Halloween

A week after our return home from Florida was Halloween. Livvi had a party at her martial arts club on Friday the 29th, where she tried her costume out for the first time. She went dressed in a painter's smock, cowboy hat, and a star badge, armed with paint brushes in her holster.  That's right, she went as a martial (marshall) artist.  Get it?  My parents came and watched Joie at Liv's party while Heather and I went to dinner with some friends from high school.

Liv wore the same costume on Halloween while Jo dressed as a little princess. My parents and Heather's mom came over and hung out with us as well. Heather and her mom took the girls through the neighborhood while my parents and I handed out candy. We also had pizza (for us), hot cider, and had the fire pit going as it was a little chilly!

When the girls came back, they assumed the candy distribution role. Livvi even poured her newly acquired candy into the candy bowl to hand out to the other kids.  I got the telescope out to check out some stuff in the sky (Jupiter, the Moon, etc.).  I was hoping to show everyone Pleiades, but it didn't appear until after everyone left.  Besides, my mom calling me a nerd really hurt my feelings. :-)  She just calls them as she sees them!  :-)  It was good hanging with everyone that night!

Evacuation

Yesterday was an interesting day.  I got home from work to change, then left to meet up with Heather and the girls at Livvi's Tae Kwon Do practice. From there, we went to Heather's mom's so I could install their wireless network so she could use her new laptop. From there, I left to go to my workout, while Heather and the girls stayed behind for a little longer visit.  After my workout, I texted Heather about 8:15 p.m. to see if she was home, yet.  She called me back to say she can't get down our street as there are emergency vehicles everywhere (Cleves Fire, Miami Township Fire & EMS, Addyston Police, Cincinnati Haz Mat, Forest Park Fire, Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services, etc.  Long story short, the house immediately across from our house had some type of chemical spill or other hazardous issue going on.  All the homes immediately next to or across from this house were evacuated.  We were not allowed down to our house, even to just get some clothes, supplies, etc.  They weren't sure what would happen and it would be safer to stay clear from the area.  I asked how long it would be and they couldn't tell me, but had already been at it for 2 hours.  We got back in our cars and headed for my parents house to hang out and possibly sleep, if need be.  I called the Cleves Fire Department at 10:30 p.m. and got the "All Clear" to go home.  We dragged Joie out of bed and all headed home.  Needless to say, we're exhausted today!  We still don't know what spilled or how.

Things You Never Thought You'd Do As A Parent

The following was posted by Heather on Facebook yesterday:

"How many people, other than parents, have had to apply a Hello Kitty bandaid to a pool noodle because its eye was hurting?"

Thanksgiving Tradition

Back in the early 1960's, when my parents were in college at the University of Cincinnati, my dad couldn't get home for Thanksgiving. Between football, wrestling, and being far away from home, it was nearly impossible to get back to family for the holidays. He recalls a Thanksgiving where he and his roommate had White Castle hamburgers for dinner. Heather and I started somewhat of a tradition years ago in trying to have White Castle every Thanksgiving. I don't think it was intentional at first because it was pretty much the only thing open. We've been doing it nearly every year for most of our 10 years together. Today, we kinda kept the tradition alive. We had White Castle, but not hamburgers. We had bacon, egg, and (sorry, Dad) cheese sandwiches. I think these are yummier than the hamburgers, though Heather is not as quick to agree! Happy Thanksgiving!

October Was a Busy Month

On October 3, Heather and I had dinner with four other couples who are fellow alum from Oak Hills High School class of 1984. None of us wanted to go to our 25th high school reunion later that month for many of the same reasons. It was good seeing old friends again. More than half of this party of ten were Christians, so it was a fun evening with good food and my money wasn't used to inebriate other classmates!

Three days later (10/6), the girls had their 6-month visit to the dentist. All went well. It was Joie's first visit. And everyone survived!

Two days after that (10/8) was picture day at their homeschool co-op. The pictures were supposed to be one of Livvi by herself, one of Joie by herself, and one of Livvi and Joie together. Let's just say the only one that took place as planned was of Livvi by herself.

Two days after that (10/10), we went to Iron's Fruit Farm in Lebanon, Ohio. We got to do a hay ride, pick apples off trees, pick our own pumpkins, etc. We had a really good time! It was muddy in spots, but the weather was fantastic! Grandma Embry, Aunt Jessica, and cousin GiGi were able to tag along as well.

