A Prayer For Comfort.

I come to you guys asking for your prayers. I want you to please keep my uncle and his family in your prayers. I won't say much, because the letter below explains it all. I will tell you this, though. My heart literally broke when I got the news. I cried for their family, and though I feel nowhere near the pain they do, I long for them to be comforted. I asked my uncle if I could share their story and this piece from their hearts with all of you. He said he would love for my blog readers to be included. "The more people praying for comfort, the better." Without further adieu, the letter.

This is the letter we had read at church this morning. Erin wrote it and I think the Holy Spirit guided her to make it great. We were overwhelmed with an outpouring of love.

As many of you know, we have been in the process to try to adopt another child for more than 18 months now. Six months ago, we were matched with a birthmother through our agency Colorado Christian Services, located in Denver.

Despite our initial hesitations, we accepted the match and made the long trip to Denver only to arrive and be told that the birthmother had changed her mind – our fears had proven true. Within 24 hours of hearing this heartbreaking news, we felt the Holy Spirit move in us, we felt his comfort and peace and we drew strength from the love and support of our friends and family. We returned home hopeful, praising God and feeling that the entire experience had been a blessing.On January 22nd, we received the phone call we had been waiting and praying for – we had been matched yet again with a birthmother who was expecting a baby boy.

After 24 hours of praying to God for guidance and wisdom, we accepted this match and began preparing to welcome home our son, feeling confidant that this was the baby God had selected for us. We once again made the trip to Denver, and the day after our arrival we were introduced to the four-day-old baby boy, who we named Finn. It was love at first sight – he was perfect and we quickly grew attached.Our agency was very clear with us that we were taking Finn with the legal risk that under Colorado law the birthparents could have up to two months to change their minds. Letting our hearts be the guide and not wanting to miss out on any more of those precious newborn moments, we signed a contract agreeing to accept placement before the birthparents’ rights were terminated. We truly hoped and believed that what had happened before wouldn’t happen again.Just five days later though, we relived our worst nightmare when our social worker called to tell us that Finn’s birthfather, after seeing a picture of the baby, had decided he wanted to parent.

While Finn’s birthmother still wanted us to raise this boy, she wasn’t emotionally or physically prepared to endure the lengthy legal battle it would require for him to return to us. With great pain and many tears, we were forced to return Finn to our social worker just a few hours later.We were and still are crushed. As any parent can understand, the love that you have for your baby is strong and immediate. The plans that are made in your head for that child while you rock him during the midnight feedings feel so real. And unlike natural pregnancies, we’ve had 18 months to think upon, plan for and dream about our next child. Without ever intending to offend anyone who has experienced the death of a small child or suffered the loss of a miscarriage, that is the closest to how we feel emotionally. We are mourning the loss of our sweet baby boy.

Through all of this, if ever we doubt that God loves us and is the Great Provider, all we have to do is look at our beautiful daughter Corban, whose name taken from Mark 7:11 means, “a gift devoted to God.” And she’s been just that to us – a gift – and more so over the past few days and we treasure her.We ask that you pray for our family as we struggle to cope with this loss, which to us defies any explanation. We pray that as we remain on the rollercoaster ride known as the adoption process, that we will be given an extra measure of God’s comfort, guidance, strength and the toughest of all, patience to accept His will and timing. And, of course, we pray that God will lead us to our next child.We also ask that you pray for Finn – that God will send an entire army of angels to surround him and protect him as over the next few weeks he has already been shuffled from us to a loving foster care family and next to his birthfather, who has a history of being abusive. We pray that somehow through this mess, Finn will grow up to know the love of our Heavenly Father. Pray for Finn’s birthfather, Charles, as he parents this precious child. And pray that his birthmother, Salome, is comforted through this emotionally taxing time and that she can be the mother her other three children need and deserve.Two songs have become especially dear to us lately and they eloquently remind us that we are to “Praise Him Through this Storm” so that he may “Turn Our Mourning into Dancing.” We love you and thank you for the outpouring of support and love and prayers on our behalf.

