The Nearing of The End...

When we come into the world our parents have to do everything for us and when they get older in life we take care of them.  It's the circle of life.  Pop is still with it and witty as ever but his body just isn't cooperating.  He's so precious to us all and the patriarch of the family.  He's our reason for being in Kentucky so often to visit with him and Nan because we never know when it will be our last visit with them before one of them goes to heaven to be with Jesus.  When we are home all we want to do is be here with them.  We hate missing any moments with them at this stage in their lives.  The birth of a life is so precious but so is someone nearing the end of their life too.  Pop got to sit outside in the sun some yesterday but the wind was so chill that he had to be covered up.

Nan's Early Mother's Day...

Jeff, Elaine and Scot got Nan an early Mother's Day present for her secret garden at her house but she's enjoying it at her daughter's house for now.  She was so surprised and so happy to finally get this.  She's been wanting it for some time now.  The wind was blowing something fierce yesterday when they gave this to her.  The second pic has her looking wind blown...LOL! 

Back In The Day....

 

I find this so funny because we've had numerous conversations with our son about "Back In The Day".  I heard a minister I love to watch and listen to say recently that he longs for days past.  With the shape our world is in I believe we all long for days gone past.  Back then there was no cell phones, tablets or computers.  There was no cable tv.  Just a few local channels.  I think we were all better off when we weren't so connected to all that is going on around us and in the world as we are now.  I do long for those days when I mowed lawns in my neighborhood for the elderly to make money for whatever I had need of at the time.  Some of the money earned was for fun but most of the time doing odd jobs like that gave me spending money to buy "in style" clothes that my folks couldn't afford because all our clothes came from GoodWill back then.  Our son has never known life like his dad and I knew it and sadly when he grows up and has kids they won't know what a life like that is like either.  Our son only knows it because of the stories we have told him as he's been growing up.  Even though he's had it way better than Scot and I he has grown up to be quite a responsible young man for the most part.  We are going through some teen struggles currently but it's nothing serious.  Just some growing pains is all.  As we talk to him constantly about things over and over again it sinks in and he gets it.  Times past before all this technology will always be better days to me and my husband.  Back when we weren't as informed.  We for sure were much more happy back then.  There wasn't the stress of having all this knowledge at our fingertips.  Those suffering with anxiety is due to all this information/misinformation at our fingertips.  At least that's what I believe is the problem.  The suicide rate being so high is also from all this information/misinformation that is confusing folks, especially the kids, and causing them so much anguish that they just can't see straight enough to want to live.  Technology has its good points but it has had a lot of majorly bad points.  It's taken bullying to a whole new level with social media.  It's brought about these young people not knowing what gender they are or what they "identify" as to a whole new level.  I mean look down below and you will know what sex you are.  It's just that simple.  But our society has confused our young people so much that they don't know whether to scratch their watch or wind their butt.  Sorry, most young folks don't know about that saying because they've never had to wind a watch...LOL!!  But seriously, things back in the day may have been simpler but it was also much happier times too.  I know there is no way for anyone reading this to really know the reality of times past and the happier times with having much less than we do today unless you lived it yourself too.  Longing for times past has been a reality for us because of all that is going on in our world today.  It wasn't all roses back then.  Hard times were really hard times but we sat at the table every night and had dinner as a family.  Families spent real time together and weren't running a million different directions as they are today.  I know because I'm living that reality today with our son who is an elite athlete.  He's constantly training with hopes that he will be able to represent our country in the Olympics some day.  One thing we still do though is sit down and have our meals together.  It may not look like it did in the day with us sitting around the kitchen table but we are still eating together as a family and that matters!  Family time matters!  Not forgetting how good it was back in the day matters!  We may always long for those days because the world was a better place.  So much evil is going on today.  It has become like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.  Our prayer is Oh Lord Make Your Presence Known to All!  Open hearts and minds Lord!  Help them see You and Your Heart for them!  

New Weightlifting Shoes for Tim...

Tim got some new weightlifting shoes thanks to his Nan.  He is so excited about them and can't wait to try them out at the gym.  It looks like his feet are on fire...LOL! 

Accountability....

I recently saw this post but it was written on a whiteboard in bad handwriting.  I wanted to make it look better so I made this.  

This statement is so much more true today than it was when I was growing up.  We are living in a society full of entitled brats.  They feel that everything is owed to them and that they can do and act how they want to and there will be no accountability for it.  They won't get punished for it.  What's sad is these entitled brats are now adults teaching their kids to be the same kind of entitled brat that they are.  

