So I am now teaching the 11 year old primary class at church(since jan) and I am amazed at how much they are teaching me!. Sunday was Easter and we of course were talking baout about Jesus Christ and his Resurrection. A child in my class asked me why when he visited the nephites and his apostles in Jerusalem were the nail marks still present if when you are resurrected your body was to be perfect. HOLY COW!!!! what a deep question and one I had never thought about. This is one of those times that I am SOOOO thankful for the Holy Ghost and its influence in my life. It occurred to me that when the scriptures talk about our perfect form in body at resurrection it's the body that makes US perfect. The scars of the nail prints are what makes Jesus Christ perfect, they are the scars of the Atonement and without them none of us could be made perfect. So He has to have them in his perfected and resurrected form to show us the scars of perfection. Of course I told the class this in a simplified form, but later easter night Brendan and I were talking and I told him about this experience. He said, "WOW, Jess taht is deep!" For him the philosophical geniuos that he is to say that I thought of something deep was a compliment. So think about your life and think of the scars that will make us perfect...Those of our Savior and what he endured for us. This is what Easter is truly about. Have a great weekend, and I'll have a family easter post later when I get the pics downloaded.

Okay so Mackenzie has been tagged. Here are five things you may or may not know about her.
1. She was born on her Ubcle Mic's birthday(19th) oct. 11th while he was in the MTC and Blessed on our 1st anniversary oct 17th.
2. She has been to a foreign country and loves to look at her passport(went to korea while brendan was deployed there for the army for a year).
3. She loves to read and is so excited to have 125 AR points this year( the AR program is new for us so she had to get used to it).
4. She had a head full of CURLY hair until I chopped it off at 3 and she still cries when it gets done...ARGH!
5. She has lived in in 6 states and attended 4 different elementary schools in her short not quite 4 years of school.
one last thing...she is the greatest daughter and big sister ever. without her help I wouldn't get through most days with my hair intact. With brendan working full time at the prison and going to school full-time she has stepped up. hopefully i am not totally messing the poor girl up.
so here is Mackenzie Kay Cox

we tag eli and syd cox, milam boys, and josh groft...of course anyone else who would like to can.

Okay here it is for Kyle. Kyle Wayne Cox was born on September 18, 2004 in Bethesda, Md at the Naval Hospital. He is the stereotypical military conception; daddy was on a hardship tour in Korea and came home for almost a month and you know the rest....nine months later we were blessed with our 9lb 1oz baby Kyle. Kyle was one of those very large babies that is so adorable because he was so chubby. All I can say is I don't think he's gained a whole lot of weight since his one year well baby that was 2 1/2 years ago! Kyle was the happiest baby (after the first 2 months of nap fighting). He has brought so much joy into our lives. As he has grown his personality has developed into a fun loving little boy who absolutely loves to be silly and make people laugh. Sometimes he even reminds me of his uncle Sean which is a little scary!!!!(my brother is 32 and still hasn't matured much beyond 3:)) Kyle fell in love with cars at a very young age and has helped his little brother love them too. Kyle also loves to play football, which shouldn't be too surprising considering who his father is. The thing we try to teach kyle about football and his little brother is that it has to be touch and not tackle. He hasn't quite got the hang of 2 hand touch and not 2 hand push. Kyle has impressed me so much with his intelligence. he can count to 20, knows most of the shapes and can most of the time say all the alphabet(lmop has turned into animal pee with the help of his father), and he loves to "read" books. If only we could get him interested in potty training at 3 1/2...ARGH! Kyle now has chores and every Saturday morning he will ask if it's chore time yet. His chore is to dust and brevan likes to help him too. I just hope this love of chores lasts beyond 4. Kyle is so much like his daddy it drives me crazy sometimes. People who knew Brendan at this age tell me how much he's like him and especially how much he resembles Brendan in appearance. He is finally enjoying primary after 2 VERY LONG months of fighting going to class on Sundays. He loves to sing the primary songs and a new song called apologize that is very popular right now. He'll come up and tell me that "it's too late to apologize, it's too late." We love Kyle so very much and the joy he adds to our little family. I hope those of you who haven't got a chance to meet him yet can someday...even if it means us taking some vacations! hope you enjoy the intro of Kyle......BTW sorry about the pictures. the boys were helping and posted them before i actually had them arranged correctly:)

okay I am going to post kyle in two parts: First photos of his life

from birth until present and second i will tell you about my sweet boy.

