30 days and counting!!

I just want to take this time to brag on my older Brother Tim. He has been sober for 30 days as of today. Keep up the good fight Tim. Alyson and I are praying for you and your family.

Alyson is about 35 days or less from delivering Brooks. That is freaking me out.

One Day at a Time

My brother has started a blog to share his journey about recovering from alcohol. I encourage you to go and check it out. He is going through a period of great change and I am amazed at his openness and willingness to share his life. This is something that he would normally not do. I had stated in a previous post that I would like to share the story of my brother, but now I will let him tell you about himself. Go to timjthrift.blogspot.com and check it out.

Sit back and enjoy!

"Sit back and enjoy." Those are the words that I heard as I prayed the other night. Its been a long road for Alyson and me. With her having been diagnosed with cancer, we really had not been able to enjoy the whole experience of pregnancy. Now that she appears to be in the clear, we have had a chance to really enjoy the preparation of having a baby. It has been fun setting up Brooks' room, going through his clothes, figuring out which outfit he will come home in, and just thinking about what it will be like to hold him in our arms. The other day as I prepared to iron my clothes for our basketball game, I sat down in the glider in the nursery to wait for the iron to heat up. As I sat there, I began to rock back and forth, the next thing I new I had drifted off to sleep. I can remember the calmness that I felt as I rocked in the chair, when I woke up I was so excited about Brooks coming home and what a great feeling it will be to look into his eyes. I can only imagine what it will be like to see him for the first time. I am not sure if I will cry, if I will be numb, or if I will be jumping around as if I had just won a national championship or what. All I know is that for the first time in a while I can sit back and enjoy the anticipation of becoming a father/parent. The only thing that I am nervous about now, is the fact that we don't start lamas(?) classes until March, which is pretty late since the baby is due in March. I hope that we at least get through a couple of classes before Alyson goes into labor. We will keep our fingers crossed. But for now I am going to sit back and enjoy what's left of this pregnancy.

Wonderful News!!!!!!

Alyson and I had an appointment with our oncologist (Dr. Hirsch). As you know we were waiting on the results of a test. We got the results in and Alyson got a score of 28, which is a low score, which is very good. She fell in the intermediate range for her chances of having cancer come back in the next 10 years. It works out to about a 15% chance of re-occurrence. This is great news. Dr. Hirsch also said that he does not recommend chemo-therapy for sure while she is pregnant. He just doesn't see any reason to do it now, he also doesn't see why we would have to induce labor before 40 weeks. He also said, and this is where it things get great, that he wants to wait until after Brooks is delivered and do a PET scan to see if there is anymore cancer in her body. If that comes back negative then she WILL NOT have to do anykind of chemo-therapy, however, she may have to do radiation instead. Dr. Hirsch said that we should plan on having a normal birth and normal recovery, which means Alyson will be able to Breast Feed Brooks.

One thought came to my mind, PRAISE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not just because we are getting the answers we are looking for, but simply because that is what he wants from us.

I heard a song that was called "We must Praise". It basically said this: If you're a doctor, you must praise Him. If you're a lawyer, you must praise Him. If you're a teacher,you must praise Him. If you're a student, you must praise Him. If you're a singer,you must praise Him. If you're an athlete, you must praise Him. If you're a cancer patient, you must praise Him. If you're a cancer survivor, you must praise Him. If you're disabled, you must praise Him. If you're an alcoholic, you must praise Him. If you're a parent, you must praise Him. Just Praise Him. No matter your lot in life you must praise Him.
There's a story of a man who went to visit his grandmother, which he did every week. His grandmother was the one who took care of him when his parents were killed in a drug deal gone bad. He really considered her his mother because she was the one that raised him. She was a spiritual women, and she made sure he was too. On this particular day he went to see her. Normally he would walk in and she would be in the kitchen finishing up the meal that they would eat together. This time she was not in the kitchen and when he called for her she did not answer. The house was clean and nothing looked suspicious to him. Maybe she had taken a nap. Just then he began to pray for his grandmother, for no other reason than to just pray for her. He walked into the bedroom and saw that she was still in bed. This was odd because it was the afternoon and she never sleeps this long. Upon inspection he discovered that she had passed in her sleep. After calling an ambulance and all emergency personnel were there, he went outside to be alone. Now most people at this time would begin to cry out of sorrow. Instead he began to praise God out loud, he began singing, praying almost in a frenzy. His friends began to worry about him after doing this for a good twenty minutes. He kept thanking God for her life, for keeping her safe, and for saving her. This man could have done anything when he found out that his beloved grandmother had passed, but he just praised Him. Forget about good or bad circumstances and just praise Him.
I hope that in all situations I will be able to praise Him. Good or bad. I today praise him for his mercy on Alyson and for his mercy on my brother Tim. Tim we are fighting your battle with you. Just praise Him. If my brother lets me I will tell you his story, but until then pray for him to have courage and endurance and wisdom.

