Our End of Year Family Newsletter....

@HookgripUSA (from Instagram) Videos...

Hookgrip USA took some amazing videos that Tim told us about so we ordered them for him to have and share on his social media.  I wanted to share them with you all here:

Tim's Snatches:

Tim's Clean & Jerks:

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Yesterday...

Yesterday marked 84 years since Pearl Harbor happened.  May we never forget!

Tim's 2025 Accomplishments...

Tim had a huge year in 2025, moving through three weight classes. He began in the 61 kg division and finished in the 71 kg division, with the June category update shifting the 67 kg class to 65 kg. Despite all the transitions, Tim made tremendous progress. He earned 8 Gold finishes (4 medals), 6 Silver finishes (4 medals), and 4 Bronze finishes (3 medals). To top all that off he is the record holder for the snatch & total in the Youth 71kg division for WSO Carolinas.  A standout year filled with growth, experience, and momentum for Tim.

USA Weightlifting - Virus Weightlifting - Finals 2025...

On Thursday, December 4th, Tim competed at the Finals and earned 3 Bronze Medals. He went a perfect 6 for 6, hitting all white lights on every lift. He posted a 100kg (220 lb) Snatch PR and a 121kg (266 lb) Clean & Jerk PR, finishing with a 221kg (487 lb) total PR — a 13kg personal - record in total.

This meet brought a 4kg PR in both the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk. His previous best Snatch was set at States in October, and his previous best Clean & Jerk was set at Barbells-n-Sprinkles in May. He jumped from a 208kg meet-PR total at States to a 221kg meet-PR at Finals.

Tim has worked incredibly hard for these PRs, and he is so proud of every lift he earned on that platform.  

We hope you enjoy looking at the photos and watching the videos below:

His Credentials.

The t-shirt design.

The morning of competition.

These are his Snatches:

These are his Clean & Jerks:

His Warm Up Card with His Numbers:

He had a no miss day - even with his warmup lifts!

His 3 Bronze Medals.

Giving Glory to God and Honor to his Grandparents who are no longer with us.

1st National Level Medals!

At the end of competition day feeling grateful and thankful.

Tim with our Bronze Medal Olympian - Hampton Morris.

Tim with his coach - Jarrod.

His 6 for 6 Bracelet.

We forgot to mention that Tim made a record with his Snatch lift and his total for WSO Carolinas.  Talk about going out with a bang.  What a way to end his Youth years. 

Stella....

Stella missed me while I was away making Ravioli's.  She sat beside me on our loveseat all night.

Making Italian Homemade Ravioli...

Yesterday I got to spend time with my friend, Donna, and her family learning how to make real "off the boat" Italian Ravioli's.  It was so much fun and I hope I get to go back and do it again sometime.  My Cherokee Indian self had an amazing time learning how to do this.  Here are some pictures:  

The Set Up!

Another Pic of The Set Up.

Mom Making The Dough.

Donna and I Stuffing the Raviloi's.

Donna and I.

Happy Thanksgiving...

We want to wish all of our family and friends a Very Happy Thanksgiving.  There's so much to be thankful for, especially at this time of year.  God Bless You All!

7 Days Away - VWF 2025...

Tim is extremely enthusiastic about competing at the Virus Weightlifting Finals and further developing his weightlifting skills.  

He's also looking forward to the opportunity to improve on his Meet PR's😊.  It's going to be lots of fun.

Here's His Lift Schedule:

Please keep Tim, Scot and I in your prayers for safe travels as we drive to Daytona on the 3rd.  Also keep Tim in your prayers as he competes as well.  Thanks😌. 

To All My Dearest Friends....

This song speaks my heart when it comes to my dearest friends and they know who they are. I want you all to know how thankful I am for each and every one of you. I will walk the extra mile for you always.

