Kuntz Family Wiener Roast (or hot dog boil depending on the weather)

Last night was the Kuntz family wiener roast at my parent's house. This my family on my Grandpa Kuntz's side. It's like his siblings, their kids, on down. It also usually includes a few random people who know someone in the family.

I always enjoy this event and this year was no different. My dad did a fine job of embarrassing my sister and I with his public announcements. First he asked Mark to pray, which is fine. But then he introduced him to the crowd as the "Father of my future grandchild." Mark is no longer a individual person but the "Father of the grandchild."

Diana fared a little better when she and Nicholas arrived. He was given a name when their engagement was announced to the group.

We're glad dad likes to share about his kids...it just sometimes is a little more large-scale then I'd probably choose.

My uncle Steve though also joined in by introducing Jen, Zach's fiancee...so we weren't alone :).

It was chilly last night but with the heated shed we did just fine. They did have a fire and some brave men pretty much cooked all the hot dogs and brats.

I don't have any pictures but everyone seemed to have a good time.

Cheers until next October!

Back from Florida

I love Florida. I love the weather, the beach, the people...it's just great. We had a fabulous vacation. Unfortunately my camera battery was about to die, so I don't have much for picture. Besides, I don't usually feel pretty in beach pictures.

First we went to the Lakewood Retreat with the Sarasota church. We had a wonderful time. We got to see some friends, see a new baby, and chat about pregnancy with folks in like condition.

Then it was off to Tampa to spend time with my cousin and her family and go to Busch Gardens. I couldn't do any roller coasters but they have some very mild rides and shows, so it was a good day. It worked well because my cousin has a 3-year old son so we hung out all day and Mark, Dad, and Mom did the roller coasters.

Then we went down to Siesta Key Beach. If you ever are trying to decide what beach to visit in Florida, this one comes with my highest recommendation. It has beautiful soft white sand. It has a lot of quartz in it, which keeps the sand from getting very hot even in the Florida sun. We did a few hours there with my parents before they flew back home.

Mark and I also rented a kayak and kayaked in the lagoon. Very relaxing and fun. It was difficult to find a "fun activity" that would be safe for this pregnant lady but we managed.

We had a wonderful trip. I finally have a slight tan which I know will fade very quickly.

The morning sickness wasn't too bad over our trip which I was very thankful for.

It's good to be home but I'll always love sunny Florida.

Baby update

I had a doctor appointment on Friday. She said our baby's heartbeat is nice and strong. It sure makes this mamma's heart warm to hear that.

My morning sickness has definitely improved. I was truly hungry (not the I have to eat or I'm going to be sick kind of hungry) for the first time in 2 months yesterday. It was a great feeling. This is just in time for our trip to Florida which is great.

We praise God for his faithfulness and strength thus far in our journey.

Best wishes to you all!

Drinking the same water

It seems there has been a recent rush of people annoucing their pregnancies. It may just be my perception due to the fact many of my friends are married and hence now having children.

Mark and I are happy to announce we are joining in. We are expecting our first child next April.

Things are going fine. I have definitely felt decieved by the term "morning sickness." No one told me it would last all day. But it has improved and I hear it should continue to get better.

As I tell the baby "Mamma loves you even though you make her sick."

We're just thankful for our new little one on the way.

2 years!!

It has been two wonderful years since I married this fabulous man!!

Happy Anniversary Honey!!

Why fixing the ceiling is so important

If you haven't already heard, Mark and I have been re-securing all the ceilings in our new house. When we were putting lighting in, we discovered that the drywall was sagging pretty bad. When they built the house, they used glue and a few nails. Well as the years roll by, that glue loses some of its ability to hold.

Mark discovered that there were places he could stick his hand between the drywall and the support beams in the ceiling. We want to add more insulation before the winter for energy efficiency, but if the ceilings aren't secure...they might not stay where they should.

Here is a picture of a nail that popped out as the dry wall jumped back into position after Mark added the screws. It really doesn't do it justice, how much we needed to add to the security of the ceiling.

I'm just glad I can rest easy knowing that it will take an awful lot to bring that ceiling down now.

