A year long update... this should be long... and fun (maybe)

So... It's been a year since I returned from both India and Dubai... It was amazing and yet so far away from my mind most days. This past year has been so much drama and hospital visits and exciting news etc. This is going to be a long post so that I can remember what happened this past year and start blogging again. I'll go through month by month and highlight the best parts... read what you want. Some of it may be a little boring to most.

June 2009:

• I returned from India and had to take a really important exam within a week of returning. I passed. Thankfully.
• I met Phil's parents for the first time, which was a lot of fun (dinner on the Riverwalk) and my dad came into town to visit.
• Christine was able to spend a couple more days with me in San Antonio. So, my dad, Christine, Phil, and I had a great time exploring San Antonio, bowling, and going out on the town together.
• I also had to pack my apartment up and move into a temporary apartment for a month (fun all around).
• Before moving, Phil and I got into our first real argument... It was over a misunderstanding (mostly my fault) but we ended up talking it out in the middle of the night in his Durango, and saying "I love you" to each other for the first time. We've been saying it ever since :)
• I moved into my new temp apartment with the help of Phil, my dad, and some movers we hired.
• Right after moving, I went under the knife to repair my torn ACL... Phil took me to the circus the night before so that I could have something fun to hold onto in pain. He is a sweet, wonderful man :)

Here are some pics:

Out and about at night

Bowling :)The circus

July 2009:

• I went under the knife, again. The surgery took place at the hospital that I will rotate in and I made sure that no students were operating on me :) The nurses were great and let me stay over night with lots of morphine. I wanted my mom, as usual, but surprisingly, I also wanted Phil by my side. He brought me a little elephant and stayed by my side while I drifted in and out of consciousness. My mom, dad, and brother stayed with me at the apartment and my mom was sweet enough to cook and clean for me while I sat on the couch sleeping for most of the day and night.
• Fourth of July, I was a couple days out of surgery and needed to get out of the house. Phil, Jacob, and I set out for the Six Flags parking lot to watch the fireworks from the car. Then I came home and slept like I had just run a marathon.
• The next week I watched A LOT of Arrested Development with my dad, slept, drifted in and out of wakefulness, and loved anyone who could disperse my hydrocodone.
• Phil and I drove up to Dallas for the first time together to celebrate his mom's birthday. I limped around a lot. We met Phil's best friend, Trey, and his wife, Jen and headed to the horse races for the first time in my life. I bet pretty well (Dollar Day = Dollar Bets) and won a couple of bucks which we spent on beer and hot dogs.
• I started school as soon as we got back. It felt just like first year, except in a different classroom.
• The next weekend we flew to Phoenix to celebrate London's 1st birthday! It was also a great time to introduce Phil to my Phoenix family. Jon and Pregnant Beth loved him (which is a lot since she was hormonal :)), London flirted with him which made Ali like him, Quichia was pretty indifferent, and Dulce didn't like him and made it known (in her defense, she said "no one would ever be good enough for me" lol)
• Following Phoenix, the weeks after were filled with class, lots of physical therapy appointments and studying.
• Finally, Phil and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary at the end of the month. We headed out to Bandera, TX, had a picnic under the stars and enjoyed the company of nature and the cows. It was great.
• Oh, and then the last weekend of July, I moved AGAIN!!! Thanks to Ryan, Phil, Larry, and Bode for helping me move all my crap into a house. It was a long weekend/month!
• On one other note, Phil and I started reading devotions and praying together. It really started to strengthen our relationship and help us grow closer to God.
  

Here are some pics:

London's 1st Bday
A day at the races :)

August 2009:

• So with August came the attacks of the UTI's. There were four in the span of a month. The doctors aren't sure why I suddenly started getting them, but after the infections started there was no getting rid of them. While battling the UTI's, I was in physical therapy, which meant LOTS of doctors' appointments and LOTS of time spent out of the classroom. After seeing two specialists, drinking gallons of cranberry juice, and being prescribed a lifetime's worth of antibiotics, I finally got rid of them.
• Oh, and then there was PT... My leg started getting stronger and my PT started getting A LOT harder. I was doing 6 minute wall sits... lots and lots of squats, jumping, and all kinds of crazy drills. Oh the pain!!!
• We also attended what is called MS1/MS2 banquet. It's where all of the MS1's and MS2's get together for a night of dancing and drinking. This year it was held at the Leon Springs Dance Hall and Phil and I dressed the part, with cowboy boots and all :)
• Then, that next weekend we flew to Los Angeles to spend the weekend with Phil's brother and his brother's girlfriend. We had a great time. Went to see a Rifftrax movie, to the Santa Monica pier, to meet Pregnant Beth and Jon for lunch, to an amazing wax museum, to the aquarium, and so much more!

