"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Monday, July 11, 2011

Choi Kwang Do Party!

I AM SO FRUSTRATED - I SPENT AN HOUR POSTING AND GUESS WHAT - I LOST IT. SO HERE I GO AGAIN. CHATTY - BREATHE DEEPLY HERE!

You all know my GS received his black belt last month. We waited until now to have the party so that his Uncle and family could come. So this was the weekend of the party. His uncle and aunt and cousin - my new grandson 8 months old - made their first car ride since the baby and it was to us! The baby cried three hours on the way down here. Once here he was great! Until the night of the party - mom took him home early and put him to bed - but he woke up and cried all night. Being they had to drive 8 hours home on Sunday - my DIL let my son sleep so they could get home safely. My poor DIL was really tired Sunday morning. Anyhow GS was perfect going home in the car - slept and cried only the last hour - which they could handle so much better.

The party was nothing short of a miracle - it went perfectly and so did the visit from the son and family - couldn't ask for anything better. Thank you God.

So here goes. My other grandson who the party was for - is always the life of the party and this was no exception. If he could major in fun and playing he'd be the Valedictorian for his class! Still trying to show him - lol - work is fun too - right?

My daughter's friend helped her decorate the Japanese restaurant. We had four tables of 8 and had 32 people - did that work out great or what???



My grandniece is hiding here - but my daughter even made home made chocolate in the shape of karate figures in the booty bag!



Balloons for the king - tied to his throne.



My son and grandson. Isn't he cute?



My DIL. She came and let everyone see the grandson and then she went home to put him to bed and let hubby stay for the party.



This is my grandson's other set of grandparents and his dad.



This is my brother's family - his son, daughter, her husband, and son. I think my brother was in Heaven watching the party. My GS was named after him.



Okay this is my grandson or king of the party! Leading his friend astray and his cousin (a girl) of course did not partake.



Three of my four loved ones - son, daughter, and grandson - or yeah and ole me!



GS's dad - me and mini me.



Now we had it at a Japanese restaurant. We went last week to check things out - and had this performer. He knew karate a different form of martial arts then Choi Kwan Do. There are a dew different forms of martial arts. So he was really entertaining the troops. Lots of fun and laughter.



GS uncle - my son made this collage for him. We have it hanging on the family room wall. It goes from the first day - see him with grandpa in the upper left? He was so scared to start. And all the way to black belt.



My son also made hard copy book for my GS so that he can carry it around and show off - again from beginning to end - with the oath - promise - and etc in it.



The cake my daughter ordered this - it had all the colors of the belt from beginning to end and the do-john is blue (the mat they practice on) with white surrounding it.



Okay mom and grandson - he has her chin - and the dimple from my grandfather. Kind of good as his dad really doesn't have a chin.



My husband and GS.



My son let his nephew my grandson cut the first piece of cake for himself.



Look at the size - he didn't worry about it -as GS is a horrible eater.



Grand Master P - signing GS autograph book that I made.



They couldn't sing happy birthday so they sand Happy black belt to you - cha cha cha . . .



Okay this man is the second highest - Grand Master P. He is an 8th degree black belt. Now the only one higher is Grand Master Choi - a ninth degree master.

Master P usually doesn't go to parties he told us. It's a long story, but he deliberately took the GS under his wing because he said he saw the love and pain in my eyes for my grandson. My grandson had been in Tae Kwang Do for a year and a half. The first year was Tigers and he went all the way to Tiger Black Belt. When he got put in the adult program - he was lost. And no one found him. He hid and they never knew. They didn't care. If you weren't great - and wanting and able to compete - they like you flounder - at this place. He cried and was so sad that we had to do something. One of my friends was a black belt and she suggested this place and hooked us up with Master P - which I know helped a lot. Anyway Master P said we had to change the GS's mind now about himself. He pointed to his mind and said the black belt is up here.

I can tell you the entire team didn't give up on my grandson in spite of his SPD and ADHD. We even wondered if first if he could do it. Three years later - he totally changed and now they are using him to help out in some cases.

Another thing to be so grateful about. His self esteem.



Now these are all his instructors - that all had so much patience with him you would not believe - I want to thank each and everyone of them and the ones that couldn't make it. We heard "GS' sit down, "GS" don't fool with the rug, "GS' kick higher - so many times - and then one day - we didn't hear it anymore - and he had changed. THREE YEARS MORE OF HARD WORK!

