See Wiley Read. Read, Wiley, Read.

Used book stores seem to have a magnetic pull for us, no matter what country we are in.  So on Saturday when we set out furniture-hunting for our new house, we were lured into two bookstores.  Perhaps one of our best finds of the day was a collection of Dick and Jane stories in great condition.  We picked it up, knowing that with Wiley starting kindergarten next week we'd soon have a new reader on our hands.

As it turned out, Wiley couldn't wait until next week to catch up with his big brother, who is reading chapter books by the dozen.  Tuesday morning as Mommy was working around the house she saw Aden reading a large volume of Richard Scarry stories.  As she passed Aden, she saw that Wiley also noticed him, and she saw a hungry look of competitive determination in his eye.  Just a few minutes later, Wiley had found the volume of Dick and Jane stories and said to Mommy, "I'm going to go read this now."  "Do you want me to help you?" Mommy asked.  "Yeah."  With minimal coaching, Wiley amazingly began to read, deliberately sounding out each word.  Within an hour, he had cruised through the first thirty pages.  Here is a glimpse into his first discoveries as he unlocked the door to the world of reading . . .

Proud Papa Moments -- Soccer Camp

Since soccer is one of Daddy's favorite sports, the Faith Academy summer soccer camp became one of the more highly anticipated events since arriving in the Philippines.  Aden and Wiley were both of age to participate in the week long event, and were ready to showcase their skills despite never having played any sort of organized game.  Playing with Daddy in the yard (or on the tennis court in South Africa) and watching games on television was surely all the training needed. Or, so they thought.

Wiley "Messi", sizing up the competition

The boys showed up to the field, full of excitement and confidence.  And then they saw the other kids and realized this may be harder than they thought. Refusing to be intimidated, Wiley boldly decided to keep the homemade name tag that he had taped onto the back of his shirt.  It said, "Messi," referring to the Argentine/Barcelona star who is the reigning World Player of the Year for the last four years, and happens to be Daddy's favorite player.  Atta Boy!!

The camp was a fundraiser for the school's soccer teams, so the coach and players were the instructors.  They grouped the kids by their age and level (whether they had ever played before).  They had rotating 'stations' where the kids would learn different skills like passing, shooting, heading, and dribbling.   At the end of each day, they held scrimmages to test their newly honed skills.  It was a great process for the boys to learn that there is more to soccer than just chasing the ball and kicking it (although that is still the general idea for the most part).

On the last day of the camp, they divided the kids up into teams and held a mini-tournament.  Aden and Wiley always got to be on the same team, which was helpful.  By the end of the week, Wiley was so tired (although he would never admit it) that he did well to last through the entire match.  Aden, however,  quickly set himself up as the "man of the match" in his team's 8-1 victory, where he scored 7 of the goals.  His crafty, left-footed shots were a force to be reckoned with.  He was quite proud of himself and by now brimming with confidence. 

In a final match to see which team would win the tournament, the boys' team was up against the team that had went undefeated throughout, mostly because of a kid that had ran circles around the defenses and scored goals with ease.  I don't remember what the final score was, but the favored team won, and as expected, the kid on the other team scored goal after goal until they asked him to play goalie for awhile in a sort of "run rule" type of move.  This helped the score not to grow higher on both sides as he was equally good at stopping shots.  I think Aden ended up with one more goal to bring his tournament total up to 8.  The camp ended with a big free-for-all game that saw all the kids against the coaches with about 25 balls in play at the same time.  It was a fun week.

So what was the "proud papa moment?"

One of Aden's Eight Goals

Was it Wiley not being afraid to keep his homemade "Messi" nametag on, despite the possibility of being teased about it (and some kids did laugh, although mostly because of the comparison in stature - Leo Messi is one of the smallest players on the field at 5'7" and Wiley was probably the smallest kid at the camp)?  Yes, this was a proud papa moment.

Was it Aden scoring goal after goal in his first opportunity to ever play in a competitive setting with kids his age?  Yes, this was a very proud pap moment. 

Was it just watching his two boys getting a chance to learn and play the game that he loves?  Yes, this was also a very proud papa moment.

The ultimate "proud papa moment" though had to be after the final game was over and Aden and Wiley's team had lost by a large margin to a very dominant team/kid.  Aden went to the kid that had scored so many goals against them and told him how well he had played, and that he was the best player on the field. 
 Aden is such a great sport, despite being very competitive while he plays.  We have seen it not only at soccer camp, but also as he plays board games or sports at home with his family.  Win or lose, he always has such a positive attitude.   What a gift!

Soccer camp has inspired the boys to want to participate in the 'parent-coached' soccer league that takes place each fall in the community.  The boys are convinced that Daddy and Mommy will be the coaches.  Stay tuned and see what happens.