New School Year

So . . . today was the first day of school for the kids!! :o) They started 10th and 6th grade with flying colors! I think they both liked their teachers, etc. We'll see in a few days and keep you posted. I just took a picture of the school bus because it WAS quite different than the ones in the states that they have riden. Their bus stop is the only stop for that particular bus, so that's nice, and they both get to ride the same bus since the middle school is right next to the high school. I'm hoping for a good year! After the kids left, I got to go to a Mom's breakfast where we could mourn the loss of our children to school. You can see that the ladies I am with were definitely sad, can't you?! The place we went to was a very cute girly place with beautiful, beautiful antique couches, tables, and pastries, etc. No one had any, but I am sure they were yummy - well, at least for people that don't like as much sweetness in their pastry or cake, etc. Anyway . . . I just wanted to keep you updated . . .

ENJOY!!!

Chicken Anyone??

Chicken anyone?? Well, we didn't make it to Rothenberg. :o( However, I am happy to report that two of our fans guessed correctly!!! Congratulations . . . your prize for answering correctly will be in the mail. :o) HA! No . . . we had planned to go to the beautiful walled city of Rothenberg, but didn't get up in enough time to not be rushed. So . . . we decided to put it off for maybe the upcoming long weekend where we can spend the night and then go on to our old community and see it. We will certainly keep you posted. Instead we went to a real German mall to shop and look at school clothes. (I can tell you one thing, these people aren't staying away from the stores! There were people everywhere!!) It was fun . . . we enjoyed looking around at all the different things. We stopped to get someone chicken and once again, the restaurant was fabulous. It had a "cool zone" - (it's label, not mine) and an internet zone and kid zone. Then this big bucket where there was a HUGE table in it where a very large group could gather. I just had the family pose for a picture. You would see this as you walked up the stairs inside. AND, there were people cleaning up after customers left! A novel idea for a lot of the KFCs we've been to. Anyway . . .

ENJOY!!!

Wonder Where We'll Go???

So . . . the question for the day is . . . where will the Coxes go??? We will only give a few hints. We'll see if you can figure it out. We're going somewhere in Germany. (That was an easy hint, wasn't it?!) We will be going to a favorite place of ours from when we were here before. This place is 212 kilometers or 131 miles away. (That may require you to look at a map.) The easy hint . . . it's a walled city. Can you guess?? You'll have to look back tomorrow to see what pictures we post to see if you're right!

ENJOY!!!

Marriage Anyone???

So??? Marriage Anyone??? These are what some of the ads are here that I continue to see in the Stars and Stripes newspaper. The ads mostly crack me up . . . but are sad at the same time. I just thought I'd lighten your day and put a smile on your face with them.

ENJOY!!!

Being Forgiven

Just wanted to post something that I thought was great today . . . and let you know I added a weather girl for Wiesbaden on the side of the blog. That way you'll still be able to find out your own weather by putting in your zip code in the live weather spot and you'll always have our weather with the cute weather girl. Cool, huh?!
ENJOY!!!

God Says You Are Forgiven
Rick Warren
From PurposeDriven.com
In our Devotionals series, Pastor Rick Warren discusses the Bible passages that inspire him the most. Today's Devotional is based on this passage:

“I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you” (Isaiah 43:25 TEV).

Some of us, even though we’re believers, think whenever we’re having problems that God’s getting even with us; that God’s just trying to get back at us.

It’s like the guy who was driving up to a mountain lake and on the way up it starts snowing, so he gets out to put chains on his tires. While he’s doing this, another car comes along and slams into his car. And he watches in horror as his car goes over a cliff.

He continues up the mountain on foot, in the snow and sleet, and he’s getting sick from the cold. Then, as he rounds a corner, he sees that his cabin has burned down. He starts hitting his head against the wall, and asks, “Why me, God.” The heavens part and a voice says, “Because some people just tick me off.”

Some of you really feel that is the way God feels about you. You think that whenever you’ve got a problem, God is ticked off. But the Bible says, “I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you” (Isaiah 43:25 TEV). God doesn’t hold a grudge. If you have received Jesus as your Savior, then there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. He doesn't rub it in, he rubs it out. He doesn’t rehearse it, he releases it.

A Backyard Park

Well . . . I know everyone has been wondering what our backyard really, really looks like. I took a few pics of the back of the house so you could get a better idea. I was told today that we'd probably make at least 50 bags of leaves. :o) Wow!! It is beautiful, though, isn't it? And really peaceful, too. The path is so charming . . . all moss covered and a little curvy. (Although, if we don't get the moss off . . . it may be dangerous in the rain and snow.) Antenna is going to love her new yard!! Also, there's a picture of Mac on one of the ropes right behind the fence. (I'm sure not for kids, but for soldiers . . . oh well??!!) Thought you'd like the differences in these vegetation pictures and the ones I'd post from Arizona.

