God's Provision

As 6 pm rolled around on May 8th, I began to get worried because Jeremy hadn't got home from work yet and the boys and I were ready to eat. I started to feed the boys and Jeremy finally came home. He joined us at the table kind of quiet and we both made small talk about our days. After the boys left the table, Jeremy told me the reason he was late. He said his immediate boss had stopped him on his way out the door to tell him something. He was giving him "a heads up" that he was going to be laid off the following week. The company was struggling financially and the company needed to reduce their budget.  As many of you know, Jeremy worked for a small company and his position was the only one that had 2 people doing similar roles.  Because he was the second one hired, he was the first to go.

Of course, both of us were in shock.  Neither one of us saw it coming.  Jeremy was working on creating a mobile apps program, which the company needed to continue competing in the current market.  He was the ONLY one working on it! So they kind of shot themselves in the foot, but that's not our problem.

I've always kind of worn my heart and my emotions on my sleeve, so of course I begin to cry.  My brain begins working overtime on how we are going to survive. My little part-time income doesn't even pay the rent.  Jeremy was great through the only thing.  He continued to remind me that God had a plan for us

God is faithful though and He had a plan (like He ALWAYS does!).  Many people began praying for us and networking for us to help Jeremy find a job.  We are happy to say that just 15 short days later, God has a provided a great new job for him.  He is now working for a small company here in Charlotte called Epic Notion, where again he will be developing/designing websites.  This job comes with many benefits, like working from home, a raise, more vacation days, a new computer, and hopefully better medical insurance than we used to have.  Jeremy's new boss is a believer and really values family time, which is a huge blessing.

We know that in this economy many are struggling to find jobs and have been for a while. We are cannot thank God enough for blessing us and taking care of us.  Thank you all for praying and continuing to encourage and support us.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day this year, our long time friends the Williams asked us over to their new lake house.  We all had a great time playing on the water and the dock, fishing off the pier, and eating yummy food.

Oliver enjoyed riding around in the wagon with one of the Williams' grandsons Griffin. 

Owen and Daddy fishing

The two Papas fishing for our dinner

 The women and kids enjoyed hanging out on the dock

 Amy and her son Grant

Grant found the lake very relaxing

Griffin enjoyed the chips and salsa

Owen then moved onto fishing with Papa

Owen caught his first fish!!

Thanks Williams family for letting us share the day with you.  We had so much fun!

Small Group Fun

Every other Sunday night, our small group from church gathers to dinner with one another. The other Cox family (yes there are two of us) hosted this past week and they have an AWESOME backyard full of fun play things. The boys were in heaven!

Our friend Caron was smart and brought her camera to capture some of the fun memories. Though she took them off all the kids, I'll just share the ones of my cuties.

Almost all the kids (minus 2).  More than half of our group is pregnant so there will 4 more babies to add to the mix soon!

Sweet Adeline

Jeremy's brother Adrian and his wife Jen had a baby girl on March 31st.  Adeline Jade was a whooping 11 lbs 4 oz and 23 inches long.  Jen is a rockstar! 

We are lucky that Adrian and Jen live close by and we get to see them often.  Sadly I forgot to take pictures the first time we met Adeline, but Jen took these cute pictures the first time she came to our house. 

The boys were very enthralled with her and as you can tell, Adeline could have cared less they were there. Owen wanted to give her lots of kisses and as usual had to be reminded to be gentle. Maybe one day they'll have a little sister of their own. I know they would be great big brothers and protectors. :)

Abby

In January 1998, all my brother wanted for his 12th birthday was a dog.  My mom had finally given in to his constant requests and allowed him to get one.  My dad and brother went to get her one night from another city while Mom and I stayed at home contemplating names.  When BP walked in with her that night, she was so tiny and cute.  Surprisingly we had all come up with the same name without even previously talking about it. 

She was such a cute puppy! But like any puppy, she was mischievous. She chewed and ate anything...her favorite being the crotch of ladies' underwear (gross I know!).  As a puppy she would get so excited when people came to visit, that she would always pee in the floor. 

As the years passed, she finally calmed down and spent her days sleeping on the couch.  She always was a healthy dog except for the sty on her left eye.  

April 30th, 2012 at age 14, Abby dog's kidneys began to fail.  She stopped taking liquids and could barely moved.  My mom sadly had to make the decision to let Abby go.  It was a sad day but now she's not in pain .Thanks Abby dog for serving us so well as our family pet for so long. You will be missed!

OIiver @ 17 months

Oliver is becoming such a little boy. My baby isn't a baby anymore. :)

This month his language has really exploded. He will try and imitate anything you say. He is using many multi-syllable words; his favorites are: basketball, outside, apple, balloon, and baseball. He uses all of our names now when calling us; he calls Owen "Oh-wee" and Daddy has now changed into Dabby for some reason.

He loves books and can be found many days pulling and "reading" books by the shelves.

He is very affectionate and gives great hugs. He really has never met a stranger either; he'll go to anyone!He has moved up to the toddler class at the Y. He loves it in there because there are more toys and they go outside. (He is obsessed with going outside!)

Like his brother, he has an infatuation with Curious George. It's the only show he actually will sit down at watch. He also loves the two George stuffed animals we own.

Milk and bananas continue to be an obsession for him. He must have both as soon as he wakes up.

He is still taking 2 naps a day. He takes a short one in the morning at the Y and I'm trying to hold onto it as long as possible because we don't get home from preschool until 1:45 3x a week.

Thanks to the lovely model of his big brother, he started to try and bite. Owen sadly taught him that when they were fighting over a toy and now he thinks it's appropriate. He has also learned to say no and swat at you. Ow vay!
 
 He's a climber too! One day I found him standing in the kitchen chair after I put something in the oven. He LOVES bath time and must get the whole bathroom wet before he gets out! :)

His love for all kinds of balls continues.  He loves putting the baseball on the tee and "hitting" it.  He also likes when you lift him up to dunk the ball in the basketball net. 

It's hard to believe we are only 1 month away from a year and half.  His life seems to be flying by!

 

Fun on the Lake

My brother Brandon owns a boat club on Lake Norman. While my parents were in town last weekend, my brother reserved one of the boats for us to take out Sunday afternoon. Even though it was overcast and a bit chilly, the boys loved being out on the water.

The skipper and Papa waiting to take off

"Where we going Uncle BP?"

Oliver decides he needs to steer the ship with our captain

Oliver loved the front of the boat.  Cooper, BP and Lauren's dog, decided to join him.

We all love the water and are so thankful for BP and his hospitality. :)