We All Survived!

My brother Paul, his wife Charity, son Kyan and twin boys from the Dream Center (Eric and Derric) arrived Wednesday afternoon to spend three nights with us. We were all super excited. Wednesday I made sure I had the teams cookies ready to go and taco soup was cooking at the same time for our guests. We had a great dinner that night chatting away and Lukella were having a blast running around with their cousin Kyan, Uncle Paul and the twins ;)

Kyan and Ella eating a snack together. Cuties.


Luke playing a game on the Ipad with Eric and Derric.

Cousins on the trampoline. Ella is always ready for her picture to be taken. Kyan is sitting in the background wondering who that crazy lady is that keeps taking pictures and why is Ella always posing ;)


First and last night my brother did some Pilates. Strugggllinnn on the Reformer. He never asked for another session. I kicked his booty ;)


While Coach went to work on Thursday we all headed to walk the mall. After the mall we went to the playground then went and watched practice. Stefan thought it would be funny to tell the team that we were thinking about adopting Eric and Derric and that they would come to CAL to play football next year. They are both around 6'2" but they are 18 years old. But he told them they were 16. So, the team was staring at them most of the practice. Ha! The twins are two of the sweetest, most respectable young men and you would never guess what they have been through. They are truly amazing! After practice we handed out cookies and ate some ourselves then headed to eat burgers. By the way Coach never told his team he was was kidding about the twins coming to CAL! Oopppss ;)

This weeks cookie tags said: FOCUS GOOD LUCK! Col. 3:23


Cousins hanging at the mall. Kyan still wondering who this crazy lady is that keeps on taking pictures =)

Ella with her new BFF Eric at the playground =)

Friday was a pretty lazy day. It was chilly and cloudy out. After we got all three kids settled with the sitter, the adults headed to the game. The drive wasn't bad and when we arrived CAL was cooking FREE burgers and giving out chips and drinks to go with them. How sweet! Felt like I was back home at the Dream Center! Got my Gatorade ready to go and it was time for some football. As we were singing the national anthem you could see that Shawnee only had about 25 players =( and only about 3 people in the stands =( and NO cheerleaders. Broke. My. Heart. We knew going into this game that we would probably get a win. They weren't even sure they were going to have enough boys to make a team at the beginning of the year. But I didn't realize we were going to beat them so bad. This game was COLD! I kept looking at my brother and all of my peeps and they were all bundled up. I started off with my visor but had to switch to a winter cap and gloves...with the fingers cut out so I could handle all of my cups ;) I also had my Uggs on and I was still freeezzziiinnggg. My word! At half time the score was 35-7. While I was finishing filling up my cups before the start of the third quarter...I saw the twins running a lap to stay warm. So funny and smart! But I had an even better idea at staying warm...Hot cheese nachos with jalapenos....Yeah baby!

The start of the 3rd quarter were all of our back ups and then JV team. Even with our Freshman in there we were still scoring. It was sad. I was secretly cheering for Shawnee but shhh don't tell the Coach. I tell you what, that Shawnee team might have only had 20 something boys on their team but they were the toughest group of boys we have played all year. And SO much heart! Our team cheered on the sidelines and high fived more than I have seen us do all year. I told Coach if they did this EVERY game and not just games we are blowing out teams...we might win State. The final score was 56-13 . After the game some Coaches were packing up faster then I have seen them move all year. They were so worried something was going to happen. For some reason I felt really safe. Safer than the Baton Rouge Dream Center on Sunday mornings. Yeah. Crazy. I know. Not sure what was with these men...but these white coaches were moving...FAST! As we were walking off of the field I was talking to the AD who pointed to a beautiful Church behind the stadium and said it was for sale. SAAWWEEEETT! Every city needs a Dream Center and I believe the Boutte's/Trahan's would do amazing things for the city of Louisville. I am just praying that my vision will be what the Lord wants and will direct the path of my whole family to the Ville...with the LeFors. Amen!

