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
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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
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
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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
~ 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
Saturday, August 9, 2008
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
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hello, July!
What happened to June?! What a month it was, full of anniversaries, birthdays, parties, and lots of traveling. I really enjoyed spending the weekend with the family for Grandma and Grandpa G's 50th anniversary, although I did miss Justin! Celebrating 50 years of marriage with Grandma and Grandpa was a blast, and I hope we can take a page out of their book and have our own party in 49 years!
God continues to provide for us, and I've learned anew the power of prayer. Sunday night we seemed to be in a bit of a financial crisis, again, so I prayed my way home from Fergus, and when I woke up on Monday, I felt a sense of calm I normally do not experience when we're broke! I just knew God would take care of us, and today, He came through! No more poor Justin and Michelle! Just goes to show what happens when you just let go and trust things will be ok.
We also found out today there's a good chance we're getting a dirt cheap window air conditioner!! After the summer we had last year, I knew I couln't get through another one without an AC, and fortunately it's been pretty cool so far. Yay air conditioners!!
We're looking forward to the 4th, spending time with friends and watching the fireworks over Lake Bemidji again. They seemed to put on a good show last year, so hopefully it will be good again.
Hope everyone has a good 4th! We'll update the next time something interesting happens!
Michelle
God continues to provide for us, and I've learned anew the power of prayer. Sunday night we seemed to be in a bit of a financial crisis, again, so I prayed my way home from Fergus, and when I woke up on Monday, I felt a sense of calm I normally do not experience when we're broke! I just knew God would take care of us, and today, He came through! No more poor Justin and Michelle! Just goes to show what happens when you just let go and trust things will be ok.
We also found out today there's a good chance we're getting a dirt cheap window air conditioner!! After the summer we had last year, I knew I couln't get through another one without an AC, and fortunately it's been pretty cool so far. Yay air conditioners!!
We're looking forward to the 4th, spending time with friends and watching the fireworks over Lake Bemidji again. They seemed to put on a good show last year, so hopefully it will be good again.
Hope everyone has a good 4th! We'll update the next time something interesting happens!
Michelle
Monday, June 23, 2008
Summer is here
Today is Justin's golden birthday- 23 on the 23rd! We celebrated last night with a campfire with friends, roasting hot dogs, corn, and marshmallows, and eating homemade strawberry 'ice cream' cake. It was fun, and even though he put up a fight to not do anything for his party, I think he enjoyed it! Today he works and has church softball, so we'll have his favorite for dinner, tacos, and have a laid back celebration.
Summer is in full swing, finally! I've started in the kitchen and I've really been enjoying it. My coworkers are a lot of fun and the good conversation makes the long days go faster. We get to meet new and interesting people every week.
Our plants are doing really well. I've been enjoying my 'garden' and the results of it. Cooking with fresh herbs you've grown yourself is wonderful, and the flowers add so much to the balcony. The strawberries are starting to turn red, and the spinach has taken off. I can't wait for the tomatoes to start, and then we'll be eating fresh fruit and veggies everyday!
Now that the weather has finally turned nice, we've been wanting to take advantage of the lake and do some kayaking, but we both got sick last week and we've been so busy with work that we haven't had time. So hopefully the weather will hold and when we're both healthy and available, we can get to the lake.
We're looking forward to the weekend, celebrating Grandma and Grandpa G's 50th wedding anniversary and spending time with family.
Michelle
Summer is in full swing, finally! I've started in the kitchen and I've really been enjoying it. My coworkers are a lot of fun and the good conversation makes the long days go faster. We get to meet new and interesting people every week.
Our plants are doing really well. I've been enjoying my 'garden' and the results of it. Cooking with fresh herbs you've grown yourself is wonderful, and the flowers add so much to the balcony. The strawberries are starting to turn red, and the spinach has taken off. I can't wait for the tomatoes to start, and then we'll be eating fresh fruit and veggies everyday!
Now that the weather has finally turned nice, we've been wanting to take advantage of the lake and do some kayaking, but we both got sick last week and we've been so busy with work that we haven't had time. So hopefully the weather will hold and when we're both healthy and available, we can get to the lake.
We're looking forward to the weekend, celebrating Grandma and Grandpa G's 50th wedding anniversary and spending time with family.
Michelle
Monday, June 9, 2008
Welcome, June!
I can't believe it's already the second week of June! Where has the time gone?
We just spent the weekend at home in Fergus Falls and it turned out to be a great weekend after a rough start Thursday night...