Here are some pics:

My lone cowboy and MS1/MS2 Banquet
Santa Monica pier
The Wax Museum
The Aquarium

September 2009:

• September was filled with a lot of studying. Two major exams within three weeks... It's a lot in med school
• I also drove down to Edna in order to be a part of my mom's divorce. I didn't have to testify, but hung out in the courtroom all day. Jacob was called on to testify and did a great job, though.
• The UTI's returned with a vengeance... but were handled with more antibiotics. Do you know how hard it is to study when you feel like you have to pee every second of the day? I do. Thank God for good urologists.
• Oh! and I bought Phil his birthday present (it's Oct. 7th) but I wanted to give it to him early. It was an awesome BBQ grill with a propane tank and all the accessories... Let me tell you, Phil is an AMAZING griller!
  
• At the end of the month, Christian turned 9 (on the 26th) and Micah and Molly turned 1 (on the 28th)... In one day we went to two 1 year old birthday parties and it was great. Lots of kids and lots of proud parents. So much fun!
• Right after coming home from the bday parties I started feeling really really sick and ran a fever 0f 103... Upper Respiratory Tract infection... along with another UTI. I was in bed for 3 days... fun stuff. I missed one of my exams since Swine Flu was scaring the country but I got better.
  
• Other than tests, court dates and b-day parties... it was a pretty chill month.

Some pics:

Study, Study, Study

Micah's 1st Bday
Molly's 1st Bday

October 2009:

• Now THIS was a busy month, but most of them were.
• First, Phil and I flew to San Diego to meet my sister, her husband and the boys for a trip to Legoland. I headed out a day early because we were off of school and saw some of my favorite people. Stephanie, her boyfriend, Patrick and Luis. All friends from high school.
• My favorite guy came into town the next day and we drove to Carlsbad. We rented two hotel rooms and met my sister and the fam at the hotel. That weekend we headed to the beach, then out to dinner, then to Legoland, and finally, to the Stone brewery. It was such a fun time with my nephews! Trevis and Christian both loved Phil, and Trevis calls him "Uncle Phil" whenever he talks. It is great.
• We also celebrated Phil's birthday in Dallas. Saw his family, celebrated and had a good time like always. We went to the Texas State Fair... this place is huge and filled with everything fried... We enjoyed ourselves :)
  
• Oh! and.... I had to do a prostate and Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) on a male patient. That was interesting... I don't think you could pay me enough to be one of those standardized patients... Oh and I pay tuition for med school to do crap like that! sigh... this is my life.
• Later in the month, my mom and brother came up to San Antonio to venture out to Sea World. Not only did we get to tour the regular parts of Sea World, but went behind the scenes to see the penguin exhibit from another viewpoint. it was a really great tour and we were able to pet one of the penguins! YAY!
  
• Phil and I also started working out with P90x... Can you say soreness to the extreme??? So much pain but Phil and I were both getting pretty buff doing it :)
• I bought a little tiny chihuahua for my mom. It was supposed to be a "you are finally divorced!" present, but writing this, I'm still not sure if she is divorced. Oh well, the puppy is adorable. Her name is Chloe and she has the longest legs on earth, a stubborn personality and whines ridiculously... so cute (for my mom)!!!
• Pregnant Beth and Jon also went and received a 3D ultrasound of their baby boy, Micah! We were so excited to finally see him :)
• We went on a motorcycle ride up the block to Red Lobster after to church, one Sunday. I was starting to get sick and we were both pretty hungry so we went some place close, thank goodness! After eating, we went out to start the motorcycle and it wouldn't start. We ended up having to walk home (about a mile) and while I studied, Phil tried to work on the motorcycle at Red Lobster. After about 5 hours of getting nowhere with the bike and having all tow trucks cost a fortune, we decided to walk the 1500 lb bike back to the house... The first half of the walk, Phil pushed the bike by himself while I drove behind, and the second half of the mile, we pushed it together (me in flip-flops)... Hardest workout of my life. But, by the end, we were exhausted, yet, so proud of each other. Phil then proceeded to throw up (we drank water waaaaay to fast), and we walked back another half a mile to get the armada. it was so difficult, but it definitely bonded us together.
  
