Winter Pause for German Junior Soccer

Annabella's team played their last game for this calender year on Saturday. Now the "winter break" begins until March. In the meantime they will continue training to be ready to complete the season. The break is designed (I suspect) to protect the health of the children from the weather. Who really likes to play soccer in the snow and minus 5 degrees?

Before the game they took a team photo. While they were posing I also took a picture




As you may notice the team has 3 girls. They are really coming together as a team, won two weeks ago 4-0 and tied 2-2 on Saturday. The rematch should be good, and I know they cannot wait.

They have a tradition here in the junior league where at the end of the game each child is allowed to take a penalty shot. It does not affect the score, but helps build team spirit and interest. Whether or not they score, they become a candy prize. Here is Annabella in her last attempt.

          

As you see in the video she did not score. In her defense, she was injured in the first half when she got kicked in her right heel. She worked it out in the half time break, but it was still hurting in the second half but she keep playing, even though she could not completely put her weight on her right leg.

We'll keep you updated on your soccer progress after the break!

Joy-Joann grows everyday...

It has been 9 years since we had a baby in the house, and you forget just how quickly they grow. I put together a slide show of the pictures from this month (even though it is not over yet, but almost). You can see the slide show by clicking on the picture below



The web page containing all current and future photos can be found at

Joy-Joann Photos and Videos

Ian comes for a visit before his Deployment to Iraq

We got a pleasant surprise by Email at the beginning of the month. Ian was getting a couple of days off before they were getting ready to deploy to Iraq and wanted to come by for the weekend. It was great to get a chance to see him before he leaves.

Naturally it also gave Ian a chance to see Joy-Joann for the first time. We were able to capture a short video of him with Joy-Joann. It is available in two formats (QuickTime and Flash). Just click on the image to open the film:



It was unfortunate that Ian had to return to his base on Tuesday, Nov. 11, since that was also his birthday. So in Monday evening Anja prepared a special German dinner for him. Here is a short video getting the table finished.



Of course we took some other pictures while he was here. I put these together in a small slide show. If you would like a print version of the picture, just send me and Email and provide the slide number.


Ian will be leaving on Thanksgiving for his new duty station in Iraq. We wish him all the best and a safe return. We will keep him in our prayers.