Faces

This weekend we had a cookout at the Tardy's house (the house where we have our small group). For the kiddos, there was a giant inflatable slide in the yard. There is an apartment complex down the street from our small group; this summer there was a backyard Bible club for the kids from the apartment complex, and they have continued coming to the children's small group that is in conjunction with our small group until recently. I was able to get some fun face shots of the beautiful children this Saturday. First of all, here's Andy: the official Redeemer Church Griller. Well, it hasn't been made unofficial yet, but every stinkin' time our church has grilled out (literally), Andy has somehow ended up grilling. It's probably because he's so good at it! This is Betsy Tardy. Someday I want to be half as cool as she is. The Tardy's are near and dear to my heart. They eminate love for Jesus, and they're extra cool because of they have 12 children. And they're not weird. And 3 of the 12 are adopted. And 2 of the 12 have down syndrome. And 1 of the 2 with down syndrome was adopted. I love all of them (well I love the 9 kids I've met and the parents and the dog, and I'd probably love the others if I met them). Seriously, every time I'm around Betsy Tardy I'm encouraged to love Jesus more.This is Jolie Tardy.

And Emily Tardy (check out her pose - it's awesome).
And Kaci Tardy.
And Caleb Tardy. And Sophie Tardy. Ok, now here are some of the kiddos from the apartment complex and from our church. Look at those beautiful faces!!! And this little guy's name is Zee. He told me he didn't want to go down the slide alone but if I went down with him, he'd go. Needless to say, he loved it!
This is my namesake: Jolissa. When I was in first or second grade I wanted my name to be Jolissa. Now Andy and I have decided that if we biologically have black children (which is genetically possible), that if it's a girl she will be named Jolissa, and if it's a boy, he'll be T'Andrew.
And here is Heather, our children's coordinator at Redeemer. This is a real live shot of Heather as you would normally see her: with babies in her arms.

I just love how faces are all so different and beautiful!