Today is Elijah's Birthday...!

This is Elijah's special day...! He'll be one year old at 5:04 PM...! This is a great day in Chadwell family history...! Unfortunately I have a busy day today. (surprise surprise...)

We're going to have a small family celebration this afternoon. And we plan to have a bigger party for Elijah and his friends from the church nursery in a few days...

More coverage of elijah's birthday can be seen on his blog: http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

I also posted a prayer for Elijah on my prayer blog...

Today I have camp this morning until 2:30 PM and then a tournament this evening.

I'm finishing up organizing the Bay Area Gran Prix this morning before my camp starts...

It's a very full day today, but I'll be taking it easy tomorrow and Sunday...

The Rain Is Ending...

Yea...! The rain is ending... Finally...! We've had two days of sog... That has not been good for tennis! Yesterday was a rough day for me. (actually for the entire chadwell family...)

Today will be better, though... I've got a good feeling about it...!

This morning I'm working on the Bay Area Gran Prix. I also have an event tomorrow evening. And I have camp today and then a team tennis match this afternoon in Wharton...!

There's not going to be much spare time today for Coach Sam... But I am going to post an Elijah photo this morning. He is 364 days old today... Yes, tomorrow is his one year birthday...! Sadly I haven't blogged much about him this month but I'm trying to make it up starting now... You can check out his blog at http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

That's it for now...

Coach Sam

Where have I been...?

I realized my last post was July 17...! I can't believe how busy I've been... I don't really have a lot to show for myself except working alot and being sick, helping Monica with the baby, and entertaining company....

...That's the condensed version....

When will things slow down for me...? I guess once school starts around August 10 life will start to resemble a little more normal routine...

I really do need to get a handle on things. I'm running myself ragged. We still haven't sold our other house in Houston yet. It will be nice to eventually not have to worry about two mortgages...

I've had a nagging foot injury that's been a real 'pain' if you'll pardon the pun...

It's just been a busy summer. But hang in there with me, I'll get on a more routine blog publishing schedule soon...

About this time last year we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of baby Elijah...! Yes, it's been almost a year. Elijah will be one year old on July 28...! Oh how the time flies....

That's about it... Until next time... Bye for now...

Lots to do...

Have you heard the old saying; Lots to do, and little time to do it in...? Well, that's me...! I'm pretty busy especially the next two days...! I did try to rest up this weekend and as long as I can start to get to bed and be asleep by 10-10:30 PM I'll be ok...

Today I have lots of organizing and corresponding to do.... I definitely need to put in a full day's work...! Sadly I don't have a lot of time to 'journal'. I'd like to just sit here and recount stories of my child hood and growing up years... I'd like to ponder important social issues. I'd even like to dabble in writing some fiction... But right now my schedule allows for none of the above.

If I do have a little spare time I want to be with Elijah. Oh that little boy is such a joy to his mother and I...!

But today is going to be all about tennis. I have to plan some events, market them through email and phone calls and I need to tie up some loose ends with the Gran prix tournament this weekend.

I've got lessons mixed in throughout the day, too.

So that's it. I've got to go now and dive in to my work...!

Bye for now... SC

Welcome Becky...!

My dear sweet sister comes for a visit today. Her plane arrives at 8:20 AM at intercontenintal airport and that's a good long drive from our little home in the country so Monica, Elijah and I will need to get on the road soon.

I have an extremely full day ahead of me. (And rest of the week, too...) But I've got some free time coming up this weekend and I'm looking forward to that and the next few weeks just enjoying my sis' company.



Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, I thank You and praise You for my family. Father God, I lift up my dear sister Becky as she travels for a summer retreat. I pray that her trip is a safe one. I pray that her visit will be a great time of rest, relaxation, and the end result will be a refreshing and renewing of her mind and spirit. I pray for the safety of her family while she's gone. I hope this time away from Becky will bring about some changes in them as well, especially a deeper appreciation of all the daily contributions Becky makes to the household and well-being of the family.

Lord Jesus, I pray that Monica and I provide the perfect example of a Godly couple and that we make the most of our witnessing opportunity. Let our home be a refuge for Becky's weary soul.

Thank You Lord for this and the many other ministry opportunities You lay before me every day. I love You Lord, and I give this day to You... I pray these things in the precious name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ... Amen.

On the road...

I've got to be on the road in a few minutes. I'm traveling to League City this morning for a parks and recreation class. This afternoon when I return home I'm definitely taking a nap... My poor body is barely hanging in there...

This afternoon I'm on the court from 5:30 to 7 PM. Then it's off to bed early..!

Sorry, I gotta run... More tonight or tomorrow!

SC

Hello: Checking Back in...

Wow.. It's been a while since I last blogged... Last week was a whirlwind... After the fourth of July, Monica, Elijah and I all got sick with a bad sore throat... I've been run down and exhausted for pretty much the past 5 days. I feel better this morning, though. But I am a little short on time. (as usual...)

I'd like to continue my commentary on traditions but that will have to wait awhile... Let me make a quick report that I was surprised to find a raccoon in my kitchen this morning at about 4;30 AM. Apparently he had come in though the kitty door. I was sitting at my computer blogging away when I heard this rustling which sounded like something trying to get a bag of kitty food open. Boy was I surprised. The raccoon was scared when I turned the light on and made a hasty exit, then just sat on the back porch looking at me through the cat door.

We'll have to be sure to keep that door locked at night from now on. I'm sure that's not the first time a raccoon has made good use of our cat door...

Today I log in lots of lesson hours on the tennis court. Yes, it's back to work for Coach Sam...!

The big news this week is that my sis Becky comes for a visit on Wednesday. I'm very much looking forward to that...

Let's see, what else can I report...? -Elijah is walking better and better these days... I spent the entire weekend just hanging out and playing with him... He's so awesome....!

Connor will still be in Missouri visiting his grandparents for another two weeks. I'm missing him...!

Our little kitty has been named Lucy...! Oh did I mention that we had a new little kitty...? She came to live with us while Monica and Connor were still in California in early June. Lucy is doing well, although she is a mischievous little thing...! I'll try to post some photos of her soon...

That's about it... I hate to make my posts too long... It makes them difficult to read... So, more later!

By for now, -Coach Sam

4th of July Traditions

I've sort of taken it 'easy' the past few days... It's been raining the past few days so tennis has been out of the question. Yesterday at church we had a patriotic service with lots of special music. I sang in a men's quartet and played the trombone on the Star Spangled Banner. Everything went very well... The church had a nice bar b que afterwards. This is going to be a family tradition for us...!

