Aloha!

It is official! I have been selected for Orthopaedic Surgery residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, HI. We will be moving in June 2011 after medical school graduation. Laura and I are excited to continue life for the next 5 years there. Once we get settled into a home and such, anyone is more than welcome to come and visit!

For those of you who have previously read the blog posts by Laura, you understand that residency choices were tough for us. I loved both Hawaii (Tripler AMC) and Tacoma, WA (Madigan AMC). Laura had a really rough time in Tacoma for many reasons. Moving to Hawaii is something that is incredibly hard for a family, namely because you are choosing to not see your own family that much for whatever time period. Ours will be 5 years. We are close to our families, and several of our grandparents are getting to the age that we are not sure how much longer they will have on this earth. Also, Laura's brother Michael (who has Down Syndrome) is turning 30 soon, and we do not want to miss out on any memories with him. And he does not do well with plane flights. So although many have shared that since Hawaii is even an option, our top choice should be a no-brainer. "You have to go to Hawaii!" most have said. As glamorous as Hawaii sounds, logistically, it is not the easiest decision to make. We will be in the most isolated archipelago in the world, with a 7-month-old, without any family close by, and with me starting a very time-intensive residency. Needless to say, it was a difficult decision.

All that being said, we ranked Tripler first on our list knowing how difficult it might be. We did so because we really did love our time there, we felt the residency was the best fit for me, and we felt that Hawaii was the best place to begin raising our family. We did not want to shrink away from what seems difficult because of fear. We believe that our faith will be increased during this time - our faith in God's provision and his perfect plan for our lives. We will learn to be dependent on Him for our needs in a deeper way. We have prayed to learn this dependency on Him, as opposed to dependency on ourselves or on our family/parents. We will probably learn more than we bargained for, but we cannot wait to learn and grow. Laura and I cannot wait for this new adventure!

Elliana Belen

D Day!

I had no idea what to expect or if I would even know if/when my water would break. I was assuming it would happen in some random public place with lots of people perhaps, and I would have to run out backwards with a towel wrapped around me like a huge diaper. (We actually kept a towel in the car for that very purpose.) Fortunately, that was not the way God had planned it for me.

It was the night before her due date. I was in a not-so-good mood. I had been having mild contractions for several days "false labor" and being the drama queen that I am, I had concluded that she was never going to come. So, I went to bed early.
I awoke around 11p.m.because I thought I needed to use the restroom--I was used to doing that as all you pregnant women know. But before I could get out of bed I felt something "release" and water run down my leg. No, I had not wet the bed. This was different. It had begun.

Adam, half awake, encouraged me to go back to sleep (Really??), that it would be awhile till I really started having contractions. WRONG!!! Within 10 minutes I was curled up in the fetal position squeezing the pillow and wanting to slap Eve for ever eating that stupid apple in the garden!
Soon I was having 3 contractions in 8 min. and we were off to the hospital. However, Adam wanted to return the movie we rented first to avoid late fees--Ok, shall I say priorities were in question?

From water breaking to our little princess making her debut in all her glory was 12 and a half hours with pushing for only 10 minutes. I actually fell asleep during my transition time due to the epideral. I awoke to the doctor and nurses telling me to push. Thank you Jesus for such a blessed delivery!


8lbs 0.5oz. 19.5 inches. Born at 12:01 p.m.

Adam's parents drove all night from Mckinney and got there in plenty of time. My parents and Michael joined them. Heath and Lindsey, Adam's brother and wife, were able to come by the hospital briefly too.


It all happened so fast. All those months of waiting were over and now our little angel was in our arms at last.

The waiting game

We arrived back into San Antonio in late September. Our little girl was due the next month. We had a lot to do before she made her grand entrance into the world. Adam still had another 4 week rotation at the army medical hospital here. I, on the other hand, was busy nesting in a BIG way.


A week or two before she was due, Adam was able to get Ranger tickets with his brother to a playoff game up in Arlington. No, I wasn't bitter that I was forbidden to travel and go with him, nor was I up-set at all that he was leaving his pregnant wife who could go into labor at any moment. No, not me, not at all. hummmm :/

So, I decided to have a little "girl" weekend on my own with some friends. I splurged and ate lots of chocolate.


Our 2nd anniversary kicked off the last week before her due date. Adam fortunately has finished his last medical orthopedic rotation and had the whole week free (YEA!). So, of course we took a "baby moon" and did all kinds of stuff just the two of us.


We were also trying to do anything that could naturally induce labor--like walking, and bike riding, and eating all kinds of spicy foods. The latter only gives heart burn, don't try it.

Washington

Next we were off to Tacoma, Washington for another four weeks. It was our first experience of a true fall in a REAL long time.

I was in starting my 8th month of pregnancy, but still feeling strong. So, we thought it would be fun to hike a bunch and take in the fresh air. The rains had not yet arrived, so there was plenty of sunshine the first part of our trip.

Do I see Blue Bonnets in Washington?

This is the tiny path on the side of a mountain we thought would be fun to hike to see Mt. St Helen's volcano. To the right of the path is a huge drop off straight down to the bottom. Oh, the fun of balancing expensive heavy camera equipment and a huge baby belly. Um, I like challenges. (Note: I'm the ONLY gal on this little excursion.)

