Football, Football, Football

This is our life right now....Football. If you want to know what were doing, the answer will almost always be football, either practicing, playing or watching.

Saturday, September 19 was the boys first games. Before the game we went out to IHop for breakfast to get the boys good and nourished. And just because I wanted to go.


Game faces


Fonzy and the boys - of course Fonzy is covering his face.


Fonzy and Ezekiel before Elijah's game - Courgars vs. Tigers

Final Score: Tigers 19 Cougars 12










Fonzy and another Dad looking on - I'm sure wanting to run out on the field and tell the boys what to do.












Jay and TJ melting in the muggy heat


Karen and TJ watching the game.

Next up is Ezekiel's game - Redskins vs. Patriots

Redsking 18 Patriots 12












********************************************************************
Tuesday night, Sept. 22 - in the pouring rain

Redskins vs. Cowboys

Cowboys 12 Redskins 7












We were nice and wet after the game.

Remembering

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.
~Author Unknown


Samuel and Manuel


Samuel and Aunt Karen


Samuel and Uncle Jr.


Samuel


Samuel and Manuel

Patty Cake, Patty Cake....

Patty cake, Patty, cake, bakers man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can!







*we removed the shell

My Son's Headstone

Samuel's headstone came in today. I was home, helping Ezekiel and Elijah with homework, cooking dinner when I get the call. I got the proof weeks ago, and we have just been waiting for them to finish it so it can be set at his grave. I didn't think I would have a hard time viewing it, since I had the proof, but this is the real thing....too real. I feel sick to my stomach.

You know, your mind can have you believe that this is not true. My first born is not dead. I know I saw his body in a casket, but really...it didn't look like him. Not really. It's all mistake and Samuel is going to call, laughing saying he was just traveling, selling his CD's. This is just a horrible nightmare and I'm going to wake up. You can make yourself believe it. Maybe it's a coping mechanism. Your mind trying to help ease all the pain...make it a little easier. I don't know. Some days I think I'm ok, and may seem ok to everyone around me, but I'm not. I can put up a good front, but the pain..it's unbearable at times. There have been times I've thought that I would be OK if I died right now. I would be with Samuel, and my Mom. I know it's not fair to my boys here or Fonzy, but I would be lying if I said it hasn't crossed my mind in a moment of pain. I'm still waiting for Samuel to come to me in my dreams. The other day I was sitting on the floor in the livingroom and saw something move out of the corner of my eye and my first thought was Samuel. I looked around, but of course nothing was there. My mind was just playing tricks on me I guess. I think about Samuel in the ground and it kills me. We briefly thought about having him cremated, but I'm glad we didn't. I know it's just his body, but I can't imagine him not being there in TX...having only ashes. I don't think I could handle that. I'm having a hard enough time as it is.

19 and gone....how can this be? I still can't believe it's true.


an 8X10 plaque made for us to have

Betty Crocker and the Other Mother

Every now and then, I get this urge to be a “good mommy.” You know the type who plays games, bakes cookies, kisses boo-boos, and cuddles in bed at night for story time. Most times I fail miserably! According to the boys, I’m like the “Other Mother” in Coraline. I act all sweet for a bit, and then all of sudden my head starts spinning and I turn into this evil looking thing. I personally don’t think I’m that bad…but whatever.



Anyway, this weekend I decided I was going to be the good mother and bake football cookies with the boys and be the good wife too and bake pumpkin buns for Fonzy. I was on a roll. In my mind, I saw the perfect football cookies – jerseys with the boys names on them, little helmets the color of their favorite team and then of course perfect little brown footballs. What fun we would have. So I look on line to see if anyone has football themed cookie cutters and just my luck, Michaels has a set with a jersey, helmet and football! Perfect! It was meant for me to be the “good mommy” today. So Elijah and I head off to Michaels to get our cookie cutters. Of course once we get there, we find that Michaels has no more football cookie cutter sets. I guess all the other “good mommies” had the same idea as me. But I wasn’t going to let that deter me. Browsing thru the store I find a box of cookie cutters that has a football and helmet in it…..along with 98 other cookie cutters. But I was determined to be the “good mommy” so I grab the box and we are off to make adorable football cookies.

We get home and make the dough for the cookies. Now every year during the holidays I bake cookies with the boys and they turn out great….no problems whatsoever. Of course this time when I am trying to create lasting memories, so the boys won’t remember me as “the other mother” my cookies don't turn out right. The dough would not cooperate, the frosting tasted horrible and I couldn’t get the right brown color for the footballs! Oh…and the pumpkin buns I thought for sure were going to be yummy? Yeah…that didn’t happen either. I was so proud of myself too when I was making them. I’ve never made anything like cinnamon buns or bread from scratch, like I had to use yeast and let the dough rise and everything! I even had to knead the dough and kind of liked doing it. I just couldn’t wait for Fonzy to taste my buns. He was going to be so proud of me and brag about the great pumpkin buns I made. The buns come out the oven and actually looked like cinnamon buns. I was too thrilled! I drizzled the icing on them to make it complete and give Fonzy one. I just knew they were going to be pumpkiny delicious. Well, according to Fonzy they tasted alright, but not like pumpkin. I tasted one, and after one bite threw it away. He was right, after all the pumpkin I put in the mix, it tasted nothing like pumpkin, plus I had used the same stuff as the frosting on the cookies for the glaze on the buns. So of course that was nasty! I think the problem with the frosting and glaze had something to do with buying the Wal-Mart brand of confectioners’ sugar. It just didn’t taste right. You can best believe I will never buy that again! I was so disappointed. All my Betty Crocker aspirations were shot!

You would think after all that I wouldn’t want to bake cookies again, but I’m thinking about doing it again this weekend. I’m determined to make the cute football cookies. Determined I tell you! Plus I have over 100 cookie cutters now! I’m going to get my money’s worth; I’ve even looked on the internet on how to make cookie bouquets. Yeah, that should be fun!

Friday Night Lights

As of right now, Friday is the only evening during the week that we do not have football practice, so what do we do with our football free Fridays - go to high school football games of course! What did you think?

Before the game we decided to grab some dinner. Red Lobster it was.








Of course, every time we go out to eat, it's a battle with Elijah. He can never seem to figure out what he wants, and just complains about everything and ends up eating very little if anything. It's a wonder this kid is still alive! I guess is surviving on the snacks he is always sneaking. After reading him the kids menu about 5 times, he decides on crab legs. I should of known better. Once he got his plate and saw what crab legs were, he was done.

"Eeeewwwwwww, what is that! I'm not eating these things!"

I think he ate half a biscuit, and some fries. So much for Red Lobster. Ezekiel liked his fried fish and even ate some of the crab legs. Which I was surprised since he is hesitant to try new things. I ended up eating the rest of the crab legs with my endless shrimp dinner - yummy :)

Off to the game we go. We went to see the Apex Cougars....they lost, but we had fun.














sun setting over the field


Fonzy and I taken by Ezekiel...of course Fonzy wasn't looking.