one proud mama!

harding takes 1st!

harding had a superior season with only two losses. however, we were undefeated in our division making us the #1 seed...advancing us automatically to the semi-final round of the shelby county league division C tournament. after winning 7-1 against st. louis in the semi's, the jr. high lady lions advanced to the finals.

our final match was against FACS. they came out strong scoring the first goal, but harding turned the game around to win 3-1. we had a full crowd of fans, ranging from friends and family to faculty and staff. i know there was a lot of harding pride on that field today!

congratulations girls!
  

1st place champs!

harding's president, mr. trent williamson and harding's athletic director, mr. kevin starks were two of their biggest fans! 

 

taylor (hopefully a future lady lion), molly, T, manny, kortney, parker, and bradley

 

maw-maw and T

chris, T, mel, and coop

my baby girl

proud to be a "champion" harding lady lion!

mama kay and T

two great coaches, chris and quincy!

chris, coop, T, and maw-maw

cooper loves T to pieces! 

"the fan club" thad, bradley, manny, sarah, parker, kortney, and coop

a penalty kick

 

the tournament line-up...harding vs FACS

a wet weekend!

the weekend began with the corn-maze at the agricenter. about 10 minutes after dropping kids off, it started raining. since they had already begun the maze, there was no quick way to get out of the rain. soon after, the corn-maze was called off and workers rounded up all the people to escort out. when chris and i arrived...before i could hardly stop the car...soaking wet kids started diving into the car. everyone was cold and shivering. wasn't even sure what children were in my possession! ended up with a handful of great kids spending the night. luckily the kids got a raincheck.

taegan, bradley, dylon, bobbie, taylor, cooper, and manuel (hidden by coop)

manny had a state game in lexington, tn the next day. it was a tough loss. however, we ended the day with almost as much excitement as the corn-maze! several of the kids' friends came to the tiger game with us. it started pouring down rain at half-time. we tried to tough it out, but it was too heavy. again, we were wet, cold, and running frantically to a warm, dry car. needless to say, laundry piled high quickly throughout the weekend. we stayed up late saturday playing card games, taboo, and apples to apples. oh yeah, and the tigers pulled off their first win of the season!

it was a tough game.  five yellow cards were handed out and the ref had to tell the parents to get quiet or go the parking lot.  state games are always high pressure!

breakfast (bacon, "egg" waffles, biscuits, bagels, yogurt, powdered donuts)

 

 

manny and bradley, while sprinting to the car in the pouring rain

 

mama kay and pops were such troopers trying to tough out the rain with us!  it was wet and chilly!

 

me and coop

 

bobbie and T

 

kortney, manny, bradley, bobbie, T, and coop 

 

apples to apples..."allen" style

 

taegan and that darn buzzer...

 

once manny got the hang of taboo, he was all business.  let's just say, the soccer field ain't the only place this family is competitive!

 

the boys had to make sure she didn't cheat!  who, taegan?

 

three seperate games of speed going on!

 

everyone's favorite card game...spoons!

 

 

sunday continued to be fun-filled with more friends hanging out with us. i think the kids played outside all day long. good for them!! the weekend ended with a nice spaghetti dinner. i love having a table full of family and friends eating! after dinner, we played apples to apples and outburst.

bobbie, T, cooper, dylon, manny, and micah

 

the boys plan their victory during the challenge round of outburst.

 

despite the rain, we had un unforgettable weekend with great friends! it was all completely spontaneous. nothing had really been planned out, which suits the allens perfectly...our lives are totally dictated by soccer. it was nice to have a weekend to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted to do it!

broken-hearted

I am broken-hearted for a teenager that thinks he is at war with my family. It is so unfortunate that his parents have more energy to call me names for tolerating his continuous verbal abuse towards my family than to notice their child's obvious need for psychiatric help. When a child threatens suicide countless times, it's my obligation to alert the family and time for the parents to listen to their child and offer help. When the mother calls me a helicopter mom for being involved in my child's life, I take no offense. Rather, I pride myself on being involved and helping mold my children to be strong, confident, and intelligent decision makers in a world that is sure to be challenging. It is the negligent parents who need to step in and take control of their life by taking responsibilty for their child's actions and apparent needs. The only war that is truly happening is being fought by one person...the child. My heart is completely broken for the torment and battle. In time, I pray that the parents, who are the only ones who can help, will finally open their eyes. While I find myself angry at times because my entire family has had to endure his actions and words, I have to remember that my reactions are under a microscope. I must remain calm...which is so much easier said than done.

congrats manny!

it was a hard fought final game against the lobos. both teams exhibited passion, talent, and a motivation to be the victor. the game ended 2-1 with the lobos taking the chamionship medal. t and i flew (not in a airplane)home from nashville to see his 12:30 game. it was worth every mile! great game, manny! we were so proud of you!

christian (manny's brother), noah, manny, and T

where did my little girl go?

 

here's to callie...

to my #1 blog viewer...