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So, I know the pictures will be very dark, but since it's night-night routine that's why. Every night for the last three weeks, the two stuffed bunnies in the bed have been made to give a performance. At first, it was only the ABC song. Lately, it has been whatever song is in Nate's head that day. Sometimes, as you will see, the songs get a little mixed up.
So, this past week, we learned two very important truths. The first one we already knew... Nathan is cute. We got professional opinion on it. The second is that we have no interest in ever doing a pageant ever ever ever ever ever again. (Is that enough evers?) Nathan won the "Beautiful Beau" category for boys 1-2 years old.
He won a big trophy that calls his prize (Or "pwize"). The cookie they gave every kid didn't even make it to the parking lot. He had fun, but we've decided that we just aren't looking to enter that competitive pageant world. Take a look at our cute boy.
ok, so he's heard the story every night at bed for a month, but still... it's cute.
Welcome to the Great State Fair of Texas. (Or as Nathan would call it, the Pair) The Dairy Farmers had this great little set up for little guys called Little Hands on the Farm. Nate got to do all the chores of the farm and then "sell" his farm goods for a "dollar." Then he got to go a store and "spend" his dollar. He's still talking about his trip to the "pair" and all the anninnamals he saw.
One of the great perks of having to travel to so many taekwondo tournaments is earning rewards from things like hotel booking and the business credit card. In just under a year, we booked 10 hotel nights through hotels.com, so we decided to take advantage of their offer for a free unlimited night. Melissa and I left Nate with Mimi and Papa and headed to San Antonio for a one night vacation. We stayed a the five-star Hotel Valencia on the River Walk. They overbooked our room, so we got upgraded to a balcony room valued at $500 (for free). While waiting on the room, we took the tour of the Alamo. Then Meli and I spent the evening on the River Walk, taking the boat tour and eating at a wonderful Mexican restaurant.
Then we woke up and headed for New Braunfels and a day at Schlitterbahn Water Park. If you've never been, this is the best water park I've ever been to by far. They use natural water from a river to power all the rides. The best rides were these tube chutes that float pretty lazily at first, then you suddenly hit a rapid and fall.
Pictured from left are Sulphur Springs ATA Martial Arts Academy Top Ten qualifiers and 2009 Texas State Champions Calvin Perry and Daron Bilyeu (certified instructor), Top Ten qualifier Josh Schwen, Top Ten qualifier and 2009 Texas State Champion Cristina Perry, and 2009 Texas State Champion Christina Shadix. Staff photo by Cindy Roller
These ATA (American Taekwondo Association) athletes join the Top Ten Qualifiers, along side their accomplishments were 2009 Texas State Champions Calvin Perry, Christina Shadix, and Bilyeu.
The Top Ten qualifiers will compete in the 2009 World Championship event the weekend of June 25-26 in Little Rock, Ark. Those involved will be Daron Bilyeu - qualifier men's second—third degree in the 30-39 age group for weapons, Calvin Perry - qualifier boys first-degree in the 14-16 year old division of weapons, Cristina Perry - qualifier women's first-degree in the 17-29 in old division for sparring and weapons, and Josh Schwen - qualifier men's first-degree in the 17-29 group of weapons.
After her experience as the Tiny Tiger instructor, Cristina Perry, first-degree Black Belt and certified instructor, recently took a position teaching at Sustaire's ATA Karate for Kids in Murphy, Texas. “I love working with kids,” said Perry, now two months into her new position. In 2008, she was awarded the Texas State Champion X-treme Forms and X-treme Weapons. For this year's competition, she will be sparring (fighting with hands and feet) and for her weapon of choice-the broad sword. These events keep her in workouts twice a week and she is involved in four classes a week.
