Upward Soccer

Layla's first soccer game was last Saturday! Coach Amanda did the sweetest thing and surprised us before the game by dedicating the game to Nathan, bringing bracelets for all the kids to wear during the game (well... they tried, but they didn't last long on their little wrists) and stickers for both teams to wear on their jerseys in his honor. It was just the most awesome gesture. Such a kind thing to do!!

Layla played pretty well, but really had a LOT of fun! Note that she is one of the tallest ones on the field! lol. She got to kick off a couple of times, which excited her, but I think she'll understand more what that really means next week. She fell down a few times, but would dust herself off and then look over and give us all the 'thumbs up' to make sure we knew she was good to go (and make sure we were all watching!). I love that she played with a big grin on her face the whole time :) She was pumped that it was a real game instead of practice, so she got to wear her jersey AND she already knew her bible verse for the week. She also got the gold star for Sportsmanship this week. :)






After the game, her coach surprised us AGAIN, and asked the players and parents from both teams to gather around. She had made a banner to show support for Nathan and his unit and wanted to take a picture of everyone with the banner and send it to him. How amazing is that?!? I was blown away. And so so so grateful that Nathan's parents were there for this game to be a part of all this!

This is the picture Nathan and the rest of the guys received that afternoon...


They LOVED it! They are going to try to print it out and hang it up for everyone to see.

Thanks again, Amanda, Chad, Jeff, EVERYONE for all your prayers, love, and support!! You guys are AWESOME!!!