My Baby Boy turned 5!!

I cannot believe how the time has gotten away from me! Where did these last five years go?

It's just crazy how quickly my sweet little dearies have grown up, especially McCrae...don't these caboose babies know they are supposed to stay

little!?

Here is my little guy on the day he was born, weighing in at

9 lbs. 1 oz.

He was so CUTE!!!! And he still is!!

Even though he can be a little monster at times!!

And make a fine mess when he wants to!


And never under estimate the mischief he can get into!!

He really is a great kid, and brings such a wonderful spirit of joy and happiness into our lives.

We LOVE our Crae-Crae more than words can say,

and we hope this year brings many great and wonderful adventures your way!!

still ALIVE...and kickin'

Hey, all my long lost blogging friends!! I'm back, after far too long of a blogging break. We finally got our own internet connection set-up, so I figured I better get back on top of this little bit of history I'm trying to keep for my family. I don't even know what to say, I think I might have forgotten how to do this. We still don't have a camera to liven up my boring old blog posts with great pictures, so I'll try and do my best to bring you all up to speed on what's been happenin' around the Cox household.
Sadly, it's been six months since my last post, which wasn't very expansive itself. So I don't even know where I should begin. We are still loving it here in our new home, the quiet little town we live in, the ward, the neighbors, and of course all of the new friends we've made here in Monroe are so great!! I'm really enjoying my calling in Young Women's, I just hope I'll get it all figured out here pretty soon. We had a whirlwind summer with Girls Camp, Youth Conference, baseball, and trips to Nana's and Grammy & Papa's. It's kinda nice to be back to somewhat of a routine with school back in. I'm gonna try and post some of our old news for histories sake in the near future, but for now I'm just happy to be getting back to an old hobby I love so much!

Well, well, well...as if a call into the Bishopric wasn't enough!!

I've read on a couple of other friend's blogs just this week about how they must have jinxed themselves, and I believe it must be true for myself as well. Shortly after settling into our new ward I was called in and asked to serve as an Activity Days Leader, and as I mentioned before, I was a little disappointed with the calling. I really wanted to be put in YW where I would be able to work with Sydney!! So, can you guess what's been added to my plate recently?

That's right!! I've been called to be the YW President!! I'm still a little shocked over this one...after all, the reason for reorganizing the YW presidency was because our Bishop's wife was the president, and I certainly didn't think they would be replacing her with the 1st Counselor's wife!! It's been a very spiritual roller coaster ride for me, realizing mostly how evident my Heavenly Father's hand is in my life...first of all, for directing us to this place where we truly belong, and secondly, for inspiring me with amazing sisters to serve with, to love and teach his beautiful daughters. We were sustained as a new presidency on Feb. 21 and was able to take part in New Beginnings on Feb. 28. The girls that took part in putting on the program are so full of the Spirit and have such strong testimonies, I couldn't help but be overcome with LOVE and JOY for them. I am so lucky and so blessed to be able to work with them!!

So, if any of you have any great advice to give, or fun activity ideas...please, send them my way!!

And it came to pass.....

.....that Matt has been called to serve as the 1st Counselor in the

Monroe 4th Ward Bishopric.

(I just had to steal that title and first line, along with the photo from

Matt's mom's blog...THNX!)

Yeah, we thought he was feeling a little overwhelmed before...HaHaHa!! We were definitely surprised by this call, considering the fact that we moved to Monroe a mere 3 months ago. It just goes to show that the Lord is all knowing, and when we trust in Him and follow the promptings of the Spirit amazing things can happen. It is something you never really hope for and you wonder how you will ever survive it. But the sense of peace that comes over you and the increase in Spirit that abounds is just AWEsome!! And when I already had so much love and admiration for my husband that I couldn't imagine loving him any more, it increased ten fold. To see him as a servant of the Lord and putting all his trust in Him has been very inspiring. I am so grateful for the wonderful man I get to spend eternity with!! I know our lives will be greatly blessed because of his service.

