Spring Break in Dallas. The Galleria....
Ice Skating! 
Luke and one of our TX cousins, Matt... 
Eating with the staff at Campisis.... SOOO yummy! 
Coaches kids 
ORU Golden Eagles Vs. SMU. 
Loss in overtime, but a great trip to the Big D
Showing posts with label ORU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ORU. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Friday, 4 December 2009
Here are some pictures of Cancun in no particular order because I am too crazy to rearrange them and if I would've been smart I would have uploaded them in the preferred order but I didn't so now they are all helter skelter and don't really tell a story but I can't worry about it because it is December 5th and this week of vacation in Cancun was so wonderful but put me behind Christmas-wise and the only thing I have done to this point is my Christmas cards, which is great, but there is not one, I repeat not one Christmas item up, they are all still in my attic. Deep Breath. So not as to neglect the documenting of our family story, I add these pictures with a few phrases to help me to remember in the future what fun filled experiences we had in Cancun, Mexico in November 2009.
Hallie and Kami on the beach,
Luke and Khloe bury Ellie alive!
Luke relaxing in a hammock.
Luke relaxing in a hammock.Every room at Moon Palace Resort had a hammock.
Interestingly, my mom and dad's hammock was stolen one night,
ut management replaced it that next day.
Interestingly, my mom and dad's hammock was stolen one night,
ut management replaced it that next day.
Kami and Tom taking in the deep blue expanse.
Preparing to Parasail!
Gotta love birds that dive headfirst into the water for their lunch.
Game Time!
Luke and Josh poolside.
Hallie has excited eyes while parasailing!
Fun with sand.
We love our players.Roderick is the one on crutches.
He tore his ACL just a couple days before this trip.
Thanksgiving Day fun? Wet and Wild Water Park
The kindergarten crew.
Luke and Lauren by the Palms
Don't palm trees make nice background?This is Kami and Mackenzie waiting to swim with the dolphins.
Looking for shells our last morning in Cancun.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Well, she's officially off!It's 4:30 in the morning, and Tom just got Kami packed into the car headed to the airport to get on a flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.
By herself.
Yup, you read it right! She is flying as an unaccompanied minor, and though I've heard that those kids flying alone get some cushy treatment, she is feeling pretty grown up.
In fact, I have a hunch she'd rather fly alone than in a group of people. You should have seen the look on her face this morning as she popped out of bed at 4:00 A.M!!!
She's traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina for the ORU vs. North Carolina basketball game. Ummmm.... yep, the Tarheels are currently undefeated and the #1 team in the nation, but Tom and I figured that even if ORU got beat by 50 (God forbid!!) that it would be a memorable experience for her. She loves the history of basketball, and the Dean Dome is a pretty historic. Every time for the rest of her life she sees NC on TV, she will have that experience to refer to. She loves our team. She loves watching our games. So, it is our Christmas gift to her.
And...
One of her best cousins on Tom's side of the family lives in Raleigh. So, she gets some time with Jennifer, who she sees, at best, once a year.
The girl is pumped.
Even though I don't really understand it, being the ball of emotional complexity that I am, I am so thankful for the solid and unflappable personality God gave her. She didn't miss a beat when I asked her if she'd be willing to fly alone (the tickets on Tom's flight were waaay expensive). She is savoring the moment of pure independence.
I pray God's strong hand of protection upon her as she travels this weekend. I pray God will bless her with a wonderful trip, and that she will rely upon Him in her time away. We talked about her true source of strength and protection and wisdom and I pray she will seek God if there is a moment she feels unsure about something.
It's an interesting moment as a parent to look up and see your child so willing to walk away. I guess it starts when they are little toddlers running away from you as fast as their chunky little legs can go, and you have to run after them and swoop them up. This time, I won't be running after her, but I will be swooping her up when she flies home on Sunday!!!
Friday, 21 March 2008
.....but home too soon :( 
Note: if you want to turn off the music, click the speaker button in the bottom left hand corner of the slideshow.
The trip was Wonderful; the Game was Woeful!!!!
