Monica's Belly is getting bigger....! I wish mine were getting smaller but sadly, I'm holding steady at 228 lbs...! At the request of several readers I am no longer publishing my belly photo until I get under 200 lbs.... -Coach Sam 
Here's Hannah in her bed playing with a toy. She's got some pretty cool toys. But one of her favorite things to do is attack my hair...! She'll take Coach Sam's pony-tail over a chew toy any day...!
Here's Hannah and Connor playing in the back yard. Hannah is only 8 weeks old right now. Connor is almost 13 years old. I'm not sure how many weeks that translates to...
Here's Hannah lounging in her big pet bed with Connor. I'm not kidding, it's a big bed. I slept on it last night so she wouldn't cry so much...! It's actually pretty comfortable, too!
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Hannah is a great addition to the family... She's a very sweet puppy and loves Connor very much. Hobbes doesn't care for her too much but he'll get over it. Right now we've got her separated from the cats but after she's house broken we'll introduce everybody to each other.
I'm looking forward to playing with her when we get home this evening...!
Connor and I are hanging out at Diedrich's right now and then I go back on the court at 3:30 pm.
This is a nice relaxing afternoon. I'm going to work on some tournament entries this afternoon and a little bit tonight before I go to bed then Monica is going to help me with data entry while I teach lessons tomorrow morning. I'm going to try to start getting more rest...!
Well, that's it for now... I hope you enjoy Hannah's pictures...!
Coach Sam
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It's Friday and I'm doing great. Considering most Fridays I oversleep and rush to get across town in morning traffic in time for my lessons... I've already been awake since 5 AM and have answered some email, written my devotional, and I still have time to blog here...
I haven't had a Friday get off to this good a start in I don't know how long...!
I'll have nearly three hours of data entry time this afternoon so I'll be ahead of schedule for getting the Kingwood tournament ready. That's pretty cool... I might even just go to bed early tonight... It would be great to get a few good night's sleeps under my belt going in to next week.
I've got a lot to blog about but I'll save it for this afternoon. I need to finish getting ready for lessons in Nassau Bay this morning. I have 3 and a half hours of lessons this morning and then 2 and a half hours this afternoon. I'll be done at 6:30 PM... That's not a bad schedule.
Connor's coming with me today so that will be some nice company. Hopefully Monica will email me some puppy photos this morning. Hannah loves playing with a tennis ball. I think she's going to fit into this family just fine...!
Bye for now... I hope you have a great Day. Thanks for reading my journal.
Coach Sam
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Today we are bringing home Connor's puppy from the SPCA. I haven't seen her yet but they tell me she's an Australian Cattle Dog. All we need now is to get some Australian Cattle...!
I'll post some photos of 'Hannah' tonight... Connor's taking the day off from tennis to hang out and bond with Hannah. I'm about to head out the door to go to Clear Lake early today. The deadline for the next junior Gran prix tournament is Friday and I need to post as many entries as I can today so I don't get too far behind. So far, I'm more ahead of schedule than I've been in a while.
My lessons today run from 2 to 8 PM so it's a full day on the court. I've been busy this morning updating websites and returning email messages. I've still got 219 messages in my outlook express inbox, but the AOL inbox is down to 21 messages. So I'm making progress.
Not much else to report today. Oh... Well, it is my 22 month wedding anniversary today...! That's pretty neat, I think...!
Well, I gotta get back to work...
Bye for now...
Coach Sam
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I just finished my prayer journal at 7:30 AM.
I need to leave the house by 8:30 AM to go to the Giammalva Club and pick up T shirts left over from this weekend's tournament.
Then I need to drop those shirts off at home. Next I need to have some keys made for the tennis shop. Then I need to go to Columbia Lakes and set up my display table for Vanessa, who's going to be on hand to pass out flyers during a junior high tennis match this afternoon.
I need to be done with that by Noon so I can get to Clear Lake in time for my 2 PM afternoon lessons there. Then I'm on the court until 8 PM. Pretty much 6 straight hours...!
Then I get to come home and collapse.
Tomorrow won't be so stressful and busy. I just go to Columbia Lakes for the entire day.
In Other news: I think that Monica and Connor are going to the SPCA to pick out a dog today...
Well I'd better close here... I still have almost an hour to work on some other projects.
Bye for now... Coach Sam
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It rained pretty much all day today. Monica, Connor and I drove to Bay City today to take care of some legal business. We consulted our family lawyer on some business matters, and we took steps to have our wills drawn up. Neither my mom or dad had their wills established when they passed away and Monica and I don't want to put our children in a similar situation.