The Extra Mile - Al Denson:

It may be a phone call late at night

That wakes my heart and brings me to my knees

It could be the hurt that's in your eyes

That shakes my soul from all complacency

But, oh, I want you to know

That I will be the one who prays for you

It may be the presence of your past

That haunts your very will to just believe

It may seem the weight of all the world

Has crushed your dreams and laid them at your feet

But, oh, I want you to know

That I will be a friend to see you through

For I will walk the extra mile

When the road ahead seems long

I will share those lonely silent nights

That pass without a song

Knowing that the darkness

Is but for a little while

For you, my friend, I will walk

I will walk the extra mile

It may be the mention of your name

That brings a smile into my busy day

It could be a place we've been before

That echoes all the tender words you'd say

But, oh, I want you to know

That I have never had a friend like you, like you

And I will walk the extra mile

When the road ahead seems long

I will share those lonely silent nights

That pass without a song

Knowing that the darkness

Is but for a little while

For you, my friend, I will walk

I will walk the extra mile

And though the miles create a distance

That keeps us worlds apart

There's a road you walk each day

That travels through my heart

And I will walk the extra mile

When the road ahead seems long

I will share those lonely silent nights

That pass without a song

Knowing that the darkness

Is but for a little while

For you, my friend, I will walk

I will walk the extra mile

For you, my friend, I will walk

I will walk the extra mile

(song link: https://youtu.be/s_Hw5XbJTfQ?si=TqQ9Hb9k83plfw-O)

Next Week is Thanksgiving😱...

Can't believe next week is Thanksgiving😱.  It some ways it seems this year has gone by fast and in others it seems like a daze.  In two years time we lost my husband's parents and life is much different now.  We go through bouts of missing them like crazy.  Staying busy with our work and Tim has helped a great deal in the grieving process.  

I've been thinking about all I'm thankful for this year, and pretty much every year, and it's my family and friends.  God has blessed my life so much and I'm forever grateful for all the blessings He's showered on me through the years.  I don't know how folks go through life without God being the center of their universe.  He's everything to me.  I don't know how we, as a family, would have gotten through Scot's parents passing without God.  Having God in your life makes all the difference.  

So often at this time of year everyone is sharing things they are thankful for and it's usually a crazy long list of material stuff.  Mine is always simple, my family and my friends mean the world to me and I'm thankful for every ounce of the time that I get with each and every one of them until  I get "sucked off" to go be with Jesus in heaven.  

You'd have to watch the show Ghosts to understand the term "sucked off".  It's a comedy but when the ghosts do an unselfish deed they get "sucked off".  As a Christian I know that is not how you get to heaven because you have to have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior but I've always envisioned when it's your time to go that the sucking off portion is what happens when you go to heaven.  On the show you can get "sucked off" to heaven or pulled down to hell.  They make the part about how you get to heaven or hell as close to what most imagine it to be as possible and they make it seem more real.  Funny show with some twists to it that seem more real.  That's your tv show review for today...LOL!!   It was a long way to explain the "sucked off" comment, I know.  But at least you were entertained by it.  

Anyways, I hope and pray that you hold your loved ones a little tighter this year and that you let your friends know just how much they mean to you.  Life is short and you want to live it with no regrets having cherished every moment with those you love.  God Bless!    

Happy 19th Anniversary Babe + Happy Veterans Day!

Today we celebrate 19 years of marriage.  In a world that regards marriage so flippantly that is quite an accomplishment for us.  God has blessed us so very much and I am so very thankful for all that we have accomplished all these years together.  I look forward to our enjoying the years that God still has for us to have together.  

To God be All the Glory for All that He has Done in Our Lives!  I love you Babe!

And also: 

We don't want to let our celebration to overcast that of our Veterans!

Thank you for your service to our country!

We have great respect and gratitude for you all!

Slideshow Pics for LH Graduation...

 The collage I'm sharing with you are the five pictures that between myself, my husband and Tim have been chosen for the slideshow at graduation.  You might be wondering why I'm getting things done so early?  Because once January hits we will be busy with weightlifting events as well as my mom possibly having knee surgery.  I need to have all my ducks in a row so to speak so I don't have to think about taking care of the graduation stuff because it will already be done.

I still can't believe he's actually graduating High School in May.  It seems like he has grown up so fast even though we have taken the time to cherish all the moments with him along the way.

New Weight Divisions to Start on August 1, 2026...

IWF is once again changing the Olympic weight divisions.  After looking at them I see where it will actually work better for the weightlifters in the lighter divisions.  How it was before didn't help them very well.  The toggling they were having to do was nuts.  The ones highlighted in red are the ones that are NOT an Olympic weight division.  We think Tim will end up in the 75kg weight division by the time August rolls around and he grows and fills out more but we will have to just wait and see.  Here's the old/new division that will start in August: