Final Moments of 2020

Getting ready to say goodbye to 2020!  Excitement is building for 2020 to be in the rear view mirror. Looking forward to all God has in store for us in 2021😁. 

T’s New Outfit

This is the new outfit we bought for T for Christmas. It fits him perfectly. Not any growing room. I figure he’ll need more clothes in short order with the way he’s growing...LOL! 

2020 Cliffnotes

 2020 at a glance:

We started off the year on a great note with T training harder than he ever has to get ready for the big show at US Open.  Of course before he went to that tournament he went to the AAU GA Championships and double gold medaled.  

He so loved getting double gold two years in a row at the AAU GA Championship.  Next up was US Open where he learned a lot and fought the best we've ever seen him fight on an international level.  While he didn't medal we are super proud of the advancements he made.  He also got to cheer on his teammates.  

While at Disney ESPN in Orlando we decided to have some fun and go to Sea World after US Open was over.  We had a great time having a day of fun there.  The boys rode the wild and crazy rides and I took in all the shows.  From there we went and spent some time with the grands in Ocala and then went back home.  

Once back home T got his 3rd Dan Kukkiwon Certificate.  He actually graduated to 3rd Dan in December of 2019 but the Kukkiwon comes from Korea. 

  

Then the lockdown happened and of course we all know how 2020 went from there.  It's been a crap show since then with things being shut down, businesses closing, etc...  T's training shifted from in person to all online with Zoom.  He hasn't been in front of his coach since February/March 2020.  To say it's been disappointing would be an understatement.  He has hated every moment of it.  Not being able to compete and to have hands on training because of the pandemic has truly sucked on a level that only elite athletes can truly understand.  T's been adjusting because he's had to but he hasn't liked one moment of it.  The good thing to come out of this so far for him is that it has been a big growing year for him.  By the end of January 2021 he could possibly have had a 4" growing year.  He hasn't had a growing year like that since he was a toddler.

It has been a different kind of year to say the least.  Just so he could compete on some level he did the AAU Virtual Nationals in October doing his forms.  He's a fighter and doesn't make any boasts about being great in forms at all.  If it were up to him he'd only every do fighting but in order to continue belting up he has to do the requirements and that includes forms.  Anyhow, he did his forms and won a Bronze for the AAU Virtual Nationals this year so that was a silver lining for him in this year.

During dealing with Zoom training, homeschooling, and in person and virtual tournaments we dealt with having a new roof put on the house that brought about so many issues that if you have been keeping up with all the blogs you know all we went through with getting that done.  Needless to say that we had one issue after another.  Find it on the blog to read about it.

We also had a deck to replace once we got all the roof issues taken care of.  The decking is down but the railings will get put on in the spring.  Just ran out of time to get it done with the weather changing for the colder months.  The three of us worked hard to get what we could done on the deck though and we love how good it all turned out.  

We also replaced our back door, painted our front door, and put new storm doors on the front and back doors.  

We have done our best to use our time of being at home more to our advantage and are taking care of things that need taking care of.  While the pandemic halted things in T's world it helped us deal with stuff that needed our attention.  Keeping busy has kept us not really being as frustrated as so many others have been with the pandemic and all the lockdowns and curfews and things.  

The holidays were a little different in that we chilled at home this year instead of traveling as much as we have done in years past.  While we've missed being able to spend time with our loved ones they have been at the forefront of our thoughts as we've made decisions to keep them safe during all that's been going on in our world.  Sacrificing a little time with them in order to make sure they don't get Covid has been the goal we keep before us.  We want them with us for many more years to come.  It's why we've had limited contact with anyone this year.  We want to keep ourselves safe as well as make sure we don't give anything to our loved ones.  

We are looking forward to 2021 with great expectation of things turning around and God showing up big time for us and all those we love and hold near and dear to our hearts.  We are praying that T can get back to competing and that we can return to life as normal again.  We serve a mighty God who has our best interests at heart and we know that all we've been dealing with this past year is not God's best.  Looking forward to saying goodbye to this crazy year in just a few short hours and welcoming in 2021  May 2021 be better than all we've dealt with in 2020!!!  God Bless you All!!  And Happy New Year!!!

JC Vortex ll Fighter Uniform

This is T’s new JC Vortex ll fighter uniform. The pic with the smile was for me. The other was T’s go to fighter pose.

T’s Man Cave Christmas 2020

Nighttime effect. T loves his lights and gaming desk, chair, and keyboard😁.  Thank you Maw Maw, April, and Calvin for the gaming chair. T loves it🥰!  You’ll see the lights go from daytime to nighttime effect in the video. 

Christmas 2020

Pictures of T’s haul this Christmas

Christmas 2020

Here’s a video of all T got for Christmas!  I’ll post separate pictures in a little bit. 

Christmas Star 🌟

Laser Therapy Update

Laser therapy is going well. It’s helping the Osgood-Shclatter’s. It’s pretty intense and I’m glad that T is surrounded by such awesome sports medicine specialists that know just how to help him. With this disease it’s all about pain management and we will be doing that for quite some time while he’s still growing to manage his pain so he can continue to train. Renting the machine is like throwing money to the wind @ $250 a week so we made the plunge and now we own one for in home use. It just made sense with all the growing he still has to do yet and with him still training in hopes to be able to compete again soon. He has made it clear that he wants to continue training and is keeping his focus on being ready to fight when they get back to competitions. We are so thankful for how God provides every step of the way as we dive in deeper into this crazy world of having an elite athlete with big goals. With God all things are possible!!!

Piper’s Lights

Drove through Pipers lights last night. Love to drive and look at all the lights at this time of year.

Our Boy, Tucker

This is a look of mom stop taking pictures of me already. This dog knows when I’m taking a picture.  I always have to sneak to get the good shots...LOL!

