USAT EAST GRAND PRIX

This will be the competition that T does after Texas.  There isn't much time between events.  T will be weighing in on the 16th and fighting on the 17th.  His group will be one of the first to fight.  T will be training like crazy to get ready for this one as well as staying on weight.  After this event though T will have a good long break before his next event where he can eat and grow.  He is looking forward to that and looking forward to actually being able to spend the 4th of July with family this year.  That will be a first for us in a very long time because T is always at one of the National events during that holiday.  It will be fun to have a change this year.  It's a much needed changed too.  Family is so important and having carved out dedicated time with them is something to be cherished.  Pray for T as we travel to this event as well.  Pray for his health and ours too.  Pray that he competes well regardless if he earns a medal or not.  Strong fighting is what we are after and getting valuable experience.  Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers as we do these next two events.  It will be lots of travel for us.  #GodsPlan 

PATU PAN-AM SERIES - TEXAS OPEN

It's getting closer to travel time for this event.  T has been working hard to get ready but also been trying to make sure that he add recovery time into all that he is doing.  While still training we've been working on healing an ingrown toenail as well as healing soft tissue injury on the opposite foot.  T still pushes forward through all of it.  T is looking forward to learning his new bracket as well as getting experience fighting with the new rules.  So much is changing and it's a lot for these athletes to get used to but T is rolling with it and adjusting pretty well.  It's going to be interesting watching these kids fight this year because I know a lot of mistakes will be made while they all adjust to all the changes.  There's never a dull moment!  Pray for no injuries and that T learns a lot and does well at this competition.  Doing well for T will be that he holds his own with the taller fighters.  It might not result in an actual win but that will be a win for T if he can stay strong while fighting these taller fighters.  That's what we are after right now.  Experience with the fighters and being able to stay strong fighting in this new division/bracket.  So keeping him in your prayers during this fight season this summer will be greatly appreciated.  #GodsPlan 

Oh The Memories...

While I was sitting at my moms arthritis appointment I put this together.  I love playing around with photo apps on my phone.  These are some great pics of T through the years too.  Just wanted to share it with you here. #GodsPlan

Ch Ch Ch Changes....

As the old song says, "Ch Ch Ch Changes..."  That's what is happening here.  Lots of changes.  First I want to share that I love seeing my son smile while doing what he loves.  I haven't seen it in a while but now we are seeing it again and are so happy that he is happy in what he is doing in TaeKwonDo.  There are changes happening and they are just bringing out such a happiness in T that we haven't seen in a while.  It warms this moms heart to see how happy he is.  Check out these pics where I've caught him smiling on camera recently.

All this has happened at Core TaeKwonDo.  He has made such awesome friends there and they all get along so great.  He really enjoys training with this great group of people.  Such a great atmosphere for our son to be in.  Ultimately for us it's not about any medals he will ever win, although T likes winning, but who doesn't.  For us it's about the fact that we want T happy in what he is doing and happy in his own skin with who he is as a person.  He's such a great kid who has had to deal with a ton of changes/losses over the years.  Where he's at now is a good place though and we couldn't be more happy.  

As of June 1st T will be Team Core and doing all his TaeKwonDo at Core TaeKwonDo!  It's a change we felt we had to make as a family financially.  God expects us to be smart with our spending.  But we were paying 3 different TaeKwonDo schools for training.  With the economy where it's at and getting worse we had to make a decision that will make smart financial sense and ultimately be what we felt God would have us do. T loves his coach, Master Wasiu, so much though which made the decision a hard one for us to make.  We sat down as a family though and got buy in from T to make this move.  Then Scot talked with Master Wasiu getting his blessing for us to make this move.  In TaeKwonDo you always get the Masters blessing when making a move.  T seems very happy for the up coming change.  It will be where he does his regular TaeKwonDo belt classes as well as sparring training. Master Wasiu won't be out of T's life entirely though.  These two teams do a ton of cross training together. It will be good to be home regularly.  I'm so thankful to be able to be relieved of the financial burden of all the extra TaeKwonDo expenses.  Having everything to be in one place with one TaeKwonDo school is going to be great and take a financial burden off our shoulders.  We haven't had that in 5 long years.  It's what Scot and I have been secretly wanting for some time now but didn't want to upset the apple cart.  Ultimately T didn't want to leave Master Wasiu.   He also didn't want to leave the Traditional TaeKwonDo school (Black Belt World - where he's done TaeKwonDo since he was four years old).  He loves Master Wasiu so and Grand Master Jun Lee.  But T knew when we shared with him the TaeKwonDo financials that it was best for us as a family to put everything in one school because it would save money.  We don't keep things from him.  He's at an age now where we want him learning about how to deal with finances as he grows into an adult.  He knew this move was a smart financial move.  We're so thankful for his understanding and his learning.  That's just another great thing about homeschooling.  

After all that, T shared with us that he loves sparring but ultimately he wants to be a master and have his own TaeKwonDo business some day.  I think he'd be excellent at it too.  So while he will still compete and try to reach the goals he has for sparring at the end of the day what matters for him is moving forward in all TaeKwonDo has to offer.  Right now T has told us his goals in sparring are to medal/win at both AAU and USAT Nationals and to medal/win at an Open event.  Open events are where athletes from other countries come and fight.  These are great goals to have and we pray that he will accomplish them someday.  We know he will put his heart and soul into it and at the end of the day that's enough! So check out what T's new Team jacket will look like starting June 1st and pray with us as we make all these changes that T will be able to accomplish all the goals he has in TaeKwonDo.    