More fun with Joel

Today I called down to Georgia to talk to the Lindberg family. As often is the case, Joel answered the phone. I always enjoy talking with Joel as you never know what he'll say. After a brief conversation, he asked me if I wanted to talk to his mom. Sure I replied. He then said "She just went to take a nap." I quickly had to let him know that he didn't need to wake her to talk to me.

He then offered several other people, who also happened to be sleeping. I told Joel I was just calling for fun, so let's limit it to those who he can see are awake.

He first offered Hannah to me but then decided he was reading with her so that wouldn't due. I ended up with Rachel, which was great.

It is important to be very specific when you make requests of Joel and assume nothing is understood (like to don't wake people up).

Hole/Crack in the Ceiling

Mark and I recently redid the ceiling in the living room. After re-securing it, texturing, and painting we realized the large crack that was in the hallway just at the entrance to the living room was rather ugly. We tried several patching techniques. Finally we had to go purchase a new piece of drywall and make a large patch for the ceiling. I don't have a picture of the finished work right now but it turned out pretty good. Here are some of the beginning pictures.

Just like my mom

I love my mom. I think she is great. As I get older, I realize I'm becoming more and more like her. As I put the packages I bought today on the floor of my closet (where my mom puts hers when they can't immediately be put away), I saw just one more thing that makes me like her.

Now I do have some distinct characteristics that are from my dad like that I ...

-Love a good story

-Laugh at my own jokes

-And a few classic expressions

But just as I resemble my mom more than my dad (minus the height thing), I probably have more things that are like my mom...

Here are just a few to mention

-I do something stupid and even though nobody knows about it I tell them anyway

-I start one cleaning task and then move onto another before the first (or second or third) is finished

-I laugh when people are making fun of me

-I love to have people over just to hang out

-I hate looking at picture of myself

-I spend a lot of time planning family vacations and probably get more pleasure out of people enjoying themselves with the plans I made than the vacation itself

-I always need to make sure the people I love are well fed

Here is a picture of my mom with my sister Diana from my wedding. I'm hoping that I age like my mom. That hair color is all nautral people...no gray.

I love you Mom!

$750 Lemonade Shake-Up

This weekend Mark and I volunteered at the Gateway Woods sale (Where else would a lemonade shake-up go for $750?). We worked in the green tent in the morning displaying and carrying items that were up for auction. This is truly one of the great social events of the year. It was great to see many old friends and catch up with a few people. Mark's uncle Jeff is the administrator out there, so we stayed with them and got to catch up a bit with some family.

Here is Mark holding up a quilt for display.














We had one funny incident. My friend Abe was walking through the tent when he saw me working and he waved. This action accidentally won him a $25 wood cabinet...oops.

This is the only item we bought on the auction. A Vera Bradley pink purse (obviously for me).

Stinky Scare

Saturday evening Mark and I decided to take a walk around our neighborhood. Just as we were rounding a corner, we saw this small animal in a person's yard.

At first I'm thinking "that's a funny looking cat." Then I saw the white stripes, it was no cat.
It was a SKUNK. All of sudden we saw its tail start to rise.

It was only about 10 feet away from us with his tail toward us. Mark and I recognized what it was at the same time. Mark said "It's time to go." We did a very quick 180 and quickly sped back towards our house.

It never sprayed but none the less we did run the rest of the way home (a long walk had lost its appeal). While our walk was cut short, we got a nice little run it. My heart rate was definitely up.

When I got home I did research on how to keep them away from your yard. Basically don't leave stuff outside that it might want to eat. We should be good.

Laser Tag

This weekend Mark & I along with some friends played Laser Tag. It was so much fun! If you come visit, we can go :) There are actually a decent variety of fun things to do in Joliet. I look forward to exploring them as we live here.

Tour of the House

Sorry these pictures have taken so long to post. I wanted to wait until a few more things were done before I posted pictures of our house. I didn't post pictures of the bathrooms or the basement but this gives you a general idea of the house. We love company, so visitors are always welcome.

Living Room

Office - Where I spend most of my time

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Kitchen from the table

Guest Room (company always welcome)

Back of the House

Front of the House

Giggling Customer Service Rep

I had to call Comcast (again) about some issues with accessing my on-line account. I was having a pretty bizarre problem (an issue with running around in circles) and when I explained it to the rep...he giggled.

