Happy New Year everyone! In my usual procrastination, what
was supposed to be the last blog post of 2015 has turned into our first blog
post of 2016. The new year dawned bright and sunny yesterday morning after many
overcast days, and it was a beautiful sight to see. (It’s also really cold
outside, but that doesn’t bother me because I get to spend the day on the couch
under a pile of blankets!) If you have heard about the record flooding here in
Missouri, not to worry, we are safe and unaffected. The area in which I work
and we attend church has been affected severely with flooding, and some
freeways have been closed for several days. However, the New Year’s Eve church
service was cancelled, and everything should be cleared up in time for the
start of school on Monday, so we are thankful that this flooding has not been a
problem for us, but we keep those affected in our prayers.
December was a dichotomy of extreme relaxation and extreme
busyness with little in between. We spent the first week of December in
California, mostly spent at my parents’ house: babysitting my niece, watching tv,
doing some Christmas shopping, taking extra naps, catching up on work. We
enjoyed an extremely fun weekend celebrating the wedding of our college friend
Whitney, and then got up bright and early to fly home to St. Louis. The next
two weeks passed in a flurry of work, school, church services (Nick was helping
out with mid-week Advent services), work brought home, homework, chores…all
that fun stuff. It was a rough couple of weeks as we were both playing catch up
from the week we missed while also battling the usual stress and difficulty
that December brings. Once we were on break, however, we both crashed quickly.
We spent a week in Michigan with Mark (Nick’s brother, who is on vicarage) so
we could be together for Christmas. Most of that time was spent playing board
games, reading, playing video games, and watching movies. It was a wonderful
time away from our normal routines to rest and relax. I wish that I could say
that in the last few days being back in St. Louis, we’ve been super productive
and active…but, well, it’s mostly been more of the same – sleeping in, reading,
watching tv. But hey, self-care, right?
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| Hanging out with Teagann when we went home |
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| Our friend Whitney's wedding! |
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| Christmas in Michigan with Mark |
The New Year brings a desire to reflect – to reflect on the
year behind and to dream and plan for the year ahead. A few days ago, I looked
back on my first post of 2015 – a picture with all the crazy events and
accomplishments of the previous year. Let’s be honest, 2014 was the biggest year
of our lives. Graduation, marriage, new car, new city, new jobs, new school…pretty
much everything was a new experience, a new adventure. My wish at the end of
2014 was for an “uneventful 2015.” Maybe that sounds really lame, but after a
year of new experiences, I was ready for some time to learn, grow, and settle
in a bit. This past year lived up to that expectation for us. Again, does that
sound lame? Maybe. But in reality, I look back to a year ago and I see how much
we have grown up and the goals we have accomplished...
Academically, Nick has learned so much. He is now in his
fifth quarter of seminary. He learned how to write and preach sermons, and he’s
done so in the church setting several times. He is learning about theology and
doctrine, counseling, and worship. He has gained experience working in a
retirement home, attending Jewish ministry events, and spending many weekends helping
to lead worship services at our church.
Professionally, I have learned more and more about teaching.
I loved having the opportunity this summer to work ahead on classroom projects,
rather than coming in unprepared like the year before. I have been able to take
on more responsibilities at school, and I have gained experience in working
with new students that bring new blessings and challenges to my classroom.
Financially, we have accomplished a lot. One of our main
goals and passions since taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is to
eradicate our debt. This year alone, we were able to pay off 25% of my student
loan total, in addition to a small chunk of Nick’s student loans, which is a
wonderful accomplishment for us! (Especially considering they give us 10 years
to pay off these loans). We were also excited to recover from the hit of
wedding, honeymoon, and moving enough that we have money saved up so that…well,
we can actually spend money on things when we need to…or want to.
Personally, we were able to settle into routines enough, and
start thinking about our future, that we could start setting personal goals, not
just short-term goals, but goals for the long run. This past year, as you know,
we got into running. Running a 10K race was a major accomplishment for the both
of us, and it was a lot of fun. We have learned so much about ourselves, about
each other, and about our marriage.
Stealing from a former post written by a friend, 2015 was a
wonderful year, because I love more people now than I did at the beginning of
it. We have been able to develop our friendships with the wonderful friends we
met upon moving to St. Louis as we grow and continue to love those we left
behind in California. We are so in love with our beautiful niece, born in 2015.
We got the opportunity to spend more time with some friends in our last trip to
California than in the past year and a half, developing those friendships and
making new friends there along the way as well.
We’ve enjoyed this past year because the stability and
routine allowed us to grow in so many ways. It’s even more valuable when you
think about the years we have coming up in our lives – moving for vicarage this
year, moving back to St. Louis next year, and moving to our first call the
following year. The next few years will be continued new adventures, new
places, new jobs, new people to love. We look forward to them so much and we
are so excited to see where God takes us!
Thank you for all the support, prayers, and love this past
year. We look forward to what 2016 will bring!
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Nick and Mikaela Duerr