Once all that is done I'll rest a whole lot easier.
After our meeting with the lawyer we went to visit my brother John. We visited with him a few minutes and went to lunch then on to Columbia Lakes. Since it rained all day I got caught up on a lot of phone calls and emails.
But get this, as of this moment I still have 426 unread emails. I'm going to try to cut that number in half tonight. Right this moment Monica and I are watching Jurassic Park: Lost World as I blog.
Well, I've got lots of work to do this evening so I'd better close here... Thanks for reading my journal... Bye for now.
Coach Sam
Hello... My tournament is almost over. I have my last two matches on court now. This is the first time I've ever blogged courtside during a tournament. Isn't technology wonderful...?
Mu tournament at Columbia Lakes went extremely well. The weather has been gorgeous. Everything has really gone as well as can be expected. I should be wrapped up here by 5 PM and I should be back home between 6:30 and 7 PM... (hopefully)
I'll probably blog a little this evening before bed, but I'm mostly just going to enjoy some quality time with my family. And I'm even going to sleep in tomorrow...!
Really, everything has gone so well, it's almost like a dream... Everyone had a fantastic time. And I took many pictures. In fact, I took so many pictures that I plan to start a new blog just for Columbia Lakes Special events and will publish about 40-50 pics with commentary.
I know that sounds a little ambitious, but I think that little personal touch will be something very nice I can do to set my tournaments apart from other tournaments. I tried to get at least one photo of every participant and I'll email them all a link to the tournament site. Everyone likes pictures of themselves. And I'm sure that the link will get forwarded around so it will give my programs a lot of good exposure.
OK... I'm down to my last match now. I guess I'll close here and go watch the remaining games. Bye for now...
Coach Sam
Well, today is Crunch Time. A lot of things have to come together today. I have much to dao to get ready for the Giammalva Tournament and my tournament also. Plus I have a full schedule of lessons this afternoon.
I was going to get up at 4 AM to get started on everything but my body refused so I slept in until nearly 7 AM this morning. That's ok... I still think it will all work out...! But I need to get on my tasks immediately.
Don't be surprised if I don't blog for the next few days... I might not be back until Sunday after all the smoke clears...
Take Care and thanks for reading my journal.
Bye for Now,
Coach Sam
I'm off to Columbia Lakes this morning. I have an 8 AM Lessons and then I'm working in the tennis shop the rest of the day. I start back on the court at 4 PM and go straight through until 8:30 PM. Dependeing on how tired I am I may just spend the night. Judging from how fatigued I feel right now at 5:07 AM I'd say that I'm spending the night, but we'll see how i'm feeling this evening.
I've only got a few more crazy days and then I'll take it easy Sunday evening and sleep in until 9 AM Sunday Morning...! Yea...!
That's it for now... I think I'm going to crawl back in bed for another 20 minutes and then pack up to head to work...
Bye for now... Coach Sam!
Today wasn't a lot of fun... I ended up locking my keys in the car this afternoon and Monica had to come rescue me. Then lessons tonight were kinda difficult. The kids were misbehaving and I had to be grouchy.
Then I came home and somehow got cross ways with Monica. She hasn't spoken to me the rest of the night.
Sigh... The last thing I want to do is offend my wife. She's already gone to sleep and I'm up not really even wanting to go to bed...
Oh well...
I'm sure that things will go better tomorrow. I guess I'll just read a little and then try to fall asleep. I'd like to get up at 4 AM and get a good start on my day.
Bye for now.... -Coach Sam
I have way too much on my plate again as usual... If I can just get to Monday next week I'll finally be caought up and ready to move on to the next crises.
No time to write a lengthy blog this morning. I'll try to catch up here tonight...
Bye for now...
By the way, I published a new tip on my tennis tips blog over the weekend. You can check nit out at http://coachsamstennistips.blogspot.com
Yesterday was a very nice day. Monica started writing in her journal again. And she wrote a very heartfelt, pointed commentary that you don't want to miss.
Go to http://awalkinfaith.blogspot.com to check it out.
We went to see the movie Sahara yesterday afternoon. It was quite good. I'd recommend it...! It was good action, a little humor, no bad language or sex. Have I lost you yet...?
No really, It was quite good. It was a movie from the Indiana Jones' mold. My mother and father in law recommended it to us and now I'm recommending it to You.
Do You realize that by going to the Museum of Fine Arts Friday afternoon and then out to the movies Sunday afternoon that I relaxed and took some leisure time twice in a 72 hour span...? That's History right there. I suppose that I really am turning into a family man...!
