Drama Drama

Well, little miss Hazel sure keeps us on our toes. Our sweet little girl just turned three. I think her birthday is always going to be hard for us. We miss Lucy and we wish she was here to spoil too.








Luckily her birthday fell on a Saturday and her dad was able to be home with us (he only gets one day off a week.) We ate breakfast at the cafe in town, walked around and went to the farmers market. Then we went and saw Monsters Inc. 2. The kids love going to movies. We had an awesome storm that day but luckily it cleared up enough to let balloons go for Lucy.






We missed being with family and going to the cemetery but I think she was with us anyway. Hazel has been talking about Lucy a lot lately. We were in the car tonight and she randomly started saying, "goodnight Lucy, goodnight Lucy." She'll talk about how her and Lucy are the same. We watched the parent trap (the old school version) and she was glued. It reminded me of how Lucy would get while watching Mary Poppins when she was in the hospital.
Today I took Hazel and Ivy to the doctor for well child visits. The kids were super excited to go because they thought they were going to see their dad. Oops. He actually does work at the clinic we went to but not today.
Well everything went pretty well except the doctor noticed Hazel had a murmur. I was a little concerned since no one has ever heard a murmur before. She brought in the attending and he listened too. He told us he wanted an EKG and called cardiology to see what they thought we should do. With our family history they think she needs to go in. I'm actually feeling a little relieved we're getting her looked at. I'm always worried there might be something wrong with her heart and she's never really had it looked at. Hazel passes out sometimes when she cries and it always makes me a little nervous it could be heart related. Cardiology she call next week and hopefully we'll get this looked at soon.


Luckily though, she loved all the attention.

Ivy

Ivy's diapers are way too small. The last time I did this baby thing I had two babies to buy diapers for. So I overestimated how many size 2 diapers I'd need. They're too expensive to just get rid of, so poor Ivy has been wearing ity bity diapers for awhile now. This makes for way too many blow outs. Gross. I'm so excited to finally get through this Costco box. Yeah for size three! I have so many naked pictures of Ivy because of blow outs. Disgusting.

4th of July

I have always loved the 4th of July. This year my parents came and we were so happy to have them here. In rained buckets and did not feel like a holiday at all. Chuck had to work. Of course. The parade was canceled and would have gone right by our house. Too bad. I bought a pack of "fireworks" at the grocery store. Apparently real fireworks aren't legal here in Ohio. All they did was smoke! It was the strangest thing. Luckily the kids didn't know any different and thought they were pretty great. The adults just laughed at the lame smoke.


This was out grand finale. We pulled out the sparklers.





My parents both thought the fireflies made for a better show than our "fireworks." I'd have to agree.


Happy 4th of July!

Pictures

Did I ever mention Hazel cut her own hair recently?





I could EAT HER!








Chuck made our kitchen island . Totally doubted him. Sorry Hun.


Went to the outlets to buy Jack new church clothes. Hazel got to try them on first since she peed her pants. Worst part was she kept lifting up the shirt and flashing everybody. Oops.


He's a dog of course.








Me all day long: GET OUT OF HER FACE!!!!


Chuck built us a dining room table too. Totally doubted him again. Sorry Hun!

Blessed

Chuck begins his first day of residency today. He's going to be working in the NICU. I think it's going to be difficult for him at first. Being around sick children will bring back painful memories. I don't envy him. I know the hard work hasn't really begun yet for Chuck but I think he's going to love it. Pediatrics was definitely the right choice for his personality. I can't imagine him doing anything else.

Jack woke up before the other kids today. We had a nice little talk together before his sisters were up. We discussed homonyms. I had to google it. I forgot what they were called. He came up with, bye and buy all by himself. I can't believe how this kid's mind works sometime. This boy is quite exhausting. He simply cannot get enough attention. We had people over last night and he would not stop talking. Poor kid. My parents are coming this week and hopefully they'll smother him with affection.

I still think Ivy is pure joy. I adore her. She is for the most part just easy and fun. She sometimes gets fussy at nights but usually not. She has slept through the night twice now and rolled over once. She loves chewing her fingers and looking at mirrors. I joke that she is so smiley that she smiles even when crying. The other day we were a store and she smiled for 10 minutes straight. I couldn't help but laugh. People must have thought I was nuts.

Hazel is so fun to watch play. I love little girls! A few days ago she told me she was hungry and asked if she could go outside to eat. She wanted to pick berries. This yard is a dream come true for her. She loves picking flowers and now berries. We have raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currents and strawberries. We've also harvested 2 jalapeños. Very exciting.

I find myself slipping into a depressed mood when I'm alone for very long. I find that as I keep my thoughts Christ centered I'm happier. Nothing can compensate for having a relationship with our Savior. I fail miserably as a mother. I'm easily frustrated and too quick to criticize. They really are my best examples of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. They love others. They forgive quickly. They don't judge others and at least Jack, prays for his neighbors. I need to be more loving with them and follow their examples.

I feel as if I've been hit with an extra dose of grief since we moved here. I think it began with our trip back to Kansas City. I miss the life we had there so much. Most of our stuff we're unpacking is stuff we really haven't seen since we lived in Kansas City. It reminds me so much of my little girl. Today my three kids were playing on our living room rug and it brought me back to when my other three kids played on that rug. My sadness must be rubbing off because tonight Jack sobbed because he missed Lucy. He hasn't done that since she died. He's afraid that someone else in our family is going to die too. As I explained to Jack that we would all die one day I remembered having the same conversation with my own mother at about the same age. I was about Hazel's age when my little brother died. I felt so bad for him as he wept into my arms but I know this experience is making us a stronger family.
I know the loss our family feels can't be filled with worldly possessions, or success or any other distractions. It can only be filled with the love Christ offers. I know this is true because it is the only things that has eased my suffering since Lucy died. Time alone has done nothing. I hope my other children learn that from this experience.

The Village

Yellow Springs






















Everyone here seems to own a VW van.






I prefer to call them, "peace promoters."








Because every little town needs an Asian jewelry store.





Cute little pop-up


More peace signs.


We love going for walks here. Everyone is so friendly. And because everyone knows everyone, they all know we're new here. The other day we met Deborah, she was planting a Magnolia tree. It was bizarre looking.

One of my favorite things about this house is the garden. When Chuck's mom was here she did a ton of work on it. I'm so grateful. With a new baby it's hard to find much time to work on it. We are going to have quite the bounty this summer and fall.

Before





After














Our enormous Ginkgo tree.





We still have a lot of work to do. Mostly it's going to be one of those never ending projects. We are so grateful to Laurie for all her hard work.