2016 FAMILY PICTURES

I have a good friend who helped us accomplish Hawke's one year photos & family pictures last summer. I couldn't thank her enough for doing this. I remember as a child a Disney show with Minnie singing 

"Taking pictures is making memories
Catching  little pieces of times 
Making them yours, making them mine. 
Great vacations and celebrations 
Can fade away in a year. 
But when we're making memories, 
Happy days are always here." 

(Full lyrics found here )

Photographs mean so much to my heart. I don't believe you can have too many photos. They capture a sacred moment in time. They hold emotion and memories that will never fade. They are a pause in the hustle and bustle of life. They are a way for you to connect with others and for others to connect with you.

 

 These two boys have my whole, whole heart. They are my world and I love their father-son relationship. I want to bottle up their giggles together.

With having unpredictable health, we do our best to ensure I stay healthy and stable, but heaven forbid anything should happen; my hearts desires are for Ric and Hawke to have an abundance of photos to forever view and be reminded of the beautiful, eternal, little family we have.

Thank you Alanna for sharing your talents with our family.

ON THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN

One of my favorite grabs to read with H. I think the message shared in this book is more than beautiful, it is vital. Teaching children growing up in this harsh world; that they are special, one of a kind and brave. Will hopefully teach them to be strong enough not to fall into the traps of conformity or other false pretenses society tries to normalize. That they may feel of God's love and have a desire to do his will. This is my goal, anyway. As I have read this to him, these words have brought a warm feeling to my adult soul as well. You'll want a copy in your home & one to give with every baby gift you deliver.

On The Night You Were Born

by: Nancy Tillman

On the night you were born,

the moon smiled with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered,

"Life will never be the same."

Because there had never been anyone like you...

ever in the world.

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain

that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.

It sailed through the farmland

high on the breeze...

Over the ocean...

And through the trees...

Until everyone heard it

and everyone knew

of the one and only ever you.

Not once had there been such eyes,

such a nose,

such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

When the polar bears heard,

they danced until dawn.

From faraway places,

the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up until

morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are

and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,

listen for geese honking high in the sky.

(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.

(It's because they've been dancing all night for you!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.

(Listen closely...it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,

or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,

or a little bird sits at your window awhile,

it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in the story or rhyme

(not even once upon a time)

has the world ever known a you, my friend,

and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet

and played every horn

on the wonderful, marvelous

night you were born.

Hawke Kai

photo by: Alanna Story

OUR JAPANESE TRADITIONS

Family heritage is so rich and important to me. I want our children to learn about their ancestors and increase their love for them. Be inspired by their stories of courage and faith. We want to pass that legacy on to our children.

 Our little #ShermStyle fam does this by reminiscing and recalling stories of our ancestry, participating in activities and eating food that link us to the countries we originate from (Sweden, England (Wells), Japan.) We also have many traditions and celebrations unique to our family of three, some that originated from my childhood, and some even before then that my mother and father carried over.

Ric's mother is Japanese and around the holidays they enjoy a traditional Japanese meal. We decided to adopt this yummy celebration as our Christmas Eve dinner, so we can always remember and embrace this important side of heritage too. 

Brooke Scheurn caught my vision and helped capture these memories for us. I can't wait to see how this grows and hope to see many more little faces and feet at our table throughout the years.

I need to give a shoutout to our friends who let us borrow their authentic yukata kimono and gi directly from Japan. Her husband served an LDS mission there and brought these home for himself and future wife (how thoughtful, huh?) Hawke's outfit is his personal authentic kimono he received as a gift, from Japan as well. Thanks for humoring my ideas and helping make this happen, we love you!