Ready for a new year

Welcome, 2009! I haven't posted in a couple months, and there's been quite a bit that's happened, so maybe I'll work my way backwards!

I have been home in Fergus since Christmas Day, spending time with my family, and it's been so wonderful. I've been able to get together with a couple friends and see lots of family. Mom will bring me back to Bemidji (and Justin) on Sunday. Christmas was great this year, different than we've ever done it before, but very nice. Justin had to work on Christmas Eve, so we came to Fergus the Monday before Christmas and had Christmas dinner and opened gifts with Mom, Dad, Katie, and David. Then it was back to Bemidji for a couple days, and Christmas Day in Annandale.

December 18 was my last day of school... forever! It feels wonderful to be done, but I don't think it will feel official until I walk across that stage and get my diploma in May. I'm so grateful for my time at Oak Hills as a student; I can't believe how much I've learned! There is so much about the Bible, God, my faith, and the world that I didn't know before; I've learned how to think and how to find out for myself what the truth is, and my theology and faith have grown in leaps and bounds. I've gotten so much more than a bachelor's degree and that piece of paper. I can't imagine where I would be or what my life would be like if I hadn't listened to God's whispers leading me to Oak Hills. I'm now entering into a long transition period; I'm done with school, but not leaving Oak Hills. I'm able to keep my job as assistant manager in the Oak Hills kitchen for at least the spring semester and possibly the summer, and I'm looking for a part-time PCA job.

Speaking of school, Justin will be going back on January 12. He's planning to be done in May 2010. He's decided to stick with his youth ministry major, and while we're in Bemidji, he hopes to get EMT certified and volunteer for the Bemidji fire department, with the goal of becoming a salaried firefighter someday! I know, big change of plans! I've never seen him so fired up (no pun intended!) and passionate about something, so I'm happy he's found something he wants to do. Neither of us know what this means for us and where it will take us, but we're ready to follow where God calls.

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Colorado visiting Justin's family, which was great. It was so good for him to see them; it's been too long! We were busy the whole time, visiting family, celebrating brithdays, and spending time with friends. We also celebrated Christmas early with James, Karen, Sarah, and Chelsea. We were so grateful the price of gas has dropped so drastically; it really saved us some money on that long drive!

In early November (the 4th and 5th), we spent a couple days in the Twin Cities. It was election day when we went down there, so we listened to the coverage all day and watched McCain's concession speech and Obama's acceptance speech in our hotel room. We ate out and got some shopping done as well. The goal of Wednesday the 5th was to have fun and be together, and not to dwell too much on the sadness of the day. I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this knows, but if not: Justin and I had a miscarriage in March, and the baby was due on November 5, so we wanted to get away for the day and be together. We went to Ikea and the Mall of America, and really had a great day, so I think it was a successful trip! It provided a lot of closure for me, which I didn't know I still needed until I got it.

So now I think you're all up to date! 2008 was kind of a rough year for us, between our miscarriage, some major decisions to make, and lots of money troubles. But God was good to us and carried us through the hard times. We're so fortunate to have wonderful family and friends to love us and support us. I'm very hopeful that 2009 will be a good year for the Distels, and I sincerely hope that it will be for all of you reading! Happy New Year!

Michelle

Already November...

I can't believe tomorrow is November 1! Where has the time gone...?
Things are going really, really well around here. The last few months have been pretty negative for us, with not a lot of good stuff happening. But things seem to be turning around for us, finally. The big news is my change of position at work. Starting tomorrow morning, I'm the newest assistant manager in the kitchen! Meaning a complete change of schedule, and a raise! We're pretty happy about that! Next week we're going to the twin cities Tuesday night and all day Wednesday, and we're really looking forward to it. Wednesday is an important day for us and we really wanted to get away and have some time for us. It's also a good chance to start a new chapter, which I really feel like we're finally able to do that. Those of you who know why next Wednesday is so important can probably see why we finally get to close this chapter and move on. I feel a huge weight already lifting off me, which made me realize now how much this has been affecting me for the past 7 1/2 months. But it's time to move on. I'm feeling really positive and content, and I think it's about time!
We're in the midst of making our plans for Thanksgiving, which we're really excited for. It'll be really good to see family and just another chance to get away.
School is going well. I still have a lot left to do, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is encouraging! Justin's getting things in place to go back in the fall, so that'll be another change for us to adjust to.
Please pray for us in the next few weeks for travel safety. We'll be heading to the cities next week and then out to CO for Thanksgiving. Our car is still doing great, so pray that nothing breaks, and that gas stays so low!
Thanks all.
Michelle

October prayer requests

Hi all-
We have a few things we'd appreciate prayer for this month. Thanks.
~ As always, finances. Just pray that we'll be wise with our money and that as the holiday season approaches and expenses increase, we'll be secure and able to enjoy time with our family.
~ Travel. I'm traveling to the cities and home this weekend, so just pray that the roads are safe and the car is in good shape. Also, gas prices are falling! Pray (for all of us!) that prices will stay down and/or keep falling to ease the pressure of traveling across the country for Thanksgiving.
~ School. I'm starting to really stress everything I have to finish in not very much time, so just pray that I'll be able to keep my sanity as I wrap up my college career and that I'll get everything done. I have a lot of papers to write, including a 15-20 page research paper, and I want them to be the best I can produce, so pray that I can do that!
~ Patience and trust in God's plan. Many of you know what we've gone through in the past few months and how rough the next few weeks will be (and if you don't know, please don't ask, just pray for us anyway). I'm trying very hard to trust in God's plan for it all and remember that He has a reason for everything.