• Phil's brother and Phil's brother's girlfriend also came down for one day in October. It was a lot of fun. We went bowling, then to the Riverwalk, then out to eat at Danny's friend's restaurant. It was great time had by all.
• Later in the week, we headed to the Yard House with a couple of Phil's friends from work. We had special invite since Phil works for the news, so free drinks and appetizers all night long. After eating til we were stuffed, we went and walked around La Cantera 9the mall where yard House is), and his mom told us we should go by the jewelry store, Bailey Biddle and Banks because they were going out of business and most of the jewelry was on sale. Well, while looking... I found the engagement ring that was fit for me!!! It was amazing! So pretty and sparkly and fit my hand so well. The only problem: they wouldn't hold the ring and we didn't have that kind of cash readily available. With a little persuasion (i.e. my tears) they held the ring overnight and we were able to purchase it the next day (10/26/2009) :) Although I wouldn't see it again until he proposed :(
• Then, I went out to AirLife (the Air medics of SA) to ride with the air paramedics... It was a bust though and I ended up studying all day without any helicopter rides... Booo.
  
• And finally, to end the month of October, we headed to New Braunfels for Wurstfest, a huge German festival with lots of beer, and then headed out that night to a bunch of debauchery for Halloween (which also happened to be the change for Daylight Saving time... so extra hour of drinking) lol. Phil and I went as a German couple... It was pretty amazing. He said things with a German accent all night and made me laugh like I hadn't in a long time. It was great.

Here are some pics:

Legoland
The Stone Brewery
Boys at the Airshow
First pic of Micah :)
Camel at the Texas State Fair

Lunch with Danny and Marlene
Sea World with my fam :)
The ring... although I had to give it back
Wurstfest '09
Halloween

November 2009:

• Since we had an engagement ring, we started looking at different places to have the wedding. The first place we headed to was the Serengeti Resort. I absolutely fell in love with everything about the place. Lemurs, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, great danes, and a baby camel named Clyde who I am in love with. Plus, the scenery was gorgeous! I've always wanted to get married outdoors, and this place is the place. We went to visit a couple of other venues before signing a contract the Serengeti, but in the end, we always knew we were coming back there.
• We decided on October 22nd, 2011, we will be married! So exciting!! Phil and I signed contracts with the resort and the DJ :)
• We were also able to go to a huge corn maze that Phil and I had so much fun with!
• We went to our first wedding show... I'm sure Phil loved every minute of it ;) But he is a good man and went around to every vendor with me :)
  
• Beth's sister and I threw Bethanne a baby shower :) I flew to Phoenix and enjoyed seeing her and her pregnant self. :)
• There were more tests and such.... so much school... and studying. The weekend before Thanksgiving we went up to Dallas to see Phil's family... a great time had by all :) We went to a Skillet concert, one of Phil's favorite Christian rock bands, Went to an all ICE room at the Gaylord, and hung out with Trey and jen that night :)
  
• After Dallas, we went through Waco and met my dad for lunch. At lunch, Phil asked my dad for my hand in marriage :) My dad said yes and said he was happy for us. sigh. <3>
• With November comes Thanksgiving. For the first time that I remember in my life, I went to my father's side of the family's Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a great time. I reconnected with a lot of his family that I hadn't seen in a very long time, and met others who were so nice and welcoming. I drove back to my mom's house later that night and planned on spending the rest of the long weekend with her and my brother.
• Oh how plans can change... Early Friday morning, after my mom and I had gotten our "After Thanksgiving Day" shopping in, Phil sent me a picture of his hand and arm saying that it was swollen, red, and twice the size of his other hand. I sent him a text saying that it was probably cellulitis and to head to an urgent care for some antibiotics... it was no big deal. Phil followed my advice and walked into a "Doc-in-the-box" with his arm in a sling and a sad look on his face while I waited for a text saying that he had been diagnosed and was heading home with antibiotics. Instead, I got a call from him saying he was on his way to the ER. The doctors at the Urgent Care clinic diagnosed him with a blood clot in his arm and were sending him to the ER to get a Doppler and start him on heparin (blood thinners). With this information, I started to criticize the urgent care doctors... "who diagnoses a 27 year old with a blood clot? You haven't been traveling, aren't on birth control, are a man, are fit, and it's in your upper extremity!" etc.) But, after a confirmation from the Doppler, it was official, the love of my life was being admitted to the hospital in Dallas with a blood clot in his subclavian vein. I found this out while driving with my mom and little brother to a football game in San Antonio, and instead of enjoying the football game dropped them off (to find their own ride home) and started my trek to Dallas (the second time in a week). I went with no toothbrush, no undies, shampoo, you get the point. But, Phil's parents were very gracious and supplied me with everything I could possibly need while we were in the hospital. Phil stayed in the hospital for 3 days before being sent back to San Antonio, under the care of his "private doctor". I slept on the floor of his hospital room the first two nights and finally on the last night of the stay, a nurse offered me a bed! I was so mad, but so tired that it didn't matter.
  
