Love Love Love (Part II)

After bumping into Alfred here and there through the summer of 2011, I gathered his disdain for the lack of commitment and hard work that surrounded him on his football team. Understanding his situation I made some homemade turtles and put them in a gift bag that I had written an encouraging bible verse on. So I messaged him on the good ol' Facebook. He didn't respond for probably atleast a month so thankfully I decided to drop off his bag in Angela's office and asked her to get in touch with him. 

Through out the fall we would visit here and there. The only time we may have "hung out" was when I was leaving the athletic center and he invited me to FCA which was in 30 minutes. I obliged and sat down next to him on the bench outside to wait for FCA to start. He continued to do who knows what on his phone the entire time we were waiting for time to pass. Can you say awkward?! I pretended to be busy on my phone trying to not make it more awkward than it already was. (I actually had a flip phone with no internet so I was totally faking haha!)

Later that fall, he came to one of my soccer games. I remember him walking up, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, and he took a seat on the benches that were at the end of the field. I'm 100% positive I got a second burst of energy knowing he was there and that I probably should've been paying more attention to the game and less attention to Alfred. 

Life happens and before I knew it I hadn't seen Alfred in months. He had told me he was graduating that December and I heard he was training for the combine which was unimpressive to me. I always dreamed of marrying a farmer so the whole NFL thing was very unappealing to me. I remember hearing Alfred got drafted. You have to realize that was big news for FAU. Everyone was talking about it. That was one of those moments where I was happy for him and at peace to know our little love affair was over. (He didn't know he was my secret BF... But he knows now lol!)

Then came Memorial Day. One of my best friends, Russell was in the Marines and stationed in Pensacola which is Alfred's hometown. A group of us road tripped with Russell's parents to go spend the weekend with him. I text Alfred just to say hi and tell him I was going to be in his hometown. When I text him I had no intentions of actually seeing him. I really only text him because I thought he was in Washington Sate far away. (Yes I thought he was in Washington not Washington DC... Oops.) 

What are the odds?! He tells me he was home for the weekend and wanted to meet up. We ended up meeting at a bar, which is kind of funny because neither of us drink. I was my friends DD and of course this bar was right by the chuckie cheese he used to work at. I thought it was the most awkward experience ever. He showed up and somehow we ended up watching swamp people on the TV. You don't realize how much you don't know a person till you see them outside of campus. With no material to go off of, I didn't even know where to begin or what to ask. He didn't seem in any rush to leave either. As soon as he left, I text Ang and told her that I was breaking up with Alfred. (He was unaware of our relationship still.)

When my preseason started Ang randomly asked me if I had heard from him. I told her no, so she encouraged me to reach out to him. She explained that he was probably going through a lot of transitions being in the league and convinced me that I should check on him. God used Ang as a tool multiple times to help stitch this whole thing together. It was as if I text him right when we both needed a friend. From that day forward we communicated daily. About 3 weeks later I tore my ACL in the second game of the season and he was just becoming a starter for the Redskins. We had some full plates to say the least. 

The weekend after I tore my ACL, my team was traveling to Vegas. I was going to be home for the weekend so my mom came down to visit my roommate Jacqui and I. (We went to high school together and are still super close! She lived with my family for a summer so we are more like sisters.) Alfred was sending me a good luck package for surgery and said it was supposed to be in that day. I was complaining to my mom saying it was already 5pm and I didn't think the package was going to make it that day. 

Bummed at the lack of this package, I went to the FAU football game on crutches to get out of the house. Prior to it starting Alfred said someone from his hometown was new to school and didn't have anyone to sit with and asked if his friend could sit with me. I said yes but got annoyed when he said his friends phone was dying and I was supposed to meet him by the statue. I HAVE A TORN LIGAMENT.... I DONT WANT TO GO DOWN THOSE STAIRS ON MY CRUTCHES. Anyways, as I was just nearing the bottom Alfred pops out from under the bleachers and gives me a big hug. To say I was shocked is an understatement. He explained he wanted to be there for FAU's first home game and that it happened to work out with his schedule. Later he admitted he was really checking on me. We visited and then he told me he would drop the package off at my apartment after the game. 

