Chris traveled through South Africa earlier this month, and we’ve had the privilege of hosting many guests lately. Our usual, unwavering routine has been all over the place lately. But there’s nothing that can make the Ladds feel more like family than the kickoff of rugby season!

THIS IS OUR LAST RUGBY SEASON!!!

We had an EPIC time on Bree St! Thank you Young Urbanists s for the Open Streets Africa Experience. I was so moved by the power of passionate people to bring change to their city. THINK ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO FOR GOD'S KINGDOM WHEN WE UNITE AND MOBILIZE!

The little Ladds lived their very best lives being able to move freely downtown while four blocks of a major road were shut down for cars.

Benjamin showed up at soccer practice today wearing headphones and Crocs, with no intention of getting out of the van. No, he didn’t have his best practice anyway. He didn’t even make it onto the field. But he showed up, and the showing up is a turning point - a bookmarker we will go back to again and again.

Sometimes you just have to get there.
To your people. To your Father. To His House..

You might think mud pies are made with a bit of mud, sticks and leaves. Not our mud pie. Ours needed an additional 14 hours of co-regulation, copious screen time, a special picnic packed, and brute force to get out the door. It's even more than just that day...

It's in the daily choosing to do all the things you said you'd never do as a parent... and repenting for the earlier days when you passed judgment on others...

It's always having plans A-Z ready to action, knowing the preparation will likely get tossed aside and be unappreciated...

I joke with friends who tell me about their relaxing weekends that there's "no chill at the Ladd house". Benjamin has always required less sleep and more intense physical activity than all the parenting books said. During the extra-long days and nights, I've learned terms like "sensory seeking" and a profile of autism best understood as a nervous system disability.

But we found our rhythm: high energy, always moving, wildly caffeinated (me!), and full of connection and joy…

Wanna see Jam dance-hike? (Yes. Yes you do.)

Can’t get enough…

Summer is in FULL SWING in Cape Town. We’ve been sweating for days (and nights), but we relish in forced trips to the beach and pool together.

Seasons have a way of shifting us when we wouldn’t do it on our own. We get less done, linger later, and master cannonballs in this heat that we wouldn’t have chosen if it was up to us. There just might be something for us on every season!

When summer is simmering so hard, we don’t go camping… We go to the air-conditioned camping store and jump around in the “Cold Chamber”. Follow me for more tips on camping in the summer heat!

After six straight days of Benjamin’s persistent begging to go back to the bunnies… He won! (We all won.) A scorching summer morning was well-spent watching my little boys in their elements… Benjamin with animals and Wyatt with chicken and chips.

Sunday Funday at Boeretroos_koffiewinkel . Benjamin sat with that bunny for 45 minutes. I had to pull him away!

And the fun just keeps going… Happy Meals, an ocean breeze, a perfect riding ramp and a portable soccer goal. I am not overlooking our blessings for even a single moment.

Blueberry Bar!! A fantastic Saturday morning in the sunshine with my 3 best boys. The blueberry juice was FANTASTIC! 🫐💙

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO... I stepped foot on South African soil for the first time with a sparkle in my eye and a six month plan to save the world.

I always knew God made me to strengthen families. The way I see it, strong families make strong churches. Strong churches make strong communities. Strong communities strengthen other communities. And, slowly but surely, the world is transformed for the glory of God.

Grade R (Kindergarten) orientation today.

We are walking in the answer to prayers we never knew we’d pray. Benjamin will start Grade R on Wednesday at a cottage school created for children with special needs. There are two loving teachers to care for the four children in his class - a class he can continue with until he’s 16…

We've heard stories of oceans parting, bones dancing, blind seeing, and the Redeemer resurrecting. Yet I still squirm when I'm the one that needs the miracle. I know God CAN do it... I'd still praise Him if He didn't do it... But having a need there's no way we could ever meet on our own is a very humbling thing.

We asked God and His people for funding for our boys' 2025 school fees. It was not a small ask - almost $13,000…

I don’t always want to be the mom that has to turbo-pack the car and kids, ready to hit the road by 7:30am for an outing I make up on the fly. I don’t always want to pack PBJs and snack boxes on repeat.

I wish I had more compassion and patience. I wish I could stay steadier while trying to operate as my son’s external nervous system because his doesn’t do its job. I wish transitions and life in general were easier for him and, consequentially, for us too.

Presenting the first ever Kirstenbosch Library Book Crawl! We loaded up library books and PBJ roll ups for a last minute; pre-bedtime adventure. We read the first book at the jumping rock, the next book on a bench by a riveting frisbee game, and then marched uphill for a rugby book by the duck pond. This (obviously) led to spontaneous rugby training. It was such a fun way to mix reading, active play AND get dinner taken care of.

If you know Benjamin, you know he loves anything that involves soldiers. He was THRILLED to find out there is a castle right in the center of Cape Town because, “Mom, everyone knows soldiers live in castles.”

We only scratched the surface this morning, but Benjamin gave us a riveting tour of the castle with his very own historical details while Wyatt free-loaded on my hip. Another grand adventure in the books. 🏰

The summer sun burned extra hot this December 25th in Cape Town. Our family is in the middle of transitions and growing pains. Still… joy and abundance were thick on Christmas Day. It was a perfect Ladd-style celebration: full throttle, high energy, and fit for a King. We gathered close on the couch and gave thanks in front of a breathtaking spread of presents. It was, of course, the King’s presence that ushered in the kind of joy that sticks beyond circumstances…