The wonderful: We had a charter flight to Denver. Charter. No airport terminals, no x-ray machines (though there was a light security table. Everyone had to be waved over with a metal detector - even the kids! It was funny to see Luke standing there with his legs and arms spread). It was special. I haven't taken a whole lot of charter flights in my life, and I could really get used to it. The weather in Denver was nice. Really sunny and crisp and pretty. The mountains, of course, were gorgeous. I'm sure people who live there get used to the scenery. But for me, mountains are always an expression of God's power and awesomeness. The hotel (though under renovation) was nice enough. The kids LOVE going on vacation and staying in luxurious hotel rooms. They ate this up! My dad's sister, Aunt Anne, who I was named after, and her daughter, our cousin Ashley, live near Denver. The only condition we see them under is pretty much.... Oklahoma! So it was fun seeing them in their territory, and they were so amazing to come pick us up from the hotel and take us to Cherry Creek Mall, especially considering Ashley has 3 year old Andrew and 5 month old baby Ryan! AND they came to our game in downtown Denver. We all appreciated their enthusiasm and love and we are considering going back this summer for a visit! Another great thing was just making memories with family and friends. Going to the NCAA tournament is a really fun experience!!!
The woeful: This is our third NCAA first round game. And don't get me wrong, I was thankful to be there. I am glad we made it to the tournament!!! Let me say it again, I am glad we made it!!!! (Here comes the but), BUT oh my goodness, we got our tails kicked. After coming out sharp for oh, about 5 minutes, the rest of the game was like a nightmare. I kept asking Kim, "is this a bad dream?" Down by almost 30, (yes 30) in the first half. We weren't expected to WIN, but we were expected to play well, you know compete. And we DID NOT DO THAT. And it hurt. I was sad for our players, who I love. I was sad for our coaches. I was sad for our kids, whose disappointment wasn't quite as masked as everyone else's. Kami said after the game, "mom, I really thought we'd win this game, because in fairy tales, the 3rd time is usually the charm." Good point, Kam. Maybe that's why, deep in my gut, I thought we'd come out on the winning side of this one too. But this is not a fairy tale, and God's ways are higher than ours.
Note: if you want to turn off the music, click the speaker button in the bottom left hand corner of the slideshow.
The trip was Wonderful; the Game was Woeful!!!!
The wonderful: We had a charter flight to Denver. Charter. No airport terminals, no x-ray machines (though there was a light security table. Everyone had to be waved over with a metal detector - even the kids! It was funny to see Luke standing there with his legs and arms spread). It was special. I haven't taken a whole lot of charter flights in my life, and I could really get used to it. The weather in Denver was nice. Really sunny and crisp and pretty. The mountains, of course, were gorgeous. I'm sure people who live there get used to the scenery. But for me, mountains are always an expression of God's power and awesomeness. The hotel (though under renovation) was nice enough. The kids LOVE going on vacation and staying in luxurious hotel rooms. They ate this up! My dad's sister, Aunt Anne, who I was named after, and her daughter, our cousin Ashley, live near Denver. The only condition we see them under is pretty much.... Oklahoma! So it was fun seeing them in their territory, and they were so amazing to come pick us up from the hotel and take us to Cherry Creek Mall, especially considering Ashley has 3 year old Andrew and 5 month old baby Ryan! AND they came to our game in downtown Denver. We all appreciated their enthusiasm and love and we are considering going back this summer for a visit! Another great thing was just making memories with family and friends. Going to the NCAA tournament is a really fun experience!!!
The woeful: This is our third NCAA first round game. And don't get me wrong, I was thankful to be there. I am glad we made it to the tournament!!! Let me say it again, I am glad we made it!!!! (Here comes the but), BUT oh my goodness, we got our tails kicked. After coming out sharp for oh, about 5 minutes, the rest of the game was like a nightmare. I kept asking Kim, "is this a bad dream?" Down by almost 30, (yes 30) in the first half. We weren't expected to WIN, but we were expected to play well, you know compete. And we DID NOT DO THAT. And it hurt. I was sad for our players, who I love. I was sad for our coaches. I was sad for our kids, whose disappointment wasn't quite as masked as everyone else's. Kami said after the game, "mom, I really thought we'd win this game, because in fairy tales, the 3rd time is usually the charm." Good point, Kam. Maybe that's why, deep in my gut, I thought we'd come out on the winning side of this one too. But this is not a fairy tale, and God's ways are higher than ours.