Now I've had some pretty bad customer service from Comcast (if you have ever used Comcast you can probably relate). I try to be patient but I'll admit I do call them with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Usually the last people I work with are great...as they are the ones who actually help me.

Well this guy's giggle certainly improved my mood. At first I was a trifle annoyed that he had the audacity to giggle. But it ended up relaxing me a bit and he proved to be quite helpful.

I may try giggling at the next person who comes off annoyed at me.

Sleeping in the car

I didn't have to sleep in my car tonight, but I came very close.

There are two sets of keys to my car. One is mine and the other Mark's. Because they are a bit bulky Mark leaves his set of my keys along with a few others at home when he goes to work. The problem is this set of car keys, does not have a house key.

I went to Wal-Mart after Mark left for work tonight (I find shopping at night much better w/0 all the people). When I got out of Wal-Mart I realized I had Mark's set of car keys...not mine. The other problem was I had left both of my cell phones in the house (a true rarity for me).

Now our house is thankfully more secure than our apartment was meaning I can't just use a credit card to card my way through the lock. I wasn't confident I'd remembered to lock the door when I left and for once I was hoping I had forgotten.

Thankfully when I arrived home, the door was unlocked. Not that this is very safe or smart...but tonight it proved a good thing.

Had it not been unlocked I either would have had to sleep in my car until Mark arrived at home (he works 3rd shift you don't know this) or gone to Caterpillar and found some security guard to help me find him. I haven't really been around the facility in Joliet like I had been in Thomasville, so that could have been interesting.

I'm off to go sleep in my bed (thankfully:))

Fun Father's Day (a little late)

We went down to Central Illinois this weekend for a belated Father's Day. We first celebrated with my Kuntz cousins. It was great to attend one of these again. I always loved Kuntz birthdays. We tend to get together for all major holidays and then some random birthday celebrations. It used to be about every month but since life has become a little busier, it's more like once a quarter. With Mark and I in GA, we didn't make it much.

Then we had brunch with my Vercler grandparents and my immediate family on Saturday morning. That was really nice too. Mom made fabulous food.

I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera. But the memories are there.

Asking nicely

We have a guy who I think every Wednesday comes in the morning to pick up the kids from the neighbor across the street. Normally our neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. Except on these mornings he comes in playing extremely loud music. He then leaves his car running, doors & windows open, and goes into the house. He is in there an extended length of time. I'm assuming he leaves the music going so he can hear it in the house.

Mark is on 3rd shift right now and while it maybe doesn't disrupt him too bad...it drives me crazy. I'm confident it is a noise violation.

Well today I decided to be a friendly neighbor and ask them not do play the music so loud. I wandered over, introduced myself, and made my request. It helped a lot that I could say my husband worked 3rd and is sleeping. I asked very politely if there was anyway it could be shut off.

The neighbors were very nice and quickly the music ceased. Ahhh the quiet again. I don't know if this is the end of our noise routine but it was great for today.

Missing the Family

This afternoon I had a bit of an opportunity to chat with the Lindberg family back in Georgia. I do miss spending time with them very much.

I had a wonderful conversation with Joel about his birthday and things going on in our house. He is really growing up and a lot of fun to talk to. Here is a great shot of him licking the wisk after making brownies.

I do miss them all so very much.

I don't think I look that young

Sometimes people think I'm younger than I am but typically they are in the general ball park.

Today a salesman rang our door bell, when I answered he asked

"Is your mom or dad home?"

It threw me for a bit of a loop. I smiled and replied "No, I'm the wife."

He blushed and responded that I look young. Now our neighborhood has a lot of families and some-what older people in it but still...

Here is a recent picture. Now I wasn't as dressed up as this picture shows but you'll get the general idea of how I look.

Hello out there

hello to all those who check my blog. We've been very busy with the move. We are officially "moved in" but that just means all our stuff is in this house.

The closing went fine and moving in has actually gone pretty well. When we moved in though we realized something crazy about this house...it had no over head lights in the living room or any of the bedrooms. Mark and my dad have been busy putting in the wires for the new lights and fans. We have 2 and 1/2 of them up so we're doing pretty good.

I'll post pictures soon.