I like traditions. They are important to me. Growing up, my family didn't really have any 'traditions' to speak of... Looking back on my childhood it seems that we went to my grandmother's house for most holidays. But we didn't have any real traditions. You know, something that we did and said hey, this is our tradition....

I want to establish traditions... I want to have some routines that Elijah and Connor will remember fondly after they have grown up. Hopefully some of these traditions will be carried on with their own families for generations to come...

This will be Elijah's first 4th of July... That's kinda special....

Well, it's almost 11 PM... I'm supposed to stay up all night and cook a briskett... That's going to be tough this evening because I'm tired and sleepy already... The briskett needs to cook for about 15 hours at around 220 degrees or so.... It's been in for three hours so far... I think I'm going to go to bed in a few minutes but set my alarm for every hour so I can be sure to maintain a proper grill temperature. Yeah, that's what I'll do and I'll update this journal entry next time I log on...

See ya... 10 59 PM


.

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

Heading Home

I've been in California for the past few days visiting my in laws. It has been a beautiful, restful visit... But I head home in a few hours. I have to be home in time to get started on my summer tennis schedule. I have a big camp in League City tomorrow.

Monica, Connor, and Elijah are staying on and continuing their visit until June 10... That's right, I'll be separated from my family for almost a week and a half... I'm not looking forward to that one bit... I've never been separated from them for more than 24 hours and that was just one time...

Well, I'll definitely have time to get caught up on my blogging...

I've been enjoying the French Open every morning... And I'm fired up and eager to get on the court and practice. The only problem is that I still have a nagging little injury from the Corpus tournament last month, so I still need to take it easy for a while...

I suppose I should close here... More tonight after I get home...! Bye for now...

SC

Gotta Get In Shape...!

Tonight I ate my last bit of fast food for the summer. I absolutely have got to eat right this summer and shed my extra weight. I'm weighing in tomorrow morning and waging war on unhealthy habits. I'm going to be really disciplined about working out. My new nickname will be Captain Crunch. Not for the cereal, but for the amount of time I spend working my abs...!

I've got to get plenty of rest, too. so I'll close here... It's late for me and I want to get up early and start my day off in prayer and study... Bye for now....

Coach Sam

Four Days to Vacation...!

Here's a photo from this past weekend's Tennis Block Party held at Houston's Memorial Park. For more photos from this fun event click BLOCK PARTY.

I only have a few days until vacation time. You know I have rarely taken a true vacation in my entire life. Growing up, my family really could never afford a vacation. (We did take occasional day trips, though...).

I've been to the US Open numerous times and I suppose that should count as a vacation. I've been to Australia... That was definitely a vacation. And I went to Paris and the French Open in 2000. I'd consider that a vacation for sure...!

But, I haven't really done any thing non-tennis related since my honeymoon three years ago. Do honeymoons count as vacations...?

So, we fly out Friday evening. We are heading to California to visit Monica's parents. I've never spent extended time in California before. This will be a real treat for me. But I'll only be gone 5 days, then I have to get home to start my summer camps. Monica, Connor, and Elijah will stay up there an additional week....

It's going to be a little difficult to be away from the family for seven days... I'm sure I'll be on the phone a lot...!

Now, in the mean time between right this second and when we depart I have a bunch of loose ends to tie up so I'd better get busy. Bye for now....

Coach Sam

Heading Home...

Elijah and I enjoy the view from the back seat as we stopped for a break on our way home from the Corpus trip a few weeks ago...

Last night I had dinner with my good friend Eddie Clayworth. It was nice catching up on things. We reminisced about our trip to the 2000 French Open. -I can't believe that it's been 6 years since I've been to Paris....!

Today... It's my first non stressful day in a long time. I'm going to blog this morning, make some phone calls, work in the tennis shop, and just generally chill out. Monica and I are going to an awards ceremony at Connor's school this afternoon. Then I have a couple of private lessons and my Tennis Across America social tonight...

Tomorrow will be a fun day at Houston's Memorial Park Tennis Block Party. And Sunday will be a day of rest. Ahh... I'm really liking my life right now.

More later... SC

My Serve: A Critical Look...!

When I saw this photo Monica took of me at the Corpus tournament I just cringed. My first thought was I can't believe how big and heavy I look. It was my goal to get down below 200 pounds for that tournament and I fell short by about 20 pounds. So now my goal is to get down below 200 by the July tournament in San Antonio.

Next I noticed how my tossing arm has dropped down way too early in the stroke. This causes net mistakes and / or shallow serves. I've got to keep that arm up longer.

But there are some good things I'm doing... I've got good extension with my legs. Notice the heels off the ground as I'm stretching up to extend into the serve...? And, I'm noticeably leaning out into the serve. Actually I served very well over all for the tournament. I only failed to hold serve a few times in four matches, and I served very well in crucial third set tie-breakers...!

Yes, I'm really in to playing tournaments again. I'm pumped, excited, and ready to compete. I think I'm playing the best tennis of my life right now. I'm definitely at my toughest mentally, and I can hit any shot from any where in the court. The only limitation I have is my conditioning....!

My biggest enemy right now is my appetite...! But I'm going to overcome the knife and fork...! Monica and I have seven weeks until our next tournament. You're going to see big changes in my physique between now and then...!

Stay tuned for more tomorrow. Today is a pretty busy day for me. I have lessons in League City this afternoon and evening and quite a bit to do in the mean time before then so I need to close here. But tomorrow is the first Friday that I won't be teaching late in Clear Lake...! No traveling tomorrow... YEA...! And I'll have time to post more then... Bye for now. SC

The Lexington

This is the USS Lexington, a retired US Navy Aircraft Carrier. It is one of Corpus Christi's biggest tourist attractions. Ireally want to check it out next time we visit Corpus.

Speaking of Corpus, I still have a bunch of Photos to post from that trip so stay tuned the next few days....

By the way, that tournament really wore me out. I'm still a little sore from all my tennis matches and it's over a week past now... Man, I really need to get in better condition....

Today I absolutely must get a lot of marketing done... After I blog this morning it's all business after that. I'm on the court all afternoon. This is my last late day to teach on Wednesday. After today I'm making a commitment to become more active at my church on Wednesday evenings.

