Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Stryker's First Award!

--I apologize for the iPhone pictures.  Trying to take my camera was just not in the plans with a crazy dog on a leash and water flying everywhere.--

I had my first proud dog moment this past weekend.  Now don't get me wrong, Strkyer makes me proud every day by being a good boy (well, most of the days).  But this weekend was different.  Have y'all ever heard of Dock Dogs? If not, you should look it up.
Dock Dogs is "The World's Premier Canine Aquatic Competition".  Dock Dogs is a dock jumping and dock diving sport for dogs.  It is a fast growing and very popular sport in the United States and Canada which has been featured on ESPN and The Outdoor Channel.  Dock Dogs is open to dogs of all sizes, breeds, and the only age requirement is dogs must be 6 months old.   You can participate in the Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve. 

So can you guess what we did on Saturday morning??!!


Yep, me and my dad took Stryker to the Care-A-Lot Canine Extravagenza where they had a Dock Dog competition! There were literally hundreds of dogs there but not all were competing.  There were dogs already warming up when we got there.  It was a little hectic with Stryker since he is not used to being in that environment with other dogs.  He is good around dogs, but not on a leash.  So I stayed with Stryker over by the cars away from the water and dogs.  Dad went over to the registration tent and signed him up! 


Ok let me take you back to last summer.  My parent's have a pool in the backyard and their dogs are NEVER allowed in the pool because they may tear up the liner.  When I got Stryker, the first thing my dad did was introduce him to the pool as a puppy.  So do you think that as he got older and his paws got more of a threat to that liner that he wasn't allowed to get in anymore?! NOPE! The granddoggy is so spoiled! If this is any indication to how they are going to be with an acutal grandchild, I'm all in! So dad practiced Dock Dogs with him off the diving board all last summer and the dog can't stay out of the pool now.  Every time we let them outback to play, its a guarantee that I will be taking him home wet. 
How cute is this little pup?!

Since my dad loves to do this stuff, he was Stryker's "handler" during the competition.  He got about 5 practice jumps in and he was doing SO GREAT! He was in Heat 3 against nine other dogs.  The first and second heat were awesome.  The breeds of dogs competing were all across the board.  One dog jumped over 23 feet! Heat three came up and Stryker was the last one in his heat! Since this was his first time competing in one of their compeititons, his first jump would be his Personal Best!


The first time he jumped he got 14 ft 10 in and the second jump was 11 ft 7 in!


It was getting a little overwhelming with all the dogs so we decided to head home and come back later to get his participation ribbon.  I spent the rest of the day gardening  so dad went back a little later to grab the ribbon.  When he came back to my house, he pulled out a FIRST PLACE MEDAL!!!! WHAT!? MY DOG HAD THE LONGEST JUMP IN HIS HEAT!


I think he has a future as a Dock Dog Competitor and I couldn't be more proud of my little pup!






Monday, April 28, 2014

Weekend Wrap Up: Gardening


This weekend was my first full-on experience with gardening and I wanted to share a few things I learned.
  1. Gardening is no joke.  I woke up so sore the next day.
  2. Cleaning out your flower beds that have not been tended to in forever will take you longer than an hour.  I was outside working for about 3 1/2 hours before I got exhausted and called it a day.
  3. It has to be done.  Once you start, you have to keep going.  Right now only about half of my garden bed is weed-free and ready to have flowers planted.  Next weekend I plan to finish and plant some flowers.  
For now, take a look at the before and after pictures though! I think I did a pretty good job for a first time gardener! Lets hope I can keep these flowers alive! 

Any gardening advice/tips/suggestions on what to plant you all would like to leave me would be greatly appreciated! 





In other news, be on the lookout tomorrow for my proud doggy mommy moment of the weekend!!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A Leibster Award


About (from the source)

Many of you may have heard of, or been presented with the Liebster award.
For the unaware, this award are exclusively for blogs with fewer than 1000 followers. The award is a way of making connections with other people and blogs, a way of discovering new content! I mean, who doesn't want to find new friends and great new blogs who you may never had found otherwise?

