2021 Neal News Letter

This year has been a challenging year. So many ups and downs but God has seen us through it all. First several months were normal with T training and doing his school (T is a straight A student) as usual. Then I had my fall that took a lot longer to recover from than I would have liked. A severely sprained ankle with a pulled achilles tendon and bruised leg all the way up to my knee. The Achilles’ tendon still hurts off and on if I’m on my feet for long periods of time and when the weather changes. If you saw my post about that then you saw the pictures. 

Then Pop had some medical issues that kept us in Kentucky more often but there’s no place we’d have rather been either. Family is so important to us and Pop and Nan are the Patriarchs of the family. We cherish them so much. 

Then T had two injuries that kept him out of the big tournaments for the summer which basically made his sparring for the year a bust. His first injury happened while training when he fractured his pinky toe. His second injury was more severe and took a lot longer to come back from and that was when he lost all the sodium in his body and went into a seizure. He was in ICU from Thursday evening when it happened until Saturday when he came to in his right mind. He was in a very combative state everytime the doctors or nurses tried to do anything with him. He doesn’t remember any of it. He was so disappointed to miss all the big tournaments after having trained so hard but things happen in life for a reason.  At the end of the day God’s in control and that’s all that matters. 

After all T had been through he ended this year by getting braces. It’s been quite an adjustment for him. His teeth have shifted so much in the short time he’s had them on. 

There have been more downs than ups this year but God has watched over us every step of the way. In a world gone crazy I’m so thankful that God is the central focus of our lives. Our relationship with Him is more important than anything in our lives. He is the reason we get to do this life together and I’m so incredibly thankful everyday that we have each other. 

Let me end this on a high note. T does so good with his schooling. He keeps an A average. We couldn’t be prouder of all he does between his schoolwork, his body coach training, and his sparring training. He’s a busy boy but he loves it. If he wasn’t keeping busy doing something he’d be bouncing off the walls…LOL!  Our company is doing good and Scot is busier than ever with work. I keep busy running the show as I call it. I keep T on task because he’s easily distracted. I keep the schedule running smoothly. I run T everywhere he has to be for training all week long. I feel like I’m on the road more than I’m home and I probably am. I wouldn’t trade this life with my guys for nothing in the world though. It may be a crazy 😜 busy life but we wouldn’t have it any other way. God directs our steps. He brought T to where he is now with the coaches he should be with and we keep plugging along in this TaeKwonDo journey with him. We are so thankful for God’s direction as we’ve been on this journey with T. His direction means everything. Any success T has had or will have in the future is all because of what God has done every step of the way. We give all the glory and honor to Him and Him alone!  

Successful Homeschooling

This is a post from one of the founders of the Homeschool group I’m a part of:

As  a longtime homeschool mom, now retired, and former homeschool group leader, one of my passions is encouraging others in their homeschooling journey  and sharing a vision for family, parenting, and educating that is different from the "norm" in our society.    

Just like anyone, I made plenty of mistakes and had plenty of doubts along the way, but my five children are now all grown, all college grads, and all thriving. As I look back, I am grateful to God for providing vision, direction, and encouragement, so I could then share it with others. 

I considered myself an eclectic and (mostly) relaxed homeschooler. "Eclectic" means I used curriculums and materials from a variety of philosophies and styles -  Charlotte Mason, Classical, unit study, traditional.  And I used a relaxed approach in how I applied them in our homeschool.  

 

Relaxed homeschooling isn't a method, a curriculum, or a philosophy.  It is more of a mindset.  

It is the idea that you are a family first, not a school. 

You are a mother first, not a teacher. 

You educate your children in a home, not a classroom. 

Your husband is a father and your partner in parenting and raising your children, not a Principal. 

You have individual, affectionate, personal relationships with your children, not your students. 

God didn't create schools, he created families and communities as the perfect place for the training and nurture of children. He gave the job of raising and educating children squarely to the parents, not to the government or the church or any "experts". 

 

Having a relaxed homeschool mindset means you see educating your children as an extension of parenting them. 

You don't necessarily have to make lesson plans or  purchase teacher's manuals, although you could.  

It isn't necessary to test or grade your children, to teach every subject the public schools teach, or to try to be like a public school at all.  

You don't have to select one particular curriculum or have everything set up and in place on day one.  

You don't need to begin each day with taking attendance or divide your school day into fifty-minute segments.  

What you need to do is establish a lifestyle of learning in your home, and participate in it with your children.  You need to understand each of your children as individuals with unique abilities and interests, strengths and weaknesses, learning styles and personalities, and tailor your parenting and educational decisions around helping them grow and develop into the best person each of them can be. 

Relaxed homeschooling views homeschooling as a marathon and not a sprint. It balances academics with things like character development, spiritual growth, life skill training, physical health, nurturing relationships, and emotional development. 

It promotes the attitude that learning happens all the time, and for your whole life, not just during "school hours" or "school years". 

It looks for ways to spark real learning in daily activities as well as  special events, versus artificial learning which is not connected to life.

It invites exploration, imagination, and experimentation.

It rejects a rigid, stressful, cookie-cutter approach to educating children.

Does this sound like a lot of work and responsibility?  Yes, it is.  It is another aspect of parenting, which is also lot of work and a lot of responsibility. It can be frustrating, challenging, and exhausting at times, but also exciting, gratifying and immensely rewarding. It will drive you to your knees daily, which is where God wants you anyway.  It is a way for your family to get the best of you, and you get the best of them - not the leftovers at the end of the day.  You get to really know each other and build a bond based on shared experience.  I can't think of anything more important that I could do.

This is her family. 

T Playing with His VR Headset

Here’s a pic of T playing his VR headset. His cousin came over and they both played. 

T liked the green covers but they got in the way of charging the set. 

Prayer for 2022

Adidas Shoe Lego Build

It took T a couple of days to complete because he has had such a busy schedule. He really likes the superstar shoe and now is asking for a pair but wants the black pair. I looked online and WOW the cost of those things. $95 is a lot of $$$ for shoes. 

Our Christmas

Cooking Salmon in our new air fryer/toaster oven!  

Our travel Keurig and carry bag. 

Merry Christmas from USA TaeKwonDo

Love this picture that USA TaeKwonDo posted on Facebook and had to share. It’s so stinkin’ cute. 

T’s Christmas Haul!

This year T asked for one thing and of course we had to get all the accessories to go along with it…LOL!  Here’s the pictures of his big gift and accessories:

Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset

Pro Headstrap. 

Anker Recharging Station. 

Earphones for the Quest. 

Carrying case for the Quest. Plus we got him green rubber covers for the headset and handles. Didn’t get a picture of those yet. We will once he’s playing with the headset though. 

Here are a few other little things we got him:

Adidas Shoe Lego Build. T loves Adidas. 

Finger fidget toy. 

A fidget ball toy. 

A fidget spinner/cube toy. He can mix up the cube and try to get all the colors back just like a rubix cube. 

Plus he’s got this pro speed cube (pic below) coming in the mail at some point. We went half’s with him so he could get it. This is not a cheap cube…LOL! 

Over all this kid had a good haul. We also bought him V-Bucks for one of the games he plays. Only gamers will understand what V-Bucks are…LOL! 

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!  

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Happy birthday, Jesus!

I'm so glad it's Christmas.

All the tinsel and lights

And the presents are nice

But the real gift is You!

Happy birthday, Jesus!

I'm so glad it's Christmas. 

All the carols and bells

Make the holiday swell

And it's all about You!

Happy birthday, Jesus!

Jesus I love You!!!