Baseball...

Well here we are, sitting on edge not really knowing where we are going for this season. This time of year is a bit crazy for many in the baseball world. Many friends of ours are in our same position, anxiously awaiting our husbands to come home to see if today is the day we will know. The Organization owns us, they tell us where we will go and when. Its a bit crazy, we have 2 cities (we think) in mind of where we are going. Well now more news as of today... we basically have no idea and just have to wait it out til Thursday, we think and hope. Yes, its tough especially when you have kids in tow. And most of all... even harder to swallow because Casey has done as well as he has this spring!

A bit overwhelmed having to turn in my United Stated Anti-Doping Where about form today the deadline (hard to tell them an address where we are going to be the next 3 months without knowing what state we are even going to be in), trying to figure out if we book flights, trying to line up housing at both places, looking at schedules of teams and comparing, training, moving, shipping, driving, and etc. Lots going through my head and trying not to overwhelm Casey, he has enough on his mind!

I read Betsy Tucker's journal about her precious daughter Audra! The Lord used her to speak to me today and many times throughout their journey! She wrote about enjoying the moment, enjoying every breath that Audra takes, being full of joy admiring Audra's chest move up and down, and graciously enjoying each and every God given moment we have. Amen! Tears began to fall off my cheeks, the Lord spoke, just enjoy! This was a gut check for me. Lord, may we just enjoy this moment. Betsy always writes, "Let go, Let God!" Amen.

In all the uncertainties of this world and worries little and big. God take them and let us enjoy each moment!

Watching Oprah today, seeing Michael J Fox speaking of his battle with Parkinson's. He spoke of how he enjoys every minute and how everything for him might be his last! I thought to myself, "Ok, Lord I got it!" Let go, Let God.


As my heart aches and is filled with prayers for Audra, and Micheal. Our worry and wonders are so so so tiny compared to those of Audra's and Micheal's. I thought of the pictures of Audra playing softball and my photo shoot with Micheal a couple of years ago. We hold them up in prayer along with many others battling horrible diseases. And they are a reminder to enjoy the moment! Every moment is a gift, a God given gift!

My heart aches too, for Casey working so hard this off season, doing so well this spring (he's been awesome!) but yet its as though he is invisible to the Organization. He deserves it.

But again I am reminded, Let go, Let God. We can only find peace in Him. We can't try to figure out the why's? Or understand them? Obviously its more than numbers and more than doing well. But what we do know and have faith in is that our Lord has his perfect plan for us and that is it. I know it still can be frustrating, I don't know how Casey handles it so well? I text Casey today telling him God has a mountain top for him somewhere with lakes full of big o' bass! But today the Lord spoke for sure, Let go, Let God!

#27

St. Patti's Day Fun!

We had a fun time on St. Patrick's Day celebrating a dear friends birthday party! Here is a photo from the day! Ace is obsessed with bull riding! He was so excited to see there was a bull attending the party!

This weekend was a blast! We had some friends come in from California. We watched Casey pitch, ate, bbq'd, and ate some more! We enjoyed spending the weekend with them and soaking in the warm weather. We went out with friends to a place called Rawhide, its the Wild West! We had a lot fun there with friends, Ace had his buddies along! They road a train, a horse carriage, ate rattlesnake, and even watched bull riding to end the night! Good times!

A great weekend! Here is a shot of the boys on the carriage ride! Handsome cowboys!

Bull Riding and Loving it!

How about those Wildcats! Bear Down, Arizona!!! Keep it going! Sweet 16 and going! :)

We are enjoying our time together and getting ready for both of our seasons!

Dream & Believe,
#27

Thankful!

Monkey Faces to you! Mine and Ace's favorite face exchange! This all started with my dear friend and teammate Andrea Duran! Ace loves his "Dre," too, "she's fun," he says! This is the fun stuff your friends and teammates teach your children. Mostly it's good stuff but there is always some bad with the good! I love it! Thanks Dre! :)

We had dinner with some friends last night! We had such a blast and enjoyed the great company! We are so thankful! Here is Ace hamming it up! Casey pretty much stuck him in the water fall, he sure was amused. The things you can do when you 6'5"! This reminds me back in college my roommates would always laugh at me because I would stick things in high places! I am a smart girl! :)

On a serious note...
While I was flying last weekend at the airport I sat by a couple of our incredibly brave and amazing service men/women from the Army. All of them had over 10 years of service and were top ranked leaders. I immediately thanked them for their service and joined in for a conversation. After being thanked, a soldier with a gentle calm spirit looked me in the eyes and returned so seriously, "happy to do it." I will never forget him, what he said, and how he said it.