In Him,

Tim and Erin Cox

Thank you in advance for your prayers I'm sure you will lift up on behalf of my mom's brother and his family. I love you all.

Not Me! Monday

Have you been caught licking the bowl of ice cream clean? Have you been caught singing out loud in your car by the cute boy in the car next to you? Then let it all out! Air out your dirty laundry, and embrace your shortcomings, flaws quirks. Hop on over to MckMama's blog, and see what she has [not] been up to. Come back, though, because you won't want to miss this weeks episode of Not Me! Monday!

We all have a new found love for Chocolate covered strawberries. We have [not] made 6 batches of them in the past 4 days. We have [not] devoured every single batch the day that we made them. We also definitely did [not] justify our fat kid endeavors by saying that strawberries are fruit, and chocolate is made of dairy and cocoa, which is good for you. We definitely did [not] do that. Nope. We are good kids, dontcha' know?

I have a twitter account. I just realized the other day that MckMama (yes, THE MckMama) is one of my followers! I did [not] freak out. I did [not] make extra sure that she is following me. I did [not] refresh my page like 10 times juuuust to be sure. I did [not] run in and tell my mom. I did [not] freak out. I mean, she's just an average person who happens to have thousands of followers on her blog. She's average. I surely would [not] freak out about that. Nope.

Today, on twitter, I uploaded a picture of my fridge. After I uploaded the picture, MckMama sent me a direct message! I did [not] freak out (again) and tell my roommates. Oh, what's that? You want to see the picture I uploaded? Oh, you know, it's just a picture of my fridge. That's all. I did [not] ignore Alyssa when she made fun of me and called me creepy for having a small child's name on my fridge. I did [not] get secretly offended. Rude. I care deeply about how my roommates see me. I would [not] have felt betrayed by Alyssa. I have a grip on reality, you see.

This past week I realized that I literally have no clean clothes. I did [not] re-wear some clothes. Including, but not limited to socks, t-shirts and jeans. I did [not] put off my laundry the other day to take a nap. I'm responsible, you see. I'm a big kid. I can do my laundry, you see. I definitely did [not] resort to wearing my Chick-fil-A t-shirts. That's lame. Who actually has Chick-fil-A shirts? Not me, that's for sure. I'm clean, you see. I do my laundry. True.

Last week was a long week. I definitely did [not] go 4 days without bathing. Eww. That's gross to even type. Again, I'm clean. I would definitely [not] ever do that. Let's move away from that subject. I'm [not] ashamed to admit that.

There you have it folks, what did you [not] do this week? I mean really, it can't be worse than mine. I'm gross. True.

i love you all.

Will You Marry Me?

Ok, I know I'm single. You don't have to rub it in. Totally kidding.

I know I'm single, but I'm still addicted to weddings, proposals, etc. Emily and I kinda freak out when "Say Yes to the Dress" is on TV. We talk about our weddings, our bridal parties, our dresses, etc. etc. etc.

So, I've been thinking. I should definitely be a guy. Ok, that may be taking it a bit too far, but still. I promise you that I have several engagement ideas that would be so cute. Well, I think they'd be cute. You can be the judge of that after you read about them. By the way, my goal for this is to have none of these proposals be expected. No candle-lit junk, no red roses. That's all fine and good, but all expected.

1. The Photo Shoot:

Ask your girl if she wants to get some pictures taken. You know, because it will be fun. (Now, some girls would expect this, but since I have been taking couple pictures lately, it could be worked out.) For example, you could work with the photographer, and have the photographer ask your girl. Something along the lines of, "Hey, I've been dappling in photography, and I was wondering if you and your boyfriend would mind being my models so I can practice some poses." (You know, because people say "dappling" all the time.) Anyways, so, the photographer will take usual pictures, just the norm, and then when it's time, the guy will propose. The photographer will get the whole thing on camera. Perhaps even some pictures before he pops the question of him hugging her with the ring visible to the camera, but not to the girl. The whole event will be photographed. The question, the reaction, the crying, the smiling, etc.

