Brown belt

Adam began this Moo Gong Do journey 15 months ago. Belt rank in this martial art is as follows:
White, Yellow, Orange, /Green, Purple, Blue, /Brown, 2nd Red, 1st Red, BLACK.
He really loves doing this art, and is very good at it. Notice the slashes dividing the ranks into jr. belt, intermediate belt, and senior belt. Adam is now in the senior belt division. More is expected. Curriculum and testing become more difficult. Rank advancement slows down a bit. Once he moves from brown to 2nd red, he essentially "starts over", going through ALL curriculum again from white on up to brown. Then they receive 1st red, and begin working on a black belt project, and preparing to travel to CA to test under Grand Master Kim to receive their black belt. These are exciting times! Here are some pictures from this round of testing (Thur.), and from the belt ceremony which was this morning.


Adam sparring with Juliette

Extreme air during sparring! (I believe I can fly......)

Ready stance in front of head table during testing.

Adam receiving his certificate from Master Allen for brown belt.

Adam receiving his brown belt rank.

Looking good there, Mr. Senior Belt! Woo hoo!

Group photo of all who tested this cycle.

The 3 musketeers, as I like to call them... this is Patrick, Adam, and Stephen. They all started about the same time (Adam is senior of the 3....) and have advanced in rank together since the beginning. It's been cool to watch them all grow together!

Thanks for sharing in the excitement with me! I am very proud of my son. BTW, his first HOLY GHOST birthday is in NINE DAYS! How cool is that? Talk to you all soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREAT SANDINI!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST AMAZING FRIEND EVER IN THE WORLD! WE LOVE YOU SANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, The Ziters.... your adopted family!

Mamadoodle, Papa Z, and little tykes 1 and 2

The volvo is no more...

Yes, it's true. Cars are inherently evil. A "necessary" evil... which is really an oxymoron, because evil is not necessary in the life of a Christian. However, life happens. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. I blew up my car today. I fried it. It overheated to the point of boiling... and I just can't put one more dime into this wretch of a car. It has a dozen things wrong with it... but it's one redeeming grace was that it still ran. Past tense. It no longer runs. Let's see...

• The odometer doesn't work
• the a/c has never worked since I bought it
• the heat works when it wants to (which is usually not when it's -10 degrees)
• the trac braking system is failing, which is a scary feeling when it slips, and you want to STOP
• the radiator has sprung a big fat leak
• The gas tank cover fell off the car
• the side is smashed in from hitting a deer at 50 mph, so door opens hard
• the power seat adjuster on the driver's side doesn't work properly
• the seat warmers (although a luxury I could definitely do without) do not work
• the stereo has a short in it, and when you try to adjust the volume, it just turns off
• the speaker covers just won't stay on anymore
  
• it is rusting everywhere!
• the back hatch doesn't stay open unless you hold it open... otherwise it crashes down on your head while you're trying to get the groceries out of it.
• It is almost 15 years old and just plain tired and ready to give up the ghost. Heck, in 5 more years, it will qualify as an antique!

So, that is the story. This is going to be a most difficult summer logistically. I was going to work part time OPPOSITE my husband because we can't afford a sitter for the kids. But with only one vehicle... that will not work. Please pray for us... we really need a break. We need an inexpensive used car... in a hurry.

Eggs in a basket

Put all your eggs in one basket, then give
the basket to God.

When life is overwhelming in too many areas, just take everything and throw it in one basket, and let God help you sort it all out.

For Julie

Hey Julie.... regarding the insert for our bulletin about Bible Study promotion... this is the picture I was talking about. It is far better than the one you used in the "idea" bulletin... I just like this one because my hair is down... I look practically bald in the other one... LOL!!!!