Today I have a jam packed day. My Mondays usually always are full. We're all about to head out the door to go to Columbia Lakes in a few minutes. I've got a lesson this morning at 9 AM then the rest of the morning and early afternoon I'm painting the tennis shop. We're going to have Connor's school work faxed to the club this morning so he can work while Monica and I are remodeling the shop.
I've got to work on ordering trophies and T shirts this morning, too. That's about it. That ought to keep me busy. I'd write a little more but I need to start packing up to head out the door. Perhaps I'll write again tonight. More likely it will be tomorrow morning.
Thanks for reading my journal. Until next time... Bye for now!
Coach Sam
We spent the entire day working on the Columbia Lakes Tennis Shop. We completely stripped the walls and patched and repaired the results of years of neglect. Everything is now primed a brilliant white. And we're going to add a new color on Monday...! We plan to rip out the carpet and stain the concrete underneath to match the new decor. We're going to mosaic the display case and re-trim the windows and baseboards. You will not believe the transformation...! I took a bunch of 'before' photos and a few 'at work in progress' photos and will be publishing those later this week.
My tournament is coming around I have 62 participants. I'm going to try to add a few more in the next few days so I still might hit my goal of 80. I bet I'll get 70 for sure. And that will be a good start for our first event.
Monica and I are very sore from painting all day yesterday. We're taking it easy today. I may publish here again this evening. Blogging is one of my favorite Sunday activities...! I'm going to make sure I update all my blogs today. If you haven't gone to my tennis tip blog in a while I've recently published some new tips. And I've also started a blog for the Houston Pro Tennis Association. You should check that out, too...! Click on my profile to find links to my web page and other blogs.
Thanks for reading my Journal. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend...!
Bye for now,
Coach Sam
Today is a big day for me. I've got a big project at Columbia Lakes. I'm calling for my tournament today, trying to persuade more peole to sign up. And Monica and Connor are coming down with me today to start remodeling the tennis shop. It will be an all day affair. Today we hope to totally transform the tennis shop...!
I've got a few lessons too here and there through out the day but I'll have either a phone or a paint roller in my hand more than I will a tennis racquet!
We'll be taking lots of photos to document the blessed event. That's it. I'll close here. More later. Bye for now.
Coach Sam
Today I only worked half a day. I had my normal lessons at Nassau Bay this morning then I met Monica and Connor and a group of home school families at the Museum of Natural Science for the Gold exhibit. It was very good. Afterwards we went to Star Pizza in the Montrose area for an early dinner. I've been home since 7 PM and have just been hanging out at the house working on the computer.
It was a really nice day. I especially enjoyed relaxing with my family this afternoon. I feel so blessed. I finally have the sweet, loving family that I've always wanted....!
I'm going to bed early tonight. Then heading to Columbia Lakes in the morning for lessons and to work in the tennis shop, and make calls for my tournament!
Sunday we're going to try out a new church and then I think we're having friends over for lunch.
Any way, Thanks for reading my journal. I'll check in again tomorrow.
Coach Sam
Well, I finally finished the Giammalva Gran Prix tournament this morning...! Yea...! That is a huge monkey off my back.
I'm going to work on my Columbia Lakes tournament the rest of the morning and then head off for lessons in Rustic Oaks this afternoon. I'm leaving here at 12:30 PM. Connor's coming with me today. That's nice that I'll have some company.
Well, I'm pretty much exhausted from these last few days and weeks but I think I've definitely turned the corner and am starting to get caught up.
Monica's on her way to a doctor's appointment right now and Connor's playing with Gabriel.
That reminds me I need to publish some photos of the Kittys and some other photos from this past weekend. Maybe I'll do that tonight...
That's about it... Not much else to report right now... Until next time.... See You later!
Coach Sam
I've got a full day cut out for myself today, but I've got a good handle on everything and am plugging forward with a clear purpose, a sound mind, a perfect vision.
I'm working on HPTA Gran Prix stuff first thing, then I'm sending our emails for my own tournament at Columbia Lakes next weekend. I've got to do one final marketing push between now and Saturday. Then Monica, Connor, and I are heading to Columbia Lakes at 9 AM to work on the tennis shop. I've got lessons all afternoon from 4 PM to 8:30 PM... And I've still got racquets to string and more gran prix work to do. I don't know how I will fit it all in, but I know I will be able to do it. Thank God my family is here to help me. I'd be lost without Monica and Connor...!
I've got some great photos from this weekend to publish so You can look forward to that for next time. But that's it for now... Thanks for stopping by and reading my journl. I've got to dive in to my day!
