When in Rome

Hi all!

So let's just avoid the obvious that it has been FOREVER since I last blogged. Life has sure been a whirlwind this summer, but it has been amazing to say the least. For those of you that follow us on facebook, you are up to date with our latest news that we are now apart of the Atlanta Braves family! God's timing and provision with that falling into place couldn't have been more perfect.

We absolutely loved our time with the Saltdogs and truly formed some lifelong friendships with the guys/couples we met this season through that team. Daniel says it was one of his most favorite teams ever and the most fun he's had in a long time. Independent really turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. We loved our time in Lincoln, Nebraska and it will forever have a special place in our hearts.

For those of you who are not too familiar with how the baseball world works, let me fill you in a little. Pretty much life can change REAL quick in this game... whether it be from a move, injury, release or in this occasion, a signing for us! Daniel had been doing amazing in Lincoln (he finished the season .303 with 7 home runs, 30 RBIS and 22 stolen bases). His agent had sent out an email with his stats, along with an article that was written about Daniel in our hometown newspaper (ARTICLE HERE) to all the MLB teams. In less then 24 hours, his agent had received a few phone calls with interest from different teams, but the Braves put an offer down right away. It would have been crazy to turn down an opportunity, Daniel and I prayed about it and felt at peace to move forward with it. We had heard so many great things about the Braves organization and had friends who had been with this organization before who could attest. Not only were we attracted to their great organization and reputation, but our friends also had an aunt & uncle who lived 5 minutes from the field Daniel would be assigned to that we could live with! God was just opening all the doors and we clearly saw His Hands over it.

So within a few hours from getting the call and agreeing to a contract, Daniel was now a Brave! The Braves called him and welcomed him to the organization, worked out some traveling details and we were set! I couldn't be more proud or excited for him! We were just thrilled for an opportunity to continue on this journey of reaching his dream. Daniel's best friend, Jesse, was in town visiting at the time when all this went down, so he got to experience firsthand what life is like for us. He was so sweet to help us pack and get things ready for our road trip to Rome, Georgia. Within a day, Daniel and  I were packed and back on the open road to our next adventure!

The Braves have been amazing so far! Daniel had an awesome night the other night, hitting his first homerun as a Brave and going 4-4 that night! God is so good to always meet me where I'm at and remind me that He is truly in control. Before that night, I had been dealing with a little bit of discouragement & ungratefulness. While this lifestyle is amazing and God has given me a heart for it, it definitely comes with it's challenges. I know it's not just in baseball, but in life in general- we all go through hard times- whether we're in this game or not. But when your husband's career is solely based on his performance, you can ride the highs and lows real quick in this game. Somedays it could be tough. Daniel had been struggling a bit at bat before that great night and my heart was feeling weary for him. My biggest desire is for him to have fun out there and do well, so when he's not, I have a hard time. I then sometimes allow it to take me on a downhill spiral where I can get caught in thinking of our circumstances and focus on the negative, which leads to me having an ungrateful heart and having fear over the future. I allow my eyes to so quickly move to our circumstances rather then on my all knowing, never changing, loving beautiful Father in Heaven! I KNOW He knows and holds our future (Jeremiah 29:11), yet I allow myself to forget that sometimes when things get tough.

 Well the morning before Daniel had that great game, I read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which says  "Rejoice ALWAYS, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God's will for you"...boy, did that convict and pierce my heart! I was doing everything opposite of that the days prior to reading that. No words can ever describe how thankful I am to be covered in His perfect grace because I continually fall short. After reading that, I decided to change my attitude, perspective and heart. I want so bad to be in Lord's will always and that was a clear direction of what His will was/is for me. It was so amazing to see Him prepare and change my heart in that way so that I could truly appreciate the blessing of Daniel's amazing night that night. His faithfulness never ceases to amaze me! 

Time has seriously flown by this summer and I can not believe we are already on our last week of the season! Business has been going well for me and I just launched my new website www.chelseacarrolldesigns.com! Be sure to check it out! Thank you to all of you who have prayed, encouraged and supported us throughout our baseball journey! I'm always so blown away by the amazing people we have been surrounded with in our lives. Although Daniel is a bit sad for the baseball season to end, we are looking forward to being back home again for the offseason.