Family Time

Let me start by saying that I have a great family. I love my family with all of my heart and soul. There is nothing that I would not do for my family. The Lord has truly blessed me with my parents. And when I say parents I mean it in the most pluralistic way possible. When I was very young my mother and father got a divorce. They both remarried, so I grew up with two sets of loving parents. Now it was not always and easy thing to deal with, but The Lord made sure that I had four very special and unique parents. Let me first start with my mother.

My mother (Sue) is the strongest most loving person in the world. She is truly my rock here on this earth. She has always been the support system that has kept me going. She instilled in me the Love of The Lord. Her faith is strong and she is not afraid to show it. I probably wasn't the perfect kid growing up and I should have listened a whole lot better to her than I did, but the one thing I always knew was that she loved Christ. It is her prayers and her prayers alone that have kept me out of harms way. She has prayed diligently for all four of her children, and they have all turned out the way the Lord has planned. She has two daughters and two sons who love her with all of their hearts. In order, they are Tim, Missy, me, and Rachel. Tim, Missy, and me are from her first marriage, and Rachel is from her second. She was willing to do anything for us growing up, and still is to this day. She sacrificed so much to make sure that we had everything we needed. We never went without, even in the lean years. She even took on a second job when I was in school. She was at every game and event (she was recognized by her whistle in the stands). She was and is our biggest fan, and she wants nothing more that for us to be happy in life. I can never repay her for her love, except to accept the gift that she told us about growing up. That gift is the sacrifice of Christ. She has done her job and her reward will be great in Heaven. Mom, you are the greatest ever and I love you so much.

Coming from a divorced home can complicate things in life for some people, and it wasn't always fun for me. But all in all, I have been truly blessed in my situation. The Lord blessed me with a great step-father (Jeff). He has been in my life since I was about five years old. He has put up with me for a long time. He is truly a man of great faith. Like so many of us men, he too was saved by the prayers of his mother(thats another whole story). For as long as I can remember, Jeff has been there. He has been a great teacher on how to be a man, and how to provide for a family. He has taught me so many things. He helped instill in me a love for sports of all kinds. He taught me how to hunt and fish. How to shoot a gun, a bow and a basketball. The times I will always cherish are the long walks in the fields hunting for pheasants (I cant wait to get to do that soon). More importantly than teaching me to hunt and play sports, he has showed me how to love someone unconditionally. He took me in as his own son. He expected out of me what any father would expect out of their son. He is a great encourager. He was there to pick me up when I was down, and to put me in my place when I got cocky or stupid. He is not my step-dad, he is my other Father. Do you remember that old television show called "My two Dads", I have that. I love you Jeff.

That leads me to my birth Father (Tom). My Dad, has raised five children of his own plus another. He obviously raised Tim, Missy, and myself, but also Trevor and Nicole from his second marriage. His second wife, Karen had a daughter named Angela. That is six children in all. How you have kept your sanity is beyond me. My dad has such a love for all of us kids, a love that is truly great. He worked at General Motors for 35+ years. Anyone who does that deserves sainthood. He is a great provider for all of us. He instilled in me a love of cars, not just any cars, but muscle cars. I can remember going to autorama in Detroit to see all of the custom hotrods. He used to have this van that he customized. He could do anything with that van. I bet you he changed the interior in that van a thousand times. I can remember it having a mini-bar in it, decorated in 80's disco type. He was ahead of his time when he put another stereo in the back of the van. He put a little t.v. and v.c.r. for long trips it also had atari hooked up to it. That van was the coolest thing I have ever been around. But more than cool vans, he was a cool dad. I have always looked up to him because he can do anything. He can fix anything on a car, and a house. When I need some help with anything like that he is the first person I call. Its like having the biggest desk reference in the world. My dad deserves so much. He has worked so hard in his life to provide for his family and to show how much he loves his kids. There isn't a tribute out there that can measure up to him and what he has meant in my life. I asked him a question just before I got married, I asked him if he had any advice. His initial response was, "you want marriage advice from a man who has been divorced twice". A few days later he gave me a wedding card he had put a note in it for me. In the note he had told me how much he thought he had screwed up in life and how he wished he had been around more. Then he told me not to try to keep up with the "Jones'", to take long walks with my wife and really talk to her, to find out what she is thinking and how she is feeling. I have tried to do that in my marriage. That was the best advice I have ever gotten. Dad you didn't screw up!!!!! You let us make our mistakes, you picked us up when we fell, you loved us when no one else would. You made us feel special. When we screwed up, you didn't make things worse, you made things better. You have six children that love you and would do anything for you. I want so much for you Dad, because you deserve so much.

