July Ramblings

I promised I'd do my best to be more regular about posting on our blog, so here is our update for July!

As Nick liked to put it, his first week of work was his first week of vacation! His official start date was July 1, so he headed into the office July 2. However, the office was officially closed that week due to Independence Day (and the fact that nobody wants to be in Arizona in the middle of summer). He did spend a few days in the office, getting to know the staff and getting his office set up, and then was able to take it easy for a few more days.

Installation Day

The big event in the beginning of July was Nick's installation as Associate Pastor at Hosanna. Although we had been attending there for a few weeks since our move, he was not official until the service. Even after Call Day, graduation, and ordination (for each of which I get more and more pregnant), he was STILL not completely official! So installation was a big deal, and another exciting moment as we got to see Nick completely in his role as pastor of this church after his installation, which included leading communion and the rest of the church service that day. It was the last of all the ceremonies and celebrations, and I think we're both glad to settle into normal life now! The church was extremely kind and had a cake reception to follow, a huge gift basket full of Arizona goodies for us, and then the senior pastor and his wife hosted a lunch after that at their house. It was fun for our families to get to know some of the people at Hosanna and for us to not to have to cook!

That weekend was also really fun because our families drove to Arizona to visit our house for the first time and be there for the installation service. We were lucky that the love seat we bought, which had been on backorder, arrived just several hours before our families, so we actually had a decent amount of seating for the two of us, both sets of parents and Nick's brother, Tony. It was fun to hang out together that weekend. Nick's dad helped us figure out some of the quirks of our house (like which light switches control what!) and make some repairs, as well as to get Nick's new grill (a graduation/ordination/Call Day present) set up. Tony was a wonderful extra set of hands in helping Nick put together Josiah's crib. We spent a morning at the Farmer's Market in Gilbert even though it was HOT (I know, Phoenix in July, right? But still, it was especially hot!). And we had time to just chat, play games, and watch movies.

Tony and Nick putting Josiah's crib together

Hedgie watching TV with us

Of course, I can't mention that weekend without introducing the newest member of our family! I know what you're thinking - Josiah isn't due until September! And you're right. Josiah is still patiently waiting to make his arrival, thank goodness. BUT we did get to welcome a cat into our little family for the first time since getting married! If you know me, you know that I adore cats, and the past four years, moving around to apartments and houses that don't allow pets, have been slightly disappointing in that regard. We decided that with a baby on the way, a kitten was probably not the smartest choice, so we chose to adopt a well-trained, mature cat instead. Thankfully, my parents' house had several to choose from, so when they drove to Arizona for installation weekend, they brought one of my favorite cats, Hedgie, along with them. Although slightly frightened by the long drive and the strange people in our house upon her arrival, prompting her to spend all her time those first few days finding all the hiding places, she has adjusted pretty well to living with us. She still spends the majority of her day sleeping under our bed upstairs (so much for my dream of having company while I'm home alone all day), but she likes to venture out to join us as we watch TV in the evenings and sleep on my pregnancy pillow at night.

Alas, our families had to return home, and Nick began going into the office daily, and the routines set in. Except we had another adventure! Here in Arizona, we are in the heart of monsoon season. I had heard a little about this, that we would get inches of rain in a matter of minutes, there may be flooding, etc. But I was unprepared for the actual result. It began with a full out haboob, or dust storm, a few days before Nick's installation. I did not witness it, but saw some cool pictures. That mostly did not affect us. However, the day after our families returned home, I was home and saw another alert for a storm coming through. I watched through the windows and saw clouds that looked pretty red spreading through the sky. Nick was on his way home from work, I warned him to be careful, but he didn't see anything crazy. Suddenly, the wind started, then the rain, then the hail. It was a major thunderstorm coming through, preceded by the dust. I watched as it poured down rain and hail for minutes on end. Mind you, I've lived in Missouri for four years, so I'm not a stranger to big storms. This one was more intense than I've seen in quite a while. I called Nick again when the hail started, saying "I sure hope you're parked somewhere safe right now." However at that point, he was not in the storm, so decided to drive home through it. Thankfully he made it home safely (and our car already had hail damage from living in Missouri, so I wasn't so concerned about that), and we watched the rest of the storm pass through together. The end result? Our backyard was filled with inches of water and ice for hours, because it takes a while to drain here. A tree behind our property fell over, damaging our back fence and our neighbor's roof - thankfully it was not our tree, so Walgreens, who owns that land, took care of the problem. We were thankful to not have any other damage to our house aside from a bit of water leaking in at the windows, because later, as we walked around the neighborhood, we saw that it could've been much worse. Trees were down all over the place, even a light pole or two. We saw the reason for all the large grassy basins around the city, because they were all full of water for several days. The hail was piled up in places. It was quite an adventure, and we are thankful that we and our house are safe and unharmed - and we've been told that usually we only get one big storm like that per season, so hopefully we won't see anything like it again anytime soon.

