Believe

One my all time favorite stories around Christmas time is "Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus", the famous letter from little Virginia to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897 that asks that one question -- Is there a Santa Claus?

This story is close to my heart for several reasons:

#1 - My middle name is Virginia, which is also the middle name of my grandma. Over the years, I have grown to love my middle name for its uniqueness and the truly inspiring woman that I was named after.

#2 - When we were younger, my sister and I acted in several plays at our local community theatre and one of the characters Carol portrayed was Virginia in this beloved Christmas story.

#3 - Whether you believe in Santa Claus or even the idea of Santa Claus, belief in anything is important and can truly add value to your life.

So, my question to everyone this holiday season is - What do you believe in?

Macy's, the department store, declared this past Friday, December 11th as National Believe Day and although an ad campaign for the hectic holiday shopping season, this one quote provides legitimacy to the entire idea:

"Macy's has declared Dec. 11 National Believe Day in honor of everyone across the county who wants to believe in something"

I believe in - love, family, sunshine, Butler basketball, chocolate chip cookies, the world, coffee in the morning, a higher being, acceptance, holidays, Koko, music and friendship.

What do you believe in?

Live the Good Life

Checking back in after the Thanksgiving holiday. My entire family (mom, dad and sister) traveled out to California to spend time with Terry and the Butler family at the 76 Classic. The trip was wonderful, minus the outcome of some of the games. It was great to spend time with everyone and soak up the warm Cali sun. Here's a quick recap/highlights:

- Thanksgiving dinner at cousin June's condo with Terry's side of the family.
- Disneyland and California Adventure Park and getting to see the newest addition to the Disney princess family (Disney at Christmas is the best of both worlds)
- Trip to Laguna Beach & Newport Beach and making footprints in the sand
- Dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant for an early birthday dinner (best meal ever)
- Watching the Dawgs play ball and a W against UCLA
- Laying by the pool with a good book

So thankful for these opportunities, the sunshine and most of all spending time with family and friends. Missing Cali, but so happy to be home with Koko and getting ready for the holiday season. Life is good.

Love the Christmas decor in warm, sunny California!!

While we were sleeping...

The COLTS pulled out an improbable win!

Definitely wishing we could have stayed awake just a little bit longer...those 8:30 pm games are tough, especially when 5:30 am on a Monday morning comes quick.

Below is the hail mary catch made by Wayne (photo courtesy of Indianapolis Star). Who gives Payton the ball at his own 30-yard line?!?

Go Horse!

Slumber Party for Dogs

Our life is consumed with dogs...Bulldogs, our cute little cavador (Koko) and my parents' dogs--two little affenpinschers--Monty and Roxy. My parents often travel from Southern Indiana to Indy for Butler games and this weekend was no different. They normally bring their two little stinkers--Monty and Roxy--with them, and Koko just loves the company.

This weekend was slightly different, in one aspect.My parents celebrated their 28th anniversary and we got to dog-sit, while they stayed at the Conrad. During the night we didn't want Monty and Roxy to stay in the kitchen while Koko was in our bedroom, because they would cry all night long. So we brought their beds into our room.

Needless to say, not much sleeping was going on. The three little munchkins basically had a slumber party all night and woke Terry and I up several times. It was all quite comical. Especially when Roxy (the littlest one) took over Koko's large, plush bed and Koko was quite beside herself. She found herself sleeping on Roxy's little bed, until the wee hours of the morning and then she had enough and curled up next to Roxy and fell fast asleep.

Koko looking at Terry probably thinking --
"Daddy what am I suppose to do with this one? Help!"

Cuddle time--much to Koko's dismay.

Because they were all so active throughout the night, they were not in the mood to get up this morning to go out. These three, as with all dogs, never cease to amaze me with their stubbornness and human-like attitudes.

Absolutely love these rotten-little ones! (P.S. Bulldogs win! Butler 73 - Davidson 62)

Koko - all tongue.

Roxy - all cuteness.

Monty - all attitude.

In Remembrance

One of my favorite cities to visit/live is Washington D.C. Every time I go back to the district, Arlington Memorial Cemetery is always at the top of my list of places to visit. So on Veteran's Day and in honor of those who gave their lives, here are a few favorite shots from our recent visit to Arlington over the summer.

The white rows of honor

Soldier at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Eternal flame at JFK's memorial site

Welcome to Hinkle Fieldhouse

The 2009-2010 basketball season is officially here!

The craziness of the season is no longer just around the corner, we are in the thick of it. I couldn't be more excited, anxious and ready for the first official game, which is this Saturday against Davidson. Terry has been working many hours, reviewing, studying and soaking up Davidson's every move, so to prepare the guys for tough competition. Despite the amount of time that goes into it all and the many hours/days away from home, it is all worth it to spend Saturday afternoons in Hinkle and watch Terry do what he loves every single day!

So, here we go....Let's go Dawgs!

One of Our Favorite Pastimes

The last day of summer has come and gone and fall weather is just around the corner. We are huge fans of summer and especially hot, summer days at the ball park. There's nothing better than a hot dog, pretzel with cheese and an ice cold beverage while sitting in the bleachers catching a baseball game.

