The Day that Changed My Life Forever

Many of you think the day that would change my life forever is my wedding day.  Actually, I would say it starts with the proposal.  Without a proposal, there's no wedding.  It's been one year ago almost exactly (down to the time) since Brett got down on one knee and proposed.  You can read about it here.

It feels like longer than a year, but not at the same time.  I can't believe how much has happened since the proposal.  We planned a wedding, both of us moved, and we've been married for 4.5 months!  That's pretty crazy when you think about it.  Brett, thanks for having the courage to get down on one knee and ask for my hand in marriage.  Love you!

On the Blue Ridge Parkway right after Brett proposed.

Happy Birthday Yogi!

Today is my father-in-love's birthday!  I see birthdays as a time to give the respect due to an individual and to shine light on their positive impact on my life.  I absolutely love birthdays so now that I'm married, I get to celebrate even more family birthdays.  Yogi's is the first birthday on the Hickman side since we've been married.

Let me tell you about my first experience with Yogi.  The first time I met Brett's family was in April 2010 at a beach house in Holden Beach.  He was sitting there talking to me, and I guess I had a confused look on my face.  Brett looked at Yogi and told him I couldn't understand him.  I will never forget Yogi's response: he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Well, listen harder."  That response scared me, considering it was the first time I've met him.  However, over the couple of years of getting to know him and now being in his family, his forthright-fullness (if that's a word) is endearing.

Yogi would do anything for his family.  He stands up for what is right in a non-judgemental way, which is very admirable.  He is wise and his presence commands respect; I think that's partly the coaching aura he has about him.  I can see why the guys he has coached over the years are still in contact with him.  He has impacted so many lives, especially Brett's.  Brett would not be who he is today without the influence of his father.  I am so grateful for Yogi and the attention he gave to his sons' endeavors growing up despite his busy schedule.  He is loyal and loving.  I see so much of him in Brett.

Happy birthday Yogi!!! I am so happy to be part of your family.

Football, Family, and (Best) Friends

This weekend was simply refreshing.  Jessica, one of my best friends, came into town on Friday. She got here at 10:30 Friday night.  We stayed up until around midnight just talking and catching up. It was nice to have someone familiar here at our new home.

Brett had to be in the office around 7:30.  The game wasn't until 2:30 so Jess and I had a lazy Saturday morning.  Brett's parents and Sam and Maggie came before the game and followed us there.  Ben Anderson even made the trip down to watch the game! I had forgotten that it was Homecoming so the stadium was packed with bouncy houses, floats, and other kinds of Homecoming festivities.

Now this game was a little different because NGU was playing Brevard.  One of Brett's childhood best friends (and groomsman in our wedding) coaches defensive backs at Brevard.  Apparently Brett has always been very competitive with Chris (aka Peanut). He put a lot more pressure on himself to win this game.

Even though it was in the upper 60's, it felt much hotter because the sun hits the home side.  I definitely got a little burnt.  The Crusaders tried to give us a heart attack.  The game was 10-7 Brevard until the fourth quarter, when NGU scored, winning 14-10.  Defense only allowed around 155 yards total offense to an option team, which is fantastic. 

Braelen's sack

They're such great supporters of NGU, even down to the sunglasses.

Love this sweet, sweet girl

Brett and Peanut

Nice job with the negative space Jess. Haha.

We went to the Mason Jar in downtown Greer for dinner.  Then everyone came over to our place after the game to watch the evening football games.  The fellas were asleep by 11, but Maggie, Jess, and I stayed up until almost 1 talking.  We talked about everything.  It felt like college, except I got tired at midnight instead of 2.  I have really missed some good ole fashion girl talk.  Plus it made my heart smile seeing Maggie and Jess get to know each other and get along. 

Even though I didn't get much sleep, my heart is happy from our visitors this weekend. Now I'm off to watching my fantasy football teams and the rest of the games today.  What did y'all do this weekend?

Good for the Soul

My family was able to come to the second NGU home game last weekend.  It had been almost two months since I had seen them. I was so excited they were coming.  Our complex allows dogs to visit at no charge so they even got to bring Sierra.  With all the stress of the season and not getting to hang out with other women often, I knew how refreshing it would be to have my family here at our place.  It would be good for my soul and mind.

