Loss

We were hoping this post would be a happier one, but that wasn't God's plan. 

On Wednesday September 19th, we learned that our first baby did not have a heartbeat. We were told that nature would eventually step in and I would have a miscarriage. It appeared that he or she stopped growing at 7 and half weeks. I was about 10 weeks pregnant. There doesn't seem to be any other reason this could have happened except that "the chromosomes did not line up correctly". The staff at Bay View OB/GYN were incredibly kind and patient. They provided great medical care and compassion. 

The physical and emotional pain are too difficult to explain unless you have been through it. Which many people have. 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a miscarriage. I will say those who go through natural childbirth have my respect. I now know for certain that will not be me. Epidural all the way.

We decided that we didn't want to be one of those people who doesn't talk about "it". While we know personally how difficult it is to talk about, we decided to share our grief in hopes it will help us heal, not to get tons of sympathy. We just ask for your prayers of healing, both physical and emotional, as well as prayers as we continue our journey to start a family. Whether it is to get pregnant again or some other avenue. 

We would like to thank everyone who has been there for us. And for those that we are now allowing to be there for us.

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani 

Vacation Bible School 2012

We had another successful Vacation Bible School at Holy Cross. Our theme this year was Incrediworld Amazement Park: A Thrill Ride Through God's Creation by Answers in Genesis.

To decorate the sanctuary we took cheap foam insulation primed it, traced various shapes, cut them out, and then painted them. 

The front of the sanctuary.

The ticket Stefani painted all by herself, because she wouldn't let anyone else help.

Closer view of the lectern side. A rubber duck, an ice cream cone, popcorn, teddy bear, and ticket. 

Closer view of the pulpit side. Ticket, hot dog, sno cone, and a goldfish in a bag.

Back of the sanctuary.

We had a carnival on the last night. We had games, food, and played Pie the Pastor. Joshua was a good sport. I haven't tracked down any pictures of it yet. So, there aren't any to post. 

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani 

April 2012 (Post Disney)-July 2012

We are WAY behind on this blog, so I will get everyone up to speed quickly. 

April

After we returned from Disney World we headed to Lansing, MI for the Katie Conference. The Katie Conference is when all the pastors' wives (PWs) of Michigan get together. It is so nice to hang out with people who are in the same boat as you. Joshua was asked to preach at the closing service of the conference, so he got to go, too. 

Here are some of us eating dinner on Saturday night. 

May

Our travels continued to Gaylord for the North and East Pastors' Conference. By this time we were done living out of suitcase.

Stefani became an "aunt" again. Her dear friend, Katie (Carolyn's sister), had a baby girl named Emily on Mother's Day. She is super sweet and Stefani can't wait to spoil her rotten.

June

On the 5th we witnessed the Transit of Venus. Basically, if you had a super cool telescope you could see a tiny black dot (Venus) pass in front of the Sun. It was actually pretty cool. The weather was amazing and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to block the view. 

Joshua officiated his 3rd wedding in June. Everything went well and the wedding was beautiful.

We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything too special. We just spent the day together. 

Joshua and Stefani headed to the Michigan District Convention. It was the first convention for both of us. It wasn't as boring as we thought it would be. They did a great job at keeping everything moving in a timely manner. We heard some great speakers and learned more about our District.

July

We  found a dog friend lurking around our house. Stefani noticed how malnourished he was and had to take action. She lured him with some food. She then called Mary Kay and Don to see if they could bring over dog food and help transport him to the Humane Society. Since Joshua is highly allergic to dogs we didn't want to take him ourselves. 

Doesn't this just break your heart? Classic puppy dog eyes.

We survived the "Greatest 4th in the North", but it wasn't easy. We ordered these awesome custom labeled waters with our Vacation Bible School information to hand out at the parade and the order did not arrive on time. So, we had to scramble to buy water to hand out. We ended up getting the original order for free and had members pass them out at their kids' sporting events. I have zero pictures for this since we walked in the parade.

At the end of July we attended the Junior High Youth Gathering at Concordia University Ann Arbor. We took 8 kids: 7 girls and 1 boy. The theme was "In His Image" Ephesians 5:1-2. The kids had a great time and so did the adults. We went on a Servant Event at The Hope Clinic. We washed walls to be prepared for paint. All the usual folks were there: Swen and Dean, The LivingStones, and Pastor Bill Yonker.

Our kids with The LivingStones. We invited them to our Family Time and they put on a mini acoustic concert for us. They are some fine young gentlemen.

Everyone being silly. Our girls just fawned over these guys.

The banner! We make one every year. Stefani did he cross, because we didn't quite trust the kids to do it. 

Hard at work washing walls.

We hope you enjoyed the quick overview of what has been going. We have been quite busy as you can see.

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani 

  

Walt Disney World 2012

This past April Team Ketelsen and the Marrahs (Stefani's Parents) went to Orlando, FL to visit "The Happiest Place on Earth". This was made possible by a generous gift from friends of ours. We had an amazing time.

