On Monday morning, Chris and I took turns catching and containing Benjamin over two warm-is cups of coffee. We wanted to connect before the hustle of a new week began. Last week I didn’t even have time to make my calendars, and the whole system broke! I needed this connection with my husband more than I needed to breathe. I told Chris I’m so excited and so happy for all the opportunities, people, and things there are to do. But I have no idea how to do them or where to even start.

Last week TWO different people told me Benjamin and Lifa look alike...  Spoiler alert: They are not biologically related. This is technically impossible.

 Yet, somehow, they kinda do. Benjamin’s all-time favorite person is Lifa. Chris and I got trumped by big brother a long time ago. The moment Benjamin sees his brother, he erupts into shrieks, squeals and laughter. It’s the best!

This is an EPIC week in the Ladd house. Lifa is involved in 1,923 sports and extra-curricular activities. (He used birthday money to buy a fitness tracker watch and logs a unfathomable amount of steps every day.) We launched an amaaaaazing Help Club for Moms on Monday evening. Chris is preaching for two morning services on Sunday while Lifa and I serve at church. And we are launching a young adults service on Sunday evening. Oh - and don’t forget Mr. Independent Benjamin. He’s got places to go, dangerous things to put in his mouth, and food to eject from his mouth with amazing velocity. I’m currently watching him play in the soil from a tree in our living room. 

In 2018, Chris and I fasted from sugar, dairy, processed foods, anything with flour, bastings, sauces, spice mixes, condiments, and even chocolate. In the beginning, it felt like continuous sacrificing. Everything was bland, and grocery shopping was nightmarish. I remember Chris getting actually mad at me one day when I reminded him the deli meat that was millimeters away from his mouth was off limits. And the day I came home with sugar-free peanut butter... we don’t need to talk about that day. We were constantly verbalizing the questions, “Can we eat this?” while reading labels and racking our brains for what we could actually eat. 

It was 10 years ago today. Ten years ago, I called my mom and said goodbye one last time while my friends drove me to the airport. Then I cried on the phone with the AT&T lady while I cancelled my cell phone plan. I was leaving family and friends with no way of knowing I was going to stay and start a family of my own. Ten years ago, I set my feet on the soil of my future. I walked out of an airport in South Africa with two suitcases and pulsing excitement for what I thought was going to be a 6-month mission trip.

The holiday season has ended, offices are opening, and the world is going back to normal. But we just received a Christmas package from my mom. And while I write this, I’m looking at six 12-year old boys (on one couch - with an empty one right next to them) chattering about Christmas gifts and watching Spiderman. We’re clinging on to Christmas morning and special family moments as long as we can over here! So, as you go back to work and un-holiday your house, I’m going to share a Christmas story.  

We’re in a unique season of life right now. We’re trying to navigate one kid away from sharp edges and outlets, and help the other kid navigate who he’s going to be when he’s not at the dinner table or on the rugby field. Benjamin is currently teething and a hot mess. I like to employ the distraction technique: keep everybody too busy to whine. Myself included. Yesterday I slathered sunscreen on Benjamin, strapped his fussy butt into the stroller and took Lifa and a friend to play putt putt golf beside the ocean. Mama needed to smell the ocean.