Starting from the bottom going up

the first three rows are from kyle's first year. from the time he was born until he turned 1 and had his first farm"cake".

then we have him with all his curls and then his second and third birthdays. enjoy his pictures of the first 3 years of total JOY!

okay just so you all know we are finally healthy again. After the flu and my ear drum rupturing, we okay I am healthy again. So far no one else has gotten sick. I do have a need...How do I get my 20 mos to eat? Brevan is on a food strike I think. Right now he's averaging one good meal a day and some healthy snacks. I am stick about the eating schedule every 3 hours. If they don't eat they have to wait until the next eating time. But with him still young sometimes he's just so honory because he's hungry. I was leaving it one the table and figured when he was hungry he'd eat. that ended up keeping him eating all day long! Kyle never went through this phase so I guess I havew forgotten. any advice would be appreciated. kyle's profile is coming soon!
Have a great end of the week!

Okay so I am a big wuss. I went back to the doctor for a follow up from a bunch of other stuff. It was great timing since I was sick to. So I have a case of influenza, but because I didn't go within the first 48 hours there was nothing he could do that I wasn't already doing. The thing I really am hating is that I have so much drainage in my eustation tubes(ear) that my equilibrium is a tad bit off. ARGGG!!!! and I can't hear out of my right ear. oh well I am fine just a whimp. It sucks when you only get sick once a year because it seems worse than it is. I am just hoping the rest of the family doesn't get it. Just FYI for those of you who got the Influenza vaccine this year.... It doe NOT work against the strain this year. So YOU can still get the virus. That is why I never get it. As a nurse working I was suppose to, but too many people got sick from the vaccine that I didn't want to chance it. plus the vaccine is always based on the previous year's strain. anyways have a great week, Jess

Well here it is march and I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I still need to introduce the other 2 kiddos. That will happen later. We went out of town this past wednesday for 5 days. I ended up with what I thought was a bad chest cold, turned into a horrible case of laryngitis and then a stupid sinus junk. needless to say I have not been this sick in years. I had a doc apt already scheduled for today so i did't worry until yestrday evening when my right ear started hurting and felt like it was going to implode. my wonderful husband came home from class a little early and went to wal-mart anbd found some good earche relief. I am still going to the doctor today. Just hoping my kids don't get the crap. Hope you all have a wonderful alomst spring week.

Okay so my wonderful husband asked me what I really wanted to my birthday this year. I told him to get my hair done. So on my birthday in January he gave me a card with my appointment written in it. What a sweetheart. So today I got my birthday present. Brendan's cousin's wife has her own shop in blackfoot(bridge street Image) and is forever busy becuase she is SOOOO good. I told her what I wanted in Jessicanese hoping she understood. It turned out better than I thought. So here is a picture of my birthday present. THANKS again honey. I love you. oh BTW brendan also got to watch the boys for 3 hours so i could go get it done. it took forever because my hair was past my shoulders and it's extremely THICK. Have a great week!

Brevan Charles Cox....playing in the snow before church(we have afternoon churc h this year) He reminds us of the little kid from christmas story in this snowsuit. So I am stealing the idea from a friend, I would like to introduce and/or update you on Brevan Charles Cox. Brevan is almost 20 months now. He is full of energy and is our little mischevious guy. He was born on July 1, 2006. He came into this world rather quickly and with lots of joy. For those who don't know, we barely made it to the hospital. From the time our car arrived and the time he was born was 20 minutes! He has been such a joyous addition to our family. He absolutely LOVES cars and his bear bear. The other kids have blankies that they are attached to, He has a bear. He plays well with others and has developed his own mind at his young age. If he doesn't want to do something he will sit down and become DEAD weight. He has a temper....IE if you tell him to get out of the kitchen sink, He will stand in the middle of the floor and stomp his feet rather quickly and scream. It's hard not to laugh, but I gently take him to the couch and he will stop his fit. He will then proceed to fold his arms and puff up his lips. It's rather cute, but we don't let him see our amusement. Brevan also loves to torment his older siblings. He sits on kyle or will touch something of his just to hear him scream. He takes a toy from kenzie and will run away laughing as she chases him screaming. Such a tease. With all of his personality has to offer, we know this little guy will accomplish whatever his mind is set to in life. We his parents wereshocked to find out he was coming to our family so soon after kyle, but we know he was meant to come when he did. OUr lives have been richly blessed by this little spit fire of a personality and he will bless the lives of many others. So this is Brevan. Enjoy a few photos of his life up to this point.(R-L))
1. Just after he was born with mom.
2. Daddy changing the first diaper
3. Brevan, Kyle, and Mackenzie welcome home baby B


4. Brevan on his Blessing day
5.dad and baby napping
6. The Cox family on Brev's blessing day(3weeks old)
7.mackenzie and brevan(months old)
8.Brevan chilling out at 3 mos

9.kyle and brevan after bath time

10.happy baby(he really was always) at 4 mos

11.brevan is ready for christmas sunday at 6 mos

12. brevan at 8 months after his first cross country move eating an oreo!

