Tim's Last Christmas Gift Finally Arrived....

Tim's Maw Maw bought him a gift for Christmas.  She ordered it before Christmas and it was supposed to get there in a couple of weeks but it took until now to arrive.  He loves it though and said it was worth the wait.  It's a Twenty One Pilots hoodie.  They are Tim's favorite band.  He's very eclectic when it comes to music.  We've most recently been listening to Chopin.  Chopin is a far cry from Twenty One Pilots.  It's why I say he's very eclectic.  He loves all kinds of genres of music.  He's definitely his mothers son because I'm the exact same way.  Got this pic of him wearing it on a commercial project yesterday.   

Virus Weightlifting Series 1 Meet Preliminary Schedule...

 

The highlighted area in the list is where it looks like Tim will be lifting at this Meet.  The final schedule will come out 2/17.  So far it looks like he will be lifting day 1 of this Meet then he will be able to go see some of the Arnold events and enjoy himself on Friday before we take the drive over to his Aunts house for a short visit with them before heading home on that Sunday.  We are so excited for our boy getting to do this Meet this year because he was a little shy of getting to attend it last year + he was so new to the sport that his numbers weren't where they needed to be for this event anyhow.  He's doing so good now though and we are so incredibly happy for him and proud of him.  When I think of how proud we are of him I think about our Father in heaven and how proud He must be when His children make good decisions and do good positive things with their lives.  The smile that is on our faces for our kids doesn't even compare to our Papa God's face when it comes to His children.  Knowing how I feel for Tim and how He feels towards me is a great feeling.  I love you so much God!  Thank you for Your many blessings in my life!  

ALWC Winter Classic Schedule....

Here is the schedule for Saturday.  Tim is lifting with the Seniors and Masters.  He's the only youth in his group lifting the numbers that he will be lifting.  

Being A Mom...

 

Tim will be 18 in May of 2026.  It's hard to believe that at that time he will be a legal adult in the eyes of the law.  He will always be my boy though.  I have missed the mark in the mom department more times than I could ever keep track of.  I'm sure there are things that I don't remember as I've raised Tim that he remembers.  I wouldn't get a glowing mom award but I've been present, I've done the absolute best I could, and I've tried to be a good mom for our son.  No parent is perfect.  I've apologized when I've needed to.  I've held him tight when he's been scared and not feeling well.  I've played with him countless times with whatever toys he wanted to play with.  I've sat on our deck and watched him jump on his trampoline.  I've watched him ride his dirt bike.  I've taken countless pictures of him throughout his entire childhood.  There's not a moment that I've not cherished with him.  He is growing into an amazing young man.  He has a heart of gold.  I look forward to seeing how God continues to bless him into his adulthood, marriage, and children of his own.  I know that he will be a good father and husband because his dad and I have lead by example his whole life.  He's been so incredibly loved.  We've given him wings to fly as high and far as he wants to go in this life.  All that he has to accomplish remains to be seen but one thing is for sure is that he sets goals and meets those goals.  He's a go getter and that will never change.  I only hope and pray that all the good I've done as a mom far outweighs all the times I've missed the mark as a mom and that the good is what stays with our son as he becomes his own man.  

To My Son, 

and remember this:

Life meets nobody half way.  If you want something you have to go for it and give it your all every single time!  I love you to the moon and beyond!  Always have and always will!  Keep being the absolute best you that you can possible be!  And above everything, Always, Always, look to God first and foremost as you navigate life!!!  Always be thankful to God for his blessings in your life.  Nothing we have in this life is by chance.  It's His provision that has brought you to where you are and it's His provision that will keep you.  Trust God always and forever.  I love you!

Challenger Remembrance Day 1/28....

I still remember being in school watching on tv because a teacher was on that Space Shuttle. I remember as the entire school gasped when it exploded and then total silence. None of us could believe what had just happened. What happened was very sad and I’m glad we had a principal that addressed us over the intercom in such a way that inspired us to honor her memory as we went throughout the rest of our day. I will always remember.

Just an fyi, there was no pts, counseling or missed school days over it. Just saying.

Tim is so Ready for 2025 Comps!!!

Tim is so ready for his 1st Meet of the year!  He's been working hard and looking forward to advancing his Meet PR at this 1st in House Meet at Athletic Lab this Saturday.  It will count for USAW too.  His coach has been working with him non-stop getting him ready for this Meet and the Virus Weightlifting Series 1 Meet that happens at the end of February.  Tim is looking forward to a banner year as a last year Youth Weightlifter.  Tim is making progress like crazy in this sport!

A Year & A Half of Nothing But Progress..

Here's Tim's lastest Personal Best Snatch which he's hoping to make a Meet PR soon:

Tim did a 90kg Snatch Saturday.  That's so huge.  He's made such great strides since moving over to weightlifting.  We couldn't be more proud and happy for him.

On this elite athlete journey we've been on we've learned so much.  We learned what we were doing wrong and what we were doing right.  We learned what we needed to change and we made the needed changes.  That's huge for parents as well as athletes.  To know when to make changes and when to fight is major!!!

