Duh Family

It's been a few years since we had family portraits taken, and it's come to the point where this is as good as it gets. This is the real deal, folks. Love it or leave it.

My Brothers...

In life, there are many things that you may never know about someone – even if you're very close to said person. My close friends and even some family members learned something about me in the last week that, until recently, I had never given a second thought about sharing: I have three older brothers.

Most of my friends and family are aware of my sister, Tiffani. We speak often and visit each other whenever we have the chance. She is my mentor, especially in the parenting arena, and I can always count on her for sound advice.

My two oldest brothers, Michael and Steven, are my dad's sons from a previous marriage and my youngest brother, Ryan, is my mother's son. Although Ryan and I are not close, we do keep tabs on each other regularly. Unfortunately, I lost touch with Michael and Steven over the years and have only regained contact since moving to Atlanta.

This major detail of my personal life was suddenly brought into the limelight on September 15, 2009 when Steven was killed in a car accident at the age of 40. As he was driving, a tree branch fell onto his vehicle, causing him to lose control and overturn into a ditch. Although he and his passenger were wearing their seat belts, Steven did not survive the crash. Thankfully his passenger escaped with only minor injuries.

I was deeply saddened to receive the news from Michael about the accident and even more saddened that I didn't have the chance to really get to know Steven. Although we were siblings by blood, we were only mere acquaintances. I knew he was married to a beautiful woman named Kelli and that they had a daughter named Sunni Jo. He worked as a mechanic in the Pine Bluff area and was the lead singer of the band Black Iris.

I regret that, as his sister, I knew about him only what most people would consider to be idle chatter or social pleasantries. I never got to know the person that he was...father, husband, brother, good person. Life seems to be full of regret, sometimes.

Immediately after receiving the news, I began making plans to travel to Arkansas for the memorial service. Determined to not add missing Steven's memorial to my list of regrets, the family and I hit the road and met Tiffani and Athena in Pine Bluff on Friday afternoon.

Tiffani and I hadn't seen some members of the Shelton side of the family since we were small children and I was a little nervous about who we might be seeing. Everyone was gathered at Steven and Kelli's house. Uncles and Aunts, siblings and friends all sitting around talking about the life of Steven. They shared photos and stories, laughed and cried. It was truly wonderful and I feel closer to him now more than ever. Another regret.

I met my niece, Sunni Jo, and Kelli, Steven's wife, for the first time. What a lovely couple of ladies. Sunni Jo is a year younger than Mason and her toothless smile would melt you heart. I'm certain that she was the apple of Steven's eye.

Many of the older people who attended the memorial stated one thing that stuck in my mind: As you get older, it seems like the only thing that brings families together are marriages and deaths. As I get older, I am finding this to ring true.

One good thing did come from our visit to Arkansas: I got to spend quality time with Michael. We had chatted on and off for several years. He would often drive through the Atlanta area on his truck route, but we were never able to cross paths in person. I have invited him to come and stay in Atlanta whenever he feels the urge...I hope he takes me up on that offer.

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

I think we've all driven down the road and seen a dog hanging out of the window with tongue wagging and hair blowing in the breeze. It's not every day you see a child and his best friend, who happens to be a bear instead of a dog, hanging out of a car window. Rest assured, we are parked in a parking lot, so no safety violations here!

Happy Anniversary, Blog!

Today, I am celebrating 3 years of blogging! That means that, for over half of Mason's life, I've been writing our story for the online world to see and read. It's been a pretty wild ride, so far!

This photo was taken the summer our family moved to Atlanta (I think). Mason stayed with his grandparents for nearly a month! He got his first ear infection that summer and spent numerous hours with his 3 cousins at the farm in Kansas.


I don't have many photos from when we lived in the apartment in Duluth. It was a difficult time for our family. I had difficulties finding a job, Brian worked long hours and Mason and I spent a lot of time together.





This is my favorite of his Halloween costumes, by far! The year is 2006 and it was my first Halloween at Consumer Source. Little did I know that everyone in the office dressed up and we decorated our cubicles and passed out candy to children from the homeless shelter. After the kids left, I brought Mason to the office to trick-or-treat. Man, he raked in the loot!


