The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Spring Training is almost over. Oh the joy that fills my soul! This year spring training has felt like a very long, slow march through the desert. There have been cool places of respite from the monotony- our family visiting for a weekend, spending a day at Busch Gardens, a warm afternoon at the beach, care packages from friends and family. Without those, we might have expired from boredom. Well, I might be exaggerating, but just a little.

There are only 5 more days of wandering in the desert, so before we cross the Jordan and leave the wilderness behind, I thought I would give you a recap of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the last six weeks.

The good~

A week after we arrived, I met a mom at the park with kids McKenzie's age who was really friendly and invited us to a local church play group. Since then, she has had us over for lunch, included us in their activities and really opened their lives to us. Wow...what a blessing!!

Our family visited for a weekend. It was fun to see everyone and McKenzie had a blast with her cousins! Thanks guys!!

We were able to go to church as a family...something that hardly ever happens once the season starts.

I read good books- some that I have ready many times, others that were brand new.


McKenzie and I got to spend the day with my friend Maria who we spent lots of time with last year in Bowie.

Josh and I made some yummy meals together. Turns out, Josh has quite the culinary bent. I have to be careful though, if I send him grocery shopping by himself, he might come back with half the store. In his defense, what he makes is always delicious. His latest foray into the kitchen resulted in jumbo coconut shrimp with marmalade rum dipping sauce.



McKenzie got to take a dance class, which was quite the growing experience. Being still and listening to instructions is not exactly her strong suit. It was a very good exercise in all respects.

The bad and the ugly~

Feeling sick to my stomach for the first month was not the most fun way to begin spring training.

It was rather unpleasant to be cooped up in a 700 sq at apartment with a very active 3 year old while the weather was cold and yucky for the first few weeks.

There is no table in this apartment. For the last 6 weeks I have eaten standing up. Definitely wouldn't recommend it.

Having no bedside lamp to read at night. That may not sound like a big deal, but to me it was thoroughly disconcerting. Reading in bed is my wind down time. Life without transitions is incredibly abrupt.

Not feeling well enough to plan dinner. I used to be a pretty good cook and I could plan things out for a whole week. Pregnancy has washed all that down the drain. Oh well...

I have only seen Josh pitch three times. The other times he pitched were away games and I only went to one, which he didn't play in, of course.

Not having a lot to do and not feeling well enough to do a lot. Let me assure you that there is really nothing good to watch on TV, except maybe Jeopardy, and 24, if you like violence and never ending suspense. Other than that...Disney Channel and Nick Jr. are the only other options, and believe me, I've watched way more of those two channels in the past 6 weeks than I care to admit.

So...next time you hear someone comment that the life of a professional athlete must be so glamorous and exciting and probably just like a vacation all the time, please set the record straight and tell them that it is hard work just like anything else and feels very little like vacation.

But let not your heart be troubled...

Let me emphasize that in the midst of it all, God has been so good and faithful and continues to awe us with His provision and love. This life really forces us to throw ourselves upon His promises as there are really no assurances in baseball. Time and again He shows Himself strong and mighty and we praise Him for that. We know that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He will lead us in a good path for His glory. It is so exciting to be able to live that out, knowing that Christ, who conquered sin, and death, and the devil, through His death and resurrection on the cross, is more than able to take care of our little cares and worries.

We pray that you all have a blessed Easter or Passover celebration remembering the faithfulness of God and His love for His children. By that time, we will be able to tell you where we are headed.

Much love from Florida...

Quotes of the Week

1. "Can we go to daddy's game today?"
"No, Baby. He's going far away and we can't go."
"Where is far away? Is this far away?"
"No. This isn't far away."
"Is he coming back from far away?"

2. McKenzie grabs my cell phone and starts pushing buttons:
"Munchie, what are you doing?"
"I am texting my baby brother."

God is Not a Novice

Were our God a novice in the great art of governing the world,
and of the church in the bosom thereof; had he to this day
never given any proof of his infinite wisdom, power,
and goodness, in turning about the most terrible accidents
to the welfare and joy of his saints; we might indeed
be amazed whenever we feel ourselves sinking in
the dangers wherein the practices of our enemies
oft do plunge us over head and ears; but the Lord
having given in times past so many documents
of his uncontroverted skill and most certain will
to bring about all human affairs, as to his own glory,
so to the real good of all that love him, it would be
in us an impious and inexcusable uncharitableness
to suspect the end of any work which he hath begun.