So much for "Doing Better"!!

Sorry to say, I'm really not doing any better. I haven't been keeping you all very updated on here, I haven't been cutting back on the chocolate and Dr. Pepper I'm so addicted to, I haven't started any kind of exercise routine like I was hoping to do, and I think I've become lazier than I ever have been!! Wow, that feels like a real slap in the face to actually write it out and read it...maybe that's what I should've done a long time ago!! Well, enough of my wallowing in self pity...let's get around to the updates, shall we?!!!

Matt, is still really enjoying his job and the people he works with. He is having a lot of training right now, which means 2-3 days a week driving down to Cedar City for meetings and that can be a real drag, but it will soon be over!! He has also started the EMT Training Course down here so he can start running on the ambulance for an additional income whenever possible. That's been a little trying on him since it is every Friday from 5-10 pm and Saturday from 8 am -5 pm for the next month and a half, but it will definitely be worth it when it's over!! And to top it all off he's been called to teach the adult Gospel Doctrine class in our ward...can you say "oVerWhelMed"!?! He has alot on his plate right now but he is doing so well dealing with it all...and we know it will all be worth it in the end!! Hang in there, Babe!!

I have just been doing the regular wife and motherly duties...wishing there was more I could do to help take away some of Matt's burdens, but all I know to do is keep supporting him; so, that I will!!! I also received a calling in our new ward to be an Activity Days leader (which I must admit I was a little disappointed with at first, only because Sydney is going out just in time for me to be going in). We had our first activity last Friday and it was pretty fun, I know I will enjoy working with those girls. I am also training to become a Peer Parent, through the DCFS Program. I will be trained to go into homes of families in crisis and help teach the parents basic parenting skills...i.e. , communication, nurturing, disciplining, budgeting, cleaning. I am feeling a little intimidated by it, but I think it will help me alot just in dealing with my own children, and I really hope I can help some of those poor families.

Sydney just had her 12th birthday!! We celebrated by having a sleepover party with eight new girlfriends, it was definitely a FUN, but wild and crazy night!! She finally got the cell phone she's been asking for, we'll see how long she can keep it!! She also just completed her first term at SS Middle School, and I am very proud of her accomplishments. We had a pretty rough transition with moving into a new environment and curriculum part way into the school year, but she seems to be getting it much easier now!! She is dealing with her broken arm very well, can do just about everything with her cast on....and we were very lucky that it didn't have to be reset after the break, just cast. And lastly, with Syd turning 12 she has graduated from Primary into YW and you'd think she's died and gone to Heaven!! She absolutely loves it, and of course, who wouldn't!! She also worked hard to earn her Faith in God Award by memorizing all the AofF and passing off many other goals, way to go sis, we're proud of you!!

Stetson has just been keeping busy playing with his friends, and dominating the rest of the boys in football at recess!! He seems to be constantly bruised and banged up somewhere, but he loves it....it just shows how tough he is I guess. He did have a little run in with a dog 2 weeks before Christmas, and it taught him that he's not invincible!! Him and a friend were walking home from school on Friday, Dec. 11th when a dog came running from a house and just took Stetson down. He jumped up and tried to run but the dog grabbed hold of him again, and because the roads were snow-packed and slick, Stetson couldn't really get his footing to try and get away. His friend was kicking at the dog trying to get him off Stetson, but wasn't having much luck, until the owner of the dog came running out to the street to rescue him. We just happened to be driving up the road and saw the whole thing go down (unfortunately, just a minute too late to prevent it from happening). We took Stetson home to investigate the extent of his wounds, he had a bite mark and big bruise on the inside of his right bicep and an L shaped gash on the back of his right shoulder. Matt called the Sheriffs Dept. immediately and they asked us to meet them at the hospital to fill out a report. So off we went to the Hospital; Stetson luckily didn't need stitches or a shot, just bandaged up and we were good to go. The dog was taken into custody by the Sheriffs Dept. and checked for rabies, and then was put down. (Too bad that wasn't done after one of the other two times this dog bit other people!) Anyway, Stetson now has two good scars to show off to his friends, but it unfortunately has taken away any trust he had in dogs.