The rules are:
Write 11 random facts about yourself
Answer 11 questions submitted by the blogger who nominated you
Choose 11 bloggers for the award
Write 11 new questions for them to answer
Let the nominees know that they've been nominated 

11 random facts about me

one. I used to live in Japan.
two. I took my maiden name as my middle name when I got married.
three. I am a very picky eater.  Like, I just started eating hamburgers a few years ago.
four. I am a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority.
five. My husband is a professional baseball player and we spend half of the year living apart.
six. We closed on the purchase of our first home two days after we got married.
seven. I have always had at least one dog since I was born.
eight. I will always bleed purple and gold.  Go JMU Dukes!
nine. I took piano for over 12 years.
ten. My first job ever was babysitting and still do it to this day.
eleven. I played volleyball, soccer, and cheerleading in high school.


11 questions from Katherine:

1. What is your hobby? I honestly couldn't tell you a hobby I have. Watching baseball?! Guess that by default.  

2. How is your blogging experience? So far so good.  It's always a work in progress but I think that I am doing all the right steps to growing my blog!

3. What clothing brand do you like the most and why? I don't have a favorite clothing brand. I always choose Nike, OPI, and JCrew. 

4. What is your favorite animal? Dog.

5. What is the most exciting/interesting thing that happened to your life? Besides marrying my best friend, the most interesting thing that has happened in my life is moving to Japan.  My mom is retired Navy so we lived there for 2 years from 2000-2002.  

6. What's your favorite book? I love all the Nicholas Sparks books, Hunger Games trilogy, and Divergent trilogy. So far this year I have read 4 books so I will let you know as the list goes on what becomes my favorite!

7. What tv/anime series do you watch? Currently been loving Nashville, Greys, The Blacklist, and The Voice.  I used to be a huge lover of One Tree Hill and own all of the seasons!

8. Plains or patterns? I am more of a plain with stripes kinda girl.  I love color blocking on a shirt.  Now looking at my wardrobe, I guess I should invest in some patterns.

9. How tall are you? This little shorty stands 5 feet and 2 inches tall! I'm short and I'm proud of it!

10. Blonde, brunette, red or ebony haired? Blondes do it best.

11. What is your job? I work at a private high school doing Alumni Relations.  It just so happens that this is where I went to school, so it all works out nicely! 

11 Bloggers for the Liebster Award:

Meagan at Beautiful Things
Bailley at Lew Party of 2
Chelsea at The Perfect Catch
Rachel at Makeshift Munch
Chelsea at Anchors Aweigh
Katie at Sweet Pea's
Katherine at The Newsom's Nest

11 Questions for you to answer
*give a little detail on each one!*

1. Nike or Adidas?
2. OPI or Essie?
3. Moe's or Chipotle?
4. Straight or Curly hair?
5. East or West coast?
6. College sports or Professional Sports?
7. Necklace or Bracelet?
8. Pencil or Pen?
9. Instagram or Twitter?
10. Treadmill or Elliptical?
11. Ice Cream Cake, Cookie Cake, or Cupcakes?

Thanks so much Katherine for nominating me! This was so fun and I am excited to see if any of the people I nominated fill it out as well!




Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Easter Weekend in Carolina

I had high hopes for the Easter weekend, but when it started out with a flat tire on my way to Carolina, I was a little concerned on how the rest of the weekend would go.  We had decided that I would bring Stryker down to NC this weekend with me so I was on the side of the road, reading my owners manual, trying to hold Stryker on the leash.  It was a disaster. Anyways, a sweet old man stopped and helped me put the spare on and I was on my way.  With over 100 miles still to go, I got nervous and decided to call AAA to tow me the rest of the way.  By this time it was about 7:45 p.m. and the lady at AAA told me the wait time would be over an hour.  I decided to test my luck and drive the rest of the way on the spare.  It was a little nerve-racking but I made it safe and sound and even saw the end of the game Thursday since it went into extra innings.


Friday I went to get my tired patched up and it was only $36! I love going to places that don't try to sell me stuff.  It's so annoying when those places try and sell me stuff and I don't even know what they are talking about.  D.J. took Stryker to play while I was doing that.  Everyone was coming to town on Friday since it was D.J's day to pitch! His parents, my parents, Nana, Julie, and Jack to be exact! I dropped him off at the stadium and everyone else got in around 5 p.m. for the 7 p.m. game.  We tired Stryker out and put him in the car (don't worry, he loves to sleep in the car, the windows were down and I checked on him every few innings and played with him!)
D.J. had a great game! 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, and 3 SO turning out a 1.50 ERA.  He was pretty happy with how he did so it was a good night! We went to dinner with my parents and sister after the game and then went back to the apartment after to hang out.




