Taekwon Cookie Dough

Festive!  We were out today at the dentist down there in Alpharetta, getting that crown taken care of for Mom.  Nana and I were in the lobby there, sitting beneath that large tree there.  It's pre-lit, and has a few boxes below.  Last year there were more things on the tree, and there was music too.  Maybe it drove people crazy?  It couldn't drive you any more crazy than listening to political commentary on one of the televisions somewhere on someone's office, so I used the laptop here to play some Christmas music that filled the lobby for our wait.  I didn't blast it, of course.  But the customer is always right, and music like that is a little less stressful!

So tonight Madison's next testing occurred, part two of three of her black belt testing.  We arrived a little early and got a nice place for Nana and Mom to look on as once again we were there for the usual testing experience.

How many of these we've seen, I could probably go back on the blog here and look.  But it's a lot.  She's nearly there to the finish line, and as you can see above, she's gotten quite flexible!  Her high kicks are enormous, as you'll see soon enough.

We were all there, and it's just a different year.  And I hate saying that, because nobody wants it to be a different year.  We are optimistic by nature and we're going to keep moving forward no matter what.  And that's what these kids are doing with these belt tests.  They're moving forward.  I just heard that moving forward slowly is still moving forward, and in some ways that sums up this year.  No matter how we move forward, we're still doing just that.  

Speaking of which, here's Madison sparring with another student tonight.  We had a huge class, and you can see the folks waiting for sparring.  But Madison got a surprise - there was no wait for her tonight!  She sparred about four different opponents and didn't get any rest between bouts.

Though she was panting pretty good at the end, she did so great. She was exhausted because she gave her all out there on the mat, launching high kick after high kick, completely draining the energy tank, and doing all that she could.

She was doing well, and was even matched up with some opponents somewhat taller, yet still got those kicks up for a foot-fist-fiesta!  She's doing great!  Nana and Mom were watching closely, quite impressed by her.

She was doing great tonight, and she's really come along all this time training.  Watching her develop over the last few years, you can really see so much progress.

They did sparring tonight, and then the self-defense portion of the testing, where the kids showed off what they learned this last semester.  Don't try to put a choke hold on my daughter.  You'll pay for it.  Dearly!

And in the end, Madison was where she was as always, with us tying the knot on her belt one more time.  The next time we do this, it will be a black belt!  Nana and Mom pulled the knot on this red/black belt, having been there for not only the ceremony, but all along for each class this time around.

Here's the students for this belt testing.  There are entire other classes too, and that's great to see - this studio is doing well despite the troubles of this year.

Anyway, there we go again - another testing, another step closer.  In only three months or so, we'll have completed this part of the journey.  We'll do all kinds of reflecting when that gets here.  It's been pretty amazing.  She's been really into taekwondo, so focused and just loving it.

We got home after the testing, quite triumphant - and ready to make cookies!  We have a Cookie Swap coming up really soon, and so the four of us got busy getting some delicious Christmas cookies made.  Mom rolled the dough and made the shapes, and then it was time to decorate!

Nana, Madison and I were suddenly busy with decorations, adding sprinkles, dots, candy canes and sugar. The end result was something that looked quite delicious and sweet!

Here are a few of Madison's cookies.  We made plenty of them tonight, as we need quite a few for tomorrow's exchange.  We were watching a Christmas movie as we placed the decorations.  It was a nice time together, and the end product was delicious!

Here's Nana with her cookies, ready to put in the oven!  Mom placed them all on the rack, and soon enough, we had a great collection of cookies to share tomorrow.

 And here are a few of my cookies, which also turned out well!  We had a full day today, with Christmas movies, taekwondo, and Christmas cookies.  Madison had tests at school, and she did very well with those.  We were studying for Spanish tomorrow, and she seems to know all the words, and seems ready!

We went to Narnia tonight, and we said our prayers too, just before bed.  It was a nice day today, and only a few more like this one 'till Christmas!  But each day until then is filled with fun, and some punches too!