When I was a child I remember my grandmother and grandfather saying things like, "what is this world coming to?" and "what is wrong with people to be acting this way?".  I grew up in the 70's and 80's.  My grandparents came up through the depression.  Today everything is so much better with the advancements in technology but is it really better than my grandparents had it?  They lived in a time with no computers or cell phones or cable tv and sometimes no tv at all because tv's were what the rich had.  They didn't have to lock their doors.  People respected one another's properties.  Neighbors looked out for one another.  You didn't have to worry about something happening to your kids because everyone looked out for one another's kids.  It was pretty much still that way when I was growing up except I remember my folks locking the doors because more and more people were beginning to get robbed.  Nowadays there's no telling what would happen to your home if you didn't keep it locked and have an alarm system on it and still there's not a 100% chance that your home is safe from intruders.  It's just the day and time that we are living in.

Our son has grown up with accountability from his dad and I and at times his grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.  He has not been taught that everything is owed to him and nothing is his fault.  He's been taught that he has to work hard for what he gets out of this life.  That there is consequences for his actions.  We've taught him to not be a problem on society, like so many are today, but rather to contribute to making things better for not only him but for the generation coming up behind him.  If we don't teach them these values who will?  We certainly can't depend on our government system/schools to teach them these things.  It's not their job.  It's ours as parents to bring them up in the way they should go so that when they are old they won't depart from it.  That is our job delegated to us by God!  So many aren't doing their job and we need to pray that they get a back bone and start doing their job.  That they have a Damascus Road Experience and do what God has called us all to do as parents.  Give kids accountability.  Give them opportunities to do something with their lives and not be a problem on society.  Make sure we give them a sense of accomplishment as they grow so that they value accomplishing things in their adult lives.  Help them be their best for themselves, their families and the generation coming up behind them.  Help them shine bright everywhere they go.  Don't let them go down the road that so many others are on being a problem in this world.  

We are all here to SHINE BRIGHT FOR JESUS.  So let's SHINE and make the world a better place for JESUS!!! 

Brother Jerry....

I saw this recently and I wanted to post it here as a reminder for everyone:

God is not only a good God but He's just as well.  He wants the best for us just like as parents we want the best for our children.  He's just like we are just with our children.  If they do something they shouldn't we are to be just in our punishment with them as well.  Our children learn to not be a problem on society by what we pour into them as they are growing up.  Do we, as parents, make mistakes?  Yes, But God!  By the grace of God we can still parent and be the example we should be for our kids.  In the midst of everything that life throws at us we should never forget that God is a good God and that He loves us more than we will ever possibly imagine.  If we plant that alone into our kids hearts we have done a great thing.  

Brother Jerry was such a great influencer in my life for Jesus.  I learned so much and grew so much in the Lord under his teachings.  He passed on my husbands birthday so his passing won't be something I'll likely forget.  As we were celebrating Scot's life Brother Jerry was entering into his eternal home in heaven with Jesus.  It was such a happy day for Jerry and a sad day for us who are left behind who loved and appreciated Brother Jerry.  I'm thankful for technology because Brother Jerry will still be able to influence our lives for years to come.  

I also wanted to share this with you from Brother Jerry:

I love how Jerry poured into us all.  I love how completely open he was with his life in his ministry.  What you saw was what you got.  He was the same at home as he was in ministry.  Such a great man of God who is gone too soon.  

I only ever got a chance to see him preach in person once but it was something I have never forgot and I've followed him online all these years watching his preaching.  We've also read his books as well.  The impact he's had on us has been huge and we are ever so grateful.  Hope you are dancing in heaven Brother Jerry.  I so wish there was a way for you to share with us what your first week in heaven has been like.  We will get to know that for ourselves someday.  

Our New Scag & Last Mower We Will Ever Own....

This past weekend we did a thing....got a 61" mower for our yard.  It's a Scag Tiger Claw ll, I think🤔.  When we added up how much we've been spending having a lawn company come in all this time we realized we could've already bought two mowers and working on paying for a third with what we've spent.  We had to stop the bleeding.  Wish we had the money to pay for it outright but with no interest payments it was worth the payments every month to be able to take care of our property ourselves and in the end own the mower.  Plus it was saving us hundreds monthly to be able to turn around and put towards our debt in order to get it payed down/off.  It will probably be the last mower we ever buy.  Scags are built to last and that's what we were going for when we picked it.  Here are the boys and Tucker with it.

We've all driven it and boy is it fast.  We'll all have a learning curve but more so Tim and I than Scot.  He loves the machine.  Tim will get the hang of it faster than me I'm sure.  Tucker isn't sure what to think of it as of yet.  With us being home more and not traveling as much as we used to we can take care of things at home ourselves.  Tim is excited about the mower for now.  When he realizes just how much work it's going to be he won't like it near as much...LOL!! 

Here are a couple of short videos that I took of Scot on the mower:

Pilot Mountain....

As we travel to Kentucky and back we always pass by Pilot Mountain.  It's such a beautiful mountain to look at depending on where you are in your journey and how nice the weather is that day.  

Billy Joel's 100th Madison Square Garden Concert Live TV Event...

Sunday night we got to watch a live televised event of Billy Joel.  I hate that I haven't seen him in person in all these years.  He's one of my favorite artist.  Such an amazing musician.  He sounded as good as he did back in the day.  His piano playing was phenomenal as always.  Here's a pic that I took of my tv screen as he was singing.

