The Weekend Outlook:

Today starts the Labor Day Weekend. I've got a lot of work to do at the tennis shop this morning. I may have a late afternoon lesson, but I'm going to try to not work all day. I want to spend some time with the family this afternoon. Later today I plan to start smoking a brisket for lunch tomorrow.

Saturday I have a tennis event in the morning and a few privates in the afternoon. Sunday is wide open, and although Monday is a holiday, I plan to teach a regular lesson schedule in the afternoon and evening.

I'll probably try to watch a little tennis on television this weekend. (The US Open).

I'm hoping for and looking forward to a nice family weekend. My Sweet Bride pictured with me above is a little under the weather right now with a sore throat. Hopefully she'll feel better as the weekend unfolds...

Friday is a day for me to write about 'Family'. -I love my family. There's nothing more important than the well-being of my wife and boys. Sometimes it's difficult to prioritize my time. And I think this is a problem that many a daddy has faced through out history.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in 'work' justifying that if I don't work more then my family's needs will not be met. This is not easy for me but I'm learning to spend less time working and spend more quality time with my family.

I don't want Elijah to have more 'things' and less daddy. I don't want Connor to grow up with only one parent.

Now I do respect that my dad provided an existence for the family as I was growing up. But in so doing, he did deny me any kind of quality relationship with him. Now that I'm a dad myself, I see very clearly the mistakes my daddy made. And there is good that has come from my dad's mistakes: they serve as an example to me to do things differently.

I don't know exactly how I'll get all the bills paid this coming month, but I'm leaving that up to God. God's in the miracle business.

Sam and Ken

Here's a photo from back in February 2007 during the TTA-TPTA Awards Banquet at the Woodlands Conference Center. The gentleman to my right is Ken Coulter. Ken is responsible for the founding of the Brazoria County Tennis Association.

Wow, look how full my face was back then... I've lost nearly 30 pounds since February.

to be continued....

Aug 30 Update: I got too tired to continue last night... I did decide to abandon my 'political' topic... -That's just not 'Me'.

Seeing that picture does encourage me to continue working hard on my weight loss. I've sort of plateaued in that area. I haven't gained a lot of weight back, but I've sort of been holding steady in the 'two-teens'....

Wednesday: My Favorite Day of the Work Week

I like Wednesdays best of all the days of the work week. Right now it's my least full lesson day and I can always count on Wednesdays to get caught up on stuff. And it's a short work day too because of Church. -And I really like going to church...

So there it is. I've fulfilled my obligation to write about something that is a favorite of mine...

Tomorrow's theme is supposed to be something political but I'm not really having peace about that topic. While I'm not afraid to defend what I believe in, I think that I'm looking for trouble going out on a limb every Thursday with some kind of potentially controversial topic.

So we'll see. I may change my Thursday topic to something else... I welcome any suggestions.

OK, so this will be a short post today... If you want something of more substance please check out Monica's post from yesterday, or my prayer journal. Until next time.... Bye for now...

Tennis Ministry at the US OPEN

The photo above is of Pastor Bob Kraft and family, Christmas 2006

The US Open is under way. This will be the third straight year that I have not attended our country's national tennis championships. I miss it. The Open has been a big part of my life for over twenty years. Hopefully I'll make it back next year.

I'd love to go not just for the tennis action, but to meet up with the man in the photo above. Pastor Bob Kraft is a tennis pro who ministers to other tennis pros. His mission is to spread the gospel to pro tour players and to put a bible in the hands of every tennis professional.

Here's a man who has a tremendous passion for the Lord and is living his love and passion day in and day out serving the Lord with his unique skills and talents.

He shares his life, his love for tennis, and his heart for ministering to ATP and WTA pros on this website: http://tennisministry.org/

Since today is the day of the week that I normally write about someone who inspires me it is appropriate that I feature Pastor Bob Kraft. I love how he has meshed his passion for tennis and the Lord.

I want to increase public awareness of Pastor Bob's Ministry, especially within the tennis community. He is an inspiration to Christians everywhere and particularly to Christians in the tennis industry.

If you'd like to send Pastor Bob a word of encouragement you can email him at Kraft@tennisministry.org

Please pray for Pastor Bob, his family, and his ministry.

