WT v USAT v AAU...

World Taekwondo just made a height/weight change for the Cadets that is a really great change. It's safer and healthy for our kids. USA Taekwondo is adhering to it and AAU is NOT!

AAU Taekwondo shared a statement today. I've underlined a line in their statement for you all below but it states, "This rule makes no sense in the natural development of children." This is the statement that I vehemently disagree with and here's why...

In 2021 a week prior to the National events for both AAU and USAT my son was cutting to be in a weight division with kids more his height because fighters a foot taller than him were cutting to the weight division that he should fall into "NATURALLY". He ended up in the hospital trying to adhere to the old weight division rules and it almost cost him his life because he lost all the salt in his body and ended up in ICU. He was trying to make a ridiculous weight bracket just so he could fight kids more his size. So tell me, AAU Taekwondo, how the old weight rules make more sense and are best for these kids? I'll wait!!!

He was a second year Cadet at the time.

In my opinion, World Taekwondo needs to do this for the Junior fighters as well to give the Cadets a place to go when they age up. When fighters reach Senior level they can chose whether they wanna dangerously cut or not because at that point they are adults and can make their own decisions for their life. #usataekwondo #aautaekwondo #worldtaekwondo #worldtaekwondofederation

Here's a video link that gives explanation as to why the height/weight change has happened:  https://youtu.be/vtaAnvts3Xc. Watch it because it will blow your mind.

The change WT is making wasn't a decision that was done on a whim. It has been the better part of four years in the making. Parents/Coaches alike need to use the health calculators available online and put your kids heights and weights into them and see where their BMI falls. I dare say many of you will get quite an education on how unhealthy your kids really are. I wish this rule was already present when my son was a cadet because then he'd never had been in the hospital in the first place from working out so hard that he lost all the salt in his body. People need to wake up and think of their kids health first. I can tell you with certainty that we are. No competition is worth my sons health and I'll never put him or let him put himself at risk ever again!!! At the end of the day it's just not worth it!!!

Face to Face with Dad...

Won't be long before T is as tall as his dad.

Teens🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Don’t know how he sleeps like this:

Reminiscing...

Been looking at some old pics of T today.  Been thinking about how he is going to be 15 in May and will have a permit.  Still not ready for all that but been enjoying looking at pictures.  T has changed so much.  Have fun looking at the pics and seeing how much he's changed through the years.

Early Birthday Gift….

Early Birthday gift for my nephew. He unfortunately trashed my 20 year old mountain bike in the rain yesterday. I felt so badly about that because he could have been so much more seriously injured than he was. He was banged up pretty good. The bike was not worth repairing so he got a new bicycle today. The pictures are from where he got injured and him with his new bike. We got him one that has disc brakes instead of rim brakes so that he never has an injury like this again from wet brakes that wouldn’t stop. Disc brakes stop even in the rain because the water flows right through them. His Maw Maw and I want him safe on the road when he’s riding it to school and back. I’ve never felt so badly for something like this accident happening in my life. I feel like I didn’t prepare him enough about how rim brakes act in wet weather conditions. It’s a lesson learned for me and an even harder one for him. This new bike makes sure he won’t ever have that problem again. I just hate he got hurt like he did😞. 

Interior Pictures of the Subaru Outback Premium...

 I'm going to start with a picture of the outside. 

These are the interior pics from online:

We just wanted to give you an idea of what it looks like.  It's a really nice vehicle and we are so looking forward to when we can purchase.  

The Onyx Edition is the same with the exception of that it has waterproof seats which is good when you have a T and a Tucker...LOL! It has other differences too but that is the one that you can physically see.

Car Update....

Ok.  We have dwindled it down to two.  The blue one we really liked has already been claimed.  These things get bought fast before they even hit the lot.  Praying that one of these will be there when we are ready to buy.  The first one is the Onyx Edition $37,000 and it's white.  The other is the Premium Edition $34.000 and it's Bronze.  We are deciding if the $3,000 extra is worth it to get the other edition.  There's not a heck of a lot difference between the two.  But insurance companies sure like white and it's more visible on the road with us going to have a new driver soon so there's that to consider too. 

Happy Groundhog Day Everyone!

 I hope everyone is having a great Groundhog Day.  We are wet and cold at our home today.

Here's the prediction link for the groundhogs forecast: https://www.almanac.com/groundhog-day

T’s Orthodontist Appointment…

T’s Orthodontist appointment went well. He might be getting them off earlier than expected. Not sure 🤔 what that means 🤷🏻‍♀️though. 

They took the blue things off the back of his teeth and put two gray looking things on his front two bottom teeth. He said it’s to keep him from breaking any brackets off. 

He saw his progress pictures and he was like man has my face changed. Scot and I were like of course because now you don’t have those buck teeth anymore…LOL!!  Here are the progress pictures that I have.  I can't wait to add that final picture sometime this year.  Of course he will be in retainers for a while once they come off.  

Vehicle Update....

I'm sure you all are wondering what is going on with our car situation.  As you know they totaled our faithful van and we were searching like crazy to get another car but neither Scot nor myself felt comfortable buying a used vehicle.  We kept getting a resounding NO from the Lord every time we even thought "well maybe this one will work."  The decision we've been at peace about is buying NEW not used.  God has given us such a sweet peace about buying new.  We have also been given that same sweet peace about buying a Subaru Outback.  We will either purchase the premium edition or the onyx edition.  The first picture is of the premium edition and the next three are of the onyx.  We really like the blue colored onyx one the best but we are prepared for whichever one God wants us to have.  These are the pictures of the three we are choosing between though.    

Right now we are waiting to get everything settled with the insurance company so that we can have the best possible downpayment going in on buying new.  We are so excited about our decision and can't wait until it's a reality in our lives and I have a vehicle to drive again and T has a great vehicle for learning to drive in when he gets his permit in May.