Sadie's Dedication

On Mother's Day we were able to participate in Baby dedication at our church.  We were able to publicly dedicate ourselves to raising Sadie in the love and knowledge of God. It was great to have lots of friends and family there-it meant a lot to us to feel support as we start this parenting journey for a second time (this time having a better idea of what we're getting into!)  And Lord knows, we can use His help and the prayers and support of his people.

Our cheering section! 3 rows strong!

Post dedication.  Sadie is getting so big! She's 9 months old here.

Attempting to get a good pic is rough but I almost enjoy the crazy-reality pictures more than the perfectly posed ones.

Sadie has been nicknamed "the hair monster" because she is constantly pulling hair, especially Ella's

Shout out to Pastor Dan

We go to a phenomenal church. I will not give you any lengthy story about the amazing worship, or how God's Spirit moves there, or even about the diversity there we love so much. What I will tell you is that you know your church is cool when your pastor sends you this email of picture he took last week. It might take you a second to see why it's hilarious (and you might have to zoom in)...

Love it.

Shades of Peanut Butter

If I haven't mentioned it before, we go to a very diverse church. 17 years ago our pastor felt called to plant a multi-cultural church and was told by "experts" all over the country that it was impossible. Well he pursued it, believing God desires racial reconcilation, not division, and God has done it! Our church has over 2000 people and is definitely a mixture of colors and cultures. Not only are many races/ethnic groups represented but there are a lot of mixed-race couples like us. Our pastor is African-American and his wife is Korean so their kids represent one of the many "shades of peanut butter" you see a lot around our church :-) It's awesome to have to look hard to find Ella in her Sunday school class because she's not the only brown kid. In my own experience being biracial, you're always a minority, wherever you go. So to have a place where you can see other kids "like" you is a rarity. There's something about being with people like you that frees you up to not have to try to be something you're not. I'm excited to have a place to give that gift to Ella.

Ironically, the same place that helps give Ella a feeling of being "like" other kids is where she gets to learn all kinds of things about what makes cultures different! She's learned all kinds of fun (sometimes funny) cultural lessons. That said, we've been developing deeper friendships with friends from church and our playgroup is really starting to gel as a group and hang out more and more! So, of course, here are some recent pics :-)


make-up time with Hanna

A few of the girls hanging out on a hammock after swimming

Chik-fil-a!

A bunch of the group!