Region 1 4-A Bi-District Champions!

This afternoon Abilene Cooper soundly beat Canyon Randall 35 - 0 in the Region 1 4-A Bi-District Playoffs!

It was a beautiful day in more than one way!

The weather was perfect. The team was prepared. The game was outstanding!

The victory was sweet! Afterwards the team was presented a large gold football to display in the fieldhouse. Cooper has a winning tradition but the last time they won a playoff game was 2002. Six years is along time. Needless to say what this team did tonight was 'way awesome!' It was a HUGE WIN AND they deserved it!

This fun sign that the 'True Blue Moms' hung in the fieldhouse hall this week now says........

5 weeks to State!

Congratulations Cougars! The dream lives on! Proceed without caution!

Next stop: Area Championships! Next Saturday, Odessa, TX. @ 1:00, Ratliff Stadium. Abilene Cooper vs. El Paso Del Valle. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!

Playoff Surprise!

Last night, Coach and I were relaxing watching a little T.V. when suddenly at 10:00 the doorbell rang. He quickly got up, mumbling something like, '...who in the world could that be at this hour?" He opened the door and much to his surprise stood the four team captains, A'mon Pimpton, Blake Spears, Brandon Henderson and Will Ford! He brightened up and said, " Hey! What are you guys doing?" Sincerely they spoke, each saying in their own words, ' Coach, we just wanted to come over here tonight and tell you that we've got your back'! ...and you can count on us. We're going to win this game!' Coach was touched. He was patted them on the back, saying "thanks guys that was really nice of you!... and y'all come on in the house!". When suddenly there appeared 40-45 young men saying, "..me too, Coach!", "You can count on me, too!" etc.


It would be hard for me to explain how deeply my husband was touched by this gesture. As our front yard filled up with young men, he simply stood there. Holding back emotion, looking at their faces, and trying to find the words to express what his heart felt. When words were not found he simply said, "Wow! What a surprise! You guys really got me. For the first time ever, I'm speechless. I have no idea what to say!" Everyone kind of laughed for a man of few words he is not. Then quietly he said, "You guys are really special! You don't know how much this means to me. I love every one of you."

He stepped off the porch and began to hug some of the guys when someone, maybe A'mon , said



'Break us out, Coach! Others agreed and without hesitation my husband walked into the center of what quickly became a large, tight huddle. In total silence, with fists in the air, they waited for him to speak. Then, in a loud but muffled voice I heard him say, " Where we go one," and the team in immediate response shouted in precise unision, " We go all!


The crowd began to disperse. We didn't want them to leave. We wanted them to stay! We wanted everyone to come in and hang out for a while (but where would everyone fit?). We needed to say 'thank you' and somehow express our gratitude but in the end words came up short. We walked them down the sidewalk hugging along the way, to the street corner where I attempted to take a group picture.

Then they left us,



akwardly standing there, on a lawn full on love.



An hour later, while dabbing his eyes, he said, "As a coach, that's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

Painting the'villa'!

Last Monday Kimberly and I arrived at the 'villa'. We walked around the property and toured the suite we were to paint. Several weeks ago I had selected the rich mustard wall color but hadn't seen it on the walls yet. We made a plan, unloaded our supplies, custom mixed the 'oil rub' glaze, tie on our aprons and started painting! We painted all the ceilings, walls, baseboards, window mouldings, door facings, built-ins, shelves throughout the entire master bedroom, hallboth room size closets. Plus a metallic gold finish on the bath ceiling. Oh! How could I forget?...and six plantation shutters! The textured plaster was a great surface to work on. The end results were rich and warm. The room features an ancient hand carved and painted, double door and a 6'x6' hand carved wooden ceiling medallion.

This project took the two of us 4 long days. It also took a lot of muscle! Some days we got so tired and silly, I feared we'd fall off our ladders. In the near future I hope to post photos of the completed room.

Plowing up the Plains!

The Abilene Cooper Cougars traveled three and half hours, last night, through the West Texas plains past hundreds of miles of cotton crops, to play the Plainsview Bulldogs. Plainsview is located in the panhandle, you know, near Happy and south of Amarillo. It was a still, clear, chilly night. Perfect weather for a football game! Everyone was bundled up with their stadium blankets and hot chocolate, ready for the action.

After last weeks defeat, the guys were focused and looking for a victory and momentum to take into the Playoffs next week. The first half they struggled. Leaving the field at half time the score was Cooper 16 Plainsview 13. Too close for comfort! But the 2nd half they played much better. Executed well and left the field victorious. Final score Cooper 37 Plainview 13.

The Playoffs begin next Saturday. Cooper will play Canyon at 2:00, Lubbock. Getting into the Playoffs is a big deal for the Cougars! It has been a year long goal for this hard working, dedicated team. I actually get a little emotional as I think of all they've gone through to get to this place. I know I speak for many when I say I 'd love to see this group of guys continue their journey. Learning together how to be champions. I respect each of you. You inspire me!

photos courtesy of Cindy Gravitt, www.gravittproductions.com . Check her out!!!

Painting with Kimberly!

This week, I drove out to Midland, to paint decorative finishes in the Crook home. This will be the first of many posts, for I will be painting a lot of rooms in this large house. Usually I paint alone but this week I had the pleasure of painting with our daughter, Kimberly. She was a huge help to me and practically painted the entire room by herself! Plus we had a lot of fun! As many of you know spending time with Kim can be, shall we say, an "adventure".

Our first project at the Crook's, was 9 yr. old Kelly's room. I asked a lot of questions before deciding to paint an over-scaled silver damask on Kelly's walls. Kelly loves fun, fancy and silver. She is also a talented performer! Check her out at www.myspace.com/kellycrookonline . As you can see by the mirrored mosaic dress form that will embellish her room. After sketching on the baroque design, we (mostly Kim) painted on a base color. At the end of the third day, she finished applying the metallic silver.Way to go Kimi!!! The final effect is stunning! You did a GREAT job! Will you come back next week and paint some more?

PRETTY PLEASE! I promise I'll talk less and paint more.

Stay posted! More to come next week.