First Flag Football Game

I have known for awhile now that our God answers prayer, and that He often does so in lavish ways that leave us stunned by His goodness.  Today the Bangsunds saw this type of lavish answer to prayer.

By the title of the post, you know we are talking about flag football.  If you have read "Challenging Morning" you already know what our first practice was like.  We have spent this week in preparation, buying the right gear and practicing being outside in the cold.  This morning dawned clear and beautiful, a gift from Jesus Christ to our family.  We put on our gear and headed for the field.

Our practice was at 10am.  It went pretty well, but at one point I actually had to heed a friend's advice and step away from the field.  I'm a mom.  Not only that, I'm a homeschooling mom.  There hasn't been much my kids do with which I've not been intimately involved.  When little Paul was starting to lose heart about not touching the ball on every play, I wanted to go fix it.  Awesome John Willsea (this is his new title in my book) gently but firmly told me the coaches could handle Paul's disappointment and directed me to go chat with his wife (a dear friend of mine) on another part of the field.  THANK YOU, MR. AWESOME JOHN WILLSEA!!  I thank you.  My kids' coaches thank you.  And every parent on that field thanks you.

Practice ended and it was game time!  Here are the pics and a few fun plays.

 Upward announces every kid's name and they run through this tunnel before every game.  It is SO much fun!!  Luke was the first from his team - they go in alphabetical order.  I was so proud of him.  Just a year ago, this would have been an anxiety attack.  God is so good!

 This was Paul's favorite part of the day!  No joke.  At the end of the game as we headed back to the car, he said, "I got to run through that tunnel!"  I love my little guy.

 This is the part where God gave us immeasurably more than we asked or imagined.  Luke got to take a few snaps as quarterback today.  This is totally part of Upward's philosophy, allowing even beginners a chance to play the important positions.  It was SUPER fun!

 Luke was also able to play center for quite a few plays.

 At one point Paul was able to get both flags in his mouth. It was so stinkin' cute.  Paul had a few hard moments today.  He really wants to touch the ball on every play.  This just isn't possible for many reasons, probably the most important of which is that the one time he was handed the ball, he ran the wrong way.  It was so very adorable.  He is the youngest on the team and is already becoming the a mascot of sorts.  See the below picture.

This is Paul with #45, a fellow teammate, a big boy.  This sweet young man helped Paul find his way to our sideline after running through the tunnel.  It's going to be a great season, folks.