The Pumpkin Patch Scrapbook....

Every year for Christmas my parents get a Farmer Jim's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze Scrapbook. I got my new cricut (It cuts vinyl. It's very exciting trust me.) and all my stuff out. And I come home early from work. Make some coffee and do one page and have to take a nap! It did get done on time. And they were very happy with it.

Hayden's big day as an All-Star

We traveled to Gulfport to watch Hayden in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic. He was serving as a manager for the South Team. He had a blast. I know it was a great experience for him.

 Hayden in a photo featured in The Star-Herald

 Hayden @ The game.

Sadie Kate saying "No I will not come to you, Cookie Man or you, Aunt Leslie. Little Stinker!

The Jim, Jenny, Halea, Hayes and Sadie Kate Wood came along too. It's always fun to hang out with them.  They got to stay on the beach....Sadie Kate said "Aunt Leslie will never see it." and she was right. Also, Cookie Man "aka Paul" brought  her some sugar cookies. She was so happy.

Oh and as a side note – Paul and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 18!  He's a keeper!

Oh how I love Christmas stuff!

I finally finished decorating Wednesday night. The tree has been up and decorated. However my door garland and my santa hadn't been put out. 

Got my snow babies on the mantel and my other items scattered about. Christmas is my favorite holiday with Valentine's Day (my birthday) being second. I love to give presents and most of the time I want to give them as soon as I buy them. I just love watching people react to their gifts. 

 Paul's classroom tree that didn't make it there this year.

 The door garland -- it needs some lights or something. Maybe next year.

 Metal Santa my mom bought me at the Great Delta Bear Affair.

 The tree all lit up!

 Our Disney Football Ornament. I try to get a Mickey Ear Ornament each time we go to Disney.

Elvis ornament I got when Paul took me to Graceland while we were dating.

And well it's been over for awhile....

Football that is and then we go into hibernation mode.

And just like every two years, we wait for the redistricting to see who are region foes will be. The last time we were redistricted to "The Delta" or as the folks around here call it -- The scary place where the people of color live. We won the appeal and were placed back in our old region.

This year things got a little bit more moved around so our region foes will be West Lowndes, East and West Oktibbeha, Noxapater, Nanih Wayia, Pelahatchie, Sebatopol, Weir, and our non-region foes will be McAdams, West Lincoln and South Pontotoc.

Fans make complain about having to travel a bit but at least you didn't go to "THE DELTA."

Since I'm from the Delta, I will save that rant for another day. 

Our Second Win of the Year!

It was actually football weather and we came home with a VICTORY!

It was a good weekend all around for the Ethel Tigers, the MSU Bulldogs and the N.O. Saints. I'll write more later.....

Senior Night.....

All Senior Football Players, Cheerleaders and Band Members were recognized before the start of the game. The football players got autographed footballs signed by the team and they had cake during their pre-game meal. The best part of the night was that we did have some success throwing the football for touchdowns with QB Bobby Potts. 4 TDs on passes. I was one proud mom eventhough we lost. We seem to be getting better as the year had gone on.
I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be but at our final game I will be sad for sure as the seniors play their final game of the season.

The rest of October has been busy busy busy!

I've been helping with my parents' pumpkin patch on a few weekends and two days last week. I help with the school groups, picking pumpkins and what not. It's really fun. Plus, you get to hang out with some great kiddos. They are always excited about finding their pumpkin out of the patch.

We also grow different varieties of pumpkins and an assortment of gourds. Check us out next year. We have a facebook page -- Farmer Jim's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze and a website http://www.farmerjimspumpkinpatch.com/.

We played McAdams, our county rival, in what I will call the "Dust Bowl." We haven't had any rain and their field was a mess. So as the boys were running up and down the field they kicked up dust. I was still recovering from my bacterial infection and all the dust was making me cough. It was not our finest hour on the football field. We got beat and we did play better the second half.

Oh and there were stew benefiting all sports.....

I've been told that this might be the last Ethel Athletict Booster Club Stew. It sure is good. 140 gallons sold. It benefits all sports.

