Christmas with the Hintz's

This year, I began a new step in my life. I have managed to make it 29 years of Christmas with my family. Last year, Joel and I ran around to make it to all of our Christmas celebrations. This year, all of Joel's siblings were in town for a short while and we wanted to be sure to have plenty of time with them. So, year 30 was spent in Appleton, WI with the Hintz family. And they like to celebrate!

Christmas Eve was spent going to church with the entire extended family and then to my father in law's house for appetizers and gift exchanges. I was able to experience this with them last year, and it is amazing how the children are growing and how they multiply :) Next Christmas there will be at least two more!

The Hintz love their traditions. One of them is that many years ago, Grandma Hintz made her first mink bowtie - and ever since, the men wear them to church every Christmas Eve. The church expects it, and love that even the smallest Hintz wears one!

Though the roads were slick, Joel and I drove home to celebrate our one and only Christmas as a couple. We slept in a little and then had the joy of hot cocoa and donuts while we opened our gifts. Joel was generous and thoughtful in his gift giving - by far the most wonderful was the Pandora bracelet he bought me to celebrate the birth of our first child. What a beautiful moment!

We then drove back to Mike's house (in our comfy clothes) to celebrate with the siblings and spend all day talking and playing games. It was a relaxing and joyful time. Wonderful to have everyone in the same room. We ended the night at Cynthia's house to enjoy the gift Elissa gave her (Harry Potter Blu-ray)!

Baby Hintz is one lucky little kid. They will be surrounded by love and support - by different perspectives, different personalities, and people who are overjoyed by the arrival of this small life. Joel and I feel blessed. So blessed.

changes and growth

The Hintz's bit the bullet and finally replaced my beloved Malibu - but luckily we're replacing it with something very similar - an Impala! We picked it up yesterday.

And then there is this. I'm not sure if I'm excited or embarassed. This outfit has no support, so the truth is showing. Not sure if it's the 4.4 pounds I've put on (to be exact) or the baby - but let's hope it's baby! :) Much cuter in the pic than in real life.

pregnancy funnies

1 - I had no idea that pregnancy caused acne like I'm a 12 year old boy.

2 - My skin itches like crazy!

3 - I have had my fair share of "pregnancy brain". Example from this morning: Trying to quickly clean up the kitchen before I scoot out the door for work. Grab the credit card bill and a recipe. Put credit card bill in the cabinet with the recipes and the recipe on the stairs with the bills. Then stood in the front hallway knowing that wasn't right, but not sure why. I then looked in the garbage thinking I had thrown the bill away, to FINALLY realize that I had just swapped places. Geez! I heard somewhere the brain never fully recovers.

4 - I have a new step to my morning ritual - my beloved neti-pot. It's a gross thought, but it's a wonderful device that insures that I don't have excruciating sinus headaches all day.

5 - The hormone crazies have remained relatively intact (in my humble opinion), except yesterday morning. Joel finished the chili, which he had no reason not to do. But in my head, I had planned to serve that for dinner last night. I didn't go on a rampage, I didn't "make him pay", but I did have to lay in bed and remind myself that it wasn't really that big of a deal. At all. No really. Just make something else. Instead, Joel got a frozen pizza and tater tots. My little brain couldn't think up anything better. Don't worry, he get's chicken taco soup tonight!

But on the other hand, most of the other stories I have heard women tell, I have been blessed enough NOT to experience. I sleep through most of the night (may need to get up once to pee). I don't have to go to the bathroom all the time. I do enjoy my food, but haven't experienced a lot of cravings (my drug of choice is cheeseburgers and I've only given in a few times). I miss wine, but it's not torture.

14 weeks on Friday! Christmas 10 days away! Chicago in 16!

2nd appointment

All is well! Baby Hintz was enjoying itself so much that we couldn't actually hear the heartbeat with the doppler, so they brought in an old sonogram machine (free, hurray!) and we got to SEE the heartbeat and the amazing gymnastics our little one was doing. Arms and legs were all over the place and doing all kinds of flips.

12 weeks down!

PS- Estimated due date: June 18th!

blog announcement

How to make the announcement - well, first tell parents, they are the most excited. Then siblings, also quite excited. Close friends, who you don't want to hear from someone else. Extended family, who surprise you in how excited they are. Then the cyber-world announcement.