This month is winding down... We leave for California on May 26... That's less than 10 days away, now...! Woohoo...!

Well, I need to post in Connor's and Elijah's blogs too so I'll close here... More Later!

Coach Sam

Seeking God

Today's thought is taken from a Dr Charles Stanley Commentary that I found particularly meaningful. The topic is seeking God.

The rewards of pursuing God are great... Scripture tells us that '...They who seek the Lord shall not want of any good thing...' (Psalm 34:10) But we will not accidentally drift into a meaningful relationship with HIM. The key to that end is to act purposefully with that end in mind.

1 Chronicles 22:19 says 'Now set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God.'

How then can we diligently pursue knowing Him better...?

Dr Stanley lists five ways to seek God. The first two are through scripture and prayer. Do you precede your scripture study with a prayer...? If not, you should get in the habit of asking God to help you know Him bettter. Ask Him to show You the Truth about Him that is contained in scripture. This is one prayer that God will always answer.

The other three ways that Dr Stanley lists regarding seeking God include Worship, books from great christian authors, and conversation with others.

These will all be discussed in tomorrow's commentary.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, I do want to know You more. I seek You Lord. And I ask You to show me Your Truth. My life is in Your hands, Father. I give this day to You my King. With You by my side I have the confidence to face the world today, my Lord and Savior.

Father God, I do love You. And I pray this simple prayer to know You more in Jesus' name,

Amen.

Dear Readers Please Note: This commentary was accidentally posted to the wrong blog. To read part two of this series go to my prayer journal by clicking here. Thanks, Coach Sam

This Past Weekend...

It was a fabulous weekend. My tournament on Saturday went well. Mother's day was simply spectacular... And I'm looking forward to a great week and rest of the month. I have many, many great photos to publish and add to my web sites so I'll be busy pretty much the rest of the day working on those projects.

But what I need to do right now is check my email... I haven't checked it in 48 hours and I'm sure I'll have over 350 messages to attend to... So, I gotta go.

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Corpus Trip

I took the family to Corpus Christi this past weekend. We played in a tennis tournament and did a little sight seeing. Here's a photo of the family at the Texas State Aquarium. There were lots of great exhibits. We especially enjoyed the dolfin pool.

More about the trip in the next few days... I've got a very tight schedule this morning trying to complete several projects. You can see more dolfin pics on http://connorcopeland.blogspot.com and http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

Wednesday: Big Office Day...

I have lots of stuff to do in the office today...! I'm at home for the next hour or so but then I'll be in the tennis shop stringing racquets, sending email correspondence, straightening up, and doing a little remodeling... By the way, the tennis shop is really starting to shape up... I need to post some photos of the progress soon....

I have lessons this afternoon from 4 to 8:30 PM. Monica is going in to Houston this morning to visit a friend and she's taking Elijah with her so I'll have an afternoon of clear focus on my tasks at hand. Today and Thursday will be busy, but Friday I can start to kick back for the weekend. I'm already looking forward to it...!

I'm really starting to have a life...! Yea...!

Cranking it out this week...!

This will be a short week for me... I'm playing in a tournament in Corpus Christi this weekend. We'll leave Friday morning for our trip so I'll only work Monday thru Thursday this week...

Every day up to Friday should be pretty full. But I am very much looking forward to relaxing at the end of the week. Today I have lessons from 8:30 to 10 AM... Then I'll be doing office work the rest of the day until I go back on th court at 5:30 PM... Then I'm on the court this evening until 8:30 PM....

My day is going full steam already... I awakened at 5:30 AM and blogged a little, then got Connor up and out the door for school... I cleaned out my car a little, took the trash out, blogged a little more, and through it all I've been doing laundry to help Monica get caught up on her stuff... I'm about to empty the dish washer before I head out the door for my morning tennis lessons....

Well... That's it for now... I'm going to post an Elijah picture for the day and then get to the courts...

More tomorrow... Coach Sam

Keys to Success

One key to my success is having good staff assisting me. Josh Sebesta has helped me tremendously with running the tennis shop while I'm traveling or on court with a lesson. He's helped me with data entry for the Gran Prix Circuit and he's trust worthy and reliable..! I am very blessed to have Josh and others like Vanessa Akins, Brittany Dahl, Jake and Justin Phipps, and my stepson Connor. And of course, we mustn't forget my assistant manager, Peepers .(she's sitting on ice chest to Josh's left)

I've been cooking a briskett all night. I put it on at 11 PM and it should be ready around 11 AM...! I worked on my website alot, too. I still have lots more changes to make but it's coming along nicely.

This morning Monica and I are meeting with Pastor Barclay to discuss officially joining First Baptist Church of West Columbia. I'm looking forward to that.

I teach in League City this afternoon and won't be home until between 9 and 10 PM... I keep that Thursday schedule for a few more weeks then I go into a summer schedule mode that is a little more forgiving...! Yea...!

Well it's about time to take Connor to School... I'd better close here... Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Hobbes and Dennis

Hobbes is one of our cats. Dennis is Connor's pet lizard. Hobbes occasionally likes to sleep on top of Dennis' cage which I'm sure is not to Dennis' liking. You can see Dennis hiding behind his log directly under the sun lamp, peering up at Hobbes. Oh well, that's the life of Dennis and Hobbes...!

Today I'm working in the office for a little while, then Monica and I are going to go hit some tennis balls. I will be at the tennis shop most of the day today making calls and sending email out for upcoming programs. I have lessons this afternoon from 3 to 8:30 PM...

That's about it... I'm looking forward to this weekend, just teaching a little on Saturday and Sunday and generally taking it easy! Oh yeah... I may smoke a briskett on the back yard smoker tonight... That reminds me, I need to brine it right now....

If I Bar B Que all night then I'll probably spend a lot of time updating my web pages...

That's about it for now... See you next time. -Coach Sam

Easter Dinner

Since I worked the Coke Open Easter weekend we ate out at Pappasitos in Sugarland Sunday afternoon. Here's a nice photo of Elijah and I at the restaurant. For more Easter photos check out Elijah's and Connor's blogs...

Some Things I Know to be True....

10:30 PM is not my normal blog time... I'm off of my normal routine. I'm feeling a little philosophical tonight... Here are some of Coach Sam's random thoughts.... Things that I know without a shadow of a doubt are true...

• I'm working too much... -This I know to be true. I've actually worked nearly 30 days in a row without a complete day off... Even my Sundays have been fairly full and busy the past 4 weeks....

