Christmas Eve Team CORE Training…

I finally had a chance to go through my photos from the Christmas Eve training. Here are some really great pics that I got. 

T got spend today training too. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. No place he’d rather be that with his teammates. They had such great fun training today. 

T is Leaning Out…

T is leaning out and he’s not even trying to…LOL! He’s also bulking up and he’s not trying to. It’s just happening. Lots of manly stuff going on with him. I’m getting better with all his manly changes as the days go by. Got this pic this morning. 

He’s given me his tough l👀k…LOL!  

Blast 💥 From The Past….

Saw these Blast 💥 From The Past pics taken at Mountain Top Youth Camp back in the 80’s. So loved growing up going to this camp. See these pics bring back some amazing memories but the second pic makes me think of T without the brown hair 😱😳.  

I’m the one in the long pants in the second picture. 

A Man and His Dog (Tucker)...

Tucker is definitely a daddy's boy.  He is always looking for him out the front door throughout the day.  We don't have to guess when daddy is home because Tucker lets us know big time.  He is such a great dog and so good natured.  And he hates getting his picture taken so I have to sneak getting pictures of him...LOL!! 

Fresh Out of the Shower and Showing Off...

Fresh out of the shower after training earlier this week and showing off his muscles...LOL! This boy is looking more like a man everyday.  This moms heart still isn't ready for all the changes but it is coming fast like a locomotive barreling down the tracks.  

Happy Birthday in Heaven Mr. Adam...

Happy Birthday in Heaven! You would be so proud of all that T is accomplishing in Taekwondo. He has grown so much. He cherishes every memory that he has of the times he got to spend with Blayden and you. So thankful for pictures like these that T has to remember you. RIP friend! #gonebutnotforgotten

New Family Picture Is Done✅

I finally got the new family collage done.  It looks fantastic.  We aren't all in one place anymore to take a big family photo so this is the next best thing😊.

T’s Dual Monitor Setup…

T is having a blast with his friends gaming with his dual monitor setup that he bought with his Christmas money. He still has some other tweaks that he wants to do but he’ll have to wait a bit for those and work with his dad to earn the money for them. 

Car Getting Fixed…

I can’t believe they are going to fix our van. So happy they are but definitely surprised. It’s 14 years old and they are going to fix it. Only God. 

Our New Wand…

We finally had to get a new wand. Wanda 1.0 had seen her day and done us proud but now we have a Wanda 2.0 and she’s new and improved and we are so glad to have her as part of our equipment. 

The great thing about her first use was that it was on our church carpet. She’s beautiful and our church is decorated so beautiful too. This first pic is our church’s moto. The other pics are decorations. 

Our Pastor's Last Teaching Series....

Our Pastor's last teaching series is an amazing. Pastor Mitch did this teaching between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It's worth watching all of them.  I will list them in order that they were preached.

• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 1)
• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 2)
• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 3)
• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 4)
• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 5)
• Exercise Your Jesus-Given Authority Over Satan (Part 6)

Great, Great, Great teaching series.  Watching it again myself just soaking it all up.  Enjoy if you so choose to watch.  

Our Churches Christmas Sermon....

We go to Victory Church in Raleigh, NC.  We love Pastor Mitch.  He doesn't hold back and he is a real teacher of the Word of God.  He doesn't sugar coat anything.  God led us to this church after the church where Scot and I met and married started turning to seeker friendly preaching.  There's nothing inherently wrong with preaching that way but in preaching that way no meat of the Word of God is being preached and we desired more meat of the Word of God.  We were so thankful that God had us become a part of this church and I wanted to share last weeks sermon.  Click on the link below to watch it:

The Virgin Birth

If you live in the area and looking for a church to call home look no further than Victory Church!

Facebook Games…

I was playing one of those OMG Facebook games and it gave me this result:

Then I was doing another one and got this result:

I’ll take them both☺️. 

Hunting Discomfort…

Currently reading a book, "Hunting Discomfort by Sterling Hawkins".  It's a great book and hard to put down when you start.  I've been purposely putting it down so that I can give myself time to process what I'm reading and allow it to really sink in.  Lots of great nuggets.  It's a book that T is starting to read too.  Lots of great nuggets in it for elite athletes.  I'm looking forward to discussing it with him as he reads it.

What T Got With His Christmas $…

T took his Christmas $ and bought this:

He wanted a dual monitor for his gaming pc and now he will have all that he needs for being able to game the way that he wants to with his friends. 

It amazes me how gaming pc’s were the hot ticket item this year for the kids. No one was wanting the gaming systems just pc’s and vr headsets. T already had a vr headset though. 

This kid is more knowledgeable than me when it comes to computers. I’ll sometimes have to ask him questions…🤣🤣🤣. 

Excited for him though making his first big purchase on his own☺️. 

December 23rd....

Forgot to post this earlier.  On Friday December 23 we had lots of wind.  A ton of it.  We lost power early in the day and it came back on briefly then went out again and was out until 8:30 or so that night.  I got a few pics of what we did while waiting for the power to come back on.  Tucker stayed warm under his blanket while we played cards and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The Year Ahead...