• The next week, I was tasked with injecting Phil twice a day with Lovenox, a low molecular weight heparin, while we waited for the coumadin to build up in his system so that we weouldn't need the shots. So, I'd go into his work, give him the shot and head onto school. those days Phil stayed at my place so that I could give him the shot before bed :( I felt so bad for him.

Here are some pics from November:

Gaylord
My sick baby
My other sick baby :(

December 2009:

• We went to Phil's work's Christmas party. It was a lot of fun and mingling. I started to feel sick halfway through the night, though, so Phil and I dipped out early to get some sleep.
• I also started meeting with my Deans this month. They began to worry about Phil and my grades. I realized that with the stress of everything (from knee surgery, to moving so much, to my mom's divorce and Phil's blood clot) that I was starting to get really depressed. I started having really bad headaches and felt as if I needed brain surgery again. However, I have to be on depression medicine for the rest of my life from my brain surgery, but after talking to a counselor, we changed my medicine dose. And it helped a lot. I also went in for an MRI and other brain scans, but the docs said that it was most likely my body expressing the anxiety, and not an operable medical condition.
• With my meds changed, and some of the headaches gone, Phil and I took a date to Christmas at Sea World. I twas such a great time! I love Sea World and loved being there with my favorite person :) We also celebrated our own Christmas that night it was wonderful!
• On top of my other Christmas presents, Phil bought me tickets to see the Lion King on Broadway in SA. He bought the best seats in the house and I couldn't have been happier. He has such a way of knowing exactly what I need and when. He is so so so so good to me :)
  
• The first couple weeks of December were filled with doctors' appointment for Phil and lots of lab work. After a dumb radiologist said he didn't have a blood clot, one of the vascular surgeons diagnosed him with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (i.e. his subclavius muscle was too big for his own good and was compressing his subclavian vein, causing a blood clot).
  
• The first task of the surgeon was to clear the vein of the blood clot. This consisted of Phil going into a Cath lab, having a huge "hose structure" threaded through his subclavian, into his heart, and then to be pumped with an enzyme called tPa... or as the doc's called it "the clotbuster enzyme". The only problem with the enzyme: it can cause you to spontaneously bleed from any organ in your body (brain, kidneys, lungs, etc). So Phil was placed in the ICU and in SO MUCH pain. It was extremely difficult to watch him go through so much. I just wanted to take his pain away and give him something to eat. After a day in the ICU, they went in with a tiny "Roto-Rooter" and craped away the rest of the clot from the vein wall. Poor Phil could hear it while it was scraping the clot away :(
  
• We got through it, although I did postpone taking one of my exams. It was just too much for me to study and go through all of this and do well.
• On top of this, I was looking for a new place to live. I wanted a place to myself, a place that I felt comfortable in and that I felt was mine. So Phil and I had been looking for a place that I could rent near the medical center. We finally found a house that was close, had a garage and a doggy door for Joee. We combined what I was paying for rent and Phil was paying for a storage unit and invested i into a house that I could live in and store his stuff at.
  