Saturday's game was cancelled due to rain so I was able to have a date night with two of my favorite guys, D.J. and Dylan! We went out to the movies to see Divergent (!!!!!!) in the North Hills area! I will for sure be going back to that area during the day to explore the outdoor mall they have!


Easter Sunday was not like any other Easter I have ever experienced.  No family, no Easter egg hunt, no Easter egg coloring, and as much as I hate to say it, no church either :(.  Although we didn't do any of the typical stuff, the Easter bunny still did manage to make it to Knightdale, NC! 


The boys had to be at the field early so when they left I took Stryker out to play and went up the Planet Fitness.  Dylan had to be at the airport at 2 p.m. so I dropped him off and went to the field.  Stryker and I played for a few minutes before I went in the stadium.  The pitching coaches son was there and he was so entertaining.  Sometimes the games get boring and a little kid is the best way to pass the time! We played catch with the ball, I bounced him on my lap, and we even walked around the stadium a little bit! After the game, we went Downtown Raleigh to Mellow Mushroom for our Easter Sunday dinner! We explored NC State a little bit and even saw a circus show! On the way home we stopped by Lizard Lick Towing and it was the highlight of the whole weekend for D.J.!


We got up early on Monday and I was on the road home by 10 a.m.  I spent all day yesterday unpacking, catching up on shows, and getting the house ready for my friends to move in for the summer! Oh, and I came home to a broken heater.  Although I started and ended the weekend on crappy notes, everything else was awesome!

Hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend!





Friday, April 18, 2014

5 Ways to Pass the Time on a Road Trip

Linking up with Christina and Co. for today's 5 on Friday.

Over the next few months, my little Honda CRV is going to be getting a workout in.  As you all know (if you have been following along) my baseball hubby is in the Carolina League this season with the Carolina Mudcats.  Needless to say, the teams are all close so this is increasing my spending in the "gas" category on my monthly budget!! Even though the drives are not terribly far (less than 3 hours anywhere but one place), I find myself wishing they were shorter.  So here are my tips on how to pass the time!


one. listen to good music
Whether it's Pandora or old CD's, good music will really make the trip go by faster.  Lately I have been digging The Dixie Chicks Pandora station. I also found an old CD in my car with a bunch for John Mayer and DMB that have been great cruising songs.

two. take the time to catch up with friends
I always use the drives to chat with people I haven't talked to in a while.  Last trip down to NC, I talked to my grandlittle, Jenny and 30 minutes later I was already there! Unfortunately, I had to drive down last night so I had to pay attention more since it was dark out.

three. dont look at the map
Looking at the GPS the whole time and checking your arrival time is not going to make you get there faster.  If you know where you are going, avoid checking your arrival time before you leave.  It will only make it worse, I promise!

four. play a game
Counting license plates or finding words that being with certain letters are always my go to.  It's easy to do by yourself and fun to play with a friend.  I haven't had any road trip warriors with me on my drives yet, so its nice to have something to occupy my mind while I drive down the road.

five. drive during the day
Driving with the windows down and the music up is the best way to get past the boring-ness of the drive ahead of you.  I would always choose to wake up early and leave to get somewhere rather than leaving later and driving the the dark.  I think it's easier to pay attention and for some reason it seems to go by faster when you have more to look forward to during the day whenever you get to your final destination!

What do you do to pass the time on a road trip?


this weeks posts
#baseballwifelife vs. Potomac Nationals
It's the Little Things: Warmer Weather



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

It's the Little Things: Warm Weather


Last night a cold front moved into the Hampton Roads area.  It brought some crazy drops in temperatures and serious rain that came down with 40-50 mph winds.  The weather all day yesterday was pretty crappy, but at least it washed away all the green/yellow pollen that has been sitting on the cars and porches.  While I am thankful my car is back to being maroon, I would also like this cold front to move on outta here so we can enjoy spring. 


It's the little things like the weather that make me happy.  Sitting at a baseball game in 70 degree weather is a lot better than 40's.  Having some color on my legs makes me feel like its summer time, and summer time brings longer days, warmer weather, and great concerts! I hope Mother Nature decides to kick winter out for good after this cold front!

What little things make your days better?!

