Happy 1st Birthday Owen!

A year ago today our sweet little boy graced us with his presence 2 1/2 weeks early. After 20 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing, we were blessed with this sweet little face at 11:06 pm.
The next few days were hard with him being in the Special Care nursery but we made it through and brought him home to stay.

This year has been so eventful with new jobs, a new city, a new house, and a new church. All along the way we have watched our little man grow and develop into the happy loving toddler that he is now.
You can see his progression in pictures in this Facebook album. On Saturday, we celebrated with our family (and those we consider family :) ). We had a cookout in the backyard until the rain started then we moved the party indoors. Owen enjoyed his first taste of hotdog and cake, his presents, and being the star of the show. You can see the pictures in this album.

Owen, we feel so blessed that the Lord would allow us to be your parents. You have brought so much joy in our lives. Through you, the Lord has taught us what it means to love unconditionally, to sacrifice our own lives for the better of others, and the list goes on. We have enjoyed seeing you reach each milestone and can't wait to watch you reach more. We promise to be here to support, love, encourage, and teach you. We love you Buckaroo! Happy Birthday! :)

For Nana..

Latest Sewing Projects

I've been sewing quite a bit lately and thought I'd share what I've been up to.

This project came out of necessity. Our son has become a beaver! When he gets upset about us laying him down for a nap, he will stand up in the crib and chew on the rails. Our nice cherry crib is now laiden with teeth marks. :(I saw on a friend's Facebook page this cute cloth rail covers from Babies 'R Us and of course knew that I could make them myself. Little did I know how tough it would be. His crib is is curved in the front and the sides are larger in the back. It was definitely a labor of love.

The little booger has already figured out how to undo the velcro on the front cover. I need to go back and put ribbon ties on them like I did the sides.

Next project...Mom's company had a celebration this week for a guy who had been at the company 50 years. (Can you imagine working at the same place 50 years!?). They decided that people would dress up for the different decades and she needed an outfit for the 1950s. Of course she didn't have anything so she asked me if I would help her make a poodle skirt. Sunday afternoon we whipped up this little number. Not my best sewing job but it's done and it fits!Jeremy made fun of me because it doesn't have a poodle on it but a Scottish dog. I told him o'well that's what the pattern gave me. :P Sadly Mom didn't win the prize for the best costume but I think she should have!

About a month ago, one of my friends (who will remain nameless since the gifts haven't been given) asked me to make some baby gifts for 2 of her friends who are pregnant. I had made this friend some when she was expecting and she liked them so much she wanted her friends to have them. This friend picked out the fabrics and I got to sewing.

Set #1: Mint green and rust colored nursing cover, wipes case, and 3 burp cloths. (Picture isn't great because I couldn't figure out a great way to showcase all 3 together.)Set #2: Blue striped nursing cover, wipe case, and 3 burp cloths.
I didn't sew this but it was sewn for me. Our seminary friend and neighbor Mary Beth has started her own sewing business; she makes cute embroidered shirts and monograms. I asked her about sewing up a birthday shirt for Owen since I couldn't find one that I liked. This is what she came up with and I think it is adorable!! I can't wait to see him wear next weekend at his party!

Couponing Works

On September 1st, I went with some of the ladies from the Summit (our old church) to a coupon class in Raleigh taught by Su Soutter. In the class, she teaches you how to combine coupons with sales to maximize your earning potential. She also gives you strategies for collecting and organizing your coupons.

Her story is amazing; she has saved SO much money for her family along with being able to give more to those in need. Since the class, I have been collecting coupons and organizing them in baseball card sheets inside a big zipper binder.

This week Harris Teeter triples your manufacter's coupons up to $.99. I use Su's site along with Southern Savers to match the HT sales with coupons. Because I had grocery shop already this week, I was trying to get things that would ultimately come out as free, meaning when my coupon was tripled it would equal the price of the item or over. You can only use 20 coupons a day so I had it all planned out.

