Brown-Sky Sunday

This picture is one that Melissa took out at her house. I got it off facebook because I didn't take a picture today. This is what the sky looked like all day! There were fires all over the panhandle and people had to evacuate in some areas. Joel and I were not affected, but we did lose power for a little bit. I called today a "Brown-sky Sunday" because the sky was brown! :) I think we should've gotten brownie sundaes to celebrate the occassion! haha :)

Well...this weekend was LONG! We left for El Paso early Wednesday morning and got back around 1AM this morning. We played 8 games; got run-ruled 6 out of the 8 games. We did win one..finally!! And the last game we lost 9-5 but played a great game! The girls are getting better every game and continue to learn. There were 28 teams in the tournament. We ended up in Division 4..which was the bottom division. We got 2nd place in that division since we won our game in bracket play...so the girls got a plaque and silver medals! haha :) I thought it was kind of funny, and the girls did too. They weren't really all that excited about the medals and stuff because we really eneded up like 26 out of 28 teams! It was more of a "Thanks for driving this far" reward than anything else.
My good friend Lauren got married yesterday! I'm so happy for her!! I wasn't able to go because I was in El Paso, but Joel went. I can't wait to see pictures. Jarrod and Michelle also came down for the wedding. I was pretty sad I didn't get to go and didn't get to hang out with Jarrod and Michelle. :( I only got to see them this morning for about 10 minutes while they loaded everything up and then left for Colorado. Hopefully we get a chance to go up and visit or they get a chance to come back sooner than later! Today was a nice, lazy day. We met the Freemans (Mike and Melissa and Lauren) for lunch. Lauren, their baby, is precious!! She has gotten so big since the last time I saw her! She definitely kept us entertained throughout lunch! Joel held her some. He was so cute holding her and talking to her! :) I can't wait to see him with our baby. He's going to be such a great dad. They gave us lots of advice, which I love!! We'll take advice from anyone!! We're new at this so we'll take all the help we can get! I then slept all afternoon, seriously! I slept for probably 2-3 hours at least! It was great!
The head softball coach I work with had her little girl, Abigail, last night at 8PM. She weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and was 22 inches long!! BIG baby!! I can't wait to meet her! Tomorrow we travel to Dalhart for softball. We played them a few weeks ago in a scrimmage and they were pretty good, so I'm nervous to see how we'll play. We need the practice though! Hope everyone had a good weekend!! If you're like me, you're counting down to Spring Break!! Ours is in 2 weeks and I cannot wait!! Anytime any of yall want to come up and visit just let us know! We miss all our friends and family who live so far away and love when we get to see yall!! Have a great week!

Day of Rest!

Today was a true day of rest!! Joel was bored...but I sure got my rest! :) The past few days have been a little crazy and overwhelming at times. I took our varsity team to Ennis for softball tournament and we just did not do so great. We lost all 6 games and were outscored 72-6. On top of that we had different team issues and things that will need to be worked out. They did get better every game, though. We definitely have our work cut out for us!
Joel still has not found his keys! He is supposed to go into Amarillo tomorrow and get a new key so hopefully that is pretty easy. I think he had a nice past few days. He went to a couple WT softball games and a basketball game. The WT teams are pretty successful and ranked so he said they were good games. Today, after Sunday school, I took a nap for a couple hours. I think he slept too, but then he got bored. I soaked up all of the relaxation!! :) Tonight we were finally able to go to one our Sunday school class get-togethers. We have it once a month but Joel and I have never been able to go for some reason or another. It was a lot of fun hanging out and getting to know everyone more. We did a lesson on the parts of the body and how every part has a purpose. We talked about our purpose that God has given us. It was good to soak it all in and to learn a little more about myself. I realized that I'm where I'm supposed to be in coaching and teaching and just being able to be there for my girls and to help those kids learn and grow every day.
My girls play tomorrow and then Wednesday morning we leave for El Paso. If we don't see some improvement, this weekend may be even more stressful than last. I just keep praying for our girls to continue to grow and improve and for patience in me. I read them a quote about resilience this weekend that really hit home for our team:
"You can get sympathy or you can get better, but you can't get both. You can be in your comfort zone or you can have growth, but you can't have both. You can be interested or you can be sold-out-committed, but you can't entertain both. You can have excuses or have results, but you can't do both. [You choose your path.]" - Mario Cortes
I really liked the quote because it seems like we have just been making a lot of excuses for the way we are performing. We have a young team. We have a lot of people out on injuries. We haven't been able to get a lot of practice outside because of snow...etc. The list goes on and on. At some point, though, we have to play ball and use the talent we have to the best of our abilities. I think our girls are starting to grasp that point. It really showed in our last game on Saturday because they hung in there for awhile. I just hope they keep choosing the right path.
As far as the pregnancy...things are good. I'm just really tired! I ate a lot of pickles this weekend :) The girls make fun of me for it, but I've always loved pickles anyways! Joel said the guys look pretty good in practices, but out of shape. I'm excited to see the spring game when it gets here. He's been working so hard. I'm proud of him. :)
Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Our 1st Sonogram!

