Our Boy Tucker...

We've had Tucker on the same dog food since he was a puppy.  We chose it because of his allergy to too much chicken in some of the dog foods.  His last batch had unprocessed bones in it and made him really bad sick.  Almost $400 later in vet bills and special dog food to get him lined out we are now on a journey to find him a new dog food.  We think we've found the one that we will go with.  It's called Taste of the Wild.  It can only be gotten on Chewy.  It's one that my sister in law uses on her picky dog and Tucker seems to love it.  We are just glad that we figured out what was making him sick and that he is feeling much better now.

We are going to give this new food a few days to be sure that this is the one we will be switching to.  You hate to have to switch them when you have found something they love but I don't know that I will ever trust the brand we were using again.  We were using Nature's Recipe and for 6/7 years it has been an awesome food but after all we've been through I'm hesitant on letting him eat it anymore.  Crossing fingers🤞that he will keep loving this food.  

Pop Walking...

The last time we remember Pop walking was at Christmas and yesterday he walked for the first time since that time.  I was so exciting to see on video.  I have a couple of pics that I will share here though of him with his walker.  One is of him walking and the other is after he sat down from his walk.

This was a huge accomplishment for Pop after all he's been through these last months.  We love seeing him doing so much better.  We want to have him with us as long as we can.  We love him so much.

Nationals Prep....

We haven't updated in a bit on Tim's weightlifting.  He's been furociously getting ready for Nationals in June.  His coach has been fine tuning his form so that he can do his absolute best lifts at that event.  Tim has been listening and tweaking as much as he can.  He is so excited to be attending his first Nationals Weightliftting event.  He's looking forward to many more to come too.  Tim will be getting his feet wet, so to speak, with this event.  If he medals great and if he doesn't that's great too because he's had a banner time of it already with just starting in August to where he is now.  He's totally floored his coach with how far he's come in such a short time.  He's never seen an athlete do that before but we told him that was the elite athlete in our son coming out.  Tim has no quit in him.  Plus he absolutely loves this sport.  The photo below was not taken by me but by the gyms photographer.  He gets such great shots of Tim.  I zoomed in on it to show off Tim.  That's Dylan next to him.  Tim and Dylan get along great.  Of course Tim gets along great with everyone there though.  

This was of Tim warming up for his lifts.

Great Conversations...

Scot and Tim really enjoyed their last moments before we headed home from Kentucky with Pop sitting out on his sisters deck with him on Sunday.

Time spent with family is irreplaceable.  We had such a great visit with them.  Pop was more like himself than he's been in a long while.  We love seeing him doing so much better.  

Neal Family Photos...

Over our weekend visit to Kentucky we got to look at a bunch of old Neal family photos.  I took pictures of the pictures to have digitally.  I will do my best to caption all the photos with you.  They won't be in any particular order.  

Ronald Neal, Navy Seal.  Died in service to our country and buried in Arlington.

One of Pops cars.  Pop's a gear head.

Uncle Mike is the boy in suspenders and Pop is the tall skinny boy next to him.

Pop with his grandkids, Mysterie, Corey, Joshton & Brittney.

Pop in front of their motor home.  They did all their vacations in it.

Pop in his roadster with one of his buddies.

Pop and Mike with one of their friends.

A blurred pic of Pop with his car.

Pop and Nan with one of the grandkids.

Jullian and Ronald Neal.  Pops cousins.

I've been told this is Pop as a toddler.

Pop and Corey.

Pop holding Joshton with Mysterie reaching up.

Pop age 5 and his brother Mike age 3.

Pop looking all fly😉! 

Pops mom, Adelle and brother, Mike.

I've been told this was Pops favorite car that he owned.

Pops dad Orie Neal.

Pop and Nan way before kids😂.

Pop with one of the grandkids.

Pop and Mike with the neighborhood kids.

Pop and Scot at the Kennedy Space Center.

Nan on the hood and Pop in the drivers seat.

Orie and Adelle Neal holding Elaine.

Pop, Britt, and Joshton.

Mike and the Sunday school girls.  I've been told he was a big flirt😂.

Adelle with her church class.  She's the one bent over in the pic.

Pop in one of his cars.

Pop and Nan at one the bases maybe🤔.

Another one of Pops cars.

Pop

Mike, Adelle and Pop.

Another one of Pops cars full with him, Nan and their friends.

 

The Nearing of The End...

When we come into the world our parents have to do everything for us and when they get older in life we take care of them.  It's the circle of life.  Pop is still with it and witty as ever but his body just isn't cooperating.  He's so precious to us all and the patriarch of the family.  He's our reason for being in Kentucky so often to visit with him and Nan because we never know when it will be our last visit with them before one of them goes to heaven to be with Jesus.  When we are home all we want to do is be here with them.  We hate missing any moments with them at this stage in their lives.  The birth of a life is so precious but so is someone nearing the end of their life too.  Pop got to sit outside in the sun some yesterday but the wind was so chill that he had to be covered up.

Nan's Early Mother's Day...

Jeff, Elaine and Scot got Nan an early Mother's Day present for her secret garden at her house but she's enjoying it at her daughter's house for now.  She was so surprised and so happy to finally get this.  She's been wanting it for some time now.  The wind was blowing something fierce yesterday when they gave this to her.  The second pic has her looking wind blown...LOL! 

Back In The Day....