Oh, I forgot to mention another cool thing about going to the Braves. Some of you who were at our wedding might remember Daniel's dad reading an old school paper Daniel had written when he 14 years old. Well, the school paper topic was "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"... along with being married, Daniel said he would be playing for the Atlanta Braves! We just thought that was funny because now he is! :) We're excited to see where this journey leads and again, are so thankful for all the love and support from all of you! Will post some pictures from our baseball adventures this season soon! xo.

Off Day Fun

        Hi everyone. Daniel here. Chelsea's been wanting me to write a blog from my perspective, so going to give you an update on everything that's Carroll. We just spent the off day today at the Omaha Zoo. It was really fun and we saw so many awesome animals. It definitely was a good experience considering the Omaha Zoo and the San Diego Zoo are rivals for the title "Best Zoo in America". The zoo was very big and took quite a bit of walking to explore the entire premises, but was well worth it. All, or should I say most, of the cages/man made habitats seemed pretty intricate and detailed. For example, the penguins had real snow falling on them. The lions, tigers, and bears OH MY all had cool places to roam around. All in all, we took a lot of pics and had a great experience.
         Afterwards, I talked Chelsea into seeing the new movie "World War Z". Needless to say I liked it and Chelsea hated it- Haha. But she gets some awesome wife points for going with me and sitting through it. Enough about today though, lets back track a little bit...
Chelsea recently returned home to Cali for her little sisters wedding. I regrettably had to miss it due to baseball, but I'm going to take this moment to send a BIG shout out to the newlywed MR. & MRS. Joey Vidrio...Congrats wish I could have been there!
        While Chelsea was gone having a ton of fun preparing for the wedding as the matron of honor, I went on a little trip with my team to visit our neighbors to the North.  Our first stop was in Winnipeg, Canada which is located just above North Dakota in the Manitoba Province. I was not impressed with the city or the scenery. After we won two out of the three games, my whole team was happy to leave that weird place that asks if I want gravy on my french fries. Next stop was St. Paul, Minnesota. Now that was a beautiful  place. My cousin Amber and her husband Brian live in the area and we all got to hang out. They took me on an awesome tour of the Twin Cities. We got to check out the Mall of America, Target Field and my personal favorite, The Old Mill Park Ruins. Yes RUINS!!!!! They were so cool and fun to explore, I felt like a little kid pretending to be Indiana Jones.
     After three games in St. Paul, it was time to come home, which would be a double blessing for me because Chelsea would be at home in Lincoln waiting for me when my team arrived. So I was pretty excited to see my gorgeous wife after not seeing her for about two weeks. I don't know if it's just coincidence, but the first day Chelsea got to see me play again, we had a double header and I went 5 for  7 with 5 RBI's , 3 stolen bases and a Home Run. I'll let you be the judge.
      It's been a long day and I'm getting tired, but will be posting a blog later this week about how I've discovered "Freedom" through Independent Ball and my refreshed view on this game I love. Stay Tuned.

   

   

Onto our Next Adventure

First off, just wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support that we received after my last blog. We're seriously blessed beyond words to have such amazing people in our lives that support us and believe in the journey we are on. My heart is so overwhelmed with joy when I look back and see how God's Hand has been over every aspect of this journey so far. Even the times when we experienced fear or disappointment, we have been surrounded by so many people that love and pour encouragement into us and it has kept us going. To look back and see God's provision and promises fulfilled over us is just such a sweet reminder to me that He also goes ahead of us in this next chapter of our lives to prepare the way.

Time has caught up on us so fast and we will be heading out on our next journey in just a couple of days. We have been enjoying every minute of being home as we transition into this next chapter. Many days have been spent with friends and family and at one of our favorite places in the world, the beach! Daniel has been working hard everyday for baseball still, staying in shape, hitting & running on the field. The picture I attached was at a recent Angels game we attended a couple weeks ago. Being there & seeing some of the guys on that field that Daniel has played against at different points throughout his career, really solidified the drive in Daniel to be out there one day. And I still believe he will be. I'm so proud of him. So many guys would have given up a long time ago after everything he's been through, but like I've said a million times before, I am married to a fighter. His perseverance is such an inspiration to me.

We will be driving out to Lincoln, Nebraska this Wednesday. Daniel will be starting this season with the Lincoln Saltdogs (www.saltdogs.com). We are excited to be apart of this team, meet new people and see new places. Of course, like in any baseball situation, you worry about getting too comfortable because you never know if you'll get picked up or moved. The feedback we have been getting from Daniel's agent is that there has been a lot of interest from different teams, but because of Daniel's injuries and a shoulder injury he experienced last season (which he is 100% from now), teams are just being cautious and want to see him playing healthy before pulling any trigger on a contract. So still kinda taking things day by day once we get there, but definitely want to go all in for this team. I want to be sure to not hold back in relationships out there because of fear not being there long. So please pray for our time there and that we would cease this opportunity. Who knows, we could very well be there all season. And if that is the case, we will be okay with that. We just want to be a light and vessel of love and hope wherever we go.

So thank you for the continued prayers over us! Will keep you posted as we take on this next adventure head on! Love you all!

Spring Training and New Beginnings

Well here I am again, we are alive despite my lack of posting the past couple months. I'll save you from the typical "catch up" (since I'm so behind anyways) and share our most recent chain of events.

Spring training, as always, came and went so fast. This year, minor leaguers didn't have to report until March 8th and there was only about 3 weeks of camp, so it was a short one. In that short amount of time though, Daniel absolutely crushed the ball! He hit well over .400 with 2 Homeruns, 5 Doubles, 1 Triple, he was stealing bases, dropping bunts, having fun & looked amazing! He had worked so hard this offseason and it absolutely blessed my heart to see him out there healthy and having fun.

We knew going into camp this year that Daniel would have to compete. Through trades and signings, the Mariners had completely packed out their outfield situation. We knew Daniel would have a possible disadvantage since he only played 25 games last season due to injuries. Despite that, the Lord had been preparing our hearts and filling us with so much peace even as we drove out to Arizona for Spring Training. This year as we left California and started making our way out there, we both shared on the drive that we felt a strong peace with everything and about baseball. There were years when we would make that same drive and secretly be full of anxiety or fear of the unknown. Through everything we've been through so far in this game (injuries, setbacks, etc), I've really seen how God has shaped our hearts and completely changed our vision towards this game. It has not been the easy road whatsoever, but we have most definitely been humbled, seen God glorified and have learned so much. 

As camp neared the very end, the Low A & High A teams had already left and the AA & AAA teams stayed in AZ a couple extra days to get some intersquad games in. We were told that the AA team (Jackson Generals) was set to go and that they would be breaking camp with 7 outfielders! Yes, seven! An outfield only consists of Left Field, Center Field and Right Field in which you would need 3 players for and usually a fourth as a backup. So when we heard they were trying to start a team with 7, we knew that was unheard of. We also knew this would mean not much playing time as well once the season started. The very last day of camp, before the team ships off, Daniel got to the field and was approached by one of the coaches. Daniel said as soon as he saw him, he knew what he was going to say. As much as we never thought this day would actually come, Daniel was released from the Seattle Mariners.

I used to envision what this day would be like at times throughout Daniel's career. I imagined a sobfest with lots of crying and feeling super upset. The funny thing is, when Daniel called me to tell me, I still had a complete peace. Of course we had mixed emotions here and there, but God's presence was undeniable. This peace we felt isn't in a way that we feel we are done with baseball. Not at all. Baseball is still very much in our hearts and the calling we have in this game has only been confirmed over and over again. The peace we felt is because we KNOW this just means there's something better out there. To be honest, we both feel very excited. We do see how being released can most definitely be a blessing in disguise and the best thing for Daniel's career. If he would have stayed with the Mariners, there would have been so much competition for playing time that it could have been hard for Daniel to get as many at bats that he needs at this point in his career. The Mariners have been good to us and we will cherish the memories we made with them. We are excited for what's next though and are resting confident that "ALL things work together for good to those called according to God's purpose". 

I KNOW my husband's talent is there and I still totally believe in my heart that Daniel can/will play in the big leagues one day. But that's not our ultimate goal in all of this anymore, our ultimate goal is to glorify God wherever He has us. I am married to such a fighter. He has been knocked down in this game more times then anyone I know, but his motivation to keep going has remained strong and his faith even stronger. I believe in him and will stand by him as he follows his dream (what has now become "our" dream) until the day he says "he is done". I am so excited for whatever God has in store for us next. His agent has been getting a lot of great feedback from different affiliated (associated with MLB) teams that sound interested in Daniel but are just waiting for a spot to open. He's also had about 11 Independent Ball (Professional but not associated with MLB) teams call wanting Daniel to be their everyday leadoff center fielder. I believe Daniel is a diamond in the rough and that his time to shine is coming soon.

Right now, Daniel is signed to play Independent Ball with the Lincoln SaltDogs in Nebraska starting in May. If he was to get picked up by an affiliated team anytime before then, he is still able to sign with them. He can also be picked up anytime by an affiliated team during the Independent Ball season. No  matter what happens though, we are still thankful for the opportunity to be apart of this game and desire to be used and be an impact wherever God has us this season. Thank you to all that have stood by Daniel & continue to believe in him and support us. We are so thankful to have such an amazing support group and prayer warriors behind us. Do know, we are doing so good and are truly excited for this next chapter :) Continued prayers are appreciated and I promise to keep you posted through this blog on whatever happens next.

Happy 2013!

Here I am, sitting in a Starbuck parking lot picking up on their Wi-fi on this very unusually cold California day. Daniel is doing a baseball lesson and being that there hasn't be a whole ton of downtime for us lately, I figured I should take advantage of this moment to write a blog. Problem was, it's been so long since doing so, that it took me about 10 attempts to remember my password to login before even getting to this point. I almost gave up to hold off for "another day", but realizing I haven't blogged in over 3 months escalated my desire to get on here and update.

So, obviously, I figured out my password and here I am. I'm not quite sure how it happens, but our off-seasons some how always seem to keep us more busy then the actual baseball season. Like I always say , this off season has literally flown by & I'm still getting over the shock that we're already celebrating a new year.

Not quite sure where to begin in summarizing 3 months worth of life, but I'll start by saying that the Lord is good, ALWAYS! Looking back on 2012, our year was filled with multiple trials, but there were also a ton of small victories as well. 2012 may not have been all we had hoped for as far as in baseball, but boy, did the Lord go above and beyond in so many ways! We, once again, were able experience the love & grace of our King. We experienced a supernatural peace when things didn't make sense. We established lasting friendships and I can say with my whole heart that I feel beyond BLESSED & it is all from God!

We have been enjoying every moment with family and friends. Daniel has been working very hard training and preparing himself for the upcoming baseball season. He is totally healthy right now and we are praying for a healthy year ahead. He has been giving baseball lessons to local kids and coaching as well. We recently were blessed to be apart of an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) camp and we're so blown away by these little young men desiring to know God more through the game of baseball. It was definitely an honor to be apart of something so impacting.

As for me, I've actually been keeping very busy with a bracelet business I started back up in August while Daniel was rehabbing. The idea came up one day when Daniel came back from the baseball field wanting me to make him a paracord survival bracelet that he saw. I researched how to make them, ordered some paracord and got started. Once I made one for him, he started to get asked by other team mates if I could make them bracelets as well. I ordered the products and that started taking off over there to the point where I even opened my own Etsy shop. (www.etsy.com/shop/chelseacarrolldesign). Obviously, I didn't come up with the concept and these braids have been used by the military for years. Seeing that these types of bracelets are mainly targeted to men, I started to rack my mind on ways that I can expand to woman. It led me thinking of "Paracord Charm Bracelets". They've been a hit so far and I've been getting a ton a great feedback on them. So I'm extremely grateful for this and also that it can be something I can take with me as I travel with Daniel.

To sum up some of favorite experiences in the past 3 months, I'll have to start with PAO. I know i've blogged about these conferences in the past, but we were again so blessed to be able to attend this year's conference. This year was especially special to me because it was our first time getting to see our dear friends, the Startups, in over a year. If you've kept up with my blogs or facebook statuses, then you know that they are the ones who experienced their sweet little boy's heart stopping this past summer. Well, by the glory of God, I can say little Copeland is alive, well and flourishing! We got to hug this sweet boy at PAO and my heart was absolutely overflowed with joy! Another highlight of that trip was getting to join in bended knee with mighty prayer warriors around the bedside of Copeland one night. It was such a powerful time of prayer and surrender that no words can sum it up. But it was definitely a moment I will forever cherish in my heart. The speakers at this conferences we're amazing and Daniel and I were once again poured into and are so excited for what God has ahead.

There is still alot to catch up on, but Daniel is almost out and I need to head back over to pick him up. I will be posting more soon though. Thanks to all who have supported us in prayer and words this past year.

(Copeland, Will (Copeland's Daddy) and Daniel building sand castles)

(Daniel and I- PA0 2012-Key Biscayne, FL)