Sophia is a Treasure

Sophia hacked my Instagram feed and made this post- commenting, "No one can take my mom's place. She's just so special and amazing. #loveumama"

Well, Sophia, that's just how I feel about you... Lovely, irreplaceable girl.

Helaman- Pancake Boss

Helaman volunteered to make pancakes for dinner.  From scratch! I don't think I've ever turned down anyone who's offered to save me from my largest daily chore.  And he makes 'em good. The kid has a gift that his future family will love him for.

Gloria makes a funny

Recently I was talking with Gloria about managing anger (wearing my therapist's hat). I told her, "I strongly believe that the enormity of your emotions is correlated with the enormity of your"... then before I could say "talents," she piped up with "family"?  Watch out world, the girl has a wit. Love you, Glo!

Primary Program

Helaman, Gloria and Nephi performed admirably in the annual Primary Sacrament Meeting program today. They all have a talent for extemporaneous speech. Gloria beautifully fleshed out the two lines of text we scrawled on the back of a McDonald's receipt we found in the van as we dashed off to the meeting. It's been that kind of day/week/LIFE. But I'm so proud of my so very presentable Cox kids. 

Faith!

Faith!

I've finally come round to blogging again, and today's subject, having three months since turned sweet sixteen, is Faith- the daughter YOU WISH you had. 

Does your child frequently say, "Are the dishes clean? I'll go ahead and unload them," or "What can I help with?" She says both. A lot. So there. 

Faith brings to the world her parents' best gifts, having her mother's creative brilliance, brisk pacing, golden heart, and that inexplicable ability to transform all that passes through her hands into landfalls of shimmering adorableness. 

She bears her father's astronomical I.Q., analytical bent, self-discovery skills, passion for justice, and flair for both the computational and the dialectic (LOGIC- in both mathematical and verbal realms).

Her radiant, beatific smile, silvery laugh and lovely singing voice are uniquely her own.

Many occasions have revealed her as my superior in both smarts and kindness. But what blessed realizations for a mom- even (perhaps especially) a "relief mom" like me.

Ranking academically at the TOP OF HER CLASS (man alive, do I love to say that), with not only grade skills, but all sorts of "got-it-together" skills, a host of career paths are open to her. She could dominate in anything from architecture to psychiatry, as microbiologist or craft mogul (and don't forget the glaring fact that she's copper bottom guaranteed to be history's most outrageously compelling mother).

Bearing admirably the most grievous of life's losses has galvanized her spirit and fortified her future.

I'm thrilled at the prospect of warming myself in the epic conflagration sure to ignite as Faith meets World (though I'm more than a little afraid that I can't do without her at home). I love you Faith!

Gideon!

"The Gidster" just had his first birthday recently, so I thought I'd turn to him next.

Here's part of a journal entry dated 1/11/14:

My days are full of Gideon Nikolas Cox, who was born on September 11, 2013 at 4:47 am.  He weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz and was 22 inches long.

 He is a delight to all of us.  We call him "Gidster Nugget," "Biddo," "Plumpkin," and a host of other endearments.  He smiles and laughs and babbles and drools and captivates the entire family.

 It is bliss to cuddle with him and play with him.  I savor it-knowing how very fleeting this time is.  My firstborn is about to turn sixteen. So I squeeze and kiss Gideon's dimpled little hands that look, for all of their chub, as if they were screwed into his wrists, and give him all the attention I can- knowing that in as quick as a wink he'll be a tall, handsome, grown-up man.

 Gabe, who likes to do freeform spoken word poetry, holds him, dances his arms around, and says things like,
Yo, my name is lil' Giddy
I may be itty-bitty
But I got rhymes like P.Diddy!

Today, 10/17/14, Gideon is every bit as endearing as ever, if more mischief- prone.  The moniker Gidzilla is now most apropos.  He took his first steps within a few days of his first birthday, but said his first word, hot, (still his favorite word) several months prior. He now says hot, hat, up, mama, dada, daddy, bite, doggie, duck, Hyrum, Heman (Helaman), dark, cold, hi, bye-bye, cheese, please, poo-poo, ball, apple (appoohh- at its cutest with a whistle at the end on inhalation) nana and no-no.  Gideon, we all adore you.  Thank you for coming to bind our family more closely. We so look forward to watching you become ever more Gideonish and making your better acquaintance!

Sophia!

I was privileged to give birth to "Sophi" (as she prefers to be known) more than twelve years ago- thirteen next January. Her name means “wisdom”, and her high level of insight, understanding and self-awareness indicates to me that she's living up to it. I feel that I can talk to her about anything and have her catch my drift. She's faced major transitions with incredible grace and adaptability, and is adept at modulating her emotions. In fact, I can't think of a time when I've seen her lose her temper with any of her many brothers and sisters. A peace lover and peacemaker, she tries to treat them with kindness and compassion, and on several occasions has designed imaginative games and activities such as treasure hunts for the younger children. She once designed and drew a personalized coloring and activity book especially for Gloria. She is drawn to good and meaningful things. She told me recently that God's Not Dead is her “new favorite movie”- revealing her endearing propensity for that which is noble and virtuous.  Here she is returning from a summer Pioneer Trek experience. I think she looks lovely- even when dirty and disheveled.  As kind as she is, one day she'll forgive me for posting this picture.
 

 Super intelligent as are all my children, she reads voraciously- attracted to the dramatic and fantastic, and has written some impressive works of short fiction of a fantasy bent. Doubly gifted, her rich inner life is matched by a sparkling personality with an adorable sense of humor. Her unexpected quips during family gatherings have made us all laugh.

Full blossoming with talent, she's a wonderful actress and singer, and writes songs and lyrics that bowl me over with their musicality as well as their depth of expression. She is EXCELLENT with pitch and harmonizing. She keeps a binder of her favorite song lyrics handy, for opportune “belting-it-out” times. I love it when she and Vilate sing together. She does beautiful, intricate colored pencil drawings and has quite an eye for photography as well. In fact, she has become a bit too adroit at “selfies” and Instagram. Ahem...

To my beautiful, smart, caring, compassionate, talented, creative, lovely, witty, exemplary girl: You will ALWAYS have my heart. Love you forever!