First Play With Mrs. J.

“For I am about to do something new.” Isaiah 43:19

Huddle up! Thank you so much for taking a timeout to read my first post.  My name is Alyssa Janis and I am beyond excited to begin blogging as we head into our fifth NFL season!  We are now with the Cleveland Browns, #DAWGPOUND, and we are so ready to see what this football season brings.  We have only been living in Ohio since April, but getting to know the area has been going really well.  With that being said since we are new to the state, please leave a comment or send me a message on where the best places to go might be!

Being a family in the NFL, we cherish every moment we get to spend all together.  Jeff and I grew up in the same small town, so we like to get back home as much as we can to spend time with our families.  We are very fortunate that since we grew up together, we get to see both sides of our families when we go home.  That also means there are twice as many babysitters for date nights with just the two of us!  Our summer just ended but we jam packed it with lots of time at the beach for the most part.  We also celebrated our third wedding anniversary, Jeff and I’s 27th birthdays, we watched Jeff race a real NASCAR car, went on countless jet ski rides, and really spent some quality time together.  It was an eventful summer that’s for sure.

Now that our summer is over, that means one thing: IT’S TIME FOR SOME FOOTBALL!! Jeff checked in for training camp today and I know he’s really looking forward to this season.  We are definitely missing him already, but words can’t express how proud we are and how excited we are to go to the first practice tomorrow! We were blessed to spend four years in Green Bay, so I definitely had the training camp routine down there.  Now that we are in a different city and with a new team, it almost feels like the night before the first day of school, but in this case it’s the day before the first training camp practice with our new team.  There are tons of thoughts going through my head, but I am thankful I don’t have to do all of this alone.  I have a little one year old to keep me company!  That totally counts right?!  Plus I am really looking forward to meeting our new football family with the Browns.

That is one thing I have learned through the many friendships I have made the past four years in the NFL, and that is: football is family.  A family that is near and far, and one that is always growing.  It’s like a big community where there are always new faces and new connections to make, and I love that.  It’s hard moving to a new place and starting over, especially when you started your lives and family in such great area that felt like home.  I will forever be thankful for the experience we had in Green Bay, and we are so blessed we spent four full years there.  God’s plan to move us to Cleveland has been very thrilling, too!  The Browns organization has been so welcoming and helpful as we have transitioned here and I can’t thank them enough.  I’ve also heard that Browns football fans are super fun and very dedicated, so I look forward to meeting you guys!

We are SO thankful for the opportunities God has given us.  Jeff gets to do what he loves each day, and we get to watch him live out his dream!  This career can be overwhelming and a little scary, but God has brought so many wonderful people into our lives to help us along the way.  We also can’t thank our families enough for being so supportive and such a big help.  I hope all of you continue to follow along our journey now and in the future.  We are so excited to be in the great state of Ohio! Subscribe or check back for my next play soon!

Lots of love,

-Alyssa