• The new 'fusion' soft drink Coke Blak is bad... Really bad... -This I know to be true. It's so bad I don't want to pour it down the pipes of my sink. I think I'm going to pour it out on the ground, mix it with some gasoline and set it on fire.... That's how much I don't like it. And let me tell you, I rarely want to see something consumed in flames but I'll make an exception for Coke Blak.
  

• Speaking of Gasoline.... The gas prices are getting way out of hand... This I know to be true... We've decided to just become a one car family for awhile. And we're really cutting back on unnecessary driving...

• I'm too nice a guy to get results from High Performance Tennis Players. All the really good coaches I've evr known have been tyrants... This I know to be true... Well, I'm going to shock some of my students in the next few weeks. I'm going to get really angry in a lesson the next time a ball collection is taking too long or no one is giving a good effort in a drill. I'm going to throw a tantrum. I'm going to abandon my positive coaching style and I may even kick everyone out of practice and tell them not to come back unless they are ready to work....! Yeah, that will be fun. I think I'll video that, too....

• I'm really tired right now and shouldn't be blogging so late... This I know to be true... I'd better close here... See you tomorrow morning....

Coach Sam Signing off.... 10:40 PM....

Wishing for....

Oh how I wish for a quieter, simpler time. I remember back 20 years ago when I was an assistant pro how I struggled to have enough to fill my day. Now my day never ends...! I long for those times when I had extra time to blog. I could blog stories, funny things that happened, commentary on current events...

Right at this moment I barely have time to report what projects are on my plate for the day that I probably won't be able to complete any way...

Sigh... But I am making a little bit of headway... I have two good part time high school students getting me caught up on data entry a couple times a week. And my Head Tennis Pro starts work this weekend teaching my Saturday weekend class while I'm attending a tournament in Pearland with my junior students...! Yes, little by little I'm getting there...

Today I have office work right up until I have to go to League City for my Thursday afternoon classes. I'm also going to work in the yard for about an hour or so after Monica and the baby wake up...!

I've got lessons until 8 PM tonight... And I finish my Thursday program on May 11... Then I won't be teaching late in League City again until after the summer. That suits me just fine and dandy!

Well... That's about it for now... I gotta get to work here.... Bye for now.

Coach Sam

Wednesday, April 19

Remember this photo...? Well, those Christmas lights are still up in the tree! But I plan to take them down this Sunday no matter what. And next year I plan to have them down even sooner... ( At least by February or March!)

We're just about halfway through April... That's crazy! The summer is almost upon us... It's getting hot out there... The mosquitoes are starting to bite... Yep, summer's around the corner!

Early this morning I'm driving to Pearland to meet with David Gloger, the tennis pro who's running the Gran Prix this weekend. Then I've got one other quick stop to make before I head back to Columbia Lakes.

My afternoon is pretty full with lessons from 4 to 8:30 PM. I need to string at least one racquet today before my lessons, too.

That's about it... Today is just a work day. More tomorrow...

Coach Sam

Getting More Sleep...!

I am going to make it a priority to spend more time at home and rest more starting today...! Last night I was up until nearly midnight working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix tournament schedule. No matter what happens I've got to start getting to bed by 10 PM...!

Lack of sleep is definitely wearing me down...! Looking at my schedule from here on out it looks feasible that I should have more down time. Let's see if I can hold myself to that..!

After running a big tournament like the Houston Coca Cola Open this past weekend it takes a few days to get back to a normal routine...! Today I should be getting caught up on a lot of things. The next few weeks my main priority will be to market my summer programs...!

My weekends are booked until the end of May... This weekend I'm traveling with students to the Golfcrest tournament in Pearland. Next weekend I have some kind of conference with the USTA. The following weekend is a tournament in Corpus Christi that Monica and I are playing in... and the weekend after that I'm hosting a junior tournament at my club. My first free weekend is May 20...! And I'll need to teach that morning at the club....! After that there's only one more weekend before the summer is here....

Wow...! Time is marching on! I wonder what it would be like to have a Monday thru Friday 9-5 PM job...?

Starting the New Week...!

Well, The Houston Coca Cola Open pretty much consumed me the entire weekend. I worked tournament desks for 12-13 hours every day AND commuted back and forth between West Columbia and Houston every day for three days. There were a few 'issues' that came up Friday and Saturday which really tried my patience, but yesterday went very well.

Monica and Connor came to pick me up from the tournament yesterday evening and we enjoyed a nice dinner before driving home. When I got home I was in bed before 9:30 PM and slept pretty much through the night until 6:30 this morning.

I feel pretty good now with all that sleep under my belt. And I'm ready for a productive day. First off, I need to get the club and string some racquets right away. Then I have a camp from 10 to 2 PM. Then I'll need to work on the Golfcrest tournament this afternoon, and then I have lessons this evening from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM... Actually, because of the camp, today will be pretty jam packed and busy. But the rest of the week won't be so difficult.

The next few days I'll be marketing my summer programs very heavily.

Well, there's much I could write about but I'll save it for later. I want to update some other blogs and my websites before I head out this morning. So, until next time... Bye for now.

Coach Sam

No blog for the next few days...

This morning I'm heading out to start the Houston Coca Cola Open. I'm helping direct the Adult portion of the largest amateur tournament in the country. There are over 1000 entries playing at 15 different sites around town...!

The tournament runs for 3 full days starting today! I won't have time to get back online again until Monday... If I do have some spare time, I won't be blogging... I'm sleeping!

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Coach Sam's Day... An Update...

5:10 AM... I was moving right along doing just fine working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix but now I have to wait for the USTA Tournament Data Website to come back online... They are doing maintenance on it right now... I can't research my seeding until it comes back online... And who knows when that will be...!

Sigh....

You Don't Want Any Part of My Day...!

Here's my schedule today and the next few days... The next 96 hours are devoted to tennis....!

I'm working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix right now and need to get finished by 6 AM. That's probably not going to happen, which will put a little stress on my schedule the rest of the day... But we'll see. It will all work out some how...

I take the boys to school at 7 AM and then need to head to Katy to meet Harriet Hulbert to go over the Houston Coke Open details. Then I head to Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland to go over the Golfcrest tournament with David Gloger. Then I get to teach lessons from 2 to 8 PM in League City. After that I get to drive home and collapse before I start Friday's Houston Coca Cola Open. Then I'm running the tournament in Houston all day and night for the next 3 days. I won't even get to come home Friday night...!

Monday I have a camp scheduled at Columbia Lakes but I'll probably take the morning off...! We'll see how I feel... Perhaps I'll have my new Head Pro teach it...!

Any way, I'm going to have to close here and dive back into working on the Golfcrest tournament! That's it. Bye for now... Coach Sam.

Me and the Boy...!

This photo was taken last month when the family traveled to Corpus to attend a college tennis tournament. Elijah was trying on one of my hats...!

Today... I've been up since 3:30 AM blogging and updating my webpages.I am traveling to brazosport high school at 8 AM this morning to do some marketing for my upcoming summer programs and to watch many of my students compete in their school's district tennis tournament.

I have a light day for lessons and am not on the court until 5 PM this afternoon. This evening I'll be working on the Golfcrest Country Club Junior Gran Prix tournament draws.

That's it for today. My day is pretty much all work...!

Today...!

I'm just trying to get caught up...! I have reports to write, data to enter for my tournaments, and marketing to do... And help with the Baby so Monica can get some work done too.... Other than that, there's not much else to do...!

Coach Sam

Tournament Today...

Today my club is hosting a tournament for Columbia Christian School. I'll have a busy day today.

Yesterday was not as restful as I would have liked for my Sunday. But I can take it easy in another 14 days so at least I can look forward to that...!

I have to run... Hopefully I'll have time to post more this evening...! I've got to post some photos in Elijah's and Connor's Blogs before I get to work on other things...

Coach Sam

Sunday...!

I haven't posted in a few days... It's been incredibly busy. But today I'm going to kick back and make it a family day as best I can before I dive into the week tomorrow... Here's a quick recap of the past few days.

• The past two days I've been busy with high school tournaments that were hosted at my club. Monday there is one more.... My tennis shop sales have been great... I definitely need to have more tournaments and large events if I'm going to have a retail store....
• Yesterday after my morning lessons I spent the afternoon working in the tennis shop with Connor. It's really starting to look good...
• Monica and I had dinner at Baytown Seafood. It was awesome. Then we did a little 9:30 PM shopping spree at the local Walmart... (Woohoo....!)
• Elijah had an awesome week... He's pulling himself up a lot now and extremely mobile. He's not walking yet, but will very soon. He's starting to look more and more like a toddler than a little baby...!
• My summer program flyers are done and I've been marketing like crazy. The registration deadline is May 15. I'm hoping to have the biggest and best summer of my career...!

Later today I have a family drill at 2 PM... I've invited many people to the drill. I'm hoping for a big turnout...! I plan to grill burgers afterwards and kick back at home on the back patio with the Davidsons...

That's my report... Now I've got to run to the grocery store to pick up stuff for lunch and dinner... Bye for now... Thanks for reading my journal...!

Coach Sam

Sleeping Kitties

Hobbes and Gabriel are snoozing after a night of carousing... Hobbes has especially been bad about getting the entire house up in the middle of the night wanting to be let out... That's getting a little annoying, but other than that they are great cats and we love them...!

Today I have lots of office work to do.... I have data entry for tournaments, and website updating to do and email correspondence to send...

And Monica is real sick this morning. I may have to take her to the doctor today. I was going to look after Elijah a lot today anyway, so Monica could catch up on her office work. Her being sick is going to set her back even further but that can't be helped. I just hope she feels better soon.

I've got lessons all afternoon and then tomorrow and Friday my club is hosting a tournament so I'll be busy the rest of the week.

That's about it... I'm going to try to update all my blogs this morning before Elijah gets up and that could be any second...

Bye for now... Coach Sam

River Oaks Group Trip...!

Last night I organized a group from my club to attend the River Oaks International Clay Court Professional Tennis Tournament's opening night. Local area juniors and club members were treated to some awesome tennis. We didn't get back home until very late though so I'm dragging a bit this morning. Look for more photos and commentary later...

Momma's Shoulders: The Best Seat in the House...!

You may have seen this photo on my website: http://chadwelltennis.com
It's one of my favorite photos of my sweet wife Monica and my baby boy, Elijah. Elijah is about eight months old in that photo. Monica's age is not to be published in this public forum in order to protect the innocent.... (me)

Today I have lessons until about 1 PM then Monica and I are headed to Houston to work on our Arncliffe property. We're still trying to sell the house in Houston...

Tomorrow I just have one lesson in the afternoon so hopefully it will be a relaxing day...

That's it, I should have lots of time to blog over the weekend... By for now.... Coach Sam

Monica snapped this photo during our recent trip to Corpus Christi. She and Elijah were watching themselves in the side mirror... Elijah is fascinated by mirrors...!

Today I have lessons in Nassau Bay and Seabrook... This morning I have lots of blogging to do, websites to update and emails to send and receive... Tomorrow I have lessons until 2 PM then I'll be taking the afternoon off...! Yea..!

Up Early, Cranking it out...

Today I'm trying to get caught uo on data entry for my tournaments. One day I'll have a good part time helper for this but that day is not today...!

Until then, I have precious little time to blog here. I did blog extensively about my time management issues in my prayer blog this morning if you care to take a read go to http://coachsamsprayerjournal.blogspot.com

I'm going to post some connor and Elijah photos this morning to... Their blogs are:

http://Elijahchadwell.blogspot.com and http://connorcopeland.blogspot.com

Sorry that's it for now... No time for chit chat today...! SC

Another Busy Day Shaping Up

I'm making a run into Houston first thing this morning to pick up some supplies for my tennis shop... Then I've got to string some racquets, and spend a good portion of my afternoon online answering email messages and returning phone calls.

I have lessons today from 3 to 8:30 PM, then I can allow myself an hour and a half to relax with the family before bed...!

That's it. This is one of those days where I just have to get stuff done. I'm going to have Elijah with me today for my road trip. Hopefully that will free up Monica to get some work done in the office.

Well, I gotta run... As I said it's a very tight schedule today.

Coach Sam

It's a Rainout...!

The weather is not good today...! And we've discovered that when we get a ton of rain in 15-20 minutes that our cul de sac floods really bad. Of course water wasn't even close to coming in our house, but our street was impassable for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Monica came to rescue Elijah and I from the tennis shop because we had walked up there earlier this morning. We had to leave her car parked at the mail center and walk across the street because of the high water on the Inverness Lane cul de sac...

