Peepers at the Dinner Table

Peepers loves to hang out at the kitchen table. Here she is at a recent Sunday afternoon dinner...! I do have a very funny Peepers story to tell You, but it will have to wait a few days. This old photo of Peepers is to whet your appetite for the future. I left my camera in my office at Columbia Lakes yesterday so I can't retrieve my most recent pictures. But I have a few really good Peepers Pictures to download. Be sure to check back soon...!


Sunday, 8:23 AM... My day is off to a good start. I've been up since 6 AM... I've had a good devotional, done some laundry, excercized, and right now I'm listening to Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday Morning Broadcast. We're going to church a little later this morning and I think today will be a good day of getting caught up on a lot of stuff...!

I'll probably grill something this afternoon... Some thick juicey steaks sound good...!

Connor and I need to help Monica get caught up on some of the house work today. What ever we do, we're going to do it as a family. I want Sundays to always be a family day for the Chadwells...!

Elijah is doing well...! He's a happy healthy baby. He slept well last night... It was a good day!

Oh, we did have one negative thing happen yesterday. The city sewer line backed up into our house yesterday and flooded our bathrooms. I'll be cleaning on that today for sure. Hopefully that won't happen again any time soon!

Well, I need to get focused on Dr Stanley's sermon... It's really good this morning.

More later... Bye for now...!

Not Much Time This Morning

I'm a bit on the run this morning. It's nearly 5 AM. I have baby duty right now so Monica can get caught up on her rest. Elijah's sleeping right now but he's liable to awaken any second so I don't know how long I'll be able to write...

Today I teach from 7:30 to 11 AM. I'm not expecting a large turnout today. It should be an easy morning. This afternoon I'll catch up on my other blogs and update my websites. I'm in a good mood to start my day. Fridays are usually pretty good for me. I always start my Fridays with a devotional time where I just sit back and count my blessings and inventory everything I have to be thankful for. The perspective I've learned to take is that even when there might be some glaring negative situations going on in my life, there's also always got to be something good going on, too. They key is to focus more on the positive than the negative. Check out my morning devotional if you have time today.

Byt really, it's easy to be positive right now. At this moment things are going pretty well right now. I have no complaints... Life is Good...!

I do miss my sister Becky, though. We had a thoroughly delightful visit these past ten days. I can't wait for her to come back again...!

As I said, I really don't have much time this morning. I know Elijah will wake up any second. I have milk warmed and ready to go. Who knows, I may get to change dirty diaper number 18 today! We'll see. If that does happen I'll give you the full report in Elijah's Blog.

Well, I gotta run... More later...! Coach Sam

Sis is Heading Home Today...!

My Sis Becky is heading back to New York today. It has been a great visit. I love my sis so much... I'll miss her. We all will. She has been a tremendous help to Monica and the baby. And Connor and I have really enjoyed all the delicious meals she cooked us! Hopefully she'll be back for another visit soon because we won't be able to take Elijah to New York for some time...

Yesterday we got the dishwasher fixed... It was a very simple repair that took about 5 seconds...! We also had our house powerwashed... Wow it looks a whole lot cleaner now...! And last night we took Becky to Marie Selma, our favorite Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Mmmm... It was delicious...!

Well... I have much to do... So I'd better close here... Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Gabriel the Cat

In this Photo Gabriel has successfully stolen the tennis ball from Hobbes and is enjoying his own game of singles. To check out the previous photo go to http://tennisphotos.blogspot.com

Today I am staying at home. I have one more Wednesday after this to spend the day at home then I start teaching at Columbia Lakes Wednesday afternoons again after Labor Day.

Hopefully today will be a good day for the baby and mom... Monica didn't sleep well last night...!

I'm taking Connor to school in a little bit, then I have a few appointments throughout the morning. It will be an office day for me. I have 260 emails in my in box that need to be responded to or filed. I have many lessons inquireys to respond to... I'm a busy man. And I need a secretary!

Oh well... That's it for now. More later...

Coach Sam

New Garbage Disposal

Our old garbage disposal stopped working so I installed a new one. The only problem is that our dishwasher is messed up from the old one. We have a service man coming out Wednesday to take a look at it.

Here I am trying to figure out the wiring on the new disposal. It wasn't that tricky. The hardest part was tying to get under sink to install it. Boy it sure would be nice if I lost about 40 or 50 pounds...!

Today I'm at home until about 1:15 PM and then I head to Clear Lake for afternoon lessons. Becky is cooking her famous lasanga recipe tonight... Mmmm.. that's definitely something to look forward to.

I'm spending the morning trying to get caught up on phone calls and straightening my office.

Mom, Dad, and Baby

Here's a family photo of Sam, Monica and Elijah.

