What I Learned in April

Before I tell you what I learned this month, I have a whole stack of stories just for you! The vacation edition of Spill the Beans is HERE!

Listen here

And now, I'm interrupting my recently-started vacation coverage to report on the things I learned in April. I feel like I learned more than this, but I failed to write down some of them, and then I promptly forgot them. Sigh. But here are the things I do remember!

1. I kind of like white paint after all.

I've never used white paint on any walls in any of my houses. I've painted trim white, but never walls. I have always gone for some version of color, even if it's very faint. But this month, I've been painting Ryan's dad and step-mom's old house so they can put it up for sale, and they picked out white for all the walls. I totally understood, since they're selling, but I figured I would become bored by it. I have not! I actually love how fresh it makes the whole place look and feel. Who knew?

2. Murphy chest beds are a thing.

I've heard of Murphy beds. (You know...the beds that pop down off the wall and then pop back up for efficient storage?) But a Murphy chest bed? That was a new one for me this month. One of my friends got one, and I think it's the most adorable piece of furniture. When in storage mode, it looks kind of a chest of drawers, but it folds out kind of like a hide-a-bed. Genius!

3. The sternocleidomastoid muscle is a thing.

I carry all my tension (and help others carry theirs...as a free service) in my neck and shoulders. While I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm always in pain, I will say I'm always very tight and sore through my upper back and neck. Ryan worked on my neck this month and said to me, "I've never felt a tighter sternocleidomastoid in all my life." Ummmmm what? Is it a dinosaur? A disease? WHAT IS THAT? Turns out it's a neck muscle. And mine is the tightest one on the whole planet. Is there a prize for that?

4. Sinkholes can offer warning signals.

Ryan and I caught a documentary on sinkholes this month. (WOW! Are we exciting or what?) I think we were interested mostly because we have had these potholes in front of our house that have taken on a life of their own and we fear one day they may just open right up! We had no idea that you can find warning signs of sinkholes before they actually occur (or whatever the proper word is...drop? form?) Who knew??

5. I do not have a future as a flight attendant.

I already figured it. But my flights to and from Florida this month confirmed that I have not grown more graceful with age. (Remember that one time I gasped loudly at the turbulence? Remember the times all my neighbors kept leaning around Ryan to check on me?) Yeah, I'm not cut out to be a flight attendant.

6. I am "that girl" when it comes to adventure.

If you listen to the podcast, you'll hear this story. Ohhhhh the waterfalls. I was an embarrassment to my own self and probably to Ryan as well. Womp womp. (More photos to come on this one.)

7. Ox tongue isn't so bad.

Cruising always offers us opportunities to try foods we wouldn't otherwise eat. Ox tongue was on the menu one evening, and Ryan decided to try it. He liked the flavor, but the texture reminded him too much of liver, and it freaked him out. He did convince me to try it, and while I wouldn't want to feast on it, I didn't hate it!

So there's what I learned in April (that I remember anyway). How about you? Learn anything?

Heading Out for Vacation!

Last Friday was the end of the "Freshening Up" series I did throughout the month of April. Thanks so much for hanging with me while I tried something different here on the blog. It was a good discipline for me in writing!

But now I'm ready to talk about VACATION!!!!

Last year, right after Ryan put together my amazing 40th surprise party, he said to me, "By the way...I do NOT want a surprise party - or a party of any kind - when I turn 40. I just want to go on a cruise."

Okay!

He immediately began researching, and for the last solid YEAR, he has been researching, watching YouTube videos, reading THOUSANDS of reviews, and planning every corner of this vacation. It's been kind of weird, because I'm typically the resident vacation planner, but he wanted to do all the work, so who was I to argue?? (I did feel a little guilty that he planned all of his own birthday, but it's what he wanted to do.)

We booked it months ago, long before his mom ever got sick, and then in the height of her illness, we had to figure out if we should still plan to go. We told her about it one day (when it was about ten weeks away) and she burst into tears, saying she missed us already. Then we really worried about whether or not we should go! After she passed away, we realized the timing of it all was perfect. More than ever, we just needed to get away, be alone, be off the grid, and rest. And that's just what we did, as you'll see in the posts to come!

We left home on a Thursday, with allllllllllllllll our luggage. (My sister made fun of us for the sheer volume of baggage needed by two people for just over a week. We did agree that if we had kids, we had no idea how we would have juggled all the suitcases.)

Our flight from Indianapolis to Orlando didn't leave until late afternoon, so we left home in the late morning and drove to my sister's house, where we left our car for the week. (The price of her driveway beat the airport parking lot rental by a long shot! And a bonus? She drove us to the airport and dropped us off at the curb.)