Gaming Fun

The boy is in heaven right now playing games with his friends.

Enjoying Our Christmas 🎄

This ornament always reminds me of when T was little. This is how he always loved to be held. Miss those days but I will always cherish the memories.

Manley Smells Need Manly Deodorant

I had to break down and do a thing a couple of days ago. T has been growing and changing like crazy and he’s had the manly smells to go with it so he got his first manly deodorant. He chose Old Spice Swagger. Now he smells much much better. Those manly smells boys go through in puberty ain’t no joke😳.

Christmas Eve 2020

We always allow the unwrapping of one gift on Christmas Eve. T wanted to open this one and was so excited to get his first big boy watch😁.

Laser Therapy

T started laser therapy yesterday on his knees (front and back) and this is his second therapy today. He’ll have one more before he goes to bed tonight. 

After seeing how it helped him recover so fast from his thigh/hip muscle injury last year we are firm believers in this form of therapy. It’s a therapy that many elite athletes use. He’s starting to feel better with each therapy session on it. Our chiropractor trained us on how to use it properly. He’s given us a protocol to adhere to and we are doing it in hopes that T can get back to training on Monday. This will more than likely be something we do everyday to keep his pain level where he can train/compete and his pain level be low or hopefully unnoticeable. 

It’s Official

What T is dealing with is Osgood-Schlatter. It’s a fancy way of saying really really intense growing pains that cause a bulge just below his knee. We’ve been given a protocol to follow and we will move forward with it.

It’s an at home and in office laser therapy treatment. To rent the unit is $250 for a week....yikes. We are looking into buying one because we know this will be an ongoing treatment for T as he continues to grow. The cost of the home unit is $2,500....even more yikes. Now we crunch numbers to see if we can get this done for T because it’s now something he actually needs to be able to have on hand. 

Osgood-Schlatter’s

Osgood-Schlatter’s is a growing disease that plaques young athletes. They grow out of it but it seems T has it. We will get the official diagnosis today when T goes for his chiropractor appointment. His chiropractor isn’t just a run of the mill chiropractor. He’s an elite athletic specialist. This disease is something T will grow out of but while he is growing like he has this past year this is something he has to deal with. The chiropractor will give us a treatment plan today, I’m sure, that will hopefully minimize his growing pains. All kids go through growing pains but it’s even more so when you are an elite athlete and growing. It’s what causes the problem of the lump that forms below the kneecap, which T has. There’s not an athlete around that’s been an athlete since childhood that didn’t go through what T is going through now. Not training is not an option for T so we look for all the ways we can minimize pain and keep moving forward. It may mean we break down and buy a portable laser therapy tool so he can do at home treatment because this will be an issue he’ll be dealing with as he continues to grow these next years ahead. Our boy is a tough cookie. He’s trained the better part of a month or two with his knees hurting badly with no treatment for it but now we will get a handle on it and he won’t be in so much pain from it. #growingproblems #nopainnogain #thistooshallpass 

Another Tooth Bit The Dust!!!

T lost another one of his back teeth plus his 12 year old molars are coming in on the bottom and his top 12 year old molars are white for harvest....LOL!  He yanks them out now and places them in my hand and is like another $5 please. Talk about inflation. He said because he yanks it out on his own and doesn’t whine about it that he should get more $$$ for it...LOL!  The kid is something else. 

Christmas Outfit from Aunt Elaine

T’s Knees

So T has a sizable lump just below his left knee giving him lots of pain. I finally looked it up on the internet and the link below is what came up. I’m really praying it’s not this and he’s just having growing pains. The lump is what led me to look it up though.  Athlete’s who suffer with this really suffer which totally stinks because all they wanna do is do what they love but this can be a road block of sorts😕. I may have to have him seen to make sure if this is the issue we are actually dealing with though. 

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/osgood-schlatter-disease-knee-pain/
 

The Christmas Star

“I know some have seen the post about The Christmas Star appearing this year on December 21st. I couldn't help but really take a deeper look at how amazing this occurrence would be and is happening in the year 2020.

In the year Jesus was born, there was violence, chaos, political and social unrest. It was dark. The Magi found him by way of the star, which was the "meeting" of 3 stars: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. They followed the star until it rested where he was and they began to worship him. In a time where it was dark, Light was brought into our world. Jesus stepped into the chaos and brought peace.

Fast forward to this year, 2020. It's a time of violence, chaos, political and social unrest. It's dark. Winter Solstice, December 21st is a time where the day is the shortest and night is the longest...it's literally the "darkest day" and is the beginning of what most would say the cold, dark winter season.

But on the darkest day this year, Jupiter and Saturn will meet, giving us the Christmas Star! How fitting...that in the moment of time during the Christmas season that we get to see this beautiful reminder...that even in the darkest of times...Light will, and has, stepped in. In our chaos He is there. In our darkest time, He is there. He brings Light and makes all things new.

So as you look out on Dec 21st for the Christmas Star, may we be reminded of His power and Light that He brings for all mankind. He is perfect at stepping into chaos and bringing it into peace.” ~Unknown ❤️🙏🏼✨

Busy Day

Busy day today. T got his haircut because he needed it big time. Afterwards I took advantage of the opportunity to get some pictures of him. Then he had a chiropractor appointment and boy did he need that adjustment.  We are so thankful we go regularly for him to be adjusted as well as us. The chiropractor had to fix both his knees and his shoulders. He’s also growing and having growing pains in those knees. I remember being in tears 😭 at his age most nights with my knees hurting like crazy from growing pains. Scot and I feel for what he’s going through because we both went through what he’s going through.  Here’s some of the pics I got today. T is at an age when he doesn’t really want me taking pictures all the time but one day he will be thankful I got such great shots of him while he was growing up😊.