Lady Bear Hoops in State Farm Tip-Off Classic - BAYLOR OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Tomorrow is the State Farm Tip Off Classic. The Baylor Lady Bears will take on the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville, TN. The tip off classic is usually two games; however, this year it is only one. It is the first regular season game for both top ten ranked teams. You can catch the game on ESPN2 at 4:02 pm CST. Sic'em Bears! Grrr! I BELIEVE!

It is a rare night when I don't have something BAYLOR to be present for...but the truth be known, we had a football game this afternoon and now I am hanging out at the cabin waiting for my houseguests to arrive - watching both battles of crimson and maroon - some Big 12 football (OU v TAMU) and some SEC football (MISS ST v Alabama). I do love college sports - especially since I work with college students. What they can accomplish on the field or court in addition to studying and going to class truly amazes me.

Here are a few pictures of me and some of the BU athletes that went to Kenya together this past summer. Lindsay Palmer and Melissa Jones play for the Lady Bear basketball team. They are in Knoxville, TN right now getting ready to open the season with the Lady Vols. God has something special going on in the Lady Bear locker room. I can't wait to see what all He has in store for this season and this team.



LJ Johnson and Lotto Smith play for the Lady Bear soccer team. They just finished their season in the Big 12 tournament. They made the tournament and had a good season all around. I will confess that I went to more soccer games this season than I have in my whole life combined. It truly makes a difference when you actually know the players.


MJ Jones, Lindsay Palmer and Bryan Swindoll (BU football) are here in a shot of "the back of the bus" which I cannot divulge what may or may not have happened back there, suffice it to say, these student-athletes know how to give their heart away and leave it all on the court or field, or in this case country. The other picture is of Wes Yeary, the sports chaplain for Baylor. He is our fearless leader. I could say alot of things about Wes, but for now I will simply put it just like the Bible - Wes loves others well. He sure does.

5 states, 4 months, 3 countries, 2 players, 1 God

Well, I have felt guilty for not blogging, guilty for not finishing the Kenya section, and guilty for not keeping in better touch...but today I am free...I am free to blog about the dozens of things I have done in the past (almost) 5 months I have not been blogging.



Let's start with a girls' trip to London in late June. My niece, McKenna, was turning 12 so I took her on her first overseas trip to the UK. My mom had never been "across the pond" so she came along. Ironically enough, when we bought tickets it was one child, one senior, and one adult. It has been a while since I considered myself the adult but that is just how it fell out...strickly on age. Ha!

We saw all the main sights in London from the Tower to the Eye to the Palace to the Hard Rock Cafe. We saw the Lion King and used the Tube for most of our travel. We also took a train to Scotland and saw the castle and bought some "Scott Plaid" to commemorate our ancestry. Scotland was beautiful. When we got back, we met some friends in London and surprised mom. Below is a picture of me with Amanda McGrath - a student who was on the Kenya trip that was in London when we were.

First week in October, Elizabeth and Walker Williams came to town to reconnect with old friends, see some BU football and we had an impromptu 2nd birthday party for Walker Paul Williams. If you scroll back two years, he was born here in Waco and lived the first 3 months of life right here in the Ponderosa. He has grown so much. He is so much fun!

In October, I went to Colorado for the Big 12 & Friends Conference and also met up with some old friends. Sherri Bearden Hutcheon from high school lives just south of Denver and Hope Rountree West, a friend from Kanakuk, lives in Highlands Ranch. It was so good to catch up with each of them and see how the Lord has worked in their lives. God is good. From Colorado, I flew straight to Springfield, MO to spend the weekend with a dear friend from Branson that I used to work at Kanakuk with ever summer. Trish Helsel is like me in that she used to coach and within one month of each other, we each switched out of coaching and teaching to what we are doing now. Our lives are parallel except that we don't live close and she is married with 3 kids - I'm not old enough for either of those! :)

The very next week, I flew to Michigan to see a former student / now friend whose husband is doing his residency in Michigan. We had a great time...the leaves were brilliant colors and we went to the "Big House" to see the Wolverines pulverize DSU...oooooohhhhhwwwwweeeee!! We also watch three of Madea's movies and just laughed hard. The weekend ended with some yummy gelato...the likes of which I had not tasted since a trip to Rome, Italy about 8 years ago.



Since that trip, we have had Baylor Homecoming and this past week - the beginning of basketball season....yeah baby. How I love the Lady Bears. This year is especially meaningful because I went to Kenya with Melissa Jones "MJ" and Lindsay Palmer along with several BU soccer players. This is going to be a fun season because I have seen not only their athleticism but also their hearts. More on that. So now you are caught up I hope the pics do justice to the glimpses I saw of God in nature as well as familiar faces.



God is Good - All the Time! All the Time - God is Good!