Movin' on up!

As most of you know, Jeff was called up from High A in Wilmington, DE to AA in Springdale, Arkansas to play for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Jeff was told he was allowed to drive with me out to AR which was such a blessing because normally they have the guys fly out. We drove from DE to MO because the Naturals were on a road trip. Jeff made his AA debut in Springfield, MO. Jeff went 3-5 with 3 doubles! Jeff's dad, and Paul, a family friend, came out to see Jeff's debut. From MO we went to OK and then finally we made it to AR so we could unpack. We were so anxious just to get to AR and settle in. A really nice thing about AA is the hotels the players stay in are so much nicer than in High A.
We contacted a church, Cross Pointe Community Church, and they found a lady for us to rent a room from. Her name is Debbie, and she has a beautiful home and a little dog named Hootie. She is just awesome. We are so happy to be with her! We love living with a host family because we get to know people outside of baseball and we don’t have to make or break a lease. It is just so much more convenient and we really enjoy it. Her house is only 2 miles from the field. We hope to be a blessing to her. Our first day in AR I spent in the ER. When I had studying and unpacking to do, it was really the last place I wanted to be. It was more of an inconvenience than an emergency. A couple weeks ago, I got bit by a deer tick. I had noticed a rash and a ring starting to form around the bite. By the time we got to AR it was very bright red and itchy. I couldn’t get an appt. to see a dermatologist for weeks. My family doctor back home said that since I needed to get antibiotics right away I needed to go to the ER since I couldn’t see a specialist. The doctor at the hospital put me on antibiotics for Lymes disease. I just finished them yesterday and will go back this week to get tested to make sure I am disease free!
Jeff had his first walk off home run last week. He went 5-5 the same night. It was so exciting. I was sitting with all the wives in a suite and when he hit the walk off I had tears running down my face. It was soo neat! If you would have told me 5 years ago I'd be crying over a walk off home run I would have never believed you!
We currently are in TX on a road trip. We started in San Antonio and are currently in Corpus Cristy. The drive back to AR will be 14 hours! It has been SO HOT! Since Jeff was called up I think it has been at least 100 degrees every day. I have been going on the road with Jeff. I can't stand the thought of missing one at bat! In San Antonio, Jeff was hit by a line drive in the throat/collar bone during batting practice and hit in the mouth by the ball when he dove into home plate. Although he has some bumps and bruises to prove it, we are so thankful he is okay!
Our friends, Cody and Missy Strait, have a baby boy Asher. Asher is 7 months old. We have been having a blast hanging out with them and their baby.
I am taking Microeconomics this summer. I really hate the class to be honest, and I am just trying to get through it. Slowly, I am working toward getting my Bachelors in Organizational Leadership.
It was hard July 4th to not be with our friends and family back home. We are so happy where God has us right now, but we are excited to see everyone again in the off season. It is always hard around holidays not to be home.
That’s all for now... we will keep you updated with what is going on!