Due to mal-function on our blogger. This is my last post. Maybe in a year or so we will set up a new one. Till then, you can keep up with us on Face book. Thank you for reading it. It was fun for awhile.
Laura

The Answer and the Offering

Watermark - Elliana's Song

"Baby woman, tiny in stature now
But your heart is a treasure
Little princess come follow behind me now
I am reaching for you
(chorus)
Elliana, God has answered my prayers
Elliana, God will conquer my fears
To mother a daughter, to look you in the eye
To know that I had everything, to walk with you in life
To give you to Jesus that He would impart
The wisdom that I'm longing for to mother your heart
Elliana, God has answered my prayers
There will be others to lead and to guide you girl
But only one you'll call Mother, the honor is all mine
To show you what a woman's like
I'm so glad you're mine
(chorus)
Tenderness of God is twirling around
In our living room tonight
Lighten up your daddy's eyes
And know that he just wants to freeze you in time
(chorus)

(© All lyrics are copyright of their owners.)

In the fall of 2009, Adam went on a personal retreat to get away and be with God. During that time, he felt God encouraged him that very soon we would have a child. As he played some praise music, he heard these lyrics. Though unable to decipher the name the artist used for the little girl, he shared the song with me that one day God would answer our prayer for a child.

That same fall we heard of someone naming their daughter Eliana, which was Hebrew for "God has answered." I had never heard it before, but immediately I fell in love with it and the truth it states. So, I tucked it away in my memory bank.

I was still dancing that fall when I begin to wonder if I would ever be able to get pregnant (due to my dance background I had developed a hormone insufficiency). Adam was in the middle of a crazy 3rd year of medical school and busy preparing his away rotations for the following fall. We decided that we should wait till late spring to begin thinking about a baby. For what would we do if for some amazing chance I got pregnant sooner?! Adam would be away on rotations during its due date. No, we were planners and we were going to wait.

Funny how God works! Miracles can happen!

Four weeks later--Hello, baby Hines was on the way. And Adam got the fun part of canceling all his rotations and moving them up to the summer.

We were going to wait to find out the gender, but I couldn't. We tried several names, but we both just felt that for some reason the baby's name was to be Elliana. (Bummer if it was a boy). One day we replayed the song from Watermark that Adam heard but this time actually read the lyrics. We were blown away that it was the exact name we felt led to call our child. The sonogram confirmed FEMALE and it was settled.

So, exactly a year later from Adam's personal retreat with God and the song he felt God gave him as a promise, Elliana Belen was born.

God had answered our prayer. But more than that, this name was a statement about His character. His attribute. Who He is. He does answer. He answered the ultimate cry of mankind--to be saved, forgiven, redeemed. He answered by sending His Son to die on the cross. We wanted our little girl to know that God is the answer to ALL things and He will answer.

"I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation"

Psalm 118:21

On Sunday, March 20, 2011, we dedicated little Elliana Belen Hines back to the LORD. He is good. He is faithful. He hears us, and He has answered.

Hello February, where did January go?!

I do not consider us to be living in the fast lane, but honestly life these days is flying buy. With what? I do not know. You may ask, "Then why haven't you been blogging?" I ask myself the same thing and have come up with a perfectly good reason . . . I'm lazy. Yes, I know. I am. I am still new to this thing and have not mastered the um, shall I say, format of it. I spend most of my time getting the background right that I don't ever write. Bummer. So, if you have any suggestions on blogging, feel free to drop me a line.

Well here is what we have been up to . . .

Below is the like ONE day in the history of San Antonio when it snowed. Go figure! It just happened to be during the last winter we are here before we go live on an 80 degree island for five years. Needless to say, we took a ton of pictures of our 1/2 inch of white frost. :)

Ellie's attempt at a snow angle

Life with Ellie has been a blast! She is more and more responsive when she sees us--kicking, smiling, cooing. She loves looking in the mirror and laughing at herself out of pure joy, (unlike the rest of us who laugh at ourselves in the mirror.) She also is into making faces and expressing herself when she is not exactly enjoying the moment. She is into the "don't you even think of putting me down" stage and the "I want to be held and carried All the time" phase. Truly though, it has been wonderful looking into the fresh face of a little life and discovering that you are totally and completely captivated by her love.

CLEANING!!
Oh, yes. We are trying to sell our condo before we leave the mainland (anyone interested? :)). So, these days I am up to my elbows in pretty much every type of liquid purification Lysol makes. And shall I add that it is Amazing how much stuff you acquire in so little time! Seriously! How do we let this happen?

In the meantime . . .
Adam is for the first time in 4 years having a life while in medical school. He so front loaded all his courses at the beginning of 4th year that now he is just enjoying chilling . . . somewhat. Me, well, cleaning.

Ok, that is it for now.