Thursday, 13 March 2008
It's not like me not to post. In fact, I now go throughout my day thinking in terms of blog posts. Creating titles, opening lines, blog concepts. I can hear my non-writing sister laughing out loud at this. You DO WHAT? she laughs. Well, it's just the natural way my mind works. But due to March Madness (not just the basketball kind) I have not been able to get myself in front of a computer long enough to compose any of my thoughts! So, here they are, in a blended sort of way.
March 4th. March Fourth. March Forth. A day always overshadowed by basketball, but that's OK. My favorite birthday gift? A phone call from Granny. She's 97. Tears flowed silently down my cheeks as she sang to me. Luke has a new level of words. He's past the -sp world and onto the -ch world. Yes, I said world there, not word. I think in terms of blog posts; he thinks in terms of worlds, a la Super Mario Brothers. He IS Mario. Great is thy faithfulness, O God My Father.Are my emotions an indicator of my faith? I am sitting in the stands to watch the first conference tournament game and I think my heart must be heard by everyone in section D!!! Does this mean I don't trust HIM? Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday God Bless YOU, Happy Birthday to You. After the song, we talked. About my day. About quilting. You really only need to use 2 different sized strips instead of 4, she offered. The quilts are just as pretty with 2, and less to think about. How many more birthdays will she sing to me? -chocolate -chill -chin -chacket (no chacket starts with a "j" baby). I believe. I do believe. That HE will watch over us. If that means winning ball games, then He will do it. Is it petty to pray to WIN? Do you pray that your husband has success at his job? That he will do well and find favor with his boss? That he will be blessed and be promoted? Ditto. Everyone wanted to know how it felt to "almost" be 40. Are you kidding me? Absolutely wonderful. I am alive. I am here to enjoy my precious husband and wonderful kids. My parents have showed me nothing but love my entire life, and God has surrounded me with friends on every side. Are things perfect? Of course not. But I am happy, even if I am going to have to check the 40 and over box sometime soon. She's making an Easter quilt. It has lots of pinks and purples and some green too. We WON the first game vs. Centenary! Our awesome and spirit-filled Moses, the same one who read to Ellie's first grade class, hit 8 three pointers! Way to go Mo! And my friend Nicole got me through it, all the way from Florida, she lifted me up with text messages like this: "u hv bn here b 4 he is faithful and just." God, I can't control my emotions, but I control my reaction to my emotions. I react to nerves by saying, "I trust YOU!" and I do. 2nd game: down by 7 at halftime with only 17 points. Incredibly, He gave me peace. You're going to pull it out, He said. We did. Emotions didn't rule. -challenge -choice -chip. I felt it that morning. Grossly, I think I felt the bug actually bore itself into my right nostril. It was downhill from there. I spent the evening of our 3rd victory in my bed. Didn't even watch the game on ESPN. While my entire family celebrates our awesome victory vs. IUPUI until midnight, I am in bed with the flu. Humorous, really, but you know, what, it's OK. Great is His Faithfulness! -CHAMP!!!!