13. Brevan turns 1!

Okay so I am not this total romantic person, but today my husband had surprised us all and had v-day gifts laying out for us when we woke up. What a sweetheart. Then a friend sent me this email containing a video about a man who had pretty much felt worthless, and then one day he was told how wonderful he was. In the video you can see how his countenance changes. I think as women we have this profound effect on the men in our lives, and we need to let them know that they are of great worth and build them up and not down. I love brendan so very much and know that we can be together forever. We have built a beautiful life together and I am thankful everyday for the life we share together. SO hug and kiss those you love especially today. I attached the video. Have a great day!

http://www.maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html

Okay, so I am blogging the day and life of Jessica just so I can try to lessen my business by getting feedback on how to cut down on daily things! So this is how my day goes. I get up at 7 am m-f to get Mackenzie up and ready for school. We have to be out the door by 7:50 so she's not late. That means from 7 a. until 7:55 a I have to do her hair, pack a lunch, get breakfast for her, and if the boys are up Get diapers changed and a cartoon (oh yea and their drinks) on so I can get kenzie ready. I pack them up and we are out the door for school. Then from 8-9 I get the boys dressed, Check all my computer stuff(bank account, emails, blogs, and news), read my scriptures and play referee once in a while. From about 9-9:30 me and the boys eat breakfast. After breakfast until 10, I do my daily house cleaning chores. I am very anal about this time and what gets done. I have list of what will get done during these 30 minutes...I.E. mondays it's clean the bathroom , start the kids laundry, and make my bed. After 10 the day is pretty relaxed until 3pm when kenzie gets home from school. When she gets home she (we) has homework, chore(she has one everyday), snack and finish up the kids laundry and think about dinner. Kyle no longer takes naps so I have found things from daycare i use to use to keep him busy with his homework. Brendan is gone late on mon and tues so I get all the evening chores with the kids too. I also work out 60 -90 minutes m-sat, volunteer un thurs at school, have library day, playdates, and brendan is off on tues and wed so entertainment days. Plus i am our family accountant, nurse, house cleaner, launderer, grocery buyer...you know "moms". I now regret ever asking my mom growing up what she did all day long. It's amazing what us moms can accomplish in a few hours each day. It's hard work and some days I am ( as I am sure many of you are too) just plain exhausted when are husbands come home and want that "alone" time with us. How do you get it all done is usually Brendan's question to me.....Well it's like this you JUST DO IT! there's not a lot of tv watching, cross stitching(like I do that...i hate it), sewing, scrapbooking...you know just relaxing. So I think I need to tidbits on how to do it all and have relaxing time. I feel bad cause brendan is so busy and is gone alot again, but sometimes I need mor ethan just exercising for my down time, but what? Anhyways I am just rambling out my incoherent thoughts. I have enclosed a few pictures of other things us moms do on top of our daily tasks:) Have a great day!

Take cute pictures of our dear children!

Kyle in November

planning that perfect birthday party. Mackenzie's 8th birthday

Cleaning up those unexpected messes,and then capturing them on camera. So you can ENJOY them much LATER!

fdcBrevan letting me know he was finished with breakfast!

So the last few days have been filled with sickness in our house. On wednesday of last week, I couldn't find Kyle. I went downstairs to the family room, a found hime curled up in a corner with a pillow and blancket sound a sleep at 4:30 pm. I laughed at his ability to make his own pallet. It was so cute. I was a littlke scared he wouldn't sleep taht night, but he did. Then thursday he wouldn't eat and started running a fever. In kyle's case a fever is never good, Because HE never runs one even when he had strep last year. So i was a little worried and called my brother-in-law who is almost a NP. He brought over a strep test for kyle, and sure enough he tested positive for strep. Friday we were suppose to go to boise for brendan's monthly drill, but he was able to get out of it. That evening kyle feel alseep and i figured he's slep all night since he was so sick. NOPE he woke up at 10pm, and didn't go back to sleep until 4 am. I was SOOOO tired but managed. It was niced to have brendan home for the wekend and go to church with us after months of not having hime due to work. Kyle is feeling tons better(at least better enough to be honory). Iam so thankful for my dear husband who took vacation to help me out and for kensie being a big help for brevan. It proves once again that we all have important family roles. i love my little family so much. Have a great week.

