Put me in Coach!

When you think of great coaches, names like Mike Krzyzewski, Tony La Russa or Vince Lombardi usually come to mind. They are famous and have had successful and long careers as coaches. What was it that made them so great and successful?

I think it's a combination of things.

Coach K focuses on making individual players become better teamates.

Tony La Russa had been a player and leads by example. He had been where his players are.

Vince Lombardi was a great motivator and leader. Even if a player thought it impossible, Coach Lombardi pushed him and worked him until he believed.

They took the best of a player and made him even better.

My brother Rob is a coach.

He coaches his boys' teams and loves it. He's a great football coach.

But he's an even better 'life coach'.

He is the oldest of 7 children. He's been the Neal Armstrong for all of us that came after.

He has always just naturally led. He was the first for everything.

He has been 'watched' for 40 years. He's handled that pressure well.

From the time I was teeny tiny, I have loved Rob. I have known that he was there for me. I have never doubted that he was watching out for me.

Like Coach K, he has always tried to make people better.

When I was a very awkward 7th grader trying to figure out where I fit in, Rob was a very popular Junior in High School. He had the most beautiful girl friends that would come to our house. I'm sure they felt stalked as I lurked in the corner admiring their big hair and big shoulder pads. A couple of these lovely girls were Angie Tueller and Gina Gyllenskog. (Don't their names just make them sound pretty?) anyway, these girls had younger sisters who were in my grade and I'm sure had no idea who I was. I found out much later that my sweet brother had encouraged (begged) Natalie and Kim to be nice to me and try and include me in their cool group. I'm sure the last thing they wanted was a 'project' worthy of a John Hughes plot line but nevertheless, they included me in their tightknit group and I am still friends with those girls to this day. Those girls also helped keep me on the straight and narrow and made my teenage years not only bearable but downright enjoyable.

I love the fact that baseball is the only sport where the 'coach' dresses up like the players.

(I mean, can you even imagine Jerry Sloan in short shorts and high tops?)

But in baseball it somehow works. The manager looks like one of the team. He's one of them.

Tony La Russa was a player before he was a manager.

He knew what it was like to strike out, miss an easy play, or score a homerun.

His players knew he wasn't perfect. They also knew that he didn't quit.

He knew how to overcome mistakes.

I have sat through hundreds of talks and classes and lectures on repentance and forgiveness.

They have been true and good.

But I will never forget when I truly learned what it meant to be sorry for something.

To feel it deep in your soul.

We were having Family Home Evening and Rob was sitting under the living room window. He had hair, (it was even permed). He had on his pink izod shirt that was my favorite. We were talking (I can't even remember the topic) when Rob started to cry. I don't mean the pretty Demi Moore one tear down the cheek cry, I mean the Ugly, lip quiverying cry. He then told us about skipping out on church to go to Troy Haslam's house to jump on his tramp. I know that probably sounds silly but he was genuinely sorry that he had done that. He hadn't been caught, nobody probably would have even found out...he was just sorry.

That has been the most effective lesson on repentance I have ever had. Whenever I feel the need to repent (daily) I think, "Am I 'jumping on Troy Haslam's tramp' sorry?"

I know that Rob will always have on the same uniform as me.

That's comforting.

Vince Lombardi is the coach that people who don't know coaches still know.

He's famous for his inspiring words and the way he motivated his players.

Rob has always been motivated. He missed many camping trips to be tortured during 3-a-Days. He worked to be able to help pay for his mission. He is very dedicated and works like crazy to support his family. He is very loyal and protective of his family. He knows what it takes to be successful. And he's survived at least 6 life-threatening incidents.

He is here for a purpose.

And my kids love when he talks like a duck.

While it may sound like I think Rob is perfect..I know he is not..

But Coach Lombardi said it best:

"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.

"After all the cheer have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and after all the pomp and fanfare have faded, the enduring hting that is left is the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live."

Happy Birthday to my favorite coach.

Thanks for making the world and the people in it a little bit better.

Love you!

