Black and White Party Recap

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love".
        -Mother Teresa

The Black and White Event was just a few days ago. Robbie and I were so blessed with all the people that showed up and donated! I will put a list up of the names of people who gave so generously later!
We raised over $1000 dollars with a $100 cap. Almost everyone who attended was a college student or just graduated with loads of debt. There was about 50-60 people in attendance. How amazing and generous everyone was!
The money will go towards Care Packages for the homeless. We will hand them out once in December and once in January.
Hot Chocolate will be passed out and random acts of Love will happen in downtown Lexington the same days as the Care packages. We want to take care of all the hard working people too!
We will also be buying Christmas presents for single moms and their babies
 I will put the dates up as soon as we get back from Africa so anyone who wants to can volunteer to help. Thank you so much from the deepest part of my heart. Mission 108 means so much to Robbie and me.
Here are some of the pics from the night!

Honest Hour

Hola from Dominicana Republica

It is such a beautiful morning here in the DR. We arrived safe and sound yesterday. We have had so many blessing these past few weeks, I haven't had time to sit and think and write. So let me take you back in time!

As you know by now I am incredibly horrible with change. It takes me a good month sometimes to adjust to change. But I am getting better. I think. Given the amount of chances Ive had, maybe worse since I haven't perfected my attitude yet. Robbie adjusts to change based on my attitude. Poor guy, he is such a sweetheart. He is the most easy going person you will ever meet. If I am having a good time then he is. If I am sassy sally then he is too. 
The off season was about a week in when I realized we were going to the DR. Nothing was official but I could hear it in Robbie's voice that we needed to go. He hadnt told me we were going yet. He hadn't even made up his mind. I just knew. I just didn't know when, how soon, where, or any of the details. I was angry. I was sad. I was heart broken I would have to leave my dogs. In my brain, I could rationalize how amazing this opportunity was. I knew we would NOT turn it down. My brain is smart enough to tell people I was excited. My brain can weigh the pros and cons and see all the pros. But my mind. My mind was somewhere else. The brain and the mind, man. If those two aren't working together you are a lot like me. My mind was telling me, "Ummm! No! NO! NO!!!! NO!!" Ugh I was so dang mad. But what kind of wife would I be to tell Robbie to turn this winter ball thing down...? A horrible one. I wanted to come to the DR. I did. I just wanted it to be my idea. On my time. All mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. And I didn't want to leave my dogs.

Fast forward to last night. Robbie and I are sitting at dinner. We hadn't eaten all day. We were both grumpy and irritated. The check literally took an hour. I mean from the time we asked for the check to the time we got the bill it was 1 hour! I got a total of 11 bug bites. I went to write an email to my best friend Megan. God love her, she is a nurse. Th email was a good bye letter. I needed her to tell my family in her Nursey lingo that I had Malaria and was dying a long slow death. If she didn't hear from me, I had died in a bush somewhere and the misquitos have taken over my body. I didn't send the email because my brain must have kicked in. My brain told me I was an idiot. Of course, I didn't have Malaria. DUH! I just got the shots for Malaria for our mission trip to Africa. Or maybe that was Meningitis... Idk.
And then a man interupts my brain and mind arguing with each other.
Robbie: "Hi"
Man: "You speak English"?
Robbie: Yes!
Man: excitement like Ive never seen before.
And these two proceed to have man talk while I am Web MD-ing bug bites the size of golf balls. These thoughts pop into my head. Brittany, you need to take a chill pill. Look around you and chill.
If you die of Malaria there is a good chance it could make the news.And that would be a good way to leave this earth.
This man is that excited about an English speaking person while you are sitting here being a hag.
This Morning.
I woke up and before Satan or my mind or whatever evil had possessed me over the past two days got to me I had a positive thought. I looked around at the palm trees. I thought, Do you know how many people would kill to be here in the DR right now? Yes. Yes, I do. Because every person I know has told me what they would do to be here right now. And then I felt guilty.
I sorted through this guilt with tea and meditation. And this is what I learned this morning:
I am so excited to be in the DR! It is absolutely beautiful here. I did have an ugly attitude hidden inside my heart BUT I will not feel guilty about it. I will share it with other people because other people have ugly attitudes about beautiful things too. The problem isn't in you or me. The problem is we couldn't see the beauty. We didn't know it was there. Just like some people don't like chocolate. It isn't their fault. They just don't get it.
Instead of waiting for beauty to find me, I will go and find the beautiful. Now, I know what you are thinking. I am crazy that I wouldn't be so freaking excited about this. I get it. But I am a slow learner. So in order for God to teach me lessons, He has to send me to the beach to get it. HA! Maybe, I am the smart one. And you are the slow one.
Honesty is freedom. I believe we all have these horribly ridiculous feelings that we think we need to hide inside. That is the mind talking. Get them out. I can't tell you how amazing it feels. I am free to fall completely in love with this place now. I already have. Mosquito's and all. Now I can see clearly enough to put on bug repellent. And if I am wrong and not everyone has these same horrible irrational thoughts sometimes then at least you are entertained.
Every week I will give you my honest hour. Whatever junk is inside me every week I will spill it all out right here. Good, bad or ugly. Hopefully there will be more good then bad and ugly. I am even going to make Robbie write an entry.
Going to enjoy the beach now!
Get all the junk out and go and find the beauty!
HE>i
 PS Pics from black and white event coming soon. It was such an amazing night!!!!
xo
B