So I usually don't do these anymore, but this is for my dear sister-in-law melissa. I have been tagged.


A:The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
fEB 10, 1998...I was taking the semester off from Ricks and probably going through one of the worse events of my life.....Rape counseling...I am okay about it now that it's been 10 years!


5 things on my list today:1. Clean the bathroom
2. wash the kids laundry
3. Make a few phone calls
4. work out(did I mention I was training for a hlf-marathon the end of april)
5. Bathe the kids.


5 snacks that I enjoy:
1. Jello pudding snacks with reddi whip(yummy)
2. SF jello with r eddi whip
3. carrots and ranch
4. Crackers
5.fresh fruits and Veggies


3 bad habits:
1.picking the skin around my fingers when they crack which is always since moving to idaho!
2. Being anal about cleaning days(what gets cleaned when )
3. Repeating myself at least 3 times before it clicks that I've already asked or said this before

If I were suddenly a billionaire:I would pay all of our debts off. Then I would pay off all of our families debt off, then food storage for everyone! Then I would finally take that cruise to the bahamas with brendan alone!!!

5 places I've lived:
1. Blackfoot, Id
2.Hanover, Pa
3. Ft. Meade, MD(near Balt/DC)
4. Bicknell, In
5.San Angelo, TX
6. Sorry there's more.....Monterey, Ca
7. Rexburg, Id


5 jobs I've had:1. Stay at home mom (by far my hardest)
2.Nurse for a pediatric home health agency in maryland
3. Family Child Care provider in california liscensed by the good ol' US army!
4. preschool teacher in rexburg.
5. shift manager at mcdonalds(yuck!)

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I have 2 sisters named LISA!.
2. I used to be a girl scout!(me too melissa)
3. I kissed brendan first when I was somewhat engaged to a real jerk(a non member who I never intended on marrying).
4. I broke off an engagement from the SLC airport....all for my new love Brendan!
5. I had my gull bladder removed at the young age of 17 and have it on video!

People I'm tagging whoever reads the post and feels inclined to follow suit!

So do you all want to know what a dimwit I am....Last friday school was canceled and I din't even have a clue. I took Kenz to school and she asked, "mom why are there cars here?" Of course I said we just took a nice ride. LOL then today my mother-in-law called to let me know school was closed again, but guess what I was already gone. ARGHHHH! So the moral of the story is that Idaho schools have no consistencies with school closings! Or I need to be more aware. This whole thing of Brendan working FT and in school FT is making me feel like I am running around with my brain half gone(maybe I really am!)
So Kyle finally pooped in the toilet this past week, but just one..hey atleast it's a start even if it's a slow one! He is getting so big and maybe one day his good personlity will help him actually stay in primary! if only...that would be too easy for mom on sundays if he'd stay.
Brevan is now 19mos old, and it's nice to not be thinking about a new baby like i was when kyle was this age. He is alot more independent than kyle was and sure likes to talk and we can actually understand it!! what a miracle considering the other 2 were over 2 before we understood. anyways we are doing great and enjoying life again that things have slowed down emotionally. Have a great weekend and for all the idahoans....enjoy the snow and WIND, jess

I just wanted to let everyone know that my sister-in-law sent me this awesome tribute video to Pres. Hinkley and I posted it at the bottom of our family blog. Be prepared to have some tissues ready. Enjoy and thanks Melissa.

Holy Cow! I cannot believe first that it is 2008 and second the the first month January is almost over. This week has taught me a lot about relationships and love for others. I want all my family and friends to know that I love and care about you no matter what may happen in life. This past Sunday, President Gordon B. Hinkley died at age 97, he was the Prophet of the LDS church. I have been thinking about what the last decade and a half have been like with him as our Prophet. The church has grown in so many ways and member and people around the world have been blessed by his love and wit. The counsel to stand a little taller, be a little kinder, and do a little more is one of my favorites. I know if we ALL did a little more than society would be a little kinder and a lot less crazy. I am attaching one of my favorite photos of him kissing Sister Hinkley's coffin. I am sure there was a happy reunion between them in heaven. President Hinkley will be greatly missed by the world, but I know we will have another prophet that I will sustain and we all will grow to love. Have a great Day!