 

I find this so funny because we've had numerous conversations with our son about "Back In The Day".  I heard a minister I love to watch and listen to say recently that he longs for days past.  With the shape our world is in I believe we all long for days gone past.  Back then there was no cell phones, tablets or computers.  There was no cable tv.  Just a few local channels.  I think we were all better off when we weren't so connected to all that is going on around us and in the world as we are now.  I do long for those days when I mowed lawns in my neighborhood for the elderly to make money for whatever I had need of at the time.  Some of the money earned was for fun but most of the time doing odd jobs like that gave me spending money to buy "in style" clothes that my folks couldn't afford because all our clothes came from GoodWill back then.  Our son has never known life like his dad and I knew it and sadly when he grows up and has kids they won't know what a life like that is like either.  Our son only knows it because of the stories we have told him as he's been growing up.  Even though he's had it way better than Scot and I he has grown up to be quite a responsible young man for the most part.  We are going through some teen struggles currently but it's nothing serious.  Just some growing pains is all.  As we talk to him constantly about things over and over again it sinks in and he gets it.  Times past before all this technology will always be better days to me and my husband.  Back when we weren't as informed.  We for sure were much more happy back then.  There wasn't the stress of having all this knowledge at our fingertips.  Those suffering with anxiety is due to all this information/misinformation at our fingertips.  At least that's what I believe is the problem.  The suicide rate being so high is also from all this information/misinformation that is confusing folks, especially the kids, and causing them so much anguish that they just can't see straight enough to want to live.  Technology has its good points but it has had a lot of majorly bad points.  It's taken bullying to a whole new level with social media.  It's brought about these young people not knowing what gender they are or what they "identify" as to a whole new level.  I mean look down below and you will know what sex you are.  It's just that simple.  But our society has confused our young people so much that they don't know whether to scratch their watch or wind their butt.  Sorry, most young folks don't know about that saying because they've never had to wind a watch...LOL!!  But seriously, things back in the day may have been simpler but it was also much happier times too.  I know there is no way for anyone reading this to really know the reality of times past and the happier times with having much less than we do today unless you lived it yourself too.  Longing for times past has been a reality for us because of all that is going on in our world today.  It wasn't all roses back then.  Hard times were really hard times but we sat at the table every night and had dinner as a family.  Families spent real time together and weren't running a million different directions as they are today.  I know because I'm living that reality today with our son who is an elite athlete.  He's constantly training with hopes that he will be able to represent our country in the Olympics some day.  One thing we still do though is sit down and have our meals together.  It may not look like it did in the day with us sitting around the kitchen table but we are still eating together as a family and that matters!  Family time matters!  Not forgetting how good it was back in the day matters!  We may always long for those days because the world was a better place.  So much evil is going on today.  It has become like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.  Our prayer is Oh Lord Make Your Presence Known to All!  Open hearts and minds Lord!  Help them see You and Your Heart for them!  

New Weightlifting Shoes for Tim...

Tim got some new weightlifting shoes thanks to his Nan.  He is so excited about them and can't wait to try them out at the gym.  It looks like his feet are on fire...LOL! 

Accountability....

I recently saw this post but it was written on a whiteboard in bad handwriting.  I wanted to make it look better so I made this.  

This statement is so much more true today than it was when I was growing up.  We are living in a society full of entitled brats.  They feel that everything is owed to them and that they can do and act how they want to and there will be no accountability for it.  They won't get punished for it.  What's sad is these entitled brats are now adults teaching their kids to be the same kind of entitled brat that they are.  

When I was a child I remember my grandmother and grandfather saying things like, "what is this world coming to?" and "what is wrong with people to be acting this way?".  I grew up in the 70's and 80's.  My grandparents came up through the depression.  Today everything is so much better with the advancements in technology but is it really better than my grandparents had it?  They lived in a time with no computers or cell phones or cable tv and sometimes no tv at all because tv's were what the rich had.  They didn't have to lock their doors.  People respected one another's properties.  Neighbors looked out for one another.  You didn't have to worry about something happening to your kids because everyone looked out for one another's kids.  It was pretty much still that way when I was growing up except I remember my folks locking the doors because more and more people were beginning to get robbed.  Nowadays there's no telling what would happen to your home if you didn't keep it locked and have an alarm system on it and still there's not a 100% chance that your home is safe from intruders.  It's just the day and time that we are living in.

Our son has grown up with accountability from his dad and I and at times his grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.  He has not been taught that everything is owed to him and nothing is his fault.  He's been taught that he has to work hard for what he gets out of this life.  That there is consequences for his actions.  We've taught him to not be a problem on society, like so many are today, but rather to contribute to making things better for not only him but for the generation coming up behind him.  If we don't teach them these values who will?  We certainly can't depend on our government system/schools to teach them these things.  It's not their job.  It's ours as parents to bring them up in the way they should go so that when they are old they won't depart from it.  That is our job delegated to us by God!  So many aren't doing their job and we need to pray that they get a back bone and start doing their job.  That they have a Damascus Road Experience and do what God has called us all to do as parents.  Give kids accountability.  Give them opportunities to do something with their lives and not be a problem on society.  Make sure we give them a sense of accomplishment as they grow so that they value accomplishing things in their adult lives.  Help them be their best for themselves, their families and the generation coming up behind them.  Help them shine bright everywhere they go.  Don't let them go down the road that so many others are on being a problem in this world.  

We are all here to SHINE BRIGHT FOR JESUS.  So let's SHINE and make the world a better place for JESUS!!!