Another thing to be grateful for. His new family of great role models!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the family and my grandson's journey to black belt - tomorrow a couple baby pictures - lol.

"Just living isn't enough," said the butterfly, "one must also have freedom, sunshine, and a little flower."

- Hans Christian Anderson

We don't always get that much freedom, sunshine, and flowers - but for this weekend we did - and of course it is in my grateful journal.

x_31c37fa


PS This better post and if it does - another grateful journal entry!

33 comments:

Debbie said...

What a wonderful post, Sandie. From having the whole family together to carrying off the perfect party, you must be floating on a cloud.

I'm so theme oriented that things like this jazz me. I loved that your daughter even made chocolate karate figures. Now, that's a girl after my own heart.

(And I laughed at your comment that he needed a chin from his mom since his dad didn't have a chin. That's is SO much like the kind of thing I say.)

Congrats to the grinning grandson again!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

This is amazing! What a cool party - he must've just been thrilled. Mmmm, love Japanese food too. And the cake looks wonderful :-)

Sweet Tea said...

A big part of life is celebrating those we love. The party looked FANTASTIC!! Your GS will remember that day his entire life. You have a beautiful family. So much fun getting to peek into your party via the photos!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Thanks Sandie for a great post.. Looks like Andy had a great birthday party. Congrats to him for completing his black belt. That is AWESOME...

Great bunch of family pictures. I know you are a proud grandmother.
Hugs,
Betsy

Unknown said...

congrats to your oldest gs! and what darling eyes your baby gs has. i love the big celebration, what an accomplishment!

Southhamsdarling said...

Great post today Chatty, with some fantastic photos ! (I love the new quote at the start of the blog by the way). How wonderful that all your family got together like that to make it a really special party for your eldest grandson. There was obviously a lot of love there, and I can just imagine how wonderful it was for you to have them there all together. Lovely that they made that long journey with the baby. I love the photo of your grandson and his friend messing about, and the little girl (his cousin) just looking on. You can almost see what she's thinking, such as "Boys!!!" Glad you all had such a lovely party.

Rebecca Nelson said...

Oh girly...love the Andersen quote.

Congrats to your GS. What a fete! I'm soooo happy for you all! Celebrate! Celebrate!

Love to you~

Rebecca

Shanda said...

How fun! To have so many family members at once! And your kids sound like so much fun and have really cute kids themselves :)

Tanna said...

A celebration worthy of a black belt honor!! such a wonderful way to let your grandson know how proud you all are of his hard work and accomplishment!! Way to go, GS!! blessings ~ tanna

Susan said...

Wow, SandiThat was a super post. GS looked SOOOo happy. Loved all the photos and information, too. GS does favor his biological father a lot. YOur daughter and you both looked lovely.

And Will----OMG----he is ADORABLE. Just adorable. Loved that photo of him with his Daddy.

Thanks so much for sharing. GREAT JOB on the re-post! Susan

Belle said...

Congratulations to Andy and what a wonderful celebration! I'm so glad the second school he went to was good to him. That is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I loved this post - and thank you for letting us in to your family. What a great party - GS looked so happy. Smiling from ear to ear. What a success it seems to have been. So happy for you all!

Have a lovely evening!

Sush said...

Oh the love shared by families when they are supportive. This was a wonderful posting and a fine example of generations supporting each other. You created a lovely posting and a treasure trove of memories for your grandson.

Lovely~

Doris Sturm said...

What a powerful post. I think I loved this best of all. I cried at the end when you described Andy's Journey - happy tears! You are such a powerful force in Andy's life and I know this party was for you as well...what a wonderful success story! Life is full of miracles and this is one for the books, isn't it?
Great party! Glad to read that things to work out with patience, persistence and a lot of good-hearted people pulling together and helping out.

I'm so glad you had a wonderful weekend, Sandie. I look forward to little Will photos. I'm so sorry he was crying so much. Is he colicky? Is there even still such a thing?

Knitty said...

I can't improve on what Debbie said and like Thisisme, I really like this week's quote too.

It sounds like your weekend was close to perfect for everyone (awww for the crying baby and family) and remembering the joy and positive affirmations of this weekend will carry you through some days that are less than perfect. And no, I don't necessarily mean Blogger issues, but if the post fits... ;-)

Knitty said...

