Totally New Sport

Fortunately, it was not a totally new sport for any of our children. It was a new sport for which we were simply spectators. It was our first trip to a Taekwondo tournament.

My nephew, Barrett, has taken up the sport and was in town for a tournament. We were so excited to go see him. It reminded me a lot of a cycling event....lots of waiting for a few minutes of sport. He waited so patiently as the time passed slowly.

He did "forms", which we learned was their demonstrating their mastery of basic moves. They were scored immediately by the head judge saying something and then all 3 judges holding up fingers for the score. Holding them up meant you added a half to the score, while holding them down just meant the number of fingers. (And, know that I am getting the lingo all wrong. Aunt Joanna should add a comment correcting my many mistakes.) Barrett did quite well with his forms; he ended up with 2nd for his age group.

After that part, they the moved to sparring through a mini tournament. We learned a LOT. Who knew there were strikeouts in anything except baseball. That one was a little more frustrating...it seemed like the referees/judges/whatever they were were pretty aggressive in calling strikes. Like many others, Barrett struck out. Nevertheless, we enjoyed visiting with everyone and having the opportunity of watching him.

We had lots of time to spend together and Christopher took in every minute of what all the older boys were doing, watching their every move.

It was great to see you guys!!

Baseball!!

Today was baseball Opening Day for Christopher who is playing in the minor league. This is a pretty fun, but sometimes stressful league because the kids (and I say kids because the best player on our team is a girl so it's not the boys) can steal. It's also very stressful for the catcher. There are plenty of wild throws so that stealing from first to second is quite a common occurrence. Christopher played catcher an inning and didn't do so badly. It's definitely a position that takes some practice and some confidence.

It was an absolutely beautiful day. The kind of day that you should be out watching a baseball game. (Wow, did I just say that? Not too many years ago I thought I was going to keel over and die from being at the field so much. I was actually looking forward to the season starting - maybe it just reminds me that it IS going to be warm again.)

It's also a little dangerous even if you're not the pitcher. Those wild pitches I mentioned earlier.....

....they can come at your head, your body, your bottom. You really have to be on the lookout.

My brother and his wife, Tony and Joanna, were here this weekend with their two boys. Chaos and fun. The younger nephew had a Taekwondo tournament. (Aunt Jojo, forgive me if I totally butchered the spelling - totally new at this.) We went and watched him this afternoon. I was so proud of him and so glad we were able to see him compete. I'll get you some pictures of that - it was something to see.

For those of you who asked about all my little health questions - the quick update: haven't had a migraine in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking the best thing is to stay away from head doctors. For the heart beating in my ear, the second MRI showed nothing new. There seems to be nothing to be concerned about, but also no ideas about what to do about it. Maybe back to the drawing board with my regular doctor. Lastly, I just have to say that I'm finding as I get older, my chiropractor is my new best friend.

I hope you all have a blessed Sunday tomorrow and that you are having all the teachings that lead up to Easter that I am. I love this season.

2010's First Race

Finally, it is bike season. James was so ready to get out on the course and get some kinks out. We have had such a wet, cold winter that he has had to a lot of trainer rides. Those are not much fun.

The race was at the BMW test course outside Greenville and the weather was very nice. He hates wearing his winter gear and all the tights so this was a welcome change. He was telling me last night that there's just something about having just lycra between you and wind (or was it the sun or heat....any way something like that.) Now, how many of you moms dreamed of your boys saying that to you when they were toddlers? The next exciting clothing to look forward to is a skinsuit. Yep, just what it sounds like - very aerodynamic.

The course was not his favorite kind. Pretty flat. He believes he does much better with some hills - he can really motor up them. That said, he was in pretty good shape.

The team strategy went to pieces when they got their final instructions from the race official so they were on their own to figure it out. There was a bit of misunderstanding and we had teammates chasing down teammates. Something you never do. James attacked here and was promptly brought back to the group. He finished 4th, but was really energized and ready for the season. Tuscaloosa, here we come.

Getting in the Groove

It's been a very hard several weeks for me. I went to a neurologist a bit over a month ago because my migraines were rebounding for weeks (meaning I would get one, it would go away but then come back the next day). I had a referral to an ENT because I can hear my heart beating in my right ear. LOUDLY. Lest any of you get concerned, it's been doing that since 1995 so if it were something too bad I would have probably already succumbed to it. My doctor wants to check it out since it has gotten louder.

These two visits resulted in numerous prescriptions and four CT scans/MRIs. Answers? Not really except I should not take any daily medicine that anyone prescribes for me for migraines. It is a very bad idea. I ended up with a full two-week headache that hurt more than they did before. Off those meds. My head only hurt two days last week and Excedrin seemed to do the trick for those. I have decided my focusing on my own triggers and eliminating those probably does the best.

The heart beating? Nothing yet, but I'll you know. I have a zillion little tiny MRI pictures to take to my doctor next week. I can confirm that I do have a brain - I've seen it myself. Probably will end up being a good physiology lesson when we get an answer.

Sharing all that to say I have had a good reason for not blogging the past two weeks. (No, I don't feel the need to perform and be accepted...) Between the pain and the absolute tiredness from the meds, I haven't done much. Now, I'm feeling much better and hopefully, back into the groove.

To that end, below is finally a picture of James's new bike. It's still a bit big, but he does like it. He shouldn't have to grow too much for it to fit perfectly. I think he's going to be pretty fast.

Makes me really ready for the season. I'm not crazy about being in the car so much to get him to all his practices, but I sure do enjoy the families that we are on the team with and I enjoy the hot summer days. On our way to church this morning, James thanked God for Daylight Savings Time. (Has to be 1 of 2 kids - or adults for that matter - in the entire world that is thankful for losing an hour of sleep.) He says it's because that tells him summer is not too far away. God make it so.