Bye for now, Coach Sam
I was so tired when I got home last night at 10:30 PM... I tried to stay up and visit with the family for awhile but ended up going straight to bed. I was out when my head hit the pillow. And while I normally get up at 4 AM to blog and do my devotional I slept in until 7 AM today. I've got way too much going on to get done in one day today so I need to take a few minutes of quiet time later this morning and prioritize everything.
Connor's coming with me to work today. He'll get a heavy dose of tennis the rest of the week after taking yesterday off. We're also starting his studies today. He's going to finish his school year here at home via correspondence with his school in Tennessee.
Monica's doing better. She's suffering from busy-ness like I am but I think she's handling it better than me. At least her attitude has better than mine these past few days. (But I'm working on it.) I'm just still trying to recover from missing over a week of work. I'm so far behind on my email correspondence it's crazy. I have nearly 200 emails in my Microsoft outlook inbox and about 200 in my online mail server, too. That's over a day of replys right there.
Plus I've got two tournaments coming up on the same weekend. One I'm organizing for the HPTA and the other I'm hosting at Columbia Lakes. That was an insane proposition. It would have been difficult enough under normal conditions. But losing a week for my emergency trip to Tennessee is really placing a squeeze on my time table. But when circumstance are beyond one's control, how are you supposed to respond?
I've just got to be patient and do the best I can and not be all stressed. God made me good under pressure and now I'm getting a chance to sharpen my working under pressure cooking skills.
I know this busy season will pass. The last week of April I'll be able to breathe a little easier, and with May will come a little lull, then BAM...! I'll dive into my busiest summer schedule ever and the baby will arrive at the end of July so I can transition to a new life all over again....! But right now I can't look that far ahead. I just need to take it one day at a time, one hour at a time...
Well... That's it for now. All that's on my mind is getting caught up at work and being there for Connor and Monica...!
Thanks for reading my journal. I'll probably post again this evening or again first thing in the morning!
Bye for now... Coach Sam
I didn't post journal entries any this weekend because I had my hands full with lessons on Saturday, data entry for the Giammalva Gran Prix, and promoting my upcoming tournament here at Columbia Lakes.
We had a Star Wars Film Festival at my house yeaterday. We watched all three episodes of the original Star Wars Trilogy. During this time I entered 206 entries for the tournament online and Bar-B Qued ribs and briskett. I went to bed last night around midnight and I'm dragging a little today.
Today still have work to do for the Giammalva Gran Prix, I need to work on my tournament, and I have three racquets to string before my afternoon lessons start at 5 PM.
I'll be off the court at 8:30 PM and will be heading home after that...!
That's my day today. It's going to shape up to be a busy week. More later... SC
The weather is just gorgeous out today...!
I'm about to leave for Columbia Lakes this morning. Connor is coming with me. Monica is too worn out. She's staying at home today. But she'll come to the club on Monday and we're going to paint and work on the renovation of the tennis shop. I've got lessons today from 10 AM to 3 PM then I'll probably head home and work on the Giammalva tournament all weekend.
I've definitely got my work cut out for me.
Well, I've got to head out. Talk to you later... Coach Sam
I'm hanging at Diedrich's after a morning of tennis and a nice lunch. Connor is with me. He played all morning and did very well. I can't believe how well he's hitting his one handed backhand. He's way better than I was at his age. It's scary. Connor is going to be a very good player! We've got an hour or so here then we're going to run some errands. Then hopefully we can get to the courts in time for me to hit with Connor a little before my other groups start.
I had a new family start lessons this morning. They were a very nice bunch! So far the day has been awesome. I'm enjoying Connor's company. The weather's great... I am getting a little tired, though. I could definitely use a nap...! I'll sleep well tonight...!
Then tomorrow I'm going to teach at Columbia Lakes from 10 to 2 PM. Monica and Connor are going to come down with me and the plan is for them to work in the tennis shop painting. I want to get that area looking good before the tournament on the 28th...!
Not much else going on... I think I'll log off now. I need to work on the Giammalva tournament the rest of the weekend. I've got my work cut out for me.
See You next time... Coach Sam
For some reason I just can't sleep. I've been working on some summer program flyers for awhile now. I just finished that project and my laptop is acting up... I'm using Monica's computer right now.
Today was a full tennis day. Connor came to work with me and he played tennis for 5 straight hours...! The he rested while I gave a private lesson and when we were about to go home for the evening he asked me if I wouldn't mind to practice with him a little more...?
