Baby and Daddy

Here's a photo of Elijah and I during our trip to Bodega Bay, California. We visited some of the same sites were the classic suspense thriller 'The Bird's' by Alfred Hitchcock was filmed back in the 60's. For a cute companion photo to this scene please check out Elijah's Blog.

Today I'm working at the club in the morning then going to Houston to work in the yard at our house on Arncliffe...! This weekend is busy... I've got lessons Saturday morning. Then a small tournament Saturday afternoon, then a party in the late afternoon. Sunday I'm in the big church service for the Fourth of July celebration. Then there's a Church Bar b Que afterwards. I'll stop and catch my breath Sunday afternoon.

Bodego Bay, California

Here's a photo from my family trip to California. This picture is taken from a cliff off the shoreline of Bodego Bay, California. This is very close to where Monica grew up. You can see that Elijah is bundled up. -It's very cool on the shore line, even in late May.

The scenery is simply breath-taking. -I'll be publishing more photos so stay tuned...

Today I'll be hanging at the house working from my home office... I've just about got my new computer up and running. I had a few problems getting everything configured at first but now it looks like smooth sailing.

It will be a fairly busy day for me. But I may take a break this afternoon and publish some more photos so stay tuned....

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Three Years...!

Today Monica and I are celebrating 3 years of marriage...! Woohoo...!

I'm working here at the house for a bit this morning then I'm going in to the tennis shop for a couple of hours then I'm taking Monica to lunch... (Elijah, too!)

We can't celebrate tonight because I have music rehearsal this evening for our Sunday church service. But thats' ok... We definitely want to give God the glory for our marriage and our family. We love serving in church... Really, honoring God is a great way to spend our anniversary...

Well, as you can probably tell... I'm pumped and excited about my wedding anniversary...! I'm actually a little hyper this morning...! We've got a very special relationship, Monica and I...!

Life is good...!

Photo Publishing Works Now...

Here's a photo from our recent California Trip... The Blogger photo tools seem to be working now...! Yea....

Still Trying to Figure Out Publishing Photos

I'm having difficulty publishing photos right now... It's probably some type of setting on my computer that's causing this, but I'm not tech savvy enough to figure it out. I don't have a lot of extra time today to worry about it this morning. I'll figure it out eventually... (Or my dell computer will finally come home fixed)

Anyway... Yesterday was a tough day for me. I had 9.5 hours of lessons on the court. My left foot was killing me. I might have a bone spur or something... I don't know what it is, but I think I'm going to the doctor tomorrow about it.

That's right, this is the new and improved Coach Sam who goes to doctors. The old Coach Sam avoided the doctor's office as much as possible. The new Coach Sam wants to be healthy. I've got to start taking better care of this body of mine...

And I know that means losing weight. I also need to make a trip to the dermatologist, and optometrist... But all in due time. First thing first and that is taking care of my foot. If my feet aren't healthy then I won't be able to exercise and lose weight and I won't be able to work as much either which will cause another whole host of financial problems....

Ahh... My weight... I can't seem to lose the unwanted pounds... But I'll keep trying... And Monica's helping me, too... I think it all boils down to time management and delegation of authority. Those are two other areas of my life in dire need of improvement. I addressed those issues in my prayer journal this morning...

Today I have a couple of lessons to teach and some racquets to string. I need to mow the yard and practice my trombone for the 4th of July celebration at church. It will only be a 12 hour work day today... Yea...!

So, it's 7 AM right now. I'd better close here. I think I'll make some coffee... Yummmm...

Thanks for reading my journal... Coach Sam

End of the Month

Yesterday I skipped church to go to Houston and work on our house that we're trying to sell. Now, I'm feeling a little guilty about that decision. The more that I think about it, The more I think I should have postponed my trip... Isn't going to church more important than selling our house...?

How can I ask God to bless us and help us sell our house when I'm investing my time and energy away from the things that are important to Him like honoring Him on the Sabbath day...?

I had purposely left the end of this month kinda light in my activity planning. My master plan was to have a busy 3 weeks and then take an easy week or two before diving into another busy 3 weeks in July. I could easily make a trip to Houston this week and not upset any other plans... Oh well... In the future I'll have to be more disciplined in my weekend schedule. (especially on Sundays.)

Today I have a make up camp for a rain out we had last week. I'm going to add another camp on Wednesday. The remainder of the week I'm going to focus on helping Monica with her workload and get caught up on various little projects I've been neglecting.

Let's See... In other news...