The blog seems the right place to start, since people I really care about check here. Then facebook - though that seems so akward.

But the truth is, we're having a baby. And we're excited. Okay, ecstatic and overwhelmed are probably better words. In almost 7 months, two will become three. The house will go from welcome and warming (and very adult), to chaotic and childlike (but hopefully still welcoming).

So, then, the story. Most of your have heard this - some have not. It was no secret that Joel and I had planned on waiting a year to start trying for a family, and with our trip to Italy at the one year mark, no one would have been surprised had we conceived in Italy. As one year crept closer and closer, I would say we got, um, lazy.

My period was due to arrive several days before our trip to Italy - when it hadn't arrived by the night before we left, neither one of us was surprised. The last several months had been inconsistent. So I dutifully had packed every pad and tampon in my suitcase with many at easy access (for the plane).

The night before we left, we decided it would be better to know for sure we weren't pregnant than wonder the whole time we were gone. We had a pregnancy test in the house, so I told Joel I'd wake up in the morning and take it and then we could go on our merry way. With the trip looming, I didn't sleep well and woke up early the next morning. Seeing as I had to go to the bathroom immediately when I woke up, I decided I better pee on the stick at the same time. So I did. I set it down gingerly and walked back into the bedroom.

It was early and dark, but I knew I couldn't look at the test alone. So I sat down on the bed and tapped Joel. "Honey, I peed on the stick". He sat straight up. "You peed in the bed?!"

See, Joel sleeps pretty hard and sometimes has a hard time hearing. This would have been one of those times. I almost fell off the bed in laughter while I clarified my words to him. So we sat for a few minutes, waiting.

Assuming it was going to be negative (truly), we walked into the bathroom together, Joel first. He glanced at it, but had no idea what he was looking at. I looked over at the test and immediately burst into tears. I pulled the directions out of the garbage to be sure I knew what I was looking at. Yep, positive. How quickly life changes.

We stood in the bathroom laughing and crying for awhile before we realized we had an airplane in Chicago to catch. I dutifully unpacked all my previously packed "girl stuff". We bought another test on the way to the airport, just in case. I called the nurse (who we happened to both know) and then did our best not to tell my dad, who took us to the airport.

The other test was unnecessary. I took it in Rome one day, just to check. Before I could even put the test down - 2 lines. No doubt lady, you are pregnant.

4 weeks later we got to see our little lima bean, heartbeat and all. What a joy! Our lima bean is now the size of a lime and happily growing and changing every day. Tomorrow we get to go back and hear the heartbeat again. It will be a relief to me as I've spent the last 3 weeks worrying that something, unknowingly, is wrong. I'll try to remember to update with the results tomorrow!

holiday joy

the anticipation for the holidays this year seems stronger than ever. maybe it's because, now that i'm married, we just can't get to chicago as much.

everyone at work keeps asking "what are you excited to eat"? i love it all - especially the stuffing, but nothing as much as my mom's gnocchi. see, even though she's not italian - she's stuck with a bunch of italians around her and it's only right that on thanksgiving, we celebrate it all.

joel is sure he hit the jackpot! gnocchi, bread, salad (with grandma's salad dressing), stuffing, potatoes, turkey, apple pie, and other lovely treats we don't even know about yet.

but being the sap that i am, the best part is family. for me it is the chance to be with my family for an extended period of time, to help my mom be the hostess with the mostess (though she by no means needs my help), and the opportunity for joel to get to know all of them better and better.

to me the question is "what are you blessings this year?" without question, i have too many to even begin to describe - and it's something i hope i never lose sight of. i have a husband i can't believe is walking this life with me. i have parents who i trust and love and enjoy. i have siblings who continue to do great things and be great people. i have in laws that are fun and loving and have always made me feel welcome. i have a job. i have a cozy and welcoming home. i have the most incredible friends than i have ever had in my life.

this just reminds me that these are not only blessings to me, but reasons for me to continue to focus outward, on others needs. mine are fulfilled. so many others don't have the things i do.

my prayer this season is that God would give me eyes to see - to see the beauty and the pain in other's lives - and not only to see, but to act. it's a tall order, but i know this prayer will not go unanswered.

a few snaps

In front of the Pantheon

Being blessed by the Pope

Cinque Terre from our apartment


Florence

The path to our apartment in Florence

FOUND IT :)

So, I just posted this to the wrong blog... hilarious!! This is the blog I posted from Rome...

pantheon steps
15 minutes. I just excused Joel to go for a walk while I use the next 15 minutes to give you a quick update (we just checked football scores, so he is satisfied).

