etc. Let me know if you decide to do the same. You pick any verses that you want, but I am going to copy my friend's first verse because I like it so much. It is:
Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
I am going to try to be good about posting my new verses on the 1st and 15th of each month. This one will be my Jan 15th verse (and I guess I missed the Jan 1st one...oh well :-) So look for my next one on Feb 1st.
*Not keeping with the "theme": Elijah is a bed wetter - it's genetic and he gets it from me. In the past 2 weeks he has just stopped doing that and I am so happy. He must have outgrown it because I know from experience that nothing can really be done to make a kid quit wetting the bed. No more buying pull-ups for him - yay!
Maybe next time there will be pictures...today you get "Deep Thoughts" by Summer Cox :-)
*Haiti. This just breaks my heart and I feel this pull to do something big to help, but at the same time having the responsibility of my children here at home. I saw a picture from Haiti yesterday that just brought me to tears and my breath literally caught in my throat. It is unthinkable what those precious people are going through and I am really searching to know what it is that God wants me to do about it. We are His hands and feet.
*A major life change is in the works for our family. Jason and I have spent a lot of time on that lately. It will be posted about soon enough but it's not time yet. God is teaching us patience through all of it right now.
*New relationships are challenging me and drawing me closer to God. I am feeling incredibly blessed by church family in the way that I think God intended it to be. Sharing life together and struggles with one another brings you closer to each other and closer to God. I love it.
*I want to be intentional about learning scripture and teaching it to my boys. A friend of mine posted a great idea on her blog that a friend of hers is doing and I am following along. Twice a month (on the 1st and 15th) you pick a new, short scripture to memorize and by the end of the year you'll have memorized 24 scriptures...that's better than the zero I have been trying to memorize. :-) Get a spiral, note card holder to write them in each time and you can keep it with you at all times in your purse or car, etc. Let me know if you decide to do the same. You pick any verses that you want, but I am going to copy my friend's first verse because I like it so much. It is:
Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
I am going to try to be good about posting my new verses on the 1st and 15th of each month. This one will be my Jan 15th verse (and I guess I missed the Jan 1st one...oh well :-) So look for my next one on Feb 1st.
*Not keeping with the "theme": Elijah is a bed wetter - it's genetic and he gets it from me. In the past 2 weeks he has just stopped doing that and I am so happy. He must have outgrown it because I know from experience that nothing can really be done to make a kid quit wetting the bed. No more buying pull-ups for him - yay!
Maybe next time there will be pictures...today you get "Deep Thoughts" by Summer Cox :-)
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Happy New Year!
Happy 2010!!! We did nothing on New Year's Eve except stay at home and watch a movie - didn't even make it to midnight. We are getting old. :-) But in our defense, we got up early the next morning and headed to Little Rock with Jason's parents to visit his grandparents. That has become a tradition every New Year's.
We did a lot of sitting around and talking, but we always enjoy visiting with them, not to mention how relaxing it was. It was bitterly cold so we didn't even venture out over the weekend.
Judah standing with Jill by the fireplace. He was saying "cheese" and he was fascinated with the fire all weekend. He kept telling me, "hot". I am glad he learned his lesson with the floor furnace. :-)
Pappa Mac and Jill with Mr. J
He LOVED their stairs, so we would go up and down, up and down
Jason and his dad made dinner on Sat night - it was yummy!
---------------------------------------------------------
I got a new camera for Christmas and was testing it out with this picture. A little blurry so I need to keep working with it, but it was too cute not to post. :-)
---------------------------------------------------------
On Monday morning, we headed over to Abbie's to let the kids play before Elijah started back to school on Tuesday. She had a gingerbread house they hadn't gotten to over Christmas, so we let the kids decorate it.
---------------------------------------------------------
No pictures with this one, but Jason and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Tuesday. However, since I had bunco on Tues night, we went out on Monday night. We went to Simply Fondue downtown - it was really yummy but very expensive (hence why we were waiting to go there until our anniversary :). The food was good but the experience is what really makes it neat. Then we went to see Avatar at the theater - WOW. Great movie - I loved it! I'm so happy to have been married to this man for the last 8 years - we have had so many adventures and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us!
I was supposed to start back to preschool today after the long break, but the ice cancelled school. :-( I was so looking forward to getting back, so we are just hanging out at home today. Elijah DID have school though, so he is gone - guess I'd better go get some housework done.
We did a lot of sitting around and talking, but we always enjoy visiting with them, not to mention how relaxing it was. It was bitterly cold so we didn't even venture out over the weekend.
Judah standing with Jill by the fireplace. He was saying "cheese" and he was fascinated with the fire all weekend. He kept telling me, "hot". I am glad he learned his lesson with the floor furnace. :-)
Pappa Mac and Jill with Mr. J
He LOVED their stairs, so we would go up and down, up and down
Jason and his dad made dinner on Sat night - it was yummy!
---------------------------------------------------------
I got a new camera for Christmas and was testing it out with this picture. A little blurry so I need to keep working with it, but it was too cute not to post. :-)
---------------------------------------------------------
On Monday morning, we headed over to Abbie's to let the kids play before Elijah started back to school on Tuesday. She had a gingerbread house they hadn't gotten to over Christmas, so we let the kids decorate it.
---------------------------------------------------------
No pictures with this one, but Jason and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Tuesday. However, since I had bunco on Tues night, we went out on Monday night. We went to Simply Fondue downtown - it was really yummy but very expensive (hence why we were waiting to go there until our anniversary :). The food was good but the experience is what really makes it neat. Then we went to see Avatar at the theater - WOW. Great movie - I loved it! I'm so happy to have been married to this man for the last 8 years - we have had so many adventures and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us!
I was supposed to start back to preschool today after the long break, but the ice cancelled school. :-( I was so looking forward to getting back, so we are just hanging out at home today. Elijah DID have school though, so he is gone - guess I'd better go get some housework done.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas in (a lot of) pictures
Christmas Morning
ooooooo, the new batman race car
Kaki came over to give the boys her presents
Elijah loves his Spiderman laptop from Kaki
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Christmas in Gainesville
Being silly with Grangoat on the exercise ball
My boys watching "Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas", an annual Cox tradition.
Awww...Judah and Nana watching TV.
Laur-Laur playing games with the boys on the air mattress.
Opening gifts
Me, Elijah, Lauren and Matt all played Elijah's new board game.
Playing with Daddy...
and Grangoat.
Me and Lauren - aren't we cute? :-)
Jason cooking his yummy asparagus dish
Lauren & Matt got Judah this ginormous sock monkey for his room - guess we'd better start taking sock monkey pictures again huh? :-)
Lauren and Matt, aka "the dorky newlyweds"
Jason being silly
The whole Cox family
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