Merry Christmas!

Pwn3d!

Who me? The center of attention? Oh, my!
(and what's with that title?)

Baby Bath

Just some shots from a bath...

Noah's Birthday Day

Wind: 35-52 mph. Sunny. 68 degrees. That could only mean one thing: it's time for a 2 mile walk on the beach! The surf was rough, the younger siblings were scared. But, the stroller came equipped with a rain shield to block the wind, and Noah and Elaina were up for the trudge.
So we headed north and fought the sand and wind for over an hour as we slowly made our way to the point. Noah coming along behind the stroller with his head down and his eyes closed when the sand was blowing too hard to see. Elaina taking pictures and taking shelter as required. Andrew and Molly taking turns being overwhelmed by the whole affair in their windless carriage.
Of course, Noah's trusty dog, Beah, was present for the whole trip and ran happily from person to person to piece of flying debris to birds. After the trudge and a rest at the point, enjoying the wind with no blowing sand, it was time to turn around and head home. On the way home with the gale behind us the stroller inflated and took off on it's own. A wrist strap for stopping the run-a-way buggy proved most helpful as releasing the handle resulted in the cart speeding away at increasing velocity.
At one point Noah was holding the wrist strap with Elaina and Molly in the stroller when he decided to just let the cart do what it wanted, which at that moment was to head pretty much straight into the ocean. The wheels were wet but not submerged when I grabbed it with the two hysterical kids howling on the inside. Noah was delighted with the stroller's close call as his feet were already quite wet from several similar trips into the surf on his own.

At home, after baths had warmed the troops, it was time for dinner and presents. Noah's favorites were a tethered remote helicopter that he controlled from a pair of levers controlling throttle and angle and one of the things in the picture that I have no idea how to describe with words. Dinner was hamburgers and waffles at his request and was followed by chocolate chip chocolate cake (gluten and casein free of course).

It was a wonderful day and Noah proved with every step that he was nine years old and faced every challenge of the day with a new resolution which was nothing short of joyous to watch. Someday my little lad will be a man and on this birthday the glint of that future was clearly visible in him. Happy Birthday, Noah. My Beloved Son.

Happy Birthday NOAH!

This morning at 9:15 Noah turned 9 years old. He was greeted in song while still in bed and whisked to the kitchen where a breakfast of waffles and grits awaited him. Now, with the wind gusting from 35 to 52 miles an hour, we are headed out to the beach for a walk and an adventure. . .
And, no, this shot isn't from this morning. It's too cold to be in shorts, soaking wet. That was so last month. This shot was taken the same day.

Racoons on the Front Porch

raccoons on front porch
porch 10 feet high, pet food gone
dog comes: guests dive off

Dolphins in the Front Yard

We have been doing a lot of dolphin watching in the evenings and they are everywhere! We have seen upwards of 30 at a time; many of them splashing around and jumping out of the water.
They are Andrew's favorite animal and he has been literally beside himself with joy watching them in the water.
The dolphins have been using a feeding/mating ritual which involves swimming quietly along the beach about 50 feet out then suddenly turning towards the sand and tearing in towards the beach turning at the last minute with a tremendous splash and often soaking the sand on the shore in the process. After fish or females, we don't know, but it's an awesome sight. Here are some more shots from the last two nights on the beach.

Things heard around here

Here are a few fun one liners that have caught my attention recently.

Molly, sitting naked in the bath tub surrounded by ducks and frogs:
"Dad, can I have some water? I'd like warm water this time!"
As if we regularly bathed her in cold water unless she begged. lol.

Andrew after Thanksgiving dinner:
"I eat food. I drink water. My stomach is BIG!"

Elaina every night about 15 minutes after she has gone to bed:
"Um, guys? Um, I have a question..."

And baby Margaret she just laid there an' she don't say nothin'.

The Promise

Emily and I were just listening to the newest Sara Groves album (if you don't know her, she is simply the best artist out there and has ministered to us for years in amazing ways.)

And recently we have both been under attack in our own hearts and from the outside to give up on the promise of healing for Noah and Andrew. We have heard God speak about their future, seen prophesy come to pass exactly as it was said, dreamed, worked and believed that God was doing an amazing thing with them both today and ultimately. But, it's also been very hard to hold on. Getting them into school has been very difficult and costly. Noah has stopped sleeping through the night again and all of the changes of moving show again how different they really are from what the world calls "right."

Anyway, we were listening to the second track, "In the girl there's a room" when we got to this line and our hearts were shored up, yet again, to the hope of healing. Reminded that the best definition of hope isn't being able to see into the future it is, to quote Kendal Harmon, "Hope is an unshakable confidance in the character of God."

