The part I will miss....

Spring Training is almost over. Leaving Florida will be strange.

There will be parts I will miss.

I have complained about Florida for sometime now but didn't realize how good I had it.

I am not talking about being a minority in a rude at times(lots of times)city.

I am not talking about the blistering hot and humid summers.

I am not talking about the 5 mile/30 minute drives in traffic.

I am not talking about the 10 fans at the stadium either.

I am talking about the relationships that changed my life.

I am talking about the family away from home.

I am talking about 9 inning Bible studies.

I am talking about knowing everyone's name.

Josh was drafted in 2000 by the Florida Marlins. It is very, very strange not to be traded. Josh was with the Marlin organization for 8 years. We have been married for 6 of those. Over the years I have developed some amazing friendships. Some of these have been traded away but they will forever leave a footprint in the journey we have taken.

In '06 several of us were all pregnant together. In '07 we had our babies together. They all watched opening day together.

We also all lived in the same condo together. When the guys were on the road we would cook breakfast and supper for each other. Summer lived one floor right below us. We spent many days letting our boys play together.

These kiddos spent every single day together. This means the Mommies spent every night together as well. They become your family. We know no one else and our families are hundreds of miles away. You really depend on these girls, especially when the men are on the road.

Our wonderful nannies were especially helpful! They were lifesavers and such wonderful women. I developed relationships with these ladies and they loved Rhett.

And I will not miss the bad haircuts from the Spanish-speaking hair "Stylists"!

I will never forget when I called Summer late one night because Rhett had been sick and was having an allergic reaction to Penicillin. Josh was gone for 10 days and Rhett was sick the ENTIRE time! His ENTIRE body was covered within an hour of taking his amoxcillin.

Then, when the guys played on the west coast, Vanessa called me at midnight telling me to get to the hospital she was having an emergency c-section and I was her "Mike". After I dragged Rhetts pack N play(with him sleeping in it) down the hall,up the elevator and to another wife's condo, I quickly left. An hour later tiny twin girls were born. What a night! I will remember that one forever!

Rhett and Hudson are forever friends! They are 3 days apart in age. Rhett loves Hudson so much and asks about him every single day.

We did manage a couple of trips to Jupiter. One, was when baby Haven (Hudson's new sister) was born. The other day was just a day off planned to hang out one last time for spring.

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!

I will miss my friends so much! Some friendships were just beginning(Meghan and Jenn) and some we had been friends for years(Summer). I will miss so much about these girls and what they will always mean to me. God has blessed us tremendously over the years. I truly thank God for these women that played a huge and vital part to my life. I believe with all my heart that God sends people into your life because he knows exactly what you need at exactly the right time.

I will miss our Bible studies and what they meant to me. I thank God for Wendy(chaplains wife) and all the wonderful studies she challenged us to. I thank God for her friendship. She helped me grow more than she will ever know! I also thank God for Wendy's ability to be a Godly wife to Chris and mother of 4 beautiful boys! I only hope I can be half the example she is to her boys! They(Wendy and Chris) are a perfect example of the impact you can have on your kids lives. They are an example of how children can be like Jesus even at a young age.

Thanks for sweet little Hudson, he is Rhett's first best friend!

My wives friends: Summer, Meghan, Lauren, Heidi, Meredith, Jenn Mac, Jenn Brown, Lindsay, Tonya, Vanessa, Erin, Natalee, Jane, Wendy, Stephanie, Katie,Tatum, Tara....I know I am leaving out a host of girls from the past couple of years...None the less all important!

And thanks to anyone involved with the Marlins. Thanks:

Parking lot guys and gals

The attendant that gave me my tickets at every game.

The security guards in the tunnel guarding the locker room, opening the doors for our hubbys and the ones opening the doors for us.

Worth- one of the sweetest men ever- always smiling

David the usher

The nannies

The man in the scorching non-ac elevator

Boomer- for scheduling all of the road trips

Wendy and Chris Lane

ALL of the fans that chanted "What time is it? HAMMERTIME!"

Doug the super fan- for standing in parking lot with a thumbs up after every game greeting every player!

Larry Keller- the scout that drafted Josh.

The list could go on and on and on!

Maybe this blog will let you guys at home understand a little bit about how it is for me 8 months out of the year MINUS the baseball part and how important ALL relationships are. You all know, I couldn't do it without your support and prayers either!

Pictures of the new house....so far

These pictures are in no particular order. I have a lot of decorating to do and still getting more furniture and all of the window treatments. I didn't put pictures of all the rooms because they aren't finished. Also, the outside is still a work in progress...Will Lambert is working on the Landscaping. We are also trying to decide pool or no pool. I would love to hear what you think!

Playroom with window to exercise room

Exercise room with window looking into playroom.

The colors are a lot darker than they appear...this room is a burnt orange.

