Day Fourteen Hundred and Eighty-Nine

The Pampered Mommy

This Mama and her four friends spent FOUR relaxing, wonderful, soothing hours at the spa yesterday. Yes, four. FOUR! A massage, a facial, and a pedicure...exactly what I needed after seven straight months of baby duty. 

Over the course of Amelia's entire life, I've left her maybe three times - never for longer than 45 minutes because she drinks exclusively from the source and won't take a bottle! But yesterday, I bit the bullet and decided a spa day was exactly what I needed after a long season of raising Amelia - a lot of the time - by myself. And so, I fed her, pumped a little, and left for the lodge. Balling. My emotions were all over the place, and though I showed up to the spa in tears - having produced only a very small amount of milk to leave for Amelia - it was everything I needed. And would you imagine that...Amelia AND Adam both survived. Actually, they thrived! The report was that Amelia only cried for a couple minutes and otherwise napped on Daddy and explored the woods. A success story all around! 

My two survivors <3

All relaxed and pampered, it was time for dinner and photos!

The Lord has blessed me with such incredible friends. I am so grateful.

Thank you for always being there for me. And for helping me grow as a mommy, as a friend, and as a sister in Christ. I love you girls.

And I love your babies too!

What a bunch of cuties, right?!

<3

...when in Georgia...

;)

We're thoroughly enjoying our time in the mountains!

And especially after a surprise belated birthday celebration!

Day Thirteen Hundred and Eighty-Four

The Best Babes

Our dreamy little Florida babes, all together at last!

They were so sweet to let us set them up and snap pictures of their cute diaper butts.

Best, most perfect photography babies ever!!!

...errrrr. 

Last statement: retracted. Ha!

Amelia and her suitors were actually quite upset with our pathetic attempt at getting a decent photo of them. Our ohhhhhhs and squeals and smiles and snaps only made them angrier. But jokes on you, babes because we got one!

And we got one of the bunch of us too!

Love these friends and are so glad to be back in Florida...even though we're missing Daddy!

Day One Thousand Two Hundred and Thirty-Six

"The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship"

                                                                                          -Sir Francis Bacon

It was around three years ago when I sobbed to a small group of women here in South Florida about needing some girlfriends. Pathetic? Maybe. Desperate? Sure. Lonely? You bet. Moving cross country was life-changing for us - certainly for the better - but after some time, we needed friends. And that's when Channing responded to my cries. Praise God. She became my second friend here in Jupiter and since then, our Florida family has grown exponentially. But sadly, as of tomorrow, it's shrinking by one. My second friend is moving to Atlanta with her husband and baby boy in pursuit of new dreams, new callings, and new journeys. I'll miss Channing dearly, as she's become like family to me. And the same sentiment goes for the rest of these ladies. We love you. We appreciate you. And we're grateful always for your friendship and kind heart. 

Thank you for taking me in, calling me friend, and loving me unconditionally. I pray that as you move on to new places, you find women who will pull you into their circles and love on you just like you did for me, giving you the support, respect, and friendship that you so deserve. Good luck, sweet girl. We'll sure miss you.

Day Nine Hundred and Ninety-Six

The Difference of a Day

On the day I met Channing, I cried. 

On the day I met Colton, I smiled.

They were very different meetings, but both have shaped my life into something more beautiful than I could've asked. To my "old" friend and to my "new" friend: I love you! Thanks for hanging with me yesterday. Your friendships are such a sweet blessing!

Day Nine Hundred and Twenty-Six

The New Arrival

 Our days are getting busier and busier by the minute. Yesterday was no exception...and though it was hectic, it was so much fun! I started the morning off celebrating the pregnancy of one of my girlfriends with a bunch of other girls at a surprise baby brunch shower!

Then, it was time for Adam's last start of Spring Training 2014. His results were good: he went 4 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, and 2 strikeouts...all in 69 pitches. He faced some very good bats with success, however, he did walk away a little frustrated in his process and pitch selection. It's part of the game, and yesterday, though he faced some struggle, he found a way to persevere, and sometimes, that's all you can ask for.