Us in front of Mt. St Helens. We did make it.


Adam also had weekends off while rotating at Ft. Lewis. So, in addition to hiking the country side, we toured the surrounding cities, like Seattle and Olympia.

Me, having a moment on the grounds of the Pacific North West Ballet. The baby bump accentuates the classical line.

One weekend we drove down to Portland, OR to visit our dear friends, the Combs who live there part of the year. They took us all over Portland and even to the Columbia River Gorge water falls. We were sold on Portland! Too bad the army doesn't have a residency there.

Um, shall I say Beautiful!

Adam loved the program up at Madigan Army hospital. He learned a lot and really connected with the people there. My experience up there those 4 weeks was quite different. I was alone majority of the time and due to poor medical treatment for my gestational diabetes, I was having to go in for testing several times a week. Plus, the rains had come and I soon realized that I was not a fan of living on base. Regardless, we came away having made some amazing memories. Now, we were ready to stop living out of a suit case and return home to the high 90 degree fall Texas weather.

Hawaii

Our first adventure was Honolulu for four weeks. We were completely spoiled there. The army paid him a per dium that covered a posh condo literally on Waikiki beach. Since it had two bed rooms, Becca (Adam's sister), my mom, and his mom and friend were able to come out and stay each a week with us during our time there. Adam received great feedback from the program and fell more and more in love with Orthopedic surgery. He had his weekends off so we just played.

Since our precious baby girl was to be born around our 2nd anniversary, we decided to island hop over to Maui for a "pre-anniversary" weekend. It was like a second Honeymoon. :)

My father-in-law was able to use his hotel points to get us a couple of nights stay at a beautiful resort on the beach. Adam, being the totally cool fun husband that he is, was able to get an awesome deal on a red-hot convertible. We justified our weekend get-a-way by saying that this will be the last true time it will be just the 2 of us and that we most likely will never do anything like this again till our children are out of college. So, we said :)

Sunset dinner on the beach. Not exactly like the meals I prepare at home.

Though my time on the island seemed completely postcard perfect, It was not entirely paradise. I had just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (an unusual case--not due to diet or lifestyle at all). So, I was beginning my treatment while in Honolulu. It was a rough adjustment since we were so far away and my dear doctors back home could not treat me. We were in limbo with such a short time there to really get started. Plus, I was having to see a new doctor pretty much every time I had an appointment, (hello military medicine). There was no consistency and huge chunks of important info was falling through the cracks with every visit. Not fun. Though I could not delight in the island cuisine per se, I did drink in plenty of sunshine.

Adam's interviews went well and we met some great people during our stay. The warmth and hospitality of everyone made us feel so welcome. We left Hawaii's sunshine and rainbows with hopes of possibly returning for residency. It had been our first real interview rotation destination and certainly not our last. Our adventures continued as we set sail for the mainland of Washington state. I was excited to compare the programs and experience life in the great north west.

Summer 2010

As some of you know, Adam joined the army last June with the HPSP scholarship. We prayed so much over this decision and really felt God moving us in that direction. That being said, Adam had to do 2 TDYs (Tours of Duty) his fourth year at 2 army medical hospitals preferably where he would like to do his residency. Two of the top programs were in Honolulu, Hawaii and Seattle/Tacoma, Washington. So, naturally he selected them. Since, he was going to be traveling for two months straight and because I was going to be in my 3rd trimester, we decided it would be best for me to quit my job in July and travel with him. I was totally happy to. :)

Spring 2010

During the spring, Adam finished up his 3rd year medical school rotations and prepared for Step 2 of his licensing exam. I, amidst lots of morning sickness, continued to teach Pilates at the YMCA and train for my STOTT Pilates reformer certification.

I also made a guest appearance in Ballet San Antonio's production of Coppelia. I played the role of the doll Coppellia---a challenging role may I add. I had to sit and hold a book and not move for like 5 minutes, except for one moment when I stood up to blow a kiss. I was exhausted! :)

After we both successfully passed our tests, we were ready for a change of scenery.

February-July 2010

The next month we had the amazing surprise that we would soon be adding to our "coupleness." Our little addition was to be born sometime around our 2nd anniversary in October. What an gift, surprise, and amazing answer to prayer!!!

January 2010

We began 2010 with going a Hines' family ski vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado. This would be the first time yours truly ever ventured the slopes. Adam was my teacher, and with tons of encouragement and support, I actually experienced the breathtaking wonder of the landscape on a thin little 4 inch blade. I soon discovered that skiing is basically falling down a mountain side but with grace. The hardest thing was retraining my leg muscles to not "turn out" like in ballet, but to "pizza wedge" them inward. Oh, Ouch!

A little cap full from 2009

At the end of December, I decided to retire from my 10 year ballet career with the production of the Nutcracker with Ballet San Antonio. Adam worked back stage and shared the experience with me. It was a bitter but sweet time, but as the curtain came down I knew that chapter of my life was now a beautiful memory and that many more exciting experiences awaited me. Little did I know what was around the corner. . . .