Sadie is still doing awesome with her reading and writing her #'s 1-100, she's constantly sounding out words and doing things to prove to us how smart she is! Her and Sydney have been doing the Mini Cheer Clinic with the High School this week and she just loves it, I love watching her do something she has so much fun doing!!

And McCrae is still bored with mom and can't wait 'til he can go to preschool. He loves to do Sadie's homework with her and knows way too much for a kid that can't start school for another year and a half. He's also made a couple of friends that he loves to play with any time he gets the chance!

So, that's pretty much it....the low-down on the Crazy Cox Bunch!! We hope all is going as well for the rest of you, XOXO!!

Holiday Update

Well, here we are, four days into the New Year and I still haven't made any "real" goals for the coming year. I never seem to accomplish them when I do, so I just didn't figure there was any reason to keep making them!! But, yesterday in RS our lesson was on 'Resolutions', so I am feeling a bit guilted into making some goals. After much thought of all the things I need to improve on; physical, mental and spiritual, I've decided to just resolve to DO BETTER!!! So, hopefully I will be better at recording more of our day to day activities, even without pictures.

We had a wonderful Christmas and are always amazed at the many blessings the Lord sees fit to bless us with!! The kids all got what they wanted, SpOiLeD!! Sydney got a new violin so she can start lessons, Stetson got a Compound Bow, Sadie got a Baby that cries REAL tears, and McCrae got a City and train tracks to play with all of his cars. We got to spend time together, with family and friends....what more could we ask for!?!

On Saturday, Jan. 2nd, Sydney was invited to go sledding with some new friends in our ward here. I am such a pushover that I allowed her to go, even though she had tons of make-up homework she still needed to get done before school started again. They went to the greatest sledding hill around, took their maiden voyage down the hill, hit a bump and overturned the sled on top of them. Somehow in the midst of the flying snow, sled and people; Sydney ended up with a hurt arm. So, their sledding trip ended almost as quickly as it had begun and they turned around and brought Syd back home. We took one look at her arm and knew it needed to be looked at, so we headed to the Hospital for X-rays. Sure enough, it was broken, but not just a simple little break they could cast for us....it ended up being a Distal Radial fracture and its displaced, so we have to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon on Tuesday to get it reset and casted. Sounds like alot of fun, right!?!

Well, the kids are back to school and all is well with the world as we know it!! Hope all is well with the rest of you!!

2 <3's, 1 LoVe

Tuesday, December 15th marked 14 wonderful years of marriage for my best friend and I!! It never ceases to amaze me how much our love has grown over time, and I know it will only grow stronger as time goes by. I am so lucky to have this amazing, wonderful, strong, kind-hearted, and loving man in my life...not only for my sake but for my kids also. He is the greatest Dad on earth, he is such a great teacher and playmate, everything that a Dad should be!! I love you so much Matt, thanks for all you do for our family.

We are so lucky to have a daughter of babysitting age in our home now, Matt and I have been able to actually go out together recently. Last week we went to his Christmas Party for work, just dinner and a gift exchange but it was really nice. And for our anniversary Matt got tickets to take me to Michael McLean's Forgotten Carols...it was so awesome!! Of course I did my fair share of crying, the spirit was so strong; it was amazing and beautiful, I just can't even express in words how much it touched me.

Quarterly Update!!

Okay, so it's been a little over three months since my last post; so we'll just consider this our quarterly update for ya'll. If I make it back sooner, GREAT, if not, we'll make sure we at least get back to you sometime in March.

We have been on such a roller coaster ride these last six months that I wasn't sure most of the time whether we were coming or going. But, for now I'm very happy to say we are coasting in an uphill direction!! You all know how we went from our nice big home with room to spare in Saratoga, to the very cramped quarters we shared at Matt's parents home (which we are sooo grateful for, we can't even begin to express our gratitude for all that they have done and continue to do for us!!). We were constatntly running here, there, and everywhere...not really sure where we really belonged!! But, I am so happy to announce that we've finally found our place and are so happy to be in it!!

