Joe meets Aubrey Huff in San Francisco

Well…I hardly know where to begin. We just got back from four wonderful days in San Francisco where we got to meet Aubrey Huff and attend the Giants’ series against the Cincinnati Reds. Joe has been anticipating and talking about this day since back in April when he received a personal letter from Aubrey Huff inviting him to attend any series he wanted. We knew that going on this trip would be a chance in a lifetime, and it would also signify that Joe is getting stronger and healthy enough to travel.

We left Monday and had a fun send off from Fort Worth with a great article about Joe and Aubrey Huff that came out in the Star-Telegram a few days before we left. This just raised our level of excitement even higher and provided more opportunities to discuss our upcoming trip with those around town that saw the article. We even received a phone call and some notes in the mail from complete strangers who read the article and offered us encouragement, support, hope, and prayers. God has been providing so many special blessings along this path!

Our flight went well and the boys enjoyed playing their DS on the way. We left Caleb, our 2 year old, with some friends for his “vacation”…poor little guy won’t know what he missed until later in life when he notices he’s not in the pictures. Thanks to the Shermans and Eppsteins for watching him while we were gone! He had a great time with you. We would have loved to have him with us but we know he wouldn’t have lasted sitting through the games, especially with the 2 hour time change.

We arrived safely in San Francisco to some of the warmest days they have had all summer. The highs were in the upper 90’s and the lows in the 60’s. We were expecting cooler weather after seeing so many fans bundled up on the television and packed jackets and clothes we never had to wear. We stayed in a hotel downtown located less than a mile from AT&T Ballpark. The kids were ecstatic about our room at the Marriott Courtyard because it had a room for them and a room for us. I was extremely happy with the door in between the rooms that I could shut when the kids woke up so early! I am still waiting for the age when they start sleeping in.

After we got settled into the room, we tried to nap knowing we would be up late that evening but everyone was so excited. Joe did end up falling asleep and got some much needed rest before we walked to the ballpark. Walking on crowded city sidewalks was new to the boys so we had to work on some “walking etiquette”. Joe in particular likes to walk zig zag as he is looking up at the buildings taking in all the sights which doesn’t make for very predictable movements when you are walking near him. We gave them some tips and continued to remind the boys to watch where they are going and try to walk in a straight line… sorry to everyone we bumped into in SF! However, glad to report the boys did improve on this as the week went on.

We got to the game early and were able to get special passes to watch some batting practice and meet Aubrey Huff on the field. (A special thanks to all of Mr. Huff’s friends and Giants’ associates who helped coordinate our trip and usher us around…you all were fantastic!) Aubrey picked Joe up and gave him a huge hug. Then the rest of us greeted him, we took pictures, and he took his time answering questions from Joe, Ben and Will. He seems to just love kids and got right down on their level to talk. Of course, Aubrey was wearing Joe’s orange “Going to Bat 4 Joe” bracelet and the boys compared theirs with his. Some of the media had heard about Aubrey and Joe’s story so we were interviewed for a news clip. It was a wonderful meeting and we know that this just does not happen every day. We feel extremely honored that Aubrey Huff has opened his heart to us and allowed Joe to develop a friendship with him.

The first game of the series against the Reds started at 7:15 pm Pacific Time…which meant 9:15 pm our time! We were wondering how the boys would do but they were so pumped they had no problems at the game. The Giants came out strong and scored 5 runs in the first inning. Aubrey Huff played an amazing game, went 3-4, 3 RBIs, and had a home run. We all went wild in the stands each time he was up. Everyone around us knew we were big Aubrey Huff fans not only by our loud cheering but all five of us were wearing Giants shirts with #17 Huff on the back…we couldn’t be missed! It was incredible being in the stands finally watching Aubrey Huff play in person…much better than keeping up with his hits on the computer. Joe got an opportunity to talk to some of the fans around our section about the orange bracelet that Aubrey Huff wears for him. They were all as taken back by Aubrey Huff’s kindness, concern, and generosity as we still are. We welcomed every chance we could get to share with people what an outstanding man Aubrey Huff is and how humble, loving, caring, and generous he has been to our family. This is an incredible example of “loving your neighbor” as the bible instructs us to do. After Joe and Will gave away their bracelets to some kind fans we met, we started having Joe wear extra bracelets so he could hand them out when he wanted. By the time the game finished, it was nearly 12:30 am our time and our 4 year old, Will, was beside himself. He was too tired to walk back to the hotel so Daddy had to carry him as he slept slumped over Kevin’s shoulder. Needless to say, the kids went right to sleep when we entered the room.

On Tuesday morning we were slow to get going and ended up eating breakfast late. We wandered into downtown and thought we would ride the cable cars to Fisherman’s Wharf. We didn’t realize the line would be so long and we needed to be back at the Ballpark to meet Aubrey Huff at 2:30pm. Instead, we decided to walk up to the top of Nob Hill to see what we could see. If you know San Francisco, the hills go practically straight up. Well, Joe was too tired from the previous day’s events to walk the hills so Kevin carried him up the entire hill on his shoulders. Joe was all smiles and Kevin was working hard and not complaining…it was a good substitute for his P90X workout. By the time we got to the top of the hill on the map it didn’t look like we were very far from Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world) so I suggested we just keep going. We didn’t have time to waste; we had to keep moving if we were going to make it. When we reached Lombard Street we were still 4 blocks from the crooked section, and once again it was straight uphill to get there so Kevin had to carry Joe on his shoulders. I know my legs were burning so I can’t imagine how Kevin’s felt with the extra weight on his shoulders bearing down on him. We made it and got some pictures! We were able to catch the cable cars back with no line at all and enjoyed sitting down with some refreshing water…we weren’t quite used to all the city walking yet. And don’t forget it was one of San Francisco’s warmest days of the summer so we were starting to get a little sweaty…something we are very used to in Texas but weren’t expecting in San Francisco.

