My Photos: Our 7 Year Old Daughter's Taekwondo Belt Test (Board Breaking Video)

In January, both our 7 year old twins moved up from the Pee-wee class in Taekwondo.  They still had their Pee-wee belts and will not officially be promoted until they each pass their next belt test.  Our daughter had her belt test last week to turn in her low orange belt for a high white belt.  She was extremely nervous and practiced for hours at home with her big brother, who will be testing for his orange belt soon.

When the day of the belt test rolled around, I was relieved to see that our daughter was excited, rather than nervous.  I think all that extra training paid off.  During the test, I could see her level of confidence had risen and I watched her give 110% for the full duration of the test.  Needless to say, I was extremely proud of her.  I was especially proud of her because she showed much perseverance that afternoon . . .

Photo and video taken with the Samsung NX300.

During the board breaking portion of the test, our daughter had trouble with the third break.  I could tell by the look on her face that the first attempt hurt her hand quite a bit.  In fact, after the test she showed me a very painful looking bruise that had formed on her right hand.  Even though her hand hurt, she tried the break that stubborn board two more times and was ultimately able to do it.  I know she was as proud of herself as I was of her.


Now she can't wait for the day of the belt ceremony to come, so she can say that she is officially no longer a Pee-wee.

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My Photos: Our 9 Year Old Son Competed in the U.S. Masters Taekwondo Open Championship

On the 3rd of this month, our 9 year old son participated in his first Taekwondo competition.  It was the 2013 U.S. Masters Taekwondo Open Championship, a local competition and a supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  He competed in one form plus sparring for his division.  I cannot say how proud my husband and I are of Jake because it takes a lot of courage just to compete.  I know there are many students who are older than he is who never took the leap to take part in a competition.  The organization even recognized this by presenting each competitor age 11 years or younger, who did not place first, second, or third, with a medal of participation.  I thought that was wonderful because it really is an extremely long day for someone who is young and it could be disheartening to go home with nothing, making a younger student hesitant to return the following year.

Our son did not place in forms, but we are so proud of him.  He got out there in front of a gymnasium full of people to compete even though he must have been so nervous.

What our son was looking forward to the most was the sparring competition.  He had been training for about 5 weeks for this day.  He had a great coach, who is also one of his instructors.

Jake's first match only lasted seconds.  Once he got his first kick in, his opponent seemed to get the wind knocked out of him and could not continue.

After all the matches in his division took place, Jake ultimately placed second and took home a silver medal in sparring.  We were so proud of him and I knew he was feeling quite proud of himself.

One major theme for such a competition is to meet defeat gracefully and to accept a win humbly, and our son did both those things that day.

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My Photos: A Reminder of What It's Really All About

I have been in a real rut lately.  The fact is that I have been burnt out for months.  When I work, I seem to be going at half the pace I used to, so it feels like I am just working all the time when I am not tending to my children.  On those days when I'm feeling especially run-down and under-appreciated (and counting the days until summer vacation is over), I wonder why I am able to plug along day after day.

I took the photo below at dinner last night.  Those aren't fake smile-for-the-camera smiles.  My family is genuinely happy and having fun.  After I took this photo, I realized that they are why I keep going.  I'm going to put this photo on my desktop so, if I ever begin to forget again (maybe while I'm up until 1am working because I couldn't get enough done during the day), I'll have an instant reminder.

Taken with the Nokia Lumia 920

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My Photos: Board-Breaking Event at Taekwondo

So I have been quite overwhelmed with deadlines the past month.  I am constantly saying that I have to stop taking on so much, but I always end up doing it to myself again.  Before I knew it, I had a month's worth of photos in my folder waiting to be sorted through.  I completely missed sharing photos of Father's Day, my two son's taekwondo belt tests, and their belt ceremonies.  With back-to-school and Holiday 2013 coming up, let's see if I can regain some control over my editorial schedule.  It will be quite a challenge, but it is necessary to maintain my sanity.

Here are some photos of our two sons and daughter breaking boards at a taekwondo event.  It was lots of fun and so amazing to see the looks on their faces when they succeed in breaking a board using a technique they've never tried before.

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My Photos: Our Two Sons Warming Up for Next Weekend's Taekwondo Belt Tests

Both our boys have their belt tests coming up for taekwondo this Friday and Saturday.  They had their pre-test the week before last.  Our youngest, who is 6, was a little nervous.  Although he had tested and earned a belt promotion once before, he is needlessly unsure of himself at times.  Still, he impressed me by knowing a form that I can't even remember even though I've watched all 3 of my children practice it numerous times.