Obviously if I told you everything we had been up to, you would never finish reading. I can tell you that we have done so much that we were supposed to go to Pompeii today and felt that we couldn't appreciate it. We have seen so much art, so many churches, and many piles of ruins. We decided over one of our best dinners last night (pasta fagoil and rigatoni carbonara sitting outside in a piazza we stumbled upon), that it was time to relax. So today, we're just walking - reminding ourselves that not everyone walks past the Pantheon everyday. There is a part of Rome we haven't explored yet, so we plan to stroll in that direction, but we're going to attempt to leave our map in our bag and just see what we see.

As for the last week - it has been everything we could have hoped for. The concert was great (we were practically sitting on top of the violinist), Cinque Terre was BEAUTIFUL (though it rained the whole time so we only could hike the Via del Amorè), and Rome has charmed Joel in a way that neither of our first places could quite do. I am surprised, but glad.

We have learned to slow down in Rome. We took Florence at a dizzying speed. With so much time in Rome - we have strolled and eaten (gelato, espresso, pasta, pasta, pasta). Joel has discovered that he absolutely loves espresso - I love gelato (as if that was even a question).

And on Sunday - we became quite blessed. We were in the Castel Snt. Angelo. From the top, you can see St. Peter's Square and we noticed chairs set up - so we wandered down. We could see a mass going on inside St. Peter's Basilica and that the pope was inside (it was a mass for Africa, so there was cool music that they were pumping into the square and showing on huge screens). We decided to get in line to go inside (assuming it would be after the mass was over). In front of us, people started to b-line for the chairs set up in front of a golden chair - Joel leaned over to the English speaking girls to our left and found out that the pope was coming out after the mass. So we sat patiently to see African priests, cardinals, and lastly, the Swiss guard parade out before the Pope came out, spoke about reconciliation in Africa and then blessed us all in multiple different languages - including English. It was a pretty cool experience.

1 minute. Gotta go! We'll be home soon!

lost blog post

It's 4:42 a.m. CST and we're home - and of course, awake. We stayed in bed as long as we could and then decided to just get up and get unpacked.

Last night, when we saw my parents, they told us they only saw the one blog post from Florence, which is funny because we only posted one more, but it should have been there. So, my post from the steps of the Pantheon is forever lost. Oh well.

I really wish we could have updated the blog more, but finding an internet cafe wasn't as easy as I had hoped and most of the time, we were just too busy.

I am not yet able to process that we are gone and back already, so instead of sharing stories (of which there are many) - this morning I will leave you with a picture. I haven't downloaded them yet, so I am just going to plug in my camera and we'll see what we get.

This was our last night in Rome. We were attempting to take a picture of us in front of the Pantheon, and this clown performer wanted to join us! Ciao, Roma!

firenze!

Ciao!!

We are to the last day of our adventure in Florence... and it has been quite an adventure. In three days we have done it all - Michelangelo, Donatello, Chianti, espresso, coacolatè, bucatini, ravioli, bruschetta. It has been other worldly. You can't imagine life where every turn of the street introduces you to more masterpieces. Joel keeps wondering why the Catholic church in America can't have some of these pieces. We have walked what feels like 200 miles. This has required us to take long naps in the afternoon before we eat more.

Katie's favorites - Donatello's Mary Magadelene, Botecelli's Primavera, the asparagus Ravioli she had for dinner last night. Joel's favorites - panini's, the Uffizi, the Michelangelo room at the Bargello, espresso, Bucatini alla amartino, and grappa.

Tonight might be a memory we keep forever. We purchased tickets to a trio of violin, cello, and pianoforte in the Michelangelo room at the Bargello. We plan to eat a fabulous meal (at a restaurant recommended to us) and stroll past the lit statues in the Palazzo Vecchio - then partake in some night music.

