Yeah, it's that good!

Emily and I are in the final stages of discerning where we are headed next. Watch for an update soon! In the mean time, find out how it all ends...

A Goodbye and the Wide Open Future

And in three years that seemed like an instant, it's all done. Sunday was my last day working at The Church of the Cross. And, it was a magnificent goodbye. Or it was a terrible goodbye. It's always hard to tell the difference when what we are parting from is so deeply loved.
It has been a hard decision, but at the same time it has been accompanied by the peace and joy of obedience to what God has truly lead us into. He has told us to leap, and that He wouldn't let us know where we will land until later. And so, here we are, floating for a bit. We know that His plans are great. Perfect. So we are seeking what's next. In the mean time, we are watching, working and waiting.
I have heard it said that most of our lives we need to work as if everything depends on us and pray like everything depends on God. So, that's where we are. I am presently sending out resumes. You can check them out here if desire. Here's the one for worship leading and the other as a graphic designer. Feel free to pass them out to all your friends (You can save them by right clicking and choosing "Save As...").
In the mean time, keep an eye on this blog for updates, news and things which have no reason to be shared but which strike my fancy.

Smelling the Roses

Every 12-18 months Pixar releases a new movie, we wait for each with great anticipation. (They are the only movie studio I would even dream about taking the family to without previewing the movie myself.) And their newest, Ratatouille, is every bit as fine a film as their previous six.

But, every attempt to stop all of our busyness and do something together seems to be assaulted. It's all well and good to spout sayings like "stop and smell the roses", but doing it actually involves some determination.

And as if to test that determination, we turned into the Theater lot and went through one of the many, nasty construction zones in Bluffton. The front left tire grazed something that pierced the sidewall. We could all hear it hissing, and it was only about 100 feet before we were on the rims. So what to do?

Well, we had come to see a movie and that's what we were going to do. The tire wasn't getting any flatter. So we left it, forgot all about it and plunged into the darkened theater for one of the greatest cinematic experiences ever.

Each child had his or her own seat, and Molly and Andrew snuggled together next to me for most of the picture. Wonderful for the kids, wonderful for the adults, we still don't have the confidence to take the dog.

And, after the flickering masterpiece was complete, Emily took the kids home in the other car (which, we happened to have with us) while I stayed to install the "donut" (which we also happened to have with us). And it was with great joy that I changed tire and drove home reflecting on how a flat had completely failed to ruin our evening. Even changing the tire itself felt like stopping and smelling the roses. And the movie...? Delicious!

Jonathan and Rachel's Wedding

Jonathan Fraser Sadd married Rachel Lynn Snyder on June 23rd... and it was AWESOME! We wept, danced, ate and danced some more. The boys in their tuxes were absolutely stunning, and Elaina looked so grown up in all white. Even Molly was happy partying until 10:30 at night. Andrew heard the words, "Come and dance with me because you are my prince," and danced with the princess for song after song! The newlyweds are now lying on a beach in Costa Rica, and we are back safely in the South. (gallery)

Dog Blog

What a great dog! Here are some shots of Molly playing on, around and with Beah. This is very typical of how our magnificent animal integrates into the family.

In related news. . . Beah had her first trip to Wal-Mart Monday and spent 2 hours with us in the store. The store folks would ask us at regular intervals which of us was the blind one, and I would explain the there were a lot more functions for service dogs than just for the blind. But, Beah continues to amaze us with both her abilities and willingness to be the dog that Noah needs.

Backyard Pool

As much fun as the community pool is, there is nothing like getting wet in the back yard. The kids have spent most of every day out back. Luckily the sun has been covered.

Vampire Children

Our children grow so fast, doesn't it seem like yesterday when they couldn't even see in the dark or fly? I remember what it was like when they got their first kill. And, even though it seems like they are up all night now, it will be no time at all before they start to avoid the sun. Before we know it they will be sleeping upside down, lurking in dark alleys and some day finding a castle of their own. How time flies. (sigh)

It's a Girl!

The whole family (minus Noah who was completing his last day in school) went to meet the baby this morning via sonogram. We saw a beautiful baby girl who, like Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way." Due date is still end of October and everything looks to be in good order. Her warrior princess mother still very sick and tired though; it's not without cost that the baby is healthy and growing.
Andrew is not sure what to do with the news as he had already christened her "Baby Jacob", which is not as suitable as some other names given her newly revealed gender. So he's back to square one, and we are all thinking of names. Here are some of our favorite suggestions...

Hortense - suggested for each of the children in turn regardless of gender by dear Uncle Jonathan

Susan Miley Sadd - suggested by Jay Slocum, who thought she might be a writer who goes by first initial and middle name: S. Miley Sadd (I'll give you a minute... )

Happy Sadd - apparently it's happened before more than once on our family tree

Hilda, Lois or Lael - after her wonderful grandmothers, although the names have... passed out of generational use due to... hmmmm

There have also been plenty of rhyming or alliterative names not to mention a real outpouring of creativity from the community determined to see our last name used as an adjective. Poor Emily having to finally escape Savage only to become Sadd. . . (sigh)

Time on the Water

Water Wind Sun
A little heat
A pile of meat
A child safe dock
A 10 foot drop
Friends

What more could you want for a picnic? Beauty seems to sneak up on us from the most obvious places. We know what a beautiful place the May River is, and yet it remains arresting and surprising how wonderful it really is even after years of visits.