Although I was pretty worn out I was glad to oblige him. My dad never hit with me when I was a kid. He was always too tired or just not even around. I'm always going to be there for Connor...!
Well, I'd better try to get a few hour's rest before I have to get up to teach my morning classes in Nassau Bay. Connor's going to spend the day with me again... I'm just delighted that he loves tennis so much. At the rate he's going he really might have a shot at being a pro when he grows up. I think the sky's the limit for Connor. I'm definitely going to help him become the best he can be...!
OK... That's it for now. I'll be back tomorrow and will post a morning report from Diedrich's.
Bye for now.... Coach Sam
Ahhh Home Sweet Home...! It's good to be home. I'm about to go to bed but I wanted to post a quick entry That today went well. It was a full, productive day! I've got to get up early in the morning and start catching up on my tournament data entry, but I'm looking forward to another good day!
See you tomorrow!
Coach Sam
I'm spending my second night in a row at Columbia Lakes. My busy, crazy schedule and the fact that we are down to just one vehicle for the time being has really presented us some challenges.
Plus, I'm so behind on my work, and much of it is time sensitive, so I've just been working through the night trying to get caught up. I did make a huge dent in my backlog today. But I'm going to catch a few hours sleep on the very comfortable couch in my office and get up early in the morning to dive into another day.
I have an 8 o'clock lesson tomorrow morning, then a 10:30 AM meeting. Then I have a few hours in the afternoon to work on my tournaments. I'm going to be taking several prayer breaks throughout the day and then I'm back on the court from 5 to 8:30 PM...!
That's about it for now. I'll try to post a few more lines in the morning. Bye for now. Oh and don't worry about me. I've got a good feeling that everything will turn out just fine.
Bye for now, Coach Sam
I awakened with my alarm clock at 4 AM but was still too sleepy since it was midnite when I went to bed. I reset the alarm for 5:15 AM but ended up sleeping through that, too. Luckily Hobbes' meowing awakened me at 6:00... I've got to get on the road. I can take a nap after my first lesson this morning if I need one. Otherwise, it's going to be a full and busy day for me.
I'll catch you later... Thanks for reading my journal.
Coach Sam
This was one full day. Of Course we started out by losing an hour this morning to daylight savings time. We visited a new church this morning. It was only 15 minutes from our house. The teaching was outstanding. But the sermon lasted a little more than an hour. I haven't been to a sermon that long in quite a while. The music was traditional hymns. I'm a little more in to contemporary music. But the music wasn't a deal breaker. We're going to try to sample some churches closer to our house for a while. We need something that Connor can get involved in right away, and we just live too far away from Clear Lake for Connor to take advantage of the Clear Creek Community Church Youth program. Plus, we're looking for a church that's a little smaller. CCCC is working it's way towards Mega-Church status.
After church I hurriedly prepared for the HPTA meeting and social. That went well. We had a decent turnout for our first get together.
When I got home from the HPTA event Monica and I worked in Connor's room. It's starting to look good. We have his bed from Tennessee set up. We connected his big TV and play station up. Monica started unpacking his closet and she also built 3 book shelves we got from Ikea, and we still have some new curtains to put up, but other than that, his room is basically functional.
I'm settling down to an evening of writing. I want to update every blog tonight. That's going to take a little time. But that's my favorite thing to do. If I can't write then I get a little cranky.
So before I close here. I do want to mention that It sure feels different to be a full time dad now. But I like the feeling. -and Connor is an awesome Kid. That's all I have to say about that.
Monday I have such a long day at Columbia Lakes that Monica has given me permission to spend the night there. I have my first lesson at 9 AM then I'm not done tomorrow until 8:30 PM. Then I have to be back on Tuesday at 8 AM again so I'm just going to stay over.
I'll write more tomorrow. Check you later.
Coach Sam
We made it in last night at 7:30 PM...! Yea..! Our Kitties were both glad to see us and angry that we were gone for so long...! They're doing better this morning.
It was so nice to sleep in our own bed last night...! Today we need to unload the U-Haul and start unpacking. That's going to take awhile...!
I've also got about a million other things to take care of. So I'd better close here. I'll take some extra time to write more detail tomorrow!
Bye for now, Coach Sam
We made it to Little Rock before we stopped for the night last night. We were all so exhausted from the journey. We slept in this morning and feel a little refreshed. We'll probably get back on the road a little after 10 AM, maybe 10:30... And that will put us back home sometime between 5 and 7 PM.
This will have to be a short post because I still have a lot of emails to catch up with before I log off. Thanks for keeping up with my journal.
Coach Sam