The timer is counting down at our internet cafe - and Joel is antsy for some churches (Santa Croce and Santa Maria del Fiore)... and of course, food. Katie is hoping for another encounter with some gelato between the churches!

Tomorrow, we're off to the Italian Riviera! Arrivadercì!

luggage

Two, small, rolling suitcases, a BIG backpack (think hiking), and a small backpack - we did it, folks!

Tonight is cleaning out the fridge, charging our ipods, and attempting to sleep even though I feel like a little kid going to Disneyland in the morning - good luck!

two more days of work... will I make it??

In reality, I will. But in theory, I feel like it is just wasted time and energy when I could be doing my last minute planning and packing.

Joel is working tonight - my plan: to unpack all the bags we packed on Sunday and repack them. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but in reality, I think we'll be happy I did it. We didn't pack very strategically and I think if I can pack us better, we won't be pulling everything out of our suitcases all the time, but we shall see.

We are making several assumptions (I know, you should never do that). One is that the apartments will have towels for showering with. We don't have room for heavy, bulky towels. Two is that we will make the time to clean clothes - we really slimmed down and definitely don't have enough to make it the full two weeks. Three - our imagined style is the same as the style that is in Italy.

For example - I am doing something I've never done before - I am dressing cute for our plane ride. Now, usually I could care less what I look like when all I am going to do is try to force myself to sleep at a ridiculous time of day. But I am actually starting to take pride in my body and feel that I can both be comfortable and cute. So, the outfit that won the test? Short, black, cotton dress, leggings, flat boots, jacket and scarf. I think because the dress is loose fitting and the leggings are comfy, the outfit should work. The truth is, no matter how hard I try, sleeping at 5 p.m. our time is going to be a challenge.

A few last details that can't even be accomplished until we get there - train tickets, tickets for the museums in Florence, tickets for a possible opera performance, and tickets to a AS Roma game. Hopefully the first three will be accomplished by Friday night and then completely put out of my mind! Then we'll eat and walk and absorb and enjoy and drink and...

google walking maps?!

A few updates
- Applied for a new credit card that DOESN'T charge me an extra 3% on international purchases
- Ordered Euro and they came in yesterday
- Put a hold on our mail starting in TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!
- Started to make notes in my notebook about the location, phone number, and money owed for each of our apartments

The big accomplishment of the day was using google maps to get a walking map from the train station to each of our apartments. Each of them is about 1.5 miles away, but that is a good healthy walk after sitting on the train all day. The coolest thing is that each route comes with pictures - so on our walk from the train station in Florence, we will walk past the Duomo, the original location of the David, the Uffizi museum, and the Arno.

Getting less nervous and more excited. We now have all the clothes and shoes we need, my friend Ashley gave us a big backpack to pack in, and we can now focus the weekend on our anniversary. Happy one year to us!

Plans to celebrate? Joel is making breakfast on Saturday, then maybe apple picking, then very nice dinner downtown. Sunday I'm making breakfast, church, and then watching the video of our wedding. Hurray!

exchange rates and exchanging money

So, even though the travel business is down, they are still screwing us at every turn with our money. We are finding that things in travel are changing - it used to be that the best thing to do when making a purchase in a foreign country, was to use your credit card. We were just informed that our credit card company charges 3% for each purchase made in a foreign country! Same with our ATM card. Awesome.

And to exchange currency here, they charge you for that too (on top of the terrible rate the dollar is getting right now). I'm so frustrated and there doesn't seem to be a good way around any of it. Waiting until we get there (like we used to) seems to not be the best answer any more.

This is not my favorite part of trip planning.

I'm going to the bank on my lunch to learn about 2 things - wire transfer (to pay for our apartment in Rome) and exchange rates for our bank.

Another note - even though I told our credit card company that we'll be in Italy for certain dates, they told us it's very possible they'll put a hold on our account in case of suspicious activity. Something else to look forward to. Good thing we have good friends who have lent us their international cell phone. Looks like we're going to need it.

I can't wait to be on that airplane and done with the planning.

a picture's worth a thousand words

Chocolate covered bacon at the Wisconsin State Fair!

