Soccer Parents

The month of March also introduced Ray & me to a new experience with parenting...Soccer. For Nicholas's birthday present we decided to let him play soccer. He loves it! The kids practice once a week and then have games on Saturday morning through the month of April. Nicholas is on a great team with a lot of his friends, including his best friend Emma. For the most part, all of the kids knew each other and they get along fabulously. Their coach is one of the moms and is a wonderful person who truly lets the kids just have fun. She laughs along with them and there is no pressure whatsoever to be the best team out there. They are truly there to just have fun and make friends. Nicholas had his first game on Saturday and it was so fun to watch him out there on the field in his "jersey" and shin guards. It was very apparent the team is made up of 4 & 5 year olds, as there was some kicking of the grass, kicking the ball in the other teams goals, and the usual stuff that comes with 4 & 5 year olds. All of us parents laughed and giggled as the kids made their way up and down the field. One of the little girls on Nicholas's team yelled out to her mom from the middle of the field "I haven't touched the ball yet mom!" Emma scored her first goal and did the cutest little victory dance and skipped down the field with a big grin on her face. One of the other little boys on Nicholas's team decided that he was going to use his body to stop the ball and that was his method of defense throughout the game. Nicholas's favorite part of the game is throwing the ball in, however he throws it wherever the spirit moves him, regardless if it's to his team or not. There is nothing quit like watching your child out the field having fun and just being a kid. It really makes you stop and appreciate the gift God has given you. Here's a couple of pics from Nicholas's first soccer game.