Maria at the Grocery Store

It's a Maria Monday!

Here's my niece "weighing in" on the produce:

And taking a spin around the aisles in her private roller coaster ride... er... shopping cart...

I wish trips to the grocery store were this fun for adults!!

Young Lovers Beware

It's wedding season! It seems like my Facebook feed is full of engagement rings and couples staring longingly into each others eyes. Something like this:

That photo was taken three years ago on our wedding day. And just like many of the couples getting married this summer, I had exiting plans for our future anniversaries (fancy dinners, romantic get-aways and sparkly jewelry were just a few of those plans!). And yes, Chris is wonderful and I've had many a fancy dinner, more than a few a romantic get-aways and plenty of sparkly jewelry in the past three years.

However. For our third year wedding anniversary, Chris and I went to the movies. 

So young lovers beware, this may be your life in three short years. 

It may start with some movie snacks:

And you might be overjoyed that your husband remembered that you like cherry slushies:

You might incur stares from other movie goers as you put your swollen pregnant feet up on the chair in front of you:

And force your husband to take an embarrassing photo in his 3D glasses:

Yes, it's true. Just three short years after your romantic wedding you might have a "boring" anniversary night out at the movies.

But.

It may surprise you that this regular old night at the movies, is your favorite anniversary yet:

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband. I love our romantic get-aways, our fancy dinners and the sparkly jewelry... but I love being your buddy most of all.

Last Day at the Beach

The last day of our Recuperation Vacation I woke up early and spent some time on the beach. Even though Chris couldn't touch the sand (and I spent very little time on the actual beach as well) there's just something about the salty sea air and sounds of the ocean that is instant relaxation.

(Our private walkover to the water.)

The beach is no place for shoes:

Our beach chairs (you can see the name of our house here too... Eau Natural):

Some beautiful beach houses:

We were next door to family friends, the Hunsuckers, who were staying at The Pearl (on the left):

Close up of Eau Natural from the beach:

(Can you spot Chris, Jeremy and Maria?)

Here's Chris on the porch (where he spent much of his time when he wasn't in bed):

One last view of the beach:

 I can't wait to go back! But I hope next time we can just call it a "Vacation" and not have need for "Recuperation"!

WBW: Beach Babes of Way Back When

Since I've been talking about our Recuperation Vacation at Carillon Beach, I thought today's Way Back When-sday should feature some Beach time from our childhoods.

Here are Chris and Justin building a sand fortress:

And years earlier here they are enjoying the sand and sun:

Meanwhile here I am at the beach... also enjoying the sand!

And marching to and from the coastline:

Yep. Looks like enjoying the beach is just something we're meant to do!

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Babes at the Beach

While Chris was resting, the rest of the family enjoyed coffee on the patio... including the newest members!

These two cousins really do love each other... see? They're hugging:

After some porch time, the little ladies went inside for some playtime with Papa PD:

Looks like little Lucy got tuckered out!

And Maria needed a snack break:

You can't see from the photo, but her view was of the sand, sun and waves!

Later Papa PD gave Lucy a tutorial on safety at the beach:

We're looking forward to Baby Hill joining in the mix of beach babies!

Recuperation Vacation

Long before Chris and I ever thought we'd be traveling the halls of MD Anderson on a daily basis, we planned a trip with his family to visit Carillon Beach in the Florida panhandle. PD and our family friends, the Hunsuckers rented amazing beach houses right on the water and we were excited for a week of fun in the sun!

Then we got the news that started our medical adventure. And eventually our surgery was scheduled... to take place just a few days before our beach vacation.

After I pouted for a while, I started to get creative. Many people travel from all over the world for treatment at MDA, then they go home. Why couldn't we travel nine hours down I-10 after his surgery? And what better place to rest than with a beach view? AND Chris' brother is an ICU nurse. Isn't that a good person to have around when you have to change wound dressings and empty surgical drains??

So we asked the doctors. And after many rules (no sand, no sun, no pool, no hot tub, no beach water, no alcohol, no doing anything that might make Chris tired and stop every hour to walk around while driving to and from) we were given the go ahead!

Carillon Beach here we come!

Chris' family was kind enough to let us have the master bedroom which has the perfect view (this was literally taken from the bed):

Since Chris spent most of the day sleeping, it was nice for him to see the beach when he woke up for his meds every three hours. And when he felt up to it, he stepped out onto the balcony:

Each morning, we'd spend some time downstairs with the family, mostly reading:

And sometimes playing cards:

But mostly Chris snoozed off the drugs and focused on healing.

And what a better place to do that than with a view like that??