Later that night, Jacqui went out to let him in the gate and was looking a hot mess when they walked in the door. She stayed in the living room just to watch me open up the package because she had already pried the details out of Alfred! He had gotten me a card and a pair of blue beats which is my favorite color and something I wouldn't ask my parents for. My mom was hiding in my room the whole time because she was all ready for bed and as soon as Alfred left Jacqui and I ran (yes bad idea for a torn ACL) in there squealing like school girls telling mom every detail. We may have stayed up till 2am from the excitement.

The next week he prayed with me over the phone before my surgery. He had really become such a good friend and encourager to me so quickly. So now we were actually friends and since I had ended our relationship he didn't know about it was a safe situation. He lived a thousand miles away and I was still in school and stuck at my apartment with a bum knee. We started talking on the phone regularly and then he asked me if I wanted to skype. We skyped regularly and I clung to every word loving this side of him that I didn't know was there. He was vulnerable and real with me. We talked about dreams and aspirations. Oftentimes I worried he thought I was saying things to just be agreeable with him because our dreams were matching up so closely. The things we wanted for life were strangely paralleled.  

After knee surgery, my biggest goal was being able to run again. Of course Alfred did it big yet again! He sent me a pair of baby blue air Max's that I would've never bought for myself on my parents tab. I was totally shocked  and his instructions were to wear them the first time I got to run again. 

Then came bye week... Alfred popped up in boca. We went to grab sushi and sat on the beach talking. I kinda had an itch that he liked me and he kinda confirmed that. The problem was that some stuff went down to make me question his credibility and that is when I knew yet again that we were just friends. I told him to not worry about me, but just focus on football. When he would text me I would respond slowly (on purpose)... But see there was one problem. Shortly after my surgery he asked me to come to a game in December. I agreed and he bought my flight right away. So regardless of me slightly ignoring him here and there he had bought a ticket so I couldn't bail. 

Shortly before my trip to VA, he was pouring his heart out via Skype the night before a game. He said, "you know it's just hard sometimes being single and lonely. It's so much easier to be in a relationship." I was not going to fall into that trap, so I told him. "I'm sure God is preparing the perfect girl for you that will be strong enough to handle all that comes with the NFL." Little did I know that girl was me. 

He forwarded me my flight info days before my trip. He had bought me a first class ticket, something that I told him to never do again. I was really appreciative but I explained that first class was a waste of money. I grew up on a farm! We love the simple life. Since then he never purchased another first class flight for me :).

So I arrived to VA, and he picked me up. I really hadn't spent any alone time with him so I was a little nervous. He didn't have a guest bed so I put a line of pillows between us. I definitely questioned Kenyon his roommate about all of the girls that had priorly come to visit to watch his games. A girl has to do her research you know? Disclaimer: We thought he had also paid for all of those girls to fly up to his games. Jacqui and I thought he was working the system and I was not going to fall for these games. Everything went great and he was so respectful, never trying to make a move to my surprise. We had a heart to heart that calmed all of my caution and hesitations regarding him. So following the trip, that spring we took a little time to pray about where to go next. After a month we were supposed to discuss what we each got from that

time of prayer and figure out what was next for our friendship.

Faith

What is faith? 

The dictionary defines faith as a complete trust or confidence in someone or something. In Hebrews 11:1 faith is defined as "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." This confidence comes from God who fulfills his promises; assurance is an active certainty that what God has promised will come to pass despite our not yet seeing it. Faith is acting on what God has revealed about his will and character.

Why is faith Important? 

The most important part of any structure is its foundation. Faith is our firm foundation on which we can stand upon, especially when we're facing trials. Hebrews 11:6 states that "without faith it's impossible to please God." And furthermore states that "Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." 

