A Month of Preparation

July has really flown by! Of course, since we published out last blog post in the middle of the month, it would seem like there's not a lot to talk about. But it has been a busy couple of weeks. First of all, we started a diet program called Whole 30. The first disclaimer is that while it is a diet program, it is not a weight loss program. The objective is not to keep the calorie count low, but to keep the inflammatory substances low. That means we are not allowed to eat any grains, dairy, added sugar, legumes, or alcohol. Essentially all that is left for us to eat is fruit, vegetables, and meat. This means we have had to become a lot more creative with our meal planning, but it has been an interesting adventure for us. Some of our better meals have been things like pork carnitas with a side of sautéed vegetables and home made hamburgers with sweet potato buns.

The time we aren't spending cooking the significantly more elaborate meals has been dedicated to preparing for August. Mikaela has spent weeks in her classroom getting it prepared for the upcoming school year. This means a lot of cutting, pasting, laminating, more cutting, and taping everything down. She got everything finished up just in time for the kindergarten play date, an opportunity for the students and parents to come in and see the classroom and meet each other. While it has been a lot of work, it is rewarding knowing that the classroom is ready for the first day of school. 

On top of that, we have been packing in preparation for our move out to Washington. This has been a laborious process of going through all of our stuff and seeing what we need, and what we haven't used in the two years we've been married. Our first order of business was rearranging the basement so that all of the empty boxes we saved for just this occasion are readily accessible while the things packed and ready to go are stored away until moving day. Our second order of business was the office, where we are staging things upstairs for our move. With both of those rooms packed up, it is a lot easier for us to pack up other things since now once things are packed up, we have somewhere to store them. And while packing things like our winter clothes was relatively easy (everything gets packed, since I obviously don't need my heavy coat for the next two weeks), packing up the kitchen is proving more difficult due to being on Whole 30 (who knew that on a diet where you can't eat bread, you would need your muffin tin?).

In any case, as we begin August, we have a lot to look forward to. Mikaela will be beginning her third year of teaching, which is really cool for many different reasons. First, she gets to be in the same classroom as the last two years, which we didn't think would happen because of vicarage. Second it is cool because she has now had two years of experience teaching kindergarten, and has a much firmer grasp on what she is doing. This means she has been able to expand her curriculum and begin to really engage teaching kindergarten on a whole new level. For me, August begins an entirely new adventure in my life, vicarage. While technically I am still a student (which is kinda cool cause I don't have to start paying student loans yet), for the first time since I started attending preschool, I will not be in classes. There are so many new things that I will begin to experience, that sometimes when I try to comprehend how much things will be different, I get a little overwhelmed. But at the same time, I am really excited to begin this adventure and see what God has in store for me. 

Finally, we want to thank you for all of your prayers and support. The last two years have been an amazing time, and we thank God for all that He has done for us. We are excited for this upcoming change in our life, and you can expect to see quite a difference in the stories we will be sharing over the next year. 

In the name of Christ our Savior,

Nicholas and Mikaela Duerr

Summer time!

Hello friends and family!

I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts recently – between the craziness of the end of the school year and vacations I just haven’t been able to sit down and write when I’ve needed to.

May consisted of the normal end of the year wrap ups. We started off May very relaxed and enjoying life without the stress of Call Day and other events. Things, as usual, got busier as we approached the end of school – for Nick, it was papers and finals, for me, it was testing my new students and planning field trips and graduation and all the fun that comes with the last month of school. After school let out we took a little mini vacation, just the two of us, for the first time over Memorial Day weekend. It was so wonderful and relaxing to go away and enjoy life without to do lists. We went to Washington, MO for the weekend to attend our vicarage church and spend some time in the town. We had a wonderful time picnicking and walking by the river and enjoying some of the wonderful restaurants and wineries in the area! We enjoyed the free time to sit and read and nap and just relax without worries.  

Picnic by the Missouri River

In the beginning of June, we went back to a semi-normal routine, with Nick working a few days a week at his job at the seminary, and I spent some time in faculty meetings and getting my classroom packed up for the summer cleaning. We also began prepping for our upcoming move and planning our vacation. Before we knew it, our vacation was upon us!

We flew out to California on the morning of June 17^th, greeted at LAX by my parents. They took us to breakfast and drove us up to Visalia, where we stayed until the following Thursday. My brother TJ was there, enjoying some well-deserved time off work, and it was so fun to spend some time with him while we were there! My sister, Adrionna, came over with our niece, Teagann, who is now walking and talking and just so grown up! We had a wonderful evening with some of my friends from high school, talking and catching up on what everyone is doing. Nick especially loved holding Asher, the 6 month old son of one of my friends. The next day, we had all kinds of family over to see them, since we always end up missing holidays. It was so much fun to see my grandparents and aunts and uncles and my cousins who are all grown up, and of course, to spend the day with Teagann. We spent Sunday, Father’s Day, hiking in Kings Canyon, a place we both spent a lot of time at growing up. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being up in those mountains we love so much! Our last big adventure in our time with my family was to purchase a car. Nick will need a car as a vicar, especially since I will be working full-time quite a distance away from Washington, so we were in the market to purchase a second vehicle. Purchasing one in California ended up being beneficial to us, so that we had mobility as we went around California to visit family and friends! We spent a long, hot day shopping but came out with a little used Kia Spectra. The fun part of it was that it is a manual transmission – an overall benefit, because it was a little cheaper than an automatic would be, and overall will be more reliable with fewer moving parts to break. However, I never learned how to drive stick shift, so we spent some time driving verrry slowly around to help me learn how to drive this car! I’m still not 100% confident on it, but I can drive it in an emergency, and it’s going to be Nick’s car anyway! I’m glad that my husband is a very patient teacher, and willing to do so much driving.