“I have always wanted to do this since I was a kid,” Perry said. Her favorite event is sparring, she explained that the X-treme Forms allows room for a more personal creativeness. Perry has been so creative in her training, she worked herself into a disjointed pinky finger on her right hand. “My parents were a little worried at first, but they knew I could hold my own ground.” Perry isn't going to let her injury stop her from the upcoming competition as she has opted to await treatment until after so the healing does not interfere.
Cristina Perry uses her broad sword to challenge fellow athlete Christina Shadix and her long sword. The two display their skills acquired at the Sulphur Springs ATA Martial Arts Academy. Staff photo by Cindy Roller
In competition, Taekwondo athletes are judged by a panel of three peers. “It is a honor to judge,” she explained. “Everything we do goes towards our overall point total. In an event, in the two minute time frame, the first opponent to reach five or the athlete ahead in points is declared the winner.”
Perry is the oldest of eight children. For them, martial arts is a family affair, with the entire Coe and Jeannie Perry family participatants at the Sulphur Springs ATA Academy. In fact, Cristina's younger brother, Calvin will be accompanying her for his first time. “The (learned) discipline applies to everything,” said her brother. “It takes lots of practice working with the broad sword (composed of a heavy plastic curved blade). You have to work at it until it is an extension of your body,” Calvin said. Both siblings are three year veterans of the Sulphur Springs ATA school.
“I have always loved martial arts,” Perry said. “It will always be something I do even after school.” Perry is in the tenth grade and he along with his siblings are all being homeschooled.
In 2008, Josh Schwen, son of Jack and Lois Schwen, had the honor of being at the top of the winners stand with his world title in the first-degree black belt. He intends to repeat that honor this year with four years of training under his belt. “I chose the nunchucks, one of the harder weapons. It has been really fun,” Schwen said.
Schwen hasn't been idol much since last year as he has started his new job at Lowe's in February, following in the footsteps of his big brother. He recently was named to the Dean's List at Paris Junior College. Schwen plans to finish school at the Tech Center and continue his education at Texas A&M. “I am hoping to repeat,” he said, “but with this sometimes you learn more by losing than winning. Of course, it is nice to win.”
Moving to a faster musical beat is Christina Shadix in her use of the double chucks (two sets of nunchucks). Shadix tied for first the 2009 Texas State Championship for weapons for her age and gender division with Thuy Vy Hynh of Houston. Shadix took the outright first place in the X-treme weapon for the Texas State Championship for her color belt division with her use of the long sword.
For the past two and half years, Shadix has used her experience to counsel younger ATA athletes. She also has worked as a special education teacher focusing on children with autism. “I use my skills to help me release some of my energy,” said Shadix, traveling from Saltillo.
Desiring a change in her environment, Shadix is using her skills in her next course of action. “I am planning on going into the Mount Pleasant 16-week police academy,” she said hoping she will still be able to remain in the area.
Fourth-degree Black Belt and owner of the school Melissa Bilyeu described the levels of black belt and how a student must spend a year equal to each degree. "So a student must spend a minimum of one year for a first-degree, two years on a second-degree, and so on," she said. She currently outranks her husband by five years with 10 years as the owner of the Sulphur Springs ATA Academy. "To pass to the next level of belt, there is a physical test, an 84-move skill test, must be a certified ATA teacher, compile hours of training all year, judge, and visit other schools as a guest to assist in training — all goes into what an athlete must do to move onto the next color or degree of belt," explained Bilyeu.
The school currently has about 90 students enrolled in classes ranging from three year olds to grandparents.
Sulphur Springs ATA Martial Arts Academy co-owner and certified instructor, Daron Bilyeu trains his son, 20-month old Nathan the art of kicking. Bilyeu holds high hopes for him to follow the path of taekwondo. Staff photo by Cindy Roller
Bilyeu came into the business by the influence of his wife of three years and co-owner, Melissa. And his desire to lose weight, in fact, this past year he has managed to drop 50 pounds with the use of his teaching skills and diet. "In June of 2006 we got married, in July I passed my Black Belt test, and in August I bought this school," Daron Bilyeu said with a smile. Also making the couple smile is their newest addition, 20-month old Nathan. Even at his young age, he knows their favor letters of the alphabet — ATA.