ENJOY!!!

A Cool Restaurant & A Fest

So . . . we decided to walk down from the American Hotel today and see our first German fest. Today after we had gone to church . . .everyone knows, that I love to eat out on Sunday after church so . . . out we went. We decided to walk down from the American Hotel. Today was the last day, and it was during the daytime when the gatherers wouldn't be as crazy. (It was a winefest after all.) We enjoyed our short walk down the busy streets looking in all the windows. Once we were down in the market place, we sampled yummy food for our lunch. We had a cool potato sliced all the way around and around and then fried. They called it Interlocked Pototo. We all thought it was very cool . . . kind of a mix between french fries and potato chips. There was also a pretzel at our table and a bratwrust and bread as well. (All the things were good and golden brown . . . maybe a little white . . . you know no green involved anywhere!!) So . . . we took a look around at all the thingsat the fest and continued on our "city tour". We came upon this restaurant. We just had to stop and go in . . . and of course, take pictures. You can't believe what it was. Take a guess before you know . . . did you get the right guess?? Funny how classy it was here and how classy it isn't in the states! :O)

ENJOY!!!

Did you get McDonald's???!! Well, that's what it was! Unbelievable!! :o)

A Trip to Heidelberg Castle

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We got to go to a castle today . . . a real live castle!!! When was the last time you got to say those words??? :o) Well, how cool is that? We took a trip about 50 minutes away to the Heidelberg Castle. It was amazing with all that history!! I mean, they started the castle in the 1200s. That's a really long time ago!! We started the day by eating a pretzel before going into the castle and then finished it off by having a bratwurst with sauerkraut. Can you believe our luck!? Now we know that the kids will enjoy the next castle.
ENJOY!!!

John's Big Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

August 6, 2009 was a big day for John. It isn't just everyday that you get to particpate in the Army's tradition of a Change of Command ceremony . . . and especially one that is for you! Well, here are some picture from that day for John. Information Systems Engineering Command will probably never be the same . . . we made good friends both in and out of the command and really, really, really enjoyed our time there. ISEC will certainly be missed.

ENJOY!!!

Old Friends

I had to go back and post pictures of some of our wonderful, fabulous, fun-loving and very cool friends from Arizona before I go on about being in a new place . . . without these friends. Anyway . . . here we are the last few days we were at Fort Huachuca. (Oh, and the first picture of our neighbor dog Merle, who John still thinks will be arriving to keep Antenna company. :o) Who knows . . . maybe Antenna can fly west to come east like we did and pick him up! Although, I'm not sure if the Mexican hat will fit in . . . we'll have to shop for a German hat.) Now . . . we love all our friends and we're thankful that we have these memories of them!!

(By the way, I know some of the pictures are blury . . . it's not your eyesight - it's the fact that the camera battery needed to be changed!!!)

ENJOY!!!

Up, Up and Away!!

Okay . . . so here we are on our day of travel! We left Tucson with all that luggage! Can you believe it?! It took two cars to get us to the airport. We were allowed 2 bags each . . . and we certainly took advantage of that. Then we had our carry on bags - at about 2 each as well . . . so needless to say, we took the kitchen sink with us!! Thank you, Army. Anyway . . . after all the bags were checked in, we were on our way. The first pictures are of us on the first hour plus a little bit long flight to LA. The last one is after we arrived in Germany. The amazing thing is that we arrived with smiles on our faces!!! That, I believe was the best part!! It was a long flight from LAX to Frankfurt - but it was direct and we got to see 3 movies and eat 2 meals . . . but I would recommend flying from the east coast so it's broken up a bit, and you don't have to go through LAX - not my favorite airport . . . not that it matters. It was 11 hours in the hour that time. Anyway, we're here!!

ENJOY!!!

A Weekend Get-Away

Well . . . before we left Arizona, we spent the weekend in Tucson at the Starr Pass, a Marriott resort. It was hot, sunny, and fabulous!!! Mac was able to bring his buddy, Andrew, for a sleepover the first night. They had lots of fun and definitely kept each other busy. (Plus, we were able to see our good friends, his parents, one last time when they had to come and pick him up.) The hotel had fun Nickelodeon themed games and movies for the kids. I've included one picture of the boys passing "plankton" from the Sponge Bob show in a game. Afterward, of course, they got to burst balloons with slime in them over their heads!! (Oh to be a boy!!!) Then when it got dark, they got to see a movie while floating around and around and around in the lazy river!! How cool is that?! I also got a cute picture of Katelyn sitting on the patio. We really soaked up the sun that long weekend! We were afraid that we wouldn't get to see much of the big yellow ball in the sky while we're here in Germany. (So far, that hasn't been the case - and for that we are truly grateful!)