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35,36)

Faith in the midst of a storm?

It's easy to have faith when things are good, but when we're in a storm and the boat starts rocking is when we're more likely to be disheartened and lose faith. We go through trials in life to grow, not to keep it to ourselves but to help others grow who may be going through similar situations. 

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."(Romans 5:3,4)

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise."

(Hebrews 10:23) 

"...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith..."

(Hebrews 12:1,2)

I honestly did not want to post this because there is nothing natural about me sharing my personal life. As athletes we are in a glass bowl where everything we say or do is scrutinized and that causes me to want to embrace my privacy even more. But God doesn't put us through adversity to keep our adversities to ourselves. There is no point in a trial if I am the only one growing from it. Trials go beyond the person facing the storm to the people who may futuristically be encouraged. Ones testimony of endurance can give hope to others and encourage them to persevere through their own storm (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). So I am doing what God calls us to do and sharing. So on my mirror everyday since the season has started are the words in the picture. I look at it every time I'm in the bathroom. Even though my situation hasn't been favorable thus far, I still believe that it can and will happen just as I did at the start of the season, even if it's not necessarily this year. Why? Because I have faith and in Mark 9:23 God states that "everything is possible for one who believes!" I admit, I do have an unusual faith but shouldn't we all reach for greater instead of settling for less? The easy to accomplish everyday feats in which we pretend that reaching them was some small miracle. We're only fooling ourselves into thinking we're doing more than we really should be doing. We were created for greater! Not everything we have faith for will come to pass but it shouldn't break our faith. Why not? Because there is a greater purpose beyond what we can see, think, or hear. More often than not the answer will be no because the very thing we desire so will be the same thing that destroys us. We may not see it now but when we look back later in life we'll be thankful certain things didn't come to pass. Life is one big lesson and we have to be willing to learn what it teaches. I've learned a lot this year and I know there's more to come before this year is over. But I continue to make faith my foundation knowing God has my best interest at heart. I entrust myself and my future to God and enter into his peace which transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:6,7) 

To whom it may concern, I pray this post in some way, shape, or form encourages you to endure to the end. Take heart for you're not alone. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27

Mid-Season Update

I took Josiah out in the stroller yesterday for an evening walk and couldn't help but notice changes everywhere. The air has gotten brisk and the leaves are almost completely gone. As I walked I pulled my sweater a little tighter as I recognized the many changes coming with the end of fall approaching.



I am beginning to feel closure with the chapter we are in. Seven more regular season games to go and time is quickly escaping. I'm already mentally preparing for what awaits us after season. There will be waves of different emotions as we put our things in storage and head south for the winter. We should know by March what our future holds and where we will be headed next, whether back with the Redskins or another team.



This takes me to childlike faith. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." 

Jesus wants us to trust in Him, have faith in Him, and to depend on Him the way a child does their parents. He wants that beautiful, raw, complete dependency.

It is easy for us as adults to be self-sufficient, unlike a little child. With our independent mindset it can be hard to recognize our need to be dependent on God. Dependency on God requires a childlike faith. At our core we need to truly know, not just believe that He can do anything.

This year has been a HUGE faith builder for us, and has been a roller coaster of ups and downs through out each week. We are clinging to our faith in God's plan even when things seem unclear and uncertain. These are the times that we grow the most, and that our story can touch the most lives. We are learning to be little children again.  


Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." 


This verse is the foundation of what we are trying to be this fall. 


Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Just as parents want to guard the hearts and minds of their children, Christ wants to do the very same for us. We are his little children. This verse explains the peace that has finally settled over our hearts. Peace from God transcends all understanding. Although our situation has not been ideal we have found an unexplainable joy and peace which transcends even our understanding, all thanks to God. Thank you to God for letting us be little.

This is just a mid-season update on where we are. I hope that if you are in a trial or a season of uncertainty, you will find encouragement in our story and that you will stay little. 