Saturday the boys and Charity left us and we were all so sad. There were so many people that fell in love with the twins and their sweet spirit. Eric in particular became Ella's BFF! She absolutely loved him and made him hold her for about the last hour they were here. Everyone loved Charity, Paul and Kyan but they weren't as outgoing and loud as these twins ;)

Derric and Eric. Love these boys. Oh, and they loved their new CAL gear the Coach brought home for them =)

Ella getting her last few hugs in before Eric had to leave =( So sweet!

This week is another crazy week of footbal practice, Pilates clients, school and cookie baking. But I love being busy! Friday night we play at Bardstown. They are undefeated. Should be a good game. Then next week my sister and her family come to Louisville to visit. Woohoo! We can't wait to hug and kiss the Boutte Fam!

Lots of Love,
The Le4s

CAL RECORD
3-3 OVERALL
2-0 DISTRICT
GO CAL!

It's All About The Good Luck KISS...And COOKIES!

This week was a big week...it was the Homecoming game and first District game. We needed a win. Bad! Since it was Homecoming week I told Coach that the boys deserved cookies. This is what they needed if we wanted a win. Plus I missed baking. So, he gave in and said I could bake. Lukella go to school Monday, Tuesday and Fridays. Wed. was a rainy day so I decided to start baking early in the day. With a little help from Lukella. We started around 9:30 and we were totally done around 5ish. There were a few breaks to play, eat and nap. On Thursday Lukella and I met some friends at the Zoo then came home to pack about 80 cookies bags in a duffle bag to deliver to the team after practice. The tags this week said FIST and Romans 5:1-2. FIST because Coach talked to the team about coming together as one and being a FIST. Lets hit em' hard Coach! Good stuff! After we handed out cookies, cookie girl stole the Coach's car, stopped to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte and it was my night off getting my hair did :)

Friday was Game Day. And we were ready! I had a client early so Coach brought Lukella to school before heading to work. When I was finished with my client I had a lunch date with Fon at BW3's. It was fabulous! We both had wraps and they were delish! Also talked about our game plan. After I picked up Lukella from school we headed home for some quick naps. Then I brought them to CAL's Homecoming parade. They had lots of fun catching lots of candy. After the parade I zoomed them home with the sitter and zoomed back to the game to get my teams water and Gatorade ready.

There was a ton of people at the game. I mean A LOT! There is a local orthodontist, that for the past 3 years, has given out free sweatshirts. To the first 1,000 people. That's right over ONE THOUSAND FREE sweatshirts!!! So incredibly NICE!!! It was so cool seeing everybody at the game in their grey and red hoodies. And he personalizes the back. We even got one for Lukella. How cute are these hoodies...and kids ;)


I was filling up my cups when I noticed the Coach and his Senior captains coming out to do the coin toss. Then Coach walked straight up to me and gave me that good luck kiss! YES! Now this is going to be a good game.
I also knew the field and near the water station was going to be muddy due to all of the rain the night before and half of game day. So I wore my red and black polka dot rain boots with my sparkle t-shirt and visor. Some of the coaches were cracking jokes at my boots but by the time the game started I knew that they were secretly wishing they were wearing my cute boots. Their pretty white tennis were nasty...and the game hadn't even started! It was pretty chilly out this game. The Refs were horrible....what's new?! This game was all about our defense. They played amazing! Our offense wasn't clicking for some reason. It was just an off night. But our Running Back had a great game. Like I said before I love standing on the sideline and getting to see everything up close. Now there were 2 plays I saw with my eyes where the opposing receiver dropped a pass and the Ref said they caught it. Unbelievable! If I catch something like that and the Refs don't....that is BAD! That was just 2 of the many calls that were quite annoying. Very frustrating. At half the score was 7 to 7. I was so nervous about this game that after lunch I didn't eat anything else. Well, now my stomach was starting to rumble. Some of the sweet ladies that work in the concession stand came and delivered me some nachos with jalapenos and a Diet Coke. So yummy! Hit the spot and I was ready to fill up cups and water bottles for the second half.

