Yellow belt...black tip

I know I had mentioned previously in a post that Bug was taking Tae Kwon Doe.....

well, since then he has FLOURISHED in it. He went from a basic white belt...to a white belt with a black tip...to a white belt with a yellow tip, and then you graduate to a yellow belt. From there you earn a black tip for that one as well, and then a green tip. And so on and so forth...up to Black belt. He went for his black tip on his yellow belt last night. He was very nervous..but did wonderful! :) Brad and I were so proud!~
Tae Kwon Doe has really built up his self esteem, and self confidence~

He is also doing sparring now (which i wasnt too sure how he, or I for that matter, would handle) and is loving it. He is so much more aggressive than I thought he would be, not timid or scared. He had an issue with turning his back at first, but has quickly realized thats the quickest way to go down. I'll have to post some video on here of him sparring...I'll see if I can get it to upload!~ Anyway, I am so thankful for Master Jenkins and the staff there. They are so great with the kids!~ We are seeing the old Bug we knew back in NC!...and that is WONDERFUL~ :) Thank God!

Here he is at his test.


Practicing....with his buddy Nate from his school....


Getting ready to take it..just a lil nervous! :)...


The testers....



Here he is taking part of the test....



Of course he passes...Here is Sam recieving his black tip!~ GO SAM!


SO proud!!~


I sure can't love this boy any more than I already do! :)....

The testers..."graduation" picture... this is just a very small FRACTION of the people in the academy...they test once a month and if you are on the list to test, it means they think you are ready...so you come on the last friday of the month and those on the list try for the next rank! :)

Bug in his Spar gear...

Some cool video of the instructors.... (my favorite! The second dude is the Grand Masters son)

Instructors Sparring... Walter and Bobby... (2 of Sams favorite)

Another instructor showing one of the examples...

I'm sure there will be more videos and pictures in the future as Sam really seems to enjoy doing it. So much so, that when he gets happy about anything...he busts out doing karate moves. As a matter of fact if we are even standing still..he starts doing Ki-Bone 1 ( I know I know...I cant spell korean! lol)...

Anyway...love to all...

3 reasons why I love this child SOOOOOO much!

Reason #1: The 1st video is my FAVORITE!! Don't ask me where she picked this up...but she had me in tears I was laughing so hard!...We were at an award ceremony today at Sam's school...(more on that tomorrow)..when she did this she had the entire table paying more attention to her than the award ceremony :)

Reason #2: Same day (today), and she was singing a song as we headed into the ceremony...do you recognize the tune and her own made up words! LOL :)

Reason #3....We had a church picnic this past Sunday and McKayla ASKED me to "videocord" her singing this song...it happens to be one of her favorites... :) The good part is toward the end though...what a HAM!

She is truly a BLESSING and makes each day such a joy. I can not express how much I love this child and what an amazing little girl she is! (though I am a tad bias! lol)

THANK YOU LORD!

P.S Note that she has taken to carrying a "purse" around...today she had a teapot and a poodle in it! :)

*I will post about Sam's awards soon...he did AWESOME! AND get this! My 6 year old child ate 11 chicken nuggets, a small fry, AND a hot fudge sundae...

can we say growing? the pig.

Happy Mother's Day!!! '09

What a FANTASTIC Mother's Day! We went to Virginia on friday to spend the Mothers day weekend with Brad and the family...

Sunday was Mother's Day...and the 3 mile breast cancer "walk to empower"...the whole family came out to support my mom. A survivor. I have A LOT of breast cancer that runs in my family. Both grandmothers...my mom, and aunts. We walked in honor and memory of them as well. I wish I had gotten a picture of my back.

It said "I walk in honor of: The best Mom in the whole world, Pat Talcott
My grandmother's
Rhonda's Mom
Aunt Sue
all women

Here is our team: It was called "Blanket of Care"....



In addition to the walk, the kids got to ride the metro from Springfeild into D.C...it was their first experience on a train, and BOY did they LOVE it!...

Here we are walking into the metro...


The kids and I....


Sam wanting to sit by himself....at first...


Kayla LOVING it....


Me fixing her hair...it NEVER stays for long this child is SO active...


Daddy and the kids...pole dancing...


Kayla checking out the view...LOVE this pic...

My hubby! :)....

Can we say "cheeseball" !?!?! :)

We arrive in D.C and walk to the capitol...

We arrive and mom and Aunt Maryanne are waiting...

The sign..

Registration...

We find Cody waiting for us...what a cutie!

Pinning McKayla with her "team: Blanket of Care" sign...

My mom pinning me...

Josh and Kayla....she really loves her Uncle!...

Cousins Lexi and Kayla...

My Boys....hubby and bro..

Mom and her good friend Kathy...

Mom and her kids! :)....

All the "guys"...

What you lookin' at fool?...

Like father...like son! :)...

Aunt Maryanne..love the face... (:P)..

Josh, Cody, and Cecil...

Bug's back....

The start from where we were...there were SO many people there!...

Sisters...getting ready to walk!~...got all our free goodies!?!?....


Father and son....

The cousins...

Father and daughter...(my brother and his daughter)...

Awww.....aren't they tooo cute~....my mom and dad!....

LOVE this picture too....

Can you feel the love? I LOVE how they are with each other!...

Sisters walking together...

Josh and Mason walking together! (:P)...

Kathy and Cecil...

Mom, Maryanne, and Josh...

Cody and Josh!....

Walking along....

Sam saw this building and says "Hey Mommy, I have seen that building before...it's on a penny right?"....WAY TO GO BUG! I am so proud...

We thought of our loved ones in Hawaii...(Hi popo and papa!)

My father's hands....i used to LOVE getting my fingers stuck between his when I was younger...such STRONG hands...

The FINISH!!!!! YAY! :)

All tuckered out at Daddy's hotel....



FAST ASLEEP 5 minutes after their heads hit the pillows...

WHAT A WONDERFUL MOTHERS DAY! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO POPO, NANA, AND GRANDMA!!!!

Also to ALL the mom's out there

Becca, Tera, Rach, Lindsey, Jess, Sheri, Sabrina, Jen, Amber, Katie, Chels, Rhonda, Aunt Maryanne....

and to all the ones my fried brain has missed.

On the last note: here is a picture of my nephew Matthew that I took on Sat. at Mason's soccer game....he got sick right before the walk (Sat night) and was really bummed he couldnt go..

He has THE MOST GORGEOUS EYES EVER....

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo