"Baseball is in the air"

Well.... Here we go again, It's Baseball Season 2012! 


This is Daniel's 6th season as a professional baseball player and my 5th season as a professional packer. I honestly feel like I could get paid to pack for people. I now know how to minimize living essentials for 6 months of the year to a few suitcases, that's a master art! And one I am quite proud of.
         
We are now in Arizona and have been so blessed to have been able to live with the sweet host family we lived with last Spring Training. The setup is great and we are less then a mile from Daniel's stadium. 
         
Yesterday was the annual Spring Training Ladies Luncheon put on by Baseball Chapel and PAO. This was my 4th time attending and it is always such a blessing! I was able to catch up with some sweet friends and meet more incredible ladies who live this crazy life too. It's always so nice to get encouraged and have a support system in these women. I am so excited for all God has in store this season-to Him be ALL the glory!

Trusting in the Lord

Completely, 100%, whole heartily trusting in the Lord is something I find myself struggling with at times. Especially when it comes to baseball. This time of the year (Spring Training time) I often find myself getting caught up in the "worries" and "unknowns" this lifestyle can bring. Although we have been told Daniel will most likely start this season in Jackson, TN (AA), I still say nothing is for sure in baseball until you are there. And then once we are there (wherever there may be) comes the "where will we live"..."do we bring our car"..."how long will be there"...the list can be endless. That is where TRUST needs to come in. The Lord has proven to me over and over again that He is our constant Provider. He has never failed us yet! 

Yet, I still find myself lacking trust in my King of Kings! Why? Jeremiah says "Blessed" is the one whose trust and confidence is in Christ! I believe my lack of trust has to do with my desire to want to be in 'control'. The Lord has been showing me that in order to fully trust Him, I need to surrender my will, my desires and my future into His Hands.

In Genesis, God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. Yet, it took almost 24 years for that promise to be fulfilled. In the mean time, they took matters into their own hands in order to speed up the 'waiting process' instead of completely trusting that God would fulfill His promise to them in His timing. I often find myself doing the same thing, trying to take control and make things happen in "my timing".

My prayer is that in every insecurity and instability this baseball life may throw our way, that I would be grounded in the complete confidence that God is our provider and sustainer. By not trusting Him, I am trying to retain control of my situation. Today I am reminded to "Let Go and Let God". I KNOW His timing is better then our own in ALL things and that He will provide for our EVERY need (Matt 6:26).

Isaiah 40:31

"But those who TRUST in the Lord will find new strength. 

They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. 

They will walk and not faint."

New Addition to the Family :)

There is a new addition to our family.....

No, it's not a baby.

We have a new sister-in-law!

Daniel's brother, Ryan, married his sweet bride Carisa earlier this month on February 4th. They had a beautiful wedding! Daniel was the best man and I was a bridesmaid. We were both honored to be apart of their special day. It kept us very busy after getting home from winter ball, so it was also so nice for all the anticipation and planning to finally come to a close as well. Everything turned out perfect and we are so excited for them as they begin the journey God has for them as husband and wife.

Ryan has also been blessed with a beautiful singing voice and surprised Carisa by singing the song "Changed By You" by Between the Trees to her at their wedding. Check it out :) 

Catch Up: Puerto Rico PT.2 & Dominican Republic

Daniel's been going to this amazing hitting coach that people in baseball refer to as "The Wizard". He's known to be one of the best guys in the business. His hitting facility is a hour and 45 minutes away from our home, but we feel the drive is worth it. So along with the title of "baseball wife" also comes the title of "carpool buddy" for days like these.  It worked out though because while Daniel is hitting, I'm currently sitting at a Starbucks with some motivation to write a blog.


So seeing that I haven't blogged in months and there's been so much that's happened since, I am once again going to try to play catch up.