I did get stopped in security to have my ankle checked. It's always something with me. Never the same thing twice, but always something. I don't know if my ankle is fat, or what, but they had to check it.

Once we got to our gate, there were a couple of guys entertaining the crowd with a giant Jenga game. They were pretty impressive!

Ryan made his own fun:

By the time we were able to board, we had to sit in the very back row. But you know what Mark Lowry says!! "Get my tail on the tail and save my tail!"

I haven't flown in six years. I didn't love flying six years ago. The combo made for some pretty severe anxiety. This is Ryan's favorite picture. (I'm in full-blown panic mode here.)

My prayer life increased A LOT on that flight. Hello, turbulence. You're not my friend. Also not my friend? The people near me who thought dog-food-smelling jerky was a good idea to bring out right after takeoff. Ugh.

This, though....

Oh, but yes.

We purchased a "Fly, Snooze, Cruise" package, so when we arrived in Orlando, a shuttle from our hotel came to pick us up and transport us. We spent the night at a huge hotel there in Orlando, and then the next morning, we were bused to the port. The package also included a bus picking us up at the port at the end of the cruise and taking us back to the airport. We had a really great experience with this package, so we would recommend it! We didn't have to track down taxis, Uber drivers, or anything else. All covered!

Our hotel wasn't far from the airport, and our room was very nice - with a lovely pool view!

We hadn't eaten much all day, so we were pretty hungry by the time we got to our hotel! There was a Fridays right across the highway from our hotel, so we walked over for some dinner!

We slept well and though the forecast had said it would be rainy all day Friday, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise Friday morning! We had breakfast at the hotel and then repacked our bags a bit and prepared to catch our shuttle!

We had a really funny driver on the way to the ship! Kept us laughing!

The bus ride from the hotel to the ship was about 45 minutes - taking us to Port Canaveral, which was ship central that day!

And so our adventure began!

The Shafferland Shuffle

And it's a newsy one!

I'm actually going to back up a day in starting this post, because some of you might remember there wasn't a photo for last Saturday!

That's because...we were on a cruise! Yes indeedy! Ryan wanted to go on a cruise for his 40th birthday (something about not wanting a Beauty and the Beast party??) so that's exactly what we did!

* So our view last Saturday looked a lot like this! We actually left on the cruise Friday afternoon, and it was nasty when we left and continued to be rainy with SUPER choppy waters for the first almost two days at sea. So in truth, last Saturday wasn't our finest day. We were both dizzy and sick to our stomachs, so we stayed in our room a lot and took MANY naps. But we had hope for (literally) brighter days ahead!

* Sunday was, of course, Easter, which was a tiny detail we hadn't realized when we scheduled the cruise. We actually booked the trip almost a year ago, and we did it around Ryan's birthday, having no idea that Easter came so late this year! The ship did have an Easter service, and we went to that, and then we enjoyed a fun (though still fairly choppy!) day at sea. We played a lot of games on the sports deck, hung out a bit in the spa, and enjoyed the sun - finally!

* By Monday afternoon, we'd arrived in our first port, which was Aruba. We'd booked an excursion there that Ryan called the Granny tour. (Ha! He called it that because aside from the two of us and a couple of other people, all the folks on the bus WERE grannies.) It actually was a really wonderful and thorough tour of the island. Our guide was great and drove us all over so we got to see the highlights of Aruba. We didn't get to spend very long at each place, but we got the overview, and it was fun! The ship stayed in port until about 10:30 that night, but we didn't stay off the ship past our tour time, so we ended up catching an illusion show that evening, and it wasn't even crowded in there! Yay!

* Tuesday morning we woke up in Curacao, and we had our own day of fun there. We rented a car and explored on our own. I'll have to tell you more about my thoughts later - but for now, I'll show you some pictures from the beach (BEAUTIFUL waters there). I'll withhold (for now) the photos Ryan took of me NOT so gracefully exiting the water. Oh my. That evening, Ryan enjoyed a birthday trip to the spa, where he had his first salon shave/massage. I had as much fun watching him try to relax as he did getting it done.

* Wednesday was Ryan's official 40th birthday, and we were at sea that entire day. It actually made for a perfect, leisurely birthday! We didn't have anywhere we HAD to be, we took our time, rested on our balcony, walked around the ship, went to the coffee shop, took naps, played games...so much fun. And at the end of the day, we came back to our room all set up for a party! A very festive way to end the day!

