Tonights 52kg Clean & Jerk...

Tim did another increase tonight to 114 pounds on his clean & jerk.  We are so excited to see all the gains he's making.  Won't be long before we go to his first Meet.

 

Happy Son's Day....

Did not want to let this day pass us by without making this post of our awesome son, Tim, who is turning into the most incredible young man.  We are so proud of him and love him to the moon and beyond.

Be Like A Lion...

Since switching from one sport to another we have had many talks with Tim about being like a Lion.  "A Lion doesn't waste time worrying what sheep think or say about him."  He is a leader not a follower.  He is a protector of what is his.  He marches to the beat of his own drum.  His roar puts fear into anyone who even thinks for a moment that they are going to hurt or destroy him.  He is fearless.  He is mighty.  He is the king of the jungle.  We've told Tim to Be Like A Lion!

Tim has had lots to deal with since walking away from the sparring world.  People who he thought would always be his friends have nothing to do with him anymore now that he quit competitive sparring.   His girlfriend used the excuse that her father doesn't want her dating right now to cut her relationship off with Tim.  He realized real quick that if she's that fickle about not having a relationship with him just because he's no longer doing sparring then she wasn't the right girl for him to begin with.  We have a smart kid.  All the pain he has had to face after his exit from that world showed him just who are his real friends and that list is short.  He has bounced back amazingly well and didn't spend any time letting all the nonsense try to get him down on life or himself.  He's moved on rather amazingly.  I wish I could say the same though.  If I never ever see those people again who hurt my son it will be far too soon.    

Even though Tim's had losses he's also had gains.  Old friendships have been rekindled now that he is back at Black Belt World (BBW).  He's making new friends at BBW.  He's also making new friends doing weightlifting.  He's growing into an amazing young man who has a really great head on his shoulders.  This kid has had to grow up so fast because of all that he has been through in his young life.  He has almost lost his life twice because of circumstances beyond his control but God!!!  We are so blessed to still have him with us and we never take a day with him for granted.  God has great plans for him and we look forward to watching His plan unfold each and every day of his life.  

Last Weeks Actual Clean and Jerk Video...

 

This is the video that Tim actually took of his lift.  Thought you might wanna see it.  We are so proud of him.  He's doing great in this sport and loving every moment of it.  He's also doing great with his schoolwork and helping his dad on jobs when he needs it.  The amount of growing up this teen is doing is too much for this mommas heart because he's more like a man everyday and less like my little boy.  Of course in my heart he will always be my little boy...LOL! 

Last Weeks 51Kg Clean & Jerk Reel...

Last week Tim lifted a clean and jerk that weighed as much as he weighed at his last sparring comp in July.  We are so proud of all that he is accomplishing in weightlifting.  We can't wait for him to do his first Meet on October 15th.  He's so excited!  

Rant Time....

I've been using Blogger for my blogging since Tim was born.  That's 15 years now that I've been using it.  I've never had any issues with it until recently.  Recently when I make posts images from those post will disappear within a few days or sometimes a week from posting them.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason for their disappearance.  They just go away then I have to go in and reload the pictures all over again.  If this continues to happen I may be forced to start a new blog under a different entity such as Word Press or something.  The problem I'm having isn't anything I'm doing.  It's something happening in the background of blogger somewhere.  I'm really hoping they fix the issue because I really enjoy using blogger.  I'm not a big fan of the other blog sources out there.  Please pray with me that they fix this issue and my photos stop disappearing from my posts.  Thanks.

I just wanted you to know about all this incase you are on my blog and see that there's no image when there should be one.   I will be sure to let you know if I switch to a new blog source.  That will only happen if the disappearances keep happening and don't get resolved.  Thanks for following our blog for all these years.  It's been a great way to keep our family and friends in the loop of all that's going on in our lives.  I love sharing our lives with you all.  Here's to hoping and praying I can stay with blogger.  

Trust in the Lord...

