Member of the Month...

Tim is member of the month where he trains with weightlifting at Athletic Lab.  We couldn't be more proud of him.  Ever since he switched to weightlifting in August of 2023 he has been 100% all in with it.  He absolutely loves what he is doing now and his coach is amazing.  They have connected in a way that Tim never has with any other coach that he has had throughout the years.  His coach really listens to him and is really helping him accomplish his goals with weightlifting.  Tim is the happiest that we have ever seen him and he keeps making huge gains in his training and in the Meets that he's done since switching to this sport.  His PR's at the gym are currently 70kg Snatch & 90kg Clean and Jerk = 160kg Total.  Here's what the gym posted online that we wanted to share with you here.

Bowling Fun with Lighthouse Homeschool Group...(3/23/2024)

Tim had a great time at the bowling outing with Lighthouse.  I've been trying to get him more involved this year with doing stuff with our homeschool group.  He's been enjoying hanging out with other homeschooled teens.  Here are some pics that I got from bowling.

National Son's Day Monday....(3/4/2024)

To say we are proud of Tim is an understatement.  He's had so much to deal with in his young life.  Twice the devil tried to kill him but God!  He's a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo.  He's an A/B student.  Mostly A's though.  He's gotten back into playing the guitar again.  He does Olympic Weightlifting.  He helps out his dad whenever he can with our family business.  Plus he loves his family with all his heart.  He's such a great young man with such a great heart.  We couldn't have asked for better son.  So Happy National Son's Day Tim.  Keep going hard after your dreams keeping God first and foremost in your life!  Your dad and I love you so so much!

Kentucky Trip Last Weekend...

We went up to Kentucky last weekend to see Pop and Nan, especially Pop though.  He has had medical challenges recently and we just wanted to spend time with him.  Some days are good and others aren't.  It's understandable at his age though.  His body can't do what it used to and I'm sure its extremely frustrating for him.  It would be for anyone in his shoes.  We all love him so much.  He and Nan are the center of the Neal family.  

Tim drove 2 1/2 hours of the trip in the rain.  He did so good driving in the rain.  I was glad that he had the chance to drive in adverse weather conditions before he goes for his level 2 license in May. 

While up in Kentucky Tim's cousins, my niece, and her family got a new puppy that they have named Deano.  He is the cutest little thing but he won't stay little for long.  He's a golden retriever.  

We've been trying our best to make it to Kentucky at least once a month and sometimes twice a month if we can.  It's been a lot of traveling for us but we don't want to have any regrets about not having spent time with Scot's parents when their time comes to go be with Jesus.  Here are some pictures that I took on our trip this time:

Tim driving in the rain.

Pilot Mountain in the rain.

Tim with Deano.

Scot, Elaine & Jeff

Scot, Jeff, Pop & Elaine

Nan, Scot, Jeff, Pop & Elaine

Tim saying bye to Pop.

Scot saying bye to Pop.

The sunset as we were driving home.

Playing His Guitar...

Tim has been playing his guitar again recently.  I love that he has picked it back up.  He said now that he has the time to be able to play that he wants to play more and get better at playing his guitar.  It's been so long since I've heard him play and I'm so glad that he's been able to pick up right where he left off.  Tucker and I have been enjoying listening to him play and I got a picture of him playing the other day.

He told his dad and I recently that he wants an electric guitar.  His birthday is coming up in May and we are hoping that we will be able to afford an electric guitar and amp for him for his birthday.  That would so totally rock his world.  I love that he is finding the joy in playing again.  Tim's such an amazing young man.  I love how great his attitude and demeanor is these days.  His happiness means the world to his father and I.  It has warmed our hearts so very much to see him so incredibly happy and really enjoying all that he is doing in his life currently.  Life really is good!!!  

Tim's Lifts from last nights Training...

Here are the videos of Tim's lifts last night.  The first one is a Snatch + Hang Snatch Above Knee with 60kg/132#.  The second one is a 110kg/242# Back Squat.  Enjoy!

Muscles Oh My....

Tim has gained so much muscle since August 2023 when he started doing weightlifting.  He's looking more and more like a man instead of my boy.  It's amazing how much he's grown since August.  He's matured a lot more since then too.  He is completely addicted to this sport though.  He loves how it makes him feel and he really enjoys doing it.  He charts his gains so that he can see how far he's come since he started with weightlifting.  He's so much more into this sport than he ever was with TaeKwonDo Sparring.  His dad and I thought he loved sparring but boy were we wrong.  Seeing Tim now doing weightlifting has shown us a completely different side of our boy.  Seeing him with such an immense passion for what he is doing has really WOWed us more than words could ever express.  Each month he has more muscle gain too.  It's freaky how fast and how much he's gained in a short time doing this sport.  

Jeremiah 29:11.....

 

We look at and watch a ton of weightlifting stuff on our social media accounts.  There was a young man, from the USA Olympic Team, with this tatoo on the inside of his upper arm as he was lifting weights in either a snatch or clean & jerk lift.  Whether you are a fan of tattoos or not this testifies to all the onlookers watching him lift who is most important in his life.  When he lifts he makes no bones about the fact that he is God's and that God has a plan for his life and that he's going to live it!  

We Stand With Texas....

 

Texas has been making a stand to close their border.  I don't know all the details but I know enough to know that our current government system wants to allow everyone to come over the border into Texas and Texas has been having to deal with the mess of it all and they are tired of it and I don't blame them one bit.   Don't you just love that crazy long sentence that I just wrote...LOL! But that's basically it in a nut shell.  Folks are getting fed up.  Things have to change.  If we don't start making a stand now against the nonsense then we never will because the next generation coming up are a bunch of followers.  As for us, WE STAND WITH TEXAS!   

The Lord Stands With Us....

As a family we have been through a ton.  We've had many ups and downs through the years but the Lord has stood with us through it all.  He stood by us and protected Tim when he was hospitalized for complications due to strep throat of all things.  It caused him all kinds of stomach issues that backed him up and if we had taken him home when the ER doctor said it was just a virus he would have been dead in two days.  I insisted he be admitted and they find out what was wrong with him because it had been going on for almost a month an half at the point of hospitalization.  The doctor on the floor found the issue and treated him immediately.  The Lord stood by us and protected Tim when he lost all the salt in his body from exercising a ton to lose weight for a competition not realizing that he had been going without salt.  He went into a seizing comatose state which put him in PICU.  We were blessed that they caught it quick enough and saved his life.  The right doctors, at the right time, were in the right place for that to happen.  Everyone else in PICU were there because of Covid but not our kid.  We are so very thankful for the Lords hand in everything.  

We also had to deal with aging parents and all their medical issues for the last almost 10 years now but God!  His hand has been on us protecting us and standing with us every step of the way.  When people say there is no God I say yes there is because if not for Him Tim would not be with us today.  Satan sought to kill and destroy Tim but God said not today because that child is mine!  

If not for God Tim wouldn't even be here because I'd have died along time ago and never met and married the amazing man of God that I'm married to today.  He's a great husband and dad.  I couldn't have asked or imagined anything better.  

Ours lives are crazy busy with all that we have to juggle most of the time but we wouldn't have it any other way and we know that God stands with us in it all and that gives us comfort and confidence to keep moving forward no matter what comes our way.  God has been so faithful to us and we are so thankful for that.   

So, as a child of God, remember that He stands with us and strengthens us!  His Word tells us that so we do well not to doubt but stand by it!