* Thursday...ohhhhhhh, people. You know how in regular life, there are some days that just aren't your day, no matter what? That was our Thursday - at least for the first part of the day. We awakened as the ship came into port in the Dominican Republic, and we had an excursion waiting on us that would take us on a waterfall adventure. There isn't even room in this summary post to tell you all the happenings of that morning, but trust us: you do NOT want to miss that post/podcast when it comes around. We're almost to where we can laugh about it. Almost. The end of the day was much better, I'm happy to say! 

* Friday was our final day at sea, and what a lovely, restful, lazy day it was. We walked on the track, visited the pool, played some trivia, went to a Q&A about ship life, took LOTS of naps, and (sigh) reluctantly repacked our suitcases at the end of the day. It's always sad to think about coming back home, especially when you know you're going to lose about thirty degrees in the process. 

* We awakened yesterday as we sailed into Orlando, where the skies were sunny and the temps were in the 80s. After the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngest series of hurry-up-and-waits, we arrived back home in Indiana, where it was in the low 50s and rainy. We were so sad to see our trip come to an end, but there is NOTHING like being back in your own home, with your own angry cat punishing you for leaving her behind. (She would have cried just as much if we'd taken her with us.) 

The Saturday Six

One.

I saw an Instagram post recently that featured some vintage Pyrex. The picture was posted by a girl who goes into people's homes and helps them redecorate/reorganize by shopping their home and figuring out how to make it work better using what they have. One of her clients loved vintage and had all these beautiful old Pyrex pieces on open shelving. I remember my mom's Pyrex pieces from when I grew up, but I had no idea how extensive the pieces can be until I read this post. Even if you don't own any yourself, it's interesting to read about!

Two.

Found my dream ice cream sundae. It's sold at an ice cream shop in New Jersey, and it's called the Bloatation Device. Thirty-two scoops of ice cream. You can read more about it here. I believe this dish might fall under the category my mom calls "your eyes are bigger than your stomach."

Three.

My friend, Stephanie Alton, wrote an article featured on Ann Voskamp's website. That's a pretty big deal! I am proud of her, and wanted to share her words with you!

Four.

With garage sale season rapidly approaching and thrift stores filling up with people's spring cleaning surplus, here's a guide for finding great secondhand deals. (And this has nothing to do with clothing; this all about home furnishings and décor!)

Five.

Need an idea to freshen up your to-do list? Not the items ON the list, but the actual presentation. Maybe it will help you actually pay better attention to what needs to be done! Whole bunch of ideas for you right here!

Six.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of endorsing a book for my friend, Christy Cabe. This is her second book, and it releases NEXT WEEK. I was going to write the whole review today, but since it isn't officially out yet, I'll just tease you with this.!

Freshen Up...Your Living List

What is a living list, you may be asking? Well, it's kind of like a bucket list, but I just like the term better. When I think of a bucket list, I think of things people are trying to accomplish before they die. And while a living list is essentially the same thing, it just feels better to me to think about setting these goals for fuller living, not for checking things off before I die. (Semantics. I know.)

When Ryan and I started dating, we made a living list of our own. We sat down with a little wire basket I'd purchased at the dollar store and wrote dreams in Sharpie on clothespins and clipped them to the basket. As we fulfilled our dreams, we moved the clothespins to the inside of the basket and kept going.

But the sad truth is that our living lists lives in a closet. A back closet. On a top shelf. We don't look at it all that often. We don't remind ourselves of the specific dreams we hope to realize. We don't add to it regularly like we should.

Oh yes, it's time to freshen up the living list. It's time to create some new ideas, commit them to...clothespin?...and see them come true.

1. Dream big.

Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash

Here's an important thing to remember. What's big to you is BIG. Don't compare your big dream to someone else's big dream and end up feeling like yours doesn't matter.

I love following Lisa Harper on Instagram, and not long ago, she took a trip to the Holy Land (to help teach for a tour group) and her daughter, Missy, went along with her. If you don't know who Lisa is or you haven't followed her story, Lisa is in her 50s and has never been married. Four years ago (almost exactly) she adopted a Hatian orphan. The whole story is far too much for this post, but it's amazing. One of Lisa's Instagram posts from her Holy Land trip said this, "19 years ago I wrote a simple prayer on a slip of paper asking God to allow me to be a mother and I placed it in a crack in the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Today Missy was with me when I placed another slip of paper in the wall that said, 'Thank you, Father.'" (The accompanying photo was of Lisa's hand on the wall with Missy's little hand covering it.)

Maybe becoming a mom isn't a lavish dream for you, because you easily had many children. But for Lisa, approaching middle age and being single, becoming a mom was a BIG dream.

