Don't ever let ANYONE tell you that you can't do something!

Life Lesson June 28th: Don't ever let ANYONE tell you that you can't do something!

This past weekend, we heard the amazing story of Daniel Nava....and we must share it. Daniel Nava aspired to play baseball and although he had little experience, he tried to walk onto the Santa Clara baseball team as a freshman outfielder. He didn't make the team, however they did ask him to be the team manager. He made photocopies. He did data entry. He shagged fly balls during batting practice. He charted pitches during games. He even did laundry.

His goal at that point was to find a job in baseball, be it coaching or scouting or climbing the management ladder somewhere. No one was asking him to hit in the middle of their lineup. Working as an intern, a glorified clubbie, was as close as he could get. One of Nava’s other responsibilities, along with making copies and doing laundry, was filming pitchers and hitters at every game. It was through that film work that he began to develop something of a hitting philosophy for himself.

Eventually he left Santa Clara and continued to tryout for various Triple-A, Double-A and Division I schools. After some success, he still didn't attract any interest from major-league teams. That would have been too easy. He tried out with the Chico Outlaws and was cut soon after. He was told by many to stop wasting his time and find a "real career".

Only after Baseball America listed Nava as the top prospect in independent baseball did the Red Sox purchase his contract virtually sight unseen. On June 12, 2010, Daniel Nava played his first game with the Red Sox. As he left the dugout the coach said "just hit the first pitch" and here's what happened......you must watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAFbdgQGg5Y

Follow Nava's example and don't let QUITTING be an option for you.

Just Dream It

Life Lesson June 16th: Just Dream It

When your child tells you "I want to dance on the high school dance team someday" or "I want to be on the Women's Olympic Soccer team", how do you respond? Do you respond and go along with it all while thinking in the back of your mind "good luck with that" or do you pursue the path that just might take them there?

I am grateful for the determined spirit that my daughter's have and just hope that we can guide them down the right paths to make these dreams come true. In the meantime, we will rejoice with every accomplishment and learn from every hurdle right along with them. (and I gather that 'their' dreams just may be the reason that God gave us a 7 year gap between them and the "Kade-man" as something tells me that his dreams may be just as big...although right now he only dreams of Mickey Mouse)

All Right Stop Collaborate and Listen!

Life Lesson June 15th: All Right Stop Collaborate and Listen!

YES - I am a child of the 80's! And thanks to the show GLEE my children have fallen in love with this song. But on a serious note, this line of the song rang true in my life yesterday.

You see, Sunday night Kade started running a fever of 102.5 so I contacted my boss and let him know that I wouldn't be into work on Monday. As much as I didn't like my son being ill, I was actually looking forward to having the day off to get things caught up around the house as we had been gone most of the weekend and had a VERY busy week ahead of us getting ready for our whirlwind vacation week. Well all of that changed around 9pm....Kade was fever free...yet I wasn't feeling good so I went to bed...only to awake a few hours later with the STOMACH FLU!

YIKES...I didn't have time for this was my immediate thought yet was quickly reminded to STOP COLLABORATE AND LISTEN. Thankfully my girls are old enough to help with their brother as Mike had a full day at work that he couldn't miss. My parents brought me 7UP and crackers on their way to work and made sure the kids were getting breakfast. As I lay quarantined in my room feeling like I was going to die, I was forced to STOP. My girls began to COLLABORATE on how they could entertain their brother quietly so I could rest and also help me get the laundry done and they did a fabulous job. And I was forced to LISTEN.....to the sounds of my children....discussing our upcoming trip to the lake, Disneyland, Iowa, and church camp.....dancing and singing to the GLEE soundtrack that they found on youtube....the girls being so silly that they had Kade laughing uncontrollably.....Kade racing himself or an imaginary friend around the house with the shout of "Ready Set Go" to start the race. And in the midst of all of this I realized that although our vacation week will be nonstop that we need every second of it together away from the demands of our normal daily life. I can't wait to LISTEN and soak up the MEMORIES in our crazy vacation week!

2010: A Year of Changes

2010 has become the year of CHANGE in our home. It started back in January when Mike and I made the commitment individually and as accountability partners to eat healthier, lose weight, and to exercise. Our journey began with the Advocare 24 Day Challenge and that challenge has changed our lives in numerous ways. A friend told me "exercise creates the shape, however proper nutrition is what allows that shape to be seen". That statement is played in my head on a daily basis. And as you will see below....that statement has proven to be true over the last 6 months. The daily core nutrition that we receive from our Advocare products has truly changed our lives.

Before you assume that we have deprived ourselves of certain foods or spent hours in the gym, let me tell you what we have done. FOOD - yes we eat healthier then we did previously but we also eat in 5-6 small meals rather then 3 meals per day which controls our portion size. We eat more fruits and vegetables too. Have we deprived ourselves of anything? NO - we just eat the "junk" in moderation. We don't keep the cabinets stocked with the "junk" either. EXERCISE - when we started our exercise routine was spending 30 minutes about 3 times per week on the treadmill or using our home weight system. In late January, I started the Couch-to-5k program as one of my 2010 bucket list items was to run a 5k. That program had me running/walking for approx. 30 minutes 3 times per week for a period of 8 weeks. It wasn't until March that my running time increased to about 45 minutes and I started alternating my running schedule with strength training...again though not spending more the 30-45 minutes 4 times per week. In May, Mike started the P90X series and is currently on day 28 of the 90 day program.

My Progress:

Weight: down 19 lbs
Inches: down 18 total inches



January 2010 / June 2010


Weight: 152.4 / 133.4
Right Arm: 10.25 / 9
Shoulders: 40.25 / 38.25
Chest: 36.75 / 33.75
Waist: 35.25 / 29.25
Hips: 40.75 / 36
Right Thigh: 18.25 / 17.75
Right Calf: 14.75 / 14.5

Mike's Progress:

Weight: down 22.8 lbs
Inches: down 11.75 total inches

January 2010 / June 2010
Weight: 256.8 / 223.8
Right Arm: 12.5 / 12.75
Shoulders: 52 / 50.75
Chest: 46.5 / 44.5
Waist: 44.75 / 38
Hips: 42.5 / 41.5

Right Thigh: 23 / 21.25
Right Calf: 15.25 / 16






Life Lesson: Posting your before & after pics is a very humbling experience!

The Story Behind Life Lessons

Over the past several months, I have been focused on "life lessons" in my daily life. I think about the significant and sometimes not so significant events in my daily life and what I am supposed to learn from them. I have posted these lessons perodically on Facebook and many times have been asked "is that a quote that you read somewhere" or "what's the story behind that". So following a few of the strong females in my life I am starting a blog. Through this blog I will be able to share the stories behind the lessons along with the daily events of our lives in the Bayers house.