Nick playing catch with Teagann

Hiking in Kings Canyon on Father's Day!

Our favorite treat is always In N Out!

After saying goodbyes to my family, we took off to Orange County. We spent a little time at the beach and walking around Concordia’s campus, which always brings about a lot of nostalgia. We had a blast at the San Diego County Fair with our friends Danny and Stephanie. We got to play some games, eat some greasy food, and watch pigs race (which was obviously the highlight of the day!). The following day, we got to attend the wedding of my good friend Lauren in the beautiful sanctuary at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orange (also where my friend Whitney got married back in December!) and with the reception at a gorgeous restaurant up on a hill with a view of Orange County. We had such a wonderful time celebrating and being able to spend time with my Credential class buddies, Lauren and Nadine. Long-distance friendships are hard to keep up, but when we get together it feels like no time has passed and we just enjoy the time we do have.

We felt so fancy at Lauren's wedding!

The three of us together again!

Watching the pig races with Danny and Stephanie!

We left Orange County early Sunday morning in order to make it out to the desert to attend church with Nick’s grandparents, who we had not seen since our wedding two years earlier. Nick’s grandpa, a former pastor who, like most pastors, never really retired, was filling in for their pastor who was on vacation, so we got to hear him preach and lead worship. It was a small storefront church, which was a new experience for me, and it was such a unique experience and community, and we had a wonderful time! We spent the next several days being spoiled by Nick’s grandparents, enjoying talking with them, eating out, cuddling their dog Littlebit, and seeing the movie Finding Dory. It was such an enjoyable, relaxing visit, and we were sad to go!

Our next stop was to drive allll the way up to the Sacramento area. (Side note: When planning this trip, I hadn’t really realized how long of a drive that was going to be. Growing up in Visalia, everything in California was 4 hours away, so I didn’t really account for the fact that we were starting out many hours south of my childhood home before heading up to Sacramento. The drive took us about 8 hours, which is the length of a typical day when we drive across the country to get to St. Louis, where we may cross several states. I forget how HUGE California is!) After a long day of driving with – thankfully – no traffic, and a quick stop off at a McDonald’s to see my dad near where he was working that day, we made it to Linda’s house, who is Nick’s godmother. We LOVE spending time with Linda because she always gives such a warm welcome and has such an infectious, exciting personality! Linda lives right next to Folsom Lake and she owns a jet ski, so we spent part of a day out enjoying the lake. There were very few people out on the lake that day, so Nick and I had a wonderful time getting out and speeding around the lake on the jet ski. That is legitimately one of my favorite things in the world to do and I hope to live near a lake someday so we can do that more often. We also enjoy just floating out in the lake and soaking up the sun and the cool water. Linda also cooks the most delicious food, and we had an evening with a delicious dinner and games and a last minute visit from my brother, who lives in the area. Having TJ over was a fun addition to our visit with Linda, especially because I get to see him so rarely.

While in the Sacramento area, we stopped by to meet some of our sponsors through the Adopt-a-Student program at the seminary. The seminary matches up donors to send financial support to students, and we have been able to keep in contact with these donors, Chuck and Joan, over the last two years. We stopped by when we were in the area and had a chance to visit with them and eat lunch with them. We were so delighted to meet them, and we soon discovered that there was more to them than meets the eye! They have immense travel experience and have traveled to and lived in dozens of countries. Their house is a treasure trove of artifacts from these different places and conversation with them was a treasure trove of stories! We are continuously blessed by their financial support but now we are even more blessed by knowing them and having met them.

Our last stop in California was, of course, to see Nick’s family in Bakersfield! It felt strange to spend such a long time driving around California without stopping by, but Nick’s mom and sister, Cathy and Angela, arrived in Bakersfield the same day we did after a month of traveling in Europe, so we waited until they were home. Our visit with them was wonderful and relaxing and filled with just the right amount of adventure. We spent time swimming and playing board games and video games and eating delicious food. We went to an Escape Room – a new experience for all of us – and had such a blast. We celebrated the 4^th of July by setting off fireworks. We were treated to Starbucks and pedicures (well, I was, not Nick). We also had the opportunity to stand up in front of Nick’s church, St. John’s, and thank them for their financial support and prayers. They have been so wonderful about publishing a letter from us in their newsletter and sending financial support to help cover the costs of seminary, and we were so glad to be able to thank them for that. We hope to be able to stop by there again in order to spend more time with the people there and thank them again for what they have done for us.

