North To Alaska

Updated Grandpa’s post a little, added Grandma’s video, too.

Click here.

Hey everyone! Boy, I think it has been way too long for an update. Steve and I have been a little under the weather battling colds so most of the energy we could muster up was spent on working and then passing out when we got home. Anthony escaped from it all though, Praise the Lord!

We’ve seen what a blessing it is for Steve to be working at the hospital the last couple of weeks. He was working late on the Tuesday night I had to go to urgent care and get breathing treatments. (I think Anthony got the breathing treatments too because the little exam room was full of foggy medicine   Well, when I got out I swung by the hospital with my prescription list and Steve ran down and picked them up from me, turned them in at the pharmacy and then picked them up before he came home for work. Also, as a Banner Health Employee he gets a discount with prescriptions filled at the hospital and they put it on his account which means it comes out of his check so no up-front charges-which was a great thing because after a little problem with the truck a couple weeks ago, the list of meds I got were kinda pricy.

Yes, the truck is ok now but had to undergo an ignition change as my husband doesn’t know his own strength. Apparently the plug attached to the engine on the truck did not warm up one morning (I don’t know what happened there) and I couldn’t get the initiation to turn over one morning. So. . . Steve went out to start it for me.   Incidentally, it was the same day of my breathing treatments. Thankfully, he had a late shift that day and had the truck fixed before work. Well, he didn’t miss much work.

Lots of adjustments here like changing shoes when we get to work (I keep mine under my desk) and hat, scarf, jacket and mittens/gloves before walking out to warm the car up.    BTW-an auto start is all I want for Christmas this year and I’ve already put in a request from Santa. He lives up here you know?

It’s cold and it’s getting darker. Here is a picture of Anthony playing in the snow after school. (It’s only 4:20PM but getting dark)

We’re glad to be here though. Hope you enjoy the update. We love and miss you all,

Denise

Just a quick post to brag. Anthony got his first quarter report card back and he is on the Honor Roll! Three A’s and two B+’s. We’re VERY proud!

Well, I’ve finally got a chance to breath a bit and thought I would write and update a little. The weather here is staying nice to everyone’s amazement. They say it is not normally like this. The temperature is expected to drop in the next week pretty drastically though. My car is now “weatherized” now so if the temps dip down too low I can plug my car in and have it start for me in the morning. Our landlord’s brother is a mechanic and it was nice to get a referral when you don’t know where to start. I told Anthony we were getting the car fixed and he said, “Oh, our car will have a tongue.” Many of the cars up here have the plug sticking out of the grill of the car and it looks like a tongue hanging out. Our plug tucks nicely into a ledge on one side of the license plate though so it is more sophisticated. 
Anyway, I’ve been hard at work trying to learn my new job. Last week I spent time training with the girl whose place I took. Today was my first day without her but I had lots of help from my boss and others so it went ok. I have a lot to learn but I REALLY like my boss and the people who work there and the office is beautiful and it always smells like coffee.  I take coffee orders from our clients which are mostly the coffee huts and businesses in Fairbanks and North Pole. (There are coffee huts everywhere here! I guess because people want to drive though when it’s cold and not get out of their cars.) We roast and flavor coffees shipped in from all over. (We also supply bulk and retail coffee to the Superstores up here like Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer.) I handle the accounts receivable right now and as soon as that is organized and running smoothly I’ll be adding the other pieces (A/P, payroll, and the rest of the bookkeeping responsibilities.) The business is small consisting of a service technician who’s been trained to work on the espresso machines and other things and a delivery guy and a couple of part-time roasters and packaging people. Today, Tom, my boss said we were going to have an office meeting Wednesday morning and he’s asked his dad to come in and make us waffles (apparently his dad really likes to cook and bake.) And, Janet, Tom’s wife brought lunch in for all of us today. Steve says he wants to quit his job and come work with me. 

I guess some of you may already know my last bit of news but, if not, it is my delight to inform you that I’m going to be a grandma again! Jessie and Mark are expecting another baby and I couldn’t help myself; I just had to announce it.  We are so excited!

Well, better leave it there for now. Thanks for checking in on us. We love and miss you! Denise

It’s been a LONG week. Both here and down in Sacramento.

Our family said our last good-bye’s to Grandpa Thursday. It sounds like it was a very nice time remembering him.

Here, we’ve been busier than a one armed paper hanger in a windstorm it seems…
We were at friends houses both Monday and Tuesday nights, church Wednesday night and then trying to catch up with work stuff Thursday night. Last night Anthony went on a Royal Ranger camp-out and we finished unloading a bed that our new friends at church (the associate/youth pastors Chris and Jeannie) gave us for Anthony. He’s going to love it.

This last week was also the week of the perfect storm for Denise in her looking for work. She had interviews at 3 different places and all three offered her a job and all were the same money. Benefits were the deciding factor and since I have great insurance, she took the one that seemed like the best fit with the most flexibility. She’s working her North Pole Coffee Roasting Co. as the office administrator. I can’t wait for the samples to start flowing in…

I’m enjoying work a lot, but amazed at the lack of urgency and customer service concerns. Again, I think it is the “Alaska time” thing – they are just a WHOLE lot more laid back than I’m used to.

Well, that’s it for now. More to come I’m sure….

To see some more recent pictures, click here

Both Grandpa and Grandma went home to be with the Lord this year. I’ll post Grandma’s obituary when I locate it. Below are the videos from their lives.

Mearl Cox was born Dec 31, 1920 in Erick, OK and went home to be with his Lord on Sept 26, 2009 in his home in Shingle Springs, surrounded by loving family.  He was preceded in death in Feb by his wife of sixty eight years, Vivian Cox. He is survived by his children; Darold and Janet Cox, Donna and John Stevens. He is the loving grandfather of five, great grandfather of nine and proud great great grandfather of one. He will also be missed by his only surviving sister, Lillie Mae Tice (Lee George Tice) of Springfield, MO, many nieces, nephews and countless good friends.  Mearl had a deep love for his Lord and Savior and we rejoice with him as he joins his many loved ones that have gone on before.

Viewing will be at Mt. Vernon, 8201 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks, CA on Wed 4-8 p.m.  Service will be held at his home church, Solid Rock Faith Center, 6205 Enterprise Dr, Diamond Springs, CA 95619, on Thurs, Oct 1, at 2:00 p.m. Memorial remembrances may be sent in Mearl’s name to Solid Rock Faith Center.

A video tribute to Grandpa

A video tribute to Grandma