Love Love Love (Part I)

It all started in the summer of 2011 in south Florida. I was taking summer classes and working out in preparation of my first official season as an Owl. I had transferred that spring from FSU and only had one semester already under my belt.

I needed to talk with our strength coach, so after class I headed to the athletic center. I walked into the weight room and took a left toward the coaches' offices to find a younger looking coach. I said, "excuse me, do you know where coach Payne is?" The young man smiled and without further adieu he responded, "he's already outside with the other dancers!" I was by no means flattered by this mistake. I retorted, "Dancers? Do I look like a dancer? I'm a soccer player." His eyes immediately lit up. From the beginning there was something so different and refreshing about him. It was like he was just a little more alive and on fire about life than everyone else.

I couldn't tell you if I even spoke with my strength coach after because to be honest I don't really remember. What I do remember is that as soon as I walked out of the athletic center I called my mother and told her, "I think I just met my future husband." 

This story would never be complete without introducing Angela Wyss better known as "Ang". She was the women's soccer academic advisor and one of the bright points of my time at FAU. Her door was always open and she always had candy or some of my baked goods on her desk which explains my next encounter with Alfred. That man loves his candy. 

I walked into Angela's office to find Alfred sitting in her chair chatting away. As soon as we made eye contact I quickly blurted out, "you don't work here? You're an athlete?" Smooth one I know... He laughed again, with his oriental shaped eyes lighting up as always and explained he played football. He grabbed a handful of candy and next thing I know he was out the door. Little did I know we would have many more encounters within those four walls over candy and my homemade baked goods. 

Side note: Just recently she actually told me that he had asked her about where all the baked goods were coming from. When she said Lindsey Rice, he claimed he needed to get to know me because the key to a man's heart is his stomach. 

As soon as he was out the door I was telling Ang about my latest crush. She told me all about how was such a great guy and that he was a believer. She further explained that he was really really good at football and was hopeful to make it to the NFL. I laughed and said, "he goes to FAU." 

It's rare for me to be truly intrigued by a person. So as I walked to my truck from Angela's office I contemplated the whole thing while talking to God. I knew the guy I was dating wasn't terribly interested in doing God's will and he certainly wasn't God's best for me. I got in the truck and told God, "I'll dump my boyfriend if you'll give me Alfred." I guess you could say I bargained with God, but the Alfred thing didn't happen over night.

Four Thousand

When Alfred came home from the first game of his fourth NFL season I had a little bag waiting with a card inside. He had no idea that he had surpassed the 4,000 yard rushing mark. He doesn't keep up with stats and only knows how many yards he gets if someone tells him. Four thousand yards is a long ways. Think about a football field, and running the length of it 40 times. Now imagine the entire time you're doing that you're being chased by grown men trying to throw their 200+ pounds at you with all their strength to tackle you. Then when they do tackle you, it's time to get up and do it all over again until you make it across that football field 40 times. Yikes... I would say no thanks to that! Keep your 4,000 yards. Needless to say this is monumental in some way shape or form. I really don't know how big this is football wise, but I know why this is big to me.

Every single yard he ran represented something larger than football. He is playing a game that children dream of playing when they're "grown up." Those children who's dreams he is living out, look up to him. He is a hero in some ways to these kids and even sometimes their parents. As a parent you want to find at least one human that you're ok with your kids looking up to. It's hard to find humans to fulfill this role, because we are all human. But every yard opened up doors to keep serving the community and loving on people. Every yard has meant a little more love and a little more Jesus gets to be spread. Every yard represents more glory given to God. That is why parents don't mind their kids looking up to Alfred. If a kid is really looking up to him, they're watching Him give football and the community all he has. 

These children's dreams of the NFL are nothing what it's really like. The stress, the pressure, the drama & dealing with the media is almost incomprehensible to people who never played professionally. But all of that is worth it because of the people impacted in positive ways by every single yard. To play in this league you are given an automatic platform and what you do with it is up to you. On Alfred's off days we sacrifice precious time for community events because we recognize that there is something much greater than a few hours of family time at stake here. 