Our backyard filled with rain and hail

The tree that knocked down part of our back fence

In July we also celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe that we've been married four years, but it's also fun to look back and see how much we've grown and learned over the years. We were gifted a surprise gift by Nick's mom that allowed us to go out and celebrate in style at the Melting Pot - a favorite restaurant of ours that is usually out of our price range. So we enjoyed our last fancy dinner before children together as we celebrated four years of marriage.

It took a few weeks of Nick working, but we have slowly settled into a routine. I enjoy having the free time to cook breakfast and pack him a lunch in the morning after we go for a walk, since I don't have to rush off to work (or anything else for that matter). There were a few rough days in which I was so bored out of my mind, I was ready to walk over to Walgreens and ask for a job, but I've found things to occupy my time at home, especially as Josiah's due date gets closer (also, daily naps take up a good amount of time!). I usually drop Nick off at work one day a week so I can run errands while he's at work, but we also enjoy going to do those things together after he gets home from work. After dinner, we often spend some time watching TV together or go swimming. Nick has led two Sunday services completely on his own, since the senior pastor and his wife are on vacation. Right now on Sundays, I go with him early since there is only one church service for the summer, and spend that time in his office, reading, while he prepares for the service. It's been good to be able to find this little routine in the summer, when it's not too busy, although I know that things will change quickly in the next few weeks as the school year starts up and church gets busier.

Got to be my sister's +1 for a wedding!

Of course, we had barely gotten into this routine when I took a few days' vacation to California! My mom and sister decided to throw me a baby shower when my sister was in town for a friend's wedding, so I flew to California as well for the weekend. The nice thing is that a direct flight from Phoenix to Fresno is only about two hours, so I don't have to spend hours on hours traveling like I did from St. Louis. It was fun to enjoy this time with my family. We spent a few days at the beach, which was SO amazing to get a break from the heat and actually be able to enjoy spending time outside, because the weather was just perfect. Karina and I got to attend her friend's wedding, which was fun and beautiful, and being on the coast, the weather was so enjoyable. Then it was back to the Central Valley, but we got to spend some time also with my brother, my grandpa, aunt and cousins too, who I hadn't seen in a while. Sunday was baby shower day! I had friends from high school, people from church growing up, and people from both sides of my family attend, so it was such a sweet and enjoyable day. It was a perfect little vacation, but of course I missed Nick and Hedgie a lot too, so I was glad to come home to Arizona when it was over.

Baby clothes are just the CUTEST

The other notable event for July was that I reached the third trimester of pregnancy! At this point, we go from monthly doctor visits to check-ups every other week, so it's been good to have a pretty free schedule, since we have to fit that in. It's also involved a glucose test (which I failed), a repeat glucose test (good news on that one, I passed!), and some growth ultrasounds to check to make sure Josiah is growing since I continue to measure pretty small (I have to keep convincing people that yes, I am ___ weeks pregnant). We also took a tour of the hospital where we will deliver, are reading up on everything we can find, and including some classes into our schedule as well. This last week included purchasing a stroller as well as a dresser, so I can get Josiah's room as set up and organized as possible. There are more and more things to do to prepare for his arrival, and we are so excited to meet our little boy! Thankfully, I have still been feeling fantastic, with only occasional aches and maladies to bother me. Josiah continues to be extremely active, finding ways to move and kick me I never knew were possible, but I enjoy every minute of it.