We made it to the Ballpark in time and waited for Aubrey Huff in the Giants’ dugout. When Mr. Huff walked out Joe sprinted across the dugout right into his arms. The boys had their gloves ready and played catch with Aubrey on the side of the field. Aubrey was so great interacting with the boys. He then took them to the batting cages and threw some soft toss to each one of them. The camera crew from the news station was there and took some footage for a piece on Aubrey and Joe. Ben, Joe, and Will were having the time of their life and Mom and Dad loved every minute watching this. Aubrey Huff took the boys into the locker room while Kevin and I talked with the news crew. I don’t think many people get an opportunity to go into the locker room so this was another extremely special treat for the boys. When they came out, each boy was holding a brand new bat personally autographed by Aubrey Huff and Mr. Huff held out another bat and said, “Here is one for Caleb, I didn’t want him to be left out.” This man knows kids! That was so special to us and shows the way Aubrey Huff has personally gotten to know our family and get connected to us. We know his schedule is busy playing baseball and balancing his family and other commitments so this time with him was treasured by Joe and our family. It truly made an impact on all of us and those around who witnessed this experience.

We proceeded back to the hotel in time for Joe to take a quick nap. It was hard to wake him up from his deep sleep after all the excitement but once he got going he was all set and excited to see his friend, Aubrey Huff, play ball. It was another night game and the Giants crushed the Reds, this time the score was 16 – 5. Aubrey Huff played a great game once again hitting 2-4 with an RBI. The boys all really got into the game and had fun interacting with people they met along the way. The time change and late nights started catching up to all the boys but carrying Ben and Joe wasn’t an option, Daddy was already carrying Will who fell asleep in my lap so I grabbed Ben and Joe’s hands and pulled them along as we walked back to the hotel. We had another fantastic day in San Francisco with Aubrey Huff. Everything was better than we could have asked for or imagined.

Wednesday was a day game and thankfully it wasn’t going to be as hot as it had been the two days before. The team wasn’t taking batting practice on the field due to the early game time so Aubrey told us we could come down in the stands near left field before the game and he would say hi while he was warming up. We were waiting for him in the aisle near the field and the ushers came down to clear out the first couple of rows so the fans wouldn’t distract the players. We told him that Aubrey Huff was a friend of Joe’s and that Mr. Huff told us to meet him there. He looked at me a little funny because normally the players do not do this before the game and he said, “I guess I will have to take your word on this.” Sure enough, in a few minutes Aubrey came onto the field and right over to give Joe a hug. He hugged me and the boys and shook Kevin’s hand and told Joe, “You have all my numbers and my email, right? Keep in touch with me and let me know how you are doing, O.K.?” It was such a touching moment and we will always remember how Aubrey Huff has blessed our little Joe and our family.

The game on Wednesday was a phenomenal comeback by the Giants. The Giants made up a 9 run deficit to force the game into extra innings. Aubrey Huff made a sacrifice fly in the 8th to score a run that brought the score to 11 - 10, Giants in the lead. The game ended up going to 12 innings and lasted about 4 ½ hours. The energy in the stands was overwhelming and we were all on our feet cheering and dancing the whole time. Joe even made it onto the jumbo tron dance cam when he was dancing in the aisle. It was the most exciting game we have been to and could have only been better if the Giants ended on top! This game was the largest comeback in team history. As one of the newspaper headlines stated, “Giants' bats stay as hot as the weather”. The combined runs scored in this series were 57 and goes down as the most ever scored in a three-game set at AT&T Park. Also, this was the first time since 1953 the Giants scored 11 or more runs in 3 consecutive games. We couldn’t have picked a more exciting series to attend…another blessing!

We all hated to get up on Thursday and leave, except for the fact that we would get to go home to Caleb. The weather was much cooler and we actually put on our jackets. The boys were just getting used to the downtown walking and their “walking etiquette” had improved so much! We were sad to say good-bye to San Francisco and sad to be leaving our friend, Aubrey Huff, and the Giants. Joe called Mr. Huff from the airport to say thank you and tell him good-bye. As we reminisce we truly understand what an incredible gift Aubrey gave to our family. This is so much more than just the trip and paying for our family to visit. It has been a distraction for Joe to look forward to when he hasn’t been feeling well. It was something special that was for him when he had to drop out of playing baseball. It was a goal in mind to get through his chemo treatments and get well enough to be able to go to San Francisco. It is the happiness he has while he tells his friends about his MLB friend that he emails. It is the continued friendship that he looks forward to as Mr. Huff encourages Joe to keeps in touch. We know that Aubrey Huff went way over the top to personally touch Joe’s life. In doing this, Mr. Huff, you have touched so many more lives that you will ever know. We recognize and appreciate the huge blessing that God gave us through Aubrey Huff and it has made the past several months a little easier on all of us. Thank you, Lord, that you would place complete strangers in our path to reach out to us and expect nothing in return. We are thankful even in the storms.

Joe had chemotherapy yesterday and is doing well. He slept well last night and was sick a couple of times this morning. He took a long nap this afternoon and has been playing Wii this evening. To encourage Joe to be interviewed on camera in San Francisco we promised him an hour of Wii each time he got interviewed…he earned two hours (we let him play a lot more than that after chemo treatments anyway because he says it helps him to relax and not think about vomiting). Joe’s blood counts continue to look good and I think that is helping him to recover faster each time after chemotherapy. He is more energetic tonight but seems to lose his appetite for a few days. Good thing we ate so much food at AT&T Park! Thank you for your continued prayer and support of Joe…2 more rounds of chemotherapy left!!!!!