PSS
My computer has translated everything into Spanish. I have clue how my computer is this smart but it is. Or it is the government. So now I will be learning Spanish.
Peace

Black and white charity event details

When- Saturday Oct. 26th 8pm- midnight 

Where- JDI (Jefferson Davis Inn) it's across from the Lex. There's a small parking lot or parking on the street. 

Attire- black and/or white. You don't have to dress up! 

$1 minimum - $100 max donations will be taken at the door. Proceeds will benefit mission 108 and the homeless of lexington. 

Guests are Encouraged and Welcome! 

Possible photo booth

Food and cocktail hour 

Cash bar

Let me know if you have questions!!

B 

Guinness basketball commercial.

This is how I see the Church. I couldn't think of a better way to describe it. Friendship. Togetherness.

Winterball

The Dominican Republic is calling our names. We are really excited and nervous about heading down to Winterball here in a week! We were offered this opportunity the last game of season. But didn't think much more about it after that. This is the first off season we had actual plans to do more than lay on the couch. We have plans to go on a mission trip to Ethiopia, the Black and White Event, Charleston, North Carolina, and Nashville. We wanted to go to Winterball because we don't have children and it would be an amazing opportunity. Robbie would be able to work on becoming a starter. But it just didn't seem like we could find the time plus Rob thrives off of resting his body in the off season. Rob was called again a few days into the off season. We knew we needed to make a decision and some sacrifices.
  I could see in Robbie's eyes he was conflicted. There were many reasons we didn't just dive right in like some may think he should. It isn't as simple as go to Winterball and become a starter. I wish, but No....After long conversations with our agent, family and God we decided to go. The rangers worked with our schedule. JD was amazing helping Robbie make this decision. We are able to go next Sunday until Nov 20th. We will fly from the DR to Dallas and then to Ethiopia a day later.

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to go to the DR with Robbie. I am thrilled he will be able to start work as a starter. It is his dream to be a starter. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and sent us messages of support!  We love each and every one of you. Your support means the world to my husband. Whether you have seen us in person, sent love via text, twitter, or email we have read every single message and taken it to heart. My hope is to see Robbie pitch as a starter for the Rangers next season. If that doesn't happen this will still be an amazing God driven experience.
I'll report our experiences as we go along!
HE>i
xo
R&B

2013 Black and White Event

YAYYYY! The Black and White Event is undergo! Here's whats up! I like to make simple things complicated and complicated things simple. So I'm going to tell you what my mind told my brain about how and why the Black and White Event was invented. The Simple version: The goal of the Black and White event is 1) Have fun and do Life TOGETHER and 2) to raise money and then GO out and spread some love in pretty radical ways. If you are boring you can stop reading hear because I am about to take you inside my mind talking to my brain here...

Complicated version:
Mission 108 is the charity Rob and I created. All of the money raised from the Black and White Event will go towards Mission 108. We started it about two years ago in the off season. We went to a town close to the city we live in and knocked on peoples doors and said, How can we help? Its a small drug infested town. Of course, my love and interest in drugs and people was the driving force to spend time here. We were welcomed with wide open arms by some and threatened by others. We were offered drugs and the shortening of our lives if we stepped one step closer to some people's private apartment property door step! What a rush! I saw disease and heart break. It was challenging but thrilling. We found that the main need was TOGETHERNESS. This was a tough concept to some people helping us serve. Some questioned what my goal was. Why were we there? But to these people three hours once a week where they didn't have to worry about what drug they would do next or what they would eat for dinner was the best thing for them. When we were with them we listened. We talked. We cried. We ate. We cooked. We served. We were together. We met people I will always hold in my heart.