Everyone should take a few minutes today to think about what they are thankful for and join the link up with Ashley and Jess

Monday, April 14, 2014

#baseballwifelife vs. Potomac Nationals

Baseball weekend #2 was typical baseball weather! The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and it honestly couldn't have been better! After work on Friday, I drove up to Woodbridge, VA to see the boys take on the Potomac Nationals.  I got there a few minutes into the 2nd inning since traffic getting out of Hampton Roads is so terrible. D.J.'s mom, dad, two sisters, and uncle were all at Friday's game.  The game ended late, so they headed back to Fredericksburg and D.J. and I went back to the hotel and called it a night. 




The breakfast on Saturday morning at the hotel was awesome.  Waffle with some fruit and a blueberry muffin! For a hotel, it was a really nice breakfast. He had a meeting in the morning so I hit the hotel gym for a quick workout.  The team had to be at the field at 2:30 so we decided to grab lunch at Chick-Fil-A across the street.  It was so crowded that they had to have a police man directing traffic! We ended up taking it back to the hotel to eat since there were no tables open.  I took D.J. to the field and went back to the hotel to shower and get ready.  Since I had a lot of time to kill, I went back to the parking lot, took my blanket out to the grass and read my book.  For all you Divergent fans out there, I completely understand the obsession! I cannot put the book down! I could have sat outside and read the entire book instead of going into the game, but obviously I didn't.  I have found that having a good book to read makes the time that he has to be at the field go by faster.  Clearly I will be on to the next book in the trilogy by the end of next weekend.
Saturday's game was eventful to say the least.  Not necessarily on the pitching side of things, but I am pretty sure D.J. had more fans at that game then he will have at any other game this season.  The list of people that were there is a little crazy, so try and keep up.

  • Sandra and Dennis (my in-laws)
  • Stef, James, and Jayden (D.J.'s sister)
  • Amy and Brian (D.J.'s sister)
  • Ashton and Josh (Brian's sister and fiance)
  • Chili and his family (Brian's football friend)
  • Kendall and Brad (my big and her husband)
  • Ricky and Marie (friends we met in St. Lucia)
So in total, we had 17 people and an almost three year old in the D.J. Brown fan club.  It was a little exhausting, but it was nice to see everyone! D.J. ended up not going in on Saturday which was unfortunate for all the fans.  After taking a billion photos...










we grabbed a late night snack at Ruby Tuesdays after with Kendall and Brad and went back and fell asleep.  

Sunday morning I drove D.J. to the field at 9 and ran a few errands for him after.  I went back to the hotel, ate breakfast, packed up my stuff, showered, and went back out to the field to read before the game! (I know, I'm a nerd!) The fan club was big again today with the entire family there.  There was a pretty good chance that D.J. would come out of the pen today for some inning in relief.  In the first inning, when our good friend Dylan headed out to the mound, he ended up hurting his ankle.  Long story behind this, but unfortunately, Dylan was not able to play and had to leave the field on crutches.

So when they called down to the bullpen and did the "tall pitcher" signal, D.J. was caught extremely off guard and was headed in for his first start of the season!!


Beware... pitcher picture overload beginning in
3...
2..
1.




Offense was on fire this game! Jeremy Lucas with the grandslam in the 2nd inning!




The game was great and we got the win 12-2 and D.J. picked up his first win with the Carolina Mudcats! With the open spot in the starting rotation, I am happy to announce that D.J. will now be a starting pitcher!!



At the end of the game, he signed some autographs, took a billion more pictures, and then we headed back to Red Lobster! I got on the road to head home around 7 and made it back at 10:15 because of tunnel work and a lane closed...it's never ending with traffic in this area.  Before I left, we sat and just relaxed for a few minutes and had some time to ourselves. Since we know when D.J. is playing next, I will be heading down to Carolina on Thursday after my workout class with Stryker boy for the Easter weekend. Happy baseball everyone!




Thursday, April 10, 2014

Believe in the Sparks: Blog Takeover



Today is a big day- my first guest blog post! I am blogging over at Believe in the Spark to fill some time while Morgan celebrates her wedding week!  Head over to her blog to read my post and check her out! She and her new hubby (in two days) are so cute!


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

It's the Little Things: Random Thoughts

Today is my first time participating in the It's the Little Things series with Ashley from Words About Waverly. For some reason today just seemed like the right day to appreciate the little things in life. 

