Day One Thousand One Hundred and Fifty-Five

The Trip that was too Short

Dads on duty.

Life doesn't get much better than this.

Except when you're in Georgia with some of your best friends. During autumn. With a belly full of southern food. Blue Ridge, you have spoiled us more than we deserve!

Build me a house here, Adam. Cuz I ain't leaving!!

Well, as long as they stay too. I could hang out with them always.

Love you, my friends. Thank you for the loveliest of weekends in the coziest of cabins. Sometimes, being so far away from family makes my heart ache, but God has surrounded me with all of you - who've become like family to me - and for that, I am forever grateful. Until next year, my people!! Can't wait to come back!

_____________________

Last night, we left dinner (and our friends) from Mineral Bluff, GA, filled up the tank for $2.79/gallon, and drove 5 hours North to Lexington, KY…where Aunt Kim (Adam's Dad's sister) was waiting for us with a smile...

...and this!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!

And homemade?! Aunt Kim, Baby Conley Girl is kicking with more excitement than I know how to handle! An unbelievable surprise! Thank you times forever! Can't wait to pop her out and dress her up!

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 Eight Hundred and Eighty-Five

The Whimsy of Wednesday

Sondra's cozy home and whimsical dinner decorations bless us every single Wednesday. Especially during holidays. It's times sitting around this table that bring us the closest feelings of family - outside of our own - and we could never thank her and Dennis enough for opening their home to us like they do. Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

Day Eight Hundred and Sixty-Six

The Guy in the Background Makes me Laugh

Someday, Adam will get to play in the church softball league with all our friends too. Just hopefully that someday doesn't come for another oh...20 years ;) 

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 Fifty-Six

The Iron

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

                                           -Proverbs 27:17

Thank you, Bill and Donna for your leadership, wisdom, servanthood, and sacrifice. As Adam and I grow deeper in our relationships with Christ, we're humbled that He would chose to put you both in our lives to help sharpen us.

Day Eight Hundred and Nineteen

The Little White Elephant

 Merry Christmas world!!

Ok, how about, Merry early Christmas, my friends! 

Yeah, that's better.

Because of the busyness Christmas brings (and I will take this little baby millisecond upon myself to encourage everyone to SLOW DOWN and enjoy this time of year, as we remember and celebrate the birth of our KING JESUS!), our small group decided that an early White Elephant Jesus party was a good idea.  Scratch that. A GREAT idea!

Our group. The whole group. And nothing but the group. Amen! 

Well, minus Marshall, I guess. Amber and Kurt too. Darnit.

We're also missing whoever else wants to be apart of this group…and we have extra placemats!! Come, come (on the kick drum)! <---We make movie references.

And we make helicopter cats…

(Well, Adam does)

And we're thoughtful - very practical too - in our gift giving.

Proof above: Poo-Pourri…

"Spritz the bowl before you go…and no one else will ever know!"

So sweet. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Love my little Family Church family.

 ______________________

ONE MORE THING, we have super good taste in music:

http://youtu.be/qJ_MGWio-vc

Click the link!! Watch it!!!! So good.

Rum pum pum pum....la la la la...do do do do.

(I'm doing a happy dance right now)

 

Day Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seven

The 4th Annual Trunk-or-Treat

It's that time of year again. The Jupiter air is cozy. The fake pumpkin patches are busy. The costumed kids look cutsie. And the Family Church trunks have lots and lots of candy.

But this year, ours didn't.

Halloween is different for us now. And forever, it will be. Because attached to the holiday is the anniversary of my Dad's passing. 

I think one of the most horrifying and vivid memories that I carry from that time, a year ago, was walking into my dad's house on November 1st, and finding the bowl of trick-or-treat candy sitting on the table. Untouched. It was eerie and tore at my heart. My dad loved Halloween. Mostly because it was a reasonable excuse for him to buy - and then eat - all sorts of chocolate candies that maybe he wouldn't have necessarily purchased in bulk. Dad did love his treats. And to see the bowl sitting on the table like it was...like a project left unintentionally unfinished...was just hard for me to comprehend. It still is. 

So far, I've handled the approach of this date well. The reality that it's already been a year hasn't choked my words or stabbed my heart. At least not yet. And for that reason, I didn't feel comfortable pushing my emotions any more than necessary. So this year, no trunk for us...

 So instead of handing out candy from our trunk, we decided to help our church's biggest community outreach for Jesus by serving the hundreds of costumed children with freshly twirled, free cotton candy. 

And clearly, this was not Adam's idea of service. Rather, his idea of torture. I just kept reminding him - as the sugary mess flew into his eyes, melted on his arms, and crusted into his hair - that we were doing this for Jesus. That's right. I bribed him with Jesus. A good bribe, I say. A true one too! Eventually, he accepted his two-hour fate and twirled that candy like a pro. I even saw him crack a smile once or twice.