The need was growing but the finances weren't. People were hungry and needed medications. They needed financial, mental and emotional counseling. There was too much for my husband and I to do. And this is why the Black and White Event happens! Life Together and raise money. Mission 108 was created to meet needs and love people. It has never been and will never be focused on one particular group of people. We will never give to only the homeless or only the people in Nicholasville. Robbie and I decide every year where God leads our hearts and we give in that area. Sometimes that means dropping off Christmas presents to a single mom. Sometimes that will mean care packages for the homeless. Sometimes that means buying balloons for children in the hospital. Who knows!? Y'all know I don't like labels so I felt like if I chose a certain group to always give to I'm choosing certain Labels of people over others. Forget the Labels and give me the people. There's nothing wrong with giving to a certain charity or group all the time! I love that my friends have a strong emotional connection to childhood cancer and they devote all there time to that. It just ain't me. I like the thrill of a new year. New people. I like NEW. And I might have a tad bit of ADD.

The best advice ever given to me was this. "When you feel lost, find someone who is lost too. We you feel needy find someone who is in need. When you feel lonely find someone who is alone. When you feel, then feel together". It is all about Together. The world we live in is all about titles and stereotypes and choosing sides. We don't realize how much this tears us apart. You either have to be Republican or Democrat. Pro abortion or Pro Life. Pro Obama or Anti Obama. Love gays or Hate Gays. Tri Delt or Alpha Gamma Whatever. Dog Person or Cat Person. UK or Louisville (Go CATS)! Rangers or Angels (DUH! RANGERS>>). We are manipulated into this thinking at a young age.  I think when you start only (key word) liking and loving people who are the SAME one day you realize you are DIFFERENT and then you feel lost. Lost being the absence of together. And when you start identifying with the SAME people you forget to think for yourself. Each people group ( Republican, Christian, Athlete or whatever it might be) is to follow certain rules in order to stay accepted in that group. I think rules and guidelines are a great and wonderful tool to help us find our identities. But when these rules and guidelines start to put up walls between people and tear down our togetherness we have got a problem. We are programmed to 1) Find people who are similar 2) Cling. But then we add a step 3) STOP. We find the similarity and cling and then STOP.  The STOP is bad! We have to find the peace and similarities in all people and cling. Not just to the people who are apparently similar. Never EVER STOP. True beauty in life is finding the similarities in the most different of ways.
 I named this event the Black and White event because 1) the pictures will turn out amaze balls with everyone dressed in either black or white. 2) These two colors are completely different from each other.  I actually think I learned at one point that one is not a color at all. You couldn't get further in the spectrum of colors from each other than black and white do. Yet somehow they find a way to compliment each other. DIFFERENT but the SAME.
The black and White event is to bring together people who are different but the same. We are all Different and sometimes forget to respect each other for our differences. All of us different people will come together at the Black and White Event for Different reason paying different amounts of money wearing different variations of black or white having different meaningful and meaningless conversations. All of these differences are bringing us together and then we will find out how similar we are. and we wont STOP!!!!
AND THEN we can GO  radically love more people who are more different than us financially, spiritually, and mentally so that those people will one day do the same. Bringing the world together one day at a time.
And there's how my ADD/OCD mind works. There is how I created the Black and White Event.
I will be posting videos here of the amazing things that come from all of your donations!! I will also be posting dates here for all the Lexington people who want to serve with us.
I don't know a lot but I do know this. Each of us is different in every way and science tells me that makes us the same. DIFFERNT but the SAME.
 Break the walls. Be free. Be you.  Free to be you. Black and White. Figurative.

P.S. I think that calls for a big fat "REBELS FOR LIFE"! in your best singing voice. 
P.S.S. I forgot to tell you somewhere up there when I was rambling that as always you can email me or comment in the blog or find me on twitter to tell me about a family or friend or situation that needs some radically love. We are always looking for ways to be rad and will prayerfully consider every nomination.

