Life in Austin, ahhhhhhhhhh

Adam and I've both been here now for two whole weeks, and boy oh boy, are we enjoying it. We've already been visited by both of our families, and some long lost friends from the arctic: Minnesota, really. Here are some pics of us enjoying our families, friends, and the fun & sun of Austin. More to come, rest assured.....


Adam and my bro, Zack, playing WII boxing. Its actually really fun, and a good workout!

Adam's sis, Nancy Pants, my sibs, Jordyn and Zack, getting rowdy out at my folks' place in Austin's hill country. This is what the heat does to you!

Two of the three of our dad's were together for Father's Day for a brunch and dinner party. Here is Sam, Sera's step-dad, reading a card.


Adam's folks and Adam here opening his father's day gifts.
Watching the Lakers get pummeled, it was glorious.....

Pretty feet and fishes in the hill country.

Adam hard at work studying for his USMLE exam.

Nature's fly catcher, otherwise known as a jar full of sugary water to drown the poor things in. This is what we do to pass time sometimes in these parts....

This is the view from the back patio at a local joint, Oasis, on the lake here in Austin. A great place for sunset viewing!

And our Nordic kindred who came to visit, Nicole and Jeff. Was so great to see you too, we miss you already. Thanks for making the time to come see us, it means a great deal.

So that about brings us up to speed. The bump and I are now 28 weeks along, can you believe it! And so you don't all start freaking out about flying etc, I gently remind you that we have plenty of time to get home and have this baby. But for now, we are loving our time in Austin and together before the arrival of the wee one.

Hope to see many of you soon, love from us!

Change of scenery

Adam and I arrived safely, and somewhat soundly here in the land of Oz: Austin, Texas. We feel as though we've landed on another planet. One where people speak the same language that we do, where you can order a meal and the waiter doesn't yell at you, and has huge cars cruising the highway as if gas prices weren't rising everyday!

Before we both headed away from our sandbox, Adam made sure to honor his last exam and to make certificates for everyone who attended the ethics course he led this last semester. He can be seen here giving out one of the fancy certificates to one of his classmates.

He is now settling into his "job" this summer of 8-10 hours a day of studying for his Step One USMLE exam. To be fair, he took his first practice exam yesterday and already scored a passing grade, so its just a matter of scoring as high as he can so we can have some control when it comes time for him to place into his residency in 2010. Go Doctor Adam!

I arrived stateside about two weeks before Adam to get some COHI face time with our dedicated Board of Directors, staff, and some volunteers. Here are some of us at the Board retreat in upstate NY.

I then went to NYC where I packed in as many meetings as I could, before getting the flu. I just can't do what I used to able to do before this little one joined me. All in all, though, I had some wonderful meetings and things are moving right along for this little, fledgling organization. COHI is full of Geminis so we had a group birthday party while I was in NYC, as well. What a great way to kick off a new year!


Adam and I are now in Austin. He is studying, and I am doing a fellowship for NARAL Texas Pro-Choice. I will continue to fill my day with my COHI related work, as well, but I am starting to look forward to a year+ from now when I will be stateside for a good chunk of time and would like to perhaps get into politics a bit. So I am trying that on this summer, we will see how it feels.

We'd love to see you all this summer, but I recommend you wait until Adam's exam is over: July 25th, so he can play, too. This is the view out his back porch while he studies, so don't feel too badly for him!


We hope that all is well in your corners of the world, and lets meet up soon!

Sera, Adam, and the bump

Tempura baby

Adam, baby, and I spent an hour last night with an OB/GYN in the plush suburb of Be'er Sheba called Omer. Its where most of the professors and doctors live and it feels a bit like southern California with big stucco houses, green lawns, and big cars. All the same, we went there to visit Dr. Maymon, one of Adam's professors in the reproductive unit in school for a private ultra-sound. Let me explain a bit....

