Snow Day

We got enough snow today for all the schools to be out. It was a good break for the kids but adults like me had to go to work anyway. We really did not get much accumulation but the bridges were pretty slick and it snowed off and on all day. Work is pretty busy and I am about to head out on some major travel doing training and some resource fairs that we have scheduled.

DCA has been hosting the region tournament this week and we have seen some really good ball. Tonight's girls' region final between Upperman and York was no exception. Upperman won after hitting a big layup with about 4 seconds left. Tomorrow night's boys' game has Livingston Academy vs. White House. LA has kid that scored 49 points last night. Pretty amazing to say the least.

Sondra and the girls are all doing good. To say that I am blessed is a huge understatement. So very thankful to be the husband of an incredible wife and the dad of two of the greatest kids. They got a little bit of the end of the short stick, but I don't think I am too bad.

Winter Still Hanging On

I got out and ran 10 this morning and it was almost 60 degrees. By the time I made it back in it was 50 and now it is low 40s. Snow is supposedly on the way which usually means we will get nothing.

Our school is hosting the regional semi- and finals this week and last night games were great. Well, actually the Upperman/Livingston Academy game was great with Upperman winning by two with just a few seconds to go. York and Station Camp played the early game and York pretty much wore them out. York was who we lost to last Friday and our girls felt a little better after watching them play last night. They are pretty darn good. Upperman/York play tomorrow night in the finals of the region and then both of them are assured a sectional game on Saturday.

The guys play tonight with Livingston Academy against Station Camp and Upperman against White House. Station Camp has junior, John Jenkins, a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt, who may be one of the best pure jump shooters I have seen in a long time. These two games should be pretty good. I am enjoying announcing the games and the seat I have is great for seeing the game.

Sondra's folks still need your prayers. Her father, Bernard seems to be doing okay for now. For whatever reason, I am missing mom today. Not sitting here as a blubbering idiot (that happens sometimes), but just missing her.

By the way, I picked up a book last week called The Shack. It is a fiction book about a man who has gone through terrible loss and how God helps him through the process. Pretty good read. I am not totally sold on all his theology, but read it through the lens of fiction. You will enjoy the read.

Basketball Season Closes

Shelbi played her final high school game last night and she played really well, but as a team they went down pretty hard in the second half. It was really bittersweet, but I have to tell you, I am one proud dad. Shel came out of the locker room after the game and we cried a little, but I have to tell you, I realized anew just how blessed we are as a family.

I thanked coaches, parents and players for they way they have invested in our daughters and they way they have blessed us. What a huge blessing for us to be a part of Donelson Christian Academy. In fact, as I write this, I am in a strategic planning meeting for DCA and it has been long and grueling, but very beneficial for this institution to move forward.

Continue to pray for Sondra's parents. We are in the waiting stage on Bernard's cancer treatment but he seems to be doing well.

We are headed to Baxter tonight to watch our guys play and hopefully pull off an upset. All next week we host the region tournament and I will be on the microphone again and am trying to get my homework done on the rosters of those coming here to play.

By the way, I made it home from New Mexico safely yesterday and in time to climb into the car and drive two hours plus to watch our girls play and then drive home. Good to be home for a few days.

Quick Update

• I am in New Mexico on retreat and doing some training.
• Our varsity girls won last night and play Fri. night in the first round of district. If they win, they move on and if they lose, it will be Shelbi's last game of her career.
• It is late and I need to get some sleep.
• Sondra's dad has decided to not do chemo for a couple of months and see how it goes. His levels have not changed since Dec. The oral chemo made him very sick.
• Pray for a good friend's son, Stephen Elkins. He is 16 and is being tested next week for possible lymphoma. His dad, Steve, is a good friend and like a brother to me.
• Hug your family and let them know how much you love them. It is good for you and them both.
  

Bummer

Yesterday games were pretty disappointing losses for us in the district tournament. We had a 12 point lead going into the final quarter of the girls' game and ended up losing by 3 in OT. There were quite a few things that went wrong, but no need to rehash it here. We went away from our game plan, panicked, and ended up losing pretty well sums it up in my opinion. We play Tues. night at 6p in the consolation game that will send us into the region tournament a 3 or 4 seed out of our district. Not a good place to be. We should play somewhere on Fri. or Sat. as sort of a play-in for the region tournament that will be hosted at our place the week of the 25th-28th. Hope we get to play at least one in our own gym.

Church was good this morning and we are enjoying 70 degree weather today. Got some rain this morning and now it is sunny and windy. Pretty nice for February that is for sure.

Catching Up

I am writing again today and thought I would be finished by now but that is not the case. It is going well, just can be harder at sometimes than others.

Our guys varsity played last night and were down by 14 at one time and came back and won by 3. It was a play in game for them in district, but it was a very good win. They played hard and the fourth quarter was really exciting. I sat on the floor and Sondra was concerned that I would holler too much at the refs, but I told her I would not and I did not. One of the refs, Ron, is a friend and during time outs we would chat some. I joked with him quite a bit and told him not to swallow his whistle in the last 30 seconds of the game and he said he would not. He called an offensive foul on Greenbrier with 3.5 seconds to go. Pretty gutsy call, but the right one. We exchanged a big smile across the floor after the game.

Our girls play at 4 today and the guys play at 530. Should be fun. I need to write some more. Will report on the games tomorrow.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Wow, it is feeling like winter here big time. I think we got to 25 degrees today after some icing and then some really good snow that amounted to a dusting, but it sure was pretty. We did a 5-miler this morning and it was cold. The wind is what really cuts through me.

How about that Vandy/Kentucky game last night. Billy Gillespie and the Wildcats got thumped after they had been playing some pretty decent ball in the SEC. Glad to see the Commodores get a good win. I also caught some of the Carolina game last night against Virginia and it proved to be a close game.