HE>i
xoxo
b 

Rebels For Life

Honey! We are Home!
Well, it has been a few weeks since I had time to sit down and write. The Rangers ended the season with a  great fight. Rob and I are sad we couldn't experience payoffs and the World Series BUT we are home in the off season and so excited.
 Rob finished the season strong. I couldn't be more proud of him. This was his second completed year in the Big Leagues. We feel blessed beyond measure. I freaking love baseball season and all the blessings that come with it. But now I am so ready for this off season. We packed up our Dallas Home and headed home to Ky two days after the season ended. I had packed and arranged NOTHING because like all the players and wives I was prepared to head to Cleveland for the Wild Card Game. There is always tomorrow in baseball and if there is not tomorrow then there is always next year. That is the great part! We will get em next year!!!! Enough about baseball though.
 We drove 14 hours back home through the night because Robbie is stubborn and refuses to stop. We pulled into our home at 9:30 am on Thursday morning. Headed straight to bed. And then we woke up...  We woke up and it hit us. Reality. Baseball was over for the year and this was our off season. We are so sad to say bye to Texas, our friends, the field, the fans, and everything else we leave behind in the off season. But let me tell you about all the exciting things we have planned. And how we are going to live like Rebels for Life.
  Robbie and I like to use the saying Rebels for Life almost everyday. We both have it tattood on us. I don't really remember where the saying came from. Robbie would tell you these were lyrics I made up to a Beyonce song because I can't seem to ever get the words to a song right. Whereever it came from it has stuck. It has been one of our Life Motto's since high school. We feel like it fits us perfect. Because we are vocal about our Christian beliefs in a world and industry that doesn't have the same beliefs we view that is quite rebellious. Rebels for Life is also a daily reminder that people are going to have opinions about us no matter what. We are rebels for life because we tend not to live by the unwritten rules put on people to govern their actions in society but rather living life to fullest and embracing the human side of us by making mistakes and learning from them but never at the expense of others. I am naturally a very OCD and ADD person. The two of those things mixed together makes life extremely stressful for me. The OCD side of me has to have things unpacked and perfectly in place but the ADD side of me can't think straight enough or sit still long enough to do it.  Rebels For Life reminds me to just Breath and Let go.
So... We are Rebels for Life-ing this off season! I am quitting my job tomorrow. Yes Tomorrow. It is actually pretty dumb that I am writing this before I quit but hopefully no one from school reads this before the morning. And this will give me the extra push to do it. I told you before I work at a Christian School.  I wanted to see how they would handle the NOH8 Campaign Rob and I did. They handled it just fine. I spent an entire day in meetings with people explaining my heart on the situation. Everyone showed love towards our decision. I wont lie, there were rumors. Teachers and people I don't know were saying things and starting drama but for the most part everyone was great. The reason I am quitting is not because of that! I have worked with the high school cheerleaders for the past four years. We have had a different coaching staff every year since I graduated five years ago. I know these girls and have relationships with them that will last forever. My heart is 100 percent with them BUT when new coaches come along my relationship with the cheerleaders becomes threatening to the new coach. My husbands job and my lifestyle becomes target practice for some people. I get treated different than others. Drama that is unnecesary begins and I do more micromanaging then coaching. What it comes down to is there are a lot of women who CAN'T figure out how to be happy for other women. Or when someone can't figure me out then walls come up and drama flows out. Robbie and I don't fit into a mold or a category or a steryotype. He is a professional athlete with a heart of gold and I am an athletes wife who loves connecting with people. For whatever reason this is a world view of "people like us" (which I am sick of hearing). And because we boldly march to the beat of our own drums people FREAK OUT! We believe in God but don't allow the rules people have put on Christianity to define us. We are Rebels for Life. We say what we feel; the good, the bad, the ugly. We try to be real. Sadly, this is a foreign concept to people. I've asked a few of my friends what their perception of us was before the knew us. They told me straight up; we are intimidating. I hate this. Feeling like my outsides don't match my insides. Anyone who really knows us knows we aren't intimidating. But unfortunately Pro baseball player and Athletes Wife has its own meaning to some people.
Back to cheer. This new coach (who will remain nameless) decided (for me) to stick me with the middle school team. I had NO decision in this. I was told through a text message. My feelings were hurt and I made silly decisions like calling my athletic director 16 times before he answered. He was assuring and reaffirming to me and I had some decisions to make. Rob and I prayed about and God made it very clear that I needed to quit. My heart wasn't with the middle school. I actually would rather do anything but hang out with middle schoolers. They freak me out. Middle Schoolers these days aren't like what I experienced in middle school. They are like adults. They don't have acne and they have cell phones. They watch the same TV shows as me and no more about boys and sex then I do. It confuses me. I get lost in interaction with them because they are little people with grown up minds. Therefore, I can't work with middle school. My heart has always been with High school. But because life isn't all Diamonds and Rose like it should be.... (and women struggle accepting other women without feeling threatened).... I am quitting.
 Quitting coaching cheer is FOR SURE Rebels For Life. This off season will be filled with planning events. We have an annual Halloween party, charity event, bachelorette party, volunteering, traveling to Africa, going to weddings, and our siblings basketball and soccer games. We are having community dinner nights once a week where anyone and everyone is welcome to come eat dinner at our house and just do life together. In the big scheme of things; I am really doing the same thing as I always do. I like working with high school cheerleaders because I get them. Instead Robbie and I will spend the off season with different people who get us and we get them. It is my off season goal to start loving women radically and underservingly. Women need to start being happy for each other. Jealousy in every form is ugly. The only way to drive out evil is to pour abundant senseless love right back into the world.
REBELS FOR LIFE this off season
HE>i
xox
b