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This morning, eight members of the Sheets family joined together over large stacks of Maria’s pancakes for a farewell after a very enjoyable weekend! My grandparents – Jim and Aletha left soon after breakfast. My sister, Sherilyn, headed back to Chicago-land about an hour later, and my folks head back to Pennsylvania soon after sun-up tomorrow morning!
It has been an extreme privilege to have our families (and yes, Kory, you ARE family) spending the weekend here in Warsaw. We are in awe each time we pause to think about where both of us have come from heritage-wise and are grateful for the love that continues to flow from our relatives and fill this household. I need to mention, too, that Jess’ grandparents and parents drove over from Bluffton to take part in Ella’s dedication on Sunday. It was also a great privilege for Mom and Dad Garrett to spend lunch and part of the afternoon with us, too! My “brother” Kory also came up from Indianapolis on Sunday to join in the festivities.
The dedication on Sunday was such a special event. Pastor J really put us all at ease and made the event a special memory for all of us involved!
Ella did SO GREAT all weekend – she showed off, she screamed her head off, she spit up, she slept, she ate, she was held by more people in one weekend than she’s probably ever been held by! It was quite the weekend for us all. Things return to their normal, yet still fast-paced way tomorrow.
Mom graciously allowed me to download pictures taken with her camera from the dedication. The photoset from the day can be found here. Pictures from today can be found here.
Also – file this one under “blubbering parents”. It’s a clip from the duet Jess and I sang on Sunday following Ella’s dedication ceremony. Thanks to my sister, Sherilyn, for capturing this priceless memory:
Tonight, around 600 students gathered at the Warsaw Community Church from around our county to celebrate the Lord together in a United Worship effort. It was an incredible time that will not soon be forgotten. Full photoset is up on my Flickr. We took 36 from theBOX tonight to join in the celebration!
Before tonight’s event, another special event took place in our own church. Today was Ella’s dedication. It was a special event that was captured by numerous cameras. Sadly, my camera wasn’t one of those. Someone (namely me) forgot to bring the battery for the camera to his own daughter’s dedication. Great job Stevan.
So – until we get the downloads from Mom and Sher’s cameras, we are without documentation of the dedication that took place this morning. Rumor has it, too, that Sher was also taking video of two certain parents of this darling, Ella, as they blubbered their way through the singing of “Masterpiece” after the dedication. We’ll see if it’s youtube-worthy!
I also got some good clips of tonight’s SYAFTERTP event that will soon be making their way to the YouTube video pages – so be on the lookout for those, too!
We’re here in Chicago! I mean – Naperville!
We’re in a house that is definitely the biggest I’ve ever stayed in. Jess and I were given the “master bedroom” of this very giving family, The Swansons.
We met Paul & Susan yesterday when we arrived, as well as two of their three daughters. It is obvious that my sister, their live-in nanny, is VERY loved by this family – and the love she has for their family is absolutely genuine as well.
The family has done everything in their power to ensure that we make ourselves at home here – and boy am I relaxed. The Swansons left yesterday soon after we arrived to go on a vacation of their own to Atlanta – so this Sheets family has truly taken over! My Mom and Dad arrived around 9PM last night and we enjoyed a Sherilyn-made dinner and some “family time” watching Surivor that we taped to enjoy when they arrived.
Yesterday evening, before Mom and Dad arrived, Sherilyn took us to a local pizza-joint where we enjoyed the best Chicago-style deep-dish pizza I’ve ever had. This afternoon our plans include exploring Naperville and all its historic-glory. We’ll head to the River Walk and enjoy window-shopping and coffee-sipping.
We head back to Warsaw as a 2-vehicle caravan tomorrow morning.
