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!