Once upon a time there were two little kids who fell in love in the second grade. They did all the usual things that little sweethearts do, like sending each other homemade Valentines, or passing each other notes in class: “I like you, do you like me? Check ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” printed on large ruled paper in laborious, newly-learned letters of the alphabet.

They ate lunch together, he chased her around the block, played hide and seek and watched their favorite cartoons.

He was always trying to impress her with his athletic abilities. Knowing she was watching he strove to hit the ball harder, run faster and climb higher than any of the other boys.

Most romances at this age last for about 15 minutes, but not this one.

In the fifth grade he made a remark that she never forgot. It was about wanting to be a dad someday and to be the one to take care of his children.

Their relationship lasted through elementary, middle school and on through their years at Cullman High School, where they graduated together.

The high school sweethearts also just happened to live next door to one another.

“Yes, I married the boy next door,” laughed Kristi Carter Guest.

After graduation, Shane went to the University of North Alabama in Florence on a tennis scholarship, while Kristi pursued a career in child psychology.

She and Shane Guest were married in 1995. “The only time we were ever really apart is when we went to college,” she said.

The couple has three children, Carter, 10, Faith, 8, and Shana, who is 6.

When their oldest, Carter, was 18 months old, Kristi asked Shane if he recalled saying that he wanted to be a dad and to raise his children himself.

He did remember saying that. The weekend that she brought up the subject, Shane’s beeper went off 17 times (he was a Cook’s Pest Control technician). “That pretty much made up my mind for me,” he laughed.

Together, they made a decision that has turned out to be one of the most beneficial, rewarding and momentous in the lives of the family — Shane would stay home with the children and Kristi would commute to UAB from Cullman each day.

Kristi is now an assistant professor at UAB, teaching developmental child psychology, with a master’s and a PhD.

Shane is a chauffeur, cook, coach, tutor, bandaid applier, and full-time dad to the three rambunctious children in his charge 24/7. And he’s lovin’ every minute of it.

He says that he is now a three-time world champion diaper changer.

For Shane, the rewards far outweigh the few drawbacks of his job, and it is a job, as anyone who has children can tell you.

“I get to spend time with my kids while they still want to spend time with me,” he said.

“I get to drop them off and pick them up each day, and every morning I remind them to ‘put their Jesus face on’ and to ‘act like Jesus wants you to act’,” he said.

The kids, now in the sixth, third and first grades, couldn’t be happier with the arrangement.

“This will be the first year that they’ve all been in school, so I might play some golf occasionally,” laughed Shane when asked how he would fill the hours in between dropoff and pickup times.

Admittedly, there won’t be a lot of time for golfing because he does most of the cooking, runs endless errands and coaches the kids in three different sports. He and Kristi share the cleaning duties.

“I chose being with my kids over a career, and I’ve never regretted it,” he said.

Somehow, he also finds the time to substitute teach at Cullman Primary and East Elementary, which he loves. “I did it for about two weeks last year and this year I pretty much did it full-time,” said Shane. “I love Adaptive P.E. with the special needs kids,” he says.

He is the dad who gets to go on field trips with his kids, patch up skinned knees and oversee homework assignments.

Along the way there have been some Mr. Mom moments, such as when he forgot one of the kids as he pulled out to take them to school, and when he spent three months with a crying baby who was breast fed and had figured out that he just couldn’t do that.

“Some days when I get home he says, ‘I just wish I could go to the bathroom by myself,’” laughed Kristi.

But all in all, the arrangement has worked out wonderfully. “I do have some moments when I wish I were the one staying home, like when they went through their first milestones, rolling over, taking their first steps and saying their first words, but the next best thing to my having been with them for those things is that Shane was….at least it wasn’t a sitter, it was one of us,” said Kristi.

“I have complete confidence in Shane, he is the best dad anyone could ever imagine, I never have to worry about them because I know he is in charge,” she said. “When I get there the homework is done, and since he is a great cook, dinner is usually ready, then after our family time, we finally get to sit down together and talk.”

“Shane isn’t just my husband, he has been my best friend forever…we share all the same memories,” she said softly.

Shane feels the same way.

“It’s made me realize just how important family is,” he said thoughtfully.

“Even though I’ve been with them all this time, I still want to be with them more,” he said. “We have a fun family.”

The Guests don’t believe in spanking, opting for time-out instead. “Spanking just creates bullies,” said Kristi.

So, in an interesting turn of events, Shane, who was watching a ballgame on television one day forgot his manners and yelled out something not so nice. Faith, who was four at the time, put him in time out for five minutes. “And I went, because I deserved it,” he laughed.

The Guests treasure each day with their children. They know what their days have been like because Shane is there with them, even at school many days, and he sees that they are learning the meaning of good sportsmanship, manners and that their faith is strong.

In a day and age when most children only see their father for a couple of hours in between dinnertime and bedtime, the Guests’ children have an advantage that others might envy.

Carter notices that other kids don’t have as much time with their dads as he does. “My dad teaches me so much, like how to throw and bat,” he said.

Shana loves his chicken dinners and says that he plays with them all the time.

Faith appreciates the fact that he can take her wherever she needs to go.

When Kristi gets home every day they are together at the ball park or in the backyard. “We all love being outside,” she said. “This has worked out really well for all of us.”

You might say that for the Guest kids, every day is Father’s Day.