If you are a regular to my blog then you know that I have both of my boys enrolled in World Tang Soo Do Karate at Valentin Karate.  Noah started his Martial Arts journey last September.  Ezra jumped into the game a couple of months later.  Since then I’ve seen my little boys blossom and grow in ways I hadn’t expected.  Originally I was just looking for a good physical activity they both could participate in that spanned longer than just a couple of months time.  Yes we planned on doing sports, but sports run just a couple of months and then everyone moves on.  I’m trying to help my children develop longer lasting relationships not just with other children but with adults as well.  That is hard to do when everything is over and done with in just a month or two.

The quality of the program consistently blows me away.  The instructors are absolutely top notch professionals who love what they do.  They are the sweetest, kindest, most patient people.  They understand the craziness of small children and work with them to bring out their best.  Their expectations of behavior are set high, yet reasonable.  They model respect, courage, discipline, and kindness.  Valentin Karate is involved in every kind of charity work you can imagine.  The level at which these schools give back to the community is mind boggling.  I cannot keep up with the number of charity events these people do.  I love the example that sets for my children.  I told you before that I have extremely high expectations for programs for young children.  Valentin Karate exceeds them at every turn.

So this year Noah earned four belts if you include the very first white belt that they are given after completing the first class.  Noah really did earn that belt as he was as nervous as anything and it actually took him two classes to feel comfortable enough to participate and earn that belt.  Ezra started a little later so he was able to earn three belts.  Quite impressive for a three year old if you ask me.

Last Saturday was graduation day!  My boys had recently completed the latest round of belt testing and it was time to celebrate.  Noah was moving up from the Tiny Tigers program (for 3-5 year olds) and into the Dragons program.  He earned his first yellow Dragon belt.  Ezra was moving into his Tiny Tigers green belt.  These boys worked hard for these belts and I was the proudest momma in the entire building.  And that is saying a lot because there were LOTS of momma’s there that day.

This was Ezra’s first BIG belt ceremony.  Usually they receive new belts during a special class.  But in December and June they have a large ceremony at a local Boys & Girls Club.  Ezra was nervous.  He didn’t want to leave Mommy’s side.  It took all I had to move away from him.  Then for a bit he didn’t want to sit with the other children.  However these instructors understand all of this and they worked with Ezra until he was comfortable.  Before I knew it he was sitting and laughing with the other children.

Then the show began.  Master Valentin lead the group himself in a quick warm up.  Quite the sight seeing all of these students work their moves.  Once that was over the Tiny Tigers (my boy’s class) performed their forms.  Then each and every class had their turn.  I watched my boys faces.  They were in awe over all that the big kids could do.  I hope this inspires them to keep at it.

Near the end they invite the parents down to the floor to officially tie the new belts.  I love this part.  I’m so glad we get to participate and not just stand by and watch.  The instructors fan out and happily take family photos with all the of the dozens and dozens of cameras that the parents bring with them.  Here is the photo we were able to capture.  I love it.

Afterward we celebrated with ice cream at Friendly’s.  They practiced their warrior faces while we waited.  To say they were wound up and excited would be an understatement.  Thankfully the Friendly’s crew set us off in the corner where we couldn’t disturb too many other customers.

That night Ezra appeared with his jammies and his new belt tied around his waist.  He sweetly asked if he could wear it to bed that night.  I couldn’t say no.  So I’ll let that be a testament to just how much my boys love their Karate classes.  We’ll keep attending all through the summer.  We might take a short break for some family vacation time.  But honestly, it is the part of the whole week and we wouldn’t give it up for anything.

Have a great holiday weekend!  See you on the blog next week! (Perhaps on Tuesday, I just might take Monday off.  We’ll see.)

Horray!  It’s Friday!  Did you all have an enjoyable week?  I did!  We had our fair share of craziness!  It seemed my Noah had a touch of the stomach bug early in the week.  The rest of us have suffered from terrible spring time allergies, or a cold… not sure which but both are miserable!  We also battled a silly little field mouse!  I have to say though that it was an extremely productive week!    I am so looking forward to tomorrow!  I get to get out and shoot a wedding with LaViera Photography!  It’s been a while since I’ve worked with her and I am very much looking forward to it!