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This morning I got a call from my little cousins that live in Canada.  I love that they call me when they are on their way to school to keep me updated with whats going on in their life. They moved to Canada a few years ago now and will be moving back next summer.  Even though I feel like I am missing them grow up, I am so thankful for the technology that allows us to stay in touch and see each other through a screen! Both twins have missing teeth on the top and their big brother is going to his first Track practice tonight.  I cannot wait to have them back in Norfolk full time soon!
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Waking up to see the best dog in the whole wide world makes my days without D.J. that much easier. Even when he rubs up against me when I am wearing a black skirt and gets his hair all over me, I still love him.
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Warm weather.  Praise the Lord that Mother Nature has finally decided to be consistent with the warmer weather.  I wouldn't say its shorts or skirt weather yet, but I can see it coming!
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Crossword puzzles and the Jumble in the newspaper are always my little pick-me-up at work. 
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My baseball ladies- wives, girlfriends, and fiance's.  Having them to bounce thoughts off of and use as a sounding board is something that I am so thankful for!


I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday and I am so excited about tomorrow's blog post! Be sure to check back in the morning!




Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Advocare: My Story

So over the last few months, my Advocare journey has really hit the ground running.  When another baseball wife introduced it to me, I was a little skeptical.  I have never taken any supplements or energy drinks.  None of that really seemed necessary to me. Anyways, Chelsea sent me a few samples of Spark and said that it should replace my coffee and sodas that I drink.  Well the thing is, I don't drink either of those! So she suggested that I just use half of the suggested amount.  I honestly could tell a difference in my energy level throughout the day.  My energy stayed high and I was a lot more focused at work.  Spark is a powder that you mix into your drink that comes in different flavors.  My favorite (the only one I have ever had) is the Watermelon. After committing to buying the tub of Spark, Chelsea and I started talking about doing a 24-Day Challenge.  At first, I was like um, no thank you.  But really, the more I thought about it, the more perfect it was for me.  It was perfect timing and exactly what I needed to get in the right direction of being clean and healthy.  

So on March 10, Chelsea and a few other ladies and I started the 24-Day Challenge.  At first, I was nervous because of the amount of pills that the challenge required.  I am not the best pill taker so that was a little nerve wracking, but in the end I was happy with how the challenged turned out.  I lost a total of 5 pounds and felt better than ever. I felt cleaner and I felt like I didn't have toxins in my body. Around about day 20 of the challenge, I had been thinking about becoming an Advocare Distributor. Not only does it give me income opportunities, but it allows me to get the products at a discount! So of course, I signed up and now am officially an Advocare Distributor! I am not trying to make a significant income on this, but just a little side money coming in would be great.  So here is my public service announcement, if you or anyone you know is interested in learning more about Advocare or already knows what they like from Advocare, please let me know! 

You can order directly from my website or you can contact me and I am more than happy to send you some samples! My email is merrymce@gmail.com if you need any more questions answered!

I look forward to helping you all feel as healthy as I do!

Monday, April 7, 2014

#baseballwifelife First Full 2014 Weekend

This past weekend has been so great! I hit the road for Zebulon, NC on Thursday afternoon and was able to make it to the field about an hour before the game started.  When I was driving in, I went a little too far and passed the field but was able to see the downtown of Zebulon.  Let me tell you, there isn’t much to it! Besides about 4 stoplights and a cute little road of street parking and old town stores, there isn’t much more in Zebulon.  I figured out my way back to the field and I knew I was in the right place when I saw this.

I was early enough that the parking attendants were not there yet so parking was free (yay) and after a little walking around the stadium, I found my way to the clubhouse where D.J. was.   He came out and it was so nice to see him! We chatted for a few minutes about my drive down and how close it is to Norfolk and then he had to go back to the clubhouse to get ready for the game! I headed to will call to get my ticket and found my seat.  The stadium is cool.  They have a restaurant that you can dine in and watch the game, lots of upper seating, and the sun goes down behind the stadium so the fans aren’t baking in the sun! Our seats were right behind the bullpen which was cool but kind of weird because D.J. sits right there and I don’t like to be so close to him during the game! I feel like he can hear me talking and gets annoyed! Haha! Before the game started I met Mrs. Lucas, Jeremy Lucas’ (one of the catchers) mom.  She was in town visiting for the weekend from Indiana and drove his car down for him. It was so nice to talk to her during the game and have a friend there!