What I learned

Four things:

1) Always remember to thank your local cotton-candy slave...I mean twirler. 

2) He doesn't cut it as a scout.

3) She doesn't cut it as a player.

4) Adam should have been an architect?! 

(He made that out of cardboard in 45 minutes!)

Day Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six

The House Full of Babies

We've been around so many babies recently, and if there's one truth we've discovered, it's this: babies love Adam's face. Hey, I don't blame 'em :) I do too! Meet Trace. Our newest, cute little friend. He was born almost immediately after we left Jupiter for Jacksonville in April - a month before Bearett - and my gosh have we missed this handsome man that we'd never even met!

Trace's mommy and daddy (Jordan and Nate) hosted a fall birthday party for Nate's sister, Kelsey - all of which attend Family Church - and so we celebrated accordingly with (these) pumpkin cakes (that Jordan and Kelsey made from scratch!), pumpkin cool whip dip, pumpkin pie cupcakes, hershey and Nutter Butter acorns, leaf sugar cookies...and a chicken dinner too! Oh my yumm! It was a fun and festive night with a bunch of sweet young families...most with babies...which got me to thinking...

Ok, no it didn't ;)

What I learned:

Doctors sometimes use a plunger to pull the baby's head out of the birthing canal. Uhm? What? Yeah, that's what you'll learn from a group of new, fun moms :) For some reason, I'm even less excited for pregnancy now..

Day Seven Hundred and Seventy-Three

The Ugly Purple Cheesecake

So that purple cheesecake I completely mauled? Turns out:

1) Candles (especially trick candles) and whip cream totally fix ugly.

2) Ugly - in this case - tasted pretty darn good.

3) Dad would definitely be proud.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIKA!!

I hope we were all able to make your day a little brighter, a little sweeter, and just a little tastier. We love you and are so grateful for the friendship you give, the smiles you wear, and the laughs you bring. Happy birthday, my friend.

Day Seven Hundred and Seventy

The Little Lovers of the Lord 

Sunday is our favorite day. Especially yesterday Sunday. Because yesterday Sunday, I got to help lead 3-year-old Sunday school. Mostly, they just played a lot. 

But in between the make believe and the play believe, we talked about the real Believe. And the little tiny, enthusiastic young people learned yesterday that God can keep you safe, through the VERY watered down story of Rahab (you can't really define to a 3-year-old what a prostitute is). But God used her - just like He can use anyone - to do His will...and kept Rahab safe in the process. 

Day Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six

The Red Letters

Bible studies make some of the best nights.

We look forward to Wednesdays every week. It's a time we get to sit around the dinner table with some of our best friends and eat together. Pray together. Grow together. Laugh together. And learn more about the character and love of God together. It's such a blessing to Adam and I - something we miss dearly every time we have to say "see ya in 6 months." This photo might be plain. But there's nothing plain or simple about the unconditional love and freedom poured out in these pages. And we find every ounce of joy reflecting on that Truth - the Truth of Jesus - with our friends.

________________

"The sins that should have brought condemnation on us, God laid on Jesus. God's love planned an amazing exchange: Jesus endured what we deserved so that we might enjoy what he deserved - eternal life. And the way we come to enjoy this life is by believing in Jesus. That's what he said: 'Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life' (John 6:47)."

-John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World

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 Seven Hundred and Fifty-Five

The Big Difference a Little Makes

Yesterday, we took a little break. Ate a little pizza. Drank a little wine. Watched a little football. And hung out with our little friends. Little friends only because they're so so skinny and so so fit! Way to go Allens! Y'all look fantastic!

What we've missed most about being gone on the road this season: fellowship with friends who love Jesus...and Christian community that can build you up in a world that's so broken down. Thanks for being such wonderful friends, Marshall and Erika.

Day Seven Hundred and Fifty

The Six Months are Up

(Time to Relocate)

This is probably the simplest - and fastest - way to describe yesterday...

It was a dangerous mixture of high emotions, long flights, packed apartments...and nowhere to call home. 

Momentarily, these Space Noodles brought smiles.

They're sure making me smile now though. How adorable, Seattle?!

We flew red eye from Seattle to North Carolina to Jacksonville yesterday.

We left Seattle at 10:30 PM Sunday night and landed in Jax at 9 AM Monday morning. Boy was it a long night...and the proof lies here. Literally. This was Adam during our one-hour layover in Charlotte, NC.

Like the Space Noodles, finally seeing Florida again gave us both instant smiles.