The second half our defense was still playing strong and our offense was still a little off for some reason. The final score ended up being 14 to 7. Phew! Close one! We ended up just kneeling the ball at the end and took our WIN! One TD was a run and the other was about a 30 yard pass. Pretty pass and catch to put us ahead of W. Washington and win. I was really happy for our kicker. He is a Senior and he has never played football. This is his first year because he has always played soccer. I always scream my head off for him when he is in the game. I was SO proud of him for making his extra points after our two TD's. I even went up to him and told him I was proud of him. And then I felt like I was his Momma!

During the game I cheer. LOUD. Most players are looking at me like I'm nuts but I. Don't. Care. Our fans are pretty calm. I told Coach I want a white towel next game so I can stand up on the bench and swing it in the air. It's a football game peeps. Get with it...YELL!!!! Maybe they are yelling but I don't hear it. Maybe to them I am just a loud, obnoxious Southern Water Girl! But they know that I really love my football!

Our record right now is 2-3. We play Friday night at Shawnee. Now everyone keeps telling me this is in a bad area of town. Like some Coaches aren't letting their wives go to the game. WHAT??? I keep reminding them that I think everyone is going to be ok. When we lived in Baton Rouge we went to the Dream Center which is an inner city church. Pastored by the fabulous Craig and Hope Boutte. We all lived. Although I have to admit I was slouching down in the pew almost every week. I felt safer that way for some reason. Then when the Coach was playing high school football and the W.G. was cheering him on, we had plenty of games in the not so safe areas. As a matter of fact I got egged at one of those games with my fellow cheerleaders. Yummy. Anyways, my brother Paul and his family will be getting here tmw and we can NOT WAIT! SO excited! They are also bringing two Dream Center boys with them. Erick and Derrick. We are going to have lots of FUN!

Coach is at practice and Lukella are napping. Once Coach gets home I will add the link for the stats of this game and the last one. Off to cook some Jambalaya and head to the J.V. football game...GO CAL!!!

Lots of Love,
The Le4s

I realized after this game that maybe winning and losing isn't all about what I wear. Maybe it is about the visor, good luck cookies...and good luck kiss!!!

Uh oh...Coach forgot to kiss his Water Girl!

OK, I did everything exactly the way I did for the first game. Same jeans, flip flops, hair in pony tail with visor. I had a pretty good feeling we were gonna win this game! Couldn't find a sitter for Lukella because it was a Saturday game and most of them had activities. Oh gosh! Thank goodness my parents were in town to help out at the game. And thank goodness it was a day game! It was another beautiful day for some football. Perfect! As I got Lukella settled in the stands with Honey and Poppy I started to walk towards my Gatorade station. One of the Coach's yelled "Happy Birthday Momma!". Thanks! I guess a Mom over heard and was like, "Ohhh I didn't know it was your birthday! Happy Birthday! How old are you? 35? 36? Sorry I work with so many different aged girls I have no idea". ME: "Um, NO! I am 31! How old are you again? 60?". Ok, I didn't really say that but...SERIOUSLY? OMGosh. I was thinking about how happy I was that I bought some wrinkle cream....and that it had better work...ASAP!
As the game was about to start the head trainer told me Happy Birthday and asked how old I was. I told her 31. She said "No way!". I was thinking great, she must think I'm 40. She said she thought I was around 27. OK OK that was NICE! I will be sure to get her extra cookies next time I bake...but it is not looking good for that other lady and cookies ;)

Once the game started I was thinking how Coach never came and gave me a good luck kiss! OH NOOO! Not good! You all know how superstitious I am. Since game 1 Coach has come to give me a kiss right before kick off....but not this game. He must have forgotten! Shoot! I didn't think it was that big of a deal but I guess it was. Oh yeah, and the cheerleaders weren't at the game so I was not only the W.G. but also the cheerleader! Goodness gracious my throat was killing me after the game. Even Coach told me he heard me yell "COME ONNN D!". I was so happy he could hear my loud and beautiful voice.