Over the past several years, we have made it to quite a few ball parks, minor and major league. We spent the day after our wedding at Victory Field...on our vacation to NYC we we took in a game at Yankee Stadium...we watched Terry's cousin Jermaine play for the Gary Railcats and Schaumburg Flyers...and this summer was Nationals Park in DC, Wrigley Field (just the girls), and Busch Stadium on our trip to St. Louis. The trip to Busch was our first scalping tickets experience. Needless to say, we were a little nervous and crossed our fingers that we didn't get ripped off. The tickets looked legit. So for $15 a ticket we both made it through the gates, to our seats and there's not a bad seat in the stadium. Our sports/man's room is becoming quickly filled with memorabilia from each park. We love it.

The summer came to a great end this past weekend, as we traveled the 2.5 hours to the Fort (Fort Wayne) for Terry's alumni baseball game at IPFW. Great time. Good ballpark food. And Terry didn't get injured, which is quite an accomplish for a old guy who hasn't swung a bat, thrown a ball or ran the bases in many years. Good job, TJ!!

Nationals Park in D.C. earlier this summer

Cards v. Cubs at Busch Stadium



Terry up to bat at the IPFW Alumni Game...nice form

I Heart Faces - Completely Candid

My friend and fellow coach's wife, Molly, introduced me and the rest of her blog followers to I Heart Faces, which is a "photography blog sharing faces from around the world." Each week there is a theme and people from around the world submit their favorite photo that fits the theme. Of course, Molly's photos are absolutely adorable, because her beautiful children are often the subject.

So here goes my first shot for the I Heart Faces global community. The theme this week is "Completely Candid". Over Labor Day weekend, I caught this beautiful, candid shot of my dad in his canoe, enjoying the calmness that defines the lake. Since I was a little girl, my dad and his canoe have been a memorable part of my life, whether he was carrying it on his back while portaging in the Boundary Waters, moving gracefully through a field of lilly pads or fishing on the lake at dusk. I heart this photo!

Check out the other shots at iheartfaces.com, especially Molly's adorable candid photo.

Priceless

After a little over two months at my new job, I have come to realize that loving your job is priceless. Waking up every weekday morning (almost) with a smile and an eagerness to get the day started is such a wonderful feeling. All the work to get to this point has really paid off and I could not be happier.

On July 15th, after completion of grad school and several stepping stones, Best Buddies Indiana welcomed me as a High School Program Manager. Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization (yes-finally using my degree!!) that provides opportunities for one-to-one friendships and leadership development for people with intellectual disabilities. The friendships that are formed are incredible and the people I am privileged to work with are so inspiring. Within a week of my start date, we were attending the 2009 International Leadership Conference in Bloomington with people from all over the world, getting 5 hours of sleep a night and loving every minute of the 5-day adventure. Now back in the office, my days are consumed with meeting and talking with high school students and helping them get their BB chapters off to a great start.

Once again....priceless. The work...pricesless. The mission...priceless. The people...priceless.

Indiana HS Chapter Leadership at LC2009...these students are amazing!

Best Buddies representing at the CharitiBowl. Did not bowl the
best game of my life, but still tons of fun!

My coworkers (Rebecca, Melanie and Natalie) along with
Mary and myself gettin' down at the LC pool party.

Mr. Clean

Side story...The past couple of weeks, the Johnson household has had to endure periods of intermittent internet service and my social media activities have fallen to the wayside. Thank you, Comcast. Little did we know that we just needed to unplug and plug in again. Eh. Well, now we are patched.

Main story...The reason that we were so eager to get the internet mystery solved is because of a short clip that a few of the Butler players put together for Coach T (Terry) and posted on Facebook and we wanted to watch. The video highlights his characteristic cleanliness, his no-nonsense workouts, and their overall appreciation. Terry absolutely loves his job, and his fellow coaches and players mean the world to him. As one of his biggest supporters, I am so proud of him and his dedication to the team. Season is just around the corner (or as Terry would say "Season is already here"). Go Dawgs!

Here's the clip, straight to you from Shel, Ronny, and EK via Facebook (the clarity is not the greatest, b/c I had to record the Facebook movie on my camcorder):




Side Note...For those of you that don't know (they baffled me as well) here are some definitions for words found in the video straight from Websters Dictionary (well not really):

"fire" means really good in sports terms
"Gary Payton aka the Glove" is a NBA player who resembles Terry
"pads" are defensive pads used in practice to push the players to get low on defensive drills

Neophyte Blogger on Board...

In the footsteps of several close friends, the force of the blog has pulled me in and thus begins our little blog. Never thought this day would come.

Who might you say does little blog entail? Well, that would be my husband Terry, myself and our preciousl little girl dog, Koko (more to add at a later date), along with our family and friends.

As a program manager at Best Buddies Indiana the school year is busy, fun and filled with friendships. As the wife of a college basketball coach the season is crazy, exciting and filled with wonderful times at Hinkle. As the momma of Koko, life is wonderful, amazing and filled with a wagging tail.

As I have come to learn, every post should include a pretty picture. The photo to the right is of Koko and I during our day at the park with Terry for our 1 year wedding anniversary.

So, here we go...enjoy the ride!