Connor's Starting High School Today!

Wow... I can't believe Connor is going in to High School today. Those Junior High years went by very quickly...! By next summer Connor will be turning sixteen and will be taking driver's ed and getting a car... That's absolutely nuts...!

Today's Journal Feature is Childhood Memories. I'd like to recall my freshman days at High School.... I was a freshman at Bay City High School in 1980.

I remember being nervous. For some reason I missed Freshman orientation and I was scared about getting lost. Luckily I was involved in summer band camp so I did have some familiarity with the layout of the school prior to the first day. The first day was very exciting. I felt very grown up going to high school. I wasn't girl crazy but I was beginning to notice girls and there were sure quite a few of them running around...!

I was already really in to tennis back then and between tennis and band my schedule was completely full. We lived just about six or seven blocks from school so I walked most days.

My best friends back then were Kenneth Davis and Jeffrey Dziuk. My most memorable Freshman teachers were Miss Becky Walters, my English Teacher and Mrs McSwain, my Computer Science Teacher. We had Commodore 640's back then. Isn't that crazy...? Computers were just being invented back when I was in high school. There was no such thing as a cell phone or i-pod. There were no hand held video games. How in the world did we get by...?

My Family

This photo of my sweet family was taken Mother's Day 2007

Before I get any negative feedback from my post yesterday I want to do some damage control. I didn't mean to come across so negative towards public school or kids who attend public school.

I've been working with home school families in my tennis business for many years now and I just prefer that kind of culture for Elijah. Now, we have given Connor a choice regarding what he wants to do and he chose public school which is probably the best route for him at this time. When Elijah is older we will give him an option, too.

Today's blog topic is 'family'. That's a big and broad topic. Family is important to me. I'm looking for a different family life culture than the one I grew up in. Now I'm not going to sit here and write about a negative childhood experience. It wasn't horrible. But we just weren't 'close'. I know that there are no 'perfect' parents out there. My parents definitely were not perfect, and neither am I. But the main parenting resource I have been drawing from is my own memory of how my parents handled things.

Well, yesterday Monica and I visited one of the pastors at our church and were really given some excellent Godly advice and suggestions about our parenting skills and strategy. I am very excited to implement the suggestions. We started last night with a good family discussion and we are definitely off to a good start...! YEA!

I mentioned above that family is important to me. Let me rephrase that: It's the most important thing to me! Right now, 'Family' is my mission field. God's not going to work in my life in any other area until I get this first assignment right!

Rylee The Dog

Oh that Rylee is such a character...! Sometimes I love her and sometimes I hate her... She can just be too hyper at times...! But she is a very sweet and loving dog at heart.

Today my blog topic is something political... Last week's topic: NAFTA, didn't provoke any comments or discussion. Today my topic is Home Schooling.

Monica and I plan to Home School Elijah. I'm kinda excited to be the principal of 'Chadwell Pre-K'...! You know, The bible says We are called to be in the world but not of it. And we are not for one second considering placing Elijah in the world of public school. And honestly, our experience with private, Christian schools has not been all that satisfactory, either.

We don't think that anyone is going to put the same kind of quality time and effort into the development of our son like Monica and I will.

And I'm not slamming public school teachers. I do believe that there are some outstanding individual teachers in the public school system, I know several. None the less, we are planning to keep Elijah close by and will train him up ourselves...!

My Sweetie

Well, today is Wednesday and it's the day I write about a 'favorite' of mine... Monica is my Favorite Sweetie...! Well, she's my ONLY sweetie.. But still, she's my favorite. I've known Monica for just about going on seven years now and she has captivated me from the very beginning. She's an awesome wife, mom, and best friend...!

The Outlook For Today, Aug 22, 2007: I'll be working from the pro shop most of the day. I've got to finalize the Gran Prix Master's Tournament this morning and I've got a few private lessons this afternoon. Then We have church tonight. That's it for today...!

Someone I Admire....

Well I missed yesterday's post... I was too busy. So I'm getting on track first thing this morning to start my day.