My dad's second wife (Karen) is a very special women. She took on a whole family when she married my Dad. Anyone that has put up with Tim, missy, and me deserves a Medal of Honor. She took us all, good, bad, and the ugly. She was truly my other mom. She could have ignored us if she had wanted, but she didn't. She loved us, even when it was hard to. When I would go and spend the night at her house she always made me feel at home. She never tried to over step her bounds and she knew when to pull back when she thought she was getting close to crossing the line. She is a truly awesome women and I will forever be greatful to her for the role she played in my life. Karen, I love you and I miss you. I can't wait to come home so that you can meet another one of your grandchildren (his name is Brooks, by the way). I love you dearly.

These are my mothers and fathers. I want to tell you about my brothers and sisters to, but I will save that for another time. I am going to sleep now. Hope you enjoy this, sorry this was so long.

And the Name is...(probably)

We have picked a name for our son, at least for now. How does BROOKS THOMAS THRIFT sound. Alyson really liked the name. The unfortunate thing is that we have a player with that name already. Its actually his middle name but he goes by it instead of his first name. I am sure this will go straight to his head. But for now we are going with BROOKS. Maybe he will turn into the second best third baseman in baseball history (Brooks Robinson).

We have a name for our Son!!!!!!!!

You'll just have to wait until we tell our families. Sorry to do that to you.

Here is a preview of baby boy Thrift. Upper left you can see his nose and upper lip and belly button. Upper right is his face. Lower left are his boy parts (under 21 please look away!!). Lower right he has his mouth open.

Well, we are still waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were supposed to have an appointment with the oncologist today to find out the results of the oncotech test. The doctor called and said that all the results were not in yet. He is waiting on the genetics portion of it. On a good note, the doctor told Aly that he thinks she is very lucky, because he feels as though we got all of the cancer with the surgeries. I don't think that is luck, as a matter of fact I know that isn't luck. That leads us to believe that the Doctor will be comfortable with waiting on chemo therapy until after the baby is born (we are getting closer to a name, be patient). We will sit down with him next week (hopefully) and determine our next course of action.

On a side note, we bought a crib the other day and have placed our order for the rest of the furniture. We are about 70 days away from being parents. Alyson and I will be responsible for another person. That will be a whole new experience, at least for me. She has been responsible for me for the last 7 years, only she didn't have to change my diapers ( I do that myself now). Anyway, we are eagerly anticipating the day when our child comes.

We appreciate all of your continued prayers. Alyson will be in Michigan this week having a baby shower for all of our loved ones back home. She is really looking pregnant... Finally!!! She is beautiful and will make a great mother. We will update you when we get word of what is next for us.

Still Waiting

We are still waiting to hear the results of the Oncotest DX test. Once we here from the lab we will sit down with our Oncologist and determine whether or not it is safe to wait on chemo-therapy. We appreciate all of your continued prayers. I will let you know when we find out what we are going to do. The Lord has been faithful to His promise that we will never get more than we can handle and we praise His name for all of the good news that we have received.

Just a quick update.

Alyson is doing quite well post surgery. We have an appointment tomorrow to get her port flushed out. We are now waiting on the results of Oncotype DX test. This test will tell us the chances of the cancer coming back. We are hoping for a low score. If we get a low score, our oncologist will entertain the idea of postponing Chemo until after the birth of our son (no name yet, and it won't be Kosmo like Clint logue suggested).