Connor was at school when this photo was taken.

I'm taking the morning off from lessons to help Monica get caught up on work here at the house. The office, kitchen and living room are a mess (thanks to me). I've got clutter from my office scattered out every where. The yard needs to be mowed, too! And I have some HPTA correspondence to work on as well. So I've got my day cut out for me.

That's it for now. More later... Coach Sam

Tournament Over...!

Yea...! The Masters Tournament at Willowfork Country Club is completed. Everything went well. The State team is selected. Now I can move on to my next project... -Taking it easy the rest of the day...!

I'm going to grill some burgers for lunch now. Maybe I'll work in the yard this evening...

And I'm taking the morning off tomorrow...! Yeah, Coach Sam is kicking back for the next 24 hours!

That's it... Bye for now!

Becky Photos

Here's Becky and Elijah in the living room rocking chair.

Elijah is more fully awake in this photo. I think he likes having his picture taken!

Here's a photo of my lovely wife (left) and sweet sister (right). Becky will be visiting until Aug 25...! It's been awesome having her here for such an extended period of time.

The Big Saturday

Here's how my Saturday stacks up... I have lessons at Columbia Lakes this morning from 8 AM to 12 Noon. Then I'm heading over to Willowfork Country Club in the afternoon for the Gran Prix Masters tournament. It will be a full day of tennis.

Sunday I'm going to kick back and relax. Really. I know everyone will find that hard to believe but I'm going to hang at the house and Bar b Que and maybe do a little yard work. I'll have time to catch up on my blogging this Sunday... I'll have lots of new pictures to post too so stay tuned!

Coach Sam

My Confession

Today I got a lot accomplished. I spent pretty much the entire day working on HPTA stuff. I've still got a lot more to do but I'm definitely heading on the right direction.

You know: This is a very busy and exciting time in my life...! The new baby is a joy, my career is going well. Everyone is Happy...! I can't complain... I just need to keep trying to prune my schedule to have a decent and sane life. I need to figure a way to spend less time working and more time living. Busy-ness has been an issue with me for many years, but I think that Connor coming to live with us and having my own son has motivated me more than ever to get my act together... I've really come a long way in a short time.

It's really funny how things turn out sometimes. The truth is I never really thought I would become a dad. That has always been the furthest thing in my mind. In fact, for the longest time in my life I really thought that God had called me to be single like the apostle Paul... Then I met Monica...! And my life has changed irrevocably for the better.

So here I am: A Family Man...! And it's really not so bad at all... I kinda Like it!

That's it for now...

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Kitties Relaxing

Hobbes and Gabriel used to be able to hang out in our bedroom all the time. But now that the baby is here, they hardly ever get a chance to hang out there any more. We're keeping the baby close right now at all times. But after Elijah gets a little older and starts sleeping in his own room a little more, we'll let the kitties start sleeping with us again...!

My Sis Becky came to visit yesterday. She'll be here for about 10 days...! It's great to have her visiting... I haven't had a chance to spend any quality time with her in a long time. And she's going to be a great help with the baby...! We'll have some Becky Photos in the next few days!

Today I am off from work. (sorta) At least it's my first Wednesday with no lessons. Of course, after Labor Day I'll start up teaching in the afternoons at Columbia Lakes again. But until then I'll be enjoying a little extra family time. Although I do have a ton of projects that I need to complete in the office today, being at home all day and working in this relaxed environment is a nice change from commuting somewhere for lessons.

Yes, I'm aware more than ever what a precious commodity time is... And I want to spend every minute I can with my wife and family.

Well... That's it for now... More later... Coach Sam

Hijacking the Baby Bed

In this photo Hobbes and Gabriel have taken over Elijah's portable crib that we keep in the living room. We have to watch them all the time because they are very curious about the baby. Well, Hobbes seems curious. Gabriel seems a little jealous. And Peepers, well Peepers thinks it is her baby...!

I had a busy productive weekend. The conference went well. I made some good contacts and attended a couple of very good seminars. I also got a lot of chores done at the house.

My sleep schedule is a little off from staying up with the baby last night and then napping in the middle of the day today. But I'm about to go grab a few hours sleep before I have to head out to Columbia Lakes a little later.

Monica and the baby are doing well. Connor is doing well. It's all Good!

Well gotta go. Bye for now,

Coach Sam

The Dirty Dozen...!

Does anyone remember that movie: The Dirty Dozen...? A War Movie With Lee Marvin...? Well my post today doesn't have anything to that... But my title refers to the number of diapers I've changed since Elijah was born...! And 'dirty' is definitely the operative word...! Yes I've changed 12 diapers...!

