Cox & Kin

  Creating a list of crafts for you is not exactly the easiest. I wanted to appeal to everyone and that’s what makes it harder. You see, I have adult children, so the crafting over the years has evolved from kids crafts to what I want for my own home which is a bit more adult in nature. So what’s a mom to do? Head out and find some of the most inspiring people I could to show you what they are suggesting! The Pioneer Woman Good Housekeeping Pinterest I'm sure you can find something for everyone on this list. I plan to share with you what I end up making later in the month, but would love to see what you create as well! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 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 a...

 Everyday, we are faced with decisions. We must decide to get up each morning. We must decide what we will eat and what we will wear. In all of our mundane daily decisions, we often times enter a mindset of what do I need, where will I go, what do I want to do, etc. How often do we intentionally decide to do something to help someone else? If we take stock, I think we would each be surprised by our decisions on a regular basis. So if we were to think about it, would it surprise you that helping someone can be super simple:  buy someone a coffee let someone else go in front of you at the grocery store make dinner for a lonely neighbor offer to sit with a grieving person While those are just a few ways you can help other people, it's meant to just get you thinking. You can help in big or small ways. Many people feel like helping is their mission in life. As you might imagine, we automatically morph to missions as being abroad. Did you know, though, that missions starts at home. ...

Have we ever really thought about what it means to give thanks? Why do we do it? How do we do it? When should we do it? If you're like me, I think about giving thanks after something has been given or on one day a year when we sit around the table and say one thing we are thankful for. However, that's not what we are called to do. We are called to give thanks to the Lord while we are IN it. I am on day 5 of a bible study with the Sisterhood group and it's focus is 21 days of giving thanks. Today I'm chosing to write about day 3. Day 3 talks about the posture we should have when we are giving thanks to the Lord. As you listen to this song, think through what you have that you can be thankful for. Not as a response, but as in this moment something the Lord is doing in your life that you can thank Him for through it.   Now, we are going to do an activity that I've recently learned. While at Sisterhood this week, I was taught how to SOAP the bible. Now, for those of you...

 Occasionally, we need a quick trip to disconnect and really get back to a status quo. It had been almost a year since our last trip to the beach. We needed a trip more than you would imagine. So far, this year has dealt us many blows, and I will not dwell on them. As you know, I believe that dwelling on the negative and things in the past doesn't do us any good. What does help is thinking through the positive and uplifting moments in life. The image to the left exemplifies exactly that - positive and uplifting.  We got to the beach and immediately Mads asked to go walk. We'd driven for 4 hours, but this kiddo NEEDED to get her feet in the surf. She did not care that her jeans would be soaked or that her slides would rub red marks on her skin as we walked back to the hotel and dinner. She just needed to be grounded.  In case you didn't realize, when your feet are in the ocean, it speaks to your body. It heals all the stress and anxiety. It enables you to disconnect from a...

In our lives, we are tested. These tests come in many forms. As you may have read the last time I posted, we have had our fair share of tests. Well, this past week was more of the same. Not only was it a long and stressful week at work, but I had a doctors appointment, I wanted to go to small group on Wednesday, and I wanted to buy a jellyroll for quilting... Not always did I get what I wanted.  Work has been insane. Yes, I know I already said this, but until you really understand how insane it was, I'm going to say it again. For the first time since starting with the company over 5 years ago, I was WAY over my 40 hours, but not because I wanted to be. It was because we are a very small team. I am the only person who can get overtime because I am the one hourly employee. Therefore, to prevent others from working for free, I over scheduled myself. Everything that absolutely had to get done, got done. Even with my boss on a cruise ship, hopefully having the time of her life.  We...

 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 ...

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 ...

 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 bro...