We have all heard God say, "Noah has already been healed." And, though we haven't seen it, we know that it has already been accomplished in the mind of God and so is as solidly reliable as if it were in the past.

Back to the song:

In The Girl There's A Room

by Sara Groves

in the girl there's a room
in the room there's a table
on the table there's a candle
and it won't burn out

in the woman there’s a song
in the song there is hope
in the hope revolution

in the boy there's a voice
in the voice there's a calling
in the call there's a promise
and it won't quiet down

in the man there's vision
in the vision is a road
it's the road to his freedom...

oh, tell me what you know
about god and the world and the human soul
how so much can go wrong
and still there are songs

in the man there’s a plan
in the plan is his future
and the future’s for his child and he won’t slow down

in the girl there is faith
and the faith there’s a prayer
in the prayer there’s a promise

in the boy is a dream
in the dream he is standing
and he stands without falling
and he won't back down

in the woman is a picture
in the picture is a girl
in the girl there's a room...

chorus

in our hearts and souls
an unstoppable refrain
hope stands in defiance

in the girl there’s a room
in the room there’s a table
on the table there’s a candle and it won’t burn out
it won’t burn out...

Settling Down

There's settling in which is where you put your stuff away and figure out who to call to get a phone line. And then there's settling down which is where you start to get comfortable with the basics and start exploring what life is really like now.

In the words of Douglas Adams:
It said: "The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases." For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?

We have answered how quite to our satisfaction, kind of skipped why and are greatly enjoying "where shall we have lunch?"

Mom and baby are both doing very well. Margaret is growing more slowly than the other kidz did at this age, but that's nothing to worry about. In fact, it's nice to have a small baby for a little while. Don't get me wrong, there's something great about a nice 12-lb infant, but the small size is a great change. At least for the moment.

And, while we aren't yet attending church all together, we got to gather in the Chapel of the Palms (a 125 foot walk) and spend some time worshiping as a family on Sunday. It was wonderful.

Elaina is attending Jame Island Christian School and is going very well, especially since she was out of school for most of the first quarter and is playing a bit of catch up.

Noah and Andrew are making some progress as we work with the Charleston School systems to get them into the right placement. After six weeks of absolutely no progrss at all, we finally are getting some cooperation and are hopeful that they will start to transition into the classroom soon and well.

Well, that's it for this schizophrenic news report. Now it's off to help Elaina with a report on Honduras.

All Five Kids

A new baby Haiku

elaina, so tired
sleeping doing her homework
i wish i wasn't driving

Complications...

The Conclusion:
We are home safely after another 36 hours back in the hospital, and Emily is going to be fine.

The Story:
Emily woke on Tuesday night with a great difficulty breathing. She was already very swollen from her hips to her feet. (Very swollen means she weighted the same on Tuesday evening that she did before the baby was born). The doctor wasn't too concerned about the swelling, but told her to keep an eye on her breathing and watch for headaches and nausea.

Wednesday morning came the nausea and terrible headaches and we rushed to the emergency room under the doctor's orders. Fearing post pardum Pre-Eclempsia, all kinds of tests were ordered. Drugs to flush the water from her system and to stabilize her blood pressure brought everything under control, but there were still fears of heart or clot issues being a possibility. We stayed over night (mom, dad and new baby) and by this afternoon everything was declared OK since the water had been reduced enough that it was no longer a threat to her heart or blood-pressure. I am deliberately being a bit obtuse so if this is confusing, go read the conclusion up at the top again and relax.

Anyway, it wasn't any of the terrible things that they were testing for, so since the symptoms have subsided, we are back home and resting. Thanks to Em's mom, Sandi, for being with our kids while we were in the ER. And thanks for all of the support from all over!

"They say we are made up of 98% water. So, at any given moment, we are all this close to drowning." -steven wright

Home Safe

Everyone (all 7 of us!) are home and happy and settling. Margaret made quite a splash upon her arrival home, and bedtime was pretty much bedlam. No pictures tonight. Sometimes it's better to to be in the moment than document it.

Introducing...

Margaret Jane Sadd. Born yesterday and weighing in at 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long. She is beautiful and mom and baby are resting well. Here is a gallery with more shots. Thanks so much for all who called, texted, prayed or stopped by.

Tomorrow Morning at 6:00am

Time: 6:00 am
Place: Beaufort Memorial Hospital
What: Birth of Margaret Jane Sadd
What Else: That's all the news for now, more after she comes out!














Stock photo from Sadd archive. Not actual baby picture of Maggie!