One day Alfred will be just another guy to any kids who see him and that might secretively be something I look forward to when he "retires", but for right now he has to use that to His advantage. Alfred's job is to touch lives, not just play football. I feel so blessed to get to be there with Alfred to love on folks and encourage his use of this platform in a positive way. It's truly the little things that make this crazy NFL ride worth it. I know those little things add up to be huge incentives for Alfred to keep grinding, pushing for yards, and ultimately playing for wins on and off the field. 

Motherhood & A Nomadic Baby

By the end of our summer break we had been on 5 flights, used 2 rental cars, did a six hour road trip and been to 4 different states, all with baby Josiah in tow. Four states down and forty six more to go for Josiah! A convenient number to be at headed into football season since 46 is Alfred's number! 

There was a time when all road trips meant to me was my favorite gas station food, endless naps, newly downloaded music and long conversations. Road trips with a baby means pumping a couple days before the trip to make sure we have enough milk so we didn't have to rush to find an exit so I could feed him. It means needing to buy a styrofoam cooler to keep the milk good for the trip. It means every gas stop has turned into a nursing Josiah in the car party. Needless to say road trips are a little different but always exciting! I also remember when flying meant TSA lines and then my biggest worry was filling up my water bottle and getting food before my flight. Now I'm worried about feeding Josiah, and getting him latched before he gets so hungry that he wants to scream, but then I don't want to over feed him to the point where he won't want to nurse on the way up. There is also a constant fear of blow outs, and needing to get him changed before the flight... And did I mention how scary breast feeding is in public?!!! That's what a 5 week summer break looks like and yet somehow it was substantially better than all the prior road trips and flights. It was much more selfless, that's for sure! 

I used to get very stressed living out of suitcases and find it so hard to pack light enough to fit everything in one bag... And it's a BIG bag! Packing for a whole month in one suitcase for just myself was already challenging enough and now we add to the mix packing for Josiah. His carry on represents the loss of my own personal carry on which means less clothes for me... Booooo! For Josiah we pack clothes that fit him plus clothes that are one size up and the breast pump and a few other baby things. In one month Josiah has literally grown into the next size clothes. SO CRAZY! 

When we left Virginia Josiah was 7 weeks old and when we returned he was over 2.5 months old! This also means that we had to arrange for his 2 month check up in whatever town we would be in at the point. I have to carry all of his documents and records to try to make new doctors visits go as smooth as possible and yet I still find myself on the phone getting things faxed that I didn't know the new doctor might need! It's a lot of work but obviously completely necessary! 

Motherhood is humbling. My Jo man has me constantly calling upon God for help. I need His supernatural strength, energy, patience, love and so much more. Motherhood will also make you call upon your mom. It's funny how life works. I graduated and got married and thought, "oh I'm good and grown now." HA! I need my mom to be on call 24/7 all over again! I have to be able to text/call her frantically when Josiah has been screaming for half an hour from his 2 month shots. I need her to explain to Alfred what medicine to get because I have NO clue. I need my mom. Parenting a little baby is a crazy beautiful ride. I am at this child's beckon call 24/7 (just like my mom is still at mine) and I seriously soak up every minute. Hopefully my mom currently is too, fingers crossed!

Warning: Baby at constant risk of spit ups and blow outs

Although it must sound so stressful having a baby with our lifestyle, Josiah represents another level of adventure that we would never accomplish on our own. Josiah adds just a little more meaning to every road trip, flight and visit with friends or family. All of these trips are now memories of three. 

I have had many people ask me if I felt like I maybe missed out on time with my husband by getting pregnant a couple months into our marriage and the answer for us is a quick and honest no. We both want a big family and wanted to get started sooner rather than later. We are so excited and happy to have a baby in tow to make these memories with. We aren't stuck in the house, and we haven't stopped living. Does it change life? Absolutely!!! But it changes life for the better and we are loving this new life, new challenges and our little growing family. 