The next day (10/11), was Heather's surprise birthday party. I had been planning to do this for a few months, but the last 2-3 weeks got a little hectic. I actually had to lie to Heather the day of (I have since asked for forgiveness). She was surprised and I think had a good time. Her dad was even able to come up from Florida to surprise her as well!

Five days after that (10/16), Livvi took part in her first belt promotion exam. I already posted about this.

Two days after that (10/18), we went to the Renaissance Festival. We weren't there for long but we enjoyed it. We will probably go back again some day. Certainly some interesting people there, that's for sure!

Finally, the next week (10/25-28) we went to French Lick, IN for some R&R. We visited Heather's cousin and his family in New Salisbury, IN on the way there on Sunday. On Monday, we didn't do too much, but we did bowl that night. Our scores:

Livvi - 96

Joie - 105 (had a little help...game still under protest)

Heather - 141

Ammaw - 100

Ampaw - 141

Me - 103

On Tuesday, we went to Amish Country. It rained nearly the entire time. On Wednesday, on our way back home, we stopped at the Marengo Cave and took one of the tours. Very cool!

On Friday (10/30), Livvi attended the CMAC Halloween party, where she got first prize for the most original costume. She was Dr. Si Copath, a mad scientist.

Oh, and the 31st was Halloween!

Pictures for the month are here. WHEW!

He's In

Friday night, my dad was inducted into the Oak Hills High School Hall of Fame. I am so proud of him! My brother and two nephews were able to make it down for the event. It was great to see them! It was also so good to see folks from church, some guys who used to wrestle for dad, and even a former MatScot (OHHS wrestling "cheerleader" responsible for cheering, score keeping, stats, etc.). There were at least 20 people that came on Dad's behalf to share in this moment. As he was being congratulated by his former wrestlers, my dad, in his incredible humbleness, said this award was because of them. If they hadn't won, he wouldn't be getting all this attention. While that is somewhat true, if they didn't have a great coach that knew how to coach and motivate them to be the best, they probably wouldn't have had the success they (and he) had. Congratulations, Dad! We love you!

Frank Shaut, Sr. - OHHS Hall of Fame

My dad has received many awards and much (deserved) recognition over the years. He will get to add another accolade to the list when he will be inducted into the Oak Hills High School Hall of Fame on Friday, January 30 around 7:00 p.m. While my brother and I agree this is WAY overdue, our whole family is so happy and proud of him. Here is the official press release from OHHS. In addition to being an outstanding wrestling coach at Oak Hills, he actually helped coach the University of Cincinnati team while he was on it, as the head coach, Glenn Sample, was pretty new to the sport. A collegue of mine found this UC Paper from March 22, 1962 online. See page 10 - viewer discretion is advised :-)! He is also in the UC Hall of Fame.

While he is appreciative of the recognition, he is very embarrassed by it and would probably prefer to not be recognized for the most part. Nevertheless, I love it and wish he'd get more. In fact, while he has had many sports-related accomplishments, I would love for him to get recognized for the stuff he's done since he stopped coaching in 1974. I'm not even talking about his time as a great assistant principal and principal, but rather his seemingly tireless love and service to his Lord. He helped start a church in 1978 (New Covenant Christian, later changed name to Oak Hills Christian) with a team of people who, over time, left the church for whatever reason. There were times (years) when he was the only elder in the church and was soooo involved over the years. People kept giving up while both of my parents stuck it out and did whatever they could. There were times of great rejoicing as well as times of many tears and wonders of what God had planned for them and this small church (down to about 40 people at one point). After years of praying that God would send people to our church, we got up to about 100-150 or so and in 2004, we merged with another church of similar size (maybe a tad bigger) and changed our name to iMPACT. Combined we were about 250-300 each Sunday. We now have three services (one of which is on Saturday evening) and are getting consistently over 400 people each week (Note, they attend all three services each week, if possible). He's still praying for more (unsaved) people and now we have the good "problem" of trying to figure out where to put them! :-) Praise the Lord!

I hope I wasn't rambling. I didn't intend to go into all that (and there is PLENTY MORE), but it just seemed a natural progression from what I set out to do initially.

Dad, forgive me for posting this as I know on some level you don't like it, but you and Mom deserve so much recognition for stuff outside of sports. I hope you know MANY people love and appreciate you two for your love of Jesus and His church here at iMPACT. I happen to be one of them!

Happy Anniversary...

...to my parents, Frank & Betty Shaut, who, as of today, have been married 44 years! They are two very special people who have touched so many lives, especially those in their family. Thanks Mom & Dad (Ammaw & Ampaw) for being such wonderful parents, grandparents, and friends! We love you very much!