Israel does more genetic testing than any other country. Reason: lots of inter-marriage in the Bedouin community, and closely related gene pools in the Ashkenazi Jewish populations. Both communities are strongly urged to do genetic counseling and testing BEFORE marriage. Either way, all OB/GYNS require this special, 3D, ultrasound at 20 weeks of gestation. These factors make Israel, especially the southern part where we live, a fascinating place to study genetics. Or so I am told by all our geeky medical student friends.

We were not so hip to do this since we are minimalists when it comes to intervening in this pregnancy, but its the only ultra-sound our midwife, Mindy, requires. Additionally, this test isn't covered by insurance. Ironically, most of our prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care within the mainstream system (blood tests, ultrasounds) isn't covered by insurance although we bought the special "pregnancy package". When we complain about this additional, significant cost we are often presented with the suggestion that we should just become citizens of Israel. Then all of our problems would be solved, right? Ha, not quite. Anyway, I am getting away from the story.

So, off we went to Omer last night.

We arrived at the residence of Dr. Maymon, with his office behind his home. It was certainly the most western office we've encountered here so far: bookshelves with lots of medical books, pictures on the wall of babies he delivered, and a coffee machine! In the back room, with nice soft lighting, was this amazing ultrasound machine complete with flat screen TV on the wall facing the table the patient lies on so she can watch the whole thing in full-on technicolor and 3D.

The test was about an hour long, and we did not find out the sex of the little one. Gentle reader, you will have to keep tuning in to find that out. But we found out just about everything else. If our baby were a trading card, here would be her/his stats:

97% for weight according to gestational age
It has lips, eye lenses, and a nose (that looks like Adam's)
It has two kidneys
It has all four limbs that are all well above 50% for length according to gestational age
The fetal position during the exam was vertex (its head was on my left side)
The spine was anterior (towards the top)
The umbilical cord is inserted in the middle of the placenta (where it should be)
There is the right amount of amniotic fluid
It has ten fingers and ten toes
It weighs a bit more than 1 pound

What we learned about our baby from watching it on the screen: it doesn't like to be seen, it kept hiding its face and turning away from the belly camera; it is SUPER long, could be an Olympic swimmer or NBA star; and it is super mobile. That explains my incredibly sore belly. We also saw it scratch its face; so cool.

So where this leaves us. Mindy is happy as it seems our little one is seemingly very healthy so we are free to move forward with planning for our water birth. We still have a very elusive due date. According to some measurements from this test, the baby is at 20 weeks and 5 days of development. Then according to others, like the length of its leg bones, its at 22 weeks and 5 days. We are confident it will arrive just when it means to, and not a moment before. But we are sorry for those of you who are trying to plan travel to be here as it could be as early as September 22, or as late as October 5. All we know is, it will come to meet us when it chooses. And we will do our best to wait, patiently and gracefully.

Here are some pictures of our deep-fried baby (my sister says the pics look like the baby is being batter fried, I tend to agree). These are likely to be the last images we see of our little one before we meet her/him in the flesh. Enjoy!

Birth of two kinds

I feel as though I witnessed a birth last weekend. Not to the growing baby inside of me that stars in the last few lines and photos of this blog posting, but to a project we've been working on since 2004. COHI was finally able to host and sponsor the first meeting of Israeli and Palestinian midwives as part of our coexistence work in the mid-east last week. To say that I was humbled, moved, and inspired would not do the experience justice. I want to share some of the photos with you, there will be more published on the COHI site soon, but please take a few moments to bask in our success.

I served as the facilitator for the weekend's activities, and while this was a great honor, it was also a great challenge. We spoke together in English as this is our shared language. But many of the midwives from both groups don't speak English often and so there were some funny miscommunications. As the excitement mounted, women were speaking over one another and so we resorted to the old "talking stick" protocol. But as we were in a birth center, we used a fetascope as it was closer at hand.

Here is our token man, he is used to this role in these settings. He tends to disappear all day, running errands for us, and then shows up when chores need to be done. What a man, what a man. He can be seen here washing up the day's tea cups at the birth center after the first day's event.
Mindy, the Israeli coordinator for this project as well as our midwife and COHI Board member, can be seen here hugging two of the Palestinian participants. This is the sentiment that exuded from everyone present all weekend. It was heavenly, really.

