6 long months away from Home!

Tomorrow afternoon John is heading to Houston to start six months of away rotations. The first rotation is the most important (to John at least) Pediatric Surgery in Houston. Last December, he came home after his first day with the local Pediatric Surgery here and told me he had changed his mind from Transplant to Pediatric Surgery. I had been praying about his decision for months and knew he was making the right choice. John is an amazing surgeon. He can do some much good for young children. He can walk into the OR and not see the child there but a patient that needs an operation. When he tells me about his young patients I find myself so upset for their parents. He just smiles and says “Babe, you can’t think that way”. We made a deal that he won’t tell me about the really sad ones. I tend to wear emotions for the child and their family’s. He is going to have a blast over the next two months. Long hours, yes but John loves being in OR helping children. In December we will go to San Antonio for him to due a Burn rotation, then we are off to Denver CO in January until April 1st! Good thing we love to travel!

Alana and I will stay here in El Paso for the next 2 weeks and then we will join him in Houston for a long weekend come home for four days and then off to Washington DC for me to ran the Marine Corps Marathon on October 26th! After, that we are going to join him in Houston for good, with a few trips planned over the next few months. Most of you know that I am running 2 marathons in 3 weeks! I know, I am crazy but hey… When your husband works close to a 100 hours a week a girl has to find something to do!!

In December we will find out if John has been released from the Army to apply for a Pediatric Surgery Fellowship. We have been told that the first few years of applying are a long shot, but there is always a chance. I have been praying for months about God’s plan for us for the coming year. So, much is happening applying for fellowship, away rotation, and in an about 14 months we will rank the city’s we want to move to after Residency. I can’t find peace in any of the places we could move. It puzzles me on why, we could pick Fort Hood and live close to family, (close meaning 3 hours away) but for some reason Fort Hood isn’t sitting right with me. I know we have 14 months to make this decision but the last four and half years have flown by and I know the next 14 months will also. OMG, we are the downhill side of residency! What a wonderful feeling, to think 19 months from now I will have dinner with my husband every night, he will be here on Saturday morning to watch Alana while I run. I long for that life, I know he will still be busy, he is a surgeon after all but nothing like it is now!

So, I ask that you keep us in your prayers of the next few months as we travel around Texas and then up to Denver as well as our future. I will keep everyone update on are happenings. I know there is BIG changes coming to the HORTON Household!

Alana’s new Hair Cut!

Yesterday, I had 3 inches cut off Alana’s hair. Call it peer pressure, two of my close friends have been telling me for months how cute her hair would look short but I just didn’t have the heart to cut it that and John would kill me. When I would tell him that Amber and Jenn think I should cut her hair short he would say “What, they should cut their hair off”. Well, it got the best of me and I did it. It looks super cute and she LOVES it. Alana was such a big girl she sat in the chair and did what Mrs. Mary asked of her. What two year old has enough hair to have 3 inches cut off, and still has a head full?!? She has my hair, poor baby. John hasn’t seen it yet, but I am sure he will love it.


These pictures are of Alana and her new winter hat. Since we are going to be in Denver for the winter, she needs a new warm but cute hat. She loves it. We are having pictures done with Jessica in a few weeks I’m going to have her take a few pictures of Alana in her new hat.

John’s 32nd Birthday!!

Yesterday was John 32nd birthday! He was on-call Friday night and again today so, he slept most of his birthday away yesterday. Since, it was a power weekend for him this weekend. We had a party for him on Monday he was born on Labor Day, so it's all the same. We had a great time celebrating it with close friends. We did have a family party for him last night, Alana baked his favorite cake. Since, we celebrated it couple of days early a girlfriend and I ran a German 5 mile Fun Run, and then we all went out to dinner. Here are some pictures from both parties. Alana loves cake!! she thought it was so cool to have two cakes for daddy!

Alana loving Daddy's Cake!
Alana helping daddy with the Candles!
Alana and Daddy!!