Matt, after much searching and interviewing, finally got a job which not only provides for our family better, but is more suited for him. He is thouroughly enjoying his new line of work, and is growing so much. And not to mention how much happier our family is in this new endeavor!!

Sydney went from being part of the oldest, Rule the School, sixth graders at SS Elementary, to one of the youngest, newby, sixth graders at SS Middle School. She had a bit of a rough start since we all made our rounds with the swine flu just after moving, but she is really getting the hang of things now, and really enjoys the change. It amazes me how much she seems to be growing and maturing through this experience.

Stetson has done so well in school these past couple of years, since he had the "World's Greatest Teacher" instill such confidence in him. So, of course he is continuing to excel. And he has made some great new friends which makes all the difference when you move to a new town.

Sadie is also continuing to enjoy school, it has been a bit of an adjustment without her bestest friend in her class; but she loves to learn and is starting to read very well!!

McCrae is happy in our new home, he loves having all of his things out of storage so he can play with them; but he gets so bored when the other kids are all at school. He asks me all the time when we can sign him up for preschool, I'm thinking I better at least check into it because most days I just can't keep him entertained.

And, as if my excitement wasn't just jumping off the page as you are reading this, I must say how happy I am in our new place too!! I've been keeping myself so busy just trying to get the house set up, and decorating--doing all the things I LOVE!! I rarely leave the house, which is especially nice after all the time I spent in the van before moving down here. (I had to brag on facebook how I went a whole week with my low fuel light on.)

I hope to keep you all posted as far as our everyday happenings, but I still don't have a camera, so we'll see how it goes. I love reading about what you are all up to, so please keep blogging! Best wishes for a joyous Holiday Season!!

Back 2 School

Well, it's back to school time already and I didn't even get to tell you about any of our summer fun. Not having a camera to take and share pictures with you all just takes all of the fun out of blogging!! So, a quick recap of some of the things we did over our summer break...camping, hiking, swimming, get-aways to Nana's house, just chillin', and a really fun Family "Luau" at the KOA in Richfield. Really not a lot, it seems like our summer just flew by, we blinked our eyes and it was gone; so now it's back to the daily grind, back to the books, and back to crazy chickens running with our heads cut off!!
The kids are excited to be returning to the same school they attended the past two years, even though we're not living in the boundaries. I decided that it was worth it to me to drive them back out there until we know where we are going to end up for sure, I would hate to get them started at a new school and barely be settling in and finding new friends just in time to yank them out to go somewhere else. We hope all works out so they can stay where they are now, we would really love that!!

First day of school, they look so sharp in their new school clothes!! (What a cute pose, huh?! :)

Sydney is in 6th grade this year and so excited to "Rule the School"!! I can't believe she is getting so old, and big enough to share shoes with me (YEAH!!, more for me!)

Stetson is in 4th grade and has such a great attitude about school this year, thanks to last years teacher (we love him sooo much!!)

I hope this school year will be awesome for the kids, I know it can be if they just keep a positive attitude and do their best. They are such good kids and have always been excellent students, keep up the good work guys, I Love You!!!

Oquirrh Mt. Temple Dedication

What a blessing it is to be surrounded by a multitude of our Heavenly Father's beautiful temples. And what a special priviledge it was to attend the dedication of this Holy House with my family. I am so grateful for the wonderful spirit we felt and was able to share with Sydney and Stetson, especially in singing 'The Spirit of God'. As we sang the words "...the veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst" I was so overcome by the spirit that I could not even utter the words of the song, it is a marvelous feeling and I cannot express how grateful I am for my Heavenly Father and all that he has given me. I am especially grateful for my eternal family and for the knowledge I have of my Heavenly Father's plan.