Been waiting 15 years for this moment!

Company picnic at the TimberRattlers game

In the Redwoods

Labor day joy!

so many words...

Things have been crazy good for us lately. Really fun summer - great family adventures - great friendships and conversations - and plenty to look forward to. With all of that, I have had a hard time narrowing down what to blog about - and then end up not blogging at all.
So here is the run down - I joined a gym (which, for the first time in my life, I'm loving). Joel is working at Fastenal part-time to get the lay of the land, while still applying for other work. I spent Labor Day weekend in Chicago while Joel celebrated Eric's birthday in California. I got a much-anticipated promotion at work. Joel helped our friend's, the Strattons, build the most amazing treehouse - seriously. I finally applied for my teaching license in Wisconsin, which is no easy feat.

Those are the highlights - here are some details of the slough of blessings being passed in our direction:

- Joel celebrated his 29th birthday on Wed. surrounded by old friends, goods drinks, and a pretty good dinner. Saturday we put his new grill together, and tonight we will break it in with Joel's favorite, Italian Sausage.

- The other night I received an email that I have been selected to be a "community reviewer" for the Performing Arts Center in Appleton. This means that I will (with another person) get to attend a handful of shows this season, and review them online. If you know me, you will know that this is about as good as it gets in my book. I LOVE THEATRE.

- Joel and I received a phone call from a friend of mine from work on Saturday offering us tickets to the Packer/Bear game at Lambeau Field at face value for Sunday night's game. Though the Bears did not look good - we had a great time! Warning to Bear's fans - bring a friend.

- ITALY! We are now at 31 days and I couldn't be happier, more excited, anxious, and ready. We have wonderful and generous friends who have lent us many travel books, converters, backpacks, man-bags, etc. Now we just wait, and wait, and wait.

As for everything else, we are just flat out blessed. Though lost in our search for church, we are not alone. Many of our good friends are just as lost. So we are attempting to band together. At least pray for one another. No matter how frustrated I can be at the church, it never makes me want to run from God. He is definitely not the issue, though not being in community really challenges my ability to think of Him first. We sat with friends this weekend and shared life and prayed and it was very lifting.

And 10/4 is just weeks away - happy one year to us. Marriage is what you make of it. We have had our fair share of challenges, a few tears, and many moments of compromise, but we have come out stronger, and if I may say so, more in love than we both thought we could ever be. I didn't know a year ago that I was marrying my best friend, but now I truly know that I did.

meeting with the pastor

Joel and I, though not entirely willingly, have kinda-sorta decided that we need to find a church. In the process of looking, we kinda-sorta have found one. Joel is very happy and ready to settle in.

Me, not so much.

It's not that it's not a great church - we already know a good chunk of people there. It's not that I don't love their mission. It's just that I'm not totally sold on the whole idea of a traditional "church". I believe in the "C"hurch with my whole heart. I believe in the Kingdom of God with everything in me. I believe that I'm called to live both of those things out.

I'm just totally unsure of the way we do it in our current American culture.

But the problem is, I don't have a better answer. I know that both Joel and I are encouraged to love more when we go to this place called church. I know that I'm forced to reflect on my image of God when I'm with other people.

But I have questions - lots of them. And often times at traditional churches, they only seem to have answers - and I don't feel like my questions are satisfied by those answers.

I won't tell you what was being talked about at church yesterday, but it was a hard topic. But, as most pastors would do, ours broke it down into very simple terms. After he was finished, the girl in front of me took a big deep breath, and did a fist pump while she mumbled to her neighbor "YES". I think she meant that she felt satisfied - that this question that had bothered her was finally answered.

I did not have the same wave of relief, and I definitely did no fist pumping.

See, my problem is that I don't think we are meant to have the answers - at least not all of them. I didn't agree with the answers that were given, but I didn't have better ones. I think we, as Christians, HATE being uncomfortable. We do everything in our power to make sense of things that don't make sense. We want to be able to hold it in our hands, in our minds, and in our hearts, so that if someone asks us a question, we have a quick and swift response.

I'm uncomfortable with this.

And I'm okay with that.

