Great article

I love how God sends you messages just when you need them. Yesterday I was kindof pouting around because Ken had recruits in town and I really needed his help with the kids. I started to get frustrated when I realized he has not had one day off since Aug. 7. Yes, that's correct. NOT ONE DAY OFF IN 117 DAYS.

Well, today this article was in the Dallas Morning News. It is about Ken's quarterback and his story. When I read it I knew God was telling me that this is what it is all about. We are in football to change mens lives...and winning is good too. :) So as I write this, Ken is with his recruits, but I know he is making an impact on their lives in so many ways. Here's the article:

Billy Don Malone doesn't introduce himself with the three-pronged version of his name anymore, so when he hears it, he can tell how long you've known him. If you'd seen him playing football in Paris, under the lip of Oklahoma, you'd have sworn Billy Don was headed for the big time. Everybody wanted him coming out of high school, and why not? He passed for 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns his last two seasons. A big,strong country kid, the next Billy Joe Tolliver, he committed to Texas in the fall of 2001. But so did a quarterback named Vince Young. Malone suddenly developed second thoughts.

He considered several options before settling on Tulane, where his brother, Gary, a wide receiver, would accompany him. But Malone never played a down for the Green Wave. After a redshirt season behind J.P. Losman, Malone, thinking he had acid reflux, underwent a stress test that turned up a kink in an artery. Doctors told him he not only couldn't play anymore, he shouldn't even jog.

Devastated, Malone left New Orleans and went back home to Paris. Hung out on a dairy farm. Cut hay and fixed fences and de-horned cows. And he figured he'd never play football again. "If I saw anybody playing, I'd say, 'Look at a bunch of kids playing with a ball,' " he said. "I was just trying to make fun of it, because I thought I couldn't do it anymore."

He got married and had a kid. Enrolled at Texas A&M-Commerce. Just getting on with his life when a former coach called from West Texas. Told him to get his tail out to Abilene Christian, an NCAA Division II school. "All right," Malone said.

He looked a little rusty his first season, which can happen after laying out of football for four years. But he sure warmed up. Last year, he passed for more yards than any ACU quarterback since Clint Longley and led the Wildcats to their first postseason appearance in 30 years. This season -- which just ended in the second round with an improbable 76-73 triple-overtime loss to Chadron State in Nebraska -- he trashed the record books.

Under third-year coach Chris Thomsen and offensive coordinator Ken Collums, the Wildcats set or tied 82 NCAA, Lone Star Conference and ACU records, including the score of their last game. ACU also became the first school in NCAA history to field a 3,500-yard passer, 2,000-yard rusher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers, all in one season. Get this: All four will be back next season, including Malone, who, at 6-3, 235 pounds, turns 25 in April.

The blip on his stress test at Tulane? He's had two more tests since, and neither revealed any problems. But he's not bitter about what happened. Had he stayed at Tulane, he figures he wouldn't be who he is now.

"When Coach Collums called me about playing here, I was talking about going to the NFL," Malone said, "and he told me the most important thing was relationships." He had no idea what his new coach was talking about. But he found out it wasn't just football. "These guys changed me," he said. "They're the best guys I've ever been around in my life."

Billy Malone, as they know him in Abilene, might be different from what the locals remember back in Paris. He may or may not be headed for the big time anymore. Either way, nothing matters to him as much as how he'll get there. In his case, it was the long road. "This," he said, "is way better."

Where do I begin???

Well, we lost in a heartbreaker. 3 overtimes, 76-73. I still can't believe it. What a weekend. It started on Friday. We left Abilene Friday afternoon and flew into Rapid City, SD. Me and three other coach's wives rented a car (which ended up being upgraded to a truck-thank goodness. I don't think we could have put all of our luggage into the trunk of a car). We drove about 30 miles to Mt. Rushmore. It was really beautiful. We went on a short walking trail and by the time we were finished, it was dark. It got dark there around 4:30. Since our stomachs thought it was 5:30 (time change), we went off to find something for dinner. There was really only one place open in the little tourist town. It was a pizza joint and it was very good.

We left Keystone and headed to Chadron, NE. It was a two-hour drive with literally nothing in between. We got turned around once and ended up in a small town. While we were driving through the downtown area, a huge buck deer crossed the road. We couldn't believe it. I tried to get a picture, but I couldn't figure out how to take a photo of a moving animal in the dark.

We got to Chadron around 8:30. We got up the next morning and decided we would leave for the game around 10:30. The game didn't start until noon, but we didn't want to get there before 11:30 b/c we thought we would be freezing. We left the hotel and drove around the town and decided to check out the stadium. We drove by at 10:45 and that place was packed!! We decided to just park and eat at the game. I ended up having way too many layers on and took off several before the game even started. It was a beautiful afternoon. The weather there was actually better than in Abilene. I am not even going to post about the game except to say that it sucked!!!