Here is a photo of Elijah and I resting after celebrating the Dirty Dozen...!

Now I know I've posted a lot of sleeping baby photos, but the truth is that Elijah is awake quite a bit, too. And he's awake mostly when we want to sleep!

Last night was my night to stay up. It was a restless night. And I was so sleepy driving to work this morning I had to stop 3 times and get out and walk around to revive myself. But I made it. And had a good morning of lessons.

I got back home around 1:30 PM and decided to take it easy the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow I'm going to spend the day at the home school conference.

Tonight is Sci-Fi Night... We've got Star Gate SG1, Star Gate Atlantis, and then my personal favorite, Battle Star Galactica...!

We're about to enjoy a delicious dinner that was prepared by some of my tennis students in Clear Lake. We've been so blessed by acts of kindness and compassion from my tennis students, it just blows me away how kind, generous, and thoughtful everyone has been. That's God's Providence for sure!

Well, I'm going to close here... More later.

Coach Sam

The Lap Kitty

Peepers Loves to lay on laps... I'd say she's definitely the most cuddly kitty we have. She used to be a stray in Montrose but she adopted us before we moved so we took her with us... In this photo she's enjoying Connor's lap. She also likes to lay on laptop computers...!



I had 3 lessons rained out early this afternoon but it's supposed to clear in little while and I've still got a full evening schedule in Lake Cove. I've been making the most of my time working from Diedrich's coffee shop. I had over 250 emails in my in box when I started and now I'm down to 169...!

I finished the Gran Prix standings and posted them to the HPTA website... That was a huge job..! Monica has reported a semi-stressful day with the baby and running errands and such. I'll try to pitch in with house work when I get home this evening. Maybe I'll even change another diaper or two before the evening is done...!

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for reading my journal...!

Coach Sam

A Very Full Tuesday...!

I'm watching the space shuttle landing right now... Holding my breath. I was watching when the Columbia was lost. I couldn't believe it. Boy was that a rotten day.

I've been watching and listening intently all morning. It won't be long, now...

While the landing is taking place, I'm also cooking breakfast. Eggs and sausage. Later this morning I'm going to try to finish the standings for the Gran Prix Circuit and then I'll spend the rest of the morning notifying everyone.

I have to take Connor for a hair cut this morning sometime... And I need to leave for lessons in Clear Lake by 12:15 PM. I've got a busy morning ahead of me.

Yea... The Space Shuttle made it...! It's going to be a good day!

I'd better dive in to my work... More later...

Coach Sam

Chadwell Tennis Company

My younger brother John has been helping me on Sunday afternoons with the Columbia Lakes Country Club team tennis league program. He'll be helping out on a regular basis most Sundays and whenever I have a special event. He is quite an accomplished player in his own right. He's been a great help with the league, and is a real asset to the program...!

Can't Sleep...

I just have way too much to do at the moment. There is a ton of data entry to take care of for the HPTA, and I have lots of things I need to work on regarding my own lessons business. The baby just woke us up after 20 minutes of restful sleep. I'm going to have a long day at Columbia Lakes starting a little later this morning. I need to be on the road at 6 AM. But it's almost 1 AM now... Hopefully I will be able to balance out my schedule starting on Tuesday. At least I can sleep in then. (If Elijah's willing to cooperate!)

Mom and baby are sleeping in the rocking chair right now... I'm sitting on the couch with my trusty laptop. I suppose I'll try to grab a little bit of shut-eye for now...

More Later....

Coach Sam

Saturday Afternoon Update...

Here's Connor on the lounge chair with Hobbes and Gabriel napping..

The trip to Bay Area Racquet Club went ok... There were several interested parents there for the HPTA Parent Seminar so it was a good trip.

Connor and I are going to go shopping for his school supplies later this afternoon and I'm going to spend most of the day working on marketing my fall tennis programs. Tomorrow is the big day for completing the Team Tennis League at Columbia Lakes. I'm excited about that.

I'll be grilling something from Omaha Steakhouse this evening. I'm also trying a 10 bean soup recipe. And of course I'll have some of my famous Mexican cornbread to go along with all that.

Monica and Baby are doing well...

That's about it... Don't forget to check out Elijah's photoblog link on my sidebar. I update with new photos every day...! By for now...

Coach Sam

The Weekend...

Wow.. I slept quite a bit last night. I could barely stay awake until the end of the TV show...

I'm not sure how Monica and the baby slept. They are asleep now on the couch in the living room. I guess Monica stayed in there most of the night so I could get some rest. Isn't that a sweet wife...? Oh I could use the sleep... I'm way behind on resting.... But I feel guilty to not get up with her and care for the baby. But I know if we take turns it's better for both of us...

