Soccer!

 Xander before his first game last Saturday

 Will, before the first game.

 Huddle/prayer with the coach and new teammates.

 Skills and drills before the game.

 Will is kind of hidden in this picture, behind the kid in the white shirt.

 Learning the rules of soccer!

Waiting for a kickoff...not sure how to stand, though!

So, the boys have had two soccer games now, and they love it! Will kept telling me before the first one that he didn't want to go to soccer, but after it was over couldn't stop talking about how much he loved it! They are having a good time and are (in a pleasant surprise) not just standing around like we thought they might. They are there for an hour each week. There are 6 other Messiah boys on their team (one is the other Will from their class and another is the son of a good friend of Aunt Lisa's and who they went to daycare with last year. It is nice to know some other boys and parents). For the first 25 minutes they do skills and drills, then they play another team  for the next 25 minutes. They split up into groups of 4 and play 4 on 4. I had talked to the coach about splitting the boys up, since you know how they act when they're together and shy and he's done a good job of putting them on the field at separate times. During the games they have been chasing the ball, getting into the game and making some plays. Will blocked a goal during their first game and Xander came VERY close to scoring a goal in the 2nd game (he just didn't kick it hard enough and it was rolling slow enough into the goal that the other team was able to run up and block it. So close!) Their coach is a super nice guy. He teaches religion at Lincoln Lutheran high school, so he is good with the kids. He prays with them before the games and brought some of high school soccer player students to help. A great experience all around! I'll have pictures of Grace after her second game tonight!