Once home in Jax, we had a lot on our plate. But first, we took a three hour nap - it was absolutely the most necessary item of our whole day. Because when we woke up, we needed that rest in so many ways. Not only did we have to pack up the whole apartment, load the truck, clean, and drive four hours to Jupiter, but we also had to SEARCH FOR ANOTHER CONDO. Say what?! It was 2:30 PM when the news that our apartment contract offer was outbid and won by someone else. And the place we were planning on calling home, wasn't in fact, going to be home at all. We had to be out of Jax on the 30th, but suddenly, we didn't have anywhere to go on the 1st. Problem. Big problem. Wife-freak-out-crying-like-a-baby-problem. We then had 2 1/2 hours to find a new home, 300 miles away, at a time of day that most realtors are already gone from work. Awesome...not. Long story short, we finally signed another lease at 7:30 PM, 13 hours before we needed to move in.

Moral of the story: Trust - first - that God will provide. And save the freak-outs for something more serious. Also, be wary of shady real estate agents.

Anyways...above is Adam, packed and ready to start loading in Jax.

But first, he had to get it all from the 19th story to the 1st. That calls for shopping carts, wardrobe carts, and elevators of course!

And then, loading at the loading dock.

We finally filled the truck - to the brim - and left Jacksonville (for good?) at 9 PM.

That got us to Jupiter around 1:30 AM, where this beautiful sight awaited us. Yes, complete with a giraffe. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, Sondra and Dennis for opening your home and gorgeous bedroom to us. We're grateful for your hospitality and example of what living like Jesus really means.

HEY JUPITER...WE'RE BAAAA-AAAAACK!

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 Five Hundred and Sixty-Eight

The Resurrection. The New Life.

On a day when tears seemed like the only answer, the truth of the Resurrection trumped every worry and fear I had. 

Christ is Risen. 

He is alive. 

Because He defeated death, I have new life. 

And no truth is better than that. 

Our Easter Sunday was a beautiful one. We celebrated our Risen Lord before saying goodbye to our sweet, sweet friends. We love you. We'll miss you. And we thank God every day for you.

With the Lord guiding our way, we began our 300 mile journey to Jacksonville, Florida.

It's funny. And a baseball paradox that makes me giggle. Miami is only an hour South of Jupiter. But, in order to get closer to Miami, we first have to travel 4 hours away from it. Our trip was lovely. We talked and laughed and dreamed about what the next year might look like. It was a beautiful way to spend the best day of the year.

We came home to this.

Jacksonville welcomed us nicely, I'd say! 

A city AND waterfront view?! Just wow. Unbelievable.

I don't think I'll soon be getting sick of our 19th floor view.

This home is incredible. I can't believe we actually live here.

Day Five Hundred and Sixty

The Baby Slider

Jordan (center) is having a little baby BOY!

And yesterday, we celebrated his future arrival with food, presents, notes, and lots of fun ladies.

Sweet Baby Trace, you're already a blessing to so many and we're so excited to meet you! Our prayer is that you grow up knowing just how much God loves you :)

The little speck on the mound...that's Adam :)

I thought this gave a little bit better perspective of what it actually looks like for me when I watch a game. Through the fence. And far away. Thankfully, I have a good zoom on my camera! (And thankfully too that I even have the ability to watch my husband while he's working...such a blessing).

Adam pitched 3 2/3 innings yesterday, throwing an outstandingly large number of sliders. Of his 69 pitches, he said, "Probably at least 30 of them were sliders. I was pitching as if there weren't any hitters." I was relieved when he and his coaches told me this information. Because I couldn't figure out why he was giving up so many hits! That darn slider!! But he can't refine it if he never throws it...so please, Bun...keep throwing it! 

Day Five Hundred and Fifty-Nine

The SURPRISE Dinner

So...uhm...

SURPRISE!!!

We walked into Zack and Amber's thinking we were getting dinner with some friends...

And this is what we got instead!!! A whole truckload of them! 

Ahhhhhhh!! We just absolutely love all these people and are completely overwhelmed by their encouragement, support, friendships, and prayers. This bunch will be dearly missed as we make our way to Jacksonville, FL next week for our second season with the Marlins.

 

Playing games, laughing out loud, and joking around.

I couldn't have asked for anything more.

We feel so blessed.

Like seriously? Who does this?!!

They're the best! How stinkin cute!!!

And the notes they wrote to us...uh! They had me tearing up the entire ride home. 

You're all so wonderful.

And this too?! Hahaha...couldn't stop smiling.

We will, friends...we will! :) 

And after we're done "Gettin 'em," in Jax, we'll be back to your arms in Jupiter (uh...I hope)!

Thank you...thank you, thank you, thank you.

It's going to be harder than ever leaving Jupiter and Family Church...and I've already shed tears over it. But we know that the Lord has something else in store for us, and we're excited to see where He leads us. Thank you...again.