We'll be sneaking in some extra practice this week to see if we can't raise his confidence level just a bit.  I know he'll do just fine on his test this Friday.  Now, I just need to make sure he knows that.

Our 9 year old son did exceptionally well on his pre-test.  I was so impressed by his focus and that he was able to keep that focus from beginning to end.  One of his instructors, whom our son respects greatly, took the time to tell him how well he did that morning.  This meant so much to our son and really gave him an extra boost of confidence.  I know he'll do well on his test this Saturday.

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My Photos: Mother's Day Memories

I know Mother's Day was nearly a full week ago, but I am just getting around to sharing my photos now.  The one below was taken with my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows phone and the rest with my D-SLR.  Sometimes I am amazed at the quality of the photos taken with my phone.  When the light is just right, the photos really do come out wonderfully.  I only wish it had a macro setting.

It seems like every year on Mother's Day, I subject the children to a mini photo shoot.  It's a great way for us to see how much they have changed over the coarse of one year.  As always, I am floored at how much each child has grown and blossomed, but more so this year with our daughter.  She is only 6 years old, but seems like she's heading full speed ahead towards becoming a tween.  She needs to slow down.  I don't think I'm ready for it and I know my husband is not.

This is our 6 year old son.  Thankfully, he enjoys being a child and is in no hurry to grow up.  He is quite the charmer though.  Somehow he's learned to turn on that sweet smile along with a little twinkle in his eyes especially for the ladies.  He's definitely going to be a heartbreaker.

Here is our 9 year old son who is the cool big brother.  He is at that special age where he can go back and forth between being a little kid and young man.  On Mother's Day, I could not believe I had been a mom for almost a decade.  Where did the time go?

One more photo of our princess . . .

This year on Mother's Day, I was really overwhelmed with the lengths the children went through with handmade gifts and cards.  The one below was made by our 6 year old son in his art class.  It's a mama bird watching over her eggs in a nest.

The necklace below was made for me by our 6 year old daughter.  I actually have a similar one made by her big brother when he was in kindergarten.  I wore it to Mother's Day dinner at my sister's house Sunday evening.

Along with an elegant ring containing 3 Garnets (my children's birthstones), I also received poems, handmade books, cards, and drawings.  These are all going in my keepsake box and I will cherish them forever!

What was your favorite memory about Mother's Day this year?

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My Photos: Artwork Produced By Our 9 Year Old Son

This week, our children's elementary school will be hosting their annual Student Art Show.  Our 9 year old son brought home his art portfolio filled with the works of art that was not included in this year's show.  He has always been very talented and has even had one of his pieces included in a student art show at the Worcester Museum of Art when he was just 7 years old.

I know I may be biased, but I was truly impressed with the body of work he brought home.  If these are the ones that were not included in the show, I can't wait to see what will be displayed at the show this week.  The pieces below are my personal favorites among all the artwork he has brought home this year so far . . .

Our son said that this first piece was inspired by the work of Eric Carle.

Of course, I cannot wait to see the artwork proudly displayed by all 3 of our talented children.  Each one has their own unique style.  I'll most certainly share the photos next week.

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My Photos: A 6 Year Old's Taekwondo Belt Ceremony

Last week, our 6 year old daughter officially graduated from a white belt to a low-yellow belt in taekwondo.  Since she started studying taekwondo about two months later than her twin brother, I know she was happy to finally be the same rank as he is.

Even though this particular group of students are young, the ceremony is still mostly formal.  The master untied her old belt and presented her with the new one.  She was also presented with an official nationally recognized certificate.  She also had to take quite a lengthy oath.  (More on that in our next Silly Monkey Story.)

Even though our daughter said she was not nervous, she seemed so to me.  She had to remember one line, to say "Here, Sir!" when her name was called.  Then she was to run up to the front to take her place for the ceremony.  When it came time to say her big line, she forgot what she was supposed to say.  Luckily, it came to her after a few seconds.  That's what is so great about this age.  Even when they stumble, they are still adorable.

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My Photos: Finding the Fun

There was a time when it was such a joy to photograph my daughter.  She had such a natural smile and a gleam in her eyes that would just connect with the camera.  Even if she was a little shy at first, after talking about school and her favorite television show for a few minutes, she would be back to her exuberant self.  As she got older and grew more self-aware, she grew shyer in front of the camera.  Each time I tried to take a photo of her, she would stiffen up and have a pained smile on her face.  This had been going on for at least 6 months.

This past week, I did a mini photo shoot of our daughter for an upcoming product review and I expected to experience the same thing.  I cannot tell you how pleasantly surprised I was.  She smiled, was natural and relaxed, and seemed to be enjoy herself. It was like all of a sudden she found the fun again.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

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