Ugh, this just stuck my heart. I wanted to give them all just a huge hug. It brought tears to my eyes hearing them talk about their families, sons, daughters, and more. Hearing of how they have truly made a difference in the middle east and brought a great change. Hearing how they mostly miss family, hardest part is losing soldiers, and they miss their daily freedoms when they are overseas.

Here they were on their fourth day of traveling in from Afghanistan, laughing about how they have spent 4 days in the same uniform they left in and smelling not so good at this point. I truly enjoyed our chat and was in awe visiting with them. They had a great attitude despite the fact it was looking as though they were going to be yet another day without a shower, stuck in an airport.

All of our servicemen and families have been heavy on my heart. We are continuously praying for each and every serviceman and their families! We are forever indebted and so grateful. Forever thankful! They are our true heroes, my heroes! Thank You!

Dreaming & Believing!
#27

Fun Stuff!!!

We had a fun couples night out! Our first in a long long time, couples that is, not fun! Everyday is fun! :) A group of us went to the Rascal Flatts Concert on Thursday! What an incredible show! My dear friend Tiffany Fallon, (we met on the Apprentice) is married to Joe Don of the Rascal Flatts and they were so sweet to have us out for the night! They are so incredibly sweet! We had so much fun meeting the guys and enjoying their show! Casey enjoyed talking hunting with the guys. It was a lot of fun and a special treat!
!
We went to the mall the other day, the boys got hair cuts! Ace was standing by the elevator trying to get his daddy's stance down perfectly so I had to get a shot of it! Too cute!

We had a good weekend! Ace and I flew to LA to celebrate my nephews birthday! We had a lot of fun! Its not often that we get to make family functions and so it was really fun for us to share his special day with him! Ace had a lot of fun with his cousin! I stopped by Whittier Girls Softball league and did a short signing. It was fun to be out on the field again! The cutest things all decked out in their uni's, ribbons, and pink gloves!

Ace enjoying the party!
Here is Ace on the zip line!

Ace stayed with my parents while I flew out to Philly for a Memorabilia Show. It was a quick trip in and out! The best way to travel!

Casey is doing great! He is really having a great spring! We are so proud of him! We are learning to control the control ables. Casey is still plugging away working hard. The Lord has His plan and He will place us where we belong. It may not always make sense according to numbers and stats but the Lord has the ultimate plan. He knows what is best and our prayer is for His Will. That's it. We may not understand but we have peace knowing He is in control. Casey has worked so hard and that is all he/we can do. The Lord spoke this so clearly to me back in August in Beijing. We greatly appreciate all your support and prayers along our journey!

Dreaming & Always Believing!
#27

Spring at the Ball Park

Another week has passed! I can't believe its already the middle of March! Time is flying by so quickly! We had a good weekend, Ace spent some quality time with his Grammie and Pops. Casey's parents came in for the weekend, we enjoyed having them here.

I headed out to Chicago on Friday for a quick trip. Westminister Christian had me out, for a day filled of events. I spoke at an assembly at the school, the students were a lot of fun and a great group. Lots of great questions from the students here are a few.

Have you ever puked in a game? Yes, I wasn't feeling too hot. But felt much better after the fact.
When did I become a Christian? I was 8 years old in Pioneer Girls at Church
Have I met Michael Phelps? Yes, he is a great guy and an amazing athlete!
My favorite pitch? Strike 3, ;)
How hard do I throw? Top out at 71 average high 60's.
Favorite bible verse? Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
How has faith helped me along the way? My faith gives me purpose and helps me keep things in perspective.
What has helped me stay grounded? My family, no doubt about it. They are my backbone! We are so grateful for both of our families! Casey and I both have amazing older siblings who are incredible people. We had them to look up to growing up and still!