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and I have it covered. Not bragging, just putting some of your minds at ease. I am sure tomorrow will be very different for my dad. Say a prayer for him if you think about it.

Some Cold Rain

About the time I was about to climb out of the bed this morning, the rains came. Along with the liquid stuff, there was wind, thunder and lightning. I have to be honest that of the three, only the lightning really scares me. I rolled over and slept until 5:15 and then hopped out of bed, headed to the Y and ran 8 pretty, wet, cold, and miserable miles. But . . . I got a good run in.

It has rained off and on all day and they are calling for icing conditions tonight. No basketball practice today for the girls and I have a DCA Board meeting tonight. They are usually pretty productive, but I have to admit that I am pretty tired today. Must be partly the weather.

Sondra's dad came home from the hospital today and is feeling some better.

Quick Update

The weekend finished pretty well with me getting quite a bit of writing done. I need to complete two more chapters and then devote some time to the leader guide, but it is going much better right now.

We got a call from Sondra's mom yesterday that Sondra's dad, Bernard Holmes, was headed to the ER for treatment of dehydration. The oral chemo is really wreaking some havoc on his body and they are going to have to try something else. Please continue to pray for him and Sondra's mom, Joyce.

Last night we enjoyed pizza with our good friends the Fullers and it is always good to catch up with them. The Grammy's were interesting to say the least. I was impressed with Tina Turner and her performance. She still has it at 68. Pretty amazing. Amy Winehouse was the big winner of the evening. I do not get the appeal that she has but do hope she can get her personal life under control. I am for anyone who will work hard to overcome any vices they may have that lead to self-destruction.

No games this week for the girls until Sat. It will be good to get some writing done and hopefully complete it all this week. I will try to post a copy of the book cover in the next few days.

I included a pic of the girls just to show them off like any proud dad would.

Saturday

I have not posted since Wednesday because it has been pretty crazy busy around here. Thursday was a long, busy day and one of those days where you work and work and then evaluate what you have done and feel pretty good at the end of the day.

It started early with my dad and brother leaving for MO and what a great time we had with them while they were here. My dad seems to be doing pretty good although I know he must get lonely. I realized just how much I have missed him the last 6 weeks or so. We had seen each other so much during mom's illness and death and then not seeing him or my brother for awhile was rougher than I thought. It was big fun with them being here though.

Thursday night was a Lost night and I did quite a bit of work on the computer as well trying to get caught up on some work. Friday was busy starting out with an exec. comm. mtg. for DCA at 7a and then much to do at work. I did enjoy a good lunch with Scott Mills our marketing guy. He is a good friend and just a fun person to be around. He had been in Naples, FL for a marketing conference in the week and was readjusting to the little cooler weather here in Nashville.

It was Sr. night last night at DCA and we were playing Greenbrier. Coach Schierling always invites the parents of seniors to join in for devotion for the game and he did a great job. The seniors also sign the senior board in the locker room and it is quite a ritual. Not too many tears were shed. I just sat there and realized again just how blessed we are as a family. For our girls to be a part of DCA and the team and to be influenced by the coaches and teachers who love them is a huge blessing.

The girls' team won last night and the guys lost. Our girls go into the district tournament as the #2 seed and will play a week from today. Our guys play next Fri. night.

Stormy Tennessee

We had bad storms last night but thankfully not at our house. It was all around us and the university Shelbi is headed to in the Fall was the one hit hard in Jackson, TN. We know many students at Union and all of them are doing well thankfully.

There were many casualties in TN last night and a lot of destruction. It is always sad when there is loss of life. There are a couple of small children who were killed in the storms as well.

We have had a great time with dad and James here. They got to see the girls win all their games while they were here. Shelbi had a pretty good game last night and Morgan even got a couple of minutes varsity time. It was a good win for us in the district. We actually put away a team early in the second half. It was a good win.

One of Shelbi's good friends signed a scholarship to play soccer at Belmont today. Congrats to Jamie Loftis and her family. I have included a pic of the signing.

Remiss in Posting

Okay, so it has been awhile since I last posted but here is a catch up.

• Sondra's dad is doing okay. Having some reaction to the oral chemo but looks okay for now.
• The weekend was busy with writing and running (10 miles at a quick pace).
• Our varsity girls lost a close one to CPA. Shelbi still was not able to play.
• The Super Bowl was very exciting, especially the 4th quarter.
• My dad and brother arrived yesterday and it is great to have them here.
• Our varsity girls won last night and Shelbi was able to play about 8 minutes. She played well.
• Today has been all day meetings. Ugh!
• Tonight we play Portland and need to win.
• Bad storms headed our way late tonight.

That is the down and dirty.

Home Again

I made it home this afternoon in time to see the ballgames which the jv won and varsity lost. Shelbi is still out with the concussion but hopes to get to run some tomorrow. We play CPA tomorrow night as make up from an earlier date.

Chattanooga was really good. It is always good to connect with youth ministers and to see many that I have not seen in quite awhile. Some of the new stuff we have been working on is being received very well. If you are interested you can look at the new strategy we developed and some curriculum we are developing that are about developing students.
Lifeway studentstrategy
www.lifeway.com/known

I ran 5 on Thurs and this morning and have a 12-miler on tap for tomorrow. I have a lot of writing to do tomorrow and Sunday and then my dad and my brother are coming on Monday to watch the girls play Mon and Tues nights. It will be good to see them. We have talked a bunch but I have not seen them since the week of mom's funeral. I have been missing them quite a bit. I will try to get a picture of them and post it next week.

It is Super Bowl Sunday this weekend as well. I think I am pulling for the Pats but I really do not care in the long run.