You see, I had one dream consistently growing up. I dreamed of being a wife and a mother. I needed a husband to really make my childhood dreams a reality. And then I met Alfred. I had never hit a point in life where I thought "this is it, I could pause here forever and be happy". And although a pause right now would be terribly unfair to Josiah and ultimately to the Lord's plans for our life, I wouldn't mind just freezing some moments. Freeze the days that make the most beautiful memories. This life is sweet and it seemed to just drag on until I became a wife and a mama. It's like suddenly there aren't enough hours or naps in the day and always more than enough laundry. From this point forward we are living in fast forward. So occasionally I spend too much time staring at Alfred and our baby while they sleep. But it's worth the lost sleep and it's not a waste of time, because these are the memories that I'll cherish for the rest of our lives. How can a girl be so blessed? I love my boys.

Transitions: Football Edition

Well here we are back in VA, less than 48 hours till football camp starts. The transition back to VA is always harder for me than Alfred. Maybe I should say the return to football season is always harder for the wives than for the husbands. These guys live for Sunday's and a large part of America does too when football season rolls around. As a wife, I spend July savoring every last minute with my hubz. I savor long days spent together, energetic conversations on laying down in the grass post workouts, the last chance of the year to travel together, and his vibrant (rather than tired) eyes. If I had to be honest, I get the most alive and vibrant part of Alfred when football isn't in season. Football takes a lot of energy, and luckily I completely understand that being a former college athlete.

When season starts life does a complete turn around. Overnight our life and schedule changes. In the off season our days are full of each other all the time and much less stress than in season. Off season is every wife's dream and it's what we push through season for. (It's probably only your dream if you get along with your husband though!) Off season is that light at the end of the tunnel, especially if you are experiencing a losing season.

Seriously, off season is similar to what retirement must feel like but you still have to workout in this retirement plan. Bummer!!! We wake up (when not traveling) and talk about our plans for that day over our breakfast. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal and morning is my favorite time of day, and off season allows me to share those simple things with Alfred! Our plans are easily adjustable according to how we wake up feeling. This past off season I had an ever growing belly, and how I felt determined if we did only yoga that day, cardio and/or weights. The only thing we did consistently 4-5 days a week is work out. We hide out at places where no one knows Alfred plays football, and if they do know they really just don't care!

We travel a lot in the off season. This year we went to:

-a wedding plus the showers & bachelor/bachelorette parties for it    

-West Coast for a NFL marriage conference (Alfred went surfing for the first time while we were there!) 

-Arizona for the pro bowl, then did a quick road trip between the pro bowl game and the super bowl events to the Grand Canyon (We left before the super bowl so we could avoid all the craziness surrounding that game!)

- The rest of the time we crash with family since we don't have a house or our own yet!

In off season we just kinda fall off the map and lay as low as possible, which allows us to avoid a lot of the normal in season stressors. We go where we are treated totally normal. That down time/traveling is our oasis and our shelter from the storm of craziness! Such a huge blessing to recover from season. 

My favorite part of in-season is getting to watch Alfred play and enjoy doing it. He loves the game and I love to see him doing his thing. But football season represents the 6 months out of the year that my hubz is pulled in a million different directions. Not only is his job extremely stressful physically, but it's also stressful emotionally, mentally and spiritually. In season he is understandably much more tired as well. On top of his tiredness and me secretively growing a baby last season, we did community service on his weekly off day every single week last year. That meant down time is far and few between for him. That is a sacrifice that we are very willing to make because there will be a point in our lives where kids will no longer know who Alfred Morris is and they will no longer be infatuated after retirement from the league has set it.  We are truly trying to make the most of this NFL experience while we can by serving the community. To put everything in perspective, for the entirety of his season the only off time he had was bye week. Regardless of that all, I would definitely take the lack of time off in regular season over a 9-5 job simply because the off season makes it worth it. 

