If you're a coaches wife, you know that "normal" doesn't apply to us when it comes to most things. Family traditions are no exception. Here are 4 football-specific traditions our family holds dear.
1. Attend a Coaches Outreach Summer Marriage Retreat
This tradition quickly became a must-do in our family. We learned about them early in our marriage, I think in year 2. We've only missed one since, and we'll never make that mistake again. The retreats are super simple and casual. The format is the same each year, which is what makes it so comfortable and familiar. There are countless benefits of attending, but here are my top 2. First, it reminds me that I am important to my husband. (Tell me I'm not alone. I always start to question this during the season ...) We don't get much time away together to just be a couple. This is a weekend I know I can look forward to each summer. Second, joining together with other coaching couples reminds me that we're not alone. Coaches Outreach does an amazing job of showering us with love all weekend and reminding us how important our coaching ministry is. This boost recharges me for another season.
2. Start of the Season Gift
I stumbled into this tradition, but it's one of my favorite. I'm not great at gift giving for Christmas. Or birthdays. Or Valentines. Or anniversaries. You get the picture. But somehow this occasion gets my creative juices flowing. I try to come up with something fun and surprising (and inexpensive!). I've failed to impress more often than not, unfortunately. But maybe that's part of the appeal. I think the Cincinnati Bengals shirt I got this year will be a hit.
3. Player Cards
"Player cards" were born out of my desire to help my then 2-year-old learn who each of dad's position players were. I asked Greg to take individual pictures of all his players during the team photo day. He wasn't a fan of this request but obliged. I printed out each player, glued the picture to a piece of construction player, and had the cards laminated. On the back I wrote the player's name and grade level. It was fun to quiz my little one of who each person was and then introduce him to them in person. Greg liked to line up his players and then, holding Keats, go down the line having Keats name off each of the players. It made the players happy to have such a tiny fan. Greg happily takes their pictures for me now. :) Bonus: I now also use the cards as I write notes or pray for the players.
4. Budget for "Football Travel"
Each fall, we add a "Football Travel" envelope to our budget. This is money the kids and I use to eat out on Fridays, either as we travel to away games or at the concession stands. I love having this money set aside for this purpose and knowing we can have a treat as we head to the game.
I've learned it's important for the entire family to embrace our coaching lifestyle. As the kids get older, I'm sure we'll add more fun traditions to this list. What are some of your most favorite football family traditions?
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Thursday, June 30, 2016
What I Learned From a Rookie Coaches Wife
Season 8 in a nutshell? It was great. It will go down as the season I met a rookie coaches wife who rocked my world. Emily is a fireball, full of energy and passion. One of the first things we connected over was our shared character trait of being "realists" and not "pessimists."
Not long as our friendship began, Emily proclaimed me to be her "coaches wife mentor." This still makes me laugh to this day. I've had 3 mentors in my life, but I've never thought of myself as one. I've always been so grateful for the advice, wisdom and life lessons my mentors provide, never realizing that the benefits flow both ways.
So after an unbelievable year, here is what I, the mentor, learned from the mentee.
1. I am not alone.
Sometimes this coaching life can be downright lonely. Coworkers and friends (and sometimes family) don't understand the demands. They don't understand the sacrifices. They don't understand why I operate like a single parent during the season. Emily does. On many occasions, she kept K after school until I could arrive or she shuttled him across the street to the high school. I'm not sure how I would have survived the year without her.
2. Why we do this.
Emily shares my passion that coaching is a ministry our families are called to. She values the impact our husbands have on these young men. We both have husbands who come home late because they drive a player home (most don't have cars). We have both prayer walked around the high school. She reminds me that yes, it's all worth it. And sometimes I remind her.
