I can brag about this wonderful young man because he is not QUITE my son, but rather the son of one of my oldest friends. For many years we lived next door to him. We always knew he was going to be one of the world's best baseball players, and we were right. He is a WONDERFUL person on the inside too. His faith is strong, and he has always been humble. Johnny and his wife, Kelly, have 3 children, one of whom is severely disabled. Their time and money have gone into a foundation that provides horseback riding therapy for special-needs kids.

This photo and the story are taken right out of the Seattle Times, and it is a beautiful example of Good Things Happening to Good People. Makes me cry to write this up and share it.

All NBK products:
alessio-ABP-torn mask (which I made into a page divider since I don't have any of those YET!)
BombayCRUSH-PP-exposure06
BombayCRUSH-magiclights04
All-messed-up-Papers-thelights-10

Journaling:

Former Washington State first baseman and pitcher John Olerud has been named the Pac-12 Baseball Player of the Century.

The ex-Interlake High School standout headed the conferences All-Century team, which was announced Monday night on Pac-12 Networks.

Olerud was the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1988, when he became the only pitcher in NCAA history to win 15 games (he was 15-0) and hit 20 home runs (he hit 23) in a season. He also was named the College Athlete of the Year in 1988 by Baseball America. For his career, Olerud was 26-4 with a 3.17 ERA and hit .464. He is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the Hall of Fame, was named in his honor.

He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after his junior season and went directly to the big leagues, playing for five teams over a 17-year career. One of those teams was the Mariners, for whom he played from 2000-04.