Season comes to an end for EHS slow pitch softball but what a season!

The EHS softball team finished post-season play at West Lincoln on Saturday during the second round of the playoffs. The were undefeated in district and No. 1 in District!
Congrats on a great season girls!

Bad Friday all the way around

I just thought I had a cold and since it was Game Day and I was headed to Farmer Jim's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze to see my parents in Rolling Fork Saturday, I went to the doctor.

Well, it wasn't just a cold! I test positive for mycoplasma bacteria (that causes walking pneumonia) and it was all in my nose and throat.

I was determined to go to the ball game but since I was contagious and had to drive a good way, several people including Paul and my mom told me to stay at home.

I haven't missed a game since Paul and I were engaged that's at least 6 football seasons ago. It just killed me not going but I was able to get the score updates via text messaging.

We got beat 51-6 by West Oktibbeha and apparently, they have a QB that has a cannon for an arm and a receiving core that is the best we have seen.

Of course, I had to know all the details sick or not so we stayed up late talking once Paul got home.

I asked him what he said to the kids before the game and he said "I told them to play hard and that I loved them." And for the first time, the team told him -- "Love you to coach."

Even in defeat that has to make you smile. :)

New field house is looking promising

Story I wrote for The Star-Herald.

KOSCIUSKO — Concerned Ethel High School football parents gathered at the Attala County Chancery Building to address the need for a new field house for football, baseball and softball during the Attala County School Board meeting Monday night.

The board voted to have the asbestos checked in the current athletic field house as well as two houses on McAdams High School campus, to hire an architect and advertise for bids on a facility.

Christie Moody, a football parent and registered nurse, told the board there were two definite issues with facility – structural issues and health concerns.

Moody passed around pictures of the inside and outside of the structure showing damages and disrepair.

“The junior high football team dressed out for practice and after they left, part of the ceiling fell,” she said.  “Thankfully, they weren’t in there so no one got hurt.”

“It’s awful. We can go to away games and have better facilities to use than what we have at home.”

She added that there isn’t a place for the athletes to shower after ball games if they needed  and the floor is rotten in front of the urinals.

“They have to watch where they step so they don’t fall through the floor,” she said.

Numerous athletes over the years have gotten Staphylococcus or Staph infections through direct contact with the field house.

“Staph is a bad cookie,” Moody said.

Staphylococcus is a group of bacteria that can cause a multitude of diseases as a result of infection of various tissues of the body.

The bacteria can live on a non-living thing for up to three days, Moody said.

“This building is wood,” she said. “It’s dark. It’s damp. It’s rotten. It’s porous. It can live longer in that wood than three days.”

“The infection has to be treated with specific antibiotics and if not treated it can kill you,” she said. “We are allowing our children to be in harms way.”

“The best thing for that building is to bulldoze it down and never see it again,” Moody said.

Superintendent Larry Stevens agreed with Moody saying it was by far “the worst building in the district.”

“If the board votes to do that, then we will find the money somewhere,” Stevens said. “I don’t know if we can find money to build a building on the other end.  That’s the next thing that’s going to come up.”

EHS head football coach Paul Dees said he knew that originally plans had been drawn to build separate facilities for football, baseball and softball but it would be more cost effective to tear the current building down and put a new one in it’s place for football and baseball and remodel the weight room for a girls softball facility.

Hard work gets you...

Pizza and "Facing the Giants" on the big screen in the Ethel gym. Both the high school and jr. high football players were treated a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to post this.

I stopped by and snapped this on my camera phone.

The game against the French Campers...

We got beat 34-6. It's been a tough year and we've got 5 more to go. They play hard -- really hard.

And while I was down on the sidelines with the boys, a school board member (whom I believe was trying to get votes for his upcoming election) was up in the stands and the nearby areas telling people that "we need a coaching change."

His first mistake was telling Paul's lifelong friend and then, two parents who are very supportive. Apparently the school board member even went in the press box and said as much.

