Soccer Tots

(2 blogs already in 1 week.... and it's only Tuesday.  I'm back, people!)

Since we ended our Gymboree membership, we decided we needed to do something else so Bianca could release some of her energy.  Our neighbors, the Counts, said their son was going to start playing soccer next month.  Bianca really loves playing soccer, so we looked into it and signed her up to play.  Soccer Tots is an awesome program for kiddos.  It teaches great coordination, listening, and comprehension skills.  Little Miss Bianca was the only Belle of the class, but she made herself known (of course).  She and daddy had a great time.   

(these pics are not so great - I'm standing in a viewing room behind glass)

Coach Alex showing Daddy and Bianca how to hold the ball

Daddy is really loving this.

Show those boys how it's done!  (notice all the proud papas)

B likes to carry the ball - we have to remind her to "kick it".  I'm sure Mia Hamm had this same issue at 2 years.

My favorite pic of all - stretching with Daddy.  This wasn't new to B, she does it with daddy after his runs.

On another note, I've been digging in deep to a devotional my dear mother-in-law gave me for Christmas:

I want to share a passage I read the other day.  It starts with Philippians 3:13-14: Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  
STAY IN THE RACE
      In 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim the chilly ocean waters between Catalina Island and the California shore.  She swam through foggy weather and choppy seas for fifteen hours.  Her muscles began to cramp, and her resolve weakened.  She begged to be taken out of the water, but her mother, riding in a boat alongside, urged her not to give up.  She kept trying but grew exhausted and stopped swimming.  Aides lifted her out of the water and into the boat.  They paddled a few more minutes, the mist broke, and she discovered that the shore was less than a half mile away.  "All I could see was the fog, " she explained at a news conference.  "I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it."
     Take a long look at the shore that awaits you.  Don't be fooled by the fog of the slump.  The finish may be only strokes away.  God may be, at this moment, lifting his hand to signal Gabriel to grab the trumpet.  Angels may be assembling, saints gathering, demons trembling.  Stay at it!  Stay in the water.  Stay in the race.  Stay in the fight.
     Give grace, one more time. Be generous, one more time.  Teach one more class, encourage one more soul, swim one more stroke.

I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4

He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Proverbs 10:5

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9