Future nostalgic bedroom...Grandparents first br suite

Kitchenette

Big theatre area

Man Cave

Shower

Master Bath Ceiling

Master Bedroom

Kitchen
The cabinet finish is very old looking and crackled

Powder bath

Rhett's Bathroom

Rhett's room....My sis is painting a canvas for above the bed

Study but not close to being finished

Great room. The opening to the kitchen will have a glass window in it that opens and closes .

Powder bath

foyer

Foyer ceiling

Dining room ceiling

Mantel hasn't been painted yet and still lack lots of decor.

Stair case

Rhett meets Mickey and the Gang!

Don't you just love our picture in front of Cinderella's castle? OH, I mean the cluster of balloons!

It all started Saturday on our way to eat, "Are we going to eat with Mickey Mouse Mommy?".

Of course he had overheard me calling to make reservations then sharing with Josh the plan.

We went to Wal-mart where he saw a Mickey Mouse toy and said, "Is this Mickey's house?"

Sunday night...all he could say was "I so cited! I so cited! I can't wait!"

Monday morning the alarm goes off and the first thing he says is, "We going to eat breakfast with MICKEY MOUSE, YEA!!" After a couple of weeks of work Josh had an off-day!

This was his "excited face" at 6:30 A.M.
So we drove 1 hour and 30 minutes to Disney. We arrived at the Contemporary Resort, where Chef Mickey's is located.

We had an average tasting breakfast buffet but was all worth it to see the look on Rhett's face seeing some of his favorite characters. I also enjoyed some of Josh's faces! This one just cracks me up!

Rhett's eyes were as big as Mickey's when he first laid eyes on him! He loved him and gave him a big kiss and hug! I love this picture so much!



So Rhett says, "Who else comin to see me, Daddy?" (they came one at a time)

So here came sweet Minnie. She loved on Rhett. He gave her a big kiss on the nose.



Then he didn't want to leave Mommy out so he leaned in to kiss me too!


"Who else comin to see me, Daddy?"

Here came Goofy! Rhett was a little confused about his outfit though.

"Who else comin see me, Daddy?"

Then Pluto and Donald came out. Donald just didn't look like I thought he should....he was sort of shorter than I thought. He always seemed tall and thin to me. Oh well. It was still very cool!

Then we hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Rhett was so funny. He thought it was much fun. He told the doors when to open and close. He had no idea where we were going.

So we started out on Disney Railroad. Then on to Toon Town. Rhett rode his first real roller coaster, the Barn Stormer. He CRIED.....not because he was scared but because he didn't want to get off. No line so we went again. They gave him a certificate for his first roller coaster ride.

I also would like to share my love for "Fast Passes". I just wonder why the rest of people stand in line for 45 minutes when all they have to do is grab a fast pass, come back when it says, then stand in line 5 minutes, all while you ride other rides in the meantime!

"It's a Small World"


Rhett took a 45 minute nap while Josh went on Splash Mountain. Then we met back up and had icecream before the parade.

Rhett loved the Parade and waved at everyone and asked again over and over, "who else comin to see me?"

I didn't take many pictures because I was saving battery for the rest of the parade that never came. I was so disappointed. If any of you remember the Dream come true parade, it was so long with EVERYONE in it. This years "Celebrate Today" parade (bad economy parade) was so short and lacked everything I loved so much! I was so pumped and telling Josh how this was the best part of the day. Maybe next year there won't be cut outs. I also missed Woody's Roundup parade which also may be part of a cut back. hmmm....even Disney is affected?

This face was priceless as he was on Peter Pan's Flight. Thinking he was seeing Captain Hook standing in the mouth of an alligator!

This was Aladin's Carpet Ride. The rest of the day he called it the "Carousel that went up and down."

After the parade we decided to go over to Hollywood Studios. We met up with High School friend, Paige Stevenson.( Her office is over there)

We went to the Playhouse Disney show. Rhett got to see Mickey Mouse clubhouse and Handy Manny performed!

Then Paige was so sweet and volunteered to keep Rhett while I(reluctantly) and Josh went on Tower of Terror, (I made nail marks in Josh and was terrified) and also on Rockin Roller coaster!

That was so much fun!!! I loved it and wanted more, but it was time to go back to MK for the fireworks!

Yes, this is us on the back row. Going ZERO to 60 in 2 Seconds!!!!!!

Here is little man all exhausted watching the Fireworks show, which was shorter this year too!

He had had enough...Mickey, Fireworks, Corn Nuggets.....then he was OUT!!

One thing I didn't do this time was the Carousel of Progress. This is one of my very favorites but just didn't get the chance.

It was a great day! I love Disney. I love how it makes even an adult like me have tears in their eyes seeing all of the wonderful things. I mostly teared up watching Rhett be so happy! We had so much fun and want to go back again this month before we head back up to DC for the season.

I am catching a flight tonight and heading to Florence for a week. My next post will be of the new house.