Well, that's all it took for me. Those kids work to hard and their coaches just as hard. I was mad to say the least and if we hadn't been through a similar situation at a different school, I probably wouldn't have said anything to the board member.

Monday's Attala County School Board meeting comes around and the board member asks me "How am I doing?" Well, I told him. He denied saying those things several times. If you are going to say something, you better mean it and stand behind it. 

Not to mention that the football players were visible upset at practice on Monday because of that crap. 

I do not put up with crap like that. You don't mess with my husband, my family, my friends or those kids at Ethel High School. 

A couple of weeks behind

We do not lack in effort and the score might not be in our favor but we do not quit, we do not stop and we play until the final whistle blows. It's been a tough couple of weeks for my boys.

So here are the highlights.....

 The lovely Anna Dotson was crowned queen before kickoff

 Our Lovely Ladies all dressed up.

 Savannah, Anna & Bre

Antez doing his thing.

Next up the Weir Lions

Dylan Simmons, who was injured, tackles Mojo.

Like I said before we play with all we have and all that is in us and at halftime we were down 21 to 13.

My biggest complaint is not about our team  but with the fans. Instead of cheering them off the field, our fans would rather talk about what we aren't doing.

They work for hours on end in the hot sun, they lift weights, they run and we can't even muster up a little cheer. I know we can do better than that. I believe we can do better than that. Maybe one day all this will change.

Next up....FCA Panthers.

2-0 Yeah Baby! Ethel Tiger Jr. High Football

Our Jr. High Team is doing really well and this was the first chance I got to see them play -- Tuesday night. Usually my job keeps me away. We beat Weir!!!!! So exciting.

Of course, I think it's cute when they play b/c some of them are little bitty.

The undefeated 7th and 8th graders are going to French Camp next Tuesday. Sadly, I will not be able to go. Good Luck Guys!

Happy Birthday Paul!

Happy Birthday to my husband Paul or as most people call him "Coach."

We spent most of Saturday running around Jackson doing errands for school and doing a little antique business. We had early birthday lunch at Mama Hamill's. We crashed when we got home and we slept late Sunday morning. He has gotten all his wishes -- birthday breakfast of pancakes and bacon, birthday dinner --  boiled shrimp with the fixins' and a yummy strawberry cake. I gave him Drew Brees' book and a few other happies. All in all he had a good day -- Especially since we won on Friday night.

First Win of 2010

Lead rusher of the night -- Antez Hopkins. Followed by Mike Mike and Dylan Simmons.
Also Nick Winters scored a TD on a 78-yard kick off return.

All in it -- Defensive stops in the 4th quarter lead to our victory.



Our first victory came on Friday night as we traveled to Edinburg.
 The final score was 13-12. This game made me a nervous wreck!

Always good to win on the weekend of Paul's birthday. It makes things a little bit better around the house.

Crazy Off Week

Since Ethel wasn't playing football and for the most part no one in our division was, we had been planning to visit our friends @ South Pontotoc.
During the course of events on Friday morning, long-time assistant coach and our very good friend Roger Chism was made the head coach. YES ON FRIDAY MORNING!

I think Paul knew about it before Roger did. The whole thing is crazy but, as we well know, South Pontotoc can be unpredictable place.

We were slightly worried that people would think that Paul wanted his old job back and that is definitely not the case. He did have a few offers though.

All the kids he coached are gone, our house finally sold and I have a job. So life @ South Pontotoc is just a distant memory.

However, when you get the same coaching crew (sans Coach Waldrop, who is in California), it's like we never left. I laughed so much my jaws hurt. We were a pretty tight-knit group of coaches and coaches' wives. I miss them dearly but I know they will always be a part of our lives.  We are hoping to go with the Chisms to Colorado this summer and have the Waldrops meet us.

I had planned on taking a photo of all of us together but I didn't -- guess I was taking the night off.

Next, on our agenda after going to be at 2 a.m. Saturday morning was to tailgate at MSU before the big game. It was a lot of fun but so HOT! My cupcakes melted. But we WON!