Back to the game. We started off pretty good. Lukella were having fun playing with Honey and Poppy and running to me to help with the water. Awesome! Then, Ella decided she wanted to stay with me a while...and drink some Gatorade....a lot of it! I seriously think she drank as much Gatorade as some of those Lineman. She was enjoying sitting on the bench, drinking Gatorade and staring at the fans. That's right, she didn't want to watch the game. She wanted to watch the fans. And I think she was enjoying the attention of fans saying "Ohhh she is too cute!". Oh yeah, she is smarter than most of us give her credit for. The little grin with her big brown eyes scanning the crowd and her ears ready to receive all of the sweet comments. She is a hoot! I seriously missed most of the first half doing water and getting Miss E some Gatorade.

Here is a picture I took of Ella during the game. You have to admit she's pretty darn cute!

When I looked at the scoreboard at the half it read 28 - 14...and we weren't winning. Then the second half was just awful. Bless their hearts. The final score was 42 - 21 =(. Another sad game. I told Coach after the game that I didn't care anymore but that I was baking cookies for the team this Friday. It is Homecoming week and I think they deserve some. Plus, those boys are so nice to the W.G. They are ALWAYS so polite and telling me "Thank You" for giving them water and most of the time out breath while doing so. How sweet is that!?!

On the way home we picked up some pizza to eat while we watched the CARDS vs cats game. It was my parents last night in Lousiville =( When Stefan got home from the game he told me he knew what went wrong... that he forgot to come and kiss me before the game!!!! I KNEW IT!!!! Next game I will make sure EVERYTHING goes right. Friday is also our first District game. I say we go undefeated in District. We can do it! Stay positive peeps! I have faith in my Coach and his team!

Even though CAL couldn't pull out a win our CARDS did! Woohoo! It was such a great game. So proud of those CARDS! My parents left Sunday morning and we already miss them. We had so much fun these last two weeks with them. Can't wait to see them again when we go to State =)

Lots of Love,

The Le4S

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." Oswald Chambers

My Birthday

If anyone really knows me they know that I LOVE birthdays! I just love to celebrate! So, yesterday was my birthday and it was FABULOUS! My wonderful mother woke up early, went to Starbucks to get me a Pumpkin Spice Latte (mmm) and breakfast burritos for everyone. My favorites! SO sweet of her. I heard her trying to sneak out of the back door and realized she was probably going to get me something. So, I stayed up and prayed that she knew where she was going and that she wouldn't hit a deer ;)

Lukella gave me some spa booties which are the BEST! You warm them up in the microwave and put them on your feet and relax. Ahhhh. And they have a Lavender scent. My favorite! Stefan brought the kids to school because I had a client. When my client got here she had some cookies for me that she bought at Homemade Pie Kitchen. So sweet! I was already feeling the love and it was only 10:30! After I trained my client my Mom and I went to eat some lunch and get Lukella from school. Luke told his Teacher that it was my birthday and he wanted to make me a birthday card. Then, all of the kids in his class decided they wanted to make me a card too...but they ran out of time. It was still a sweet thought.

We came home to rest and do some Pilates with Honey and Poppy. After our session we all got dressed and waited for Stefan to get home from practice....and then we were on our way to a Hibachi Grill. It was so yummy and Lukella loved it! So fun! After dinner we headed to Homemade Pie Kitchen for pie, cup cakes and ice cream. Yumo! It was a great way to end to my birthday with my 3 loves and my sweet sweet parents!!!

Stefan gave me a gift certificate to go and spend the day at a spa here in Louisville. I can't wait to go! He is the BEST!


Picture taken at Homemade Pie Kitchen. I am now 31 and every year my birthday gets better and better. Getting old isn't so bad when you get to celebrate it with the people that love you the most! Should have gotten a pic with my parents but there was no one around! Booo!

Getting ready to head out for Coach's game! This is the only day game so we decided to bring Lukella. After CAL's game we are going to zoom home to catch the CARDS vs the cats! Hopefully this will be a great day for some W's!

GO CAL and GO CARDS!

