O Christmas Tree!

For our 2010 tree the kids really wanted colored lights on the tree... so colored lights is what we did. About 1300 beautiful colored lights to be exact. They thought the tree was awesome and it made a nice addition to our living room for the season.

Sean's Christmas Party

Today was Sean's school Christmas party and even dad was off work and able to come up and have some fun with us. Both the girls got all dressed up and ready to go to the party. Going to holiday parties at Dodd Elementary are almost more exciting for the girls than they are for Sean. We did so many neat things this year, including coloring and the whole classroom blew bubbles. All and all it was a really good day and the kids had a great time.

Marshmallow Babies

Tonight we experimented with roasting marshmallows in the fireplace and it was a hit with all three kiddos. They all three love marshmallows but roasted.....yummy!! We finished our marshmallows we washed them down with big mugs of hot chocolate.

Howard William Mehigan

Today we said goodbye to an amazing man, my grandfather, Howard William Mehigan. (June 25, 1925- December 12,2010). I had the unique opportunity to write a eulogy for his funeral.

My eulogy to my grandfather.......

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.
-- Barbara Bush

I spoke with Janell at the beginning of last week and she informed me of the severity of my grandfather’s situation. She told me that she did not want to freak me out, but that grandpa had begun to speak with people who had passed on years ago. When I got off the phone with her I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness and grief. On Thursday of last week I was visiting with my Aunt Marie and I explained to her the events that had begun to unfold in regards to my grandfather. She had just recently lost her mother and she sat down with me and begun to cry. She told me that the deceased souls that my grandfather had been speaking with were spirits sent down from heaven to come and take my grandfather home. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am an extreme skeptic and I often push my faith to the limits and back. But if there was ever something that I truly believed in, it is the glorious words that my aunt had just spoken to me, and yes, they did come to take him home.

Howard Mehigan is the definition of a wonderful husband. When a man and a woman have an overwhelming passion for each other in spite of many obstacles dividing them, it is a love of immense purity. This rare love is what Howard and Margret shared.

He is the image of a loving, compassionate father. Anyone who has the opportunity to see the way his eyes light up every time one of his children is near, could there really be a more extraordinary sight than that? It is obvious to us just how proud he is of his three beautiful daughters and his amazing son. All four, who will forever carry the strong virtues and kind nature he has instilled in each of them.

He is blessed with ten incredible grandchildren, all of whom enjoy soaking up the knowledge and laughter that he brings to each of us every time we see him. He is the type of grandfather that is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a whole lot of best friend. There has never been a time when he has not greeted us with a smile and a giant bear hug.

He has been able to experience the great joy of having 8 beautiful, healthy great grandchildren. These remarkable young minds and souls have the unique opportunity to pass on the best type of legacy; the legacy of an honorable, caring, respecting, loving, and giving man.

A true friend is the one who walks in when the rest of the world turns around and walks out. Howard Mehigan is a true friend. He is the type of friend who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. He is the friend who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself. The world would most definitely be a better place if everyone could have a friend like him.

My grandfather is the one who remains calm even when the situation put before him becomes heated and too hot to handle. For example when his entire family has come together at his house for a perfect Thanksgiving feast and the oven begins to burst into flames. Of course having his wife, three daughters, daughter in law, and granddaughters, all screaming and freaking out in the kitchen might presume to be a stressful situation for most, it wasn’t for him. He managed to remain calm and collected throughout the entire ordeal. He was without a doubt blessed with a tremendous amount of patience and understanding.

I find it inappropriate to speak of my grandfather in terms of the word was, in the past tense. The overflowing abundance of love that everyone who knows Howard Mehigan has experienced will forever be present. He will always be carried with us in our hearts, and as he drops in on us from time to time, as we all know he most certainly will, there will always be a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck waiting just for him.

2 Year Anniversary

You’ve always been the one I counted on,
Through joy and sorrow, laughter, and some tears;
You keep me grounded; you’re my steady rock;
You’re there for me through days and months and years.

Your sweet devotion never, ever fails,
No matter what I say or what I do.
Sometimes I wonder what I ever did
To deserve someone as wonderful as you.

I love you with a love I can’t control;
I always want to be right by your side.
I want to touch you, kiss you and much more;
My passion for you cannot be denied.

I love you!!

This year we spent a night in down town Dallas for our Anniversary. All of the Christmas lights were up all over the city for Christmas and it was beautiful. We spent our night walking the streets and enjoying the views.


NaNa and PaPa kept the kids for us and brought us breakfast in bed for our BIG day!
It was so neat to watch all three of the kids get SO excited for mine and Clint's Anniversary.

End of Football 2010

This season has been full of ups and downs for the Trojan football team... but once again they triumphed over their opponents and in the end did such a great job. The games were all so much fun to go to. The kids had a blast at every game and were able to make new friends and cheer on the team. Being the family behind the coach can be exhausting at times, but we all support Coach Brown and recognize how blessed we are to have such wonderful opportunities to be a part of this team.






November 12th marked the beginning of the 1st round of the Trojan playoffs. Jerome Akintunde and Braxton Bearden scored two touchdowns a piece as Carrollton Newman Smith (6-5) beat Rockwall (7-4) in a Class 4A Region II bi-district playoff game Friday at Pizza Hut Park.
Akintunde scored twice on the ground for Newman Smith. Bearden caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jose Martinez and also scored on an 8-yard run.
With 5:45 left and trailing 21-14, Rockwall was facing a fourth-and-4 at the Newman Smith 11-yard line and looked poised to tie the game. However, the Newman Smith defense forced Rockwall quarterback Alan Reed into throwing an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs.
Newman Smith then marched 89 yards in 10 plays, a sequence capped by Bearden's 8-yard scoring run.
Rockwall made one last effort to come within a touchdown but Reed was intercepted by Newman Smith senior defensive back Jerric Porter to seal the victory. TROJANS WIN!!
After the game a few of the coaches and wives got together to celebrate the awesome season and amazing game.


On Friday November 19th round two of the playoffs was a complete success. Cowboys players broke through far more times than Newman Smith stopped them, but the stops were bigger in the Trojans' 35-28 victory. Newman Smith (7-5) goes on to the third round. Carter's (6-6) season has ended. Before tonight, both had been among the area's hottest teams. Newman Smith had won five of six, Carter five straight. Both had recovered from poor starts. The first turnover was an interception by Jaylen Jenkins. Two plays later, Newman Smith scored a touchdown. In the third quarter, as Newman Smith built its lead, it recovered fumbles on Carter's first two possessions. Newman Smith made three fourth-down stops in the second half.









The Trojan season wrapped up in Waco on November 27th 2010. John Tyler scored 28 points in a five-and-a-half minute span in the fourth quarter to pull away from Carrollton Newman Smith and win, 45-34, on Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium. Newman Smith (7-6) led 21-17 early in the fourth quarter before John Tyler (12-1) scored touchdowns on four straight possessions of the 4A Division I Region II semifinal. The Trojan's played their hearts out and came a long way from the beginning of the season. They once again found themselves in the 3rd round of the Playoffs thanks to hard work and dedication from the coaches, players, and of course all of the families that stand behind them.