Monica and I will celebrate our three year wedding anniversary on June 28...! Elijah will be one year old on July 28...! My sis comes to visit in July...! I can't remember exactly what her schedule is... But, those are the big things coming up.

Well, I gotta get to work here...

More later... SC

Now What...?

OK... I finished my lessons for the morning now the question is do I go to Houston to finish the yard work or do I hang here at the house the rest of the day...?

Monica still hasn't returned from her trip to take Connor to the airport. Hmmm... I'm leaning towards just hanging here at the house. I think I'll take a quick lunch break and then blog a little more and work on my websites...

More later...

SC

End of the week...!

Yea...! We made it to Friday..!

This week has been very trying and busy... Today I have a tennis camp from 10 AM to 2:30 PM...

My schedule this afternoon after camp will depend upon if my jeep gets repaired today or not... It's in the shop right now. I think it needs a new starter.... But I could be completely wrong. That's why I'm a tennis pro and not an auto mechanic...!

If my jeep is ready then I'll go to Houston this afternoon and work in the yard at our property on Arncliffe. If it's not ready then I'll probably just chill out and relax... I'm sort of ready for a break today anyway, but that yard in Houston sure needs attention...!

Oh well....

I'll try to get my photos loaded on the new Toshiba this weekend and start publishing my photo blogs again...

In other Chadwell news headlines:

• Connor leaves for Missouri tomorrow to visit his grand parents.
• Monica and I celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary on June 28...!
• My sis Becky comes to visit in July...!
• Elijah turns 1 year old on July 28...!
• My Grandmother Mimi turn 94 on July 29...!

That's about it for now... More later...

Coach Sam

Catching Up...

I'm a little behind on my blogging, so here's what's been going on the past couple of weeks to get you caught up...!

I was desperately missing my wife, baby and stepson who were staying in California on an extended vacation visiting family. They returned a couple of weeks ago and I never want to be separated from them again...!

A little kitty adopted us...! She's the cutest thing... She's about seven weeks old now with the cutest markings... I'll publish some photos soon... Hobbes and Gabriel aren't very happy with the arrangement, but they'll get over it...

My Dell computer crashed... And I've sent it back to Dell to be fixed... Meanwhile I bought a new Toshiba satellite lap top. That's what I'm using right now... Hopefully my dell can be repaired... We'll see. I'm not a happy Dell customer right now...

The rain the past few days has really hurt my business... It's supposed to be dry today and I can start to get caught up now...

Last night Monica and I bought a new car. It's a 2006 Rav 4. We desperately needed a new vehicle. Both our jeeps are nearly 10 years old and on their last leg...

I'm singing on the praise and worship team at church... We have rehearsal tonight. I really enjoy the music ministry at our church...

Connor heads out to Missouri on Saturday to visit his grand parents. He'll be gone for about a month. That's going to seem really strange to have him gone for so long...

That pretty much catches you up on the major happenings in the Chadwell house. More later...

Coach Sam

Here's My Schedule Today...

1. Wake Up....

2. Pray....

3. Work...

4. Take a Good Long Nap....

5. Work a little more.... (...And pray throughout the day as needed.)

6. Family Time....

7. Get to Sleep Early...!

The Family is Back...!

Yahooooo...!

Everyone made it back safe and sound. Poor Monica is suffering from a little jet lag but other than that we are doing mighty fine...!

Church yesterday was really good. It was my first sunday to sing on the praise and worship team. I thank God for the opportunity to serve in that ministry...!

I'm being blessed with a busy summer. Today is actually particularly busy so I need to keep this morning post short.

I'll try to post a little more this afternoon...!

Coach Sam

The Mad Dash....

I'm dashing around like a mad-man trying to get a bunch of things accomplished before Monica and Connor and Elijah arrive home this evening. Their flight doesn't arrive in until 8:30 PM but believe me, I have planty to keep busy with until then...

I'm so glad they are finally coming home...!

More tomorrow morning... I gotta get going...!

SC

A New Kitty...?

We have a new kitty... (Well, for the time being...) She (or he) adopted me Tuesday morning at about 5 AM as I was about to head off to tennis lessons in League City. I'm not sure how old the kitty is, but my guess is it's about 5-6 weeks old. It's about the size that Gabriel was he adopted us...

I've been caring for it the past few days and must say that I just have a soft place in my heart for little kitties... I mean really, have you ever met a little kitty that just wasn't cute and adorable...?

While I know that we absolutely do not need another cat, I'm sure when Monica and Connor see it that they are going to want to keep it... Sigh... We'll see what happens. Right now Hobbes and Gabriel seem a little bit traumatized that the little kitty is living in the garage and that I'm spending time with it. But hey, they've been quite cat-like and aloof to me for some time now...