• I signed a lease in December and right after signing the lease, headed to AZ for Bethanne's little sister's wedding. While on my way, Phil called me with a rash all over him and was feeling kind of funny. I told him to go to the ER, where they discovered that his blood was TOO thin and had to treat him with Vit K to get his blood back to a safe range.
• I drove through the day to make it to her rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. And then spent the day helping her to get married in a smooth fashion. It was so beautiful and so much fun! But I kept wishing it was phil and I, and we weren't even engaged yet.
• After the wedding, my mom and little brother drove into Phoenix where we combined our cars and drove out to Fresno to see my sister. So, a billion presents, 3 people and 2 dogs crammed into a Toyota Camry... thank goodness its not that long of a drive (and we own tiny dogs).
• At Christina's, we baked a lot. Went on excursions to the park, had a birthday party for Jesus, and enjoyed Christmas together :) I love them so so so so so much!
• After Christmas, I learned the Bethanne was having a cesarean since Micah was in the breach position and that it was scheduled for December 28th (my mom's birthday).
• My mom, being the sweet woman that she is, left early in the morning on her birthday and made it to Phoenix in time for me to be there for Micah's birth! He was such a sweet sweet newborn! So wonderful in every way!
  
• That night, I stayed in the hospital til late at night, just admiring the sweet boy.
  
• Also on the 28th, Phil being the wonderful man that he is, picked up the keys to my new house and started to move me in while I was in Texas enjoying myself. Such a thoughtful, sweet, hard worker. and, did i mention? the love of my life...
• The next few days were filled with hospital visits, breast-feeding sessions (i should be a pro when I have kids) and hanging out with Micah. New year's Eve was pretty uneventful and I started to miss Phil A LOT. It was getting to be unbearable.

Here are some pictures of December:

Joanna's Wedding
Driving to Fresno
Birthday party for Jesus
Beth about to deliverMicah James Bentley :)

January 2010:

• After a couple more days with Beth, Micah, Jon and the rest of the fam, I decided it was time to head home to SA. Phil was working day and night to get me moved into the new house and on top of that, I had exams to take a couple days after returning.
  
• So, upon returning, I would take a couple of loads from one house to another and then study for the rest of the day. Honestly, if it wasn't for Phil, I still don't think that I would be in the house.
• One day while moving, I decided to go crawl around in Richie's attic... although I didn't know that you had to walk on the wood studs to support your weight. Well, without that knowledge, I fell through the roof! Yes, for you who know me I know that's not a surprise... It was pretty painful, but pretty funny too.
• I took my exams and did pretty well on them. Then right after make-up exams, I started school.
• Phil and I bought a garage door on Amazon.com and my amazing handyman, aka Phil, installed it for me. he did such a good job and worked so dang hard on it.
• We also met a really good friend, Lila, and her husband , John, for dinner in Morth Austin. It was such a fun time, they eloped in December and just moved to Texas because he was in the military. Both Phil and I were impressed with him and I left the dinner so happy that Lila had found such a great man.
• That next weekend, Phil and I celebrated our one year anniversary! Christine works at the JW Marriot in Phoenix and it just happened that the JW in San Antonio opened the weekend of our one year. So with an amazing rate, Phil and I stayed there! In beds that had never been used and had such a great relaxing time! We went to dinner and drinks and toured the grounds. It was amazing!
• After checking out of the JW, Phil took me out to the melting pot :) I've never been and it was delicious food. Plus, it is so delightful to dip all your food in a pot! It was a night filled with in depth conversation, snuggling in a small booth and all of the wonder of an anniversary. Plus, phil had called to make reservations and said it was our anniversary, so the Melting Pot gave us a card addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Rabon"... I still have it lol
• After the Melting Pot, Phil took me back to the place where we met a year ago on our first date. España. A great place with tapas, sangria, and all kinds of memories.
• Have I stated that Phil is an absolutely amazing man!
• The rest of January was filled with studying and school.
• Also, after a month of living in the new house, Phil and I decided that it would be more economical for him to move into the house with me. We figured that we want to save as much money as possible and we spend so much time together anyway, it would be better to live in the same place. The house is plenty big. Plus, while we are waiting to have sex til we are married, We set up rules and guidelines to help us live together and for that not to happen. I'm glad we made that decision. It has really strengthened our relationship.