Late Happy Birthday to Scot (4/15/2024)....

 

I loved you yesterday! I love you today! I’ll love you tomorrow and forever! You are my best friend and the love of my life. You are my compass, my true north. I’m so thankful for the incredible man of God that you are. God blessed me so far beyond what I could’ve thought or imagined when He gave me you. I’m so glad that we get to do life together and that we get to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions with one another. Happiest of Birthdays Babe! May it be your best birthday to date as we celebrate together as a family.

Last Weekend in Kentucky...

Last weekend we had a great time with the family celebrating Scot's and Jeff's birthdays.  We also enjoyed time spent with Scot's parents.  We pulled out the reel to reels and had a great time watching them as a family.  Scot had to do a little work on the projector though but it was working splendidly.  

Well Done Good & Faithful Servant!!!

Yesterday we got the news that this amazing man of God went on to be with his Lord!  He was on the road and had been for quite some time preaching at conferences and churches.  He had just preached the night before his passing an amazing message.  I watched it online and it still all seems so surreal that he's gone.  Our lives have been impacted so much because of Brother Jerry's ministry.  We've followed his preaching and read his books a ton.  He will be greatly missed here but I'm sure he's so enjoying being with Jesus.  He wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and daughters at this time though.  May they feel God's hands around them like never before in their lives in this time of loss.   

We Stand With Israel!!!

No matter was our country does we, as a family, will always stand with Israel!  It seems things are going from bad to worse here because of those running things but we will always Stand With God and God's People!  That will never change!!!

WOW! What A Difference!

In just a couple of months time Tim has changed a ton.  Here's a picture to show you just how much he has changed in his muscle development.  

Tim doing weightlifting now has been amazing.  This change has been huge for him.  He doesn't turn 16 until next month.  So impressive all the gains he's had physically, mentally and in the weights that he is lifting now.  I shake my head a lot these days at such amazement at how far he's come and he's not even been doing this a year yet.  It won't be a year until August.  

Eclipse in Wendell,NC pics....

Here are a couple of pics of what we saw today.  We weren't in the path of it so the only way to see anything was to take pics of it.  The sun was still bright but it looked on the ground like it was a shadowed sunlight.  Also, I was able to get a partial of the diamond ring.  The iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera got great shots.

More Pics from the Meet taken by Cate (owner of Athletic Lab)...

 Here are some more pics from the Meet that Cate took.  She did an awesome job.

Anniversary of Dad's Passing (4/6/2024)...

It’s hard to believe it’s been 22 years since my dad passed away. He didn’t live long enough to walk me down the aisle when I was married or see his grandson born. Tim and his cousins, Tristan & Iris, have his hazel eyes. My dad lived a hard life and had a lot of flaws but all of us kids still loved him. He would have really enjoyed spending time with all of his grandkids and great grandkids. All of us 7 kids have our memories and stories to tell of our dad. Even though he’s been gone all these 22 years he’s never been forgotten.

Athletic Lab Photo Moments....(not taken by me)

Recently AL made a social media post and their photographer had gotten some really great pics of Tim training that I wanted to share here with you.

Tim talking things over with his coach.

Tim recording his lifts to study later and post on social media too.

Athletic Lab Spring Open 2024 (4/6/2024)...

Saturday Tim competed at his home gyms Spring Open Weightlifting Meet.  He had a great time.  He made Meet PR's of 74kg in Snatch and 90kg in Clean & Jerk.  Huge gains were made for him.  He did a 14kg jump from his last Meet in the Snatch and he did a 15kg jump the in C & J.  He's not even been in the sport a year yet and he's doing so well in it.  It was like he was born for this sport.  He was the top male youth athlete at the Meet.  He brought home a gold medal but more importantly he moved back up in rankings.  After his last Meet in January he was ranked #5.  Between that Meet and this Meet he dropped to #11 but after this meet he came right back up to #5 again.  He was very pleased about being able to regain his ranking.  He really enjoys the supportive atmosphere of this sport.  They all love seeing one another make gains and they all feel for one another when they don't make the lifts they are going for.  They are so encouraging of one another and lift one another up constantly.  They help each other fix mistakes when they can.  It's an amazing sport.  Tim has an amazing coach too.  Coach Jarrod is excited for all that Tim has been accomplishing in this sport.  He's also quite surprised in how far he's come so fast.  Being the elite athlete he's been for most of his life it's normal for him to work crazy hard for what he wants to accomplish.  His work ethic for a 15 year astounds most people but that's just Tim.  It's who he is.  It's in his DNA to really go for what he wants to accomplish.  His dad and I couldn't be more proud of all that he's accomplished since making the switch to this sport.  

74kg Snatch

90kg C & J

He took Gold in Male Youth

Tim's amazing Coach, Coach Jarrod!