I think I'll combine the 'someone I admire' topic with a childhood memory. I admire a gentleman named Bob McCulley. He used to organize Sunday afternoon tennis socials in Bay City back in the late 70-s and early 80's when I was growing up. He was always very encouraging to me. I remember that he took me to my first professional tennis match in Houston when I was in high school. I remember that he wanted the tennis courts to look nice so he was always picking up trash and one time he even brought his own edger/trimmer and edged the side walks when whoever was responsible for that task was not keeping up with it.

I remember that everyone in town perceived him to be more 'lucky' than skilled in his tennis game.. In fact, to this very day when ever a tennis shot just barely hits the net and falls over to the other side I still think of it as a 'McCulley'!

We had fun playing tennis together. His encouragement to me as a young player is one reason I am where I am today...

A Familiar Pose

This was me back in Februay. You can't see under the blanket, but I have either a heating pad or an ice bag on my knee. Elijah is enjoying an episode of the Wiggles. And we are covered by a Wiggles blanket... This is a comfortable, cozy scene.

I'll have to get back to this blog a little later today or this evening because I'm running a bit late to preare for my trip to League City this morning.

I've got a busy full day ahead of me rain or shine... ( I hope it shines, though...)

Thursday:Tropical Storm Day..!

It's raining today. I doubt I'll get on the court much if any...! But that's ok I've got plenty to do right here at home. My body could use the rest anyway. I'm going to blog a bit, update my websites, send and receive some email, and make some phone calls. Later this morning I may make a run down to Galveston to pick up some t-shirts for the Gran Prix tournament this weekend. That's my day!

Today's photo is from Elijah's Birthday. He loves his new computer 'laughtop'.

Now, since today is Thursday my journal topic of the day is 'Something Political'.

Today's Political Topic: NAFTA

Let me start out by saying that I don't consider myself a political person. But there are a few topics I do feel rather strongly about. One topic that I am rather concerned about is NAFTA. Unfortunately, don't know enough specific to make a lengthy post about NAFTA. What is NAFTA, anyway...? NAFTA stands for the The North American Free Trade Agreement.

As I stated earlier I am not well versed on this topic but what I have heard concerns me. I may show my ignorance here and if anyone would care to post and set me straight on the subject I ask that you please do so. (gently)

Basically my understanding of NAFTA is that it's ultimate purpose is to open the borders between Mexico and Canada, thus blending our three countries into one. I know that's a pretty broad interpretation, but is that very far from the truth...? It sounds like it would be a good deal for Mexico and Canada but not for the United States.

Can anyone give me their condensed of NAFTA, and in their opinion is it good or bad for the US...?

Here's a link I found about NAFTA... I've only briefly looked over that link but it looks like it is NOT in favor of NAFTA, either....

Right this moment, I oppose NAFTA, but again, I am not well versed on the topic. Anyway, one thing for sure... This is a VERY political topic. I hope I get some comments on this one. Perhaps we can discuss NAFTA next Thursday, too...

That's it for this morning... Until next time... Bye for Now....!

One of Coach Sam's Favorite Ways To Relax: Cooking Bar B Que

Cooking Bar B Que really is a fine art. I'm getting better and better at cooking ribs... There are no complaints at this dinner table...!

Prepping the meet is important. And coming up with the perfect rib rub is something that I'm forever experimenting with...

Getting the smoke right is another challenge. I like to use apple wood for my ribs better than mesquite. But more important than the smoke is the temperature. Maintaining a constant 185-200 degrees for hours can be a challenge on a charcoal grill, but I'm a traditionalist and think that REAL Bar B Que has to be made from charcoal...!

Nothing Beats tender, meat falling off the bones, smoky, spicy, pork ribs...! MMMmmm....!

Well, that's my journal entry for today... I enjoyed it and I hope you did, too. Tomorrow's topic will be something political... See you then...!

Coach Sam

New Blogging Topic Schedule Today..! Read On

Daddy and Elijah, January 2007-

Sorry, this photo has nothing to do with my blog topic today. I just wanted to publish this photo because it is one of my favorites. And I have been thinking lately, who am I really writing this journal for any way...? Well Elijah, of course. I want Elijah to be able to go back to these journal entries and know exactly who his daddy was. I want him to know what was important to me and what I stood for. It's easy to forget stuff. Here I am only 42 years old (almost 43) and I have to strain for childhood memories. !