March 4th. March Fourth. March Forth. A day always overshadowed by basketball, but that's OK. My favorite birthday gift? A phone call from Granny. She's 97. Tears flowed silently down my cheeks as she sang to me. Luke has a new level of words. He's past the -sp world and onto the -ch world. Yes, I said world there, not word. I think in terms of blog posts; he thinks in terms of worlds, a la Super Mario Brothers. He IS Mario. Great is thy faithfulness, O God My Father.Are my emotions an indicator of my faith? I am sitting in the stands to watch the first conference tournament game and I think my heart must be heard by everyone in section D!!! Does this mean I don't trust HIM? Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday God Bless YOU, Happy Birthday to You. After the song, we talked. About my day. About quilting. You really only need to use 2 different sized strips instead of 4, she offered. The quilts are just as pretty with 2, and less to think about. How many more birthdays will she sing to me? -chocolate -chill -chin -chacket (no chacket starts with a "j" baby). I believe. I do believe. That HE will watch over us. If that means winning ball games, then He will do it. Is it petty to pray to WIN? Do you pray that your husband has success at his job? That he will do well and find favor with his boss? That he will be blessed and be promoted? Ditto. Everyone wanted to know how it felt to "almost" be 40. Are you kidding me? Absolutely wonderful. I am alive. I am here to enjoy my precious husband and wonderful kids. My parents have showed me nothing but love my entire life, and God has surrounded me with friends on every side. Are things perfect? Of course not. But I am happy, even if I am going to have to check the 40 and over box sometime soon. She's making an Easter quilt. It has lots of pinks and purples and some green too. We WON the first game vs. Centenary! Our awesome and spirit-filled Moses, the same one who read to Ellie's first grade class, hit 8 three pointers! Way to go Mo! And my friend Nicole got me through it, all the way from Florida, she lifted me up with text messages like this: "u hv bn here b 4 he is faithful and just." God, I can't control my emotions, but I control my reaction to my emotions. I react to nerves by saying, "I trust YOU!" and I do. 2nd game: down by 7 at halftime with only 17 points. Incredibly, He gave me peace. You're going to pull it out, He said. We did. Emotions didn't rule. -challenge -choice -chip. I felt it that morning. Grossly, I think I felt the bug actually bore itself into my right nostril. It was downhill from there. I spent the evening of our 3rd victory in my bed. Didn't even watch the game on ESPN. While my entire family celebrates our awesome victory vs. IUPUI until midnight, I am in bed with the flu. Humorous, really, but you know, what, it's OK. Great is His Faithfulness! -CHAMP!!!!
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Well, no scary music or silly posts. We lost. Our bracket is busted and our bubbles are burst. Losing by one is no fun. It would almost be easier to lose by 20. I know that sound ridiculous, but oh, the blood that was pumping through my heart about 4 PM yesterday as our players put up the last shot to win the game. The shot didn't fall, but our faces did. And I'm having a hard time fully recovering today. But hey, it's just a game, right?????
Saturday, 16 February 2008
As much as I hate to admit it, I had a little superstition about posting about our win streak, which was broken tonight at 13. I wanted to say something about the wins, after all, the blog is called Having a Ball, but there's a weird little catch that said to me that I would be setting myself up if I posted about how excited we have been to go undefeated in conference play. How thrilled I was to see Moses score 40 points, a feat neither Ken nor Caleb accomplished. How actually NICE it has been not to deal with the baggage of losing. Like a silly blog post would do that: make us lose. But still, I couldn't do it. And, sure enough, it wasn't the blog posting that made us lose... oh no... I can blame something else! I usually don't read the article in the morning newspaper on the day of the game and I did today, so THAT must be it!!!
Used to, if the game was on TV, I might try to just catch the last few minutes of it. However, I now watch every stinkin minute of the games. I have no choice. Kami is our little play-by-play announcer who adds a lot of color (GET THE BALL TO JARVIS she screams to the TV) , and she will not miss a second of the game. So, we stood in the kitchen together and watched ORU go down tonight to IUPUI. After a terrible first half, the guys pulled it together and came back from being, I think, 11 down. The lead kept changing hands the last couple of minutes and A-Lib missed a shot at the end to win it. It was exciting, but I tried to keep my emotions in check. After 8 year of this basketballcoacheswifelife, I (think) I am learning what Patsy has wisely offered for years: don't get too up! and don't get too down! Keep an even keel. If you know me very well, you are laughing. You are surprised I can even type the words "even keel." Because you know my emotions often carry my away! But there is a part of me that is OK with this. I don't like it. I NEVER like losing... but it is OK.