Chris' family really is the best. Knowing that Chris would spend most of his time in bed, they gave us the master bedroom. Knowing that he'd have to stay inside, they bought him his favorite snacks (gummy bears and cheetos). They didn't make him feel bad for having to miss out on family time when the groggy-ness took over and they carried our bags up and down the stairs. PD drove us from Houston to Florida, then from Florida to Baton Rouge. Then Justin drove us from Baton Rouge to Houston (then had to drive back to Baton Rouge the next day which turned into a nine hour drive due to traffic!). And having Justin at the beach was wonderful for me! He helped me tend to the wounds and having him watch Chris made me feel much safer than had I been at home taking care of him by myself.

A Recuperation Vacation... sounds like just what the doctor ordered!

Parking at MD Anderson

The past 6 weeks I must admit I've been a little scatter-brained when it comes to anything BUT Chris' medical records. I couldn't tell you how to boil an egg, my email response time has been embarrassingly slow and I've put my OJ in the pantry (instead of the refrigerator) more times than I'd like to admit! But I can tell you that Chris' appointment two Thursday ago was on level 9 near elevator B. Going to my baby appointments has been especially fun as I've been answering their routine questions with answers that refer to Chris (like his DOB or medications)! That's brought quite the response from the nurses!

Knowing that their visitors are probably as scatter-brained as I've been, MDA's parking garages have different colored floors to help their guests remember. One day we ended up on level 10, the pink floor. That day I just happened to wear one of my favorite pink tops.

No danger in forgetting our floor that day!

Waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting...

Despite the wonderful care we received at MD Anderson (and despite how impressed we were with their efficiency and facilities) Chris and I have spent a lot of the past six weeks waiting. We have gotten to know the elevator alphabet, the "good" cafeteria and the best way to bounce from building to building. One of the hardest things about the waiting was that Chris' name could have been called at any moment. So although we were sitting there for an hour, I was afraid to sneak down and get a snack because I just knew that the moment I did, Chris would be called. For someone who is 6 months pregnant, this can become an issue.
Enter, the Jolly Trolly!

This volunteer-run "business" goes around to the various waiting rooms and offers food and beverage choices for a nominal donation. This man came towards the end of one of our marathon days and I couldn't have been more thankful! All the snacks I had packed for myself were eaten and I was starting to get way cranky.

I found different ways to entertain myself during these waits (usually in the form of iPhones and iPads) but Chris, being the diligent worker that he is, was often found writing reports and returning emails on his laptop:

Thank goodness for the free wifi that they have throughout the MDA campus!

I'm on "volunteer sabbatical" during Baby Hill's first year... but I might just look into being a Jolly Trolly attendant once that year is up. What a needed (yet often overlooked) amenity for patients and their (sometimes pregnant and hungry) care-givers!

WBW: Katie's First Hospital Visit

Technically I guess this was my second hospital visit, as my first was on my birth day.

As a child, Thanksgiving always meant driving to Brenham, Texas to visit my grandparents and meet up with the cousins on my dad's side. I was the youngest of 6 cousins (by five years) and was often found pouting about... something... anything! Usually the pout had something to do with not being able to do something the big kids were doing.

One Thanksgiving (I think I was seven?) I got my wish and was able to jump on the trampoline with one of my older cousins. I was in Heaven! Until... I landed and somehow sprained my ankle.

So here's a photo of my first (second?) visit to the hospital-- getting my ankle all wrapped up:

Do I sound like an old fogey if I point out the obvious... how old is that doctor?! Twelve??

I'm pretty sure that's what I was thinking at the time as well... look at that face I'm giving him!

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Chris' Medical Adventure

For the past 6 weeks Chris and I have been on a medical adventure that's taken us to three different hospitals, numerous tests and one mega-surgery. I chose not to blog about it while we were in the middle of it (mostly because we usually had more questions than answers!), but now that we're on the downhill slope, I decided to share.

For about 4 years Chris has had a lump in his back. For a long time we thought it was a muscle knot. We finally got it checked out and after being bounced around, we ended up with five different doctors all diagnosing him with a fatty deposit. Their advice was to get it removed if he wanted, or just live with it.

Chris decided to live with it until about 6 months ago when we both noticed it seemed to be growing. It was also very uncomfortable (imagine having a tennis ball in your back at all times) and we figured if we were going to get it out, we might as well do that before the baby comes.

Before our doctor would remove it, however, he wanted to do an MRI to make sure he knew exactly where it was (since it appeared to be underneath some muscles). The MRI showed that it was not a simple fatty deposit. Instead, it showed that it was a rather large, growing tumor. They were concerned that it might be a rare, dangerous type of cancer.

You can imagine the mood around the Hill House when we got that news.

The following month was full of over a dozen appointments in and around the medical center. We decided to get Chris care at MD Anderson where people travel for cancer treatment from all over the world (and is 10 minutes from our house!). After biopsies, MRIs, CAT scans and a PET scan we finally got the extraction surgery on the calendar.

(Fun side note: the PET scan involved Chris being injected with radioactive material then having images taken of his chest. To date we have not seen any super-human powers come from that radioactive injection but I'm keeping my eye out.)