I love this translation of this verse.  It's the New Living Translation.  Scot and I cling to this verse and keep it ever before us as a reminder for us to do just what it says and because we do God has always been faithful to direct us on the path we are to take.  Because we seek Him in all we do He was faithful to guide us into this next chapter we are in with Tim now.  We had an awesome Christian friend guide us to the coach that Tim has now.  She told us how incredible the coaches and the weightlifting world is and how encouraging they all are to one another.  And so far we have found all she has told us to be true.  No one is out to ruin another.  No one has it out for another.  The coaches all support and lift one another up and don't take advantage of one another.  They don't stab one another in the back.  It's a very different world from the one we were in.  A better one.  One that builds up and doesn't break down or destroy.  Looking back on the path we've been on has prepared us, Tim, for the path we are on now.  We had to go through a ton of rocky and rough paths to get to where we are now but it was all preparing us for what lies ahead on the path we are currently on now.  God is so good!!!  He is so faithful!!!  Through it all He has been right there with us every step of the way and we consider ourselves so very blessed!!!  We will continue to Trust in Him with all of our hearts and not depend on our own understanding but seeking His will in all we do so that He will show us which path(s) to take!!!  Moving forward and not looking back is the only way to make progress but you must move forward with God at the center guiding and directing you as you go along the path(s) that He has shown you to take!!!  

In Less Than 2 Months Time....

In less than 2 months time Tim has gained this much muscle...

And he hasn't even lifted any really heavy weight yet.  Comparing his muscle gain to this time next year will be insane I'm sure.  He so loves this sport.  I wish there was a way to really describe just how happy he is in words.  He smiles all the time now except when I take pictures of him either in his dobak or of his muscles then it's a serious face...LOL! He says weightlifting is a sport that's a true sport.  I asked him what he meant by that and he said you either make your lifts or you don't.  There's nothing that will define your results any differently.  You don't have human factor making bad calls.  You either do it or you don't.  It's just that simple.  He has a huge point too.  There's nothing he does that anyone can take advantage of in this sport.  They all have to do the lifts the same way and they have to complete their lifts to move on and who lifts the most weight in his division is the clear winner.  It's what makes it a true sport.  

We love his new haircut too.  It makes him look so grown up and more professional when he works with his dad which has been more often these days now that he can be more of a help.  Scot is really enjoying having him on jobs with him.  

Tim likes it better too because his hair isn't getting in the way when he lifts either.  Scot and I still call him T but for social media purposes he wants us using Tim.  It's a whole new him.  He didn't want to keep anything that was linked with when he was doing TaeKwonDo Sparring.  He's putting that all behind him now and doesn't want to think about it anymore.  He still wants his friends (those that are his "true" friends and didn't dump him as a friend when he quit sparring) to do well and will cheer them on in their endeavors with the sport always.  

"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."  (Quote from Farris Bueller's Day Off movie). This is just what we are doing these days.  We are all enjoying life again these days now that sparring isn't taking up all of our time anymore.  Tim is doing what he loves.  When he's not weightlifting he's doing traditional TaeKwonDo (which he loves) and when he's not doing those he's gaming with his friends online.  We have more time as a family now because he's not living TaeKwonDo sparring anymore.  It's true he's shifted to another sport but it's not nearly as time consuming as the other was.  Praise the Lord! 

Life is so good!!!  Every moment is so precious!!!  We are continuing to cherish the moments always!!!  Good/bad we have embraced every moment of this life together as a family fully supporting one another in all that we do!!!  We will continue to do that too because, after all, Family is Everything!!!  

Haircut on Sept. 13th...

Sorry that I forgot to post this picture of Tim's fresh haircut.  He looks so grown.

Scot and I have been sick with colds and overcoming them.  Scot ended up with a sinus infection and pink eye from the cold and I was just diagnosed with a severe sinus infection.  It got so painful over the weekend that I went and got seen.  Now I'm on antibiotics.  

Tim's Muscle Gain from 2022-2023....

Here's a before and after pic of the muscle gain that Tim has gained from Dec. 2022 to Aug. of 2023.

 

Weightlifting Thursday and Saturday....

Thursday Tim got to do a 50kg = 110lb Clean & Jerk lift.  You can watch it by clicking the link below:

Tim's 50kg Clean & Jerk

Saturday Tim did a 61kg = 134lb back squat.  You can watch it at the link below:

Tim's 61kg Back Squat

He's learning so much and getting one step closer to being ready for his 1st Meet in mid October.  He absolutely loves what he's doing right now and is so incredibly happy.  His coach is amazing.  He's so great with Tim.  

Tim's New BBW Dobak...

Tim's new dobak came in Friday and it looks so good and fits amazingly.  They embroidered everything on it.   That looks better than print any day of the week.  See for yourself:

T loves taking Grand Master Jun Lee's Leadership Class too.  He really loved being able to wear his new dobak to class.  

Time to Get Strong...

Now that T is signed up for the October Meet T's coach told him that it's time to get strong.  T has been training harder and doing more strength training to get ready for the upcoming Meet.  He's so excited and he's working very hard so that he can do his absolute best at this Meet.  

