Basketball Begins

Matthew had his first basketball practice Friday night. He made me laugh right off the bat…during lay-ups he unknowingly returned to the shooters line three times, before finally being directed to the rebounding line. The coaches put him at center, where he looked relatively imposing. He shifted from side to side on defense, but refrained from sticking his nose into the crowds of boys fighting for the ball. They scrimmaged, and he needs to get faster running the court. His coaches were great, repeatedly instructing him with great patience.

At the end of practice they lined the players according to height. Matthew was at the end, the tallest on the team. Right before handing out Carolina blue jerseys, they shifted Matthew, placing two beefier boys at the end. The third jersey was still a huge men’s large, but it was the number Matthew wanted…three. All the other boys immediately put them on, but Matthew just looked at how big his was.

Sunday’s practice involved various drills before another scrimmage. Matthew held his own, and showed improvement. Playing forward, he be began to contest shots. On offense he even got off a shot. At the end the league director made them play without dribbling, and the level of play actually improved. His team has at least six decent players, so perhaps they’ll have a good season.

Friday afternoon and evening Anna had two babysitting jobs. Will spent the weekend in Gainesville, practicing and performing as “Jesus” in his friends’ ballet recital. Ceil drove Anna over on Saturday morning to help with the Tech Crew. Both W and A stayed with the Stevenson’s in a hotel. Ceil sat with Lucy and her mom. Charissa and a few of the other college girls also went.

Sunday Ceil took Mary-Clayton. Alyssa and Kara brought Will six congratulatory roses and a ballet balloon. That night Mary-Clayton went with us over for a small group dinner.

Sunday at the 9 am service Bryan baptized two men. The second guy told in his video testimony of unexpectedly losing his infant daughter during surgery. After the video it was evident how much it had effected Bryan, who courageously completed the sacrament. Looks like he’s already documented the event: www.apinisfamily.blogspot.com/2010/11/tearful-baptism.html