I was just sitting here thinking about this whole "thing" that we have been going through, and I have this feeling of security and calmness. It is nice to sit here and just be still for a while. I have felt lately like I have been running on reserve. But then I thought about what that "reserve" was. It isn't reserve at all, it was the strength of the Lord. I just didn't know how to use the strength He was giving me. I let all this negative energy surround me and slow me down. The negative energy was a weight that I should have given over to the Lord, but in my desire to do things my way I let the weight, weigh me down. What would have happened if I had taken a moment to stop and look up? We all know that answer to that one. It goes back to that night at my small group when I keep hearing the phrase "depend on me". The Lord was probably telling me that long before that night, but I just didn't take the time to hear Him saying it to me. Things may have been less stressful had I taken the time to just sit still and listen. Although I am in no way blameless like Job, I think maybe Job finally listened during his trials. He probably heard God saying, "this is not from me, you know I love you, depend on me". I wonder when the devil figured out that God was right. I would have loved to see the look on the devils face when he finally figured out that God was right, Job would not "turn" on God. I hope someday to put that look on the devils face as well.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry "CLEAR" Christmas

Alyson's Lymph Nodes are clear as well as the additional tissue!!!! We found out Christmas Eve. What a great feeling that was and is. Praise the Lord and all of your prayers. We are now waiting on the results of another test to come back to see if Aly can delay Chemo until after delivery of our son (no name yet). It was a great Christmas, I just wish I could have been home to enjoy it with our families, although our "family" here was a great replacement. There is such a weight lifted from Alyson and I now that we know that the Cancer has not spread to other parts of her body. Hopefully now we can enjoy preparing for our son to come. At least I'll enjoy it as Aly is really feeling pregnant lately. I want you to also realize that Alyson had a "real" Christmas dinner. Turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. Anyway I just wanted to let everyone know the results.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Surgery went well!

Alyson had surgery Monday to test her Lymph Nodes and to remove additional tissue. She also had a chemo-port put in her right arm. The port is so that she does not have to get stuck with a needle everytime she goes in for chemo. We are waiting to hear about the Lymph Nodes outcome. The doctor said that the nodes looked grossly clear to her, which is a good thing. We will probably start chemo sometime next week or we may be able to wait until after delivery of our son. We just need the results of another test to determine how quickly we will start chemo. Alyson is doing well after surgery, with just a little soreness. Aly has decided to do both a nutrition and chemo-therapy approach to getting her cure. The nutritional aspect will help her combat the side effects of the chemo by rebuilding her immune system. I will let you all know how the Lymph Nodes come out as soon as we find out.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I would also like to announce the engagement of my younger sister Nicole. She is currently finishing up her degree at Central Michigan. Congrats Nicole. Aly and I love you and can't wait to see your ring.

Depend on Me

I had an incredible meeting with God today. What an awesome night. As many of you know I have been struggling with trying to find a reason why my wife and I are having to go through this season in our lives. I was thinking this should be a high point in our lives because we are having our first child. We should be able to wholly enjoy this time. Why would we have to have my wife have cancer? I have been looking for an answer now for weeks.

Tonight we had a church small group meeting. This is a time that about 6-7 couples come together and fellowship in the Lord. We have a time of praise and worship along with a time of prayer. This is always a great time for me personally, because our group is so very special. Tonight we wanted to focus on at least one hope for the new year. Alyson and I mentioned that our hope was for continued peace of mind and new life. Peace of mind for Alyson and new life for our boy. We spent a great deal of time in prayer together. After a time, I had offered up a praise to the Lord, a praise of clarity that is to come. Well, I had no idea that some of that clarity would come 15 minutes later.

As we were praying and sharing I kept hearing a phrase in my head and it kept repeating itself over and over. The phrase was "Depend on Me, Depend on Me". I knew right away what that meant. I had been looking so hard for a reason that Aly has cancer while she is pregnant, and that made me very scared. So scared that I was becoming angry and frustrated because I did not know what to do. I had gotten to the point that I just wanted to lash out for not knowing answers. God answered me tonight. He said "Depend on Me". We hear it all the time in our Christian walk, yet we do not do it very often. It sounds simple in theory, but it is so difficult in practice. Depending on God involves letting go of things that we hold on to so very hard. It is so hard to let go of our fears and place them at the feet of God. I think it is because of pride. Pride that comes from the idea that I can do things my way and it will work out. I don't think we have that as a luxury in life. I think that the reason why we have problems in our lives is because we depend on our selves too much. Why do you think that we have drug abuse, alcoholism, a high divorce rate, and things of that nature. Its because we do not depend on God enough in our lives. We so often times only go to our knees in prayer because we are so tired and worn out from searching for answers elsewhere.