Guinea Pigs are Growing....

The guinea pigs are growing so much.  They are such cuties.  They love celery.  We give it to them as a treat while we hold them and they eat it.  Here's a pic:

 

1st Class Back at Black Belt World (BBW)...

T had his first class back at BBW on Friday (9/8/2023).  He had such a great time.  The smile on his face said it all.  As he was leaving class the Grand Master asked him to stay for the Leadership Class.  T loved being there and being a part of the Leadership Team.  His happiness about being back shows us just how much we made the right decision with all the changes we've made in the past couple of months since USA TaeKwonDo Nationals.  Every step T has made has been a step in the right direction and one we feel is exactly where he should be.  Here's a video I put together from his first night back at BBW:

1st Class Back at BBW

A Month In (8/9 to 9/9)...

September 9th marked a month of T doing weightlifting.  He's learned so much in such a small amount of time and I put together a video of all of his accomplishments in his first month.  He's went from lifting just a 15kg Olympic Weight Bar to a 20kg one and now he's able to deadlift 165lbs, in the snatch 66lbs and clean & jerk 88lbs.  He has made such great progress and continues to make even more progress with each training session.  We couldn't be more proud of him.  Enjoy the video at the link below: 

Weightlifting Progress for The 1st Month

T is Officially Signed Up....

T is officially signed up for the October Meet in South Carolina on October 14th-15th.  He is so incredibly excited to be doing his first Meet this soon.  He is loving everything that he's learning and we can't wait to see how he does at this Meet.  We aren't going for a medal but experience at this point but if he brings home a medal that will be totally Awesome!  

He did a deadlift last night that was 75kg = 165lbs.  His coach was quite pleased with him and he's going to be adding even more weight in the weeks ahead for his deadlift, snatch and clean & jerk getting him ready for this Meet.  

Last nights deadlift:

Video of T’s Lift Last Night…

T did a 40kg Dip, Snatch & Jerk last night and we wanted to share it with you here.   Here's the link:

https://youtube.com/shorts/v5o4xAMxgwY?si=RbWy7DfHZeS5IE73

Here's some pics:

Stress Rashes/Bumps are a thing...

So today I was looking at T's arms and the bumps that have been on his arms for what seems like forever are gone.  After seeing them disappear after T having them for so long I did some research.  Come to find out that stress rashes/bumps are a thing.  TaeKwonDo Sparring had been causing him to be so overly stressed that he had these white raised bumps all over his arms.  Since quitting the sport they have all cleared up.  He is loving what he is doing now so the stress is completely off.  He's also since been working on not picking the skin on his fingers so much.  A bad habit that he had gotten into more than likely from all the stress that he was under from TaeKwoDo Sparring.  Amazing how making the shift to Weightlifting has made such a difference in our sons health.  We love seeing him so incredibly happy.   TaeKwonDo Sparring wasn't all for nothing though.  The mobility he has from having done the sport for so long has set him up, in a huge way, for success with Weightlifting.  The difference is night and day.  T has had huge gains since switching.  The picture below is just a small taste of the difference right now.  It won't take long for this to change.  He's gaining more muscle with each workout.  

A New PR (Personal Record) for T in the Deadlift...

Right now everything T does with weightlifting gives him PR's just about every time that he lifts.  Today he made a new PR in the deadlift and I'm sure he will break that PR in the weeks/months ahead as he is still learning a ton when it comes to weightlifting.  The team and his coach have been very impressed with T or Tim as they all call him.  Today he did a 70kilo deadlift which roughly comes to around 153 pounds.  It's well more than I could lift any day of the week...LOL! Here are some pictures to share with you all.

Life with a Weightlifter....

When T was doing TaeKwonDo Sparring Training I thought he wanted to eat a lot.  That training has nothing on weightlifting training.  He's hungry all the time now.  We are giving him a ton of protein because the coach told us that's what he was going to be needing to eat.  

Another new normal for us is the bruising he gets from the snatch on the two collar bone knobs just under your neck in the front.  I'm sure there is a technical name for them but I don't know what it is.  When he does the snatch the barbell rests across the shoulders and on those bones.  I got a pic of T when he was fooling around and making different silly faces last night that also has those bruises where you can see them.  Take a look:

He's looking more grown everyday.  This is what his hair looks like when it's clean and not oily looking from sweating all the time....LOL!! 

This is what part of the snatch looks like:

The first part of the snatch is in the banner pic at the top of our blog page.  I'm still learning all the terminology in this sport.