Easter 2019

Per Eliana's request, we started off the Easter Triduum by dying Easter eggs.  This year went much better than years past. Everyone was mostly old enough to dye eggs successfully without cracking too many. And Eliana was happy to dye the cracked ones too.  Laney had the most fun with just taking the same egg and putting it in every color. Eliana was also happy to "help" her with the rest of her eggs while she focused on just the one.

I was supposed to work Easter this year, but due to some last minute changes, I managed to have the weekend off.  We went to Indianapolis for Easter and saw lots and lots of family. All of my siblings and their spouses were at my parents' house as well as their kids.  Then all of David's siblings and significant others were at his parents' house. It was like a double family reunion!

We spent Friday night with my family and managed to get all of the cousins in one picture with just a few tears.

Saturday we went to David's parents house. His siblings had planned a little Easter egg hunt for the kids with the amazing surprise of little containers slime in the eggs instead of candy! What a great idea! The kids played for a long time after the hunt with the slime, which worked out much better than gorging on candy while waiting for dinner. 

The Easter Bunny left baskets for the kids in the morning.

We got dressed up so nicely for church, but when I asked the kids to stand for a picture, this is what I got. 

Eliana felt bad after for sticking her tongue out and asked for a redo.

We ended the trip by heading over to my Aunt Karen's house for a large family gathering, meal, and Easter Egg hunt.

Cousins Hannah and Naomi

Laney Lu and the Hair that doesn't Grow

Laney is 2.5 years old now, and she has the same hairstyle practically as when she was born. It dumbfounds me how her hair just does not grow. Especially in the front. I recently trimmed the very back of her hair, just to even it up a bit. But I have never touched the front. And still, the hair just barely flutters on her forehead. Definitely no concern of her bangs getting into her eyes. At least her hair seems to be getting thicker, which is helping it lay down better. She used to be like a little chick, with her hair sticking straight up like downy feathers. For the most part, Laney will not let me put anything in her hair. I think it looks cute with a headband or even in little piggy tails that stick out from her head. But that look only lasts a couple of minutes before she pulls them out. Laney is still regularly called "he" or "your son." Oh well, at least it is better than long hair that is always in tangles!

Her hair still gets pretty fluffy in the wind!

The Before picture - after I wet it down though

The After picture - much straighter!

Doesn't grow in the front though! This picture with Laney's round little face reminded me so much of Eliana.

Pigtails!

Three, per her request.

 In other Laney news...

My little sneak loves coffee. I went to gather the laundry and came back to find her in Will's room with my latte! She loves the "hot milk" and always asks for a sip.

 Last week at the park Laney fell at the playground and busted open her eyelid. Being a face wound, it bled like crazy and looked awful! The cut was pretty shallow, and the bleeding stopped quickly after I applied pressure, but the side were gaping. I debated on taking her to urgent care to see if it would need a couple of stitches. Mostly I was concerned because Laney is such a picker and won't leave scabs alone. I was afraid she would keep opening the wound back up. However, we decided urgent care would be more trauma than it was worth, so we just took care of it at home. Laney must have been really traumatized by the fall and blood, because she hasn't messed with it at all.  She actually left the bandaids alone for three days, and would barely let anyone come near her eye, much less pick at it herself. It is healing quite nicely and I imagine will only leave a small scar. When we went back to the same playground a couple of days ago, Laney refused to play on the equipment and only sat in my lap.  She said it was scary and she would "get blood again."  I was a little surprised because Laney has always been our rough and tumble, crazy daring girl. I've expected her to be the first one of the kids to need stitches. But this definitely slowed her down for a few days!

Will the paleontologist

Will used his Christmas money to buy a little dinosaur bone excavation kit. He loved it! He says he would like to be a paleontologist when he grows up.

Spring garden

Our Mary Garden had beautiful crocuses bloom this spring. It's one of my favorite parts of the garden. And brings hope of warm weather to come!

This is the face Laney made with I told all the kids to smile!

It's been a while

I have been on a blogging hiatus for a while, and I think it is finally time I come back. We have had a very busy year with a lot going on.  Some things just had to be let go for the moment. I hope in the coming year, I will have time to go back and post some pictures from the months I took off. Birthdays, holidays, time spent with family and friends. And most importantly writing about our son Samuel David whom we lost to miscarriage this past January. It's been a very difficult time, and not something I felt up for writing about. Maybe in the future.

But for now, I am starting fresh with exciting news. David has officially signed a contract with Ohio State University to start as an attending and associate professor in July! That means we will be staying here in Columbus for at least the next several years. David will be finishing up his fellowship in hematology/oncology in June. It's been a long journey, and I know he is excited to finally finish and be able to practice medicine on his own. Staying at OSU was a difficult decision. David interviewed at some really great hospitals and universities. Every place David interviewed, he was offered an excellent job. I know this is a good problem to have, but it did make the decision process more difficult. He had lots of options and possibilities to consider. What is best for David's career? Which place offered him the best clinical opportunities? Which place would offer the most support for his research? In what part of the country would we like to live? Which place would be the best for raising our children? We very seriously considered a job located in west LA, near Pasadena. The weather and beauty of the area were really enticing. David was also excited about the different clinical aspects of the job there.  However, we ultimately decided OSU would be the best for supporting David's research. He has several projects that he is working on in fellowship and would be able to continue with once he became an attending. Also, our family is well established here with many friends and with family not too far away. The kids would be able to stay in the same schools, and I could continue to work part time (even more part time - I have cut back my hours to one day a week) at my current job. We are really happy to finally have settled on this decision. It reduces the stress in our house significantly!  OSU recruited David with all they could offer him. Everyone that David works with is excited to have him stay, and is looking forward to continue working with him. I am so proud of all of David's hard work. He has really dedicated himself to providing excellent clinical care to his patients while also focusing on research to improve clinical outcomes for his patients in the future. You can tell how highly his coworkers think of him by how enthusiastic they were to have him stay. David is a very passionate doctor and researcher, and I knew no matter where we ended up, he will be doing great things in the future.
Now if I can only just prepare myself for sharing him with OSU... David has already warned me that the start of his new career will be a very busy time for him. He will have a lot more responsibilities and will need to jump right into applying for grants. He needs to show to OSU that their investment in him as faculty will be worth it. As his requirements have lessened a bit with the end of fellowship, I have gotten spoiled with this extra time he has been able to spend with the family. But I must remember that his job truly is a calling, and part of my vocation is to support him in that. We are going to party it up in June, and then it's back to the grind in July. Praise God for David and his new job in July!

The most recent picture I have of all the kids. We will get to spend many more days ahead going on walks to this rock.