Olympic hopeful already wins with home life

I love a home that feels like a home, and not just someplace to hang your hat, check your e-mail or catch up on the latest neighborhood gossip.
The Hong family lives in such a home.
Portraits of Michelle and her husband Mike adorn the walls of their tasteful Blue Springs home – along with countless photos of their children – 7-year-old Transformers fan Preston, 10-year-old birthday girl Isadora, 17-year-old charmer Isabelle and Olympic hopeful Ivana, a 15-year-old who is dealing with a weighty problem.
“I have to figure out what to pack for camp,” Ivana said, as Isadora grabbed a pencil and notepad to write help with her sister’s check list. “I need to make a list.”
She isn’t talking about summer camp, or Girl Scout camp or a weekend trip with friends.
 This is the Olympic Selection Camp that takes place this Friday and Saturday at Bela and Martha Karolyi’s ranch near Houston.
And Tuesday evening is the last night Ivana will spend with her family before she competes in the most nerve-wracking and meaningful events of her life.
She is gunning for a spot on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, and by most accounts, she is a lock to represent the U.S. at Beijing in just a few weeks.
But in the world of international gymnastics, there is really no such thing as a lock, unless your name happens to be Retton, Patterson or Johnson.
“I called Ivana today and asked how practice went,” said Isabelle over the phone from Spokane, Wash., where she is taking part in a school-sponsored Business Youth Camp, “and she said, ‘It was good.’ I told her, ‘Good? What does good mean? Was it good, or real good?’”
Ivana finally said, “It was real good.”
A relieved Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief.
“She is just a couple of days from finding out if he she going to see her dream come true of making the Olympics,” Isabelle said, “and I’m in Washington. I want to be there with her, I really do.”
Isabelle might not be with little sis, but Ivana is blanketed by enough warmth and support to last a lifetime of selection camps.
Isadora is quick to show a massive heart-shaped poster she and her older sister made for Ivana. Then Preston runs to get his poster. It is covered in glittery good luck wishes.
“I know my No. 1 is backwards,” he said, with a bit of disgust in his voice, “but it’s the thought that counts.”
Michelle never leaves the kitchen, where she is preparing a masterful feast that includes soup, beef, chicken, rice, lasagna, green beans, a tapioca desert and fresh fruit.
“We eat good at this house,” said Ivana, grinning, “real good.”
During dinner, the Hong children try to keep up with the acts on “America’s Got Talent,” which include a man who lies on a bed of nails while David Hasselhoff walks on his stomach and a man who wows the audience with an impressive Tina Turner impersonation.
“That was a man?” asked Preston. “No way. Really? Are you sure?”
We left the answers to Michelle, who I am sure came up with an answer that was every bit as satisfying as her five-star dinner.
She takes care of the kids while her husband remains in the family’s home in California.
I didn’t notice a red cape with a big blue S on it in the hall closet, but she is as close to Superwoman as anyone I’ve met over the past few years.
Her children are well behaved, incredibly talented and as lively as they come. If there were a personality Olympics, she would have three gold medal winners.
We will all know if Ivana’s dream will come true this weekend, but after spending an evening with the Hongs, I know she’s already struck gold – the type of gold that is far too precious to simply hang around your neck.