For so long we were of the mindset that Tim made a commitment to a certain sport and that he needed to stick to it no matter what.  It was what he had told us he wanted to do and so we were making him keep to his end of the bargain and continue to do the sport he had chosen.  What we didn't factor in was all the outside circumstances and situations that would tear down our son and make him into a shell of a person.  We saw our sons spirit dwindling away and totally crushed by people who were supposed to truly care about him but in the end didn't.  Tim's love of the sport he was doing just vanished away after the last issue that he had that brought about real change which brought him to the sport he's doing now.

Ya know, the last situation that caused him and us to walk away from TKD sparring was really a blessing in disguise.  What satan meant for harm and destruction God turned for Tim's good and our good as a family.  A year & a half later folks and our son + our family unit is so very different.  The happiness in our home/lives is like nothing we've ever known since Tim started down the elite athlete path when he was 7/8 years old.  It's like all these years later we have our family back.  We have such a happiness that's better than what we had before Tim started down the elite sport competing path.  

Being an elite athlete is not for the faint of heart.  It's hard, very hard!  It's the toughest thing a competitor will ever do.  It's all consuming.  It takes a strong family unit in order to do it.  When Olympians thank their parents it's because, we parents, put just as much into our kids sports/competitions as they do with our support of them to get them where they want to go.  

Tim still has olympic dreams.  He has the best coach that he's ever had!  Will his dreams ever come to fruition?  Only God knows that.  As long as Tim has the goal he will have our support though.  

Having our kids in a good place mentally when it comes to sports of any kind matters so very much.  We have a hugely different young man in our home now.  One that talks to us more than he ever has.  He is always sharing with us what he's learning and showing us as well.  He's including us more than he ever has all because of the support that he's receiving from us on a day in and day out basis.   Showing love and encouragement constantly are all we are about with our son.  Having him so excited and happy brings such warmth and happiness to our hearts.  His dad and I are loving how strong our family unit is now.  What a massive change this has been for us but it's been so worth it.  

So many folks can't believe after all the years in one sport that we just moved on but knowing when to move on is so huge.  There's no sense in wasting time and money in a sport that isn't going to yield the result that your kid ultimately wants so moving on was the right thing to do.  Life is so good, God is at the center of our home and we are blessed beyond measure!!!  Thank you Lord for being ever constant in our lives!  

Our Guinea Pigs...

Dan and Stampy love celery.  I can always get a great shot of them when I give them celery.  It's their favorite thing to eat outside of Timothy Hay.  

Making Different Choices...

 

Back in August of 2023 Tim made a decision that changed the course that his life had been on up to that point.  He walked away from the only sport that he had known and loved since he was 7 years old.  He made a grown up decision in the midst of a horrible situation that changed his life drastically for the better.  He's in such a great place today, mentally & physically, because of the decision that he made then.  I've never been more proud of him than I was in that moment of time.  

Our kids are ours for but a whisper of time on this earth then we put them fully back into God's hands who trusted us with their upbringing in the first place.  He entrusted them to us when we had them so it's only right they we entrust them back to him as we raise them and when they become adults.  

Tim graduates high school in 2026.  That's only a little over a year away.  I'm so glad that we chose to homeschool all these years.  It's been challenging.  There's been times when I felt I would pull my hair out in dealing with his schooling but I'd do it all over again.  Homeschooling him has afforded us the comfort in knowing that he's been taught right and that he's had no outside influences to mess with his mind.  He knows how to critically think things through.  He has his own strong mind and knows how to think and do for himself.  He's more mature at 17 years of age than most 30yo adults we see when we are out and about doing business in town.  He's seen, been through more, and knows a lot more than other kids his age.  I love the man that he is becoming because I know that he will be able to handle whatever life throws his way.  

People say it will be hard to let him go when he graduates next year.  Somehow I don't think so.  Sure, he'll officially be a man in the laws eyes because he'll be 18yo but I take such comfort in the knowledge that he's been raised good.   If he chooses to go out on his own I'll miss him but he knows where home is and he knows that he will always be welcomed home no matter what.  We've always let him know that we will always be there for him and his dad and I mean that too.  Family is everything!  Family matters!  God is at the center of our family!  God's hand is over our lives and we trust him 100% with everything in our lives too.  Life wouldn't be worth living without God in our lives.  Thank you God for your presence in our lives each and every day.  We love you!

Inauguration Day Yesterday...

I loved watching the inauguration yesterday and hearing President Trump's speech.  I can't wait for all he talked about to happen.  I love America.  I will only ever want Presidents in office who want what is best for Americans and who put God & Americans 1st!  It's the way it should be.  May God's hand of protection be on this President and Vice President as they do the jobs they promised the American people they would do.  My God richly bless them as they fulfill their promises that got them elected.  May every cell and organ in their body be healthy whole and complete from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet and that also for their families as well.  It's so nice to wake up to a President in office that I can be proud of and waking up feeling good about my country now that this President has taken office.  

