Welcome to Baking with Wyatt… where you just never know what’s gonna happen in the kitchen.

We met 20 years ago. I had just turned 22 and moved to LA by myself to start a graduate program at Fuller Seminary. It is a WILD understatement to say this small-town girl had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

I moved into an apartment on campus with two perfect strangers. We slid notes under the doors of the other women on our floor, inviting them over for ice cream. That was the unexpected beginning of the most authentic friendships I've ever had…

We are HOME! I don’t think it’s ever felt so good to be home. Eight weeks of international travel. Over 30 hours to get home on the last leg. We did it! The boys did great! Happy brothers!

I called her… actually I think I just texted her… at the end of February and told her I had to come to America with the kids. She didn’t skip a beat. She just asked when she should fly in to help. She’s been ALL over the place with us over the last two months, sacrificing more than even I can understand. And she’s really seen the underbelly of special needs parenting.

But she’s never stopped being my mom first. In our worst of times on this trip, when I need the most help, the kids won’t let anyone but me near. So my mom stands back, quietly, longingly, and watches over ME. She gives her whole self, even when she feels stuck on the sidelines.

If you ever find yourself sitting on a train station floor, paralyzed by your child’s disability and inability to do the next thing…

Or mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted from multi-tasking rapid decision making, the admin of living abroad, and managing meltdowns on a very small amount of sleep…

Have a party. Whatever kind of party you need it to be. Just make sure you call it a party.

What we were up to last week. (And why I was so quiet in communication!)

The video says it all…

I didn’t know how I could see a lifetime of people I loved while my feet were so briefly on American soil. I was in my hometown, but my kids’ needs trumped my desires for connection, reunion and alllllll the things. A few very dear friends and my cousins helped me put together a dream God put in my heart when I began planning this trip. It only took a few text messages in transit. They orchestrated the details, created an invitation, and made the snacks. People from every chapter of my story gathered in one room, in the church that taught me about the Church, for a couple of sacred hours.

It was too short. It was just right. It was everything

My mom, Wyatt, Benjamin and I land in America in one week. I’m sweating (record-breaking heatwave) and scrambling to tick all the boxes for our visa application submission in America. We had a medical clearance appointment with our pediatrician, Dr. Sinclair, this week. Another requirement fulfilled, but it was more. I told my mom, “God has put the most extraordinary people around us here.”

I’ve been far from “home” so long that this is home and nowhere is home. But we are not on our own.

The Details:

My Mom, Benjamin, Wyatt and I will travel from Cape Town International Airport to Atlanta on March 16th. My mom will get us through a six-hour layover and continue to her home in San Diego. The little boys and I fly to Knoxville, TN to stay with Chris’ parents.

We have passport renewal appointments in Knoxville on March 25th and…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. She’s the best Gosa there ever was. I am so thankful for a mom who loves deep, far and wide. She’s here in Cape Town with us for two weeks, and then the little guys and I are flying back to America with her!

This is day one in Cape Town.

Please join us on Sunday at 9am @ Vista Nova High Pinelands. We’re not a weird church. We don’t use “churchy” words, and we come from every age, stage, ethnicity and ability.

We put on name tags so we don’t feel awkward when we forget someone’s name right after they’ve introduced themselves. And we gather for good coffee, encouraging teaching, and a place for the kids to learn about Jesus in a way that’s relevant to them.

This picture was taken 11 years + 1 day ago. Valentine’s Day 2015.

We’d never been closer to each other than a side-hug before we took this picture. We had JUST sort of decided to start dating and sort of betrothed ourselves. (There’s a whole story there.) The missions base I was living on was hosting a Valentine’s dinner. I decided to make things as awkward as possible by inviting Chris to the cheesey, over the top celebration. To my delight and Chris’ horror, we realized we were matching when he arrived for the dinner. I could have changed. Instead…

Benjamin woke up at 5am vibrating with excitement about celebrating Valentine’s Day. We have never, not once, done a “thing” for Valentine’s Day. Needless to say, I felt wildly unprepared. I do, however, keep an emergency stash of treasures hidden away. I dug deep and found these two hand-me-downs given to us months ago. Valentine monkeys!

Friends and family of the Ladds, I’d like to introduce you to Johnny Ladd (Benjamin’s) and Johnny Firetruck Rainbow (Wyatt’s). I have already duct-taped Johnny’s leg on, but all monkeys and boys are living their best Valentine’s lives. 🐵🚒🌈

The little guys and I had a Saturday morning splurge: a trip to the blueberry farm! Despite the summer heat in a greenroom, it was easily one of the most special mornings we've had in a long time. It felt like a gift from God. Jam was able to stay fully present, fully himself. He reached for his brother's hand during the tractor ride and found peace in the unhurried pace of plucking blueberries from the bush. My favorite part was…

There was just one unexpected guest during my personal retreat… a baboon! He silently came in through a second floor window with stealth and determination. Before I could register what was happening, my house guest helped himself to the candy in the candy dish and flung open the freezer and fridge doors like one of my own offspring! I, the ever-calm, cool and collected one, screamed like a crazy lady and threw a pillow at the freezer door...

just went away - all by myself for three nights. Yesterday, the day I returned home, marked 16 years since I left America for South Africa. This time away, a gift from a friend who met me use her holiday home and my husband who handled EVERYTHING in my absence. It was silent, peace-filled, restorative, and an unspeakable blessing. I reflected on the last 16 years, the goodness of God, and I read and read and read and read. I slept, and I read. And then I did it some more. I am so thankful!

These three brothers. They are God’s gift to me and to each other. Sure, there are less stable moments than unstable, and they could not be more different… but God designed Lifa, Benjamin and Wyatt each with a very special capacity for brotherly love. I pray they will be lifelong friends, always calling out the best in each other, and continually overcoming every obstacle with their unity.

This kid IS the vibe. He’s picked up a bad habit of screaming, “WHAT THA HECK!?!” over this school holiday. He loves his brothers fiercely, and his only volume is SCREAM. Wyatt is one of those kinds of people that brings energy to a room, makes the house feel alive, and can get a whole household working for him without us even realizing it!

Our beloved van might have had its last adventure, and we’re back to being a one-car family for now. We’re still in the thick of a long, hot summer holiday. The people (specifically, me) are going crazy.

But here’s the cool thing... We’ve unintentionally written some default codes into our family system for a time such as this…

There is no one on earth like Lifa.

We are traversing some of our hardest days with Benjamin right now. I’ve found the end of myself, and my tank feels empty. And then Lifa jumps in the van for a trip to the park. He sits under a tree and plays ninja turtles. He makes heavy times lighter just by being there. He embodies family in the way family was meant to be - the sticks with you, rain or shine, goes along for the ride kind of family….