And on another note, what about OSU beating Texas A&M at College Station tonight? They needed it, and they GOT it. I am really, really happy for Sean and his players. And most of all, Sean's WIFE! :) Speaking of OSU, I stumbled on to these Bill Teegins highlights a few weeks ago, and I have been waiting to post them. If you loved listening to Bill call OSU games, then you will enjoy these clips in a bittersweet way. Seven years after the terrible OSU plane crash, I still miss Bill Teegins. The basketball part is towards the end, and boy, Bill was FAN-TAS-TIC. Take a little listen!
Now that's a basketball post for ya!
Used to, if the game was on TV, I might try to just catch the last few minutes of it. However, I now watch every stinkin minute of the games. I have no choice. Kami is our little play-by-play announcer who adds a lot of color (GET THE BALL TO JARVIS she screams to the TV) , and she will not miss a second of the game. So, we stood in the kitchen together and watched ORU go down tonight to IUPUI. After a terrible first half, the guys pulled it together and came back from being, I think, 11 down. The lead kept changing hands the last couple of minutes and A-Lib missed a shot at the end to win it. It was exciting, but I tried to keep my emotions in check. After 8 year of this basketballcoacheswifelife, I (think) I am learning what Patsy has wisely offered for years: don't get too up! and don't get too down! Keep an even keel. If you know me very well, you are laughing. You are surprised I can even type the words "even keel." Because you know my emotions often carry my away! But there is a part of me that is OK with this. I don't like it. I NEVER like losing... but it is OK.
And on another note, what about OSU beating Texas A&M at College Station tonight? They needed it, and they GOT it. I am really, really happy for Sean and his players. And most of all, Sean's WIFE! :) Speaking of OSU, I stumbled on to these Bill Teegins highlights a few weeks ago, and I have been waiting to post them. If you loved listening to Bill call OSU games, then you will enjoy these clips in a bittersweet way. Seven years after the terrible OSU plane crash, I still miss Bill Teegins. The basketball part is towards the end, and boy, Bill was FAN-TAS-TIC. Take a little listen!
Now that's a basketball post for ya!
Sunday, 6 January 2008
It's just the latest truth I've learned as the wife of a college basketball coach. Snacking has never been a way for me to soothe myself during basketball games (although it carries me through about every other challenge in my life). Food is just not appealing as I watch those guys go to battle on the court. It's kind of like eating while watching a loved one have surgery. Not good. But with the game hundreds of miles away from me, I ordered a nice, juicy, mushroom and swiss burger. I had heard Louie's makes great burgers! And as fate would have it.... when that burger was served, I simultaneously discovered that the Golden Eagles were in OVERTIME. So as the kiddos crammed down their grilled cheeses and pizzas and the Smiths enjoyed their fare of choice, my burger and fries just sat there real lonely. I cut it into fourths, I sprayed a big pond of ketchup on my plate. But it didn't help. I just couldn't take one single bite. I watched the tickers on the 29 TVs in the restaurant. Couldn't find the score anywhere! Finally, I called my dad. "Dad, what happened in the game? I know we were in overtime?! Is it over?" Tick Tick Tick............................ "We won by 9!" Dad reported. I felt like screaming. It probably would've been fine to scream. It was so loud there no one would have noticed. I went back and sat down at the table. And ate the whole darn burger. I learned something else: burgers taste absolutely delicious after a sweet win.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Friday, 16 November 2007
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Tonight, as I checked on the score of our game (OUCH!), I happened to click on a news site where the top story was about ORU, and how the tenured faculty had voted "no faith" in current President Richard Roberts. (DOUBLE OUCH). Not to be confused with the Board of Regents, this group of people (don't know how many) made a resolution (non-binding) basically announcing their feelings of no confidence in Richard. Excuse me while I throw up. Having been affiliated with ORU for 8+ years, (admittedly as an outsider), I have had nothing but wonderful opinions and interactions with President Roberts. To see him, his family and many who love this university going through this battle is.... well.... like dipping my arms in a pot of boiling water. It hurts! It stings! And the healing will take a long time! And if I feel this way, my goodness... how others closer to the situation must feel. I have always felt like God has put us at ORU for a reason. Only Jehovah God in Heaven could have matched me up with this good-looking basketball junkie, all the while secretly matching my sister up with another handsome basketball player, then to (of all things) find a way to make them both Division I basketball coaches and um, while He was at it, decided that they would work together at the same school, which just happened to be ORU??????? A place we could call home! A place that our children love to go! A place to be proud of! A place we pray for. A place that is part of us. A place that is being torn up right now. I don't know the truth. I don't know the answers. I know A LOT of people are loving it. But I am hating it, and I am asking for your prayers. Not your judgments. That He has made clear is HIS to do. And it is a lesson I am learning myself. Will you pray for this ministry, this university, and our family? Pray that we will trust in the Lord with all our hearts and rely not on our own understanding... that in all our ways we will acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths.
