Spring Is On The Way!

Spring is on the way...and how do I know this? Because BASEBALL SEASON has begun! Truett had his first game tonight...was the first batter...and scored the first run of the 2009 Carrigan Royals season. It was so exciting!

Growing up, I hated baseball. Didn't just dislike, or kind of not be interested in, but really, hated baseball! My brother played everything from little league through High School. I didn't have any Spring activities, so being only 14 months younger than my brother and therefore obviously not old enough to stay at home alone, I was needed to cheer on my brother in every game (READ IN, I was drug there). Couple that with church softball leagues and I felt I spent half my life at the ballpark. Considering I was (and still am) extremely sports challenged, you just might as well have beat me with a stick. I played in the dirt, read a book (this was well before Gameboys), climbed up and down the bleachers and whined for french fries. To top it all off, my mom was generally the "TEAM MOM" so she was the number one fan, in charge of everything and officially the person to yell at my brother to "Get the lead out of your britches, honey!" For me, it was misery. At home, my lack of affinity for baseball didn't improve as our television seemed to only have one channel...TBS. That's right...Braves baseball took up permanent residence in our home, and as far as I know, still does at my parent's house. Seriously, I don't watch baseball at all until the playoffs even now, so to start watching it in pre-season all the way through the World Series is just insane! Truly, baseball didn't have any redeeming factors until high school when I was able to date my brother's teammates...but that's another story.

So my relationship with baseball was rocky until...I had a little boy of my own. A little boy who at 5 played T-ball and at 6 hit one all the way to the fence. A little boy who started at Carrigan's Rookie league in February of 2006 and whose heart for the game has made me proud ever since. Truett's not an all-star. He's usually in the bottom half of his team. He comes from a sports-challenged family and sometimes, it shows! What Truett has, though, is heart. He's the first one out when the inning begins, the first one to the dugout when it's over. He listens to his coaches, is polite and respectful, and well liked by his teammates. Every coach he's ever had has wanted him back. Truett has played on two city championship teams and won some heart-attack games. Through watching him, I finally understood the plaque that my mother had in her bedroom for many years that said "When ball season is over, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown." Now my "little" boy is 10. He's in his second year of minors, and things are really coming together. Tonight, he got a hit and a walk and scored 2 runs. His team won 13-7. Always, though, he comes away thankful he got to play. And I'm thankful that I get to watch. How different life is as a mother! I can hardly wait until Emmett and Wyatt begin little league...in 2012 and 2014. BATTER UP!

Babies Are Blessings!

Okay, now that I said that and scared my parents out of their minds...no it isn't me. But all babies truly are blessings, and my precious friend Angela delivered her sixth such blessing yesterday. Now, when a woman is expecting, she has all kinds of plans. A plan A, B, C, & D for what will happen when labor begins. My labors have been somewhat unpredictable...but all but one have "felt" like I was in control. I say that because, obviously, God is in control. Sometimes He just humors us by allowing us to think that we have some say. Yesterday when Angela woke up, I'm sure she had no idea that at 7:15 last night her little one would be born via emergency c-section and ultimately taken to the NICU in a nearby city. It was not her plan A, B, C, or D. See, our plans do not supercede those of our Father. Even when we do not understand, even when our heart hurts, even when things are upside down, He only wants us to trust Him. That may require some stretching on our part, but He is there, waiting for us to trust. Know that His plans for us are sure. They are good. And for those that love Him, everything happen to point us to Him.

We are so thankful for this new baby that we get to enjoy and invest in. My prayers are not only for her immediate safety, but for her future, that she may come to know Christ personally and be able to share Him with others.

Babies are blessings! Welcome to our world, Laurel! We are thankful that you are rapidly improving and will be home soon with your family.

Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Get your act together, It's FEBRUARY already!!!

Oh my...it seems time just flies by. I can't believe that it is February when just "yesterday" I was making Christmas photos. In the past several weeks, our septic tank has backed up (oh crap!), our frig and freezer have gone on the fritz (they're in a union, you know), the hot water heater quit...heating, and we sprung a delightful leak in our foundation in the bedroom. The frig and freezer are repaired, we're limping the septic tank along, two new heating elements in the hot water tank make for nice hot showers, and now the leak is fixed, albeit there is still no carpet in my bedroom. Life just rolls, doesn't it? God is in control even of this. As I dealt with the many challenges that arose during the week of preparation for Mary's Sweet Sixteen party, I had to just laugh at each of them. "Can it get worse?" I continued to think, always to be corrected, by YES! It could get worse. So, I chose to handle all the little bumps in my plans with as much grace as I could muster. (Yes, I did cry when there was a great possibility that the leak was under our hardwood floor; but I got past that, too.) I tend to let the little things get to me. A crabby person a Wal-Mart (and there's always at least one!), a bad driver pulling out at an in opportune time, an unknown charge on my credit card bill...all these things I could really let eat me up (and sometimes do). BUT! That's not what God wants us to do. He wants us to take it all in stride, knowing that His hand is on even this. He's been with me as I've gone through my pregnancies (including 2 losses); He's been with me as I've watched my precious sister struggle with a chronically ill child, He's been with us as we've closed our business and had to say good-bye to wonderful people whom I love dearly and have sacrificed greatly to try to keep things going. EMMANUEL. God with us. Always.

All in all, I lead a wonderful, privileged life. Not in material things, although there is plenty of that, too, but the privilege of having Jesus Christ as my Savior. The privilege of being born in this free nation. The privilege of health and a marriage that is approaching 18 years. The privilege of knowing some of the most amazing people that God has placed on this earth.

I am privileged, so I will NOT let the little things get me down. And I will do my best to not let the time be taken for granted. I will cherish the little ones in my home and appreciate the teenagers. I've only got 11 months of 2009 left! So I'd better get my act together!