Here is the sonogram!! The nurse points and explains everything! It was unbelievable! I'm glad I figured out how to share it with yall! Enjoy!

Happy Day!!

Today was pretty crazy and full of ups and downs! The morning did not start off so great...Joel had to leave for work around 5:30AM so I wake up to find out that he has lost his keys. We tore the house apart looking for them with no luck at all!! We STILL have not found them! What do you do when you lose your only key to your car?? So I end up taking him to work. We had our sonogram today, but Joel wasn't able to make it because he had no keys to drive up to Amarillo :( That was pretty sad. So I leave for school just knowing today wasn't going to be so great with this start...
I get to school to find out that my co-teacher sub isn't there and that they have given me no one in her place. Our kids are VERY needy and it is really tough having just one teacher in there when they're used to getting help from 2. So that was pretty stressful. I was frustrated about it and not happy and then later I find out that the longterm sub's son has passed away. I felt awful because I had been so frustrated about it and now thinking of the bad situation she is now in. Pray for her and her family.
I get to the sonogram, during my lunch break, and I'm able to go right in! I was still pretty bummed that Joel wasn't going to be able to come, but I videoed the sonogram for him - - that is why you all now get to see it it too so thank him for that! :) It was pretty awesome and crazy all at the same time. The baby was moving around a lot the entire time!! We found out our estimated due date is around September 22. We should be able to find out if it is a boy or girl around May I think. Seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat just really made my day! God is awesome! Oh yeah, there is definitely just 1 baby there so that is good! :)
The rest of the day went ok. I had to work on my softball field for over an hour trying to get it playable. That was an interesting task since I had no idea what I was doing! I did it though! Hopefully it looks better as the week goes on. We still had some snow all the way around the edges. After practice I went to my first rosary. One of the girls on our team had her mom pass away yesterday from cancer :( It was pretty sudden. I had this girls younger sister in class last year and am now coaching her this year and they are such great girls. I couldn't imagine losing someone so close to me. During the rosary, the head coach (my friend) started having contractions. She is due in 8 days...we had to get up and leave because we thought she might be going in to labor!! How crazy?!? She went on home to her husband and is waiting a little while to make sure before they go up to the hospital. She promised to let me know either way what happens no matter what time it is! I hope her little girl is coming! She is so ready and so is everyone else! That sums up my day...
Joel started spring ball today. He said practice went pretty well and that they actually looked pretty good. He was pretty excited about seeing the video and pictures of our baby. I know he wanted to be there so bad, but he'll definitely get to go next time. We're pretty exhausted and heading to bed now!! Enjoy the video and picture!! That's our little one that will be here come September!! Love yall!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!! Today was pretty good! There was a lot going on today but seemed like there wasn't enough time for everything. I haven't posted in a few days so let me catch you up...

Friday was just a normal day. Nothing too exciting happened. We did get to go to dinner with the Nesbitts and some of the WT offensive staff. We went to this little Italian place downtown called Napoli's...it is delicious!! We were there so late, though! We stayed until 10:30 and I had to get up around 6 Saturday morning. Saturday wasn't so great. We had a scrimmage in Shallowater and my girls just fell apart. We have quite a few injuries and one player was at a family reunion. Our pitcher did fine, but the defense just had too many errors. All the problems are fixable, though, so we definitely have our work cut out for us! Hopefully we can only go up from here!! Sunday was nice. We went to Sunday School and it was packed! We then came home and spent HOURS cleaning the house and doing laundry! Let me just say...it was WAY overdue! Joel helped me the whole time! :) He is such a great husband. That brings us to today....