The End of the Shaggy Dog

Here's what Beah looked like yesterday. She lost a lot of hair in the afternoon and will loose more this afternoon as we trim her coat. I have been forced to take the clippers to our beautiful beast in order to protect her from all of the sand spurs and cacti. Her long hair picked up every sharp object she touched before and was very hard for her. Once I am done, I will post more pics of our lean, not so mean, pup. In all other regards, she seems extremely happy to be with us at St. Christopher.
No little girls were harmed in the making of this picture. In fact one was delighted!

Fishing

Fishing. Calm, quiet, introspective, slow paced... well, only if you don't take 5 kids with you (we added a few Warners)! Not a bite for the first hour suddenly turned around when Caroline dropped in the cast net to bring up a dozen small fish and a few shrimp in one toss.
Then the fish started biting the lines and we pulled them in steadily for another hour!
Elaina and Caroline manned the cast net, Nate and I fished with poles, and Andrew and Noah were in charge of picking up loose fish and making sure they were put into and stayed in the big blue bucket. Since all but two were little ones, we kept them all together in a bucket which the shrimp kept jumping out of accompanied by squeals of joy from Noah and Andrew.
When it was all done we had gathered 33 fish and shrimp! We know this because the bucket got spilled at the end and the kids had a mad fish toss, counting as they went. Thirty three fish is a catch rate of more than one every two minutes for an hour.
And , of course, a fun shot of Elaina:

Visiting Angel Oak

Andrew and Elaina went on a visit a tremendous Live Oak tree near where we live called, the "Angel Oak." It's estimated to be around 1500 years old and, as you can see from the pictures, is simply immense. They spent a long time around the base and on some of the lower branches. Andrew brought back home a bag of acorns to which he has grown very attached. Now we just have to convince Molly not to try to eat them.

Getting Settled

Whew, it's been a long time since I was last online for more than a few seconds. We are moved in up on Seabrook Island and are getting settled. School for the kids is still almost completely up in the air, but that's always a process. Everything seems to be going OK as long as Emily doesn't go into labor anytime soon. The counter on the right is how long we want the baby to keep developing inside so when she comes out she's ready.
Kids are doing very well with eating in the dining hall and we are only supplementing a few meals here and there as the boys' diets require. For the most part it's been a great success. Thanks to Mike Vanderpool and crew for their fine work on the kitchen and for the whole staff here who have welcomed all of us with open arms.

New Stroller

I know it's a pretty lame post, but it comes down to this: It's the first time (in 5 kids) we have ever gotten a new stroller. So now we get to find out if aluminum can really resist all that salty air.

Location, Location, Location

It's been said that the first three things that matter in Real Estate are Location, Location, Location. So with that in mind, here is a shot from our new soon to be front porch...
We are relocating to St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center and will be living on the camp's grounds. The house is half the square footage, but by God's grace has 4 bedrooms so we will fit (technically). Here are some shots of the house and some views from the front porch.

We stayed there last night (making due without much stuff), and were simply overcome with thanksgiving as we faced both the beauty and the challenges of what comes tomorrow. We are called to paradise, but we are called with a clear mission as well. It's not about us, but some of the blessings along the way are truly breathtaking.

Here's the satellite view.

Moving (a bit) North!

Hi all!
After resigning from Church of the Cross last month, I have been seeking God's call and looking for what the next season of our lives may look like. And, He has answered!

We are moving about 2 hours north to Charleston, and I am joining the staff at Camp St. Christopher! The camp is 300 acres on the beach on Seabrook Island (all that woods on the south east side) and I am going to bring the element of musical worship as well as doing the tech/creative stuff. I am extremely humbled and excited at the same time. I am psyched to be working for Chris Warner who is the camp's rector. We have been praying to do ministry together for a lot of years.

After leaving the Church of the Cross, I started examining what I was good at in ministry and what God was calling me to next. I sensed that He was leading me to work with a whole lot of worship leaders, but I didn't know how this might play out. Well, being the camp's worship director puts me in contact with a host of teams/leaders/worshipers in a way that working in a church never could. I have been called to lead other worship leaders and raise them up, and I can see that Camp St. Christopher will provide a unique platform to do that.

The Lord told us not to focus on the "HOW" until we had received and stepped out into the "WHAT/WHERE". But, as that's now answered, we are working fervently on the how. So, we ask your continued prayers for finding a house/selling our present house, kids transferring to a new area, Emily and the pregnancy and being able not to push too hard, and David's sanity as I juggle the three ring circus. We are planning on staying in Bluffton while I commute until after the baby is born (Oct 31) unless God does something really amazing to cause us to go faster.

I ask your prayers as we are very tight financially and also for energy to get everything done. It's been hard to be afloat even though coming out the far end has shown us more than ever how much God really has in store. The general sense of our family is one of continued exhaustion. Excited, but tired.

I will send more later, but that's the news for now. Thank you for your intercession and God bless you!

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)