Friday, we stayed in so that Oba could recuperate some from the trip.  I had made my first pot roast, which turned out great.  I bought three pounds of meat, and it was almost all gone by the time we were done with dinner.

I spent a lot of time on Friday and Saturday before the game talking with my parents and Oba and getting some loving from Sierra.  It really does amaze me how much of a difference a dog makes in the atmosphere of a place.  There is a sense of comfort that only a dog can bring.

We got to the game about an hour early so that we could get Oba situated.  It was the first time my parents had been to an NGU game, let alone seen Tigerville.  We were able to sit on the top row, which was great for Oba (plus Dad got to stand up when his back started hurting). Gail and Yogi were able to make it to the game too so we had both sets of parents there.

We got to see some of the pre-game warmups so Brett was able to spot us out before the game and send his ritual kiss up to us.

I had so much fun with Dad, Mom, and Oba.  It was the first game Oba had been to in person since around 1976 or 1977 (my dad's last high school game).  We started off well with a pick 6 from AJ the first series of the game.  It couldn't have happened to a better person.  AJ is one of the players that started with Brett; his freshman year was Brett's first year at NGU.  He has a very special place in Brett's heart, plus he is a stand-up young man.

When NGU scored one of it's touchdowns, Oba shot up out of her seat.  It was the fastest I've seen her move in years.  Everyone got so into the game. I think my parents finally understand what I got through each game.  Yes the games are fun, but they come with stress too.  It's not just a game.

The Crusaders pulled out their first win of the season over Newberry, which was a huge victory since Newberry is an in-state rival when it comes to recruiting.  I was shaking because it was such a relief.  The season has been tough for the coaches, families, and players.  It was such a rewarding win.

Before the game, Oba said the Crusaders would win because she would cheer really loud.  She actually never said a word, but they still won.  Everyone told her she'd have to come to every game. I'm so glad my family got to come and witness what our life is like during the season.  I can't wait until the next time I get to see them. 

Our New Family Member

Brett and I added a new member to our family yesterday: a 2012 Honda Pilot EX-L! Now we know that many people have been wondering, and even asking, if we are expecting, considering the baby boom that is happening with our friends and the fact that the Pilot is considered a "family" car.  Let me put all questions to rest by saying we are NOT expecting, but this is one step that needed to be taken before we expand our family.

We have both had our cars since we turned 16 (that's over 10 years for Brett and almost 10 years for me).  Our cars are starting to have some problems given that mine is almost 14 years old and Brett's is 11. We plan on having our new car for just as long as our current cars. With the holidays coming up, we wanted something that was a little bigger so we could easily pack our suitcases and other things.  Plus Brett wants a vehicle large enough to throw his golf clubs in the back.

Thankfully, we have been blessed with not having any debt coming into marriage.  It was the perfect time to buy. We don't have any huge life changes planned in the next couple of years (although the Lord could always change that).  We don't have any other payments aside from the normal apartment, cable, phone, Visa payments. By buying now, we will have a lot of the car paid off by the time we buy another car (for me) or have other expenses, like a house or baby.  Honda was also having some great deals on their 2012's since the 2013's are coming out.

Anyway, we went yesterday morning to take my car in for maintenance and decided to look around the lot since we have been talking about a new car for a couple of months.  A salesman came up to us not five minutes after we started looking around.  We found the two 2012 models that they had on the lot, and really liked one of them: silver exterior, dark gray interior, heated leather seats, back-up camera, and sunroof.  Brett took it driving, and boy let me tell you, it drives and rides so smooth.  I loved it.

Within an hour and a half, we had signed all the papers and drove off the lot with our new addition.  Brett took it to work, and took some of the guys for a ride.  Apparently he was like a little kid at Christmas.  It was so great to see how happy it made him.  We look forward to many more years of happiness and fun adventures we will be taking in our new car.
 

Happy Birthday Pappaw!

Today is Pappaw's 88th birthday! He is still sharp as a tack; one of the wittiest men I know.  I just adore my Pappaw.  There are not many people who I hold in higher regard than him.  He is kind, wise, and funny.  I can sit there for hours listening to his stories about growing up as the oldest of seven children, serving in the Navy, being a JC Penneys store manager for years, and about how life was so different back then.  History is one of my favorite things, so his stories always intrigue me.