But the pastor, who we are having coffee with today, might not be. We'll see if I even have the guts to lay it out there.

inspiring words

I used to be inspired more. Maybe it was working with teenagers or children - they see things that we (adults) tends to miss. Maybe it was reading more - Twilight is fun, but not necessarily inspiring. Maybe it was being outside of the 3 1/2 walls of my cubicle. Walking with people, talking with people. Sitting in coffee shops watching the world turn. Sitting in parks watching children play. Making your life work about the act of inspiring people.


I like what I do. I like working for Disney. And having a regular schedule is what is important to me. So, this is where I will stay.


But recently I have re-connected (through Facebook and Twitter) with some of the people I worked with in the act of inspiring teenagers. They all inspire me to remember that the world is bigger - and that thinking about it, and God's hand all over it, is part of what makes my heart pump. It makes me want to soak up words and stories again.



But my favorite inspiration lately is my family. Managing two families has been an adjustment to me, and has meant that we haven't seen everyone as much as we'd like. This last weekend we were able to get down to Chicago - my siblings both there - and spend some quality time.

This quality time involved baseball and reunions.


Now, some people may not agree with me, but there is something about getting to go to a baseball stadium and see your favorite team play. And it's better when your favorite team (mine being the White Sox) - demolish the New York Yankees. I believe this may have been the best game I've been to in a long time at "The Cell" (which I recently learned is what people call good ol' Comiskey Park). 14 - 4 White Sox. No homeruns, but lots and lots of hitting. And I even got to see Bobby Jenks (my fave) come trotting out on the field.





But, better than that, my family was all around me, smiling and laughing and joking with each other. Sharing a few drinks. Eating a few dogs and polishes. Standing and clapping. Making memories. The feeling of excitement that comes when "Thunderstruck" starts playing and the players run out on the field. Watching my Dad and the memories that brings for him.


And then there was the Carpenter Family Reunion. Now, most people have a weird negative connotation with "family reunions". This doesn't exist for me. My family has always been solid and welcoming - even those we only see once a year. The conversation is light and fun - we play games and eat - and share our lives.


But back to inspiration - my grandparents, within the last 10 years, have been a constant source of inspiration for me. My grandmother passed away a year and half ago and most days I think about her in some way or another. I keep a few small replicas of her paintings on my desk at work. As Joel and I pulled up to the house on Sunday - I had a sudden and forceful set of emotions hit me. Most days, my memories of her are just that, memories. But when they come to life, like at her house, I can't help but miss her. She aged so beautifully, and she tackled cancer as if it would never take her down. Grandma and I shared a relationship like I have not seen much between a Grandma and her granddaughter. If you're interested, check out the blog we started to keep memories of her alive http://www.carpentertradition.blogspot.com.





As I walked through the house looking at pictures of her and remembering our sweet time together (especially the 3 years before she died) - another set of emotions washed over me. I had this thought and I think it often - she would be so proud of my grandpa. He has chosen to live through his incredible loss. He works and plays with great joy. He rides his new bike. He travels like a trooper. He keeps up with his chores (which he does on a very regimented schedule). And he continues to gather his family together. I am proud, and she would be too. She has left a deep mark on me and my cousins that will continue to inspire us for our lives. I look forward to telling my children the stories of her courage. I am grateful she shared them with me. And my grandpa continues to inspire me each time I see him.



My inspiration comes differently now, but no less true and colorful. My heart is filled to overflowing.


(Don't miss Grandpa's inspiring words on his shirt!)














http://www.klullo.shutterfly.com/

the keys to our sanity (or so we'd like to think)

Each of us has our own way of relaxing. For Joel, it's working in the garage. For me, it's knitting. Unfortunately for Joel, sometimes his relaxing and our house projects overlap. But for those of you who aren't here (or haven't been to the house in awhile)... here is what Joel finished up a couple weeks ago:

Before this... there was a black wraught iron railing that was of no use to anyone. Now the railing matches the house (and even the staircase in the house). I'm proud :)

As for me, only rarely does knitting turn into a "project". Now is not one of those times! I have only knit a handful of things for myself. I finished up a shawl earlier this year, but it can only rarely be used (I haven't exactly figured out how to wear it yet!) But now... I am knitting a sweater. Here is what I have so far:

It may not look like much right now... but you just wait! It will be lovely to wear in October in Italy!

how do you know if you've had a good weekend...

