04/04/10 Easter Sunday

Today is Easter. Last night Patricia and I both spent the night at the house so we could be there in the morning when Ian and Obie woke up. Patricia's sister Mary and her son are staying with us through Easter. Mary has been a real blessing and we're very glad to have her help.

Easter morning the boys wake up a little too early. Ian wants to know if the Easter Bunny visited us last night. As we wander down stairs Obie is the first to find an Easter Egg left by the Easter Bunny. I guess he made his way to our house after all.

I've included some pictures of Obie finding the first egg and of Ian and Obie finding Obie's Easter Basket. Actually, Ian found Obie's basket first and then dragged his little brother over to the "hiding spot" so he (Ian) could see what the Easter Bunny had brought Obie. The Easter Bunny tends to hide Obie's basket a little more in the open so it's easier to find but that makes it easy prey for Ian. For some reason the Easter Bunny hasn't figured out how to deal with the age gap when hiding baskets so I'm taking suggestions for next year. What I mean to say is, I'm taking suggestions so I can write to the Easter Bunny to give him some new ideas for hiding the baskets. I just wanted to clear that up.

After all the eggs were uncovered, thanks in large part to the dog, Hopper, pointing the way, and all the baskets had been found, we packed everyone in the car and headed down to Seattle Children's Hospital to attend the morning mass.

The hospital has a small chapel and it was fairly busy this morning. The chapel has seating for about 25 people so it's a nice cozy setting. People are free to come to the chapel anytime they want to worship and they hold special services on days like Easter. The service was nice and it didn't last too long. Easter is a special celebration for anyone of the Christian faith but the moving part for me was the number of parents in the room. All of us are here in the hospital today celebrating Easter according to our faith and many of the people in the room have sick children in the hospital. Normally I'm not one to get overly sentimental about Sunday service but the "Sign of Peace" today was an especially moving moment for me. Welcoming strangers, sharing an embrace, and shaking hands with people going through the same emotions and dealing with similar circumstances made the event a touching and memorable occasion. It was definitely a service to be remembered and cherished.

After service we all went to visit with Eli. Last night was probably the longest we've left Eli alone since we've been in the hospital so I was getting a little anxious to go see him. Ian and Obie have been asking about "Brother Eli" as well and I'm getting the sense that they miss having their brother around. Obie still doesn't think we should bring baby Eli home though. Patricia dressed Eli up in his Sunday best and we managed to get a few pictures to share with everyone, including a special furry visitor who decided to perch right next to Eli for the photos. That Easter Bunny sure is a tricky little guy.

I stayed with Eli for most of the afternoon while Patricia and her sister took the boys back to the house. The rest of the day was pretty quiet and uneventful. Eli continues to do well as he slowly grows bigger and stronger but his breathing issues persist. We're hoping to get some answers this week and we have a "Care Conference" scheduled for Monday afternoon with Pulmonary to discuss options for Eli's on-going respiratory care.

God Bless and Happy Easter!