The workshop over the course of the weekend paired up midwives from both groups to present on protocols regarding all aspects of labor and delivery in their countries. It was a great place to start the conversations between the women and to keep things focused on midwifery. Here are two midwives, one from each group, demonstrating some positioning options for delivery. Truly supporting one another!
Below you will see the entire group, minus one of the Israeli midwives who was called to a birth early in the am. I hope that the friendship, partnership, and goodwill established through our first few days together continues to grow, proving that peace is indeed possible in this part of the world, and women just may be the ones to make it so!

Adam and I stayed on for a day so we could do our scheduled pre-natal with Mindy. I thought you might enjoying seeing some of what our process involves, and the place where the baby will hopefully make its debut.

Here is our midwife, Mindy Levy, who is also a dear friend and COHI Board member, checking my blood pressure. It was just where it is supposed to be.

Adam working through the various positions that the baby takes as it moves through the birth canal. Lots of work for that little baby!

I have a a tipped uterus, meaning that my pregnancy is in the front of my body rather than in the middle. Mindy is modeling for us how my uterus is extending out over my pelvis right now, but as the pregnancy progresses it will straighten out. This is why I am showing so much, so early.
Adam checking my proteins, again, right where they should be. Reminds me of checking the chlorine levels at the pool all of those years. The scientist in him really enjoys this part of the appointments, I think.

This is the garden out back from the birth center, where should I feel up to walking during my labor I can wander around. Not a bad place to bring a new life into the world, eh?

This is the size of our baby as of now: 19 weeks, plus a few days. See the cell phone placed next to the picture so you can get the scale. No, the baby isn't making a call.

You can see here Mindy measuring what is called the fundal height. As it is, when I lie down the majority of the pregnancy disappears due to the tipping action of my uterus. We measured me both lying down and when I stand up. When I stand up, its significantly larger. All the same, I am where we should be with this, as well. Or I should say, the baby is where it should be!

So there you have it, an update on all of the excitement that we've joined in over the last week. I am set to fly away in less than a month to the US, and Adam will join me there in early June. We can't wait to see many of you quite soon, and we will post any news about things from our sandbox should we have the chance.

Love from us,

Adam, Sera, and the bump

Holiday meditations: aquariums and downward dog

Adam and I are still cleaning the sand of the Red Sea from our clothes and backpacks as we bask in the wonder of our most resent holiday. We returned late last night from a week in Dahab, Egypt, on the Red Sea. Our bodies, minds, and hearts are all the lighter as a result and we've found a new place to return to someday with our growing family for more of the same. All of this only five hours away from our humble routines here in Israel. We won't stay away long, that is for sure!

We left our home in Be'er Sheba and headed to the bus station here early last Friday AM. We both left with a great sense of purpose and pride as I had spent the previous day helping our neighbor though her first labor. She succeeded on all counts in the natural delivery of little Alice Nell. I was acutely aware during this labor of what is approaching on the horizon for me! Adam completed his Neuroanatomy exam last week, and is totally engrossed in his new system: the reproductive system. Appropriate, no? So, well aware of where we will find our selves in four+ months, we headed off on our last international holiday sans children.

This week is Passover, and there is always Shabbat to consider when planning for over-land border crossings (Shabbat is a weekly holiday here in Israel for the sabbath where most things including public transport and borders close from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday). So we have to be sure to reserve our tickets, arrive early, and be patient as the place will be packed. Riding buses in Israel is not for the faint of heart, or for those with a fear of pushing. I cease to be amazed with the hostile disregard for other's space, safety, and the polar opposite of this westerner's idea of order that individuals arm themselves with as we board buses here. Sadly, I shamefully admit to partaking in this madness, as well. It overcomes me as I get in line and wait for my seat: I put on my game scowl, sharpen my elbows, and prepare to take no prisoners.