Here it goes,

We are already down to our annual Spring Training Countdown. Todays count: 11 days until we head out to Arizona. Where has the time gone? Seeing that my last blog talked about being in Puerto Rico. Looks like there's LOTS of catching up to do. Because the fact that this a "catch up" blog and I don't want to bore you with countless stories, I'm going to try to summarize it up as short as possible, bare with me though, I tend to ramble :)

Puerto Rico was absolutely AMAZING and beyond our expectations. We were there for a total of 5 weeks and enjoyed every minute of it! Daniel's parents, Grandma, aunt and uncle came out to visit for a week, which was so much fun for us. While our family was out, we planned a day to take the ferry to Culebra Island, which was named to have the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world (how could we not go?). Well....running on "Carroll" time, we were of course late and ended up missing the ferry! We we're so bummed when we walked, no ran, up to the dock only to see the ferry floating away. It was a scene straight out of a movie. The disappointment we felt was as if our loved one was sailing away in that very moment. Within minutes, like in all great movies, someone came to the rescue! A cute little 4 foot Puerto Rican woman offered to take us to the nearby airport in hopes to catch a flight to the island. We we're hesitant at first because the price of the ferry compared to the flight ($2 vs $40 per person) seemed like a lot, but Daniel's dad was quick to say "Let's do it, we're on vacation"! We weren't going to argue that and before we knew it we we're buckling our seat belts and heading the the airport. The plane we rode on was a 9 passenger plane and we were told we would be there in 15 minutes. We all said a silent prayer as the pilot started the engine and we were off! Although we had a bumpy landing (as in our life flashed before our eyes kinda bumpy) we made it there safe! Remind you, Daniel's 83 year old Grandma was on the flight! She was such a trooper! She still says that airplane ride was her favorite part of the trip! Funny thing too, while we we're flying we could see the ferry below us and we even ended up beating the ferry there! It was beyond gorgeous and completely worth every life fearing moment. The water was crystal blue and it was everything and more then we had imagined.

During our time in Puerto Rico, Daniel and I got to hike the El Yunque Rainforest, which was one of my favorite things. The trail we took ended up at a waterfall at the end and of course, Daniel didn't hesitate to jump it. We also got to explore the San Juan Forts and were able to learn and appreciate the history of Puerto Rico. It was incredible and beyond our expectations, we were really blessed.

In baseball though, things happen quick. We received a phone call on December 5th asking if Daniel would now play for a team in the Dominican Republic for 3 weeks while they were in a playoff race. Although we were enjoying Puerto Rico, we felt this was another opportunity he couldn't refuse. So we were off on a plane within 24 hours waving goodbye to Puerto Rico and saying hello to the Dominican Republic. The DR was a different experience for us, but one I am also thankful for. It took me out of my comfort zone and opened my eyes to how truly blessed and "rich" we are here in America. We were in San Francisco, DR- which is one of the poorest and most crime ridden areas in the country. We were pretty much confined to the hotel and ballpark. I ended up getting food poisoning twice. My stomach did not sit well with the food there. We also were greeted by a frog in our shower and there was a shoot out in our hotel parking lot at 4:30 am one night (that's another story). We definitely made lots of memories there.


Daniel would leave around 3 everyday for the field and I would be picked up at 7:00 for the game and ride with other young players from the Dominican that were in a baseball academy near by. Daniel's Spanish is pretty strong and could get us by. Me, on the other hand, I know only a little. Fortunately, there was a 15 year old Dominican player from the academy who spoke fluent English because his mom worked at a resort, so he was so nice to help interpret for me if needed. 

Baseball wise, while in the Dominican Republic, on the last game of the regular season, Daniel got a base hit and scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning allowing his team to clinch a spot in the playoffs. It was really exciting! If Daniel had continued playing in Puerto Rico, then we would not have been able to return home to California until early January, but because he was playing in the Dominican, we were able to be home by Christmas! It was so nice! Daniel's parents didn't think we would be home until January so we were able to surprise them when we returned home December 22nd! 

It was a sweet reunion to be back home with our families. And of course, I couldn't wait to be reunited with an In-N-Out hamburger! You bet I enjoyed that! I'm so thankful for opportunities and experiences like these. Looking forward to making more memories this upcoming season and blogging along the way.

At the El Yunque Rainforest

Our incredible view from our balcony

View #2 from outside of our balcony

Roberto Clemente Stadium in Puerto Rico (Daniel's home team)

At the San Juan Fort

Our plane to Culebra Island

View from our flight to Culebra Island

Daniel and his Abuelita at Culebra Island

Daniel playing for the Gigantes in the Dominican Republic

A picture from the Dominican Republic

Puerto Rico-Part 1

We we're so excited to be back together again! I had butterflies as I waited to see my husband again. It's really true that distance makes the heart grow fonder.