Training camp is the marker of our summer break coming to an end. For 3 weeks Alfred will be almost 3 hours away living in a hotel with his teammates. So the first transition of the year is that we go from weeks of literally going everywhere and doing everything together and then we are suddenly apart a lot more. This situation as well as us originally being long distance has had the ability to make me comfortably independent. I love love love having Alfred around, but when he is so busy in season and away a lot, I get to the point of easily managing things by myself. One of those things also now includes a baby! I exclusively breastfeed and that has been a blessing in disguise because Alfred can't get up with Josiah at night since he obviously isn't the milk maker! That has enabled me to adjust and transition to being independent in caring for Josiah at night which will make the transition to season MUCH easier!!!

The start of regular season games also marks the time of year that people want favors, all the time. People are more likely to want Alfred to attend an event (those are endless), to want game tickets (that aren't free), to visit on a home game weekend or to call in need of a financial emergency. For the people coming to a game or for a weekend, that visit marks a much anticipated weekend full of adventure and excitement! Games are extremely exciting, no doubt. But whereas football is entertainment for others, football is our income. Football represents a fun yet very normal part of our life. Football is Alfred's work. For others I'm sure it seems surreal but for us this is our life! So as a wife to a current active player, a lot of visitors isn't always ideal. This is because visitors mean losing the little alone family time that is available on a home game weekend that I get with my boo thang! 

But I'll totally take this girl visiting!!!

A typical in season week looks like this:

- Monday: half day for Alfred plus extra time to take care of his body to recover from the game 

- Tuesday: off day, community service for us

- Wednesday: full day of work for Alfred, wives bible study for me, plus church that night for us both

- Thursday: Full day of work for Alfred  and team couples bible study that night 

- Friday: shorter work day, afternoon massage for Alfred (not the feel good kind)

- Saturday: Morning walk through for Alfred, lunch date for us if there is time (translation: chick fil a in the back of the jeep normally), flight that afternoon for an away game or a bus ride to the hotel that evening if it's a home game weekend 

Sunday: Game day!!!

It's a huge adjustment going from months of constant togetherness to the in season grind. As always, I am sad to see off season coming to an end but it's that time of year again! Such excitement surrounds every season and I am thrilled to see what God has in store for us this season and in the next year! 

Share

Life is meant to be shared. Oftentimes we find ourselves craving privacy after spending too much time in the DMV. (For my Florida peeps: that's the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. Aka the most likely territory for Alfred to get recognized in.) For us, privacy means normalcy. We experience a mixture of emotions, when you feel normal and act normal but get treated like you aren't normal. 

People in the DMV treat us abnormally.  If we come into your restaurant we don't want a free meal because he plays football, we just want a peaceful meal without being interrupted by other customers or the restaurant employees. Then there are the people who recognize Alfreds car. Yes, his 1991 car that's older than me gets recognized due to a free makeover done by Mazda. That makeover got way more publicity than we would've ever expected. So occasionally, he has had to swerve or slam on breaks to avoid an overly ecstatic fan waving and swerving in our direction. If we are really lucky, we will be stopped at a light in DC and have people on the streets pointing and taking pictures of our car. (That's just plain creepy!) Also there was the man taking our ID's at the airport. He clearly didn't realize Alfred and I were together and rudely told him to step back behind the line until they took care of me. But, then he suddenly became SOOO enthusiastic and sweet when he saw an ID saying "Alfred Morris" and sent us off with a sweet and loving "Go Redskins." Its endless in the DMV, that's why I wouldn't raise my children there. (That's a post waiting to happen.) Needless to say, it can be hard to find genuine people to share our life with. 

The thing is that, life is meant to be shared. Our God is a God who is relational and He has designed us to be that way as well. That is one reason why our annual "couples retreat" has been a huge blessing to us. We just finished our 3rd retreat today and it makes me so proud that the same 3 couples, including us, have managed to make our retreat such a priority in our busy lives.