2. The Board Game:

Ask your girlfriend if she wants to play scrabble. She will, of course. Duh. What she won't know, though, is that you will have already super glued "Will You Marry Me?" on the scrabble board. You could also have the letters for "Yes" and you could let her glue them on there. You know, or not. That one, I think would be cute if it was executed right.

3. The Easter Egg Hunt:

This one, obviously, can only be executed around Easter. (duh) Have the plastic Easter Eggs, and have the egg in your pocket or something. That way, she won't find it randomly before she is meant to find it. Then, when it is nearing an end to the egg hunt, you can put the special egg in a bush close to you. Or you know, somewhere close. Then, you can say something along the lines of, "Oh, look. You missed one!" Then? Ba-da-boom, Ba-da-bing. Engaged.

4. The Scavenger Hunt:

Now. This one will give away that you are about to get engaged, but it will still be fun. Not your average scavenger hunt to find the ring, but it will be a scavenger hunt with the guy at the end. The clues along the way will be pictures. The picture will be something that will be found in a place. The place where the clue can be found will be the place for the next clue. Confused? For example, the first clue will be a picture of a book, she will go to the library. If it's a picture of a cookie, she will go to a cookie shop. So on and so forth. The worker at each place will give the girl the next picture clue. Along with each clue, she will pick up something from that place that she will get to keep. The worker will hand her the next clue and the present for her. Send her to the library or a book store with a picture of a book, and her present will be a magazine about wedding planning. Send her to a cookie store with a picture of a cookie, and have a cookie with your last name on it. Send her to a flower shop with a picture of a flower, and have the present be some flowers. Send her to the park with a picture of a swing or slides, and be standing there. She will have her clues, and she will know, but it will still be precious. Like I said, this one gives it away from the beginning, but it's still fun.

5. The Painting:

Buy paint and canvas. Any size canvas will do. It could be finger paint or paint that you'd use a paint brush. Tell her that you guys will both do a painting for each other, and you can't show each other until you are done. You could be creative here, and simple paint "Will You Marry Me?" or you could paint stick figures in a tux and dress along with "Will You Marry Me?" or, you could only do the stick figures, and then ask her instead of painting the actual proposal on the canvas. This would also work at a pottery store. Some towns have pottery stores that you can paint any type of pottery. If you wanted to do it on a plate, that would work too. The same premise stands.

That's all I got. I think they're cute. However, you may or may not. If I was a boy, though, I would definitely use one of these. Or combine them somehow. Like, maybe at the scavenger hunt, you guys could paint something in the park. That way, you're combining two engagement ideas, and she would think that the end of the scavenger hunt was to have a fun painting date in the park.

Ok, I'm done living a in dream world. For a while, anyways.

i love you all.

My Favorite Fruit

Apple.

Ok, actually, my favorite fruit is a kiwi. Or you know, my new found love for chocolate covered strawberries. Ok, that's not new found, it's remembered. We have been making them a lot lately.

Ok, wipe the drool off your computer and continue reading.

I got distracted from the original purpose of this post. The fat kid within took over. Anyways. No, I'm not really talking about fruit. Well, I am, but only Apple.

Not granny smith, gala, Fuji, red delicious, golden delicious, or anything of the sort. Nope. Not that kind of apple.

Well then what do I mean? Why, it's Apple Incorporated. You know, macbook, iPhone, iPod, etc, etc, etc. Steve Jobs is a genius if you ask me. Which, you basically did ask me. You know, since you're reading my blog, and you've made it this far into the post.

I used to be anti-apple. I used to boycott the iPhone and macbook. I'm hard headed, you know, and I don't give in easily. However, when my school jumped head first in to the iKnow program, I jumped on the bandwagon and got a macbook. I thought I would never get used to my macbook. I was wrong though, and everyone else was right.

After I fell in love with my computer, it was so hard for me to adjust when I would use the computer at my house. I never, ever thought I would be campaigning for Apple.

Also, you know my love for my iPhone from previous posts, so I won't go in to that, but I would swear [except I don't] by almost any Apple product. Notice I said almost. For example, I would not swear [because I don't] by this apple product. But hey, one bad seed [or two] isn't too shabby.