Here are some pics:

The JW Marriott
Melting Pot

February 2010:

• February = the month from Hell. I have never seen so many people that I care about suffer at one time and it definitely did a number on me in a lot of different ways.
• First, Gaby had her 4th back surgery. This time they went in through both her back and her stomach. She came out of surgery crying (this is really unusual for Gaby). You could just tell that she was in so much pain. And no matter what we did it wouldn't help. All I wanted to do was take the pain away and I couldn't. So I sat there. Pushed her morphine pump and studied for my exam that was in the morning.
• It was a long couple of days for Gaby. it was a long couple of days for those who loved her, as well. Gaby has been through a lot in her life and this was the worst of any pain. I learned what it feels like to be helpless... Actually, I learned that a lot this month.
• This month I also started my psych rotations in the Bexar county jail. I have never seen such hopelessness in people's eyes. Such sadness and honestly, such craziness. I met with inmates who were bipolar, who were pschitzophrenic, those who were aggressive manics. It is a place where sadness abounds.
  
• After taking my exam and finishing the week, Phil and I headed South to Harlingen with my school. I was seriously considering spending my third year there and I wanted Phil to see why I was considering it with so much veracity. He was pretty convinced with the trip and we submitted my application to move to Harlingen, by myself.
• That next week, while having a beer with Phil at our local watering hole, the Saucer, I got a call that would change my life. It was my friend Lila, who called and stated that her husband had passed away the night before and needed me to come up to Ft. Hood to help her with the all of the paperwork etc.
• How do you even deal with that sort of situation? My heart was broken for her, and yet I knew that her heart would never heal from such a blow. I cried that night SO MUCH and made Phil sleep next to me so that I could hold him. It is an impossible situation. Newlyweds. After spending the day in the jail, interviewing inmates, I drove up to Ft. Hood to deal with the aftermath. That night I layed with Lila all night. Staying up with her as she begged to have her husband back, bargaining with God and anyone else who would listen. I don't think it was fully real to her yet (It surely wasn't fully real to me) and yet you could already see her happiness breaking apart. I still cannot imagine the hurt, right now, 5 months later to the day, I still cannot write this without crying for Lila.
  
• The next day was filled with paperwork for Lila to fill out. The army assigned her a casualty officer who escorted us around the base, trying to arrange to transport for John's body back to Phoenix. They also had to set up the life insurance policy, her healthcare etc. The only thing that kept running through my mind was this woman just lost her husband... can't this wait or be done by someone else. It broke my heart. After helping Lila pick out a dress for the funeral and dropping her off at the airport to fly back to phoenix, I headed home to Phil and hugged him tighter than I think I ever have. I just want to make everything right for Lila. Honestly, if anyone deserves to be happy it is her, and it was ripped from her at only 6 weeks of marriage.
  
• That weekend Phil and I went out and celebrated Valentine's Day at Chao Muagocho (it's a Brazilian Steakhouse. Phil bought me some amazing roses and we prepared for Phil to undergo more surgery.
• On the 15th, Phil underwent the final procedure to alleviate his thoracic outlet syndrome. It involved cutting under his armpit, through his rib cage, taking out his first rib, and shaving down his subclavius muscle. It was a procedure that they do on a regular basis, but having Phil go under the knife so soon after losing John made me hysterical. But, when he made it out, that fear turned to sympathy. He was in so much pain... started running a fever... and was miserable. Three of the people I loved most were in more pain than I knew how to bear and there was literally nothing that I could do about it.
• Those next couple of weeks with Phil were some of the best and worst weeks of our relationship. I think that it really meant a lot to him how much I helped him get back to health, and yet at the same time, I was having to deal with the possibility (in my mind) of losing him one day. But we made it through. He played a lot of video games, read a lot of books and healed.
• About a week after his surgery, we had a FULL house. Phil's mom was helping his brother and girlfriend move back to Texas from LA and stopped in SA to rest. Then, Lila and three of her close friends flew out to SA to attend John memorial service at Ft. Hood. So there were 9 of us and 2 dogs in a 3 bedroom house. But it was a good time. There was a lot of reconnecting, a lot of smiling and good friendship.
• The next morning, Phil's family left on their way to Austin and the rest of the gang headed up to Ft. hood for John's memorial service. It was a good service. John's commanders talked, his best friend, and the performed the Roll Call with "gone, but never forgotten" following John not answering. I cried so hard, not because I knew John very well, but because I knew how much Lila had loved him and how her life would be forever changed. It was a sad, heart wrenching month.

Here's a picture:

John and Lila

March 2010:

• With March came Spring and a well needed vacation.
  
