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