What's Gonna Work? Teamwork!

How do you tackle a yard full of leaves? Teamwork! Dad, Gus and Gracie made mince meat out of the leaves in the yard. After bagging a staggering 36 bags of leaves, the Chopin workforce decided to take a picture of their hard work. Way to go, Team Chopin!

February Boys

In a span of thirteen days, all three of our boys went from being young and immature, to a year older and wiser. On the 11th, Beedle turned eight years old. He celebrated the day by getting in as much Wii time as possible and even had some friends over--Aaron & Caleb. They worked on Lego projects--building star ships and cars. They even had a birthday treat of Star Wars cookies and root beer floats. For the next three days Gus and Beedle were the same age. That changed on Valentine's day as our oldest reached the age of nine. Gus decided to have his friend Sam come over and spend the night. They built an outdoor fire and roasted marshmallows. They played Wii till their eyes crossed and of course fell asleep watching a movie. Friends, sweets and video--what better way for a nine year old to celebrate his birthday!

Finally, James' birthday came on the 24th. He first opened gifts in the morning. Then later in the afternoon, James got a surprise--his godparents and their family showed up to celebrate his turning three.We had a Dr. Seuss party, filled with silly decorations tied into the wonderful books. Of course, for supper, we had green eggs (deviled) and ham (sandwiches). A great dinner was prepared by Mom and the families played into the late evening. February is always a busy month in the Chopin household. And it's always a month for us to reflect on how blessed we are to have such wonderful, healthy and happy young lads. God Bless our Boys!

Super & Cheesy!

It has been an amazing football season! As many of you know, I am a ginormous Green Bay Packers fan. I bleed cheese. My children, from a young age, have been practically brainwashed to like (at least tolerate, for love of their father) the Packers. Last year, it was pretty amazing to see the Saints win the Super Bowl. But this year to have the Lombardi trophy come back to Green Bay--I'm telling you, I really don't think I deserve this. Here is how Super Duper Sunday went down...

And before you read on, I hope the respect you lose for me will be minimal...

It started on Super Saturday Night as my adoring wife proved to me how much she loved me--she made me a cheesehead cake. The cake itself was dyed green (go figure). And then she carefully crafted the cheese-colored icing. She scooped out several cheese holes and voila--the greatest sign of love Cindy has shown me.......for a sporting event, that is.

Super Sunday morning came with feelings of euphoria. I felt anxious, but at the same time, a nice calm fell over me. I guess the two weeks of build up by watching NFL Network incessantly while browsing ESPN's website while watching any video I could find, left me feeling very prepared for this game (like I'm playing or something). We made it to mass and during the homily Gracie makes a startling revelation...."Dad, Fr. Chester is pulling for the Packers because he's wearing green and gold!" She was on to something! Yes, it was ordinary time and the green vestments with the gold cross were customary at this time of year. But, could it have been a coincidence? Or maybe a God-incidence? I've heard worse logic.

We came back home and got in our game day attire. There was no Packer gear left unworn. All jerseys, shirts, hats, cheeseheads and jewelry were adorned. My family really showed their support for me and my team by dressing up to support the Pack. Nothing says unconditional love for your father like dressing up in team gear for a team that you have no idea what state they play in. (Wisconsin, in case you were wondering) Brainwashed you say? No, I think they just really like to see their Dad happy. And was I happy!

Grandma Dee mercifully had us over for the game. I say "mercifully" because I forewarned her that I was going to be a basket case all day and night. I promised her that I would be irrational, rude, unhelpful and down-right annoying. I thought she should know ahead of time what she was getting her and her family into. But, like any loving mother-in-law, she her daughter's husband for his flaws and his passions. And I think she, being a huge Steelers fan, was excited about the idea of talking trash with me all evening. Bring it on!

My brother-in-law, AJ, cooked an amazing gumbo. That and the several beers I had did a great job of calming me down. My family respectfully let me watch all of the pre-game features that I could get my eyes on. I was treated to stories of Packer legends and learned more about the current players (and trust me, there wasn't much I didn't already know). I told everyone, "Guys, they make five-hour long pre-game shows for people specifically like me." As I said this, I saw my in-laws look at Cindy with more pity than I think I've ever seen. Before you judge, people, the Packers just aren't in the Super Bowl every year! I've got to savor this moment.

As the game started, I felt pretty excited. It was obvious that the offense had a good game plan and knew they could spread out the defensive backfield of the Steelers. They were really putting it to Pittsburgh by scoring both an offensive and defensive touchdown. When Rodgers threw an absolute laser to hit Gregg Jennings for a touchdown, for the first time, I felt a tremendous peace. It was 21-3 at this point and one of my in-laws, I can't remember which one, said, "Aren't you disappointed it's going to be a blowout?" My response: "Absolutely not!" I have no problem when my team wins by crushing the other team. The Super Bowl is not the game to take it easy on anyone. And of course, just when the idea pops into my mind that a blowout win for the Packers is possible, the Steelers creep back in. Woodson goes down; both he and Driver are out for the game. Then Shields gets hurt. Then the Steelers score again. And again. All of a sudden, the Packers are up by only six and the Steelers have the ball with two minutes left. This was eerily reminiscent of the Steelers-Packers game in week 15 of last year. In that game the Steelers drove in the final two minutes and scored on the last play. They kicked the extra point and won the game by one stinking point. Would this be deja vu? I couldn't take it anymore. I went outside, uttered a few choice words, and paced and paced and paced and paced....

I came back in for "the final drive" feeling deflated. It looked horrible for the Pack. Roethlisberger driving and the Packers best defenders were all hurt. But maybe Big Ben's antics finally caught up with him. There was an incompletion. And another. And another. And on fourth and five, Tramon Williams knocks the ball out of Mike Wallace's hands. Incomplete. The Packers are going to win! Wow! Euphoria mixed with a heavy dose of exhaustion! But mostly exhaustion. I survived the season! My team was the last team to win!

I watched the postgame as long as my in-laws would let me. Knowing that I had hours of replay on ESPN to watch, we packed up the brood and headed home. On the way home Cindy says, "Hey do you still have that ticket from Vegas?" And then I remembered...When Cindy and I went to Las Vegas in June we did not gamble on anything....EXCEPT....one ticket I purchased. I wanted to see what sports betting was all about so I bought a ticket picking Green Bay to win the Super Bowl. Ten to one odds. Imagine that! I know it's cheesy to say it, but it was one Super Sunday. And on this day, everything was cheesy! GO PACK GO!!!