3. Two is better than one.
Crazy ideas are so much more fun when you have an accomplice. Enter Emily. She is up for whatever fun or ridiculous scheme I cook up. And lots of times, she's the chef. This past year we have: bathed my children in my driveway with a water hose, baked cookies, and picnicked in my neighbor's yard. One night Greg returned home really late from a meet, expecting us all to be asleep. Instead, he found the kids running around like nuts and Emily and I gabbing like school girls. There was also a water balloon failure that I'm not ready to talk about yet. :)
4. God answers prayers.
Emily is a triple threat when it comes to answered prayers. I had prayed for our family's transition to kindergarten and for a new friend when a dear neighbor moved away last fall. Emily is God's solid answer to both. She kept me updated on the kindergarten social scene (K held a girl's hand on the circle rug?!) and explained CVC words and blends. She became my go-to friend for sending memes, kid pictures and funny stories. The third answered prayer? It was something I didn't even know to ask God for. In our 5 years of parenting, we have been terrible at asking for help. I've always felt like I was imposing. Emily freed me of this fear. She has loved on our boys so fiercely that accepting her help does not feel like an imposition.
It is my prayer that you will find a coaches wife mentor or mentee this upcoming season who blesses you the way Emily has blessed me. And be sure to check Emily out at Life Below the Mason Dixon. She captures everything on Instagram, so you might be able to find a few pictures documenting Season 8's shenanigans.
Until next time!
Not long as our friendship began, Emily proclaimed me to be her "coaches wife mentor." This still makes me laugh to this day. I've had 3 mentors in my life, but I've never thought of myself as one. I've always been so grateful for the advice, wisdom and life lessons my mentors provide, never realizing that the benefits flow both ways.
So after an unbelievable year, here is what I, the mentor, learned from the mentee.
1. I am not alone.Sometimes this coaching life can be downright lonely. Coworkers and friends (and sometimes family) don't understand the demands. They don't understand the sacrifices. They don't understand why I operate like a single parent during the season. Emily does. On many occasions, she kept K after school until I could arrive or she shuttled him across the street to the high school. I'm not sure how I would have survived the year without her.
2. Why we do this.
Emily shares my passion that coaching is a ministry our families are called to. She values the impact our husbands have on these young men. We both have husbands who come home late because they drive a player home (most don't have cars). We have both prayer walked around the high school. She reminds me that yes, it's all worth it. And sometimes I remind her.
3. Two is better than one.
Crazy ideas are so much more fun when you have an accomplice. Enter Emily. She is up for whatever fun or ridiculous scheme I cook up. And lots of times, she's the chef. This past year we have: bathed my children in my driveway with a water hose, baked cookies, and picnicked in my neighbor's yard. One night Greg returned home really late from a meet, expecting us all to be asleep. Instead, he found the kids running around like nuts and Emily and I gabbing like school girls. There was also a water balloon failure that I'm not ready to talk about yet. :)
4. God answers prayers.
Emily is a triple threat when it comes to answered prayers. I had prayed for our family's transition to kindergarten and for a new friend when a dear neighbor moved away last fall. Emily is God's solid answer to both. She kept me updated on the kindergarten social scene (K held a girl's hand on the circle rug?!) and explained CVC words and blends. She became my go-to friend for sending memes, kid pictures and funny stories. The third answered prayer? It was something I didn't even know to ask God for. In our 5 years of parenting, we have been terrible at asking for help. I've always felt like I was imposing. Emily freed me of this fear. She has loved on our boys so fiercely that accepting her help does not feel like an imposition.
It is my prayer that you will find a coaches wife mentor or mentee this upcoming season who blesses you the way Emily has blessed me. And be sure to check Emily out at Life Below the Mason Dixon. She captures everything on Instagram, so you might be able to find a few pictures documenting Season 8's shenanigans.
Until next time!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Life Lessons from Pete the Cat
Today's post is brought to you by a fabulous children's book my oldest introduced me to -- Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.
Pete is a very cool cat. In this book, he's singing a song about his four groovy buttons when a button pops off his shirt. But Pete doesn't cry. He just keeps going, counting down as each button pops off until the only button left is his belly button. And he's happy.
I can learn a lot from Pete this week. Or month, really. If I had to give the last month a theme it would be "change." And honestly, most of the change is still on the horizon. Friends, I'm anxious about change I am anticipating.
How silly is that?
Jesus tells us not to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6).
I've teared up and gulped back more tears in the last month than I have in probably the last decade. There are even more that I haven't been able to hold back. The kids' teacher thinks I've lost my mind. (I've wondered myself a few times!)
