Doin' what he loves ...

Man, he loves it.  Every bit as much as his dad.  Maybe even more - if that's even possible.

What a pleasure and joy he is to watch ... he works so hard.

He's so disciplined.  He practices daily.  Even when he doesn't leave the house.

He lives, eats, breathes it.

And he asked me to take my good camera to the games this particular day to snap some good pics.

So here Jarrett is ... doing what he's loved from day 1.

**No more Dacula uniform - for this year at least.  He's now playing with Team Elite,

a baseball organization that has teams all over Atlanta.  His particular team is out of Winder.

The reason for the switch?  Its time for him to play for 'real' coaches ... not that Bowdie and 

his other coaches weren't great - they were.  But now his coaches are paid to do this.  So that

steps the game up a bit.  We feel like this has been great for him and is prepping him

for high school ball next year in a way that a rec travel team wouldn't have.**

No - he doesn't play outfield - he was just warming up before the game.

It's a Jones trait - tongue out when concentrating.  Always.

 This pic says it all ... look at that huge smile!

He had just scored ... love this pic - even with the jacked up helmet. 

Looking forward to many more games!

(and many more pics, I'm sure!)

Christmas Eve

So it's kinda become a fun tradition for our family

to let the boys exchange gifts on Christmas eve.

They usually shop at the Dollar Tree

or Five Below and find something they think their siblings would like.

They wrap.  They present.

Fun to see them do for each other!

Jacob takes after me and LOVES gifts & surprises.

So naturally he LOVES to give them as well!!

Jarrett gave Blaine an iTunes gift card ...

... and Jacob Despicable Me 2.

Really, really generous of him ... and honestly surprised Bo and I a bit!

Did I already say I love this tradition??!

Awesome!

He's 12!

Good grief!  He's 12.

Twelve short months before the teen years officially begin.

Time is fleeting.

He's growing.

He's an amazing kid.

Crazy responsible student.

As in, he checks his grades online nearly daily.

He asks us to study with him.

Reminds me when something is due.

Expects nothing less than A's and works hard to get them.

Seriously ... a dream!

He continues to have an ever growing love of baseball,

which I think thrills his dad and granddad more than I even know.

He wants to excel and he works hard toward that end.

We are still working on heart issues,

what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ,

and choosing others before himself.

But all told, parenting him is a joy!

We celebrated his day with a group of his friends over to spend the night.

Parties have gotten so much simpler as the kids have grown.

We've transitioned from an all-out theme, with games, food, and cutesy invites,

to the ease of a group of friends, the great outdoors, and evite!

The food must be abundant, but if that's the most time consuming part,

I'll take it!

Jarrett wanted hamburgers, nachos, and some trail mix.

Lots of gift cards were received, along with some cash.

Love this hat that Will gave him!

Left to right:  Carsen Curry, Jacob Bolich, Will Warbington, Jonathan Koehler,

Austin Gusaeff, Andrew Beasley, Carson Plumadore, Jackson Childers, and Daniel Jackson.

Love his eclectic group of friends ...

athletes to academics to baseball friends to church friends!

Great job on the cake again Nana!

Happy birthday, Son.

We love you BIG!

GREAT days are ahead!!

Taking the Plunge ...

So ... I was not expecting to write this post for at least another year.

But once again, plans that we set have changed.

Because we had said that we'd wait until Jarrett started 7th grade to consider joining a travel baseball team.

The rigors of that type of schedule weren't what we wanted to cope with until then.

But, when what appears to be a perfect scenario pops up on the radar,

then we've learned to grab it.

And one did.

But, oddly enough, not with Jarrett, but Blaine.

One of our good friends decided to coach the 11u travel team at our park.

And I have to say, if there's anyone else I want coaching one of my boys, besides Bo,

its him.

When he called Bowdie and said he had a spot on the team for Blaine,

we bucked it ... at first.

But then, after considering a lot of factors (such as coaching, influence, 

the boys on the team, long term relationships, etc),

we conceded to let him try out.

And so, of course, we couldn't let him play and tell his older brother no.

So Jarrett is now playing on the 12u team for our park as well.

The fall season was light ... Jarrett's team could only play Sunday tourneys

since several boys on his team play football too.

Blaine's team played in 4 or so tourneys and actually won 2 of them.

Both boys are growing and maturing as players and 

they are learning to play as team members.

It's been a challenge but so good and they are both loving it.