So that is what I am going to do. Depend on God. God will take care of the Doctors. God will take care of the recovery. God will take care of our son. God will take care of Alyson's cancer. I realize now that the answer is only a prayer away. When this is all done I know that Alyson and I will be walking testimonies of what depending on God will do in our walks with Christ.

Tomorrow I will depend on God, and I pray that my pride does not creep back in. I pray that my habit becomes to fall to my knees first and search for answers from God.

Dinner for two please...Naturally!

Feast your eyes on the wonderfully prepared bean salad and cornbread. Believe it or not it was a very delicious dinner made for two. Also notice from where we quench our thirsts. And yes Johnny Pleasant I am giving up Coke...sort of... well maybe...just one more sip... please. Seriously, the juicer is very good. The bean salad was very tasty, and so was the ham and cheese sandwich (not pictured). I must admit I have not totally committed to the natural diet, but I am eating much smarter. Aly is much stronger than I am. But we already new that. Life on the healthy trail is a bit crazy right now because it takes a lot of time to prepare a meal when you are as inexperienced as we are. We are still figuring out what we like and do not like. My struggle seams to come from a distaste in veggies, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds. I asked George Evjen what he thought that Aly and I were having for dinner, and he responded with "twig soup". I thought that was pretty funny. That meal is for tomorrow. Anyway we are adjusting to life in the Natural world quite nicely, although we are still working out the chinks.

Please remember Aly in your prayers this week as she recovers from surgery. She goes in on Monday to have the Lymph Nodes tested. Also don't forget to remember our good friends Rachel and Klint Pleasant as Rachel is also going in for surgery on Monday in Michigan. I will try to give you all an update by Wednesday, because Aly will have to stay overnight in Lubbock.

Let's give some clarification and re-evaluation.

I want to thank all of you for your kind words of encouragement and your continued prayers. I also want to clear some things up that were misunderstood by many people. As you can all understand, Alyson and I are very scared right now and we are trying to make good decisions for her treatment. I probably should have been a little more clear when I told all of you that Alyson was going to go Natural in our approach to this Cancer. Yes, Alyson is changing her diet to help reverse the Cancer, but at no time were we not going to stop talking to doctors and exploring ALL treatments. We were not simply going to leave things "in God's hands" and hope for the best. But what would be wrong with that. We trust in God in everything we do. We seek his will for our lives and we want to make responsible decisions. Every Doctor we have talked to has told us that there is an 8 week window to start treatment once Cancer is diagnosed. We are only in week 4. We also do not want to rush into anything that Alyson is uncomfortable with. We felt very rushed into her surgery that was supposed to be last Monday. We cancelled it to re-evaluate and research more options, and that is when we began to treat her Cancer with some Natural options. At no point were we going to leave the doctors out of this whole process. We have done some more research, talked with a nutritionist, and have come to the decision to get Aly's lymph nodes tested, remove more tissue, and continue to change her diet to rebuild her immune system. Please understand that we do not have a reference for what we are doing, and it is probably my fault for updating too soon before we made a final decision. Alyson is going to have surgery this coming Monday in Lubbock (December 19). Please pray for us as we are very scared for these next weeks to come and what they might bring. I will let all of you know what is going on as soon as possible. Please pray for Aly to have continued peace that all of this is going to work to God's glory.

Can I get a Road Map....PLEASE!!!!!

Heavenly Father,
I must admit, I am lost and confused and frustrated and angry and feeling helpless. James 1:2 says, "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." I am finding it hard to consider what is going on "joyful", because quite honestly it feels like pure hell. I must really be lacking for your work to not be complete. Lord I lack wisdom in a big way. I really do try to make right choices, but how am I to know what is right for my walk with you. People say all the time that your Word (the Bible) is our road map for our journey, but then why do I feel lost and confused and frustrated and angry and helpless. I am asking for wisdom. I want to make the right choices for my wife and baby and cancer. I am asking for a road map Lord because I am lost. I am going crazy trying to do what is right for Alyson. I am asking strength to be a helpmate for her and to make the right decisions for her treatment. Lord I want my wife with me while we wait for your call. You put us together for a reason Lord. I cry out for your hand of mercy to heal my wife and to make her whole again. Lord, I am not angry with you. I know you Love me, and I know you sent your son for my sins. I just want a roadmap! Lord could you also give Alyson peace and quiet in her heart as she seeks your presence. She has been before your throne trying to hear your voice. Give her wisdom.