Tonight in my prayer journal I listed out all the things I'm anxious about. In detail. There were 17 bullet points. At the top of the list I wrote, "Hey! God said not to be anxious about ANYTHING!!"
I'm not sure if Pete is a scripture-reading cat or if he's just innately laid back (probably the latter), but he's on to something.
Change is a part of life. We can be anxious and cry, or we can take it in stride and trust the Lord.
In addition to holding tight to scriptures like Psalm 56:3 and Deuteronomy 31:8, I'm adopting Pete's attitude and jingle. You might even hear me singing it sometime soon.
Did Pete cry?
Goodness, no!
Buttons come and buttons go.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Satan Is For Real
Satan is for real, friends, and he attacked me this week.
He knows that as a coach's wife I struggle with the time commitment required. I grow weary of always being the parent to pick up and drop off or take the calls from the school when a child is sick. I feel ridiculously lonely being the single parent at parties and school activities. I feel terrible always turning down social engagements because I either don't have a babysitter or don't want to be away from home during a precious time when Greg is around.
Many times Satan will whisper lies to me about Greg loving football more than me and the kids.
Well, with the season kicking off last week, I was in high spirits and excited about the fresh season ahead -- a perfect time for the enemy to attack.
Through work, I met someone new. It turns out he had recently left high school coaching after 8 seasons. Why had he left? Well, about 5 years ago when his son was born, he and his wife realized that your priorities are where you time is spent - and they decided he needed to be spending more time with his family and less time at work.
Do you see the similarities here?? Eight seasons, an almost 5-year-old son .... making family more of a priority. This wife received the gift I dream of more often than I'd like to admit. It brought me to my knees.
And then I realized it was Satan.
How clever.
With that realization, the Lord gave me the strength to get back up. He renewed my excitement for the season. This morning at church I was covered in a deep realization that God chose me to be a coach's wife.
What an honor.
Who knows if perhaps you were made queen (a coach's wife!) for just such as a time as this? -- Esther 4:14
He knows that as a coach's wife I struggle with the time commitment required. I grow weary of always being the parent to pick up and drop off or take the calls from the school when a child is sick. I feel ridiculously lonely being the single parent at parties and school activities. I feel terrible always turning down social engagements because I either don't have a babysitter or don't want to be away from home during a precious time when Greg is around.
Many times Satan will whisper lies to me about Greg loving football more than me and the kids.
Well, with the season kicking off last week, I was in high spirits and excited about the fresh season ahead -- a perfect time for the enemy to attack.
Through work, I met someone new. It turns out he had recently left high school coaching after 8 seasons. Why had he left? Well, about 5 years ago when his son was born, he and his wife realized that your priorities are where you time is spent - and they decided he needed to be spending more time with his family and less time at work.
Do you see the similarities here?? Eight seasons, an almost 5-year-old son .... making family more of a priority. This wife received the gift I dream of more often than I'd like to admit. It brought me to my knees.
And then I realized it was Satan.
How clever.
With that realization, the Lord gave me the strength to get back up. He renewed my excitement for the season. This morning at church I was covered in a deep realization that God chose me to be a coach's wife.
What an honor.
Who knows if perhaps you were made queen (a coach's wife!) for just such as a time as this? -- Esther 4:14
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Happy Football Eve!
After the epic fail that was summer 2014, I can tell you that we did it right this year. We started off by attending Coaches Outreach in June. If you're a coaching couple, you should be at one of their summer marriage retreats. This was our 5th year (we think - starting to lose count) and it was a great one. We love meeting others who live our life. It's restful and energizing at the same time.
In July we journeyed north to Canada where we spent a week with cousins.The weather was spectacular - think the perfect spring day with NO bugs! We saw fireworks, all the tourist sites, ate some good food and jumped on a trampoline. What could be more fun?!
Mixed in there we swam in our inflatable pool, played in cardboard boxes, and celebrated the boys' birthdays. I also managed to attend a conference in Chicago (can you say selfie at the Bean?).
So tonight summer comes to a close. Greg is officially back at work in the morning. Season 8 begins.
