Daytona Travel Day!

Today we make the trip to Daytona.  Tomorrow T weighs in and Friday is fight day for T at the USA TaeKwonDo East Grand Prix with his new team and coach.  We are hoping and praying for the best for T.  He is feeling good and looking good.  He's taken some rest and recovery days leading up to this event.  We are really loving where T is at right now.  Pray for safe travels for us today.  Pray that we all have a good time and no one gets hurt/injuried.  Also pray that we remain healthy from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet.  We so covet your prayers.  God Bless!  #GodsPlanistheOnlyPlan 

Official Last Day of School for 2021-2022 School Year

First and last day pics from this school year. T is so ready for summer break. He has changed so much this year. 

Something We Tell T A Lot...

Something that we tell T a lot is that if your goals set you apart from the crowd then stay alone because it's better to be alone and not follow the crowd than to follow the crowd and have that lead you where you don't want to go.  We tell him, "Stand Apart and Stand Alone" if you have to because running with crowd more often than not can lead to a world of hurt down the road.  Goals are what set him apart from the crowd.  We talk to him so much that I know he gets tired of it but we are planting lots of seeds now in hopes and prayer that they will rise back up in his spirit and make him a strong man who knows who he is and who's he is when he's all grown up.  We are about raising a strong man and a strong Man of God, not a follower of this world.  Even though our blog posts have a lot to do with his TaeKwonDo journey our first allegiance is to making sure he has an ongoing relationship with the Lord and then making sure he knows how to set goals, go after them, and stand apart from the crowd!  We know in having that relationship there will be absolutely "No Fear" when the needs arises for him to Stand Alone and Stand Strong against the crowd.  One of the great things about homeschooling and his TaeKwonDo is that he is learning early how to stand apart from the crowd and be able to stand alone with confidence!  #GodsPlanistheOnlyPlan

    

Another Puzzle Done!

We got another puzzle done!  This one took us a little bit longer to get done but it is so beautiful.  Mom has gotten us started doing something that we actually really enjoy and it keeps us off the tv and doing something that is good for our brains.  

Happy Birthday Nan!!!

We don't want today to get away from us without wishing Nan a very Happy Birthday!!!  We love you to the moon and beyond Nan and can't wait to celebrate with you when we come up for July 4th.  Just wait until you see T again.  He is getting to be such a mature young man.  

Celebration of Life Ceremony

My mom and I are paying our respects today, at a celebration of life service, to someone who was more than just a client of my moms cleaning service, but also a dear friend as well,  that we knew for more than 30 years. She was a precious woman of God, who only ever wanted to be Jesus,  whose presence here on earth will be missed dearly. Cancer took her from this earth but God has her. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Praying for her family as they move forward with their lives now that both of their parents are with the Lord.  Praying they take joy in knowing that they are both with Jesus and together.

Cindy made our wedding cake at a major discounted price because we had known one another for so long and my mom had been with her working for her for 15 years.  Such a very precious woman. She may be gone but she will never be forgotten. 

#GoTeamCore

T got his team jacket today and he has also gotten to do some refereeing today too. Such a happy kid right now. I so love how this picture captured his eyes.  He has my dads eyes and every time I look into them I can always remember my dad.  

Nothing Like A Sore Athlete...

There's nothing like a sore athlete.  He's hurting all over from the waste down.  He has done a ton of training this week and he's feeling it right now.  He's resting today and possibly tomorrow depending on what the coach wants him to do.  They had something like a scrimmage with the team last night in full uniform and T is looking really good right now.  He's excited to being going to USAT East Grand Prix next weekend and getting to spend a day or two at the beach.  He's one of the first to fight and he is so glad about that because then he will be able to eat anything he wants.  He will have two months to eat and grow before Presidents Cup in Jacksonville.  Pray his legs bounce back quickly.  He's T-7 days before he fights and he needs to heal and recover to be at his best when he fights.  Every muscle in his legs hurts right now.  He's not alone though because the rest of the team is hurting too.  Pray they all recover quickly.  #GodsPlanistheOnlyPlan 

T's Team Jacket Has Arrived!

You got to see a preview of what the back of the jacket looks like but here's his actual jacket with his name on it.  He's so incredibly excited. 

T Got His Credentials😊

T got his credentials. 

Straight A’s🎉🥳🙌!!!

Finished and got straight A’s😊. Woohoo🎉🥳🙌!!!  On to 8th Grade!!! 

 

School Is Crazy Close To Being Done!

School for T is crazy close to being done.  After he is done we may spend Monday and Tuesday next week getting his EOG's completed, if not before, then we will be done for summer break.  T and I both are looking forward to having this school year completed so that we can enjoy our summer.  

I've also been doing some research into curriculum for next year and we are going to switch his math to a more hands on show you how to do it kind of math verses doing a math that you have to entirely read the instructions on.  T is a more Visual and Kinesthetic (hope I spelled that right...LOL!) learner and he needs a math that shows him instead of tells him what to do.  This new math we are going to be doing will be just what he needs and the teacher has an Australian accent and that will keep his attention as he enjoys the different dialects.  It seems to keep his attention better.  We will continue to do all his other subjects with the same curriculum that we've been using all along because he seems to like that a lot.  With his bible class we are going to switch that to a more teen boy devotional book that he can relate to more.  Next year will be different but an amazingly good year for him with these changes happening.  

Here's to a good end of year and a great year next year.  

This is a picture of T using a compass and a protractor.

  

To Prove My Point...

