monday musings

It's been awhile since I've graced this little corner of the inter webs with my inner most musings. So much has happened in the last few weeks and even more will happen in the coming ones. I'm hoping "get warm and stay sunny" is Mother Nature's to-do list as we head into our last month in Innsbruck. Within hours of the above photo being taken, we were hit with dark skies and snow flakes. I can't keep up with this valley weather...

birthday trip - czech!

My mommy came over to visit for a few days short of two weeks. After an evening arrival into Munich and a quick snooze at a nearby hotel, we hopped in the car and headed for Prague.

ice princess-ing

In their trip planning, Kiley and Cody created a Winter Wonderland Bucket List full of fun and festive to-dos while in the snowy and much more wintery land of Europe. Much to Cody's dismay, Kiley and I spied an ice skating rink in the center of town and beelined for the rental office.

schönes neues jahr

london

When a pair of friends from Toulouse invited us to England for a proper British Christmas, we jumped at the opportunity. We are so grateful to have been around friends and family for the holidays.

After a crazy day of travel – Innsbruck to Munich by car, flights from Munich to Frankfurt then Frankfurt to Heathrow, a coach from the airport to Basingstoke, and finally a quick drive to our destination – we arrived to The Old Post Office (our friends’ parent’s home) in the quaint village of Sherborne St. John.

krampus

For those of our American friends who think we've made up the concept of crazy, devilish creatures who terrorize children around the holidays in Austria...

there is a castle on a cloud

With almost a full day off, the Heins Four piled into the car and headed toward Neuschwanstein. It was cloudy and foggy most of the day. In fact, our first attempt at the castle view was laughable. You could hardly see your own hand in front of your face.

thirsty thursday

A few weeks ago, after seeing the recipe on a fellow volleyball wife's blog, I decided I needed to try this super simple recipe. It tastes like autumn in a glass and makes for a wonderful post-dinner treat. I pretty much followed the recipe in the video with a few small changes, noted below.

a (last) year in review

I've been back in Innsbruck for almost a month already - crazy! - and I realized I never shared last year's "highlights reel" on die Blog. Without further adieu…

ein prosit

When I studied abroad, my college girlfriends and I all traveled from our respective cities to Munich for Oktoberfest. After that weekend, I swore up and down that while it was an enjoyable experience, it was one I never - EVER - needed to have again. Love will make you do crazy things…

august of love

August 2014:

The month of August was so love-filled I can hardly handle it. We had a blast playing dress up and are honored to have been invited to so many weddings! We celebrated Erin + Paul, Emilie + Stefan, Jenn + Mack, me + Andy, and Jordan + Matt. Sadly, we weren't able to be in San Diego to celebrate Anthony + Casey or in Iowa City to celebrate Tasha + Ben but I'm sure their special days were perfection as well.

flyover states

Fourth of July weekend 2014:

After nearly five years, I was finally able to drag Andy to Iowa for a long weekend to visit my dad and step-mom. Iowa City and the University of Iowa is a super special place in my family. My sister and three step-brothers attended college there, my dad and step mom reconnected there after nearly 30 years apart, we've celebrated birthdays, bridal showers, football wins (and loses), weddings, and much more there. This visit was long overdue.

minne

Late June 2014:

I haven't lived in Minnesota for nearly 10 years. Woah. That hurts my heart a bit to say. 10 years is a long time to be away from anywhere but the funny thing is, Minnesota still is and always will be "home." I grew up there, I spent summers in college there, my best friends are there… Minnesota will hold the number one "home" spot in my heart forever. Sorry California.

oh happy (birth)day!

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." - Matthew 28:6 - 

And a very, very happy birthday to Viewpoint Church. We are sad we can't be there to celebrate this enormously important day in person, but trust us when we say we are there in spirit and you are in our hearts and prayers always - today especially!

Roger and Becky, you inspire, motivate, love, and encourage us always. Thank you for being incredible people, role models, leaders, and followers of Jesus. You are fearless!