After the game, we took off to Rapid City to catch our plane back to Abilene. Wouldn't you know that because of bad weather in Abilene, the plane could not land here, so we had to land in Dallas-Love Field. Charter buses meet us at the airport and were going to take us back to Abilene (2 1/2 hr bus ride). We left the airport around 11:30 and our bus driver was absolutely horrible. He had no idea how to work the defrost (Ken had to stand beside him and wipe off the windshield every 30 sec) and a compartment on the bus kept flying open. He even tried to get it to stay down with tape!! I was a nervous wreck on that bus. There were cars dodging us left and right. The AD on the bus decided that this driver and the bus we were on were not going to be able to get us to Abilene safely, so we stayed the night in Weatherford. I got into my hotel room Sunday morning at 2:15am. We left a few hours later at 10. We finally got back into Abilene around noon and guess what? Snowing again in Abilene.

Jackie (Ken's mom) still had the kids and we had to meet her that afternoon to pick them up. The snow was much worse north of Abilene (where we met) and we did not get back into town until 6 pm. I was so glad to be back home and really glad when I slept in my own bed last night. Football season is over...wow.

Change of plans

Well, we have had a change of plans. If you can believe it, it has been snowing in Abilene today. Since the Abilene airport does not have a plane de-icer, we have to depart tomorrow. We will be leaving tomorrow around 1:30. We ate our Thanksgiving lunch in the ACU cafeteria with the team today. It was pretty good! Here's some pictures of our lunch and the snow.

Thanksgiving plans

Well, tomorrow I am meeting my mother in law, Jackie, and she will be keeping the kids until Sunday. I am getting to ride the charter plane with the team to the playoff game. We will leave around 3 on Thursday and arrive in Rapid City, SD. We will spend the night there and then head to Nebraska on Friday. It is around a two hour drive and we will see Mt. Rushmore on the way! Me and three other coach's wives will be renting a car so we can do our own thing. You may listen to the game via this website. Kickoff is at 12 noon (1:00 our time) on Saturday. We will arrive back in Abilene late Saturday night. Please pray for safe travel.

We are still playing!

We beat Mesa State today 56-12. So, next week we play Chadron State in Chadron, NE. We are in the sweet sixteen! I just looked at the forecast for Chadron and the high on Saturday is 41. I need to start looking for all of my warm clothes (and maybe even buy some new things :)

We're in!!

We just found out that ACU made it to the NCAA Division 2 Playoffs. We ended up being ranked #4 in our region, so that means we will HOST THE GAME!!! I am really excited about that part because I would have had to find childcare for my kids if it was a road game. We won our game yesterday 42-41. It was one of those nailbiters. I can't handle too many more of those! You can read more about yesterdays game here.

Anna's first school picture

I can't believe how mature she looks in this picture. I look at it and think 3rd grade, not kindergarten!!

May Farms

This morning, Layne and I went with some ladies from my MOPS group to a place about 10 miles outside of town called May Farms. Layne usually goes to preschool on Wed mornings, but I decided to leave him home so we could do this together. The two of us don't really do a lot of fun things b/c we usually wait on Anna. I am so glad we went!! It is just a farm out in the country with horses, cows, donkeys, goats, chickens, buffalo, emu, and baby animals as well. We got to feed all of the animals b/c they were very tame. We also went on a hayride. We brought a sack lunch for a picnic and then Layne got to ride one of the little horses. Of course he decided he wanted to ride one as we are leaving. He watched several kids get on and ride and everytime I would ask him "do you want a turn?", he would reply very quickly "no". Then, I tell him its time to go and guess what? He says, "but I want to ride the horse". So glad that he changed his mind b/c he really liked it.

Philadelphia 76ers

That's the name of Anna's basketball team. She had her first YMCA game yesterday. I didn't even know they had a league for kids her age, and even if I did I probably would not have signed her up. But, a mom of a little boy in her class called me and asked if Anna would be on her team (she is the coach). She was trying to get a team together of kids at their school and in their class. The team consists of 11 children (6 boys and 5 girls). Six of the kids are in her kindergarten class. Can I just say that the game yesterday was one of the most entertaining events I have witnessed in awhile. Imagine 5 and 6 year olds playing basketball without really any rules. There were some boys actually tackling others to get the basketball. Poor Anna never had a chance. Each time she touched the ball (twice) a little boy would just come over and grab it out of her hands. I told Ken that we really need to explain the game a little bit to her, b/c she basically stayed at the half court mark and jumped around with her hands up in the air. It was the cutest thing ever!! After the game she said she was playing defense. Some of the little boys were pretty good. You can tell they have played on the playground or have attended basketball camps. Only 5 more games to go!! Anna is #4.