Honestly, this blog is for me too. Who knows, if I live to be 82 will I have trouble remembering my life at 42...? Maybe. -So if I ever get Alzheimer's disease then perhaps this journal can be of assistance to me then...

OK... Here's the weather report:

Wow, it's been hot lately. We had a very mild summer up to this point but it's been in the 100's the last few afternoons...


I've got a pretty full schedule today. I'm about to head to the tennis center for a few lessons and then I have a break in the early afternoon, then back on court this afternoon for a 4 hour block of lessons... I'll definitely be ready for a shower after that!

I've been thinking about blogging lately and I don't want to get into a routine of just writing down my schedule for the day. I think I'm going to try to figure some topics for each day. How's this sound...?

Mondays... I'll write about someone who inspires me.

Tuesdays... I'll write about a childhood memory.

Wednesdays...I'll write about something that is a favorite of mine.

Thursdays...I'll write about something political.

Fridays... I'll write something about my family.

Saturday and Sunday... This will be potluck... Sometimes I don't write on the weekend...!


OK so today, I'll write about a childhood memory.

One of the favorite houses I remember living in growing up in Bay City was 2912 6th street. There were several cool features about that house I remember:

• It had a finished attic that was like a spare room...


• It had a detached garage with a small workshop in the back.


• There was a big shade tree next to the garage in the back yard.
  

And the best thing was that there was a pomegranate tree on the east side of the house. it actually belonged to the property next to us (I think), but I know I ate a lot of pomegranates growing up as a kid!

That's a cool memory! Neat, huh? Now don't you think you know Coach Sam a little better?

I hope you like this new blog topic format... I'm excited about it...

OK, tomorrow I'll write about my favorite past time... Bar B Que...! -You don't want to miss it!

Connor Returns...!

Connor comes home Monday at around 4 PM... He's been gone almost a month...

Church was interesting this morning. We got up early and went to the Truth Project then we served in the nursery during the second service. Now that was an experience... There were about fifteen 2 year olds for Monica, Myself, and 'Mindy'. It was kind of crazy at times but over all it went well. Elijah was a bit jealous at times. He did not want Monica or myself holding or paying attention to anyone else.

We spent the afternoon and evening preparing for Connor's return. He's going to have a newly remodeled room... Yea...!

It's about 10 PM... I'm going to try to get to sleep early tonight so I can get up early in the morning and dive into my day.... More tomorrow.... -Coach Sam

Quick Sunday Morning Blog: Hanging Out With Elijah

My Sweet, Smiling Little Boy!

Elijah and I are watching the Mickey Mouse Club this morning while Monica is getting ready for church... I have only got a few short minutes before I have to get ready for church myself so I thought I'd get a little blogging in...

Yesterday was pretty busy. I had lessons in the morning, then I helped Monica get Connor's room ready for some contractors who were supposed to come install new carpet in Connor's room. Unfortunately the contractor did not come and it threw our whole day's schedule planning off...

That's the second time in a row that the carpet installation fell through.... Agghhh... How frustrating...! I'm very disappointed in humanity right now. We're under the gun to get that work completed before Connor gets home.... I can't see how it will work out at this point but I know that it will...!

Today after church we're going to run some errands and then just stay close to home this afternoon. -Perhaps I'll blog some more this evening...!

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

-Coach Sam

Friday Evening Blog Time...?

This is kind of a rare evening. Monica is running an errand, Connor is out of town, and Elijah is napping... I have some quiet time on my hands...

I thought I'd kick back and relax this evening. I still have some work I could do, but I'm slowly getting caught up. There's always tomorrow for work, right...? I did put in a full day today. So I;m nit feeling convicted about it or anything...

It was a good day. I got up early (3 AM) and blogged in my prayer journal, updated my website, and got caught up on processing entries for the HPTA Gran Prix next weekend. I left the house by 6:15 AM in rder to get to League City for a home school camp. The camp was well attended and went very smoothly, by the way...

After the camp I ran a few errands, then headed home where I worked in the office until about 5 PM. Monica has been really busy lately doing artwork and a few home improvement projects. We've almost finished remodeling Connor's room. I say 'We' loosely because I really haven't personally contributed too much time hands on time to that project, but i did provide lots of back up support watching Elijah while Monica and my brother John did the dirty work...!