Do you remember last Friday’s post?  I wrote about What I Hope My Children Say About Me In 30 Years! In that post I talked about wanting to be a more fun loving mom and how I’d like to spend more time just playing with my kiddos.  I was serious about that!  So I stopped yesterday afternoon and I sat down at the kitchen table and rolled up my sleeves to play with play-doh!  I had a really excellent time.  Truth be told I LOVE play-doh.  It was one of my favorite activities to set out when I was a public school special education preschool teacher.  It was so soothing not only for my students for ME as well.  It was awesome to sit and really enjoy my boys for a little while.  And I was able to unleash a little bit of creativity at the same time!  I thought it’d be fun to document our little play time with my iPhone and share it all with you!

What a mess we made together!  I think that was the best part!

So I hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh wait!  Were you all hoping to learn who the winner of the Gorgeous & Company $25 gift certificate is?  Of course you were!  I absolutely enjoyed this give away!  I hope to do something like it again soon!  Giving away stuff I love is a blast!  Hmmm…. what should I choose next time?

Anyway, without further a due… it seems in this case the early bird catches the worm as comment number THREE from Kim is the winner!  This is what she said….

“I Love G and C…been meaning to get my hands on one of her products for awhile…pick me, pick me!”

Congratulations Kim!  I’ll be sending you an email shortly!  What a way to end the week!  Hooray!

Are you satisfied with who you are? With your life? With your own character? I have to say that I am not and dear God do not let me ever be!  I’m not saying that I am not happy. I truly am. I’ve said it before and I say it often because it is true! I am blessed beyond my wildest measure. My life is taking me in directions I never planned yet the path I am on is turning out to be far better than the path I once thought I wanted to be on.

I have everything. I want for nothing. I revel daily in the blessings I have been handed. I spend many waking hours thankful to God for what he has bestowed on me.  But I know I cannot stand still. I cannot stop here. I am too hungry for that. I am in a constant pursuit to better myself in every area of my life. I want to know more, do more, see more, experience more, and GROW!

Is there anyone out there like me? Sometimes this trip I’m on is pretty tiring and I’d love a friend.

If I stop now I may never become the person I was meant to be. I’ll become bored, stagnant, and probably depressed. I find it very hard to understand people who stay in the same place in their lives. Never challenging themselves, never bettering themselves. Especially, when they say they hate their job or other aspect of their life. Are they so afraid to take a risk on becoming who they were meant to be that they would rather wallow in their own muck?

About 3 years ago I was cruising Craigslist checking out opportunities for photographers and dreaming about someday or what might be. I had no intentions of responding to any ads. I wasn’t a good enough photographer.  I was just daydreaming. I spotted this ad from a wedding photographer offering to mentor and train potential wedding photographers free of charge. She simply wanted to give back. Something drew me to that ad.  I don’t know what it was.  I had never considered wedding photography up until that minute.  Any sort of photography business was still a pipe dream.  Even if I applied, never did I imagine I’d be chosen. I just didn’t think I was good enough and I thought I never would be. Plus, weddings are crazy stressful and HARD! I mean, what if I royally screwed up some poor girls day? I could be SUED! Who was this photographer anyway? Some sort of saint? No one offered what she was offering. She must have a horde of would-be super talented photographers beating down her door. Surely I never would be chosen. I had a million and one reasons not apply. I had a very long list of fears. But I did apply. Almost as a joke as in “See, she didn’t pick me. Just proves what I already know. That I stink!”

Then I forgot all about it. I went back to what I was doing. I kept at it with my photography because I loved it!  It fed my brain!  I need to feed my brain!  But when I heard nothing from this lady I figured I was right. It wasn’t for me. She didn’t choose me. After all I had no online portfolio to share with her at the time so she knew I stunk. Life moved on.

Until 9 months later when I finally did get an email with a request for a interview. I nearly passed out from shock! I had put it so far out of my mind I thought it was a weird spam thing and I nearly deleted it.  I sat and stared at it for a good five minutes until the pieces all came back together for me!

After much back and forth and plenty of coaxing and pep-talks by my husband I went on that interview. I seriously need to share that story some day. What a trip that was. But the rest is history. I was set on a path I never planned. I was given opportunity for growth I didn’t know I wanted. I found a love and a passion I didn’t know I was looking for. And I’m creating amazing relations and life experiences I never would have otherwise had. All because of an email I sent even though I was sure it would never be answered.

I’m thankful that I am always hungry and looking to keep moving. Otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am today. Now that is a scary thought.