P.S.

I forgot to mention - for those who might be watching from home, tune into ESPN 2 on Friday, December 1st at 7 p.m. Central, to watch the game televised NATIONALLY - oh, yeah, that's right...we're big time, just this once. =)

Conference USA Championship

It's football time, kids! Between my Aggies beating up on the Horns and UH heading into the big-time Conference USA Championship, it feels like I'm getting early Christmas presents! =) For those of you who have been living under a rock, tomorrow night UH plays Southern Miss (another college fav of mine) at Robertson Stadium here in Houston for the C-USA Championship... Get excited! Its football weather too - with 32 being the avg temperature for tomorrow night, I'm worried both of these football teams may not remember how to play when they start seeing ice formations on the grass... After all, this isn't common weather for "The South", ya know... Regardless, it'll be a great time had by all, I am certain and for those of you bandwagon supporters of college teams, I am begging you to jump on the UH bandwagon for tomorrow's game... We are trying our best to sell this sucker out - with a little over 9,000 tickets left, it's time for Houston to get in gear and "move it - move it" to the ticket lines! Make something happen Houston - just do it!

Happy Turkey Day!

Well Turkey Day in the Salters household was a huge success this year! We had about 15 people at the house and between eating way too much food, watching some awesome Cowboy football, playing a little Mexican Dominoes and throwing the football around with my sweet fiancee, WE HAD A BLAST! My cousin Earl was in from military school so it was great to spend some time with him - he's all grown up now! As you can see, he and Christopher did a lot of relaxing and recovering from eating way too much. Mom and Dad did a great job of playing host on Thursday and on Friday - we got together to watch the AGGIES beat the LONGHORNS for the first time in many MANY years...it was awesome! After lots of eating, you can see the outcome of consumption of way too much food...that's my Uncle John, Marc and Dad all CRASHED on the couch...enjoying a nice Thanksgiving afternoon nap. Lots to be thankful for this year - including a nice, relaxing holiday with tons of family time and lots of sleep - had a great time!

Family Fun Pics

Family Fun

What a great weekend! I went through my first Rite of the Catholic Church - my Rite of Welcoming... It was so nice to have Marc's family in town to be there as well as Deb, my sponsor and great friend, to support me during this ongoing life-changing experience. It's a great feeling to stand in front of a church congregation with a group of people and hear the warm welcomes and see the excited faces of those who are happy to hear of our decisions. It was a painless ceremony that held lots of meaning for me... Another great week in the Catholic church.

Also, Sister Virginia came to talk with us about the importance of prayer and how to pray...to always remember to thank Christ for all he's done for us and to remember to pray for others...to strive to build a relationship...remember to sit silently and not always be distracted...feel the peace that Christ offers in those quiet times. It was a GREAT lesson - I was so glad to listen to her and hear all she had to say.

Went wedding dress shopping as well this weekend - I'd be more than happy to post some pics BUT my dear, sweet fiance looks at this site and we all know the rule about the groom seeing his bride before the wedding... Soooo, no pics for you! But - I will tell you I found some beautiful dresses...one inparticular that made my heart start beating really fast and my stomach hurt... I think in dress language that is considered "the one"... It's a little on the pricey side so we have to see if we can work it out - it is the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. I'll keep you updated on progress there.

Last in my report on this weekend, and probably most importantly, Marc's parents came in for a relaxing weekend and we had so much fun. Saturday Mrs. Magnone got to go dress shopping with me and my grandmothers - a true family experience. And then, Saturday night, my Mom and Dad and Brother came out to go to dinner at Fogo de Chao with the Magnones. All that was missing was Bill and Les...we had a really great time. I'll post some pics above - it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next time we can all get together!

Leslie and Bill are Married!

Miss Leslie Magnone (my future sister-in-law) is now Mrs. William Stephenson - the wedding was this Saturday and it was beautiful! We had a blast in Tampa/St. Pete and Leslie looked beautiful...Bill was handsome...all was perfect! I have downloaded a few pics below...enjoy!

We Hit 100 Percent...and More!

I know many of you have been listening to my moaning and growning concerning our property being so close to hitting our sales goal...but not getting there as quickly as we'd wished. I have great news to report - we have hit goal and are actually over it by a couple thousand dollars. WOOHOO!!! This is great news and means that we can relax and recover a little after the past few months of craziness.

The other really exciting news I have is that UH beat SMU this weekend to clinch the west division of Conference USA - The Cougs will be playing in the C-USA championship as well as a bowl game at the end of the year. This is HUGE news...and again, I encourage everyone to jump on the Cougar bandwagon - now is the time we need your support and are excited to be doing so well and hopefully making our home town very proud!

Lastly, A&M lost a heartbreaker (again!) to Nebraska this weekend...ugh. While I'm happy that Texas got stomped, it still makes me sad to know that my Aggies are struggling to live up to the potential they possess...I know, same story - one thousandth verse...

Updates on Friends...

Just a note to let everyone know that Ruth is officially out of surgery... She is doing well and the doctor said the surgery was a complete success. We shall see how the recovery pans out - she will be heading home later this afternoon, after she comes out of anesthesia fully. I know many of you have had Ruth in your prayers and thoughts - thanks for that and please continue to think of her and her family. They are also in the process of dealing with a death in the family so there is a lot going on with the Wilson crew. I'll update the blog if I hear of any other news on Ruth.

Also, I have good news to report about my friend Sandy who was undergoing major surgery on Friday of last week. She was moved out of ICU yesterday after a successful surgery and will be recovering for the next several months. She is doing well - thanks also for your prayers and thoughts concerning her and her family. Please continue to think of her in the grueling months of recovery that lie ahead. She is a very strong lady - if anyone can make it through all this, it is her!

Tidbits...

Lots going on right now so thought I'd write a few sentences about - well - everything.

1) My beloved Aggies fell to the stinkin' Oklahoma Sooners this past weekend after a hard fought match. I was very sad but after talking to my brother and remembering what it was like to be a student and feel that loss, was thankful that I'm a little older and more familiar with Aggie losses so I wasn't absolutely devasted as I used to be. It's interesting, the older you get - the more perspective you have on life and the things that are important... It is IMPORTANT to be proud of the Aggies because they played well - it is NOT IMPORTANT to wallow in the sorrow of this loss and not let it go until next season when we play each other again. Another big game is a few days away - let it go and concentrate on what's next!

2) This week at RCIA we learned all about Mary and the importance placed on her in the Catholic Church. While I love the idea of respecting this incredible woman for all she accomplished and the guidance she gave Jesus...it is hard for me to accept a couple of the Catholic revelations that I have learned about since I have been studying this subject. The Catholic faith believes that Mary lived a perfect life, with no sin...I find that hard to accept as my understanding and belief has always been that Mary was a strong Christian woman but still a human and therefore also must have sinned in her life. Also, the Catholic faith believes that Mary remained a virgin throughout her entire life...that she and Joseph never partook in love-making which is a gift given to us by God to let us humans be as close to our partners as humanly possible. While I respect these very interesting ideas, it is going to be hard for me to accept these details as true...I'm going to have to work on this one for awhile. Regardless, I do love that the Catholic church shows so much respect and importance to the woman that raised Jesus as a child... A mother is always responsible for her children and no doubt that Mary was an amazing Christian parent who deserves to be commended and well respected for her contribution to the Christian faith and the human life of Jesus Christ.

3) GO COOGS! Our UH Cougars are making a run for the Conference USA Championship as they are now 7-3 with a 5-1 standing in CUSA, which is best in the conference. PEOPLE - NOW IS THE TIME TO JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON... These guys are making things happen - it's time for you to be proud of your home team and get into the game... If the Cougars win out, we'll be hosting the CUSA Championship at Robertson Stadium this year. How bout them apples? Anyone getting excited yet? Hello - anyone?

4) Lastly, still lots of harsh things going on right now. A friend of mine found out on Saturday that her mother had passed away after a short battle with extensive cancer - another friend found out yesterday that his grandfather had passed suddenly - another friend is in the process of getting ready to go through the surgery of a lifetime, as they open her up to scrape out cancer on her intestines and then put her back together - another friend is struggling with family issues as her father prepares to go in and have an advanced cancerous stomach tumor removed in early December - My aunt has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the process of preparing for a round of very heavy chemo - and my very best friend is being admitted on Monday to have back surgery which we all hope and pray will help heal her body very quickly... And - really - that isn't all of the drama going on but probably the most important pieces for now. I say all of this to remind everyone to be thankful for your life and every day you live it. I also am asking for your prayers for all of these very special people in each of their specific and challenging situations.

While going through my grandparents house a couple of weeks ago and preparing to move my Grandma in with my parents, I found a piece of paper in my Pawpaw's old Bible... I have kept it with me since I found it and I treasure it... It is the summation of what Christ was for my Pawpaw and what He should be for all of us. It said -

The Lord is 3 Things...

1 - On My Side
2 - By My Side
3 - Give's Me Peace Inside

So simple and yet so telling - hopefully this will give you peace today as you all go through the individual struggles you face.

5) One last thing - to be very thankful for - I'm heading to Tampa on Wednesday to be at my soon to be sister-in-laws wedding and I'm so excited! This is something we've all been looking forward to for many months now and I can't wait to see her as a beautiful bride. She and Bill are so very happy together and it's a blessing to be around them and share in their very powerful and loving relationship. I really am looking forward to a great time - LESLIE, we are headed your way!

I'd love to post pics for you but blogger won't let me - it keeps doing this for some reason - sucks.

Halloween Cuties

At this time of the year, one of my favorite things to do is watch all the little kids get dressed up in their Halloween costumes...some of them using the "this is what I want to be when I grow up" theme - others sporting their favorite cartoon character - even some wearing the uniforms of favorite sports teams...favorite sports teams of their parents, that is. =)

I thought it would be fun to post pictures of some of my favorite little people, all decked out in their Halloween gear...this is the best holiday for "capturing the moment" - hope you enjoy these as much as I do.



This is Max and Jack - Bob and Deb's little guys and my favorite babysitting crew...they are so much fun and I see Bob is already brainwashing them with Ohio State stories... =)










Hudson looks perplexed in his Mad Cow costume - he's probably thinking "what in the world did my parents make me dress up like this for!?" Love it!












This is "Luke Skywalker" aka April's nephew...what a great costume and a huge pumpkin - where in the world did you guys find that thing!?













This picture of little Sophie, April's niece, might be my favorite this year - she is so adorable (and looks so annoyed in this picture...), just makes me smile everytime I see it! I've seen that look before - she takes after her aunt... =)






Another great year of costumes and Trick or Treating...hopefully next year I'll get to be a little more fun and do some dressing up. This year I was working - still 15k away...taking donations so we can reach our goal! (joking, I'm joking...kinda) More on that later...for now, heading home - Have a great night everyone!