Saturday, 17 March 2007
We would like to let you know that you are a very nice state. Very beautiful, very big and very warm. It was so much fun to come visit you. We were amazed to see how green the grass is already and to watch the busy streets around us. Mom kept us very close to her and yelled at us not to stand so close to the curb. She said that the drivers are even crazier in California than in Oklahoma. You have a nice city in Sacramento. We enjoyed going out to eat and hanging out at the hotel with Hallie, Lauren, Maggie, Kiki, Nana, Gran Carolyn, Mackenzie, Trey, Jourdan and CJ. Swimming and snacking and watching movies was pretty cool. Nana let us sleep in her room every night. Luke got to stay with Gran Carolyn too. But what we really enjoyed was our day trip to San Francisco with the ORU cheerleaders. Is that the same Golden Gate Bridge that they show on Full House? And why are the houses built right next to each other like little leggos? We had a great time on the bay. Things we especially enjoyed were Fisherman's Wharf, looking across the bay at Alcatraz, visiting the Aquarium, and eating chocolates at Ghiralldi. Then, we took a drive to Pacifica beach. Oh my! Was it ever awesome! And COLD! Especially when Hallie fell down in the tide and got all wet. We thought you could warm up San Francisco a little bit - can you work on that please? Actually, the cheerleaders tried to get warm by doing some formations on the beach. Another thing...the sand wasn't really the sand we're used to... but small, smooth stones of many colors. I hate to tell you this, but Ellie stole lots of your pebbles and mom keeps finding them in pockets and suitcases. She even found them in the floor of the garage today! I think you have a zillion of them left on your beach though. Plus, Bubba Gump and The Hard Rock Cafe are two yummy restaurants! We ate there for lunch and then dinner. The only disappointment we had, California, was the ORU basketball game. We felt that we had the chance to play well against a very good team in Washington State. And we did for one half. But then... in the 2nd half, things didn't go our way and we ended up losing the game. It's funny... because at first we were just excited to be IN the tournament. But as game time grew closer and closer, we wanted that game more and more. We not only wanted it for ourselves, but for Caleb Green and Ken Tutt. But it was not the happily ever after we hoped for. Guess who cheered us up after the game? Caleb Green himself. He saw us on the elevator with sad looks on our faces, and he encouraged us, ""don't be sad! We got to the tournament twice!" We looked up 6 feet 8 inches to see a big smile on his face. That pretty much helped us feel better. Well, again, we thank you for letting us stay in your fabulous state. We had a great time and hope that we can come back again someday!
Love, Kami Ellie and Luke
P.S. We saw a t-shirt at the airport and we were wondering, who is "The Governator?"
My, Luke looks like Forest Gump! Well, at least those are Forest's shoes.
Two little rockers at the Hard Rock Cafe
The biggest ORU fans of all! Kami, Mackenzie and Jourdan
Love, Kami Ellie and Luke
P.S. We saw a t-shirt at the airport and we were wondering, who is "The Governator?"
After we ate at the Outback in Sacramento
Can you see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background?
My, Luke looks like Forest Gump! Well, at least those are Forest's shoes.
The outcropping of rocks at Pacifica
The ORU cheerleaders building on the beach
Ellie and Hallie looking for special pebbles.
At the Aquarium. Ellie was afraid the tunnel was going to burst on top of her.
Two little rockers at the Hard Rock Cafe
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