Papa Dan Lovin'

Here is a pic of my dad's lap full of all 3 of his grandkids last night. (G's head is in the bottom, left corner.)

 

(and a cute pic of Kaden, Naomi, and Gideon together)

My Girl

"My Girl"... (this is how we refer to each other)
I cannot imagine life without this LOUD!, charming, adorable, strong-willed child of mine.

She LOVES with all of her being. She is fiercely attached to her "danetet" (blanket)... even more fiercely attached to her brother, "Did-de-on".

Her sense of humor is intelligent and silly.

And I could've never dreamed I would ever love a little girl as much as I love mine!

This kid kills me!

He talks CONSTANTLY. His imagination runs away from both of us. He HAS to have the last word.

But what kills me every... EVERY... time is:
He calls JR "Buddy" or "My Buddy" 90% of the time whether JR is present or not.

Absolutely kills me.

I love him SO much!

Chair Re-do

I've been looking at the same dark chairs (which are exactly the ones we wanted when we registered for them for our wedding) for 5 years. They are great and functional. We lend them out to friends when they are expecting company. Folding chairs have a lot of pluses.

However, I'm noticing a trend in my decorating that is taking me away from dark furniture to light.

I had a can of cream spray paint and scrap fabric...

So yesterday I transformed one of our 6 chairs into this:

This cute little chair has been pushed up to my desk area and I'm currently sitting in it.

If I had more spray paint, and a place to use it, I'd be tempted to re-do all my chairs. (and have different fabric for each one!)

JR's 31st Birthday in Photos

Since JR and I had a HUGSR event to attend in the evening, Saturday morning we celebrated JR's birthday. The kids were SO excited!

We started with a breakfast where JR picked every item on the menu. Then we did gifts.

About 2 months ago Gideon exclaimed in the car that he KNEW what Daddy would love for his birthday. So for 2 whole months, Gideon has been planning on getting JR a "War Machine" face mask for their wrestle time.

Naomi was just as sure about what she wanted to get her daddy: 3 different bags of sour, gummy candies.



Since everyone is suffering from the new allergens in the air, we took it easy until cupcake time. (which took the place of lunch)

I figured out how to make Sour Patch Kid Cupcakes. Yum!

Happy Birthday to the best father I could imagine for our children and the man of my dreams! Mwah!

Happy 31st Birthday, JR!

(I'll post pics of his day after we take them.)  :)

5th Wedding Anniversary

JR's Vows to Daisha:

Daisha Lynne, only the Lord is above you in my heart, mind and soul. I vow to forsake all others, and sacrifice even myself for you.

As surely as the Lord lives, I vow to honor you-- to give you an undying faithfulness, to take care of you in the worst times, and laugh, smile, and cheer with you in the best.

I vow to you a righteous home, filled with all the love I am capable to give-- giving glory to God for all we go through. You have my undying support for all that you do-- and guidance to help along the way.

I will be a nest for your heart-- a helpful guide for your mind-- and a partner with your soul.

Together, we shall become more holy and pleasing to the Lord.

I love you; and I vow to you my commitment, companionship, and my Spirit's sword and chariot for times of battle.

Daisha's Vows to JR:

I prayed to to the Lord, and the Lord granted my request: He is giving me my husband... my best friend through this life...

Keith Edwin Sheets, Jr., God has lead our journeys thus far. Today He joins our paths and unites us as one.

This moment, and every moment after, I pledge to you my unending love and respect. A love that is a decision of will and a willingness of spirit... and a respect that is seated in who you are as a follower of Christ.

I vow to forsake all others and be wholly united to you... Depending on you as my confessor, my comforter, and my hero, because you never cease to point me to the True Source.

I vow to communicate with you in all honesty and Christ-likeness, growing to understand you better and to further develop an atmosphere of total trust.

I vow to make our home a place of peace, laughter, and comfort for you and our children. A place where you always find what you are looking for: a comforting embrace, a warm smile, and the knowledge that you are loved unconditionally.

I vow to support and encourage you as the head of our family. As your "help meet," I will pray for you and do whatever I can to help us follow the Lord's leading.

No matter the trials we face, I will be by your side: your fellow warrior in this life. And together we will weather the tempest meant to tear us apart. With God's strength we will become more holy, more united, and more His.

May my faithfulness reflect the faithfulness of our God.

And may the Lord, Himself, deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates us.

A Sneak Peek from our Weekend

Here's a link to a photo of them kissing from last year.

**UPDATE**
Debby reminded me of a photo of JR kissing some girl on the beach when he was Hudson's age (3). So... here it is:

Apparently the Sheets "lean" in for the kissing. ;)

My Reader

This ends our second week of school. We've been relaxed, we've gone with the flow, and we are setting good routines.

It warmed my heart the other evening over dinner when Naomi, unprompted, announced to JR: "I read my Bible, Daddy! On the taoch wif Momma!" That was the most exciting part of her day! ...warmed my heart...

The other area that is going really well with our schooling is Gideon's reading. We borrowed the Bob Books from some friends and are working our way through them. But since Gideon memorizes things so fast, I wanted to make sure he was reading and not just memorizing the words.

So, I made flash cards of the words. (JR uses flashcards for Greek so Gideon feels "like Daddy" when I quiz him.) When G gets a word right, I hurl the card at him. He thinks this is hilarious, and... quite honestly, I like the catharsis. :) Sometimes I have him arrange his flash cards into sentences.

We also have at least one day were we go to our glass door and WRITE ON THE DOOR! I found crayons that are designed for glass. G LOVES them. I get to rearrange the words he knows into new sentences so he can't memorize the story. We make them as funny as we can.

Once he is consistently getting the flash cards, we move to the book. And we try to give him many opportunities to show off his reading skills.

He's doing a great job. Each lesson lasts 10-15 min. (15 min. is pushing it.) He's doing great with book 1 and 2. Next week... book 3.

(All these photos were taken today.)