But we're home now, safe and sound and dry! I'm going to hang here at the house the rest of the day and work on my websites. This is a great day for that kind of work...!

I may post some more photos later today...

Bye for now... SC

A Promise To Monica...

I haven't published a kitty photo in a while... In case anyone was wondering, Hobbes and Gabriel are doing fine... They are big snake hunters now....! Here's a photo of them resting on Connor's bed...

I promised Monica that tonight was the last night I'd work on tennis stuff after I got home in the evening. (It's so easy to just get caught up in an endless cycle of work...) From now on when I get home in the evening, that time is strictly family time. I mean after all, I'm working hard to provide a certain quality of life for my family, right...? And if I spend all my time working or thinking about work I'm sort of defeating that purpose, aren't I...? I want a quality of life for myself, too...!

It's already way past midnight so it's officially Tuesday. I'm going to blog for about another 30 minutes or so... Then get some sleep so I can get right back in to work about 5 AM... I want to get all my work done early so I can help Monica out by watching Elijah most of the day... That's going to be our pattern for awhile until Elijah gets older and can play by himself for longer periods of time.

Monica is probably more behind on office stuff than I am. My plan is to really start doing a better job of preparing work for my part time help to assist me with. That will free me up to watch Elijah more and allow Monica to get caught up on her stuff. And it all starts with me cranking up my productivity tonight.

Coke Zero's have got me caffeinated awake right now, but I shouldn't have any trouble dropping off to sleep after my head hits the pillow a few minutes from now... My eyes are burning so I need to go to bed soon...

I've spent the past two hours working on my summer tennis program brochure. It's looking very good. It will be ready for the printer tomorrow morning...!

I'm trying to get my blogging out of the way now so I can just do my devotional when I awaken and then dive right back in to work....

There are a couple of important items to note regarding today:

• Today is my Father in Law's Birthday. Happy B'Day Arno...! We love you and hope you have an awesome day today...!
• Today is also Elijah's eight month Birthday as well...! Wow, I've got an eight month old baby...!

That's about it for now... Thanks for reading my journal...

Until next time, Bye for now.

Coach Sam

New Week...!

Here's a photo of a recent road trip to Corpus Christi. This photo was taken in the parking lot of the HEB Tennis Center in Corpus during a college tournament. Elijah is a big Texas Tech fan...!

This photo documents Elijah's first experience with the wind in Corpus Christi...!

Today... I'm working out of my house today. I'm going to blog alot, work on my websites, and complete some flyers for summer programs... I'm only on the court this afternoon and evening from 5:30 to 8:30 PM and that suits me fine because I've been nursing a sore throat for days now...

This past Weekend... The Raveneaux Junior Gran Prix Toiurnament went well. The weather was spectacular... I had an event at the Columbia Lakes Country Club Sunday afternoon that was well attended and very successful....

Tomorrow... I really can't think that far ahead yet....!

Late Nite Blog...

This post comes to you late in the evening, almost early in the morning... I'm waiting for Monica and Elijah to get home from their trip to Tennessee... Monica's flight was delayed on departure but I just spoke to her on the phone and she's enroute home now and should be here in about 20-30 minutes... Her trip was successful...! That is a blessing. And all I need now to make the day complete is their safe arrival home!

I was uncomfortable letting them travel without me. I do not intend to let this family be split up like that again...!

The day here pretty much flew by very quickly... This morning Connor and I cleaned up the house for Monica and Elijah's return and then we went to Clear Lake for lessons this afternoon... We didn't get home ourselves tonight until about 9:30 PM...

Right now I'm pretty wiped out physically and am ready for bed. That's about it.... I'll post more tomorrow!

Coach Sam

Prayer for Monica

Dear Heavenly Father,

I just lift up my sweet wife today as she goes before a judge in Tennessee to deal with some legal matters regarding Connor's estate. Season her words, dear Lord I pray.

I pray Your Will be done in this situation, Father. And bless her trip home with Elijah this afternoon. I pray that she is able to take an early flight home and that she and Elijah make it home safely and quickly.

Oh Lord, this is utmost on my prayer list today. I Thank You for being the Great Big God You are. I love You and Praise You my King. I give this day to You, Jesus. And in Your sweet, holy name I pray,

Amen.

Strange Ending Or Beginning To My Day....!?!

I was awakened at 12:01 AM by a phone call to my cell phone. It rang only one time and there was no voicemail. The caller ID said it was the security person for the tennis club I work for... I tried to call the security person back and got voicemail so I put my clothes on and drove over to the tennis shop fearing the worst...

But everything was fine at the tennis shop, so I went to the front desk and they hadn't heard anything from security. I left another voice mail and then came home... It's 1:24 AM and I'm fully awake pondering the mystery call... Oh well, I guess I'll find out sooner or later...

Probably later....

So, this evening I had to stop lessons an hour early. It was so cold with the wind chill that I couldn't feel my toes or fingers... That was not good...

I came home and took Connor to dinner and then went to bed before 10 PM, looking forward to catching up on some much needed sleep... Anyway, that didn't work out due to the mystery phone call. But I'm about to call it a night/morning and try to go to sleep again.

More later....

Coach Sam

Crazy Jam Packed day...

I've been up since 3:30 AM.... Monica and Elijah just left for the airport for their trip to Tennessee... Monica has to deal with some legal matters regarding Connor's Father's estate. She and Elijah won't be back until tomorrow evening very late....

They've been gone only 5 minutes and I already miss them terribly. This is the first time we haven't been together since Elijah was born.... Monica promised to call me alot... That's good. I'll need that!

But I've got a very full day today and tomorrow, myself.

I'm really out of control with all my work... I've got to get an assistant pro fast...! My life is just work, work work... And that's got to change.

Sigh...

Well, I have to work on the Gran Prix tournament this morning, and then I have to send a bunch of emails out for lessons and program correspondence. Then I have to string a few racquets. Then I travel to League City this afternoon for lessons from 2 to 8 PM... Then I have an hour's drive home. How's that for a day...?

Tomorrow might be even more busy and crazy.... We'll see... Sadly, I don't have time to compose any more this morning... I want to make a quick post on Elijah's Blog and the HPTA Blog before I head up to the club...

More tonight or first thing in the morning...!

Coach Sam

No Time Today....!