You might remember that I like to get Greg a small present to kick off the season. To me it's become a fun tradition, even though he has yet to LIKE any of the surprises I've gotten him. That changed tonight. I got us matching Qalo rings. He'd never heard of them so he thought they were pretty cool. Maybe he will start a trend on the staff.
Here's to a great 2015 season - an opportunity to show Christ's love to the young men he's put in our lives, pray for them as they navigate life, and maybe win a few games!
In July we journeyed north to Canada where we spent a week with cousins.The weather was spectacular - think the perfect spring day with NO bugs! We saw fireworks, all the tourist sites, ate some good food and jumped on a trampoline. What could be more fun?!
Mixed in there we swam in our inflatable pool, played in cardboard boxes, and celebrated the boys' birthdays. I also managed to attend a conference in Chicago (can you say selfie at the Bean?).
So tonight summer comes to a close. Greg is officially back at work in the morning. Season 8 begins.
You might remember that I like to get Greg a small present to kick off the season. To me it's become a fun tradition, even though he has yet to LIKE any of the surprises I've gotten him. That changed tonight. I got us matching Qalo rings. He'd never heard of them so he thought they were pretty cool. Maybe he will start a trend on the staff.
Here's to a great 2015 season - an opportunity to show Christ's love to the young men he's put in our lives, pray for them as they navigate life, and maybe win a few games!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Blessed Assurance
I started a prayer journal this summer. Here's a little peak into my entry from Friday. Can you tell what kind of day I had? :-)
After the game Friday night, I had a brief encounter with an acquaintance who unknowingly addressed an issue I had been struggling with all week. What an amazing God we have. He loves me so much that he heard my heart's cry and provided assurance to me through this person. Just what I needed.
Football Update: Today starts week 4 of the season and we are still looking for our first win. I know it's not all about winning, but winning sure does make it more fun.
When I am anxious,
You are there.
When I am overwhelmed,
You are there.
When I am tired,
You are there.
When I am impatient,
You are there.
When I am frustrated,
You are there.
When I am lonely,
You are there.
When I am scared,
You are there.
When I am hurting,
You are there.
When I am fed up,
You are there.
When I am at my wits end,
You are there.
After the game Friday night, I had a brief encounter with an acquaintance who unknowingly addressed an issue I had been struggling with all week. What an amazing God we have. He loves me so much that he heard my heart's cry and provided assurance to me through this person. Just what I needed.
Football Update: Today starts week 4 of the season and we are still looking for our first win. I know it's not all about winning, but winning sure does make it more fun.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
A True Freshman
A quick update on the player Greg was trying so desperately to keep at college ...
On Saturday morning Greg received a text from him saying "Today I play in my first college game as a true freshman."
Hooray! What a relief!
We hadn't heard from the player since my last update. He had simply quit responding to Greg's texts and didn't answer phone calls. We've learned that's the typical response when a player knows he's not making the best choice - he simply drops off the grid. And we're left to wonder. And pray.
Saturday we got an answer.
It's still early as our beloved player works toward his degree. There will be more trials. More prayers needed. But at least - as of Saturday - he was hanging in there.
Greg quickly wrote him back to say we're proud of him and that we will try to make a game this season.
It turns out this player's college team and the Waco Lions both lost this weekend. Losing is never fun, but I'm proud my coach knows that he's playing a game even bigger and more important than Texas high school football.
#thisiswhy
On Saturday morning Greg received a text from him saying "Today I play in my first college game as a true freshman."
Hooray! What a relief!
We hadn't heard from the player since my last update. He had simply quit responding to Greg's texts and didn't answer phone calls. We've learned that's the typical response when a player knows he's not making the best choice - he simply drops off the grid. And we're left to wonder. And pray.
Saturday we got an answer.
It's still early as our beloved player works toward his degree. There will be more trials. More prayers needed. But at least - as of Saturday - he was hanging in there.
Greg quickly wrote him back to say we're proud of him and that we will try to make a game this season.
It turns out this player's college team and the Waco Lions both lost this weekend. Losing is never fun, but I'm proud my coach knows that he's playing a game even bigger and more important than Texas high school football.
#thisiswhy
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