Thanks all.
Michelle

Oh, to not be poor anymore!

Yay, loan checks came! I am writing this from our new laptop sitting on our couch! It's so nice to be secure - not rich, but secure. It's ok for me to get coffee before my internship, and I did today!
As I was trying to sleep last night, my brain kicked into high gear (big shocker there) and I started to think about everything I have to do, and that's when I realized just how busy I am! I get up Monday morning and I don't stop until Friday night! I like to be busy, but I'm starting to get worn out! I'm so glad now I decided to just keep the one job and not work in town, on top of my internship, school, friends, work on campus, babysitting, family time, and sleeping...
I am so excited for the next few weeks: Next weekend, we're going home to celebrate Dad's 50th brithday! I love being home, and I love my dad, and I love parties! We've been wanting to do this party since he turned 49 and I haven't been so excited for something in a really long time! 2 weeks later, I'm going home again for a 4 day weekend to just spend time with my family and be in Fergus, which I love so much more than Bemidji. Then it's only a few weeks until Thanksgiving and going to Colorado, and then it's Christmastime, and I LOVE Christmastime!
There's nothing else really new in our lives, just living everyday and being thankful for what we have. Can't wait to see family at Dad's party!
Michelle

I love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils in the morning...

School has begun. And will soon come to an end, at least for me! On Wednesday, I started my last semester of school! I started my internship at ARC Headwaters on Thursday. Friday was my last day working as a PCA. Quite a week!
I'll be busy enough this semester, between my internship every morning, class every afternoon, working in the kitchen 3 nights a week, babysitting 2 days a week, 2 independent studies, and homework! But I'm looking forward to it all. I'm even looking forward to some of the papers and projects this semester. One of my independent studies is a youth ministry special topic in special needs youth ministry, my passion. My other independent study is basically spending the whole semester researching and writing a 15-20 page paper on a topic of my choice, then presenting it to faculty and students. The topic I've chosen is something I have very strong feelings about and can't wait to find more information on.
I noticed yesterday that some of the leaves on campus are already starting to turn, and I'm ok with that. I do love fall up here, and the closer we get to fall, the closer I am to being done with school!
Justin is keeping busy at KMart, supporting our little family. Even so, we're learning how tight money is getting to be as prices of everything continue to rise, but we're still thankful for what we have. We are looking forward to the arrival of our loan refund check in 3 weeks!!
That's all for now.
Michelle

Prayer requests

Justin and I very strongly believe in the power of prayer, and I was thinking it might not be such a bad idea to post some of our prayer requests on a somewhat regular basis. So if you think of us, send one up for us!

~ Financial security and stability: Everyone knows what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. Please pray that we will be wise with the money we have and that God will always provide what we need.
~ School: The fall semester gets underway on August 27, and it will be my last semester! Pray that it will be a good last semester for me and that I'll graduate with my sanity and more knowledge and wisdom than I started with. Justin will not be going to back to school until January, so pray that we are able to handle all of the school and work changes we're heading towards.
~ Car health: Cars always break, and ours are no exception. Pray that our vehicles (at least our car!) will last as long as we need it, and that when the time comes for us to get a new one, we're able to.
~ Health and safety: We're doing a lot of traveling in the next few months, around MN, to Wisconsin, and to Colorado. Pray for safety in our travels. Also, with the start of school comes cold season! Pray that we stay healthy so we can get everything done that we need to.
~ Our faith: Our #1 priority; pray that we are able to keep it that way and always have the courage and the wisdom to trust and follow God wherever and whenever He leads us.

Thanks all. Know that we keep our loved ones in our prayers always.

Michelle

Before I get in more trouble...

I got a talking-to last weekend about not blogging for awhile... sorry, my dear aunties!! Our life has been pretty dull, but things picked up recently, so I hope you enjoy...

Last weekend was the annual Koep family weekend at the lake, and we had a blast. The weather didn't cooperate quite as well as it usually does, but we still got to enjoy the water on our floaties, drinks in hand! We played games when we weren't on the lake, and discovered just how competitive we can all get... Of course, we ate way too much, some sustained sunburns, and there were lots of laughs. Another successful weekend, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Katie came back to Bemidji with Justin and I on Sunday night and spent the week with us. Justin had to work quite a bit, but I had most of the week off, so Katie and I had some quality sister bonding time! We did a lot of shopping, especially at Target! We went to Animal Land (the local zoo) again, ate a lot of food, watched a lot of movies, and the big event of the week: Katie's tattoo. We had some great chats and it was fun to hang out together. We met Mom and Dad in Fargo yesterday and did some shopping, then Katie went home with them and we came back to Bemidji. The week was much more enjoyable than last year when Katie came: we didn't have AC last year, and now we do!! It was a great week, and I hope she'll come back to stay.

We made new friends at Animal Land, like Lloyd the pesky llama, the camels, and our new best friend and favorite Animal Land find, the sweet donkey.

Eureka! We discovered Gander Mountain and all the possibilities within!

Now that I've lived in Bemidji for over 3 years, I finally made it to visit Paul and Babe.

And now, the main event, the drama of the week.... drumroll please....

Katie's tattoo! (That's her foot... in case you couldn't tell...)

In other news, I'm wrapping up the summer in the kitchen, and I'm glad to have a couple weeks to wind down and switch gears for school. Only 2 weeks until Tammy and Aaron's wedding, and then school starts! The next blog probably won't be until after the wedding, since there's just nothing interesting to write about until then!

Michelle