Well, it could be that you've been to Disneyland or Fratello's or Italy... or it could be that you accomplished a few things and spent some good time relaxing.

Ours was the latter.

Here is a good indication that we had a good weekend...

1) There was food involved in most of the weekend... Saturday morning we got up and road our bikes to the farmer's market, and then to Aldi. There is something about picking up locally grown food on your bike. Does it taste better? Maybe... or maybe that's in my mind. But here is the result of our trip (we then spent Saturday evening sharing this with some new friends of ours). 2) Joel was able to finish up a project on Friday - that I have to say I am quite proud of. He bid on this, won the bid, and did a beautiful job. From this job, he has picked up two more... what can I say, he knows what he's doing! The line is forming... so please let him know if you have some work!

3) Another succesful part of the weekend may not have been the most fun, but it needed to be done... weeding. I only spent an hour on it (Sunday night at the last possible minute), but it did feel good when it was cleaned up a bit. But a question has been haunting me for five years now... what is this plant? It is a perenial... it has the fragrant smell (like an herb) but grows up from one central point (like a bush). And the bees LOVE IT! If you have any idea... let me know!

4) We rested. We watched a few documentaries on Italy (one of the ways we're prepping). We socialized a little. We went to church. We read some of overwhelming volume of magazines (ps- if you like magazines, ask me how I get them free). I knit some more. Joel played in the garage a little (he got new tool bags... and you would think someone just sent him a million dollars!) That to us was a good weekend. Here's how I knew I had succeeded:

the way summer should be

The last two weekends for me have been a taste of the way summer should be. Busy enough to have fun things going on, but not so busy that you miss the world around you.

My theory is that we are truly in control of how busy we let our lives get. No one can busy it for us - it's a decision we make. So Joel and I have decided recently to not let our schedule control us, but to be in control of it. We've prioritized doing the things we always put off and spending time with important people in our lives.

This weekened was a perfect example of that.

Saturday we met my parents in Milwaukee. The Lullo's always keep themselves busy, and so the best bet for matching busy schedules up was to meet half way. We found this great place in Milwaukee called the Public Market where picked up some great food (and some yummy spices).

This is where it gets interesting.

We knew that we wanted to head towards Lake Michigan - so my dad got directions and we headed out. The man who gave my dad directions said, if you go to the second beach, that's where the circus is. I was reminded that the Great Circus Parade was in town doing a festival (and parade on Sunday - which we missed). As we drove closer to the site, chairs began popping up along the road, then tents, then duct tape marking off people's whole blocks of space. Traffic got very heavy and we began to see the tents. The only way we could figure out how to get any closer to the water, was to park near the festivities, eat along the water, and then join in ourselves.

Lunch was fabulous - my dad even thought to bring beer - which was a nice touch to the day. We then walked around the festival grounds. The parade floats (if that's what you want to call them) were out getting a final wash down before the big event. They were bringing out the horses to hook them up for one last practice. It was a great way to get side-tracked together. Next time we just need to plan better to actually be there for the parade. (Side-note: my parents took us when we were much younger, and I still can picture the elephants walking down the streets of Milwaukee).

Joel and I were able to hang out a little while longer - we found a park bench, talked a little, thought a little, and remembered that "this is the life". We are truly blessed.

We ended the night at Lifest. There are too many things I can say here - but my soap box may not be appreciated by all. Let's just say Joel and I walked many circles around that place trying to avoid the people wearing t-shirts that said "Free hugs" and the cheesy Christian lingo that I worked to avoid a long time ago. I just want to say that I think God is about so much more than we give Him room for. I think the best thing I heard all night was from one of two musicians I cared to see. His name is Derek Webb and though I can't quote him, he said something to the effect that in the "Christian culture", especially in Christian art, we write music or paint or sculpt about the 2% of "spiritual stuff" out there, and miss the fact that God is God of all things in life - sex, politics, nature, love - everything. And if he is God over everything, why do we only talk about the 2% that we deem as spiritual? Phew - I better stop not, or you might never come back to read more....