Sunday I got some sleep and we had an estate auction to work on Labor Day, where I had to set up a concession stand on the fly! That's another story.

Sometimes I wonder if we are ever going to slow down.....

I've had a lot of thoughts....

while I drove to and from Rolling Fork from visiting my family.

Never miss understand me -- I want the us to win win win every time we take the field and I can tell you on Friday night after we got shut out that I wanted to cry. As bad as our boys felt on Friday night, I felt it too.

In the bigger scope of life, football is so much more than about the win and loss record. It's about changing lives -- Hardwork, determination, team work and forming bonds that will never be broken.

Last year, I wrote about fans standing at the fencing yelling at what I consider to be "my children" and you know what, I have to start considering the source and moving on. I was glad I wrote it. It has been plaguing me and I felt it was something I had to do. This year, is a new leaf.

Case in point: I hear that a father of one of the players said he didn't know why our coaches were wearing head sets because it wasn't helping us. I just shake my head and smile and remember that some people simply don't understand the game of football very well.

We have two weeks to get better for Edinburgh and the season is still young. Who knows what the future holds!?

Game 1: Pisgah 47, Ethel 30

Friday night was in a word -- HOT! I have never been at a game where it was so humid.

I was so proud of our boys -- At the half it was 28 to 6, Pisgah and we came back in the second half and started climbing the hill again. It was a spark! It was great! They continued to fight and that hasn't happened in a quite a while.

QB Bobby Potts made a heck of a pass and that totally made up for the broken play where he threw the ball up and right into the hands of a Pisgah Dragon. We still love you,  Bobby.

First Division game is Friday @ home against Noxapater.

Senior Nick Winters

Sophomore Antez Hopkins

Senior Dylan Simmons

Buy a shirt and help my friends out.

Several months ago, my friend and co-worker, Alysha, came to work with a big announcements. Her 33-year-old husband, Chad, was in renal failure and needs a kidney transplant. He was born with one working kidney and this hit them like a ton of bricks. First Baptist Church in Kosciusko is holding a benefit on Sept. 11 with jumpers for kids, an auction, and plate dinners. And there is a t-shirt for sale too. They are very cute and you can purchase one up until Aug. 27.  The money raised will help with medical and other expenses as they go through the transplant process.

They have three beautiful kids --Bailey Katherine, Eli and Mamie. And Alysha is my friend so you should buy a shirt.

Snap shots from the scrimmage

We went to Eupora for a preseason scrimmage on Friday night. Here are a few snapshots from the game.

Antez going down. He made some good runs.

Bobby Potts first start as QB1. He only threw one interception and completed several passes.

Did I like football before I married a coach?

I get that question a good bit and the answer is yes! I couldn't make it through football season with him, if I didn't like it.

Being in a house full of women, my dad was always out numbered but we found a common interest in football by the time I was 11 or 12. I started watching Mississippi State football with my Dad during the Jackie Sherrill era. The door to my closet was covered with newspaper clippings and photos of Sleepy Robinson and Sherrill.

If the Dawgs weren't on TV, then we tuned into the radio with Jack.

I was also the proud owner of a New Orleans Saints football growing up as well.

Then I went to college at MSU, and I was there for the legendary season of 1999. I went to every home game. The atmosphere was just awesome! Paul and I have been fortunate to have season tickets at MSU for two years. We enjoy going and we are excited even in the rain!

Plus, football coaching runs in the family -- my uncle was an assistant coach at several high schools and played at Delta State; one cousin was the head football coach at several schools and I have two cousins married to former football coaches as well. I guess it's just a way of life.

I guess it was FATE! :)

My Dad, #65, with my Papa and Mimi in the fall of 1969. This is the only photo I have ever seen of my dad in his uniform. I use to wear his jersey as a little girl. My dad was a good looking football player!

My Uncle Kelly suited up as a Delta State Statesmen in the 80s. I had to miss my dancing lessons to go watch him play in Cleveland one Thursday and I cried. I was sooooooooooooooo mad.