~Robert Baylie~

Baseball Fan vs. Baseball Wife

Sunday's game between the Orioles and Red Sox was a baseball fans' dream. It was a cool, sunny Florida day with a slight breeze from the northwest blowing out to center field. The stands were packed with 8,000 strong. Most of them were Red Sox fans. It was a close game and big name players like David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and J.D. Drew could be watched for a mere $11 a ticket. The fans were excited. The spirit was high. Good grief it was the Red Sox. Could life get any better?

It could for a baseball wife. I got there in the 6th inning. That may be considered late by the ardent baseball fan, but I didn't go to see the Red Sox. I went to see my husband play and if your husband is a late reliever and you have a three year old, the 6th inning is right on time.

The ticket windows were all closed. No tickets! The security man took pity on us and correctly surmised that I was a player's wife and let us in. "Just sit anywhere you can find a seat."
That would have been a grand idea if there weren't 8000 people crammed in the stadium going berserk over every Red Sox play.

We wound our way through the thronging masses and looked deploringly around for a place to sit. High up in the top row directly under the awning were a few lonely seats. With McKenzie in tow I plodded up the steep concrete steps dodging spilt beer, peanut shell explosions, the ketchupy remains of hamburgers and hot dogs and other non-descript disgustingness. At last we reached the top and plopped down in the dusty, blue seats. McKenzie started eating her pretzel, stopping every two minutes to brush the salt off the pretzel and then brush the salt off her seat. I don't know whether she ate more pretzel or more seat dust.

It was frigid up there. The wind was whipping in between the seats leaving goosebumps galore. I scanned the stadium for a spot in the sun. All the seats in the family section were taken and since I didn't have tickets I couldn't go politely evict two seat-squatters. Oh well. With joy, my eyes settled on a few seats on the Red Sox side of home plate that were bathed luxuriously in sunshine. Time to move.

Back down the stairs. Tip toe, tip toe. Back through the crowd. Stumble trip, stumble trip. Up the stairs. Into the row. Down in the seats. I am never going to a Red Sox game again!

So there we were in the sun. As soon as we sat down, McKenzie started to complain that it was hot. I gave her the water bottle. No sooner did I give it to her than she dropped the cap smack down among peanut shell, beer bottle soup. I took the bottle and held it on my lap and gave McKenzie her tracing activity book and a crayon to keep her still for a few minutes. She was happily working away when the man in front of us poked his wife/girlfriend/etc? directing her attention to McKenzie and said, "Look how interested in the game she is."

If I hadn't felt so miserable, beleaguered, lonely, stressed, and nauseous, I would have wanted to deck the guy. As it was, I just wanted to burst into tears and then give him a lecture on spending long hours at a baseball stadium with a three year old in tow and how little both of us cared about the game at that moment. Instead, the water bottle on my lap tipped over and dripped down the side of my pants and McKenzie started to wail and scream out of exhaustion and frustration. Time to move again.

Ready to throw in the towel but afraid I might miss Josh pitch, I hauled a kicking and screaming McKenzie down the first base line all the way to the outfield. There were two empty chairs in the wheelchair section. It was the 8th inning and there was no one sitting there. I plopped down exhausted. Thankfully no one said anything.

There was enough room for McKenzie to climb up and down and over and under the chair. By then, I didn't care how much dirt she ate. There was no beer or peanut shells, so it was kosher. I could see the bullpen and occasionally catch a glimpse of who was warming-up. By the 9th inning we were tied 3-3. Josh started to stretch and warm-up. Maybe all my suffering would count for something.

It was not to be. The Red Sox hit a home run in the top of the 9th amid wild cheers from the crowd. The O's didn't score again in the bottom of the inning, also a matter of great celebration in the stands.

Monday's game was much better. It was warm. There were less than 8000 people. We were playing the Twins and not the Red Sox. McKenzie was far more cheerful. Josh pitched the 7th inning and did great and I actually saw someone I knew and could talk to. Now that is my kind of game!

Josh coming in to pitch the 7th

McKenzie wearing Mom's lip gloss and posing for the camera...if only she would open her eyes.