All in all - after a weekend like this, I felt like I could breath again. We spent Sunday around the house - and I even got a chance to read for several hours.

It felt great.

up nort - we return

4th of July on a lake, on a boat, watching fireworks, catching fish - I think that's the life!

It was different than we imagined, and different than before for Joel. The cousins are growing up, most are married, and several have small children. The-drinking-all-day-on-a-fishing-boat days are over. There is still a lot of fishing and card playing - and still a few drinks. But at the end of the night, there were only 3 left around the fire (making s'mores for the rest who were card playing in the house). It was quiet and really nice. We slept a bunch, and ate a bunch (this particular family is oh-so health concious!) The joke with the Hintz's is that if it's fried in canola oil or has some sort of nuts or fruit in it, then it is healthy. Therefore, oatmeal raising cookies and white chocolate nut cookies, are healthy. Caramel bun breakfast with nuts is healthy - and chips fried in canola oil are healthy.

It didn't help my diet much - but it was very tasty!

Brinley's presence was an absolute joy for me - she is precious and smiley and barely ever fussy!

The best times for me were going fishing as the sun was setting - there was always a boat full, the view was stunning, and the conversation jovial. If not for the insane amount of bugs - it was perfect.

And it continues...

This weekend we have more fun plans. Tonight, we get drinks with Dan - who we haven't spent time with in awhile - at one of my new favorite places, Red and White. Saturday we are meeting my parents in downtown Milwaukee to go to the Urban Farmer's Market and then have lunch on the lakefront. After that we're heading to Oshkosh for Lifest and Third Day - Joel won us free day passes. We're hoping to connect with a few people (possibly Mike or Ashley) - and enjoy a night out!

up nort'

All this time I've lived in Wisconsin (going on 6 years in August), I haven't spent much time "up nort'".... and then I got married. Now we go camping "up nort'" and, in the case of this weekend, we even go to the cottage "up nort".

The cottage is an incredible Hintz tradition. They find as many cousins as possible (I think we were over twenty last year) and cram them all into a space meant for 5 (well, I guess they have the bunkhouse now, which will fit another 10). Though we're not sure how many are coming this year, we are planning for the possibility of camping out in the tent.

The great part is getting to be with family, especially as the family grows in numbers. This year we get the addition of Brinley - who through her short time with Joel - has absolutely melted Joel's heart. I look forward to getting a chance to snuggle her, while also getting time to lay in the sun and read with my sisters-in-law. I am truly blessed.

On another note, the summer seems to have gotten away with us - and we are in the process of reclaiming it! We're hoping to meet up with my parents next weekend somewhere in the middle, and then get a weekend or two at home.

Plans for Italy haven't moved much since the apartments were booked - but we have read more of the travel book and we're planning to watch a few movies set in Florence and Rome. This weekend I'm planning on reading Angels and Demons - which is set in Rome and supposedly very descriptive! Then I have to plan our train travel! Looking forward to it!

when in rome...

Our adventure began months ago - we decided when we got married, that we would begin a fund for a major, one-year anniversary celebration. Half of each of my paychecks would go into this fund, and when finished, we'd make arrangements to head to Italy for two weeks!


9 months later - the tickets have been purchased, apartments have been reserved, and now we get to plan the fun stuff!


Our tentative itinerary is Florence, Cinque Terre, and Rome with possible day trips to Siena or Lucca, and Pompeii. Now I just have to figure out how to get between these places (as in, how to use the trains in Italy).


The adventure of finding apartments has been crazy, but only took me about 5 days to secure 3 different places that I'm crossing my fingers about. Two had great reviews - the third is a shot in the dark! Our only drawback is that none have a washing machine - but I think we'll just spend some time at a laundromat in Rome (which I've been told is easy).


Here are the links to each of our "apartments".

This is our apartment in Manarola (one of the Cinque Terre) - super excited about the view!

http://www.dapaulin.it/app3_eng.html

Florence - cute, so we're crossing our fingers!

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/Italy/Tuscany/Florence-Area/holiday-apartment-Florence/p71755.htm

Our tiny home in Rome - nice and sunny, though! And it looks fairly central!

http://www.romanreference.com/appartamento.php?refid=366

So, here we go!