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!

Prayer

In the van on Sunday morning, we could hear Joie saying something. We realized she was praying! She prayed:

"God, Jesus, Hug me, Amen!"

This reminded us of when Livvi was about Joie's age and, again in the car, we heard her praying:

"God, Ampaw, boo boo, Amen!"

Ampaw (my dad) had burned his leg on the lawn mower and Livvi wanted God to make Ampaw feel better.

It really warms your heart to hear your kids praying!

Belt Promotion

Livvi was invited to test for her next belt promotion in Tae Kwon Do. Unlike when she was in Little Dragons where they earned belts based on attendance, she now must be invited to test for the next belt. Once her instructors feel she is ready to test, she gets an invite. Livvi received her invitation after class on Tuesday, October 13. Her test was last Friday evening (October 16) at CMAC. Her test involved forms, board breaking, and sparring. She did a fantastic job and earned her gold belt with orange stripe (halfway to her orange belt). We are so proud of her! Here is a 6 minute video of the belt test.

I Love You, But...

Tonight we were having dinner at Wendy's. Towards the end of the meal, Joie laid down on the padded bench with her head towards Livvi. She said "I love you, Sissy" in a quiet, sweet voice. Heather, Livvi, and I went "Awww!" Livvi leaned over to hug her sister when Joie said "Don't touch me!"

How sweet!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

Dear Olivia,

When we first found out mommy was pregnant with you, I, like most fathers, wanted a son. We found out later our baby was going to be a girl. I wasn't upset at all, but thought it would have been nice to have a boy. It was 8 years ago today you blessed our lives by entering our family. I fell in love with you the minute I saw you! There is no way in the world I would trade you for anyone else, especially a boy. I am so happy you were given to us by God! In fact, you were so special to me, I was afraid of having another baby because I didn't think I could love another kid as much as I loved you. But, if we were going to have another kid, I wanted another one like you. That's right...I wanted another daughter! God blessed us again with your sister!

You are one special kid growing into a special young lady. You are incredibly fun, funny, loving, compassionate, loyal, kind, strong-willed, opinionated, competitive, smart, beautiful, crazy, etc. I am so proud of you in all that you do. I am so proud to call you my daughter and so thrilled you call me daddy!

I pray God protect you all your life, that you have a long life, that you come to know Jesus in a personal way early in life, that you continue to be a blessing to all that come in contact with you, and that I can know you for many, many years to come. I love you, my daughter, my first-born! Please always know I will love you always, no matter what. Happy Birthday!!

Daddy

Ice Ice Baby

Our kids (like all kids) love it when the ice cream truck comes through the neighborhood. However, we've always been a little leery as many of them look a little creepy! Last year, a new truck (and I mean new!) started coming once a week. The Kona Ice truck comes every Monday evening (weather permitting) and the kids really look forward to it! They both get small snow cones and add nearly every syrup flavor. However, I didn't know they looked forward to it this much!

The Final Frontier

A few years ago, Heather got me a telescope for Christmas (or was it birthday?). I've seen a lot of neat stuff since getting it, though I must admit I don't use it near enough. I am fascinated by space and love nearly all the Star Trek shows and the like. Heather is the same way. The neatest experience with the telescope was probably me finding Saturn. That was so cool to be able to see the rings! Now keep in mind, these aren't fancy images like you see from the Hubble Telescope, but it was pretty cool. Looked a little something like this.

On Saturday night, I got the scope out again to check out a bright "star" in the sky. Turns out, it was Jupiter with 4 of its moons in plain sight! It looked a lot like this (though I could see two distinct horizontal lines on the planet, like this, though I'll admit it wasn't quite that clear). Heather checked it out with me and was equally impressed that all four moons line up in a straight line.

Livvi is showing definite similar signs of nerd-dom that her mother and I share. She loves to check out the stars, too. On Sunday night, we checked out Jupiter and the moon. The detail in the moon was incredible (even better than this). With the moon being nearly full and so bright, we about blinded ourselves! Joie took one look in the scope at Jupiter and had had enough. She started complaining about being scared of the dark. Perhaps a couple more years and we'll try it again.

Here is a picture I took tonight of the moon and Jupiter (without the telescope):


Hey, NASA! When you are done with Hubble, can you set it up in my backyard? Thanks!