The first leg of our journey to Disneyworld was spent in St. Louis. We had to leave earlier than expected. Stefani's friend, Carolyn's, dad passed away just five months after her mom. The memorial service was held a few days before our flight to Orlando out of St. Louis. 

We left for WDW on Sunday. Instead of staying "on property" like we normally do we stayed at a timeshare resort that someone gifted us a week of. We a two bedroom, 2 bath, and full kitchen condo. We used the kitchen to make breakfast almost every morning. 

We happened to be there for Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival. There were impressive topiaries of Disney characters all over the park.

Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia.

Bambi, Flower, and Thumper from Bambi.

Stefani thought it would be fun to try on the various Mickey Ears WDW had to offer. If you can't tell these are Ears representing Canada, eh.

We caught the Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom.

Classic Castle Picture.

Team Ketelsen at Epcot.

The Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom.

Stefani and Kelly (Mom) on the Monorail.

Joshua and Ted (Dad) on the Monorail.

Waiting for the Monorail. Awww.

Classic Castle picture at night.

As you can see a great time was had by all. We can't wait to go back!

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

To check out what Stefani ate head over to the food blog Ketelsens in the Kitchen.

Joshua turns 30

Joshua turned the big 3-0 recently. The church bought him a cake and had a little fellowship after service.

For those that can't read it: "Oh No, Pastor Josh is the big 30".

They even made him blow out candles. (Stefani promised not to post that picture.)

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

Snowpacalypse March 3, 2012

The end of the snowy season "Up North" brought a crazy amount of snow. Many people lost power. Some people were without power for up to a week. Thankful we were in not in that category. Stefani decided to get all bundled up to go out and play. Plus, some snow needed to be knocked off the satellite dish if we wanted to watch TV. 

 Our deck had a fro. 

Not even touching the deck.

Snow angel time.

The snow was so heavy that it took Stefani a couple of attempts to move her legs.

Yay! Now she has to get up....

"This would be a lot easier if I didn't keep sinking."

Ta da! The Russian judge gave a low score. Something about not sticking the landing. 

 Scooby Doo "Monster" Snow Angel.

Heading to save the satellite. It just needed some snow knocked off. By the way, feet are not touching the ground. There was about 6 inches of snow under the feet. 

We normally have our driveway plowed by a truck, but they weren't messing around with this snow.

We are looking forward to winter being over. We miss rain storms, grilling, and not having to wear layers. 

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

Christmas Letter 2011

Greetings from Team Ketelsen!

We have had quite the year here in Northern Michigan. There is never a dull moment in the ministry or our lives.

In the Spring, Joshua had a bit of a health scare. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital with extreme dizziness, a severe headache, tingling in his hands, and difficulty speaking. The emergency room had several theories about what was causing Joshua's symptoms, but his general practitioner concluded that it was a severe migraine caused by high-blood pressure and stress. He was put on blood pressure medication and a strict low sodium diet. He had a check up in November and the doctor is pleased with how the diet and medication are working.

Joshua completed his second year of ministry at Holy Cross and has settled into a nice routine. He proudly confirmed his first confirmation class in July, a group of seven teenagers. He also had six baptisms this past year that, surprisingly, consisted of more adults than infants. Joshua has built friendships with several pastors in the Onaway area and in his regional circuit, and looks forward to the regular camaraderie of his Onaway Ministerial Association meetings, circuit meetings, and district conferences.

Stefani has been busy working with Holy Cross' preschool. She currently sits on the recently created school board. The preschool also hired her part-time to take care of various paperwork and administrative issues. She has really enjoyed learning more about the administrative aspect of running a school. Stefani also keeps busy leading the 456ers (the 4th-6th grade youth group), hanging out with the Junior/Senior High kids, and volunteering in various other capacities.

This summer we went on two major trips with the youth group. In June, we took ten high school students to the Michigan District Senior High Youth Gathering on Mackinac Island. We heard some great music, speakers, and participated in a servant event helping clean a church in St. Ignace. In August, we headed to the campus of Concordia University Ann Arbor for the Michigan District Junior High Youth Gathering. We took nine junior high kids. Again, we heard some great bands, speakers, and participated in a servant event helping the Detroit Rescue Mission. It never gets old seeing so many teens worship together and serve others.

The summer was full of visitors at the “Ketelsen Inn”. Joshua's mother and sister, Sarah, came to experience an Onaway 4^th of July. In August, Stefani's parents took their vacation “Up North”. We were all able to explore parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that we had never visited before, including the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, Tahquamenon Falls, and the Soo Locks. September brought Joshua's aunt and uncle from Iowa and Stefani's Grandma and Grandpa Marrah. We always enjoy exploring Michigan with our guests, regardless of whether it is our old favorites or experiencing something new.

We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

P.S. To keep up with us all year round check out our blog http://teamketelsen.blogspot.com. And to read some of the yummy low-sodium recipes we have come up with, check out Stefani's cooking blog at http://ketelsenkitchen.blogspot.com.