Third Trimester - 28 weeks - July 1

Apparently I have conveyed my lack of socialization during the day through this blog post, since one fairly uneventful month has turned into three pages of rambling stories and information. But hey, I just killed about an hour of my day in writing this, so I'd say that's a plus for me. Thank you to those of you who faithfully read about our normal, everyday lives. A bigger thank you to those of you who pray for us on a regular basis. Please continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy, for our marriage as we continue to settle into this new place, and for Nick as he begins his ministry at Hosanna. We are so thankful for all of you.

In the name of Christ our Savior,

Nick and Mikaela Duerr

Fast Forward

At the last writing of this blog, we announced our exciting news that we are going to have a baby. Besides that, however, most of our future was uncertain. Three months later, I am writing to you from our house in Arizona, where Nick has begun his job as a pastor. I am no longer working, just anticipating being able to stay home and raise our baby boy, Josiah, when he arrives in September.

…

Right?! So much change in so little time! It’s hard to believe it’s only been three months, because so much has happened. Let me see how much I can catch you up.

Our last blog post was written at the end of our spring break. From that time, our lives ran in overdrive until, oh, just about the last few days. April’s main focus was, of course, Call Day. Not a day went by that we did not think about it, talk about it, or answer questions about it.  Thankfully, April was also full of events. There was hardly a day on our calendar that was not claimed by something, whether it was a seminary event, a school event, or family visiting. Between the yo-yo weather and the blur of busyness, we were kept pretty well occupied until that fateful day, April 24^th. We enjoyed a snowy Easter at church and lunching with friends, a mild night at an Elvis impersonator concert with my parents to benefit my school, and a warm summer day being fed barbecue and spending time with our seminary friends at We Love the Sem, an annual event, just to name a few.

The highlight of this time was being able to spend time with my family, who were able to travel to St. Louis and spend time together around Call Day. My brother came from northern California, and it was his first time visiting St. Louis. My sister flew in from South Carolina the next day, and my parents arrived – original destination California, but driving from visiting my sister in South Carolina – later that afternoon. Although Nick and I were very occupied with the stress and our still full school and work schedules, it was such an enjoyable time to have them there, and they also got to spend time out and about while we were busy during the days. We got to go to the Arch together and spend some nice evenings together just enjoying each other’s time and company.

Call Day with my family

Of course, we cannot talk about that time without mentioning Call Day. Call Day certainly could use its own blog post to explore all the depths of the feelings and things that go on around that time, but like I said, I’m trying to catch you up on three months here. The interesting thing about Call Day is the way that the anticipation permeates the entire campus. You hear the whispered conversations of guesses and conjectures. You feel the anxiety in your body, whether you are actually mentally anxious or not. You see the family arriving on campus as the grounds crew spruces everything up and puts up signs about parking. Everybody, despite trying not to get their hopes up, has some guess as to where they think they are going, and they all hope they’re not the one to get sent somewhere completely unexpected. Nick and I were, thankfully, pretty relaxed. We had some suspicions where we may be sent based on the three interviews we had had, especially since we knew that one of the churches we interviewed was not calling from the seminary based on conversations with others who had interviewed there (don’t be surprised, it just happens). Knowing we would be happy with either of the two churches we interviewed with, we went into Call Day with our minds set on being happy no matter what happened. Still, it was a nerve-wracking day nonetheless, and we were happy to have it come, if only to kill the anticipation that had been building for months. Call Day dawned, thankfully, beautiful and sunny with no rain in sight (a rainy Call Day is the worst!). I went to work like usual, and Nick had his classes and work to keep him busy as well. That afternoon, we were busy in the blur of getting all dressed up and ready and trying to eat a little to settle nervous stomachs. I was thankful for my wonderful family, especially my sister, who took care of everything I needed just like when she was my maid of honor at my wedding! The Call service is notorious for being long and drawn out, especially for those receiving their calls, as it is a full church service with readings, hymns, a sermon, and multiple impromptu mini-sermons by those in charge. Thankfully, I found this year’s service to be very meaningful, and the sermon not too rambling. The nerves did hit upon the beginning of the assignment of calls, but when I heard the words “Nicholas Duerr, Associate Pastor, Hosanna Lutheran Church,” I was so excited. The rest of the service passed in a blur as I tried to catch where our friends were being sent, and thought about our future that finally had a path set to it. After the Call service, you have to weave through the crowds to try and find your husband, family, and friends, and offer quick congratulations and hugs before you are off to official business. Thankfully, Nick and I were so extremely excited about our call to Hosanna, and since we had interviewed, we already knew a good amount about the congregation, unlike the people who received sole calls and knew absolutely nothing about their churches. So it was a bit more relaxed for us, and yet still a full evening. To give you an idea – the Call service starts at 7:00 p.m. After a full church service including assignment of calls and the time it takes to get out of the building and find your people, it is close to 9:00 by the time you are able to head out. Then, it’s off to meetings with district presidents to meet and greet and get some information, then back to the chapel for photos with everybody who had received calls to that district, which can take time. So by the time that we were wrapping up photos, it was extremely late, and my feet were killing me (pregnant + high heels!). We made the walk back to our apartment and we were starving, so we ordered a pizza while we perused the information we received about the church. Thankfully, we had the good sense to take the next day off, so we were able to sleep in (as much as the adrenaline and anticipation let us) and spend the next day with family.