I started off this morning a little rushed. I hit the snooze button one too many times :) but I still made it to work early. I then realized during 2nd period I had to get a lesson plan ready for my class I had to miss (4th perio) to go to the doctor! Joel met me at the doctor's office but we had to sit there for 45 minutes waiting to see him past our appointment time! UGH! That was a little frustrating because we both really needed to get back to work. I weighed (yikes!) and then had my exam...there is DEFINITELY a baby in there!! haha Joel finally got the REAL confirmation today! :) The doctor thinks I am only about 8 weeks though :-\ I really thought I was further along. Since he thought I was only 8 weeks he didn't want to listen for a heartbeat because it is hard to hear this early. On the other hand, though, since my dates were a little weird and I thought I was further along, he scheduled us a sonogram for tomorrow morning just to be sure on the date! I'm excited because that means we get to actually SEE the baby!! He was pretty sure there is only one baby in there, but we'll know for sure tomorrow! I felt bad that Joel had to sit there (again) for an hour and a half really for nothing. At least tomorrow he'll for sure get to see something! We're pretty excited and can't wait! When I got back to school I had a ton of things to do in a short period of time. I had to write a rec letter for one of my players, get grades posted and turned in (WAY too many kids failed!) and make sure we had everything ready to go for practice. I work well on the clock though when things need to get done fast! :) Just at the beginning of 8th period I got some sad news....one of our girls found out early January that her mom has cancer and they gave her less than 6 months to live. This morning she passed away. I felt so bad for the girl. She is a junior and has 2 younger sisters and I think 1 older sister. She is such a sweet kid and really has kept this kind of bottled up. What we knew about it was from some of the other players informing us. Please be praying for this girl. On top of that, our team is fighting tons of injuries. I looked over on the side today and counted 6 girls out with injuries...1 in a boot, 1 shoulder surgery, 1 hernia, 1 ACL tear, 1 in a knee brace still waiting to see what is wrong, 1 broken wrist...the list goes on! Then our 1 pitcher right now is having shoulder problems and is very limited in what she is allowed to do for now and another one of our seniors and best players may have a PCL injury... :-\ This is just a rough season and will be a major challenge to get through. I really hope our girls can all come together and fight through all of this and stick together like a family. Oh...I also had one of my JV girls, who I have put so much time and effort into since day 1 to teach to pitch, quit on me. She wouldn't really talk much about it, but I'm really sad to see her go. I really like this kid a lot but it is a choice she has made and is going to stick with.
My day ended much better though. I came home to Joel cooking dinner :) He made us spaghetti and some garlic toast. It was yummy! He said it was his first time to boil noodles! Ha! How crazy is that?!? He did a good job though! He said his day was pretty slow and not a lot happened. They had meetings all day to plan for practices. Spring Ball starts tomorrow so he has a lot going on the next couple of weeks. Hopefully they see a lot of good things out there for next season! We're both really tired and ready for bed though so I think it is about that time!! Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!! We love yall! Hopefully I'll have some pictures of our little one to post tomorrow!! I'll keep yall updated! Night!

Thursday 2.10.11

Overall today was pretty good! Lots of snow on the ground still! I had a little trouble this morning trying to figure out what to wear to school. :( Stuff is NOT looking the same as it used to already! Of course, it may just be me, but I really felt like it looked different today. Not everyone knows I'm pregnant so I don't want people to just think I'm getting fat right now! Luckily it is cold so jackets and sweaters are easy to get away with :)
Joel wished he had cancelled class today. Only 6 kids showed up. The highways weren't even bad, but the neighborhood streets were. Other than that we both had pretty uneventful days. We just came home and ate dinner and watched Bones :) We're so glad tomorrow is Friday!! Ready for the weekend! We're suppose to get dinner with the Nesbitts for their last weekend in Canyon tomorrow night. Saturday I'm suppose to have 2 scrimmages in Shallowater. We may not have enough players (due to injuries & illness) or even a pitcher for the game...so that will be interesting...This is going to be a long season...

Enjoy your Friday!!