That said, we made it on to the bus in plenty of time (we always do, in spite of the urgency with which people push and shove) and just to help you get a sense of what this experience does to me in spite of my deep breathing and well intended goal of not getting cranky, here is a photo adam took of me once we reached our seats. Looking tough, eh? Really, I was just cranky.



Dahab is only five hours from our doorstep in Be'er Sheba~amazing! The drive through the desert looks a lot like this the whole way: rock, sand, sandy rocky mountains. And then, all of a sudden, there is water!!!!


We arrived in mid-afternoon. I took my first of many naps, and Adam went to wander a bit to scout things out. This is a pic of Dahab from a hill just outside of town. A small-ish place teeming with ex-pats running hotels, dive companies, and the like. That part was unexpected. We stayed in the only Bedouin-owned hotel in town, it was amazing. Its called the Bedouin Moon Hotel, and we highly recommend it.


Here is the view from our hotel room. We would sit out on our patio in the evenings, watching the light slip away enjoying the cool evening air. Most evenings we walked about 30 minutes through town for dinner, after the last call to prayer broadcast on some serious sound systems by the local Mullah at the city's mosque.


The week passed in a deepening state of relaxation for us both. Adam spent his week underwater, reading his first non-medical books in over a year, and eating an impressive amount of chicken Kabob. He would try to describe to me his experiences during his underwater jaunts. He told me it feels like being on the inside of an aquarium; with full mobility. Being able to go up, down, sideways, front, backwards; a feeling of full physical expression.

Adam also joined me for a few yoga classes and he expressed a feeling of more mindfulness on his breath underwater thanks to the instruction in from the local Yogi. He looked like a different person as we were leaving: relaxed, renewed, and standing a bit straighter!

I spent my time in yoga for a few hours each day, reading wonderful books, and napping either by the pool or in our gorgeous hotel room with a view of the Red Sea. The yoga sessions were every morning and each afternoon for two hours. We did a great deal of breath work, mediation, and lots of good stretches and openers for hips and backs. There were only four of us, students, and so we received a great deal of personal attention

We enjoyed one another so much. The quality time we were able to share was just what we needed. Lots of laughing, talking, and also time to recharge on our own. Perfect.



So that brings you all up to speed on the adventures of Adam and Sera in Israel. Adam heads back to class and I head up north for meetings and lectures tomorrow. The next trip takes us across the pond to NY and Texas, touching down briefly in Vermont, Vegas, and Arkansas. Hope to catch some time with you all this summer while we are on that trip, but Adam will have his head to the grindstone with his first board exam at the end of July. We are expecting great things.

And for those of you who are interested, here is a pic of me and our bump~ beaming. We are 18 weeks along now, and feel great!

Lots of love from us,


What we were reading material

Sera: Best Buddhist Writing 2007 an anthology, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen

Adam: Gynecology and Obstertics text book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris, and The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama

Pin-up bride, vermont style

So, rumor had it that Sera and Adam made it into the magazine, Vermont Bride. Well, its true! And our spread has been posted to the most recent issue. Here is the link, and you are looking for the "Love Story" section, scan down and you will see the anti-bride, bride, Sera, in all her glory (compliments of her gorgeous dress by Nancy) and the full story of our love, wedding, and the rest.

Enjoy, some of you will see yourselves there, as well!

The honeymooners, + bump

LINK: http://www.vermontbridemagazine.com/lovestory.html

Spring pilgrims to the Middle East!

Blessed by many visitors the last weeks, we have several pics to tempt the rest of you to plan your trip on over to the sandbox. So, without my usual rambling, here are our tales of adventure for your consideration.

Leilani Johsnon, a dear friend of ours from BU and a COHI staff member, dropped by to see the project here and Sera's growing bump. She brought lots of books, pretty stationery, and pelvic models. We, in turn, arranged a tour for her of the entire country by way of local midwives and their homes. Here is a photo journal of her quick trip through the region, and all the new friends she made along the way.

This is what Adam's life looked life, the pilot, for the last few weeks as he drove us all around, and still managed to get in a great deal of studying. Thank you, honey, you're the best!

