Sunday, August 21, 2011

Soccer at the Air Force Academy

This weekend Nathan and Kaylee had tournaments at the Air Force Academy.  It really is a beautiful backdrop…

Balloons2

It was good for Nathan.  He had an early morning game Saturday and then hung out with friends until the balloon lift at noon.  All games were stopped at 12:30 and 300 balloons were let go in memory of GianLuc.  It’s such a sad time, but friends sure help AND seeing Nathan with such a big group of friends helped me.

Balloons

Many have emailed and facebooked about how the tragedy happened.  They believe from viewing the history on the computer and talking with friends that he was playing the Choking Game or Blackout.  You can learn more here so that you can educate others -   www.gaspinfo.com.

My heart is still so full for his mother.  She came to the tournament for the tribute and commented on how she kept catching herself looking on the field for Luca.  Just so sad!

I was lame and took a total of 12 pictures for the entire weekend.  My eyes were just too filled with tears to look through my viewfinder.  My favorite shots though were the one above of Nathan and Kaylee at a look out point above all of the soccer fields, AND the one as we walked to the van after games.  Nathan ran ahead to hit a couple of shots on an empty goal. 

Air Force A big, beautiful grass field with a goal AND soccer ball is heaven to Nathan.  

Heaven to Stephen is playing in sand volleyball tournaments and that is exactly where he was on Saturday. 

4 comments:

Juf said...

How sad! I have to go to the funeral of an 8 year old boy in a few hours. Somehow his death of leukemia is a little easier to swallow than the thought of a totally preventable death by a choking game. Thank you for sharing that link. It's good to be aware of what kids are exposed to, I'd never heard of this before.
May the Lord comfort and provide for GianLuc's family and friends in this time of sorrow.
Jacqueline

HandbagsbyJen said...

We lost a boy in our church last year to the same "game." Very smart, good kids are falling prey to this game because they do not think it is dangerous. We need to start educating our children and talking openly abou the dangers of doing things you see online and keeping the lines of communication open. I am praying for this family and your community.

Anonymous said...

I also knew a boy that died playing this same game. You are left wondering why..............

Julie said...

My heart aches for his parents and for your family. I have never heard of this but am glad I know about it now. My son is 14. Better to know about all these things ahead of time. Thank you for sharing.