Picture from go-parga.com

We have been swamped with school and work.  Over Christmas I had to work and then I had one week off and was on one of the hardest services I cover for two weeks.  Meanwhile the kids started Upward Basketball and Cheerleading.  There was a minor snafu in the beginning as the boys were placed on different teams but we were able to get that fixed pretty quickly.  But, given that this league is designed around grade levels, I have been spending nearly my entire Saturdays at the Church where the league is sponsored.  The girls either have practice and a game starting at 7:30 or 8:30 and going for an hour and three quarters.  Then the boys have a game starting at either 4 or 5 pm.  By the time we are done, it is time to go home and cook dinner. 

 

Both the girls and the boys are really enjoying the league this year.  Riley is the tallest kid on the basketball team – so he’s been getting a lot of good advice from the coach and is much more of a team player this year.  In fact, this week, apparently, the coach asked him not to shoot but to pass to this one boy on the team during the 2nd half of the game so that this boy could try and score.  He did such a good job of not shooting it everytime he got the ball – it was very inspiring.  I am definitely seeing a really nice young man developing in him.  Matthew is making so much progress with basketball.  He has scored in almost every game they have played.  He has been really a good sport when they lost (which up until yesterday – they had lost 4 and tied 2) and is the best passer on the team.  He has switched almost exclusively to a regular shot on the basket instead of the “alley oop” shot he has used the last two years.   He is really aware on the court of where the ball is.  He gets right in the middle under the basket and – despite being the smallest on the team – he has gotten some rebounds.  This league plays man-to-man and the one thing he needs to get is playing on his man.  He is continually trying to get open that he sometimes forgets when to play defense and when to play offense.  So yesterday they won the game and he was sooooooo excited.  He said to me on the way home…”I can’t believe we really won a game finally!”   This morning he had come into my bed and he woke up and gave me a hug and then said “I am so happy we finally won a game yesterday!” 

 

The girls are doing fairly well with Cheerleading too.  These Kindergartener’s are a little like herding cats to get them to practice but we have ten cheers that they have learned and one dance routine.  It probably isn’t the best idea having them cheer at 8 or 9 am because they are really unable to focus at that time of day.  But they look so cute.  Next week is the last game and I am going to try and video tape them.  so…maybe I’ll have another post. 

 

As for me, I have two grants due in the next 4 weeks so I am a little overwhelmed.  So, I may or maynot be able to update before then…

Oh yeah, and I have a conference in Orlando the last week of February and decided to take the kids with me.