After that, the time flew by in attempts to continue our normal duties of school and work while trying to plan the future, which needed to be done in just a matter of weeks after Call Day. We had multiple to do lists going. We’ve been busy before, but I think this was truly the time we were trying to juggle the most things we needed to get done, and the most people we had to communicate things with in the process. Nick had classes and homework as well as his normal work hours. I had my normal school tasks like lesson planning and grading, in addition to working towards the end of the school year by planning Kindergarten graduation, doing report cards, and getting my things home from the classroom to pack to move. We had to have a move out date for the seminary within two weeks, which meant we needed to plan when we’d leave St. Louis and where we would go from there, since we didn’t yet know where we might be living in Arizona. This included booking a moving company as well as talking to everybody involved – our families, the district presidents (for ordination purposes), jobs, and churches – about our plans. We had to find housing, which involved getting loans preapproved, contacting a realtor, looking at houses, flying to Arizona for a weekend to house search (also its own amazing story!), and then all the crazy paperwork involved in buying a house, which we had never done before and had no idea what the process was. We had to plan Nick’s ordination service – where, when, who would be there and do what, and send out invitations. I needed to find a new doctor in Arizona and make sure that our travel plans worked between my prenatal checkups and that all my testing would be done on the correct schedule. All this in addition to packing our apartment, all in a matter of about a month.

But, as always, it gets done. Somehow. There were still details about the ordination that didn’t really get settled until we were in California, and I just finished thank you notes for gifts I received at the end of the school year today, but everything came together.

Our baby boy, Josiah

Nick's graduation from seminary

This isn’t to say that May was not a fun month. We had some other big things going on in the middle of all this. We found out the gender of our baby, and got to name him and announce that to the world. Nick got to go camping with his friends for a weekend. We spent lots of time with our friends, trying to enjoy every last minute together before we scattered. I got a surprise baby shower at work, starting our adorable collection of baby clothes and things. I started feeling our baby boy, Josiah, move. Nick’s parents came and visited for Nick’s graduation, another fun weekend of celebration (although much less stressful than Call Day!). I wrapped up my school year with Kindergarten graduation, a classroom move, and summer camp.

Nonetheless, it was a relief when work and classes were over, and we could focus on packing and getting ready for our move. After I wrapped up work, we had one more week before our move. That week kept us busy with packing, errands that needed to get done, the last minute planning and phone calls that needed to be made, and getting rid of things we didn’t want to pack. Thankfully, it also allowed us some time to sit and relax and spend time together, which hadn’t happened much in a month or so. The last few days before our move were busy, as usual, with figuring out what to do with those last minute things and how to get rid of things we needed to use up to the last day. But with good help, we were able to load up the POD, clean up the apartment, and check out on a Monday morning before hitting the road.

Our road trip to California was pretty uneventful (aside from a terrible trip to the DMV – another story for another time). We spent four long days in the car, with frequent stops so I could get out and stretch my legs every 2 hours, per doctors’ orders. We used this time to do some reading we’d been meaning to do and get some more to dos done – car registration, transferring utilities, ordination plans, and the like. Finally, we were in California, ready for some rest.

