Easter/Pascha

How many kids get to celebrate Easter twice? Well, if one set of grandparents is Roman Catholic, and the other set of grandparents is Eastern Orthodox, that's exactly the winning combination: twice the Easter candy, twice the egg hunts, twice the fun!
(Notice I didn't say "twice the church services". This is where having a small, whiny toddler comes in handy: "Sorry, grandparents, we just won't be able to make the sunrise mass this year...""Um, grandparents, I think the three hour divine liturgy from midnight to 3 am would be too upsetting to his schedule...".)

In addition to celebrating Easter and birthdays during our whirlwind trip to Pittsburgh, we managed to fall in love with an 85 year old home, and then try to talk ourselves out of falling in love with it. But, our romantic hearts prevailed. The allure of city living in an older, established neighborhood was too great. The home spoke to us of family, of love, and...I'm hesitant to admit this...of putting down roots. This is a home we could happily live in for many years to come--six bedrooms, four baths--with project after project to make it our own.

We met the current owner, Katherine, a woman in her 70's or 80's, who raised three children in the home. When we made our offer back in California, over the phone, Katherine asked to speak with us. "I'm so happy you'll be getting my home, and raising your baby here," she said. When someone else tried to make her an offer three hours later, she told them "Sorry, I've just entered an agreement with somebody else"!

Mike and I feel very strongly that everything has worked together for the good. We're hopeful that the home inspection and closing will go smoothly for us. Mike is loving his new job. The house on Darlington Rd. is less than a block away from a bus stop. Mike will take a ten minute bus ride to work! (This beats an hour commute over Hwy. 17!) Within a half a mile, Andy and I can walk to a grocery store, a large public library, the doctor's office, a movie theater, a community center, and many restaurants. In the other direction, a large city park, with trails and an environmental center, is three blocks away. A large playground lies at the end of this park, with a famous "blue slide", where children fly down on cardboard boxes.

Those offers to come and visit us? I'm going to hold you to them! We will miss everyone terribly, and those offers of visits are sustaining me through this enormous change.