The moral?

The Alphabet Roommates

Yep, that's what we are! You know, the alphabet! ABCDE. :)

Confused? Ok, I'll slow down. There are 5 of us that live in PT15. The first letters of our names make the first 5 letters in the alphabet!

A-Alyssa

B-Brittany

C-Christine

D-Deidra

E-Emily

:)

We love our alphabetness. Let me introduce you to the alphabet.

Each member of the alphabet has their real name, and 2 nicknames. One nickname is just random, from random experiences in the room. The other nickname is the old lady nickname from when we became addicted to Phase 10.

A-Alyssa; Also known as Roberta or Agatha.

The the A of our alphabet, and my roommate.

B-Brittany; Also known as Beej Hat or Beatrice.

The the B of our Alphabet, Emily's roommate.

C-Christine; Also known as Christine Housen or Clementine.

I'm the C of our alphabet!

D-Deidra; Also known as Deeds, Deed hat, Der Der, or Dorthea.

(She has the most names)

The D of our alphabet. She lives in the middle room by herself.

E-Emily; Also known as Emerly or Edith.

The E of our Alphabet, she lives with Brittany.

We love our alphabet, and we couldn't be happier. We can be found watching Dawson's Creek, LOST, GSN, HGTV, or the CW. We can be found playing Phase 10, and laughing. We can be found making fun of each other, and making up super hero names. We can be found eating Chinese food. Alyssa, Emily and I can be found drinking Diet Coke. While Brittany and Deidra can be found drinking water or juice. We can be found together basically any part of the day. Oh, and of course, be found together studying in the living room upon occasion. Before Deeds, we were just ABCE. Which was fine, but now with Deeds, we are complete.

We are such nerds that we made a schedule of when each of us had classes so we would know where someone went if they weren't in the room. Yes, we are that nerdy. Oh, you don't believe me? That's ok, here's proof!

The night of the Fire Drill in the dorm. Boo.

Hey, we are happy though. :)

From left to right: D, E, C, B, A. :)

Welcome to our alphabet!

I love you all.

Celebrity Twins

The new facebook craze of people finding the celebrity they look like had me a little down. I don't look like any famous people?!? Hmm, well that just wasn't an okay answer. I decided that I was bound and determined to find a celebrity I look like. Want to see what I found? Ok then.

Remember her? This is Punky Brewster.

This is me. Not Punky. Don't get confused.

This is Punky Brewster now. Well, the actress that played Punky.

Maybe there's hope for me yet! :) Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Have a great night.

I love you all.

Greed

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have a system. Emily, Brittany and I go eat and then go back to the room. We turn on the Game Show Network and we catch the last 10 minutes or so of Family Feud, and then we watch Deal or No Deal.

If you're not familiar with the show, here it is in a nutshell. There are 26 cases with random amounts of money ranging from $0.01 to $1,000,000. The contestant picks a case that they hope has the $1,000,000 in it. They pick the cases that are left, and they are hoping for small numbers. If the cases left have the small numbers, the chances of their case having $1,000,000 is much greater. Periodically, the banker calls and offers them an amount of money based on the cases they've opened. The offer is always significantly smaller than the largest amount they have left, but significantly larger than the smallest amount they have left.

I don't know if that made any sense at all. If it didn't, and you haven't seen the show, just google it. That's all I can do about it. Anyways.

Emily, Brittany and I never cease to be amazed at how greedy people are. The cases they have left could be $5, $10, $25 and $1,000,000. The deal offer from the banker could be $750,000 and they would risk it. You think I'm kidding. It's like, get a grip, people! Seriously.

Then, of course, Emily, Brittany and I laugh at the selfish people when they have $5 in their case. Why? Well, because they turned down $750,000 for the chance at $1,000,000. They deserved it because they're greedy. They look foolish, and everyone who watches the show knows it. Please just watch this guy. It's ridiculous, really.

Please don't be greedy. It's not cute.

Luke 12:15- Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Have a great day. I love you all.