After his start, he signed some stuff...

Ran some sprints...

Endured a storm...

And finally he and I both got to meet our new best friend!

Say hello to little COLTON!!!!!!!!!!

He knew we were desperately wanting to meet him before leaving for season, so, he did us both a favor and decided to make his debut on March 24th...10 days early!! Here he is, just one day old! Mommy Channing, Daddy Andrew, and sweet Colton are all doing wonderful. Baby boy was born 7 lbs and 19 3/4 inches long and as happy as ever! We couldn't be more excited for this new little life and this newly improved family! Congratulations friends!

Day Nine Hundred and Twenty-Four

The Last Lunch

We're doing a lot of packing...

And a lot of goodbye saying.

This part is always the hardest. Even though it's only see ya later, it still stinks having to leave those who we've come to love as family. Thank you - every single on of you - for radically impacting our lives with your friendship, encouragement, kindness, and love. We'll miss you all SO MUCH. 

___________________

Adam still throws tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1PM.

Day Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two

The Bridge to Colton

Channing is due on April 3rd. 

For her, and everyone else, that's great.

For me, that's terrible (because we're moving on the 30th…which means I wouldn't get to meet him!)!

So, since Baby Colton could come at any time now…and since he's getting bigger and bigger by the day, we collectively (ok, it was actually just Channing's choice, but I tried my best to influence her decision) decided to get the ball rolling. We laced up our shoes, grabbed some water, and headed out on a two-mile hike over a bridge and back. Then, we (Lara and I) fed her spicy chicken. Hopefully our efforts weren't in vain. Colton COME OUT!! I really want to kiss your face! Please and thank you! :)

Day Nine Hundred and Twenty-One

The Spring's First Start and the Spring's First Goodbye

Adam had his first start in minor league camp yesterday. When they sent him down on Monday, they told him that he'd continue his position as a starting pitcher, even though he'd been out of the pen all camp. They gave him some great feedback, and now that he knows his job, he's ready to get his pitch count up! When season opens in the beginning of April, they'll probably want him throwing somewhere around 5 innings. But since Adam's arm isn't conditioned for that many pitches right now (because he's been throwing only one inning every appearance), he threw just three innings yesterday. In 38 pitches, he walked one hitter, struck out 5, and didn't give up a hit. Great work Adam!!

A Cougar reunion!

The Marlins played the Mets yesterday in Port St. Lucie, and though Kyle and Adam were playing on different fields, Sue and I were able to watch both games and hang out at the same time! So perfect!! Love the Johnsons! And happy six month anniversary, friends!!

After baseball, we met our gang for dinner and said our first goodbyes.

This is the worst part. 

We'll miss you Marissa and Christian! So much.

We've treasured these past few months with you.

Between volleyball, Thanksgiving, dinner, guns, and games, this new friendship is so completely refreshing and keeps us smiling and smiling. Thank you for your sweet hearts and fun laughs. We'll see you…when we see you! ;)

And just because the girls are always giving me a hard time about taking a bunch of pictures and "never posting them," here's another photo we took of just the five of us! No boys allowed! ;) Love you pretties! Like, a lot. A lot, a lot.

Day Eight Hundred and Eighty-One

The Baby Colton Whalecome Shower

Colton is almost here!

And Mommy Channing is doing (and obviously looking) INCREDIBLE!

Channing's due on April 3rd, but selfishly - very selfishly - Adam and I are hoping Colton comes a few days early so we can meet him before we leave for season! Pretty please, Colton?! 

*GASP*

It's just chocolate, people. Geeze.

Hahaha I couldn't stop laughing when I opened these diapers! So wrong, but so disturbingly hilarious. Each diaper contained a melted - and then smeared - piece of chocolate and our job was to determine which type of chocolate was in each diaper…by most any means possible…including...

…smelling them.

Ha!