D.J.’s family made it to the game around the 4th inning with Amy and Myla! I haven’t seen her in a few months and she has gotten so big!! She was definitely a little squirmer during the game, but what did we expect right?! After the game we took some pictures and The Brown’s went to check into their hotel in Raleigh and I drove the boys back to the apartment.  Since the town of Zebulon is so tiny, the boys stay in Knightdale, NC, which is about 15 minutes away from the field.  It’s an easy drive but just gets annoying going back and forth.  The apartments are very nice.  I thought it would be cramped with 5 guys in a three bedroom, but it doesn’t feel crowded at all.  They have a ton of restaurants, grocery stores, and pretty much everything they need right around the corner.  D.J. will have his car and another roommate does too so that will be helpful.  It was late when we got back so we unloaded the car and headed straight to bed.  





Friday morning we woke up and went to breakfast with the family at IHOP.  We ran a few errands at Dicks, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart before heading back to the apartments to get the boys and drive the to field.  We leave the apartments at whatever time the van leaves to take the guys without a car to the field, which was 12:30.  After I dropped them off, I drove to Raleigh to meet the family.  We went to Tobacco Road Sports Cafe. for lunch and it was delicious.  Everything was made from scratch and they didn't even have freezers because they bought everything day of and local.   
After we ate and drove around Downtown Raleigh, we went back to the field and then I drove to the field to get there a little early.  Friday’s starter was D.J.’s roommate Michael Peoples.  This was the first time I actually hung out with Peoples and he had me dying laughing the whole weekend.  Benny pitched on Saturday in relief and Saturday’s starter was Ryan Merritt, the 4th roommate of the bunch! The 5th roommate is Dylan Baker and he is meeting up with the team today to hit the road for this first trip to Frederick, MD.  
Michael Peoples

Michael Peoples

Michael Peoples
Benny Suarez

Benny Suarez

Benny Suarez

Ryan Merritt, Saturday's Starter
Ryan Merritt

Ryan Merritt
D.J. came in for relief in Saturdays game and had a pretty decent outing.  2 SO, 2 hits, 1 run, and no walks!
D.J. Brown

D.J. Brown

D.J. Brown
Add caption
Saturday we went to breakfast at the hotel the Brown’s were staying at and hung out at the pool for a little bit with them.  The boys had to be there early since the game was at 6.  I took D.J. to the field and then went back and took a nap! I hit up Planet Fitness and then got ready for the game.  We went to Lonestar after the game for a little post game meal and said goodbye to the in-laws since they were getting on the road Sunday morning.
 
Sunday morning we woke up early since the game was at 2 and the guys had to be there at 9 a.m.  I came back and watched some TV, packed up our stuff and then went back to the field for Baseball Chapel.  It was so nice of Betsy to introduce herself to me at the home opener on Thursday.  I felt so special that she invited me to the chapel on Sunday.  She and her husband, Eddie, have been doing Baseball Chapel for about 10 years with the Mudcats.  Eddie does it for the guys (he even does visiting team and umpires) and Betsy does it for the ladies.  We met in one of the boxes in the stadium and this time it was just myself.  It was nice to have someone that understands the hardships of this lifestyle we live to talk with.  She has strong faith in Jesus Christ and God and it was refreshing to hear her talk about how we need to let God handle all of our fears, worries, and doubts.  We talked about just letting our fears go and replace those things with Faith, Worship, and Devotion.  After we talked, they treated me to lunch and I watched the game from the box! It was perfect for the cold Sunday afternoon! I am so thankful I met Betsy and Eddie and cannot wait to see them next time I am in town.  
 
After many years serving our country, this man has not missed a Mudcats game all last season.  He gives all the balls to little kids and even takes broken bats home to fix them and give them away at the next game.  He is truly an American Hero.
After the game, D.J. and I headed back to Norfolk for the night! I am so lucky that he is close enough to come home on an off day.  He has loved on Stryker since we got home and I cannot express how grateful we are to be so close.  I am planning on making the trip up to Woodbridge, VA next weekend as they take on the Potomac Nationals.  So now as I get ready for work on this rainy Monday morning, D.J. and Stryker are all snuggled up in the bed.  Its the little things in life people.
Here’s to the first full weekend of baseball! Cheers!