Peepers is really mad. I brought the little kitty to the tennis shop for a few hours yesterday and she hissed at it and turned her back to me and the little kitty. She's not even speaking to me right now. Oh well, she'll get over it.

But you know, I'm not surprised at this behavior. I mean suppose I found some of my favorite tennis students hitting with another pro....? You know, not taking a lesson, just hitting... Well I'd have mixed emotions at best...

So probably the best thing to do is to find a home for this little kitty. Well see....

Hey do any of my readers need a kitty...? I'll be posting a photo over the weekend when Monica comes home with our digital camera... And if you live in West Columbia or Columbia Lakes you are welcome to just stop by any time....

Well, that's about it for my blog time this morning. I'm working from the house today until I get my car back. My green jeep is temporarily out of commission and Monica's red jeep is having a new headliner put in and I won't have it back until later this morning or early afternoon.

I've got plenty to do, though... So I'll close here... Bye for now... Coach Sam

Not a spare second this morning!

I've got to hurry and get ready for my lessons in Clear Lake this morning. I have 31 youngsters in my camp this morning and I need to get on the road asap... More this afternoon...!

By the way... I had a great time in choir and praise team practice last night...! More on that later!

Coach Sam

Getting More Involved at Church

Tonight I'm going to go to choir rehearsal and try out for the praise and worship team. I'm excited. I haven't been in a music ministry for over a year. I realize too that I haven't mentioned my music interest very much. But those of you who know me well know that I have a deep passion for music. I love to sing (especially back up harmony). I love to play the trombone. I'd really like to start taking guitar and piano lessons. Hopefully when we sell our house in Houston all that will come to pass.

I want Elijah to be exposed to music training as soon as possible. Monica's secret desire is to play the violin. Connor really would like to play percussion. So, you see we're really a very musical family. And probaly thought I was just all about tennis...

All my siblings were in band as youngsters. My oldest brother Stanley is quite an accomplished guitar player and has played in numerous bands throughout his life.

As I look back on my high school and college years, music really sustained me and gave me as much identity as tennis did, maybe more. I've always regretted not doing more with my music talent. I guess that now that I've moved back into the country close to where I grew up I'm getting back to my 'roots'....

So, with that in mind I need to practice my trombone a bit this afternoon before I go to choir tonight...

My day is fairly lite. I have a class this morning from 9:30 AM to 11 AM then I just have office work to do the rest of the day. I have lots of phone calls to make and email correspondence to take care of. It shouldn't be too stressful...

Only three more days until my family comes home! Yea... I don't like being a bachelor...!

More later... Coach Sam

The Big Week

I start my summer programs this morning at Columbia Lakes Country Club. It should be a busy, full day. I'm excited. My day is off to a good start. I got up early and spent a good deal of time in prayer. That's the key to a successful week, you know...!

Monica and the kids return home just five days from now... I can hardly wait...! It was strange going to church by myself yesterday. Sunday above all other days has been our 'family' day for a long time. It's hard to have a family day when your family is a thousand miles away...!

But I'm afraid I need to close here. I have to get working on some other projects before I go on the court at 9:30 AM...

More later... SC

Sunday Blog... Taking it Easy so far...

I've had a relaxing day thus far... I got up and watched Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday morning sermon on television, started a load of Laundry and went to church... Now I'm watching the French Open for a few minutes before I dive in to an afternoon of chores. I'll probably make a quick road trip to Houston to work on our Arncliffe property.

Tomorrow starts my first full week of the summer. I've got a pretty full day of lessons on Monday.

Monica, Connor and Elijah return next Saturday evening... I can't wait...!

More later...

Coach Sam

Missing My Family

I'm going crazy here missing my family... -And I won't see them for another week... Wow... I don't know how I'll make it...! I think I called Monica atleast 4 times today...

I'm not sleeping well... I'm having trouble concentrating... Man, I've got to get my act together...

My Dell Laptop is giving me fits, too. I'm probably going to have to send it in to be worked on and I'm not happy about that, either... Right now I'm using Monica's PC.

Sigh... Tomorrow I have lessons from 9 AM to Noon... Then I'll need to make a few phone calls for lessons next week and then I think I'm going to Houston to check on our house there...

I need to do some serious yard work this weekend... And I need to do some serious bible study...

Well, that's it for now... More in a few hours.... I'm going to get some sleep before my morning classes...

Home...

I'm back from California...! But I have a full morning on the court... No time to write now. More this afternoon.

Coach Sam