He is a man of the highest character, and the rock of our family.  Pappaw has shown his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren how to love your spouse unconditionally (as he and Mimi are on 65 years of marriage).  I am so proud and blessed that he is my Pappaw.

This is one of Pappaw's favorite pictures.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's Pappaw sharing a song he learned when he was young.

Love you Pappaw! Happy birthday!

Chronicles of a Coach's Wife: Simple Math

I know what you're thinking. Math? What does that have to do with being a football coach's wife?  Well, when you cook for 20 people, math is a necessity.  For example, we cooked for the offensive scout team Thursday night.  Here are a couple of math problems I had to think through:

• Number of people: 17 players + Brett + me = 19 people. I rounded to 20 to make the math easier :) 
• Number of tacos: 4 tacos per person x 20 people= 80 tacos
• Taco shells came in boxes of 12 so 80 tacos/12 tacos per box = 6.67 (7 boxes)
• Amount of chicken: I made chicken tacos for Brett, Trey, and me a couple of weeks ago. 2 chicken breasts made 10 tacos.  6 chicken breasts = 30 tacos
• Amount of beef:  Quanza said she made 20 pound of meat for 16 defensive linemen.  Now that was more than I needed because we were serving all positions since it was the scout team. I cooked 8 pounds of spaghetti for 17 linebackers so I just went with that since I had chicken tacos as well.

I also made brownies and had chips and salsa and ice cream.

Tacos were much easier to make than spaghetti because all I really had to do was cook the meat, rather than cooking meat and spaghetti and trying not to let the spaghetti get cold.  Here are a few lessons I learned:

• Do not buy more than 1 4-cup bag of cheddar cheese.  I bought a lot more and will be taking it back.
• Chicken tacos are much, much more popular than beef tacos.
• Guys like queso. Buy LOTS of queso.
• Brownies and ice cream are better than cookies and ice cream.
• Cookies and cream is more popular than vanilla (Brett's told me this but I keep thinking vanilla goes better with the brownies or cookies).
• I really need to make a database to log how much of everything I bought, what I bought too much of, and what I need to buy more of in the future.

 

I was exhausted after cooking for that many people, but seeing the smile on these players faces is completely worth it.  Home-cooked meals were so good when I was in college that I'm sure they taste even better to them (being boys and bottomless pits and all).  I enjoy watching Brett interact with them.  The guys are so appreciative and polite to me too.  Makes all the math and hours of labor and cleaning seem like nothing.

Chronicles of a Coach's Wife: Sons

We had the first NGU home game two weekends ago.  Coach McCray's wife Angel decided we should have a tailgate to kick off the home schedule.  I wasn't planning on going but since Oba was in the hospital, my family didn't come.  Yogi, Gail, and I decided we would join in the fun.

Now this was the first time I've been around older sons of coaches. Coach McCray's nephew Matt (a college football coach's son) and Kenny's boys came to the tailgate.  Kenny's oldest Keenan, around 9 years old, and Matt spent much of the tailgate throwing the football.

One of the boys even said, "Let's run the play action pass," and proceeded to describe what the other should do.  It was then that I really realized how much of an advantage coaches' sons have when it comes to football knowledge.  It may not have been the exact right description, but how many 9-year-olds would even put those words together?  Brett is the same way.  From the stories I've heard, he was out there coaching up the guys before he could run (exaggeration of course).

The sons also take the losses so much harder than any other boys. Tre, Quanza and Issac's oldest, and Keenan really take it tough.  The younger sons like Isaiah and Kendall are just happy to see their dads and to run around on the field after the game.  I think the recognition of wins and losses will come with time through. I can't wait to see our son on the field and hear Brett talking with him about football, if the Lord blesses us with one someday.  For many of coaches' sons, football is in their blood; whether in the form of X's and O's or writing about it. 

Anyway, here are some more pictures of the tailgate.  Hope you enjoy!

How adorable is Mallory (Angel's niece)?

Isaiah trying to tackle Mr. Coach Hateman.

She is going to be a great obstetrician.