St. Louis Vacation October/November 2012

Joshua was asked by Stefani's godmother to officiate her 25th anniversary vow renewal. So, we decided to make a week of it.
We thought it would be fun to go Trick or Treating with the Stringfellows, since we were in town for Halloween. Noah went as a tiger and Nora went as a butterfly. Noah was really shy, which is not like him at all. He did ask for candy for his sister a couple times. Which was nice, because he still isn't too keen on her being around. 

He was far too busy looking at the TV to care that Aunt Stefani was taking a picture.

Again, no paying any attention to the camera.

Nora, the butterfly. She had antennas to complete the look.

The butterfly is trying to fly away.

Alyssa had to come over and show us her outfit. I believe she was Rapunzel, the Tangled version.

The next day we decided to go to the Zoo with Stefani's parents. They had recently opened a new sea lion exhibit and we want to check it out. Since we went the day after Halloween they still had their Boo at the Zoo decor out.

 The sea lions' new home from above.

 Love the new digs.

If you look closely there is a little fellow swimming.

The tunnel where the sea lions swim around you. 

Hello!

A view of the outside from the tunnel.

 This little guy was right by the glass. 

 I had to resit petting him. He was so close

 I think he wanted to come back Up North with us.

Side Note: Right before we walked into Penguin and Puffin Coast we ran into Alyssa and her grandparents (Kay). I knew she was going to be there, but randomly finding her was fun. We actually saw her again The River's Edge.

 Stefani and her Mom, Kelly. Stefani was trying to be grumpy since she lost her head.

Happy Skeleton!

Joshua and Ted. Dad was much happier about losing his head.

Stefani and her Dad, Ted, going batty.

The next big event was Stefani's godmother's vow renewal. Kathy and Randy decided to have a 25th anniversary party and have a short vow renewal. They asked Joshua to officiate. Stefani was their original flower girl and played a roll as well.

Aww...aren't we precious?

The cake.

 

The renewal.

Kelly giving her little speech.
I would like to share a quote that I think sums up the marriage of Kathy and Randy.

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.” 

I wish you 25 more years of weirdness. 

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Stefani giving her little speech.
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At your wedding I was five. The only thing I knew about love or marriage, then was that Ken was Barbie's boyfriend. Then I grew up and found the love of my life. And I realized the amazing examples of marriage I had around me. I had my parents, who have been married for 30 years. Both sets of grandparents who have been married for 50 plus years. And I have Aunt Kathy and Uncle Randy, who are here today celebrating 25 years of marriage.

In this day in age it is diffcult to find couples who are truly in it for the “long haul”. Who take their vows seriously. Kathy and Randy are two of those people who have stuck by each other during the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have heard that people told you your marriage wouldn't last. Well, shame on them and way to prove them wrong! It is really easy let others make you doubt your love and the commitment you made to each other. At the end of the day they are not in this marriage. The vows you made are between the two of you and God. Thank you for teaching me that important lesson.

I wish you 25 more years together. 

Since Stefani's parents just celebrated their 30th Anniversary there was a special dance for them and other anniversary couples.

Stefani and Lydia. Lydia is Stefani's godmother's daughter and Stefani's mom's goddaughter. So, we are godsisters.

Stefani and her godmomma, Kathy.

Joshua and Stefani cutting a rug.

Stefani and her Dad, Ted.

The party was so much fun! We really enjoyed ourselves. 

These pictures only show a fraction of what we did, but we thought we would bore you with all the details. We came back feeling much more refreshed.

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

2012 Michigan District All Pastors' Conference

This year's conference was held on Mackinac Island at the Mission Point Resort. Which is practically our backyard....45 minute drive plus a ferry ride. The theme was "First of All Pray..." 1 Timothy 2:1. It was designed for Pastors and their Wives. We picked up some great ideas that we will work on implementing in the coming weeks. 

It seems with each conference our appreciation for the Michigan District grows. The District staff is just awesome, especially our District President. The pastors' and their families are always nice and welcoming. 

The view from our room.

The two of us in front of the resort.

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani

Thank You

We would really like to thank everyone who has been there for us these couple of months. We appreciate every prayer, every hug (in person and virtual), every email, every phone call, every meal, every card, and all the glitter on some of those cards. 

We are blessed to have to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Our family has been great even though they are/were grieving, too. Our church family has been amazing and encouraging. Our friends have reached out and lifted our spirits.

Physically, I am feeling much better. Emotionally, we take it day by day. For the most part we are in good spirits and take comfort in our faith.

Again, we cannot thank everyone enough for everything.

God's Blessings,

Joshua and Stefani 
   
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 
Jeremiah 29:11-13

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.