• I did better on my exams this month than I had in all of my second year, was starting to study for the USMLE Step 1 hard core and was finally starting to get a hang of second year.
• After exams came Spring Break!!! And what an epic Spring break it was!!!
• It started out with seeing my dad for a bit. He dropped Phil and I off at the airport and we were on our way to WALT DISNEY WORLD!!! Although there were a couple setbacks that occurred before getting there. At the airport, we were met with a two hour wait to check in for our flight. It seems that whether in Atlanta (where our flight was connecting) had shut down the ATL airport and most likely, we would be driving to Orlando, or flying to Atlanta and getting a greyhound to our destination. LOL. All I could think was: this is my luck... sorry Phil :(
• But... It turns out that because Phil and I were so nice, Delta ended up giving us $400 in flight credits, meal vouchers for our flights, and checked our bags for free! Plus, we ended up making all our flights and just got into FL a couple hours later. On top of all of that, our rental car company upgraded us to a larger car and opur hotel upgraded us to a corner room with a great view! It was great.
• In Orlando, we had such a great time. We went to Sea World for a Luau. Then spent 5 days at Disneyworld :) The first day we went to the Magic Kingdom and had dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. It was fun. Then during dessert, the server brought out a special plate and all I remeber is Phil dropping to one knee :) He said so many sweet things and of course, I said yes! It was amazing :) Afterwards, Phil took me to go "watch fireworks", but actually, he had rented a private boat with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to take us out onto the bay... where we watched the fireworks on eachother's orms. Such a good man... that I am marrying!!!
• Disneyland was amazing. We visited every park, went to a dinner show called Arabian Nights, and loved every minute together. It really was the perfect week. I was sad to see it end, but we took A TON of pictures.
• When we returned (engaged!!!) I jumped right into school. Although that weekend we went up to Dallas to spend an Early Easter with Phil's family and as always, we enjoyed ourselves. We also ew
  
• Later in the week, Quichia flew in to San Antonio!!! We opened up our house to her for a couple months and had a roommate. She was able to get a couple of jobs, study for her transition to Japan, and explore Texas. We loved having her here.

Some pics, of course:

Disneyworld :)
Flying Kites

April 2010:

• April was probably my favorite month (until the end). I was engaged, living with two of my best friends, and finally on track with school. Everyone was healthy happy and life was good.
• Our first trip with Quichia was to my mom and Grandma's for Eater. The entire family (for once) was getting together and it was great to introduce Quichia to all of them. We had Easter baskets, lots of food and laughter :)
• The next weekend, Quichia, Phil and I headed to the Poteet Strawberry Festival. We did this last year as well and it did not disappoint. We had to show Quichia as much of Texas as possible.
• Then we took a trip to downtown San Antonio for "A Taste of New Orleans". Phil had free press passes to it, but it ended up raining and all of us were able to go in free. Plus, every place was giving away the food at half-price... good ol' New Orleans!
• April was also a month of a crazy amount of studying. During the week, I was up by 5 and at school by 530. Usually I stayed at school until 4 or 5, studying the whole time. Every weekday and most saturdays, this was my schedule. but Usually Friday and Saturday nights we played.
  
• One weekend Quichia and I's good friend, Matt, came out to visit the city. First, we tookk him out to NIOSA, a huge party downtown. The city of San ANntonio shuts off part of the Riverwalk so that people can drink and eat an amazing amount. That night we also strutted our way through the news station with two master anchors, Quichia and Matt. Hilarious!
  
• That weekend, we took everyone, especially Joee, to the Weiner Dog Races in Buda, TX. We dressed Joee up as a dino. Quichia and Matt participated in BBQ chicken judging, and Phil and I hung out in the grass.
• Later on in the night we shuffled our way to the Flying Saucer. It's our local watering hole and if you drink 200 different beers there, you receive a "saucer" on the wall, as well as $100 of food and drinks free. So, we ate a drank on the hohuse while celbrating Phil and his drinking ability lol.
• Sunday, Matt, Marcus, phil and I drove out to the Serengeti Resort, to show Matt where I was getting married and also to play with the awesome animals. We were sad that we had to drop Matt back off at the airport, but it was a good weekend.
  
• After playing, I went back to studying hardcore. However, I was having trouble sitting for long periods of time and was starting to feel what felt like a little pebble on the tip of my tailbone. I put up with the pain for a couple of days, but on the third day I went to see my doctor.
• My general practitioner sent me to a surgeon, who diagnosed me with a cyst on the tip of my tailbone. The next day I was in surgery, having a huge chuck of my flesh cut out of me. To top it off, it was right on my tailbone. SO, I missed all of my exams because I wasn't able to sit long enough to take them.
• After talking for hours with my deans and weighing my options, the best option seemed to be repeat second year. otherwise, with recovery, I would be playing catch up the rest of the time in medical school.
• It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I cried for a really long time. Thank goodness for Phil and his amazing love.