I've got no time today for writing blogs... Sorry... I'm doing double duty with work and watching Elijah. I can't compose at this keyboard very quickly with only one hand. (The other hand is holding the baby...)

This morning I'm working on the Raveneaux tournament, trying to get it completed by 8 PM so Monica can take it with her to deliver it after a meeing she has later this morning...

Perhaps I'll have some time this afternoon to post if the baby takes a nap... Otherwise I'll try it again tomorrow....

Bye for now.... Coach Sam

Taking Monday Morning Off...!

I gave myself the morning off from lessons this morning to rest up a bit from last week's spring break festivities. All in all the camps went well and the spring open tournament was successful, too.

There's not much else to report. I've been completey consumed with the tournament the past 72 hours. Today I've got stuff to do but over all I'm taking it easy today. As I type this, Elijah and I are watching Sesame Street...

Oh, the kitties killed a little grass snake in the house this morning... That was some excitement... Elijah is crawling very well now and is starting to get strong enough to pull himself up. We think he'll be walking before long...

I'm probably going to post a bunch of photos from the tournament very soon... Stay tuned...

More later... Bye for now.... Coach Sam

Weekend Review

Here's a nice photo of daddy and son... Although he's seated here, Elijah is now in full crawl mode. He's very wiggly and mobile. If you want to more photos of Elijah, he's got his own photo blog...

Check out: http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

Yesterday was a blur... Today will be busy... And the forecast for tomorrow...?

More Busy....!

Barely Holding it together...

Yesterday, March 15... Was busier than I thought it would be... One of my Camp counsler's couldn't make it to help me with Spring Break Camp and I had to improvise... It went well, but was just a little stressful for me... I spent the afternoon working on my tournament this weekend and the Raveneaux tournament next weekend. I took Monica and Connor and Elijah to dinner and we got some components for my camcorder so I can video the tennis camp today.

Today, March 16... I'm up early as usual. After blogging I'll spend the rest of the morning working on the tournaments right up until the camp starts. I also need to string two racquets before camp starts. There is a chance of rain today. Normally I don't hope for rain on camp days but I could make up the camp tomorrow so I'm cool if it rains this morning.

Tomorrow March 17... I'm sleeping in.... No matter what happens, I'm sleeping in... No alarm clock, no nothing... Expect a later post than usual tomorrow.

That's the report.... Bye for now... Coach Sam

Hanging in There...

Remember how I said this was going to be a tough, busy week...?

Remember how I said that sometimes my journal would only be a sentence or two due to time restraints...?

Well, this is definitely one of those days...

Take care... See you tomorrow...!

Coach Sam

Hanging in There...

Remember how I said this was going to be a tough, busy week...?

Remember how I said that sometimes my journal would only be a sentence or two due to time restraints...?

Well, this is definitely one of those days...

Take care... See you tomorrow...!

Coach Sam

Deadline Day...

Yep, today is the day... It's the deadline for two tournaments I have coming up this weekend and next weekend. Hopefully I'll have many entries in the mail and online today because early registration has not been as big as I had hoped for...

Still, it will all go well... All I can do is do the best that I can... Give it my best effort... And I can honestly say that I have done that...! Six PM is the deadline... I'll bet I have a ton of calls emails and phone calls today pleading for grace and mercy...!

I'm starting my day on court at 10 AM with my Spring Break Camp... That runs until 2 PM then I'll spend the rest of the day working on tournaments and the club singles league I've started.

Yesterday was strange... We had the most bizarre weather pattern I've ever seen. The morning started off warm and muggy, and a little foggy at 8 AM... By 9:30 it was drizzling rain and we had to stop the ladies drill a few minutes early because the courts were too slick.

I had to go in the tennis shop to get some flyers for camp registration and when I went inside I noticed that the shop was a little warm and stuffy so I turned on the air conditioning. When I stepped back outside, (and this entire effort took less than 60 seconds...) A cold north wind was whipping through the tennis center and everyone was shivering at the gazebo... The temperature had dropped about 20-25 degrees...! Then it tried to rain some more... Then by Noon the sun came out and it was calm again and beautiful the rest of the afternoon...

All I can say it was AMAZING....

Tomorrow it will all start getting a bit easier for me... I'll have to get the bulk of my work done today... Tomorrow will be finishing up the draws and following up with people...

That's about it. Thursday and Friday should be the calm before the STORM...!

More later... Coach Sam

No Time Today...!

This is one of those days where I won't have a spare moment... I'm on the court straight through today with lessons from 8:15 AM until 2 PM... Then I'll have a few hours of office time, and then Monica and I are heading to Houston to pick up some supplies and go to a tennis meeting...

I have lots to work on regarding my upcoming tournaments. Lots of phone calls to make, lots of email messages to compose and return... It will be a mad dash to the finish line...

Yesterday was a very nice day for the Chadwell Family... Praise the Lord...! We sure needed one of those...!

Tomorrow will really be a key day as I pull two tournaments together. I have my own Spring Open March 18-19 and then I have an HPTA Junior Gran Prix at Raveneaux Country Club the following weekend, March 25-26. Both deadlines are Tuesday afternoon at 6 PM....!

More tomorrow morning.... Bye for now....! Coach Sam

Getting Set for a Big Week...

I've been up awhile writing in my prayer journal. I just want to make a quick post here this morning. I'm looking forward to an awesome day today.

Yesterday, Saturday March 11... I had a full day of lessons, stringing racquets, and working on making calls and sending email messages for my upcoming events. It was a busy, full day...!

Today, Sunday March 12...I'm up early and am going to get caught up on data entry for some upcoming tournaments. I'm very much looking forward to listening to Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday morning sermon broadcast at 8 AM. We're attending church this morning at 10:45 AM and have invited our good friends the Davidson's to join us. Afterwards I have a tennis social for juniors this afternoon, then we're taking the Davidson's out to dinner tonight. It should be a good and fun, relaxing family day... This is what I live for...!

Tomorrow, Monday March 13... I have a big day of lessons and a camp. There's a pretty good sign up so far and my assistant from last year, Vanessa is on spring Break and she's going to help me. Afterwards Monica and I are going to Houston in the evening for a meeting.

That's the update... Bye for now...! -Coach Sam

Quick Saturday Entry

Early Morning for Coach Sam:
OK... Wow... I did it... I'm finally up early and will spend the next 4 hours marketing for my upcoming tennis events. I've been meaning to do this for the past week but I've had such a difficult schedule and been so tired I simply haven't been able to get up early and crank it out.