Brian still worked at the Atlanta Athletic Club – where we frequently fished the ponds.


Pre-K graduation was a ton of fun! I had a hard time facing that I now had a school-aged child.


Tiffani and Athena came to visit and we went to the GA Aquarium. I can't wait to go back!


We love spending time outside!


Mason wanted to be a veterinarian in 2007, so we got him a pair of scrubs and a stethoscope. He listened to Bear's heartbeat quite often.


Callie came to join our family in 2008. She won our hearts at PetSmart adoption day and has been a great addition!


The boys love her!


Sometimes the birthday goodie bags have something to make me smile.


I don't know many people that don't have a fond childhood memory of licking the mixer bowl...


...or jumping into puddles.


Mason LOVES the snow. It could be because he's only seen it a few times in his life. It does snow in Atlanta, but not very much and it doesn't stick around very long. This photo gives you a good indication as to why some things are referred to as "flat as Kansas".


Mason's first kiss! Layla and Mason spent the day together at Six Flags and had a blast! Do you think he likes her?


Mason will forever be a part of the Hoschton, GA Guiness World Record for the most scarecrows. He looks pretty scary, right?


...or is THIS scary?


Joining the Taekwondo class was one of the best things Brian and I have done for Mason. He loves it and it helps with his behavior and motivation. I never would have thought that an extra-curricular activity could do so much for a child's well-being.


2009: our family goes to Disney World for Mason's 6th birthday. What a great way to celebrate!


Swimming lessons went well. He got over his fear of deep water and learned to float on his belly and stomach.


We make an effort to go to the coast at least once a year. We didn't make it to South Carolina again, but we were in Florida a few times. An excuse to go really isn't needed.


And last, but not least, Mason learned to ride his bike sans training wheels. This was taken just a few weeks ago! My goodness the last 3 years have flown by. What a great adventure our family is on...I can't wait to see what's next!

Tire-Ed

School can really drain your brain AND your body! So far, I have been very impressed with his teacher. She seems to keep his mind and his hands busy. Now, if only she could tackle getting his lips to stay closed when they need to. All in good time! Sleep tight, little Mason. There are worksheets a-plenty when you get home!

Old Fashioned Butt-Kicking...

Having a good attitude is one of the many important lessons the kids learn in Taekwondo – even when you're sparring someone who is 5 belt levels above you. Mason and Taylor have been friends for a while now and, although she was getting kicks to his headgear in left and right, Mason came out unscathed and with a smile on his face. Way to show good attitude!

Summer is Coming to an End...

Now that school had begun, our family has become acutely aware that summer is coming to a screeching hault. Although the days are still baking hot here in Georgia, the mornings and evenings are getting more and more pleasant.

Daylight-savings time will be over soon, and it will be dark when we get home in the evenings. That leaves us more time to do homework, but not a lot of outside time on weekdays. I imagine that means we will have more neighborhood kids over to play inside rather than shooing them out the door to play outside.

Oh, summer...why do you have to end?

A Boy and His Dog...

Callie is a very privileged animal, indeed. She begins her day with a ride in the truck – front seat, of course. She then gets to play on the golf course all day, chase geese and run along side the golf cart. Clearly, she is loved and pampered – as I got this mobile email this afternoon from Brian. The look like they are working hard, right?

Hey Grandma, Look at ME!!!

I always knew the day would come when the training wheels would come off of the bike. Honestly, I just didn't think it would be this summer.

The inspiration came from one of the neighbor kids – who is Mason's age. Sadid is the youngest son of our Afghan neighbors and he was riding his bike, sans training wheels, in the cul-de-sac on Sunday afternoon. I had casually asked Mason if he would be willing to try riding his bike without his training wheels and, to my surprise, he agreed!


"Mom, I'm going to need a kicking stand," Mason said, after he struggled to get onto his bicycle AND balance at the same time. Brian thoughtfully reminded me that he didn't have a "kicking stand" on his bike growing up on the farm and got along just fine.


I can imagine that his bike is heavy for him, but he managed to balance and get going a few times without help.


Learning Taekwondo has been a very good experience in that it teaches him perseverance in all aspects of life. I gave him a good push and off he went on the very first try!