ENJOY!!!

A New Thing For Us!

Okay . . . I know you think this is odd, but I have been so crazy busy trying to get accustomed to being in a foreign country where I don't speak the language. I've also been trying to get over the fact that my sleeping has been distrubed AND I've spent over 7 weeks living out of a suitcase, so I thought I would start my new blogs with something fun. So . . . this is it?!!! Can you believe this? It's amazing!! We stayed in the American Arms Hotel here in Wiesbaden after we got here on Tuesday . . . when we visited the bathroom in the lobby, this is what we found!! I just had to get a copy of that. Of course, this is the second time I've used the video holding the camera sideways . . . and I can't figure out how to reposition it, but I think you can still get the idea watching sideways . . . it's amazing. And how clean it is!!! Just see for yourself . . .

ENJOY!!!!

By the way . . . I'l try to start posting regularly again . . . I think I've got enough to share. :o)

We've Arrived

Just a quick posting to let everyone know that we've arrived in Germany. Our flight was very, very full of lots and lots of people, but was certainly uneventful. We did try to sleep on the flight and did several things today to inprocess so we wouldn't sleep here until tonight. Now I am totally exhausted - an understatement, really . . . and the internet connection here at the American hotel is so very slow . . . but I wanted to let everyone know we arrived. I took pictures of the trip specifically for the blog - be sure to check back and see them in the near future . . .Anyway . . . good night from Germany!!

ENJOY!!!!

A Wonderful Ending

So . . . today we experienced the wonderful ending to two years here at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. John officially changed command and, I guess - has NO job - at least for the small timebeing. :o) I wanted to put a picture I took this morning where he gives the flag back to the Commanding General and is officially out of that job of commander. I will add more pictures in the near future, but I did want to say thanks to everyone here and let others see that it really did happen.

ENJOY!!!

An Aggie and a Hat

Last night we were fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful farewell dinner from the ISEC team here at Fort Huachuca. (Well, I will say the company was wonderful - I'm not too sure about all the food . . . but hey, the food did provide joke material for some of John's coworkers that he's still laughing about today . . . so???) I snapped a picture of John towards the end of the evening - doing what he likes to do best - (like me) talking. :o) The reason I did this was because he was standing next to the UT hat that had the longhorn flashing on and off. For those of you who know John well . . . you know he dislikes UT - or as he calls it tu. (Notice, not important enough to get the capital letters!) I just thought it was cute that they thought of that, and that he was actually that close to the hat!

ENJOY!!!

Funny Friends

Well . . . here it is . . . friends starting to turn 50!! It's funny how fast that can creep up on us - or well . . . others, since it's still pretty far off for me - HA! Our friend, Ron just turned 50 and we got to help him celebrate his big day! John's next! I thought I would include a picture of part of their family. (Two of the boys are missing as is the gimped up cat, and 3 fish . . . but you do get to see their two favorite animals - Antenna's buddies!) The funny thing is, that the little gray one, Oliver doesn't like to walk very far. Ann finally got a chance to get a front pack to solve the problem. Now you can see her walking Chui down the street with Oliver just hanging out. It's funny!! We will certainly missing seeing this action. (Now, let me confess . . . we don't actually see it often, as it happens very early in the morning . . . but we hear about it!) We really love our friends . . . like I've said before in a blog entry, they might as well be family. :o)

ENJOY!!!

Fabulous House and Fabulous Friends

So . . . I know you've been wondering where I've been lately . . . well, the adding to the blog situation has not been the most perfect with all this moving around to different houses and such. (Although, we are very thankful to have a place to lay our heads at night.) Anyway . . . I thought I'd try to do a little bit of updating before we leave the country . . . look at the countdown to see how many days we have left. :o) Well . . . I have a friend that does a beautiful job painting the roof tiles that are on the houses here in Arizona. She was very, very sweet and painted one of our quarters . . . and look . . . with both trees!!! It's beautiful, isn't it?! She did a fabulous job, and I was truly overwhelmed at how perfect it is. Thanks, Jana!! We love it! What a fabulous memory for us!!

ENJOY!!!