Twenty Days of Thanksgiving

Day 18
Today I am thankful for all of the coaches and support staff who have invested into my children. Each and every one of my kids have a heart for sports. Nick and Aaron both love football. Abby and Hali love soccer. The dedication and investment that these coaches have made is amazing. They spend day after day, week after week giving instruction, encouragement and motivation to do the best you can. I am thankful for the Kansas City Lions, whom are geared towards home schoolers. They provide a wonderful opportunity for our kids to play competitive sports. I am also very thankful for Scream Soccer. The love coach Barry has for these girls is evident in all he says and does. I am thankful for Coach Gretta who has the little Sprites. What an amazing gift you have given all of your players.

Thank you Lord for these wonderful people!

The other passion

As some of you know Nick has been out since the last game. He got knocked around pretty hard. We still have not ruled out a broken ankle~ However the swelling is going down and the pain is decreasing. Still there was no way he was going to play this weeks game.

Here he is walking some plays with one of the other players.

Nick is the one standing in the middle. Here he is overseeing the stretching before the game.

The boys in the blue uniforms are Junior high kids. The rest are JV and V players.

Right before the game~ All of the boys getting ready to hit the field.

I think it came close to killing him to stand there on the side lines and not be able to play.

Now for a little brag time on Aaron. MY GOODNESS that boy played some serious ball! The guy standing next to me taking stats (while I video taped) had Aaron down for something every 3rd play. He really stepped up this game. He made the first touchdown along with passing to James who was waiting with open hands in the end zone for the last touchdown of the game. Less than 8 seconds on the clock!

So my husband is not the best photographer. He tries hard. Since I am unable to do both still pictures and run the video camera during the games, I am thankful that I get SOME images! Thank you dear!

So we didn't win again this week. I am not really too shocked since all but 3 players are new to the team this year. It is a hard pill to swallow however since last year they were undefeated for the season going 12-0 and taking the championship game to boot. The boys are getting alot of play time and this is good because its an absolute FORTUNE to let them play.

Friday Night Football

I am not sure how I managed to only get a picture of Nick before the game. Actually Hali took this one as we were walking out the door. I think Aaron was in a rush to get to the game and already waiting at the car.

This was the banner we made for the boys to run through. Lasted all of 1 second but well worth it! The Junior High Team held the sign while the varsity players ran through.

Doing their warm up drills and passes.

Pre-game exercises...

After the game here. Nick was injured (praying his ankle is not broken but its not looking real good at the moment). This is his girlfriend Chelsea who came with her parents to watch the first game. Doesn't she look cute wearing his away jersey?

Anyone who knows us, knows that we are a family that believes kids should play sports. Not only does it help to keep kids healthy in general, but later in life it also helps them (and sometimes gives them an excuse) resist the peer pressure of doing drugs. There has been a lot of research on this topic. For us it has proven true. A true athlete has no desire to pollute his or her body, nor do they generally want to "risk" their future.

We started the actual season of games this week. We have been practicing all summer long it seems like. I am thankful for our coaches who have made such a wonderful commitment to the kids along with the Wonderful Home school Sports Organization known as the Kansas City East Lions. Thanks guys for all your hard work!