CORRECTION!!!  I was pretty upset earlier when I wrote this so let's for a moment give a benefit of a doubt to the coach because of the ref.  In the pics it is possible that the ref was in the way of the coach seeing the headshots that T did in this 2nd match.  It's possible though so take what I wrote below with a little bit of a grain of salt because what I wrote below could've happened too but we will never know the absolute truth other than T did in fact get these headshots because the photos prove it.  

To prove my point about that the coach cost him a medal at a major tournament I want to share these screen shots I pulled from the videos.  A headshot is 3 points.  T did a total of 5 unchallenged 3 point headshots and you will see four of the five in these photos.  The fifth one looked like that probably wouldn't have resulted in points if there had been a challenge.  You will see two photos from the first round then the score then you will see two more photos from the second round and then the score.  T was in red in this second match.  You do the math and you will see that if the coach had challenged, like he should have, that T would have won both rounds and advanced to the medal rounds.  It's almost as if the coach didn't want T to win or something?!?!  I'm so angry right now because I know this should have gone differently.  I am so glad that we have moved on from this coach because he obviously wasn't having T's best interest in mind when he coached him in this match.

Now you can understand my outrage over this.  Major tournaments are a big deal and to lose because you just weren't up to par is one thing but to lose because your coach wasn't doing his job is entirely another thing.  This should never happen at a high level event.  Thank God this coach will no longer be coaching him and he for sure won't be in the chair coaching T anymore after our really paying close attention to what actually went down in Texas in these videos.  

Go rewatch the videos in the post before this one and you will see these kicks in it and you will also see that his coach never challenges anything the entire match.  That's a very odd and rare occurrence when a coach doesn't challenge the ref's on anything.  It's almost unheard of in this sport. 

Texas Event Videos…

Here are the videos of T’s fights again but in their entirety with titles showing you who T fought. 

First Match:

Second Match:

We watched T's second match back in slow time.  If T's coach had challenged T's headshots T would have won both rounds.  There were five headshots unchallenged which would have given T a 13-7 first round score and a 9-4 second round score.  When you realize a coach cost you a match by not challenging when he should have it stirs up an inferno inside you like nobodies business.  To lose a state level tournament to that is no big deal because it is considered a minor tournament but to lose at a major tournament to poor coaching is a big deal. It's obvious that the headgear on T's opponent was malfunctioning because none of T's headshots put a score on the board.  T should have medaled at this event.  I'm not sure what was going on in the coaches mind that he wasn't challenging T's headshots but Praise God we have moved on from that coach and are with a new coach now.  We are praying that being with this coach/Master will be better.  So far the trainings and how this coach treats his kids is better so we are already on the plus side with this new coach/Master.    

Made These Pics Tonight…

When I take pics like I did today it gives me the opportunity to experiment with photo apps and I made these. Wondering which one most will like though???

Core Performance TaeKwonDo Center Photo Shoot Today

T was so excited to get his new sparring uniform today. He can’t wait to get his jacket too. He’s really loving 🥰 being a part of Core. We love seeing him so happy and not so stressed like he was with having to go between so many TaeKwonDo schools. He and we feel settled for the first time in a long long time. #GodsPlanistheOnlyPlan 

Training Camp @ Core This Week for Grand Prix Daytona Father's Day Weekend

The team trained for 3 hours this morning and will do an hour of training tonight.  It was a hard training with lots of drills.  T came home sweaty and exhausted which is a good thing.  He will shed the two pounds of weight he needs to lose and then some with this training and him eating clean these next two weeks.  I love T being in a place where he doesn't need to cut to lose weight.  He just needs to eat clean and he gets there naturally.  If he can't get to the weight he needs to be by doing this method of healthy weight loss then he will just move up a division even if the fighters are giants in the field.  After what happened with him last summer that hospitalized him and we could have lost him from that one event we are determined that we will never be in or put in that position ever again with our son.  He does everything in a healthy way or not at all.  That is not up for discussion.  We live and learn from events that happen in our lives and this was a big and almost deadly learning curve for T as well as us last year.  He had no idea what he was doing to his body back then and neither did we until we found ourselves in a situation with him that could have taken him from us.  Let me just say that nothing, and I do me nothing, is worth paying that price.  Winning for high level elite athletes is crazy important to them and because it's important to them it's important to the parents as well but you also have to keep things in check realistically.  It was a hard lesson learned and one I never wanna go through again or see anyone else go through.  I will be the first to say go for your goals with everything you've got.  Give it your absolute best shot and leave it all out on the mat, court, or field.  At the end of the day, though, that's all you can do. BUT, big but here, doing it in a healthy way is so vitally important!!!  So glad T is enjoying his training and replenishing and recovering when he's not.  He's putting back in what his body needs for strength and vitality.  He feels like he's turned a huge corner and feeling stronger and healthier than ever too.  

 

School is Almost Done!

T is almost done with school for the year.  He's had to do geometry here at the end of the school year and that's a subject that I absolutely hated.  It's so good that where I am weak my husband is strong.  It looks like geometry is a subject that T actually really likes too.  He's really understanding it.  So Yep, Scot will be teaching math to T from this point forward...LOL! They seem to speak the same language when it comes to math.  I'll gladly handle the rest of the subjects as long as Scot helps him with math!

Great Pics!

Got these great pics of T this past weekend and had to share. 

Congratulations Christopher!!!

This weekend we get to make a fun 🤩 trip to Charlotte to celebrate Chris’s graduating High School. No training!  Just fun with friends who have become like family to us. Looking forward to many more years of friendship with this awesome family. Love them so much.  

These cookies were made for him for his graduation. This lady is so talented.