Besides Lord, give a man some credit for stopping and asking for directions. I Love you Lord!!!!
AMEN

As you can tell it has been a hard night. I ask for your continued prayers as we may be blazing a new trail to put on a map someday.

I want to thank a great friend for his honesty the other night. Brett Reed you are truly an amazing man. Your honesty was greatly appreciated and I am forever indebted to you. I truly cherish your friendship. You really helped me clear somethings up in my mind, things that I was too afraid to share with Alyson. Its like I said on the phone, "there is no map for what I am doing right now, but I sure wish I had one". You are an awesome man. I Love You. (you know what I mean, sicko).

Not going to Lubbock for surgery.

Alyson and I have come to a difficult decision not to go to Lubbock for further surgery and chemo-therapy. We have instead opted to go the natural route of treatment. Alyson and I feel that there is too many questions regarding chemo and radiation. We also feel as the doctors did that we have caught the cancer early enough that it did not have a chance to travel elsewhere. We just had too many questions about the side effects of traditional treatments. Alyson is about to embark on a tough journey of total life style change. Her diet will now consist of primarily fruits, vegatables, grains, nuts, and seeds. She has for the past week or so begun to change her diet, and she will now begin the total transformation. I will also be joining her in her dietary choices, besides I could stand to lose a few lbs.

Alyson has been before the Throne of God ever since she was diagnosed and I am so proud of her in her determination to make the right decision. Her faith has been strengthened in a tremendous way that I stand in awe of who she has become in the past few weeks. And I stand amazed at the Awesomeness of God, who continues to richly bless my life and family. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to seek Gods will and healing, and that we will adjust to eating in a whole new way. I know that Alyson is at total peace with her decision to go "natural" and I am also. We just ask for your support and understanding with our choices. We love you all very much and we appreciate all of your individual faiths.

I can't wait to see her do her running again. Cancer FREE!!!!!!!!

Some Kids do figure it out.

I had the pleasure of talking to one of our former players yesterday. He had used all of his playing eligibility last basketball season. His name is David and he could have just decided to leave school when basketball was done. He knew that he wanted more out of life than just being a former college basketball player. David is from Detroit and he could have been someone who, like many other peers of his, could have called it quits and struggled through life. Instead he took the hard road and finished his degree yesterday. It is so gratifying to see somebody like David carry through a commitment. As a basketball coach you want to win games and be successful, but the true measure of your success is not necessarily championships, but rather CHAMPIONS. You want to see your players get their degrees and you try to instill that in them in their short time with you. So many times kids will play out their time and leave with nothing in their hands but what they came with. Then there are players like David who are loyal in every aspect of their lives. When he walked into my office I asked him if he was done and he gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen come from him, and it made my day to see that. I only coached him a year, but it still felt good to see him carry through to the end. You always knew what you would get out of David on the court and that was total commitment and effort to the bitter end.

I also know that somebody else is smiling today (besides David's parents) and that is Klint Pleasant. Klint recruited David to play here at Abilene Christian and I know it means a lot to him that he has a degree and can now do whatever he wants with his life. David now has choices in life, something he may not have had if he just left when he was done playing.

Some kids do figure it out, and that is awesome.

This is my first time.

This is my first time. I have recently been inspired to create a blog by a couple of my friends. It was appealing to me because they have used their blogs as expressional outlets.

As you can tell by the title of my blog site, I am a basketball coach by profession. I am currently coaching at Abilene Christian University in Abilene Texas. I am a native Michigander living it up in a relatively warm state. I was brought down to Texas by a good friend who at the time was the Head coach here at Abilene Christian (ACU). I am also currently working on my Master's degree in Special Education, although I have no desire to teach in a school setting. I am one of those few people in this world that view coaching basketball as a teaching profession. I love working with the kids that I work with on a daily basis, and I love being paid to sit on the sideline watching a sport I truly love.

I have been married for 7 years to a beautiful woman name Alyson. We are expecting our first child at the end of March. It is a boy. We do not have a name yet. We are both very excited about becoming parents, but we are scared at the same time. While we are rejoicing in the prospect of a new child, we are also concerned because my wife has just recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. We are fortunate to have caught the Cancer in Stage I. My beautiful wife is going to have to go through Chemo-therapy beginning sometime soon after Christmas. She is a strong woman with unbreakable spirit. She is quite an amazing person and I do not know what I would be or what I would do without her.

I think that is enough for my first time, I guess now I can say that I have been published.