Happy Inauguration Day to our President & Vice President!

Today President Trump & Vice President Vance are sworn into office.  Many feel like Trump was cheated out of his second term durning the last election but I feel that him having the break between his presidencies was a godsend.  It's giving him time to learn and grow so that he can do an ever better job for us Americans now that he's back in office.  I'm looking forward to all the great changes for our country and the American people.  

Happy MLKJr Day!

Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech is one of my favorite speeches that he did because it has always spoke my heart for our nation.  May all people groups everywhere strive to this end and stop all the hate everywhere.  His dream is as alive today as it was back then.  The heart of his dream still speaks to us all today.  May we do our best to live it!

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. 

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." 

~Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 

August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

New Personal Best's for Our Boy....

Last Saturday (January 11th) Tim did new Personal Best's in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk which gave him a new Total Personal Best as well.  Tim is on fire 🔥 right now and continuing to gain ground with each training session leading into the Virus Weightlifting Series 1 Meet at the end of February - beginning of March timeframe.  He can't wait to make his new personal bests his new Meet PR's.  Here are his latest videos:

86kg Snatch:

110kg Clean & Jerk:

Verse for Today...

 

Love This Quote....

This Is So True!!!

My Work Helper....

This has become my new normal every morning.  She loves to get between me and the keyboard and mouse...LOL!  She's just so stinking adorable that I just do what I can and sit and enjoy her company for however long she wants to cuddle with me.  She is such a lovable spunky frisky kitty.  She loves having play time with all of us.  

She's Just Like Tucker....

Stella is just like Tucker.  She loves to lay wherever the sun is.  She is even more spunky and frisky now that she's had a couple of days of meds in her for the parasite.  We bought her two new litter boxes too that will be her forever boxes unless for some unknown reason we have to buy her a new one that I can't foresee at this moment.   She is loving having more privacy as she goes potty.  She didn't like the doors it came with so we had to remove them.  

Stella chilling in the sun with her toy mouse.

Her new, hopefully, forever litter box.

Stella...

 

The entire time that we've had Stella she's had diarrhea off and on.  She's pooped💩 a ton.  We were just giving her time to get acclimated thinking it was stress of new environment or that we needed to switch her food.  We found out two days ago at the Vet that she in fact had a parasite that doesn't get taken care of with the normal kitten protocol meds that they give.  Two days into the meds and she's like a brand new kitten.  What a difference a couple days into a med can make.  This picture is of her once she got home from the Vet.  She was wore out.  

E. Staal's Jersey Retirement....

E. Staal is one of my favorite hockey players.  He's now retiring.  

The team all wore the number 12 at the game after the retirement ceremony.  

My Cabin at New Life Camp....

This was my cabin at New Life Camp when I was a camp counselor back in the early to mid '90's.  I spent four summers in that cabin and loved every minute of it.  The cabins were open air with wash sheds that were used for going to the bathroom and taking a shower.  I loved sharing Jesus with all the girls that were assigned to my cabin all those summers.  I got to watch as some of those girls became Jr. Counselors and then actual Counselors years after my time there.  Watching them grow in the Lord and now have families of their own and raising their kids to love the Lord has truly blessed my heart beyond measure.  I'm so thankful for social media in that regard because I've been able to keep up with so many of them.  This is what the new cabin that sits where the old cabin was looks like:

It has indoor plumbing with an HVAC system.  Definitely much nicer for today's kids then the rustic one that I had all those years ago.  

Here's some more pics that I want to share of all the changes that have taken place at New Life Camp since my time there.  I'm hoping to at some point to visit and see all the changes for myself up close and in person.  

Let's start with this picture.  The bottom portion is the dinning hall that I knew but the upper picture is the dinning hall all future generations will know:

This is an old picture that I'm sharing.

This next one is of the Tabernacle.  The first one is the one I knew and the second one is the one that all future generations will know.

The Tabernacle now sits where the maintinence building (pictured below) used to sit:

The bottom picture is of when it was first built and the second is of the Johnson men who all used that building for all the repairs of the camp just before they tore it down.  

There are more updates than what I've shown you here but I don't have pictures to share with you of them.  Suffice it to say that the camp I knew is gone and been replaced with a camp that is more conducive to how it runs now as compared to then.  I will always have such fond memories of the way that camp was when I was there.  I'm also hopeful for the years that the new camp will be able to run and accommodate all future endeavors of the camp and the souls that will be saved for Jesus because of all that they've done to improve camp for everyone!    May God Greatly Bless All That Come There!!!

Haircut...

 The boy needed a haircut:

WooHoo🙌🙌🙌

Virus Performance & USA!!!

Weightlifting Shoes are Here...

 

Tim can't wait to use these shoes tonight at training.  He already loves how they feel on his feet.  He's tested out how well they help him balance down in the dip and was really impressed.  These will be a game changer in his lifting.  So glad that he decided to buy a pair.  He paid for half and we paid the other half because they are sooooooo expensive.  

2025 Verses From Pastor Chad at Cross Assembly...