Triples started on Wednesday so Owen and I headed there after work and nap. Sadly many of the staples were already gone like rice, but I was able to come out with quite a stash. I only paid a $1!!!
Because Jeremy and I's cards aren't linked, I sent him back to HT after dinner with more coupons. Here is what he racked up and his savings.After Jeremy got home with more printer ink, I was able to print more coupons. The cashier told me they were restocking that night so Owen and I made a game plan for a return trip today. Again rice was out...people are crazy about some rice! But I was able to get all this.

Overall we bought $112.28 worth of stuff for $15.97!! I am amazed and hooked on couponing! I wish there were more in the budget right now to print more and send Jeremy back tonight. But I need to control myself. I mean we have 15 boxes of pasta of unopened pasta now along with 4 bottles of glass cleaner, and 4 bottles of Tabasco sauce. Who really needs that much!?

Someone's Birthday is Coming..

Owen's birthday is less than 20 days away! We're having a family party on the 26th but I thought I would share the invites that Jeremy created. I thought they turned out so well and I love seeing how he has changed each month.

Wedding Bells are a Ringing!

It looks like the Cox family is going to be growing by leaps and bounds in 2010! I'm so excited to announce that I will have two new sister in laws.

Jesse (Jeremy's oldest brother) and his fiance Emily will tie the knot Memorial Day weekend in Blowing Rock, NC.
Adrian (Jeremy's middle brother) and his fiance Jen...wedding to be determined. (They just got engaged this weekend!) (Jen, sorry I borrowed this pic from your Facebook since I didn't have one of just the two of you. I hope that is ok!)

Congrats guys! We love you and can't wait to share your special day with you!

We've Been Busy..

I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently. It has been a busy week around here; we've gone from having nothing to do to going non-stop.

Monday and Tuesday we had visitors. I already blogged about our first guest but I forgot to mention that Heather came to visit. We were in the same small group in Wake Forest and it was so good to have her come visit. We were so excited to hear that they received their adoption referral the very next day. We can't wait to meet their sweet Ethopian son. :)

Wednesday was my first teacher workday. Most of it was spent in a meeting and setting up the classroom. Thursday was more of the same followed by an open house that night. I'll be with the 3 year olds and boy are they cute. It is definitely a whole different ball game from elementary school. I'm looking forward to Wednesday, which is our first official day. I may be working an extra day or two each week at Mother's Morning Out depending on how many kids come.

Owen, however, is not enjoying Mother's Morning Out. It has been a rough adjustment for him and he has cried/screamed pretty much off and on the whole time. He won't take a nap there and he is spending most of his time being weepy. Last week there were a lot of big kids in his room because their moms were working. Next week, however they will be in a preschool class, and I'm hoping that will make a difference when it just the little guys. He did great when it was just his little friend Charlie in there. I am also hoping that the more we go the more comfortable he will get.

Friday, Jeremy took off and we enjoyed having an extra day with him. He has started to redo the back walkway because it had become sunken.

Saturday, I went with my family to the Carolina/Citadel football game! Jeremy was sweet and stayed home with Owen since it was a night game. I love Carolina football season! While I was sad that my boys couldn't be there, I had a great time with my family. It was great to have my brother home and it felt like old times with just the 4 of us together.We killed the Citadel 40-6 and we even got to see the basketball team receive their national championship rings during half time.

Here is the band spelling out NATIONAL CHAMPS! Basketball players are standing in the middle.

This is close as I could zoom in with my little point and shoot camera of the basketball team. Roy and the starters were on the right.
So that's about it with us. We've really enjoyed having some downtime with family this weekend. Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Special Visitors

Most of you know that Jeremy and I worked at Camp Willow Run for 2 summers while in college. While there, we made friendships that I know will be for a lifetime. Many of the girls I served with and I continue to keep up with each other on a weekly/monthly basis. Today though, however, 3 special ones came to visit! I haven't seen them since Owen was born or longer so it was a special treat.

Whitney with her newest addition...baby Lauren...only 3 weeks old!
Colleen is getting in some practice...holding baby Lauren.
Because in 8 weeks, baby Garrett will be joining us!


The other Shannon loves kids. Here is she is with Kendall, Whitney's oldest.
Then making Owen laugh.Group shot.

I truly love these girls to death and it was so good to see them. Thank you ladies for driving to visit me. Please come back soon!