SnOw DaY!! 2.9.11

Today was AWESOME!! We got at least 5 inches of snow last night! School was cancelled so I got to sleep in! Kristen (a girl I teach with) came over and we made a snowman. The snowman had to lay down though because the snow was just straight powder! We then made chocolate-covered strawberries! YUM! Then came the best part of the day....
Joel had to go into work this morning. He called me about 11:30 and said "Start airing up the snow tube! Hopefully we'll get to go to the stadium and sled!" I was so excited I couldn't stand it! I didn't hear from him again until 3:30 when he said "let's go!" I've been wanting to sled down this hill since I first saw it 3 years ago! The snow today was perfect! At one point when I was climbing back up the hill, the snow came up to my knees! I made Joel go first to make sure he would stay on the tube the whole way down without crashing. He slid all the way out to about the 30 yard line! Then it was my turn! I screamed the whole way down!! I spun around backwards about half way down the hill...it was so scary - - but FUN! I slid out to at least to 40 yard line! Kristen and Lauren sledded with us and we all had so much fun!
Lauren and I then went to meet up with all the coaches' wives for Camille's last hoorah :( Camille is the wife of Joel's OC (Mike) who has just accepted a job at SFA. I'm going to miss her so much and I know Joel is really going to miss Mike (and Gavin too). We really love their family. They have done so much for us since we've been here and been so much fun to be around! We went to dinner..the roads were terrible, but that didn't keep us from meeting up! We had a good time but are sad to see her go.
Overall today was the best snow day ever! I was able to relax and then we had a lot of fun doing all sorts of things! I'm glad the snow finally hit us! My head is definitely ready to hit the pillow though!! Hope everyone had as good of a Wednesday as I did!! Good night!!

Tuesday 2.8.11

Hey everyone!! It is FREEEEEEZING up here!! Right now the windchill is -22!! brrr! Today was a good day. I actually got some good sleep last night and the kids for the most part were good today. I'm definitely worn out by the time I get home though! Last night we noticed I'm getting a little bigger. Joel said "you do feel a little swollen." haha - - what a nice way to put it! :) I feel bigger every day but I'm sure it is just in my head. My pants are starting to feel a little tight, though. :-\ I'm not sure how much longer I'll be wearing the dress pants for work that I have right now...maybe I can get away with windsuits for a little bit! I realized today that my doctor appointment is not until next Monday :-\ I thought it was Thursday because the 10th was in my head from when I first scheduled my appointments but then they were changed. I don't go to the doctor until Valentine's Day! <3 Guess we'll have something fun to do for a valentine's date now! We're suppose to get 4-6 inches of snow tonight. I really hope it sticks!! Everyone is wanting a "snow day!" Even if we don't get school cancelled, I doubt any kids will show up. Last week when it got so cold over half our student body was absent that day (over 1000 kids). They'd be smart to just give us the day off :) Joel is hoping for a snow day too...but he wants it to go through Thursday so he can cancel class too! Doubt that will happen. He is so glad to be finished with recruiting - - I am too!! He starts spring ball next week though so we'll see how much I see him for the next month! I'm ready for May and June so we can actually spend some time together! Ranger and Zee both just cuddle up on him the minute he walks in the door. Last night Ranger was laying in his lap and Zee was laying on his feet!! They love him so much! Tomorrow is our Coaches' Wives Night so I'm looking forward to that! If we do get a snow day I hope it clears up in time to get out with the girls! It is our last night with Camille :( We're going to miss her so much! Well...it is time for me to get into some sweats and under a big blanket because I'm freezing!! Happy Tuesday night!

Monday 2.7.11

Today was a long, exhausting day! I'm glad to be home and resting with my feet propped up now! :) I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner and it turned out great! Joel and I both thought it was yummy! We have plenty left over for tomorrow so I won't have to cook dinner tomorrow (yay!). The snow almost all melted away today, but there were a couple inches on our softball field. We're supposed to get more starting tomorrow afternoon and into Wednesday, so we'll see if it is enough to get a snow day! I could definitely use a day off! I'm feeling pretty good for the most part. Just nausea here and there, but overall doing pretty well I think. I can definitely tell I get agitated a lot easier with the kids when they do something stupid..but who doesn't this late in the school year?? :) 3 more days until the doctor...can't wait!! It can't get here fast enough. That's all I have for today..not too exciting but another day closer to finding out about our baby(ies??)! -Hope you had a great Monday!

Sunday, 2.6.11

Hey everyone! Welcome to our blog! I feel a little dumb doing this but I think it will be fun! We woke up this morning to a heavy snow!! We went to Sunday School and then came home. Ranger got out so we had to chase him in the snow...which was hard because he blended in!! We finally caught him though! It is Super Bowl Sunday so we're going to some friends' house to hang out and watch the game. We're so blessed to be surrounded by the friends and family we have. Everyone has been so supportive and excited about our "news." :) We went to the doctor last Friday, but were disappointed to find out we will have to wait until next Thursday to hear a heartbeat (or multiple heartbeats)! They said we would know then for sure how far along we are and how many babies are in there! Wish us luck! We can't wait to find out!