These are pics from Blaine's first tourney ...

He and his buddy David ...

Winners!

Jarrett at one of his Sunday scrimmages ...

Good form ... he's ready!

PLAY BALL!

The Best Graduation Gift Ever!

This post is the first ever written by 11 year-old Jarrett.

He just returned from a dream trip ... read his version below!

It was the day I was graduating from fifth grade. My parents had already given me their gift and it was Aunt Becky's turn to give me hers. I was so excited to see what I got from her. Then she pulled out her phone and showed me the video of Coach Bobby Meachem telling met that I was going to come down to Dunedin and get to see the team play. He also said I was going to stay at their house too. It was one of the best gifts I had ever received!

Watching the video on Aunt Becky's phone

Aunt Becky explaining ...

Initial reaction ... pure joy!

Love this shot!!

Looking up the Dunedin Blue Jays and Coach Bobby.

Gotta get up to date on stats & names!!

On June 4th when we got to the airport, I was really excited and really nervous.  I knew this was going to be the best trip ever. After we got thru security we jumped straight onto the plane and got ready to take off. It was an hour and ten minute flight to Tampa Bay, Florida. 

After the flight landed we went straight to Aunt Beck's car. Next we started our 45 minute drive to Dunedin. Thats's where the Meachem's live. When we got to the house I met Mrs.Gari, who is Coach Meachem's wife. We talked about our life and told each other facts about ourselves. After we finished talking went out to eat at a italian restaurant. When we finished eating we headed to the field to watch the game. The Blue Jays won 4 to 3. 

When we went back to their house and watched some more baseball on their TV. Coach Bobby didn't get back till 10:00, but we still didn't go to bed till 11:00. The next morning we woke up and ate breakfast. Then got ready to go to the stadium to go practice and see what the clubhouse looks like.

 About 11:00 we went over to see the clubhouse and practice. I got to see the lockers of the players and the lockers where the pro's put their stuff during spring training. The stadium is also the spring training facility. After that he took me to the batting cage to hit. I had to hit with a fungo bat. which will ring your hands whenever you don't hit the sweet spot! When we got finished hitting we went to a smaller turf field so he could hit me grounders. Aunt Becky was at first base catching the balls I threw to her from real second base and real shortstop. That was the best experience I had ever had playing baseball!

 When I had to leave the field we went to this resturant called Panera Bread. It was really good and it was quiet, so Aunt Becky and Mrs.Gari both did a little work. We couldn't go to the beach, so we went to see Iron Man 3.  It was my second time seeing it, but it was still exciting. It was an hour or so till the game started so we went out to eat Mexican. 

When we finished eating we went straight to the ballpark an watched the game. This time they lost 7 to 4.  We left in the 8th inning to go and get homemade ice cream.  I got cookies & cream and it was really, really good.  Once we finished the ice cream, we headed back to the Meachem's house.  I watched some more baseball before I headed to bed.  

I woke up the next morning, showered, and got ready to head to the airport.  We ate breakfast, said our goodbyes, and left.  There was a HUGE security line at the airport but we made it through in plenty of time.  Our flight was delayed by 10 minutes.  We landed in Atlanta 1 hour and 7 minutes after taking off.  We hurried to meet my mom because Aunt Becky had to catch another flight.  

The trip was probably the best thing that's ever happened to me.  I hope I get to see Coach Bobby and Mrs. Gari sometime soon.  I'm so happy and thankful that Aunt Becky took me on this trip!

At the airport, ready to head to Tampa with Aunt Becky!

At the game with Aunt Becky ...

With Coach Bobby at the game ...

With Coach Bobby & Aunt Becky at the facility

With Aunt Becky & Mrs. Gari

Hitting in the cage with Coach Bobby ...

 Look at that smile!!    

We can't ever thank Becky enough, or Coach Bobby or Mrs. Gari.

This kid is still smiling.

He now spends even more time practicing in the yard ...

with his new pitch-back, thanks again to Aunt Beck!

And Jarrett also came home with a book about being an athlete and glorifying God in that.  

He's been diligent to read AND take notes on a chapter a day.  Wow.  Love it!

He's even asked that Bo and I read with him so we can discuss.

Love that even more!

The love we, as parents, have for our kids is deep & strong.

But when others love them big,

and speak to them in a 'language' they really get,

and intentionally invest quality time into them,

that is a parental pleasure like no other!!