Here are some pics of April:

Easter Weekend

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Poteet Strawberry Festival

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NIOSA and the news station
Weiner Dog Races!
Serengeti Resort and Clyde the Camel
Phil's Plate Party

May 2010:

• So May was a month of sadness. I pouted A LOT. I didn't want to repeat my second year and had to come to terms with it. It was hard for me.
• To make me a little less sad, Phil let me adopt another puppy. her name is Katia, but we call her Katie, and she is a handful I have to keep on reminding myself that Joee was 10x worse than she is.
• Phil and I flew to Phoenix to see the usual round of people. We celebrated Mother's Day there and it was fun. It was Beth's first mother's day and we love to be around all of our favorite people.
  
• Phil also started working three jobs this month. It was definitely hard to get used to because I suddenly had all the free time in the world and Phil didn't have time to sleep. I missed him a lot at the beginning and we had to find a balnce that was good for our relationships. There were a couple of tense moments, but in the end, we are happy and Phil is helping to pay for the wedding.
  
• We celebrated my birthday. It was pretty low key. Dinner with Phil, Q, Scott and Sheena. I didn't want a big celebration this year and honestly wanted to be around those who loved me.
• Quichia and I went on a lot of adventures, but mostly, I played the role of chauffeur. We had one car between three people and lots of jobs. So I would take each person to and from work. It was A LOT of driving. Also, once Phil started working, Q and I's weekends got a lot less exciting. But, she had to study and I was enjoying relaxing. It was nice.
• One weekend, Phil took Sunday off and Phil and I went to spend the day at sea world :) We fed the sea lions and the birds and ended our day with the Steven Curtis Chapman concert. He is such an inspiration to so many people. He lost his daughter a little over a year ago when she was run over by accident by their 17 year old son. The family mourned the loss together. And he continues to stay strong in his faith.
  
• One trip we did make was down to visit my grandma and help her do some yard work. It was such hard work, but We were definitely proud of our accomplishment.
• Later that night, we met Phil up in Austin. We took Quichia to Sixth Street, the ridiculous club street of Austin. We had such a good time. Sigh, I miss that girl.

Here's some pics:

Katia :)

Sea World :)

June 2010:

• Oh June! There was a lot of exciting events this month. I started to come to terms with the fact that there wasn't much I could do when it came to repeating 2nd year, so I made the most of it. There were some great highlights.
• Quichia and I spent the last couple days of her time with us, exploring the Riverwalk, downtown and the Alamo... even though it was the HOTTEST day of the year, we found a great little happy hour and enjoyed the company tremendously.
• We ended up going to Kona Grill for their happy hour, I had to fight sosme blonds for a table, but I won... then apologized to Quichia for fighting.
• The night before Q left for Japan, we went to Dave and Buster's to enjoy it. We had so much fun. Q and I were addicted to Deal or No Deal and lost most of our money that way. We watched the Arizona Softball team die (which was sad) but all in all it was great.
• During this time we were also keeping Phil's brother's dog at our house. In a month we had gone from one to two to three dogs! That's a big difference.
• After Quichia left, we had a couple of days, and then my dad arrived in town. He stayed for a week. It was so good to see him and visit with him. There was a lot of World Cup watching, cooking, movie-going and cave-exploring.
• His visit culminated with Phil's parents coming down and meeting for the first time. I think that a good time was had by all. We went to the Yard House for dinner and the next morning headed to Austin to drop my dad off at the airport and visit Danny at the Highball.
• In Austin, we bowled at the restaurant Danny works at, ate some lunch, and bought the shoes that I am wearing on my wedding day! So much fun! Then, Phil's parents, Phil, and I went to the Jeff Dunham show. We had awful seats, but it was hilarious! After the nap on the ride home we shuffled into the Flying Saucer so that his parents could see his "saucer".
• Finally, the month culminated by taking an unplanned trip to Phoenix that, while unplanned, was AMAZING.

Here are some pics:

The new iPhone4
Cascade Caverns with the Padre
YardHouse
Heading up to Austin :)