I love the early morning hours. I used to always get up at 4 AM and do my bible study and devotional, but this past year has been such a blur I've been getting to bed later and later and just haven't been able to keep up physically with the demands of my schedule. But today I'm in 'the Zone'. Today I'll get an amazing amount of correnspondence sent off.

Later Today:
I have lessons this morning from 9 AM to Noon, then 1 to 2 PM. After that I may hit a little bit with some members and try to work on my own tennis game. (boy do I need it...) Then the rest of the afternoon I'll be making follow up phone calls for my camp and tournaments next week.

Well, it's almost 4 AM and I need to get on with my prayer journal so I'd better close here...

If you have a chance, check out my new website: http://chadwelltennis.com

I've recently added some new content....

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Friday: My Day to Catch UP

I can't remember when I took this photo I think it was during spring break one year ago. But I've always liked this photo. And it signifies how I feel about today. Today I'm taking off from lessons to get caught up, to rest, and reorganize. A rainbow often forms after a bad storm. I feel like my life has been a thuderstorm much the past two weeks. I'm looking forward to a good productive day here at home.

Today: Friday, March 10:
I'm staying home today and will get caught up on marketing, returning phone calls and answering email correspondence. Believe me, it will take all day to wade through the pile up...!

Yesterday: Tournament Day:
I spent the entire day at the tennis shop with a high school tournament. I strung seven racquets and visited with a lot of people about spring break activities. I practiced tennis with my wife late last night around 8:30 PM. I went to bed not feeling very well. I've been fighting a stiff neck and flu-like symtoms for over a week now. It was a long day. I was at the tennis shop for about 12 hours.

This weekend:
I've got lessons Saturday morning and early afternoon and a junior tennis social Sunday aftermoon. We're going to try to go to church at FBC West Columbia this Sunday.


That's about it for now... I need to update a Elijah's and Connor's blogs and then get to work on my own stuff.

I'll probably take tomorrow morning off from blogging. I'll check in again on Sunday. Thanks for reading Coach Sam's Journal!

Big Day at the Office...

Today: Thursday, March 9
I'll be at the Tennis Proshop all day. My Club is a site for the West Columbia High School tennis tournament. I always get excited when there's a high school tournament at my courts. The High Schoolers are always so enthusiastic. I love making new contacts. I usually string a bunch of racquets during these events. And now that I have actual merchandise in my shop perhaps it will be a good day for sales...

When I'm not working with the tournament participants I'll be spending my spare time marketing for upcoming events at Columbia Lakes. All in all, I'm looking forward to a good productive day.

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 8
Boy was it windy here yesterday. And the fact that our club does not have wind screens made it almost impossible to play tennis at our courts yesterday. Well, it wasn't impossible to play, but it was nearly impossible to enjoy playing. I did actually have one lesson cancel because of the wind... But other than that it was a good day. I still had a great turn out for my group lessons. I was on the court yesterday from 4 to 8:30 PM without a break and I was worn out at the end of that teaching segment. Before I went to bed last night I watched the TV show American Idol. I've really enjoyed that show this season and that's unusual for me because I hardly ever watch anything on TV. But I enjoy singing so much I guess that's why the show interests me.

Anyway, I went to bed by 10 PM and got up early at 4 AM to start my new day... And here I am...!

Tomorrow and the weekend... Hopefully if the weather holds out and we don't get rain today and the tournament here today gets completed then I'll be teaching in Nassau Bay with my home school programs all Friday afternoon. We'll see.... If it does get rained out today then I'll have to cancel Friday lessons to be here while they make up today's tournament tomorrow. Then I have a full weekend of lessons and hitting at Columbia Lakes this weekend.

The Good Life

While I'm out there on a daily basis working my tail off to provide a nice life for my family, these kitties are totally living in the lap of luxory. Here they are during an afternoon nap laying on the chaise lounge atop a number of soft pillows... I think these cats have it too good. They don't even have to pay rent or taxes...!

Wednesday, March 8: My day is off to a good start. I awakened early and had my devotional time. That's a key activity to setting the stage for a good day. Now I'm trying to update my blogs... That's another key a good day and it really gets my creative juices flowing. Later this morning I'm going to update my web pages. I didn't get to that yesterday. But I really need to update them so they can help my bisiness. I want to add links to my blog pages to so more people can get a glimpse at the life of Sam Chadwell. I have lessons all afternoon from 3 PM to 8:30 PM but in the mean time I'll be burning up these computer keys...!

Yesterday... It wasn't as productive a day as I had hoped for, and I did have one major setback which I don't want to elaborate on... But It was a good day in that I did get some HPTA entries processed and we had a good league night for the second night of our new club singles league... And I got a good workout, myself! My Weight is down to 222.2. I should be down below 220 in no time especially if I continue to work out like I'm doing...! I want to get down to below 200 lbs for a tournament I'm competing in the first weekend of May. 22 lbs in two months is very possible if I eat right...

Looking Ahead... Tomorrow my club is hosting a High School Tournament. And next week is my Spring Break Camp, then next weekend is my Spring Open Tournament then the weekend after that is the HPTA Gran Prix... Yep... My plate is FULL...!

This might be the last 'lengthy' post for a while... Bye for now... SC

Two Babies

Here's a photo of Baby Elijah and our kitty Gabriel. Once Elijah starts crawling and walking I doubt Gabriel will get as much rest as they do now...!

Today I only have a few lessons and I'll spend the bulk of my day doing marketing for all of my upcoming programs... I'm going to try to spend a good chunk of time working on my websites, too! More later... Coach Sam

Coach Sam Update

I've been unable to blog in days due to the demands of work and fatherhood. Monica's been busy, too. And although it's been an incredible pace we're keeping, I feel pretty good about everything. I just wish I could carve out more time to blog. But it's a delicate balance. And I must continue to get enough sleep or my immune system goes on vacation and I get sick.

Things are getting better, though. I've bitten the bullet and hired some part time high school help to assist me with data entry and work in the tennis shop. This week they should prove especially helpful...!

I have a spring break camp coming up next week and an open tournament here at Columbia Lakes next weekend and then a Gran Prix tournament after that... So it will be a busy month for Coach Sam...

But inspite of the busy-ness, I'll still try to post a little every day... Even if it's just a sentence or two.. But that's it for now. So until next time...

Have an awesome day!

Coach Sam...