Look at him go! I was giddy with excitement and HAD to call Brian at work.

Of course I captured the whole experience on video! He was so excited to get going and have me video tape him riding his bike to post on the blog. He's going to be so technology savvy!

For Brian...

Bright and early Saturday morning, the family woke up and drove to Alpharetta for Mason's first Taekwondo tournament. He wasn't nervous or excited, but he was prepared. He practiced and practiced and knew that he had done everything he could to get ready for this day.

We discovered that a lot of tournaments is waiting and watching. First was bow in, then the demo team competition (there is a special surprise at the end of this post for that) and then the kids are broken down into groups. Everything is done by age group and gender.

At long last, the boys were called out and ready to begin. The kids are introduced to the judges and each judge has a specialty they judge on. Then, they bow in (again).


It was funny to see each kid down the line turn around to see where their parents were. All business, this one...


...and a wave to mom and dad.


Mason and his classmate, Christopher, were the two lowest ranks competing. They are both camouflage belts. Not every belt rank does the same form, so it was fun to see the forms some of the higher belts were performing. Mason's form is a 32-move form and is called Songham 5. He performed it better than he ever had!


He lost his balance a little on one of his kicks, but still scored a 7–7–6. From what I am told, that is a very high score for someone of his belt rank. He didn't place in forms, but had nothing to hang his head over. The kids he was up against had been in Taekwondo for several years!


Next up: sparring. With all of that gear on, the only way I can tell this is Mason is because his name is on his chest protector! The sparring partners are drawn randomly, and Mason sparred against a red belt – the next to highest before black belt. He faired well, but lost his round.


I think he gained valuable knowledge for his next tournament by watching the other students.


Overall, another camouflage belt from another school won sparring and a red belt won forms.

Mason did receive a participation medal. I'm not going to go into why I think that's not a good idea.


The judges then asked the kids if they had fun and if they wanted to compete again. Each of them said, "Yes SIR!" Then they all flexed their muscles. Awesome.

This post is dedicated to Brian. As we arrived in Alpharetta for the tournament, we realized that I had forgotten Mason's sparring gear and his bow staff. Brian drove 45 minutes back to Lawrenceville to pick up his gear and came back. I want to thank him for his infinite patience with me. This video is for him, since he missed the Demo Team performance.

Fun in the 'Hood (part 2)

We love having a pool in the neighborhood. It's close enough to walk to – if it weren't 9,000º outside. My boys love to horseplay in the pool. Is there a safer place to throw your offspring that high into the air? I think not.


Here they are: two of the three loves of my life. They're both a tie for first, ice cream is second. Mmmm.


I don't think I have any photos of the two of them where they aren't making silly faces at me. This is my life. Two silly boys at the pool. I couldn't ask for more!

Fun in the 'Hood

There are a lot of perks to living in our neighborhood: great neighbors that have great kids, quiet cul-de-sac living, walking trails, swimming, tennis, volleyball and a pond for fishing.

Sometime in the last year, Brian taught Mason how to cast a spinner reel. I was impressed! We didn't catch anything this day, but we will have many more opportunities.

Ninja Mason

New Life Academy doesn't have a traditional physical education program like most public schools. In keeping with the Charter based on the Chinese culture, the children learn the basics of Taekwondo. Odd, considering Taekwondo originated in Korea, but who am I to argue?

Last school year, the children wore their white dobok to school all day. Picture, if you will, what a white pair of pants worn by a 5-year old would look like at the end of the day. Got it? Okay, now multiply that times 50 and you'll know how filthy those pants were every Tuesday. There isn't enough bleach on the planet to get those stains out.

I was pleased to hear that NLAE will be requiring students to wear the black dobok this year. I wasn't thrilled to have to purchase one, but at least he wouldn't be ruining the uniforms he wears to his regular Taekwondo class. Doesn't he look like a mini Ninja? Awesome.

This coming weekend, Mason will be competing in his first tournament! There are 7 ATA schools around the city and they all come together for an inter-school tournament once a year. Mason will be competing in forms (a routine consisting of 32+ traditional Taekwondo moves) and sparring (traditional kicking of other kids' butts). He's super excited! Stay tuned. Videos to come!