Three and a half weeks after hearing that they were concerned Chris might have a rare type of cancer, we got wonderful news... he did not! Instead the diagnosis was a growing, but BENIGN tumor. The best treatment was to cut it out, but no chemo or radiation was needed. This was a HUGE relief as Baby Hill was not going to change his schedule to fit Chris' chemo treatments and we were very anxious to get this all wrapped up before his arrival.

In the middle of our relief, however, we still had a rather intense surgery on our schedule. Chris' tumor was pretty big. It protruded from his back, but went all the way through to his rib. It was encapsulated by muscle so the surgery would mean taking out some of that muscle and possibly the rib. The surgery would involve two surgical teams: thoracic (to take out the tumor and surrounding muscles) and plastic (to help reconstruct the area and make sure Chris would still be able to utilize that important area even with the muscles missing).

Although it was horrible to do, Chris and I talked about various options and directives in the event that something were to go wrong during his 4 hour surgery. Not the most fun pillow talk, but I MUST recomend that every couple have a similar discussion (Today! Don't wait for a surgical schedule, all of our days are numbered). We put together our wills and medical directives and although that was not fun, it brings us both peace that we have our affairs in order in the event that something were to happen to one or both of us (especially important if you have children!).

The morning of surgery we woke up early and headed to MDA. The pre-op room is full of nerves, anxiety and a flurry of doctors and nurses. A chaplain came in to pray with us (and I must say we were COVERED in prayer that morning and throughout the past 6 weeks. We are SO thankful that we have such faithful and supportive friends!) and we waited for about an hour before the anesthesiologist came in. During that hour I snapped this photo:

Chris was not in the mood for a photo shoot!

I was anxious for them to get started, but the moment they wheeled Chris away I would have given anything to delay. And even though we waited together in pre-op for an hour, I felt like our "goodbye" was way too rushed! To be sure, watching him get wheeled off was the worst part of our whole adventure.

PD had come into town for the surgery and I met up with him and my parents for the wait.
PD read the paper, then did some work:

My dad downloaded apps to his phone:

My mom played games on my iPad:

And I wrote thank you notes on behalf of Baby Hill who was showered with gifts the previous Sunday (blog post to come soon):

The surgery part was 4 hours, but we waited 7 from the time that he was wheeled off to the time I was able to see him in the post-op room. Plenty of time to write thank you notes, eat breakfast AND lunch and field a million calls and text messages from friends wanting to know the latest.

Finally I got to see Chris! He was drugged up and in pain. The doctor recommended a 2-3 day stay in the hospital and 5 hours later, he was wheeled up to his room. Here we are in the room at the end of a VERY long day:

Almost two weeks later Chris is still recovering (though he's home now) and he has more hurdles to overcome. But the surgeon is confident that he got all of the tumor and just today we got a call with the final pathology report: benign! So it appears as though our adventure is coming to an end. And I could not be more happy about that!

I'm tempted to end the post here (it's getting pretty lengthy) but I must reiterate how thankful we are for our amazing friends and family! PD came in town the night before the surgery and helped in SO many ways. From taking out our recycling, to washing our windows, staying with Chris that first night and so much more-- he was a wonderful help. My parents also insisted on visiting daily and brought snacks, flowers and familiar faces each time. My lawyer friend, Kristin helped us with our wills, my dear friend Lindsay drove me to and from a baby-doctor appointment that I couldn't reschedule and both Carrie and Kelli brought us dinners (and delicious ones at that!). Mark (Kelli's husband) even mowed our lawn! Our friends Jim and Rachael stopped by the room to visit during their busy work days at MDA. And our friend Elizabeth, who is a surgical fellow in the thoracic division of MDA, helped us navigate the confusing process AND answered a million questions from me during the process. We are amazed at how clearly God placed her in our lives-- just this January we met at Bible Study!-- how comforting it was to have a "friend on the inside" as we went through this scary adventure. We've been prayed for by SO many people (some who don't even know us!) and received many kind emails, calls, texts and cards. I couldn't even begin to list the amount of friends that have offered to help during his recovery. Truly, we are SO grateful!

"Brothers" Bonding

I am not a fan of calling Gordon my child. He's a dog, I am a human. When people tell Gordon to "go to your mommy" I'm confused. I am not the mother of that wild animal.

However.

Something changes when you get pregnant. And although I still refuse to allow Gordon to call me "mom" (Pack Leader is the appropriate title), I seem to have no problem with him calling Baby Hill "little brother".

Here's Gordon bonding with his little brother while I'm chilling on the sofa:

That's his head (obviously) propped up on my baby bump!

And because it doesn't warrant it's own post, but is adorable, here's another shot of Gordon snoozing on the sofa:

WBW: Congrats, Grad!

It's Graduation time for many students across the country. So for today's Way Back Whens-day, I thought I'd post some photos of Chris at two very important graduations:

Kindergarten and...

College!

Check out that curly red hair in the first photo... yikes!

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