Francis Turns Two!!

Today our baby boy (only a few more days we can call him that) turned TWO!

Brian Francis Kissinger II, aka Francis or Buddy, is quite the character these days and brings us so much joy!

His favorite activities are smiling, climbing, dumping things out, and playing with/copying everything his sister does!  His favorite color is orange - and lately when he sees anything orange he'll tell us it's "the favorite one I ever seen!"  He likes to pretend he's Fr. Matt by sprinkling people with holy water or washing his hands like he's seen Father do before the consecration.  He also loves to tell us about the time he saw Joshy, our teenage neighbor, dump water out his window.  Most of all, he loves his sister, mommy, and daddy -- who he definitely continues to take after when it comes to personality and general enthusiasm for life!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!!

Francis' dream cake - neigh-neighs, grass, and manure ;)

Stayed tuned for Francis becomes a BIG brother ;)  (don't get too excited... it won't be today :)

Babymoon / Anniversary Getaway to Upper Austria

This week (on Good Friday) Brian and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!  So thanks to some wonderful students watching our kids back at home, we headed out of town for a quick getaway / babymoon :)

We spent the night in Bad Ischl, a spa town in the southern part of Upper Austria (about two-and-a-half hours west of us).

So nice to getaway without the kids...except for this one :)

36th week

Our hotel is the yellow one in the middle

Famous Zauner Cafe across the river from our hotel

Love the Christian Statues around town

Most Austrian towns have displays of Christ and Saints

We enjoyed the pool, sauna, and relaxation room in our hotel!

The next day, we drove to the famous town of Hallstatt about 15 minutes away.  We rode the cable car up the mountain.

Views of Halstatter See (Hallstatt Lake) were beautiful even with the clouds, rain, and bit of snow coming down.

We then walked along the upper mountain path to the world's oldest Salt Mine.

Along the way, there was a display of St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners (and my confirmation saint!)  She was martyred at age 29 and this is why miners' jackets have 29 buttons.

Entering the world's oldest salt mine -- sections of it are over 7,000 years old!

We got to ride down the 64-meter-long Mega-slide, Europe's longest wooden slide!

After the tour, we enjoyed lunch at the building on top of the mountain overlooking the lake.

We, of course, scheduled this day as our re-introduction of gluten-containing grains... Our first time eating pasta in over 30 days and it was sooooo good - especially with some salt from the mine :)

Then we took the cable car down the mountain and checked out the quaint, lovely town of Hallstatt.

15th-century Roman Catholic Ascension of Our Lady Church

18th-century Evangelical Church of Hallstatt

This Austrian town really became famous after it was "re-created" in China!  Picture I found on the internet below...

Recreated Hallstatt in China

We enjoyed our peaceful drive home, still admiring the beauty of the Austrian mountains and foothills around us!

Back at home in time for dinner, we went out for pizza (did I mention it was our day to eat gluten?!) with the kids.  Ellie enjoyed the special Nutella pizza in honor of the 4th anniversary of her baptism!  Francis enjoyed it as well :)

It was great to getaway... and great to be back home!

All Things Natural: 36 Weeks & Whole30 Day 31

Update time!

We had our last appointment (until the 6 week post-partum check-up) with my obgyn today.  Baby boy is looking great!  He was very active and refused to move his hand from blocking his face (you can see his fingers curled up pressed against his forehead).  His head is down and he's ready to go!  The doctor estimated he's 2.8 kg (6.17 lbs).  We've still go 4 weeks until the due date...so we're expecting him to gain another 2 lbs.  

At 36 weeks, I'm feeling good!  

Brian and I reached Day 31 of the Whole30 program, which means we officially completed it!  But that's a bit misleading...  Now you need at least 12 more days to reintroduce the main food groups we've cut out.  The "science-y" way they recommend to do this is by sticking to Whole30 diet but adding one food group for a day, and then going back to Whole30 for two days and waiting to see if you notice any reactions from eating the food.  And then repeat that process reintroducing the other three groups.

So yesterday, we re-introduced dairy throughout the day.  I added yogurt to my breakfast and Brian added milk.  Brian added cheese to his lunch and dinner, and I added ice cream following lunch and dinner!!  We both noticed some differences yesterday and today, but nothing major.  On Thursday, we'll re-introduce gluten-containing grains; three days later we'll try non-gluten grains; and three days after that we'll re-introduce legumes.  Then three days later it will be Easter and we'll be ready to eat whatever foods we think will make us feel good and fuel our body :)

After the 30 days of no grains, legumes, dairy or sugar - we're both feeling good.  The Whole30 authors list about 100 "non-scale victories" you may experience after the cleanse -- and we were able to check off quite a few.  Those include: more energy, sleeping more soundly, eating to satiety, more knowledge about nutrition, and new cooking skills and recipes.  In addition, Brian found his clothes fitting better and I actually lost a little bit of weight since my last doctor check-up despite the baby gaining 3 pounds.  Overall, we feel healthy and hope we can keep up some of the good eating habits!

During all of this, I've been trying to keep in the mind the underlying principle - that the reason we take care of our bodies is because they are a temple of God! (1 Cor 6: 19)  What a blessing to have God's Spirit dwelling within us! (1 Cor 3: 16).  Especially during this Lent - to reflect on the fact that we have been purchased at a price (1 Cor 6: 20) - by Jesus Christ, God's only Son, as He laid down His life for us - it's just amazing.

Also amazing - is the beauty of God's creation all around us!  Here are a few pictures from yesterday & today:  

Brian playing Ultimate Frisbee (faculty & staff team is still undefeated!)

Ellie at the Frisbee field

Francis hanging out at the Frisbee game

Francis shoveling in front of our neighbor's house
(He's only dressed as SuperWoman because his SuperMan outfit was in the wash ;)

May God continue to bless each of you and your families this Lent!