Happy Birthday Dad.

Today my dad turns 67 years old.

That's 24, 455 days. Those days have been spent in many different ways.

Ya know when people ask you if you could go back in time, "when" would you go? I always thought it would be so much fun to pull a Marty McFly and see my parents as kids and teenagers. I would especially love to watch the moment they met. I would love to be able to actually see those days that shaped him into the man he is today. I'm sure I would giggle on the day that he got on the school bus and then get off at the next stop to play hooky with his friend all day. Or the day that he swore and his Uncle Morris got after him. So little Johnny made up his own 'swear word'. I 'll try and do it justice here...*ahem*...

"Doggone, rickelfritzen, son of a gun and crackernottin, jitten belly, no good for nothin', dog breath nipper"......whew!

I don't recall ever hearing my dad use bad language. An occasional bible swear here and there but nothing offensive. I think you'll agree that this catchy little phrase would suffice in getting your point across.

I'm sure most of his childhood and teenage days were spent laughing and playing and making mistakes and learning from them. I'm sure he watched those around him... subconsciously allowing their influence to mold and shape him. I know my father was surrounded by good, hard working people. People who knew what was important. People who stood for things that mattered. Imperfect, but decent, loving people.

Although I did not 'see' him on those days of his youth, I am the lucky recipient of the lessons he learned. The days that I have seen of my father have been filled with knowledge to last a lifetime.

The majority of our days are like pearls strung together on a lovely necklace. But occasionally, there are jewels thrown in there that break up the monotony and make it stunning.

My dad's necklace is overflowing with jewels.

Many of those jewels stick out to me and remind me of the wonderful man my father is.

Like the days he spent fixing a neighbor's faucet, building trophy stands for the scouts, or taking me to visit some widows with him. The days (years) he would work 2 jobs to provide for our family. The day at Disneyland where he lugged around that Buick sized Video Camera so we would have memories recorded. The days he would take us to "help" him install a flagpole. The days he would spend planning big family camping trips. The days he has spent encouraging the youth of the world. He really has been blessed with a gift of understanding and love for troubled souls. They are drawn to his compassion. Or the night of my first date, when he came to my room with a white rose and told me how much he loved me and that I should keep myself like that rose. The day he sent me off on my mission. Or the day of my wedding when he sweetly put me in the care of another man. The day when I miscarried and he just held me and cried with me. The day of each of my children's birth. Today when I called to wish him Happy Birthday and he sounded like a little kid.

Days that he has surely forgotten but that are burned into my memory. Days where he not only told me but showed me. I know he is not perfect....but he's pretty close to it.

It would be impossible to count the number of people who have been blessed by, influenced by, or loved by my father. I was aware from an early age that I am lucky to have a dad like mine. I have known that not everyone does. I don't know why I got to come to his home, to be his daughter... I only know that I am so very happy to be.

He was the first man that I loved. The man who made me very picky about who I dated. The man who continues to teach me with his generosity, guide me with his example and show me that indeed, it is not about counting the days, but making the days count.

Here's to several thousand more days.

Love you Poppy John John!

Love, Sister Bug

Soooo....yeah.

So ya know when you get so behind on something and ya keep thinking, "I'm gonna get caught up, I am". And then more and more time passes and the catch up list starts to get longer and longer and no matter how hard you try or how great your intentions are..it just doesn't seem to make a difference. And then you are so far behind that you just have to give up on the catch up and start fresh from where you're at. Anyone? Anyone?

Well, that's where I'm at. I've had so many thoughts and such great things to post about from our summer and fall and it all just got away from me. So we're just starting fresh and there may be some random 'catch up' posts thrown in there. So if you get a post about Lake Powell or

Jack-o-lanterns thrown in there, just skip it. or whatever.

Lookin' Good!!

We're all still here.

It's just been a crazy busy summer.

We've been busy with some fun projects.

I will post about them soon.

This is what he has looked like most of the summer.

He's an independent soul, this one is.

Hope you're all having fun too.