As I close this out we want to say a special Thank You to Master Wasiu and Grand Master Jun Lee for all they have poured into our son over the years!  You both have been incredible influences in our sons life for the better!  We appreciate you both so very much and we will never ever forget you!  No matter where T goes or what he does a part of you will always live on in him!  God Bless you both!!!  #GodsPlan

The Count Down for Texas is On...

 We leave at the end of next week for the PATU Texas Open Tournament.  T is fighting up a weight division to get him ready for to move up from Cadets to Juniors next year.  He doesn't currently have any points because he had to out so much last year with injuries.  So the best thing for him is to gain experience in the weight division he will have to be in next year and get to know the fighters in that division.  It's not fun making trips like this knowing that it will mainly be for experience but it is what he needs right now to get ready for what is ahead.  Pray for us as we get ready to travel next week and as we travel to Fort Worth for this event.  We will be driving to it.  

Vision Appointment for T

T will be going for his vision appointment next week and he has decided he wants to switch to contacts.  Pray this goes well and that he does well with wearing them all the time.  It will be vastly different from wearing glasses.  He hasn't been great about wearing his glasses anyhow so hopefully by him switching to contacts it will stop my having to get on him constantly about wearing his glasses anymore.  I've been told it will switch to my having to be on him all the time about putting his contacts in.  I certainly hope and pray not.  I think he's actually looking forward to wearing them now where he wasn't when we did this two to three years ago.  So we'll see.  This will be how he will look without the glasses and wearing contacts.  He will look much different.  

Toe Infection

T had an ingrown toenail. He’s pretty sure he dug it out but in the process caused an infection in his toe requiring an antibiotic. One foot had a misalignment and the other an infection🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️. Jeepers what a day of dealing with his feet 👣 which is what he needs to fight🙄🙄🙄.

Training This Past Weekend

T came home from training this weekend with his left foot hurting him.  Got him in to see the Chiropractor first thing this morning and his foot was misaligned and he has some deep soft tissue damage that we are having to treat with laser treatment.  Two weeks out from going to a tournament🤦🏽‍♀️🙄 . At least we have a plan for fast healing and he'll be able to continue training as well.  Just not today.  He wants him to rest it for the next 24 hours.  Here's a pic and a video from training.  Enjoy.

The Lighting of a Fire 🔥

Recently we’ve been focusing on a ton of end of year school stuff that has needed to be done.  Education is so important. Many times people think homeschooled kids aren’t getting educated as well as if they were in traditional schooling. That’s not the case. T is so smart. At times I’m amazed at his knowledge. Homeschooling has been huge. He’s learning a ton more than Scot and I realize a lot of times. I really liked the quote I’ve shared below because that’s what Scot and I try to do everyday with T. We won’t a fire lit that burns brightly in him. Having a love of learning is so important for us for him. As he matures we are seeing him enjoy learning more. As light 💡 bulb moments happens the excitement and fire build even more. I pray he always has a love for learning throughout the rest of his life. If you’re not learning you’re not growing. 

Training So Far...

Team Training so far this weekend has been drills and a ton of them.  One of the drills T had to do was with one of the new girls who's 17 and weighs about 130 pounds and it was a pushing drill.  She couldn't push T but T was able to push her from what T and Scot told me.  All day long she should have been pushing T like he was pushing her.  She has 30 pounds on our son.  This particular young lady talks a lot of junk to our son too but T is just listening and walking away and later tells his dad and I about the things she says.  This young lady hasn't been doing this sport long enough to know what T knows so T is like she's in for a rude awakening with how she talks.  That rude awakening will come at her first real match because she's going to Texas.  T just trains and moves on though.  He told his dad and I that he doesn't have time for her junk.  And because she has lied on him before he just keeps his mouth shut.  He's tired of getting into trouble because of lies that are told on him by her and certain other teammates.  Some of those kids are a lot of drama.  But hey kids are what their parents allow them to be though.  T doesn't have time for all that mess,  He trains, he absorbs what he needs to learn, he keeps his mouth shut, and comes home when done.  He says, "I avoid all the drama that way," and he's right.  Can't argue with that logic.  So proud of how he's maturing and learning to deal with people like that because it's unfortunate but there is a ton of those kinds of people in our world today.  A bunch of whinny babies is what it seems like to me.  These kids would never make it in the world Scot and I grew up in because that junk was never allowed like it is today.  What's sad is that people in charge cater to it too.  That's ok though because T is growing up tougher and better for having us raise him the way he's being raised.  He won't be a problem on society the way lots of these kids will end up being.  I hate that the world is so vastly different and more troublesome to be in for him.  It so wasn't that way for his dad and I growing up.  We grew up in a world where if we left our doors unlocked no one would even think about coming into it and bothering them or robbing them.  That's not the case anymore.  You have to have everything locked up tight and have an alarm system on your home as well.  One with cameras to boot.  So sad what our world has come to.  At any rate, the team is supposed to be sparring today.  I'm hoping Scot gets some good footage that we can share with you.  I won't be able to share it with you until tomorrow once they get home though.  Here's some pictures of T through the years that I wanted to share though.  I'm gonna have to transfer to my mobile device to my blog touch app to share the pictures though so your see this post then the pictures will come when I edit in that app.  For some reason I'm not able to upload pics in blogspot right now???