After they held a mini clinic/demo. We had a great group, it was nice and intimate. The girls were eager to learn and fun to hang with! Its always enjoyable to talk about our game and share our passion and love for it with one another. I spoke at their annual dinner that night. I was able to meet some amazing parents and people. The Lord is at work, always! I met some special people from Judson University a Christian College in Elgin, Illinois and the home of the Chicago Bandits! This is where we will be this summer playing ball. Go Bandits! I was able to visit the Bandits office, I have to admit it fired me up about this summer!

Casey is pitching away. We are enjoying watching him play. Its a bit of a stressful time for him. Spring Training is basically a try out, so everyday and every pitch counts. Casey has been so close the last few years, we are so proud of him. I can't imagine if our Olympic try out was 6 weeks long and we had to wait that long to see if we made it. Ugh, one big stomach ache that's for sure. He is hanging in there and we are just here loving him along the way! We are blessed to know that the Lord has a plan and He will place us in the perfect spot! This is our prayer.

Ace is just being our Ace! He is just moving along. We kinda put preschool on the back burner. He is only 2 and for me selfishly it wasn't worth the heartache of it for him and I! Every morning he wakes up and tears up saying, "I don't want to go to preschool." So, I have come to the conclusion its not worth it right now. I am blessed to be able to be home with him and so very grateful enjoying my days with him. School will come way too soon anyways. Here are some pictures at the ball park, playing ball! I hope you are enjoying your spring and upcoming seasons!

Dream & Believe!
#27

Preschool & Spring Training Begins!

Here is Ace and Casey after Game 1 of Spring Training! Casey looked good in Ranger Blue! He threw 1 inning and did great! It was fun to see him back on the mound. Ace was yelling for his daddy, it was too cute! It will be a fun season! We are meeting great people and friends within the organization!
Here is Ace a waiting his first day of preschool! He was OK, thanks to his Lil friend and roommate! Ace's bud is a gamer and they both went to preschool together for the first time! His friend helped him out of bed, other wise he was covering himself up saying, "I don't want to go to preschool!" He was good until he had to walk in the classroom. Then not so good. He clung on to my leg and said, "Mommy look at all the kids, too many kids!" It took him awhile to warm up. Still not convinced. He had his moments... Basically I spent the whole day with him at preschool.

I was so proud of him, he did so well considering this is all new! I did get to leave during playtime outside and came back after lunch so for about 45 min or so. Yes, after lots and lots of convincing! He said many times, "Take me home!" "I want to go home!" Some of his lines, "but mommy I love you," "you can't leave me!" His teacher said he did good, even ate 3 helpings of lunch! He was so excited to see me walk through the door! It was quite cute, he started to jump up and down and clap, shouting "Mommy, Mommy!" Ace and his buddy had a great 1st day of preschool! We even managed to take them back for day 2! Still some tears were shed but it ended up great! He is warming up to it! His buddy is coming in clutch for him, knowing him and having each other in class!
The highlight... picking him up on Day 2 and his teacher telling me he has really good manners! Ugh, my heart just melted, I was elated and so proud of our lil Ace!
Ace after school on his scooter! He is sure getting the hang of it!

We headed out to So Cal for the weekend! We had a great visit with my mom and dad! My grandmother is still out in California so again getting the chance to visit with her is an extra treat! Especially for Ace, he has his great grandma wrapped around his fingers, all of them!

I had to head out east for a signing in New Jersey. Thanks to all who came out! After, the signing I headed over to St. John's University to help them celebrate Women in Sports Day! I was stoked to catch some women's basketball too! They played Rutgers and battled tough! Man, so very different from the basketball I played in high school! Very physical, quite intense! I enjoyed it immensely! I spoke at the University's Banquet celebrating Women in Sport while raising awareness of Breast Cancer. I was elated to be involved! St. John's is quite the place filled with incredible people which make it what it is. They are a tight knit group of students who understand what it means to give back and help out! Thank you St. John's for your hospitality and friendliness!

We are excited to see whats in store for next week!

Keep dreaming & believing!
#27