We have T's schedule more solidified for 2023.  We are not going to be doing team trials even though he qualified to go to it.  He would be fighting in a new age/weight division with 17 year olds and it's just not the year to do that particular event with the deck stacked against him like it will be.  It's why we also decided, for now, not to go to US Open either.  Those two trips alone would cost close to $10,000 (air fare, hotel, food and car rental).  Even if we had the finances to do them I think it would be throwing money to the wind if we did them with him being in a new division.  He needs to spend the year doing events closer to home, doing private training + team training, doing cross trainings with other schools near us, and doing any other training camps that come up with USA TaeKwonDo.  The goal is to grow, get stronger, and learn as much as possible in this new age/weight division this year so that he can be an even better competitor next year as a second year Junior. And hopefully by the time he's a third year/last year Junior he will be at the top of his game competitively.  His new coach is very understanding of things and doesn't pressure us like his last coach did to do all these crazy tournaments.  We really appreciate that more than he knows.  We really don't see a need to take him everywhere and doing everything when he has got to get acclimated to an entirely new division but that mindset could change.  We ideally want his mind to continue to stay strong and move forward in this sport.  We don't want to take a bunch of steps backwards this year by doing everything under the sun just to be doing them.  Doing everything we can does bring experience though but at what price???  I don't want T to get worn down.  Nor do I want him being down on himself should he not be winning like he did last year, which is highly possible when dealing with guys who are basically grown men with him still growing.  T found out at the last USA training camp that the 17 year old guys are much stronger.  My guy is a realist and he knows how crazy it is to just jump head long into his new division the first year in it.  I applaud him for looking at things realistically.  Even he knows that he needs more stability in his fight game and that he needs a lot more training to be the competitor that he needs to be for this new division.  I'm proud of him for seeing things clearly and making decisions that are beneficial for him even though his teammates are not doing the same.  He knows this is beneficial for him and we respect that and we are going with it for now unless we are given a reason to do the opposite.  The absolute only thing that could change moving forward is that he decides to go ahead and do US Open after all but that remains to be seen but we have time because that event doesn't happen until March.  

We are continuing to seek God on all this but this is the direction we are leaning unless God tells us otherwise and wanted to share it with you all.  God opens door and closes them and we will continue to look to him where going or not going to US Open is concerned.  It's the only tournament where we could actually change our minds and go but we will need to have clear direction from God on it.  

Something I want to ask for prayer on as well, because we are seeking God on it, is that T wants to do AAU Nationals as well as USA Nationals.  They are both going to be in Florida this year and only be a four hour drive apart.  T's coach is only doing USA though.  Pray with us for a coach that can coach T at AAU that will work with T and Doug to get him ready for it.  

T's big goal for the year is to medal at either AAU or USA Nationals.  He'd be elated to medal at both.  But that is his big goal for the year.  He knows if he medals at AAU that he gets a chance to fight for a place on AAU's National Team.  He knows that making AAU National Team is a long shot given where he is at currently but he also knows that if he grows this year that is actually an attainable goal.  I'm praying he has a big growing year this year and that he medals at both Nationals and gets a shot at AAU's National Team and that a coach is available to coach him for AAU Nationals.  Please pray in agreement with us for this.  Thank you!

  

T’s Year In Review 2022 Video…

T had one the best years he’s had since he began his journey as a taekwondo fighter. He loves this sport so much. His goals with it have ebbed and flowed over the years but his heart for the sport remains. He has so loved 🥰 growing in this sport this year. His new coach has been amazing. So thankful that we have him with a coach and school that he loves. While we don’t know what the future holds in this sport we do know who holds the future and that is all we need to know. Enjoy the video. 

Christmas 2022 Video

We had a great Christmas with lots of fun and laughter. Good times were had. We created some good memories for years to come. Our family has been through a lot in recent years but God has showed up in a mighty way and we are so blessed and thankful. Enjoy this short video of our Christmas. 

T's Gaming Computer Setup...

T just got everything just the way he wants it with his new gaming computer and desk.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  2022 will soon come to end and I'm thinking about all the memories of this year.  More good memories than bad ones.  Life isn't always easy but as long as we keep a good attitude it can always be great no matter what comes our way.  And although we don't know what the future holds we know who holds the future!  That my family and friends is a handy piece of information to have.  Only those who know Jesus can really relate to that statement.  

Jesus came to seek and save the lost so that we don't live eternally in hell but that we can live eternally in heaven with Him.  It was the whole reason for His birth.  His story had an end here on earth "physically" before it even began just like each and every one of ours does.  But His story didn't end just like ours won't either.  We may not know how our story ends here on earth but we will live eternally in either one place of the other.  It's totally our choice.  And we may have memories of ourselves of our beginnings.  We will always carry those memories with us and cherish them.  But may we always keep in mind that "Jesus Is The Reason For The Season!"  He's the reason to press forward each and every day of our lives.  He gives meaning to everything!  Without it life here is pointless.  

On this Christmas Day my greatest hope and wish is that the lost are saved.  That they find and have a real relationship with Jesus that will carry them through all of the rest of their lives.  That they grow in the knowledge of God.  That they teach it to their children and that their children teach it to theirs and so on and so forth.  Growing God's Kingdom to make an impact on the world we live in makes all of life worth living.  It brings blessings that cannot be contained.  That's what the real meaning of Christmas means to this southern gal.  

Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas Everyone!

  

T’s Christmas….

We still got to surprise T with a little Christmas. 

VR grips for his VR handles. 

A gaming keyboard that does all that T needed a gaming keyboard to do. 

An electronic cube game and a steam gift card so that he can buy pc games. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday Jesus!

“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

T’s New Setup in His Gaming Room…

T loves his new setup in his gaming room. He now can play games on his gaming computer on his one desk and do school on his laptop on his other desk. They are side by side and go great together. 

Tucker and His New Toys…

Tucker is such a blessed dog.