Tonight we normally hang out as a family and watch the sci fi channel. I've been halfway watching 'Dr Who' as I compose this post, but Im not really into that series this year.

Grapes...

Where are all the grapes stored in our house...? -Elijah's Cheeks...!

I know this photo could have gone in Elijah's Journal, but I was editing photos last night and this one was just too cute to pass up...!

Wow... I have a busy day today... There's a lot of interesting stuff going on that I need to comment on but it will have to wait for this evening...!

More later.... Coach Sam

Celebrating Four Years With My Bride...!

Here's a photo of my sweet wife and I celebrating our Four Year Wedding Anniversary. (June 28) We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Columbia Lakes Country Club Restaurant that evening and our server 'Gary' took our picture...! -Ahhh... What a happy, good looking couple!

8/7/2007... I have a lite day of lessons today and will be working from the pro shop office most of the day until my afternoon lessons... I'm glad it is a lite day physically because Elijah woke up this morning at 3 AM and it's already been a pretty long day!

The Days of Eating Corn While Sitting in Mommy's Lap...

This photo was taken at the grand opening of the tennis shop in May 2007. We had boiled shrimp, corn, and potatoes. The corn was Elijah's favorite as you can see...

8/6/2007 -I had a great weekend of rest and family time and am ready to dive in to the week. And that's good because I have a very busy week ahead... There's not a lot of time to blog this morning. I need to get to work...! Bye for now... More tomorrow morning... -Coach Sam

The Weekend

One of my favorite things to do is to just spend time with elijah and just 'Play'. Here's a photo of me helping him learn how to ride his new tricycle. Elijah loves his Bike...! Check out more of Elijah's Bike Photos on his own blog, The Days of Elijah.

Today I'm teaching tennis lessons until 12 Noon. Then if no more lessons materialize I'll be spending some time in the afternoon getting caught up in my office. After that I'm heading home to relax with some yard work... -Hey, I ENJOY Yardwork...!

I'm also going to cook something on the grill... Maybe my favorite, RIBS..! And I'm also going to log in lot's of quality Elijah and Mommy time. Sounds like a pretty good day, doesn't it...?

Gabriel

Gabriel is the newest addition to our family. He adopted us a little over a year ago. He is a sweet kitty although he meows a lot at night and wakes us up at times. He loves Hobbes, our oldest cat. It's neat to watch their relationship.

Cats are pretty cool, I think. And we've got the 'coolest' cats around town...!

8/03/07... Today I have a long day on the teaching court. I'm about to pack up and head for League City for a home school camp, then I've got private lessons scheduled throughout the day back at Columbia Lakes. I'm looking forward to relaxing at home this evening with my family...!

Thanks for reading my blog. Some days it will be more lengthy than others but today is one of those days where every moment is precious and I can't spare any extra time here because I have to post in Elijah's Blog before I pack up and head out.

Bye for now.... -Coach Sam

Looking Back on Mother's Day, May 2007

I'm so far behind on my blogging right now... I'm just now going back through some old photos and posting now what I should have done months ago...

This past Mother's day we took Monica to a nice, country home style cooking restaurant in Wharton, Texas. We went to the same restaurant the year before and were so impressed with it that we decided to make it a tradition. The 2007 Mother's Day spread was more impressive than the year before. In the photo above Elijah is finishing off some home made chocolate pie... MMMMmmmm... Yummy, Yummy...!

I recognize what an awesome mommy that my sweet Monica is. (-She's not a bad wife, either...!) She's a very gifted, talented, caring ,compassionate individual and I am greatly blessed to be her husband...!

I love you, Monica...! I hope this photo brings back some fond memories for You.

-Love Always, Sam

Peepers

Peepers is a little kitty cat that has been in our family for over four years. She was a stray when she adopted us. She has lived at the Columbia Lakes Tennis Shop for the past couple of years now.

Peepers is just one of four cats in our family. All four are very unique and have distinctly different personalities. Isn't it interesting how pets have different personalities?

I've heard it said that pets often take on the personality of their owners but I don't know if that is necessarily true. -I wish that I cold sleep for just one fourth of the amount of time that my cats sleep...!