Three retreats ago, we decided that we should all get together. We went into year one with zero anticipation, that what was then just a simple get together, would actually become an annually thought out couples retreat. 

Year one we all knew the struggle of pursuing a Godly relationship with our significant other. Temptations are real and can be overwhelming at times. For us, finding other couples willing to wait until marriage to have sex was far and few between. That alone bonded us. We could relate to one another and find comfort in the fact that we no longer were facing these hardships alone. The power of prayer is amazing and for the past 2 years, from the first retreat to the third we have all covered each other in prayer. 

By year two Alfred and I were married. One couple down and two to go! The second year we incorporated a quiz that helped us evaluate a few things. First it was full of questions about why we fell in love, and secondly it questioned us about if we were praying enough for our significant other and what exactly we were praying for. Retreat number two was an awesome turning point because we were coming together for the purpose of encouragement, spiritual growth and of course tons of fun and laughter still! We genuinely left the second retreat hearts full of encouragement, love, spiritual growth and hope for our futures. 

Retreat number three, we are all now married, and we have a 7th wheel now attending: Baby Morris!!! We all accomplished our goal of waiting until marriage with the loves of our lives! God is great. We now fully expect to find ourselves challenged by whatever study we do prior to showing up! This year we read the book "you and me forever" by Francis and Lisa Chan. I seriously suggest this book to all single, dating and married people. We were able to share our favorite parts of this book and why these apply to us in our marriages. (Because we all have marriages now!!! Sorry, still a little overjoyed and excited about that!) It was such good fellowship hearing couples share their struggles and finding comfort because we completely relate to them! 

God was so great to bring these people in our lives at just the right time and I know more than anything He wants us to share life with them. Doing life with genuine people who want nothing but God's best for you is breathtaking and refreshing. I know it's hard to find people who can be your encouragement, but pray for these types of people to enter your life. Everyone needs more people who will lift you up and positively encourage you! 

—Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity  

Seasons

We have loads of uncertainty facing us in this season of our lives and this season of football. I never envisioned that any season of my life would be directly impacted by NFL seasons but I think it's safe to say God has a sense of humor! We don't know where football, and ultimately The Lord will take us after this fall. So what exactly does that mean? Well we could literally end up anywhere across the country. 

We just moved to a short term lease condo in preparation for what this next off season might bring. So half of our furniture is already in storage (yes people in the NFL do downsize, believe it or not.) Come the end of Alfred's 4th year in the league we will be packing up everything but select clothes, cars, & our baby (duhhh) to road trip back to our secret oasis in anticipation for the Reveal of God's plan.

I knew that the younger years of your adult life were supposed to be full of uncertainty but the amount of uncertainty and spontaneity can be exciting & daunting at the same time. How amazing it is that sports (don't forget soccer) have enabled us to experience places we would've never even dreamed of visiting... Yet how daunting it is to have a yearning for settling down somewhere permanent (that's what happens when you have babies, right?) and to be faced with the no guarantees approach of this league. 

Through the craziness we cling to the Lord and put our faith, trust and occasional uncertainty in Him. There is something beautiful about this season we are in, when you have a new marriage, a new baby and you are on the edge of watching your own life unfold. As glamorous it can seem to be a part of the NFL, it's not always full of glitz, glam and a grand ol' time. 

So I leave you with this: there will be moments in your life where you might think to yourself, "what is God doing in the midst of all this craziness?" Keep searching for Him in every situation whether it's a cake walk for you or the biggest challenge of faith and trust thus far in your life. Continually find comfort in the promises of His word & the Holy Spirit working in you. HIS plan will forever trump any plan that you may have concocted in your head & always remember that God already has this thing worked out for His glory. TRUST in Him and enjoy every season that makes up this beautiful life!

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
—Proverbs 16:9

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11