Celebrating at our baby shower

However, rest wasn’t to be had right away. We arrived in Bakersfield on a Thursday afternoon, and we were immediately working to get some of the things for our house finalized for our closing date the next week. We signed a massive pile of papers with a notary who would send them to the title company in Arizona, since we would still be in California on closing day. We also had other miscellaneous things coming up to smooth over our move that we were working on. It felt like we were constantly being pulled away to answer a phone call or get something settled. A lot of Nick’s family arrived that Friday as well, with grandparents and an aunt and brother and sister all coming into town for the weekend, so we got to spend time with them. Saturday was baby shower day! Nick’s mom and sister threw me and Josiah a baby shower with their friends and family that was incredibly sweet and fun, and Bakersfield’s weather could not have cooperated any better! It was a beautiful, fun day with family and friends. Then, still no rest because Sunday was ordination day! The ordination service was in the afternoon, so after church in the morning and a quick lunch, we were back to church for the service. It was such a meaningful, beautiful service, with pastors – many related to Nick somehow – from all over to participate in the service. Nick’s vicarage supervisor and his wife even came all the way from Missouri to preach and be involved in the service, and the senior pastor from Hosanna and his wife drove from Arizona to be there as well. Several of the pastors there had even preached at a church service that morning, then drove from Southern California, making it just in time for the service. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, with the pastors speaking incredible words over Nick to begin his journey as a pastor.

Nick's ordination service

At the top of our hike in King's Canyon

Finally, it was time for rest. Family returned to their homes, and Nick and I got some free, relaxing days at his parents’ house, and then at mine, doing some fun reading, watching movies, cuddling cats, and thinking about our house. To celebrate Nick’s birthday, the two of us made the short drive from my parents’ house to King’s Canyon to spend a day in the mountains and do a short hike. The weather was crisp and clear and the hike was beautiful, as always. That place just holds such special memories for the both of us that it was fun to spend the day dreaming of being able to take Josiah there to go camping, just like we camped there when we were kids. On Father’s Day, our last full day in California, we were fortunate to be able to spend time with both of our dads, which is fun because we don’t often get to spend holidays with our families. We went to church and lunch with my parents and grandpa, and then drove down to Bakersfield and got to go see a movie with Nick’s family.

First time IKEA shoppers

The next day, we were Arizona bound! We had closed on our house while in California, so we were excited to get to Mesa and get into our house, and to not be on the move for the first time in a few weeks. After a long day of driving, we arrived at our house, and it was exciting to be able to completely unload our car and explore the house again. Unfortunately, our POD was not scheduled to arrive until the next day, and not be unloaded until the day after that, but we managed for a few days without all our stuff. On Monday, we stocked our fridge with some basics to last a few days without our dishes or pots and pans, and then went out and explored the area a little bit. On Tuesday, we did much of the same – running errands to pick up the things we knew we needed, as well as going to the DMV to get our licenses and car registration taken care of. Since we still didn’t have anywhere to sit besides the floor or our air mattress, we were thankful to get an invitation to dinner at the house of some friends from college. Wednesday, people from church arrived and unloaded all our boxes and things into our house, which was a huge change! We were excited to sleep on our own mattress again and at least have a couch to sit on. Slowly but surely, after that, we unpacked – kitchen first, of course – and started to acquire the basic furniture we needed to do so. That included a few trips to IKEA and some time spent assembling furniture. Over the next week or so, we made progress day by day. Some rooms are now pretty much complete and functional, while some are still pretty unassembled, but we are comfortable, have places to sit, are able to cook our own meals, and it’s starting to feel a lot more like home. While the progress still must continue, we are happy to be settled in our home, knowing it is ours and that we don’t have a set date that we have to move again. Nick began work officially today, getting into his office at church and beginning to get organized and set up. We have had fun getting to see family and friends who live here in the area. Our calendar is slowly starting to fill up as we get invitations from people and find things in the community to do. We are so excited for what the future holds.

So there you have it, three months in about four pages. If you’re still reading, way to go. Now that I am not working full time, I will do my best to keep things updated more frequently…although once Josiah arrives, all bets are off! Thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers as we make our transition into this new community and Nick begins his ministry to the people of Hosanna.