Unfortunately, our time in California had to eventually come to an end. We set off early Wednesday morning with Las Vegas programmed into our GPS! Our original plan was to stop by the Grand Canyon, but after discovering that the campgrounds were all completely full, we opted to find a hotel in Las Vegas instead, since they are really inexpensive. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, we walked the Strip, and I showed Nick the important sights since this was his first time there. We walked through the big casinos and saw all the iconic places. However, it was a really hot day, and we were pretty miserable by the time we got back to our hotel. After showering and resting, we were refreshed enough to venture out and see a few more places. It was a fun day, but we both agreed that Vegas really isn’t our style. The following day, we set out for Utah, heading to Arches National Park. If you haven’t been there, make it a priority. It was such a beautiful place, and even though it was hot, we hiked that evening and the next morning, and it was significantly cooler. We enjoyed setting up and using our tent for the first time, and camping together for the first time! And the views of the Arches were just magnificent. I took so many pictures. We were just in awe of God’s beautiful creation. After Utah, we set off for Colorado. Colorado was absolutely beautiful. Just driving through it was worth the stop, even though our hiking plans were ended when we saw a thunderstorm moving in, and relaxing by the fire was out of the question after a rainstorm soaked everything in the campsite. But we went to the camp store and bought a deck of cards and enjoyed the evening warm in our tent playing cards. The next day was our long drive, all the way out of Colorado and through Kansas to Kansas City. It was a long day, and we were very happy to get to our hotel in Kansas City and crash. We did, of course, stop for some barbecue on the way, because you can’t go to KC and not eat barbecue. It was somewhat relaxing to be back in Missouri, although we did not appreciate the humidity when we stepped out of the car! Our last day, last Sunday, we got up nice and early to make the four hour drive back to St. Louis in time for church in order to see our friend’s baby baptized. It was such a special day and we were glad we made it back in time! We all went out to lunch afterwards and it was fun to celebrate all together.

Las Vegas

Arches National Park in Utah

Waiting out the rainstorm in our tent in Colorado

Made it back just in time for this little guy's baptism!

Since returning home, we have settled in and divided our time between relaxing and working. Over this past week, Nick was not scheduled to work, and I could not get into my classroom, but we have lots to do at home as we prepare for our move in about three weeks! Our apartment has been a consistent disaster zone/obstacle course as we unpacked our things from our trip and have attempted to start packing up things we know we won’t use in the next month. My goal is to get it live-able/walkable tonight before I head back into my classroom and get into work mode tomorrow.

We celebrated our second wedding anniversary last week! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been married two years. I know that to many of you we are still newlyweds, but we have learned and grown so much in these two years, and we thank God for the time we’ve had together and the blessings that have been showered upon us in our marriage. We celebrated by going out to a super-fancy (for our standards) restaurant, where they served us complimentary champagne and decorated a pretty plate for our anniversary. It was fun to dress up and go out, since we don’t get to do that often.

We spent time this week helping our friends Tyson and Heidi and their sons move out for vicarage. I had the best job on moving day – child patrol! While the others hauled boxes, I followed their three-year-old around, keeping him out of the way of moving furniture, helping him chase the dog back in the house, chatting with him about their move and the moving truck (a huge point of fascination for a three-year-old boy!), while also holding their newborn so Heidi could rest and get things done. We were so sad to say good-bye, but there is consolation in knowing that we will all be together again for our fourth year of seminary. We have several more good-byes coming up soon and have enjoyed the time that we do have with our friends before they leave.

It’s hard to believe that July is halfway over already. As I said, I’m going back into work mode tomorrow, because my classroom has to be ready at the end of next week, and I’m helping with VBS next week as well. Nick will be working a few days over the next few weeks and also helping to get things done around the apartment and run errands while I’m at school – the newfound benefit to having a second car! We’ve got several busy weeks ahead, but if we can get through moving and the start of the school year and vicarage, I think we will be set up for a good year. We look forward to what this new year brings, especially for Nick as he gets to take on new responsibilities and experience pastoral duties. We are excited to live in a house, although the reality of living so far out of the city, and not right down the street from our friends, hasn’t quite set in yet. We have already fallen in love with Washington, though, and we know that anytime we want, the city is only an hour away.

We appreciate your prayers in this time of transitions. We ask that you pray for all who are moving, that they can transition and settle into their new homes and congregations and find friends to spend time with. We ask that you pray for Nick as he takes on the role of vicar, that he would constantly seek God’s will and serve others in a Christ-like way. We ask that you pray for my new school year and my new group of students coming into my classroom, that I would continually show Christ to those children through all my actions and work. We ask that you pray for peace and patience for us as we work our way through this stressful time, and that we continuously will grow closer to Christ and closer to each other, no matter what the circumstance.

God’s blessings to you all, thank you again for all your prayers and support.

In the name of Christ our Savior,

Nick and Mikaela Duerr