Christmas Card 2013

I wish...oh how I wish I could take credit for this year's Christmas card idea. Alas, I cannot. It's a take on a card I got last year - but I love how it turned out. And since I want to make sure all of YOU get a Shafferland card, I thought I'd share it here today. So here is our card and our letter {our apologies...it's a bit long...}, which matches the theme.

And now...for the accompanying letter:

Episode 1. December 2012. Shafferland begins on a sandy beach with warm sun shining down over thirty-one witnesses who gather to watch two become one. Following the wedding, Ryan and Bekah stay in Siesta Key, Florida, creating honeymoon memories with kayaking, tandem bike riding, a sunset dinner cruise, and many walks on the white sand. They arrive home in the thick of the holiday season and rush to find the perfect Christmas tree {naming him Chuck}, decorate, shop, and celebrate with their families – all while learning the art of sharing life under one roof. 

Episode 2. January 2013. The newlyweds celebrate their first month of marriage and tackle the challenge of staying connected while commuting an hour each {in opposite directions} every day. They learn to cherish Friday night dates and fun impromptu outings, as well as “the little things” – like sneaking in long phone calls during their commutes. Ryan becomes a volunteer extraordinaire, giving up a Sunday to work the Winter Jam concert and two days of work for the weeklong WBCL SHARE fundraiser just so he can be with his bride. The honeymoon marches on, despite Bekah’s multi-day frustration in becoming a legal Shaffer and the couple’s decision to add paint-Ryan’s-house-so-it-can-be-sold to their already packed schedules.

Episode 3. February 2013. Determined to keep the fun in marriage, Ryan and Bekah spend the month enjoying their dates – a day trip to Indianapolis to celebrate 2 months of wedded bliss and to register for gifts for their reception…a weekend in Fort Wayne at their first ever marriage retreat…and a romantic evening at home to celebrate their first Valentine’s Day together. Ryan puts his house on the market, and Bekah dives headfirst into pulling together the details for their at-home reception. And in the middle of it all, they continue figuring out schedules that work, invite their parents over for dinner, and do some dreaming for the unknown-but-welcomed future.

Episode 4: March 2013. In a crazy attempt to tackle two massive projects at once, Ryan and Bekah spend the first half of the month playing "divide and conquer," with Ryan devoting his time to finishing the house so the hopeful buyers could move in by mid-month, and Bekah investing her energies in last minute reception details. Exhausted, but pleased with the amount of work completed in a short time, the two meet up on March 9 to celebrate their wedding reception with their friends and family. The weather also plays divide and conquer, snowing Bekah in from work for two days - yet getting warm enough to allow the newlyweds to enjoy spring dates to the hot dog stand and Ivanhoe's for strawberry shortcake. They conclude the month by celebrating their first Easter together while saying goodbye to the first church home they shared as a married couple.

Episode 5: April 2013. The honeymoon marches on...with a month of much celebration! And work. The Shafferland holiday of the month is all Ryan’s, who turns 34. From Rise n Roll donuts and coffee {breakfast in bed}...to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner...to a Starbucks date and movie, they have a great day together celebrating Ryan's life! They continue merging and purging households, making the trash and recycling workers exhausted and the Rescue Mission elated. They begin visiting College Wesleyan Church on the Sundays Bekah doesn't have speaking engagements. And to try to further entice spring to arrive, they purchase a pergola {renamed “pirogi”} for their future outdoor living space and spend some time running and eating outside {not at the same time}.

Episode 6: May 2013. The first annual Shafferland birthday bash road trip takes the newlyweds to the Creation Museum – with a side trip to Dagaz Acres for a little ziplining! They also attend their first wedding as a couple {other than their own, of course}, and celebrate Bekah’s 35^th birthday with dinner at Casa Brava, coffee from Starbucks, and a photo shoot in the park! Then they take on the first great test of their marriage: ripping apart the entire kitchen to renovate it themselves.

Episode 7: June 2013. Ryan and Bekah don’t miss a beat at the conclusion of the massive kitchen renovation project…and spend the month of June landscaping the yard, organizing the garage, beginning renovation on the main bathroom, and replacing fixtures in a quest to make the house their home. It isn’t all work though…they manage to sneak in a horseback riding date and enjoy a romantic movie-esque dance under the newly-lit canopy of the pirogi – at 1 in the morning after Bekah arrives home from working a concert.

Episode 8: July 2013. Trying to pack an entire summer into one month, Ryan and Bekah take in their first drive-in movie/dinner date, go boating a couple of times with friends and family, celebrate their first 4^th of July watching fireworks over Morse Lake, pay two visits to the Howard County Fair {and the Ferris Wheel!}, participate in the Three Rivers Festival Parade and the Celina Parade, take pictures at a golf outing, and meet up with a variety of friends for dinner and catching up! And in their spare time, they rip up all the carpet in the house and finish renovating the bathroom, making it a more…ahem…manly space for Ryan.  

Episode 9: August 2013. In one week flat, Bekah survives her car dying on the Fort Wayne Airport Expressway and Ryan survives running out of gas in a dump truck. Just another day in the life of the Shaffers. They continue working on the landscaping and have a double date at the Melting Pot along with Ryan’s friends. But the crowning part of the month is their weeklong Caribbean Cruise aboard the Carnival Breeze. Bucket list items are crossed off when Bekah climbs to the top of a lighthouse in Key West and Ryan is selected as a contestant for Hasbro the Game Show {on the ship}. They also luck out with an afternoon on a deserted beach in Nassau and try their hand at a Segway Tour in Grand Turk. Not-so-astounding moments include trapping a possum in the garage and drama in the Miami airport {searched luggage and a puking fellow passenger}.

Episode 10: September 2013. The vacationers return home to a broken water heater and spend their entire Labor Day weekend ripping apart the renovated bathroom to repair it. The rest of the month is devoted to wrapping up landscaping projects, welcoming family and friends for dinner, and trying out Sunday School at their new church home.

Episode 11: October 2013. Ryan and Bekah ring in a new month by celebrating their engagement-versary and indulging in their favorite seasonal treat: apple pie chai. They also purchase a new gym membership that allows them to work out together and commit to paper the first sentences of their new joint writing project! They squeeze in a weekend getaway near Chicago, to visit some of Bekah’s friends, and while there, they visit a massive apple orchard, carve pumpkins for a contest, and savor Giordano’s pizza. Before the month is over, they rip apart the newly finished bathroom one more time to fix a leaking tub and make their way to Fort Wayne to work a Jeremy Camp concert.

Episode 12: November 2013: Racing against a self-imposed deadline of all-projects-complete-by-the-first-anniversary, the duo rips apart the final room needing renovation: Bekah’s bathroom. And just when they think life can’t get more chaotic, Bekah’s car dies again, leaving the commuters minus a car for a week and a half! They get through both debacles and as the month winds to a close on their first year of marriage, they celebrate Thanksgiving with their families, then pack up and head to Indianapolis for their first anniversary getaway. They get to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree on Monument Circle, attend a Gaither Christmas concert, and take in a Colts game, all while celebrating the joy of a full year together as…the Shaffers.

Stay Tuned for Scenes from Shafferland: Season Two…releasing next December.