Well, I'm going to try to be the one to wake up through the night tonight. It's Monica's turn to get some rest...!

I actually wish I had awakened earlier because I wanted to do some work first thing this morning and now my timing is off. But that's ok... My body will definitely benefit from the few extra minutes/hours of sleep.

Later this morning I have to go to by Area Racquet Club to help with a tournament for the HPTA. That's right, I'm heading back to BARC. I worked there over a 4th of my life. For the most part it was a less than optimal experience. I've been gone from there fo 3 years now...!

BUT.... If I hadn't stuck it out there for as long as I did I would not have met my sweet wife... And there would be no baby Elijah. So my tenure there was definitely in God's plan!

And I did meet a few nice people there.... So it wasn't really all that bad. It was just a season of my life. And I learned a lot about my self and people while I was there.

So, after BARC I'll be heading back home and preparing for tennis tomorrow at Columbia Lakes. We are wrapping up the team tennis competition there at 2 PM. I'd like to have some details down on paper about the next Team Tennis Program so I'll have to put my thinking and planning cap on.

If there's time this afternoon I need to work in the yard a little. That's' about it... And I'll probably grill something for dinner tonight...! Omaha Steak House has really made life easy for us...! And Monica and I have been greatly blessed in that several of my tennis students and some friends from church are going to bring us some meals this week.

-Isn't God good to work through his people and help us in a time of need...? And this is something that we really haven't prayed for, either. It's just out of the goodness of God's heart...! Yes, God is Good.

My Thumb is starting to swell again. I didn't quite get all the infection out with the last round of antibiotics so I'll need to call the doctor again on Monday to get my prescription refilled.

That's it for now... More later... Coach Sam

Sci Fi Night

Friday evenings I like to hang at home and watch the Sci Fi Channel. It's really the only time I watch television. Stargate Atlantis comes on at 8 PM and then my favorite, Battlestar Galactica comes on at 9 PM...!

I used to watch the original Battlestar Galactica as a kid... This is a remake of the original series... It's good.

Today was a little a stressful. I was up a lot the night before... And then Arno and Judy left early this morning and I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to them. I missed them by about one minute... Tennis lessons went ok, but I did have a little discipline problem in the last class... That happens from time to time... I think I handled it ok.

The rest of the afternoon I worked on returning email messages and posting photos on my Elijah Blog. We went to Babies R Us this evening and got some baby stuff... The we went out to eat at The Outback Steakhouse. It was Elijah's first trip to a restaurant. He slept pretty much the entire time. Our dinner was good... Now here we are... Back home...

I'm actually kinda sleepy right now... Little or no sleep for 8 days is starting to catch up with me...! Hopefully I can stay up until 10 PM...

I think I'll close here... More in the morning. Bye for now. Coach Sam

Brisket Day

I'm cooking a brisket today...! It's been awhile since I made brisket. My last big bar b que adventure was smoked pork ribs for Connor's Birthday... Incidentally, I'm going to publish a bunch of pictures from Connor's Birthday tomorrow... I should have already put them up but just haven't had time to download them from the camera...!


I started out by brining the brisket last night at about 11 PM... I've always had the best success with brining... Then I got up this morning and started the grill at 4:45 AM.... This brisket is going to smoke with hickory chips for about 12 hours at around 200 degrees... It should be ready in time for dinner...!

Today I'm staying at home. That's my new schedule for Wednesdays. I won't be taking the day off, I'll definitely be working from the house. I'm going to catch up on email, phone calls, and all my HPTA work. I want to spend more time at home with the family now that Elijah's here. Although I will lose income from my normal lessons schedule I think that over all, I'll do better because I'll be more organized and less stressed.

I've got to close here because it's almost 6 AM and I want to listen to Dr Charles Stanley's radio broadcast...

More later... SC

A New Blog...!

I just started a new blog for Elijah... You can now keep up with the life of Elijah Chadwell by clicking elijahchadwell.blogspot.com.




I've been working on Elijah's blog this weekend when I should have been working on other things like my tournament and lessons schedule this week...! Oh well... I know it will all work out...! But I'll have my hands full today. I leave for Columbia Lakes this morning at 6 AM and I'm on the court from 8 AM to Noon. Then I have a little break this afternoon and then back on the court from 4 to 8 PM. The four hour break may have to include a trip to Houston to pick up a racquet and strings...

I've been up since 3 AM working this morning. Elijah has definitely changed our sleeping habits. It's a good thing I don't require very much sleep any way...! So far though, Elijah has been a very good baby. And actually he slept pretty well last night.

Well... I'd better close here... Let me just say that it feels a whole lot different being a dad...! More about that next time.

Bye for now... Coach Sam