Apple Picking

We went apple picking this weekend with our favorite Hansen’s Family. Alana was SO excited to pick apples with Cade, Carter and Lexi. It was about to rain so the kids where picking as fast as they could. Uel climbed up the tree to throw apples down at us, the kids had a ball. By, the time we where done the rain was coming down super hard, which Alana loved. She kept telling us she was all wet and needed a towel. After, we got back in the car Alana was smiling from ear to ear telling us how Amber and Daddy had to help because the apples where too high. John told her that one day she would big and tall Alana said “first I have to have my water to get big daddy, like the trees”. So, we started talking again about how everything needs food and water to grow. Then she told us that Apple starts with an “A”, I tell her that all the time, I’m so glad she has been listening. At dinner later that night, apple picking is all she could talk about, to be two again life is so simple and prefect.

Alana and Carter
Alana having a blast!
The rain was really coming down


Cade hanging out the in the Tree
Uel picking the good ones for us!
Amber and Lexi

Alana all wet in the car! Carter looking so CUTE!!

SUMMER TIME FUN!!!

Summer time is coming to end very fast! We started the summer out in Omaha, NE where Alana did a painting class and went to swimming lessons. The weather in Omaha was weird, it rained almost everyday and had some mean storms but when the sun was shinning it was BEATIUFUL!! Alana and I went to the Zoo, Botanic Gardens and all the local parks. We even made it to the College World Series, which made John’s summer.

In July we came back home to THE HEAT!! OMG, the highs in Omaha had been in the low 80’s, but even with the 100 agree heat we where SO glad to have our house back!! After, being home for a short 10 days Alana and I headed to Dallas for Miss Emily Grace’s 6th Birthday! What a blast we had but again we where ready to be home in our beds, by then Alana and I had been gone for almost 4 long months!! The rest of the summer was spent in EL PASO, enjoying the friends we had missed so much. As I posted before Emily and Will came for a visit, which was a blast but exhausting. John made a trip out to Spain over the 4th of July for conference with work. So in all we had a great summer, it’s sad to see it end because my best friend (Amber) and her family will be moving next June. I have known since starting residency that she will leave me behind but I find myself sad at thought that she won’t be here next summer. The pool won’t be the same with out The Hansen’s! She keeps telling me it will go fast but it just won’t be the same. Alana is going to be so sad when Amber moves with “HER BABY LUKE”. Amber is pregnant and Alana tells everyone about it and then follows it with but there’s not a baby in my mommy’s tummy just in Ambers. It’s super cute, when I tell you she tells everyone I mean it, her teacher asked me who Amber was. Just tells you how much we are together. It’s going to be a lonely summer next year, but it will be our last here in El Paso, so there is good with the bad.

Alana starts School!!

On Thursday Alana had her first day of Pre-School. She was SO excited to go to school. She couldn’t wait to have lunch with her new friends. The whole way to the school she kept saying “I go to school and have lunch with my new friend’s mommy”.

It was bitter sweet for me, having a few hours a week to myself sounded wonderful but she is my baby. As we walked up to her classroom she was jumping out of excitement. I put her pack away and turn around, she was gone playing with her new friends. I watched her for a second and blow her a kiss (she was way too busy to kiss me goodbye), as I walked out the door sadness over came me for only a second, I knew we made the right decision! She was more than ready for Pre-School!



I had a great day, I went and spent the day with my girlfriends getting a pedicure and having a mommy only lunch but 2:30 couldn’t come fast enough. I was more than ready to see her. When I walked into her classroom she was sitting in her teacher’s lap reading a book, when I said her name she just looked up and smiled. She could have cared less that I walked in. Her teacher told me she couldn’t believe how well Alana talked, and knew so much. She also told me Alana was the most well adjusted kid in the class. My baby is growing way too fast, I wish so much she could stay 2 a little longer.

Yaya Papaya

Alana had her picture taken in the cutest TuTu EVER last month. When People walk in to my house it's the first thing they comment about. They are having a great giveaway. Check it out!!

http://www.yayapapayatutus.blogspot.com/