After landing in Puerto Rico, the team put us up in a beautiful hotel for 3 nights while we looked for a place to live. We ended up getting in contact with a few different real estate agents out here that had some listings for monthly rentals. After scoping out some options, we found a beautiful ocean view condo that was within our price budget that we fell in love with. The view was absolutely breath-taking and waking up to that in the mornings felt so unreal. It was completely furnished, so we didn't have to worry about that. But having gone to school for interior design, I couldn't help but add some little personal touches here and there to make it feel more 'homey' to us. Just the 'little' stuff added some comfort, got some good deals on throw pillows, candles and a rug. Also re-arranged the furniture a little, but doing that and adding the little things is all I needed to make it feel a little more like 'home'. It was perfect.

We also bought an authentic Puerto Rican hammock and hung it up on our balcony. LOVED it! The Lord provided for us in every way and even went beyond our expectations. We got a great deal on a rental car and everything was falling into place.

The team Daniel played for, the Gigantes De Carolina had a great group of guys and Daniel really found favor in the coaches eyes. Although the other girlfriends and wives at the game mostly spoke Spanish, they we're so sweet to make me feel included and comfortable. Note to self though, I really need to learn Spanish.

We also made great friends with another American couple on Daniel's team. There was a pitcher from the Mets organization, his wife and their 2 year old daughter on the team that we instantly connected with and built an instant friendship with. We feel so blessed to have met them and look forward to continuing a friendship with them. I love how baseball allows us to meet so many different people from all different parts of the country.

Off-Season catch up-Part 2: Venezuela

After about 5 weeks had passed, Daniel got a call from the winter ball team in Venezuela asking if he would be available to play with them before Puerto Rico. Daniel was hesitant because he didn't want to come back too soon from the injury, but was told that it wasn't a for sure thing, that they would only need him as a backup in case two other players couldn't make it. Daniel's leg was already feeling a lot better at this point, so after praying it about and feeling that the Lord must have opened this opportunity for a reason, he agreed to go if they needed him.

Sure enough, they did end up needing him. Daniel and I drove out to Arizona so he could get some at bats in there before leaving for VZ. He flew out from AZ and I headed back home to Cali for 3 weeks til we would meet again in Puerto Rico.

During Daniel's first game in VZ, he had a little setback on his leg and would only end up playing in one game out there. They had him stay in VZ to get the proper treatment and rehab on his leg and it turned out being a really good thing. Although, it was tough for us to be apart, the Lord really opened doors for Daniel to share his faith with guys on the team. To us, that's what this whole 'baseball' thing is really about in the end.... we want to make an impact on peoples life in a way bigger then just baseball. He was also able to get the best treatment possible on his leg, which we feel really helped the healing process. Praise God!

By the end of the 3 weeks in VZ, Daniel's leg was feeling better then ever and we met up in Puerto Rico on the 31st of October :)

Off-Season Catch up- Part 1: Bummer in Bakersfield

WOW! There is sooo much to catch up on! Again...which is why I am the worst blogger possible! But I will try to do my best to update all that's been happening the past few months.

Starting with the end of the baseball season..

I feel like the season came and went this past year. We had so much fun being close to home and having the support of friends and family at the games. Daniel had a very productive year baseball wise (all Glory to God) and it opened up opportunities for winter ball this off season.

We had found out about the opportunity to play in winter ball in Puerto Rico a couple weeks before the season ended. Daniel's hitting coach for the Mavericks, Tommy Cruz, helps coach the team in Puerto Rico and put in a good word for Daniel with the GM there and after getting the approval of the Mariners, we we're really excited for the opportunity for Daniel to play there.

The last series of the season was a road trip to Bakersfield, CA. Going into that last series, Daniel was hitting .302 at the time and was told he would just finish the season off at that point instead of playing in those last games so that he could finish above .300. We were content and satisfied with that because Daniel had already played a lot of games, so we thought it was a good chance to start getting some rest before winter ball.

Well when we got to Bakersfield, they decided to play him. Daniel ended up going 0 for 4 that night, bringing his average to .299. Which is still a great average, but being only a .01 point away, he played the next day hoping to bring it back up to .300 with one hit. But in his first at bat, he ended up getting a minor pull in his hip flexer/quad area as he was running out a ground ball. It was a tough and disappointing way to finish the season, but we had to keep things in perspective and be thankful for the year he did have.

At that point, we weren't sure if Puerto Rico would fall through after all because of the injury. But with winter ball still 7 weeks away, the trainer believed Daniel would be fine and ready to go before the winter ball season started. We knew God was in control, so we we're just going to rest and play it by ear the next few weeks and see how Daniel felt.