Down Home

[caption id="attachment_133" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Blankenship Family- March"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Karis 14 weeks old"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_137" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Karis Chilling out in her new Pack N' Play- 14 weeks"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_138" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Morning nap- 13 weeks"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_135" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Blankenship Family- March"][/caption]

As most of you know, things have been busy in the Blankenship household for many reasons.  First of all, Karis is now almost 15 weeks old (would have been 7 weeks by due date) and is changing more and more every day.  She now weighs over 8 1/2 pounds, which is surprising considering how much energy she spends moving all four limbs when she is awake and sometimes asleep.  When we lay her on her back or in her bouncer she looks like a battery operated doll.  A few weeks ago she started smiling responsively and finally not just as a result of gas.  I used to be somewhat annoyed when people went overboard with the babytalk just to get a response out of a baby, but I'll be the first to admit that I am constantly talking in a high pitched voice and will repeat the same ridiculous phrases over and over if it gets a response.  Her Daddy is not much better!  She loves the song "Butterfly in the Sky" (old school Reading Rainbow) and the sound of the letter B.  Her most animated responses are, of course, around 3:00 in the morning.  

 

 

 

A major event on our horizon is that we are moving to Chattanooga, TN the first week of June where I have been accepted to the Erlanger Hospital Family Medicine Residency program.  We originally moved to Philadelphia for me to attend medical school, and at the time were just hoping that Jared could find a job that was remotely related to his passion for ministry and teaching.  We often joked in our uncertainty that Home Depot was calling his name, but as a detailed answer to prayer, Jared was hired at Fairview Village Church as one of two full-time youth pastors.  While serving at Fairview, Jared has been able to use his musical talents in both the youth group worship as well as "big church."  He has also been able to practice his passion for teaching in the youth group setting, in "big church," and has also taught courses such as "Systematic Theology" for ordination candidates in our church district.  In relocating to Philly for pursuit of my medical career, I was afraid that Jared would have to settle for a job that was unrelated to his interests, despite his selflessness and willingness to follow me several states away to pursue my career plans.  Instead, God blessed him (and in turn, us) with a very fulfilling role that encompassed all of his passions and talents and offered us an environment of friendship and support in the absence of our family.  Now after 4 years in Philly, a couple of degrees and a baby later, we are returning "down home" to continue our journey closer to family.  Jared and I are so thankful for our experience in Philly and the countless meaningful relationships that have been formed as a result.  We are not leaving those relationships behind, but rather we are taking them with us as they have helped formed who we are.  Leaving Philly will be bittersweet, but we trust that God will direct us in our transition back to Tennessee just as he did over the past several years here in PA.