So, I am writing this blog a bit aggitated. I had a family member post a blog about cheating/adultery. I know that many people on society believe it is a new sin and one that is nor forgivable. We know that it has been around since the beginning of time. It the new testament, A women "taken in adultery" was brought to Christ to be judged according to the law. The law stated she must be stoned. The pharisees that brought her wanted Jesus to cast stones, but instead he said, "woman where are tine accussors?" This He asked after stating, "he without sin cast the first stone." I have learned over the past few years the reality and miracle of the Atonement and forgiveness. I have known several cases where families could have been completely destroyed by sin if there wasn't an understanding that the Atonement is for the sinner and those whose hearts need mending. Society says that those who support adulterers are weak and allowing themselves to be abused emotionally. I SAY they are some of the strongest peoplein this world and if society had more people willing to forgive others we just might not be where we are today regarding morals and family relatinships! So I say yes to supporting families staying together no matter what. All families are worth the hard work that it will take to become an etrnal family. For those who think that when someone commits a sin that it is about the other...YOU are wrong. Most cases it's selfishness and lovingyour spouse isn't even a factor. Youcan read in most health journals that adultery in today's society has a lot to do with the rapid growth of Pornography and it addictive results on those involved. Like addictions the addict has to realize there is a problem before there can be resolve to fix the issues. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches all men that no one can make it through this life without the Atonement and recognizing our reliance upon it to recieve forgiveness no matter how small or large our sins may be. I love my little family so much. My children help me understand everyday the concept of unconditional love. My husband is so dear to my heart and is definitely my BEST FRIEND. remember none of us our perfect and let's not cast that first stone.
\have a great day!

So Brevan has been our little firecracker since he was conceived. He came in with a boom and still lets everyone know he is around. His new favorite thing to do is wear the big shoes in the house. This is him wearing his daddy's. He's got quite the shoes to fill:)! Another one of his things he does alot is sign and talk. I tried with him to sign when he was about 7 mos because kyle through tantrums for a year because we couldn't communicate well. Well I didn't think Brevan ver got it. now that he can talk he signs all those words that I tried teaching him a year ago. I guess he caught on after all!





Kyle is our little Betty Crocker. He loves to help make and bake things. As you can tell he's all ready to make those cookies daddy promised! He is the best big brother ever. I keep telling him he better be nice to Brev because he just might grow up to be bigger like daddy and his older brother.

This is what I couldn't wait for when I first learned shortly after kyle was 1 that I was pregnant again. @ kids close in age but the bestest buds in the world. They play so well together. When brev can't find kyle or he wakes up before kyle(which is everyday almost) he says, "where kyle go...sounds like while go?) So finally I am glad that they were close in age!

So we survived Brendan's first week back to school after seven years. I say we because he has a couple of pretty late nights and that means the kids don't seeat all on Mondays and very little on tues-thurs, but it's what we need to do for a few years until he gets his masters finished in counseling. I am getting use to the late nights again. That's the way it had been several months until October, so we'll see if I handle it as well as before. At least now Brendan and I are on the same page concerning family andour responsibilites. Mackenzie ws so funny on Sunday. She asked Brendan, "Are you nervous about your first day of school daddy?" I had to laugh because if you could see him pacing around it was very noticeable that he was definitely a tad bit worried. The fact that she even noticed was proof how evident it was. I 'm sure he'll be fine once het gets into the swing of things. So wish him luck!

Okay here I finally have the picture of the Rexburg Temple uploaded! Are family was able to go to the open house where anyone of any faith is able to go through the temple before is dedicated. Once a temple is dedicated only member with a worthiness reccomend are able to enter. So we took this opportunity to take our three children to see what a temple looks like on the "inside" and why it is so important to mommy and daddy. This picture was taken at the top of the hill and as you can see it was snowing. it was absolutely beautiful inside and out. As we toured the inside of the temple the kids were able to see the forever mirrors(mirrors are placed directly opposite so you can see"forever"). mackenzie was so impresses and understood the importance of a forever family and marriage. She said, "I want to get married in the temple so it will be forever like the mirrors." what a sweet spirit she has. The boys like the oxen or as they said "no they are
cows mom." It was such a spiritual event for our little family to experience. Especially after the past few horrible months. It gave us a glimpse into eternity and what we are really striving for...a covenant marriage not a contractual one. We really do want a forever family and all the joy and sorrow that comes from enduring this life "together". hope you all enjoy the pictures. Especially steph ballard. We would have gotten a family picture, but the rexburg wind was TOO cold!. have a great day.