Even though the chocolate obviously tasted good, there's something about presentation that can make or break a treat. Thankfully, my cake looked a little more appetizing than the smeared diaper chocolate. Colt, this one's for you buddy! When you turn one, I'll make you another! 

Channing has such a beautiful group of loving friends who are so ready to meet Colton. That little boy is blessed with women who already love him dearly and who will help encourage and raise him to be a strong, God-fearing man. We pray for a quick and uncomplicated delivery. For health, joy, and that very special bond between mother and son.

We love you both, Channing and Colton. Daddy Andrew too!

The whole day was just one big par-tay because yesterday was also Christian's birthday!

To celebrate - the grown up way - we dined Hibachi style!

Day Eight Hundred and Fifty-Seven

The Book of Romans

By now, you know the drill.

Wednesdays are spent with this group (and some others that got cut out of the photo…oops), eating, talking, and studying God's Word. Every Wednesday feels like a family reunion to us and we seriously, seriously love every second of it.

Yesterday, we started the book of Romans. And you betcha we're pumped.

Day Eight Hundred and Four

The Gerber Baby Reveal

My Gerber friends are having a baby! 

Channing is due April 3, 2014 and on Tuesday, they had the 4-month gender reveal ultra sound. Only, they weren't revealed anything on Tuesday…instead, the results were hidden in an envelope. That envelope was taken to Party City. Party City opened the envelope and filled the box. Then on Saturday, with all their friends lined up, the Gerbers opened the secret Party City box and were just as surprised as the rest of us when they found out...

BABY GERBER IS A BOY!

Day Seven Hundred and Eighty-Two

The Birthdate

Happy birthday to our girl, Lara! We celebrated her special day at Seasons 52 - her most favorite resuraunt. 

So incredibly thankful for this group of girls. The four of them have all been friends since the early days of college, and even though they have years and years together, they've just sorta adopted me in...and it feels oh so good! 

Day Seven Hundred and Sixty-Five

The Women of Wednesday

While we were away, chasing baseball dreams in Jacksonville, a group of Jupiter ladies started meeting once a month on Wednesday for a Bible study. They call it Women, Wine, and Worship. It's just a night for the girls to get together, socialize, and dig into the Word of God. And that is something that sounded like a fun night to me! Of course, it was. But more than fun, it was just so refreshing. It's good to be home, my friends. I am forever grateful for every one of you!

Day Six Hundred and Seventy-Two

The Seventeenth Start 

Season's first. Scratch that. First ever.

In Adam's entire professional (and collegiate) career, he's never touched home in those size 13s. Yesterday, he did. And it was...well, awesome. Yeah, awesome. That's the word for it. So so awesome.

In his seventeenth start of the 2013 season, Adam also threw his very first 7-inning shutout. It was quite the day: good pitching, good hitting, and good defense...and we were a couple of happy people because of it. 

So were our visitors!

Surprise! Channing and Andrew came to visit again! And this time, they got to see Adam at his best. I think they're a couple of Family Church good luck charms!

His line for the night:

7IP, 3H, 4K and the big fat W.

After the game, he was interviewed by MiLB...here's the article:

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130714&content_id=53807960&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

John Rocker.

Former Major League closer.

Adam says, "And the epitome of intimidation and mental fortitude."

Yeah, they met yesterday. 

This would never happen in the Big Leagues. But sometimes (a very rare sometimes), Adam coaches first base. (This was during the second game of their doubleheader)

Day Six Hundred and Thirty-Two

The Gerber Surprise

YOU? HERE?! Whaaaaaaat?!!
Channing texted me last night, "Hey, where will you be in an hour? We're coming to see you." And then, there she was...her and her hubby, Andrew, in my Jacksonville condo!!! Such a welcomed surprise! On their way to Ohio (from Jupiter) with at least 12 hours left to go, they stopped to say hi before passing through. Gosh I've missed them. And my family at Family Church. Love you all :) 

Ever so tempting.
Playing with these 4 after the game last night made me want two of each. At least. Oh goodness. This must be what baby fever feels like!