Here are Adam and Lei out for a hike at Mitzpe Ramon, about an hour away from our place in Be'er Sheba. Its already bloody hot here; hat and sunscreen are required parts of our daily attire.

Sera, looking very mid-east dramatic here with our growing bump. Quite a view, eh?

Here is a model of Masada, the great site of on of the Jew's last stands against the Romans. It is in the middle of the desert, and one can imagine that they thought they were quite safe. The city was complete with a swimming pool, if you can imagine, filled through underwater aquifers that they tapped into.

Here is a sideways shot of what remains of the real castle at Masada. You can hike up the mountain at sunrise to catch the color and drama. Or, you can take a gondola. Guess what we did????

Lei and Adam in the Dead Sea. Lei is holding a ten pound tuperware container full of Dead Sea mud that they filled up, and sits in our shower for late night facial parties and daily scrubs. Its nice to use the local products, you know.


Accompanied by her trusty side kick and world traveling friend, Lisa Morgan, Sera's mom, Connie, made her first jump over the pond to land in Israel. They chose a great time of year: spring, Easter, and Purim. Couldn't ask for a more festive time of year to visit the holy land. The landscape is green, presenting the illusion of a country that can actually support its watering needs. The historic Christian sites were full with Christian pilgrims from as far away as Cote D'Ivoire reminding us that the Christian world is colorful and diverse. Lisa and Mom found both Israeli and Jordanian food, architecture, men to be quite nice to look at, so there was lots of oohing and ahhing along the way.

Here is Lisa, thank goodness for Lisa. She had a full agenda of sites to see, and thanks to her we made it to all kinds of places we wouldn't without her guidance. Thank you, Lisa!

And here is Lisa with posing for one of many shots with pretty local men. Ah, to be single and in the mid-east....Just kidding, honey.

The Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus gave his sermon on the mount. Sadly, as most of my Christian training came through Monty Python movies, I just kept replaying that scene from "Life of Brian" where they get in a fist fight at the sermon on the mount because they are talking during the sermon, and that hilarious, "Blessed are the Meek, oh isn't that lovely. Its good, because they really do have a hard time of it" uttered in a deep, working class northern British accent.

Looks relaxed, eh? There were many such shots....


A nice view of the old city in Jerusalem from a neighborhood across the street where we found some shade to relax and wait for Lisa to return from Bethlehem.

My mother travels with a complete pharmacy, so don't worry kids, we were safe from just about anything that could've ailed us. Here she is a bit delirious in our hotel room in Petra, Jordan, giggling about how many drugs and such she had with her. Always prepared, thats my Mom!

This is the opening scene as you walk into Petra. Its breathtaking, surreal, and mind blowing all at once. I felt a bit like I was walking through a birth canal, but thats the midwife in me talking.

Then you encounter staggeringly enormous structures such as this one carved directly into the sandstone. An entire city, of which little is known of the inhabitants except that they once ruled the trade routes from Persia through the mid-east to Africa.

This one is at the top of a 6 mile climb. Amazing.

Here we are at the top, it was a wonderful hike, view, and we reached the top by 10 AM. We then headed down and enjoyed a marvelous buffet at a cafe at the bottom of the hill. A nice reward, to be sure.

We bid farewell to Lisa at the border as she headed onto Egypt. Mom and I headed back to spend some quality time in Be'er Sheba, resting, and watching Monty Python. Mom, thank you for coming, we had such a wonderful time with you. We are so thankful for you, for all that you do, and for all that you are. Can't wait until the next time when you come to meet your grand baby. She/he is such a lucky kid to have a Nana Connie.

And for those of you keeping track and with the interest, here is 12 weeks+, ultrasound II. There won't be another until 32 weeks, barring some kind of need, so enjoy it. Look, it has arms!!!!
Hope the rest of you will consider dropping in. We are headed back to the US for June-early August, and then we will most likely be here all through fall, winter, and spring until July of 09 when we head to the US for Adam's final year.

Lots of love from us and our bump, happy trails!