According the the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) website, this organization is the premier North American organization dedicated to the martial arts discipline of taekwondo, and is the founding organization of other international affiliates that include the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU) and the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF). Counting both the U.S. and worldwide, these organizations have over 1,500 independently owned and operated licensed schools and clubs, and have registered over one million students since the ATA's inception in 1969. Since the first class was taught many years ago, the focus of the program has remained the same: to provide students the highest quality martial arts instruction available in a safe and positive learning environment that people of all ages can enjoy.
The Sulphur Springs ATA Martial Arts can be found online at www.sulphurspringsata.com. The school offers classes for the very young three-years in the Tiny Tiger Cubbies to programs for the 4-6 year olds with Karate for Kids, classes for 6-12 young adults to family training. The school has a Black Belt Club to train using advanced skills in weapons and sparring. There is also a leadership program for ATA X-treme to enhance creativity and an ATA FIT program that helps train the body using fun and innovative techniques.
The academy also provides seasonal seminars including ground fighting, cardio kickboxing, and women's self defense. To find out more information contact Daron or Melissa Bilyeu.
Nathan has had two successes on the potty in the last two nights! At first, we thought it was just luck or coincidence, but after two times of him telling us "potty" and then going, we know it's real! Guess it's time to pick up some pull-ups!
While working on the pictures for the digital photo frame, I decided that I might as well put the pictures into an album and share our last five years together. It's now the picture on the left bar. Hope you enjoy.
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After a year of really hard work, blisters on her feet, and a four-dress-size loss, Meli finally had her first ballet recital in seven years today. She was really nervous at first, but I believe that she did amazingly well. We also got to see a one of our student instructors do a hip-hop/breaking routine, and a former little student get to hop like a bunny around the stage.
Nathan had a great time through the whole thing and sat really well through the whole thing. He really loved to see the tap dances and kept saying "Pat, Pat, Pat" while those girls were dancing.
Meli is already plotting a pointe solo for next year. I'll put video of this recital up as soon as I can encode it to a file. Until then, here are some pictures.
So, the final ATA Top Ten Standings were released last week, and I came in at 8th place. Although, there was a big three-way tie at the bottom, so if all of those guys come to the tournament as well, then I won't be in the first three to go. I have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks if I want to try to move up during the actual competition. I will be competing on Thursday, June 25th.
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After this weekend, I am going to make my second top ten in the last three years. I went to the Little Rock tournament with some of my students. I picked up a second place in weapons to give me a enough points to move up a few places on the list. Now it's a wait and see game to find out where on the list I end up. I'm really hoping to end at least #7 on the list so that I can get out of the first three. I'll keep updating when the point standings are listed on ATA's web site.
After 18 months of curiosity, Nathan finally introduced himself to Hugo the hedgehog. At first, his name was "Hedgie." Then Nate tried to touch the very unhappy hedgie. Now and forevermore, the Hedgie's name is now "Ouch."
For the first time since we were newly married, Melissa and I competed in the same ATA taekwondo tournament. She had been taking time off after having Nathan and earning her new rank. We had a great time in Dallas, although having to wait 35 minutes to get our car out in the morning sure wasn't the best. Maybe we're just too small town minded...
Anyway. I got first in weapons and third in the other two events. This means that with the points I've gotten already this year, that I should be solidly in the Top Ten and will compete in the World Championships in June. This will be my second time going, so hopefully, I'll do better than last time.
But before I competed, Melissa got to join her new 30-39 4th and 5th degree black belt ring. She was so nervous after having been out so long, but she did a great job. She ended up getting second in weapons and second in sparring. She even only missed placing in forms by one point. Not bad for not competing in two years!
So now, I will be taking some students to Little Rock next weekend for the final tournament of the season. Then it's down to watching the ATA website and seeing where the final point totals end up.
So Nathan has started to get really good at expressing his opinions. His biggest thing right now is the Wiggles, or as he calls them "Doo-dles." In Dallas, there is a Wiggly Play Center. While we were there in January, we picked up this stuffed Murray guitar. Check out what happened at bedtime...
Nathan woke up to the basket that the Bunny left him, complete with a blue bunny, sidewalk chalk to lu-lor (color) with, and eggs with his first candy in it. After Meli played at her church, we went to her parents for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. There are also pics of a community egg hunt earlier.
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Nathan was bowing at the end of every class tonight. So we decided to try and get him on camera when we got home.
So, Meli started getting bored while I was teaching and she was home alone with Nathan. So she gave him a bath and then started to spike up his hair. It didn't stay in all night long, but it was so cute while it lasted.
Isn't it great when you can go outside and head to the park in February? Nate absolutely loves the swing and it was 70 this week, so we went. 
So, today, we had to take Nate to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Before you get worked up wondering how he is, I'll tell you that everything turned out fine. This was a follow-up visit from June.
When Nate was four months old, his doctor became concerned that he only looked to the right and didn't like to look to the left. So, we ended up going to see a wonderful physical therapist for some time over the summer. She wanted to have him looked at by an orthopedic specialist, but that was something that we just can't afford as small business owners.
Enter Scottish Rite. This has got to be one of the most wonderful charities we've ever been around (and as a pastor, I've seen a lot of them). We were able to get a series of spinal x-rays on a table designed just for babies. He had an evaluation by a team of doctors, nurses, therapists, you name it. I think there were eight or nine people in the room when Nate came in the first time. He got to see one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the country. The great news is that all of this was free.
The doctor there said that everything looked great and that Nathan's problems were muscular, meaning they would go away with time and with exercise. They did ask us to come back when he was walking to make absolutely sure. Today was that day.
The appointment was set for 1:15, but we left early due to the freezing rain in the area. We got there very early. After a lunch in the cafeteria, we went and checked in. The lady at the desk got us in to our spot. After a bit, we were in the exam room. The nurse practitioner watched him walk and them put him through the paces with a physical exam that tickled him to no end. The ortho came in, watched him walk, and then they gave us the great news. He was being discharged from their program. No more need to come back.
We received great news, but I can't help but think of all the others I saw while I was there. Many parents have not been given the same news that we got today, but those doctors are there, doing great things. I don't do this much, but, if you are reading this blog, maybe you would consider visiting their website at www.tsrhc.com and donating even a small amount to them to honor their work in helping our Nathan develop well.
Nate spent a whole day around his favorite thing in the world. Ball! First we got out the ball pit that Mimi got him. He had loads of fun getting buried in the balls and throwing them EVERYWHERE.
Then at night, we took him for his first ever game of bowling. He was more obsessed with the ball than pushing it down the lane. After the first try got stuck halfway down the lane, the owners came and brought him this thing to let him push the ball down a ramp to send it toward the pins. Every time that he would push the ball, he would say "Bye Bye Ball."
He even got to Hiya the whack a mole game for a while, even earning a little police badge from the tickets.
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Well, we're finally unpacked from our trip to Indiana. We had a great time with all the family. Riley and Owen just went nuts having a baby around them, and they did such a great job of being big cousins to him. In fact, I think Nate learned how to go from walk to run by just trying to keep up with them.
Mom had us all go out to a photo place and get pictures of all her family together. You'll see a few of those in the slideshow below. Even though Nate wasn't feeling real good, he still gave such great smiles.
We even had a moment to have lunch with Dad and Debbie, where Nate had a great time playing with his grandparents and the puzzle he got from them.
The flight home was a little interesting, but we made it and are now home. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
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WOOHOO! 2009! We can't wait to see what the new year brings us. May God bless you and keep you in His arms this year!