I forgot to add that I really like the collage and book your son created. Your GS is much loved. As a child, he may not fully understand and appreciate this yet, but he will one day and be a wonderful adult because of this.

The Boston Lady said...

Sandie, what an accomplishment and what a gift you have given Andy. Not the party - which looked fabulous, by the way - but your perseverence and support in helping achieve his black belt through hard work, discipline and hard earned raised self-esteem. Congratulations to everyone. Can't wait to see the baby pics! Ann

Michaele said...

Wow I am so impressed! That was quite a party and so well deserved. I think even those of us who know nothing about karate know that a black belt is hard to earn.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Oh Sandie I am so happy for all of you. What a wonderful party with all the family there! GS #2 is so cute! You know how I love GS #1 he is such a great kid! Love all the photos. Love you!

Linda

Cheri said...

What a wonderful post...it gave me goose bumps to hear all Andy (all of you) has went through. He must be very proud of himself and how wonderful that your son, DIL and new GS were able to come down and celebrate. Just shows what a close family you have.

Ann said...

The excitement and pride rings through your post loud and clear. How wonderful for your grandson to have found such caring people to help him through. It must have been great to have the family together too.
Looking forward to seeing those baby pictures

Jeanie said...

Like others, I love how everyone game together to celebrate this young man's amazing accomplishment. I know you must be so proud you could just pop.

Love Of Quilts said...

What a good looking family you have.I enjoyed your post very much. Trish

Mevely317 said...

I'm soooo sorry you lost the first post, Sandie. (I'll say a "bad word" on your behalf, OK?)

Love these pictures!
Random thoughts from the desert?

...I think that's such an awesome act of love -- your son and family making that Big Drive in such a short time.

Say, is your son super tall, or are you and Kelli super petite? :)

That was really nice, your including Andy's dad and his folks. (But I had to do a double-take in that one father/son shot, I first thought Andy's dad was wearing a Micky-Mouse-ears hat!)

Thanks for sharing these happy moments with us!

Angela said...

Congratulations again to Andy on his black belt! I'm sure it was great getting together with the entire family for a great party! Your grandson #2 is a cutie! Is he cutting teeth? I never had a problem with my kids not sleeping on a car ride. We would even go on one to get them to go to sleep.

Hugs,
Angela

Sue said...

Hi Sandie....I am officially not home yet but will be back by next Monday and then we start preparing for the big move into the new house....Love your post....the baby ofcourse is adorable...those eyes!!
and congratulations to your wonderful Grandson..I know how proud you are of him....See you soon!!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have been taking my time looking at all of these pictures, all wonderful ones. I so enjoyed seeing so much of your family, and your husband! Tell grandson how special he is and that I am so proud of him! Now I want a picture of the chocolate karate figures...

betty said...

I loved this whole post, Sandie! The love of your family and you for your GS is so clear in the pictures, in the effort to put on such a party, the looks on your faces, etc!! First time I saw a picture of his dad; he looks a bit like him. All in all, I am glad he was able to be there for this momentous occasion.

How neat the instructors came too and they saw something in your GS's eyes that they were willing to work with him and not give up on him!! That is love and dedication and caring!

Your 8 month old grandson is soooo adorable; he's growing tooo quickly!!

wonderful party; you guys did great getting it all together!

betty

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Congratulations to GS on his black belt! What an accomplishment!
Is there anything better than a family party? I love them..and wish there was one at least every single month. What happened to the old fashioned Sunday dinners. :)
How sweet of DIL to take baby GS home and let her husband stay and enjoy the party. That's motherhood for you. Our babies come first. I remember those days.

And thank you again for your so sweet comment on my post! Made me smile!
Mona

Catherine said...

Looks like everyone had a good time! Very fun!
xo Catherine

Liz Mays said...

What a positive effect it had on his life. I'm so impressed with him, with the art itself, and with the instructor. That's fantastic.

And the party was amazing. You really went out of your way to make sure it was wonderful!

Unknown said...

Wow, that is really something for Grandmaster P to take such a special interest in him. Did he show-off by cutting the cake with karate chops?

Annesphamily said...

I have never believed in labeling children. Your GS is a wonderful young man. He is strong and confident. My friend Chris had her son in karate with his dad. Tim is a black belt and he is an incredible person. But that was not an easy achievement. You should be so proud (I know you are) of the GS. What a terrific post. I love everything you post here. Enjoy the weekend. Anne