I am usually super prompt about taking down the Christmas tree after the Holiday’s. I usually wait till after New Years day and then all the Christmas decor is packed back up until the next year; however, this year I’m struggling to tear it all down. I’m not sure if its out of business, laziness or my affection for lighted faux pine but I’m just not ready.

I didn’t post over the Holiday-mostly because I’m so new to this I kinda forgot I had a blog-and because we were kinda busy. We traveled back to Missouri to my folks house and had a great time with Ella’s Nana and Papa and my sister and her family.  My mom goes out of her way to make the holiday’s magical for everyone.  Brandon and I even got to sneak away to see a movie as we had “free” babysitters!

The new year is now upon us. Brandon and I have come to the end of another year where little has changed in our quest to “grow” our family. This past spring we dealt with another heartbreaking loss when I miscarried. We underwent continued fertility treatment with no success and struggled to know what the next step should be. God’s great gift to us in times of despair has always been and continues to be-HOPE!

We can begin this new year with a renewed hope and zeal that God will answer our prayers-maybe not in the way we have planned-but we can rest assured that His purposes will be fulfilled and that our “light affliction” is only for a moment and God will receive the Glory!

I’ll post more about Christmas (pictures included) at a later date.

Happy New year!

Let me just start out by saying I love my friends! Since moving to Bentonville almost three years ago, God has blessed us with amazing friends. We have close friends that we are able to spend countless hours with and not get on each other’s nerves. Our children play great together and we are like minded in our committment to Christ. It’s a beautiful thing!

This weekend we took a short “jaunt” over to Branson with the Chadd family for some fun and relaxation. We spent Friday night at Silver Dollar City, looking at all the lights. Brandon even rode a roller coaster (not really-”fire in the hole” is only considered a roller coaster by 5 year old’s and Brandon). That night Terri and I closed down Kohl’s at midnight and the next day we continued our Christmas shopping. It was an enjoyable weekend.

Here are some pics of our short but sweet weekend in the Ozarks.

Some time ago, my tech savvy husband, obtained this domain name for me and set up this blog. He has great confidence that I have wisdom to impart across the world wide web. I’m not sure I agree with him, but felt it could be a great outlet and positive way to share with friends and family the “goings on” of the Cox household.

I thought Thanksgiving day would be a great “first post” to focus on the goodness of God in our lives. We are spending this holiday in St. Louis with my family and heading off to rural Missouri to spend the day with the Briggs family (my mom’s side of the family). We started this tradition two years ago after my Grandma Briggs passed away and wanted to honor her life by cotinuing to come together and love each other. This Thanksgiving also marks two years since our ectopic pregnancy and our struggle with infertility. I would not have guessed two years ago that we would still be at this place and yet am able to find amazing peace with where God has led us.

I am thankful for the Father’s continued faithfulness in our lives. I’m thankful for my sweet daughter, Ella Grace. I’m thankful for a wonderful godly husband. I hope through this blog to share our struggles through infertility, our journey in ministry (at Bethel Church), joys from our family and life, but most importantly to focus on the goodness of God and give glory and honor to Him.

“The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with Joy” Psalm 126:3