Elaina leapt from the dock at low tide and plunged the 10+ feet to the water. Noah devoured potato chips and didn't jump off the dock. Andrew played with some new friends. Molly had her first shaved ice from a beautiful hand cranked machine which turned blocks of ice into the most delicate shavings. Emily and I just sat and were.

Beautiful.

Beah at 50 lbs!

Beah on November 15th, January 8th, February 20th and Today. Elaina only lasted about 5 seconds this time (and as my dad pointed out, a successful bull ride is 8 seconds) so any further growth will have to be measured using a crane instead of the poor girl's spine.

Molly's Cheek (day 10)

It's been a little over a week since Molly had surgery on her cheek and she's ready for the world. As you can see, she is healing very nicely. The healing is taking place so fast that we can notice a difference from the time she goes to be to the next morning. Her surgery was Wednesday (a week and a half ago), but keeping bandages together and stitches in proved impossible. 36 hours after surgery, the tape on her cheek was gone and we were re-taping her cheek multiple times a day. Friday evening, she managed to get a hold of one of the two tiny blue threads which were at each end of the incision and pulled. That left her with a long string on one end and nothing at the other. And the next morning the stitches were gone all together. A trip to the doc and he said everything was fine and not to worry. So, here she is. By the wedding, we should barely be able to notice it. Praise the Lord! (oh yeah, here's a before pic just for comparison.)

Molly's Surgery

Wednesday morning, Molly under went surgery for the hemangioma on her right cheek. Everything went very well and an hour and a half later she was watching something called Teletubbies and eating ice chips. It's been a real challenge keeping a bandage on her cheek for the last few days (where it needs to stay for a week). But, she seems not to notice any pain or change other than some tape she likes to pick at. I have included a pic I took last week of her having a "little bit" of watermelon. Pics of the cheek will be up next week when the bandage comes off.

Broken Wrist #2

After sitting quietly on the very edge of the trampoline for almost half an hour, Noah suddenly disappeared over the edge. With the cry he made it was obvious that something awful had happened, but I couldn't see what. He was holding his wrist and lying on hist stomach. Not disfigured, no swelling, just pain. A call to the doc and a shot of Tylenol with Codine later and he slept through the night with an X-Ray appointment in the morning.

A small fracture of the Ulna was detected and so Noah has a formed splint held on his wrist by an ace bandage with tape to discourage him from removing it. That's his second break on the same arm, and while no pins or other nasty things were needed this time, it's still hard to watch him go through the experience again. But, with no pain even the night after being splinted, he doesn't seem to upset. And this "cast" comes off for bathing and the occasional scratch!

Two to three weeks and everything should be back to normal.

Molly's Birthday Party

A few shots from the penultimate Sadd's birthday party!

From Molly's 2nd B...

Happy Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Molly! And happy birthday to her great grandmother, Hilda "Granny" Wood, who was gracious enough to share her 80th birthday with the wee lass (and has continued to share each birthday since). Granny is shown here with her husband to be. They have now been married over 60 years!

Front Page News

This morning's issue of Bluffton Today featured Noah and Beah on the front page and the centerfold article of today's paper. We started assistance dog training on Monday and the paper was there to cover it. Click the pic for more!

Preparations for a Wedding

Even 600 miles away, the preparations for the Uncle Jonathan and (soon to be Aunt) Rachel's wedding. This is the result of a day of wonderful shopping with mom. Now, we just wait for Rachel's thumbs up...

Time for a Bath!

It's been a LONG time since the last update. So, to get things rolling again, I won't tell you about the mashed potatoes. But, I will list the top 6 things removed from children's hair over the past 10 years...

Runner up: Half a packet of Cream Cheese (Molly rubbed it into Beah's Back.)
6. Mashed Potatoes (with butter. last week. pictured here.)
5. Chunky, Natural Peanut Butter (Andrew decided to eat peanut butter out of the jar our first day in the apartment in Ocean City, NJ. But every time he dipped his hand and licked it, he then shook off the remaining peanut butter until the he and the kitchen looked like something from 101 Dalmatians.)
4. Gum (Elaina, small portion of hair cut off)
3. Mrs. Butterworth's Maple Syrup (Noah was drinking it on the kitchen floor and had poured it everywhere. I wish we had had a dog at this point.)
2. Experimental Friends (A friend of Elaina's cut her hair for her the day before kindergarten started.)
Drumroll...
1. A Comb (I know combs are supposed to help hair, but Elaina wrapped her hair around one like a curler and there was no way to remove it without 20 minutes cutting up the comb. Very little hair was actually lost due to the surgeon's skill.)

A recipe for "Filthy Dog"

Filthy Dog is a recipe which dates back as far as mankind has made anything at all and may have actually predated history itself. But, with modern advances the recipe has evolved into this delicious dish.

Prep Time: aprox 90 minutes

Ingredients:
2 dogs (any breed will do)
1 small room
1 frisbee
1 huge, muddy field

Directions:
1. Take dogs and combine in small room. Keep dogs seperated and in a prolonged down while humans in room talk about things very boring to dogs.

2. Get frisbee.

3. Take dogs to back field after 24 hours of rain and throw it toward the woods. repeat as needed.

Beah at 37 lbs!

Beah on November 15th, January 8th, and Today