I was working Thursday evening driving my 5-year-old client to Tae Kwon Do when I noticed the speedometer on our car had stopped working. As soon as I noticed that, the check engine light came on and the rpm's went uber high (Justin told me that meant it couldn't go past 3rd gear...). So I called Justin at work and he told me to take the car in to get looked at as soon as I was done. So I did, but everyone was closed or closing by 6pm. We had to take it in early Friday morning. Our original plan for Friday morning was to be on the road home by 9am, giving us plenty of time for me to get to work, get home, and both of us showered. But now we had to take the car in. So Justin went with me to work and waited in the car for 30 minutes. We coaxed the car around town, dropping my client off at daycare, then back across town to the repair shop. They took the car and we waited. It didn't take long to be fixed- it was a speed output sensor. A $75 fix. Which is fabulous when you're expecting it to be a few hundred dollars. Yet also not so fabulous when you don't even have the $75. By the time we got home, 9am had come and gone. Justin showered and was heading down to school to pay June rent when we learned about the tornados in northern Minnesota. So we headed to the basement. By 11am we were finally on the road and made it home by 2pm. We got right to work doing whatever Mom and Dad needed getting everything ready for Katie's grad party. We worked all afternoon and evening and then got to head into Fergus and spend some time with friends. Saturday was a gorgeous day. It was good to see family and eat lots of good food all day. We ended the day with a super fun game of Kick-the-Can and went to bed exhausted. Yesterday, we cleaned up from the party, found some old savings bonds to help get us out of our rut, and then Mom surprised me by taking me to town and buying me flowers and herbs for our balcony! Then my parents decided to give us their extra vehicle, and they'll still cover the insurance and license- all we're responsible for is the gas! So that's a huge blessing. We loaded down our 2 cars with tons of clean laundry, lots of leftover grad party ice cream, and and plenty of food to fill our cupboards. And a few weeks of laundry money... I have the awesomest parents.
So today we didn't have to figure out who was bringing who where for work, because we have 2 cars and we can each get ourselves where we need to be. The savings bonds and 18 years worth of $2 bills from Great Grandma G helped us to break even. And I have flowers to plant.
We continue to be blessed in so many ways, and we are so grateful for the families we have who love us and support us. We've known for a while that June will be tough month for us, financially, but God keeps providing, and we keep trusting. Please pray that we'll continue to trust and God will continue to provide.
Michelle
We just spent the weekend at home in Fergus Falls and it turned out to be a great weekend after a rough start Thursday night...
I was working Thursday evening driving my 5-year-old client to Tae Kwon Do when I noticed the speedometer on our car had stopped working. As soon as I noticed that, the check engine light came on and the rpm's went uber high (Justin told me that meant it couldn't go past 3rd gear...). So I called Justin at work and he told me to take the car in to get looked at as soon as I was done. So I did, but everyone was closed or closing by 6pm. We had to take it in early Friday morning. Our original plan for Friday morning was to be on the road home by 9am, giving us plenty of time for me to get to work, get home, and both of us showered. But now we had to take the car in. So Justin went with me to work and waited in the car for 30 minutes. We coaxed the car around town, dropping my client off at daycare, then back across town to the repair shop. They took the car and we waited. It didn't take long to be fixed- it was a speed output sensor. A $75 fix. Which is fabulous when you're expecting it to be a few hundred dollars. Yet also not so fabulous when you don't even have the $75. By the time we got home, 9am had come and gone. Justin showered and was heading down to school to pay June rent when we learned about the tornados in northern Minnesota. So we headed to the basement. By 11am we were finally on the road and made it home by 2pm. We got right to work doing whatever Mom and Dad needed getting everything ready for Katie's grad party. We worked all afternoon and evening and then got to head into Fergus and spend some time with friends. Saturday was a gorgeous day. It was good to see family and eat lots of good food all day. We ended the day with a super fun game of Kick-the-Can and went to bed exhausted. Yesterday, we cleaned up from the party, found some old savings bonds to help get us out of our rut, and then Mom surprised me by taking me to town and buying me flowers and herbs for our balcony! Then my parents decided to give us their extra vehicle, and they'll still cover the insurance and license- all we're responsible for is the gas! So that's a huge blessing. We loaded down our 2 cars with tons of clean laundry, lots of leftover grad party ice cream, and and plenty of food to fill our cupboards. And a few weeks of laundry money... I have the awesomest parents.
So today we didn't have to figure out who was bringing who where for work, because we have 2 cars and we can each get ourselves where we need to be. The savings bonds and 18 years worth of $2 bills from Great Grandma G helped us to break even. And I have flowers to plant.
We continue to be blessed in so many ways, and we are so grateful for the families we have who love us and support us. We've known for a while that June will be tough month for us, financially, but God keeps providing, and we keep trusting. Please pray that we'll continue to trust and God will continue to provide.
Michelle
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