Have a GREAT Saturday =)

Lots of Love,
The Le4s

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent me a birthday email, text message or message on Facebook! You all made my day and have no idea how much I loved getting those messages =)

Luke LOVES Basketball

Luke absolutely loves his basketball. He has been practicing his dribbling skills all around our house...a lot. Stefan has also showed him some Pistol Pete videos which he thinks is cool. Here is a video of Luke dribbling around a little course Stefan made for him. For four I would have to say he is quite impressive....but I am his Mother ;)

Stefan put this video on Facebook but this is for all of our friends and family who aren't on there =)

Lots of Love,
The Le4s

Cookie Girl

When Stefan got the coaching job at CAL I knew right away I was going to want to make cookies for the team. When he started his two years at UofL I always made cookies for his O-Line, Wide Receivers, Running Backs and some of the Defensive players. I looked forward to it every week and loved doing it. I just wish I could have done it for the whole team. I would give each player 7 cookies and Stefan would get 17 good luck cookies. Every game. Stefan's were different from the other players because he was special. I would make him peanut butter ritz cookies dipped in chocolate. Don't worry, he never ate all of them by himself. He would share some with his roommate. The night before home and away games he would spend the night with the team at a hotel and that is when he would hand out the cookies. I am sure he enjoyed that ;)

When I decided to bake cookies for CAL's football team I knew that I couldn't pick just starters like I did in college. And I knew I couldn't give them each 7 cookies. 54 players x 7 cookies = one CRAZY cookie girl. So, I decided to bake cookies for all 54 guys but they would get 2 cookies each. Of course, I had to add the coaching staff, trainers and some of the people Stefan work with. So we are talking about hmmm 75 bags. Which means I bake about 180ish cookies because Stefan always gets a whole batch to himself in his cookie jar =)

We came up with a rule that the team will only get cookies when they WIN! Luke really LOVED this rule! On Mondays is when I work on the tags. Printing them out, punching them out and putting the RED string through the holes. Then, the first week I decided to try and make my batches of cookie dough a head of time. I made all of the dough and stuck it in the fridge over night. Practice on Wednesdays is cut short because of Church. So, Wednesdays are my bake nights while Lukella have fun one on one time with their Dad...which usually involves playing tackle! Thursdays is when Lukella hand the cookies out to the team after their practice.
In college I just bought the rolls of Pillsbury cookie dough and baked. The players LOVED them and would always ask me for my recipe...and I would just tell them it was a secret ;) Stefan is a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. I mean HUGE! My cousin, Mignon, told me about the Nestle Toll House recipe. Baked them once and ever since then it has been that homemade chocolate chip recipe in the Le4s house! But I always add a ton more of chocolate chips then what it calls for....mmmm!

Here is a picture of my packaged cookies for week 1! The package looked the same for week 2! But I have a different saying on the tags each game:

Week 1: "WON'T BE BEAT! Phil. 4:13 Good Luck!"

After we beat LCA a Mom of a player came up to me and told me how her son just loved my cookies. She said she then asked him if they were good as his Momma's and all he could say was "Mom, hers were REALLY good!". Bless her heart. I should have just told her I use the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House bag ;))

Since they won week 1 I made cookies for week 2. Tag said:

"PROTECT THIS HOUSE! Good Luck! Isaiah 40:31"

For week two I did not make my dough ahead of time and I was up from around 5:30 until midnight baking. Might go back to my routine of week 1 ;)

Here is sweet Ella handing out the bags to all of the players. She is waiting outside of the Coaches office for the players. So cute!


Now it has been a few weeks since I have baked them some cookies. I miss it. We need a WIN this Saturday so I can get to baking again. We play Saturday at 1 in Indiana. Then Saturday night at 7 is the big UofL vs. UK game in Lexington. This will be a fun football day and night. We are all so happy Honey and Poppy are here with us right now. We are all having tons of fun and tomorrow we are headed to the Zoo! We can't wait!

Hope everyone has had a Wonderful Wednesday!

Lots of Love,
The Le4s