Maybe your dream is to travel someplace that (financially speaking) seems impossible. Maybe you want to own your own business. Maybe you want a little cottage on the lake that belongs just to you.

Dare to write it down. Dare to add to dreams you've already written down. Pray about it. See what God does!

2. Dream small.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Have you heard the Josh Wilson song, Dream Small? I love it.

Sometimes I like to step away from this world's push to be big and significant. For your dreams to have to be massive to matter. None of it is true.

When Ryan and I were first dating, one of our living list items was to go stargazing together.

I still remember when we did it. I'd been out of town for a couple of days, and when I came home, we had dinner together at his house and when it got dark, we drove to the edge of the athletic fields in town, spread a blanket on the grass, and just looked at the stars for the longest time. I loved that date.

Maybe your small dreams goal could be a simple makeover to part of your house, a day off when you do absolutely nothing but rest, or learning to make a dish you've always wanted to know how to make.

Dreams don't have to require unending resources. They just have to matter to you.

3. Dream scary.

Yeah I don't really like to do that. But if you're a play-it-safe person like I am, sometimes it's good to put something on the list that takes you outside your comfort zone.

You remember the ziplining. That was a fun living list item for Ryan and a terrifying item for me. But we did it and it's one of my favorite memories (and photos) of our entire marriage.

Maybe that "scary" item involves taking a leap of faith that isn't an actual physical leap (like skydiving). Maybe you dream of moving to a whole new place and starting completely over with every part of your life. Maybe you dream of conquering a fear that has plagued you for your lifetime. Maybe you go back to school and learn a whole new life skill.

Just because it's scary doesn't mean it isn't attainable.

4. Dream outward.

Photo by Corey Motta on Unsplash

Sometimes it's easy to keep those living list items focused on yourself or your immediate family. What if you dreamed outward a bit? What if you pointed your living list in such a direction that it would help others' dreams come true?

Maybe you help build or renovate a home for someone who doesn't have the skills or financial resources to do it for themselves?

Maybe you become a foster parent or adopt so kids in need can know what it's like to live in a stable home?

Maybe you open your home on holidays to people who don't have a home or family to fill the day? (Once, when I was single, a couple in our church made a fancy Valentine's Day meal for all the single ladies in the church. We were all invited to dress up and come over to their house on Valentine's night, and they served us a delicious meal and loved on us. It was such a blessing on a hard day!)

Maybe you rescue a pet instead of buying a purebred, brand new puppy?

5. Dream unusual.

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash

You might need to consult the internet for this one. Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with ideas that are really out of the box. I'm way too predictable for my own good sometimes.

But how about some of these ideas? (Thanks, Pintereset!)

* Spend a night in a tree house. (Not like the one in your backyard that belongs to your kids. There are actual HOUSES in trees that you can rent - like a hotel room. We have friends who love to stay in treehouse rentals. Their pictures are SO FUN!!!)

* Ride in a hot air balloon. (I've actually done this - the tethered and untethered versions.)

* Swim with dolphins. (Most zoos with an aquarium have some sort of dolphin/whale program that allows you to get up close and personal. Not cheap, but a fun idea!)

* Visit as many famous landmarks as you can. (You can pick...in your state? The country? The world?)

That's just a start, but maybe it will give you an idea.

I saw a quote on Pinterest that said something to the effect of having a goal to make an impression on the world, not on your couch. Yes. Spruce up that living list, and live to the fullest!

Freshen Up...Your Routines

When I was an eighth grader, I learned a life changing skill: using a day planner.

Our school went through some sort of...I'm not even sure what you'd call it, actually! It wasn't really a restructuring, but the administration experimented with a few things that year. I remember one of the things was a unit study that went across all the disciplines. We studied the Civil War in every class from history to science to industrial arts. And at the end of the unit, we had this huge field day, where we marched in little armies from the school to the fairgrounds. We dipped candles and ate ham and beans out of a big pot over a fire. And I got sunburned. WOW. I still remember that burn. 

And none of that has anything to do with a day planner, does it? But that same year, all the students received free Eastern Comet day planners, and we were responsible for learning to keep track of our own homework, projects, and tests.

And either a star or a monster was born in me that year. I'm not sure which, sometimes. But my love of day planners never waned after that spiral bound freebie landed on my desk.

My day planner drives my routines, and I love it with all of my being. But I know it's sometimes good to freshen up your routines. Try something a little different. Shake up the schedule. (I'm sweating just writing this, you know.) Perhaps I write today's post more for myself than for anyone else. 

Here are a few ideas for freshening up your routines. I've tried some of these before, and others are ones I should try. It would be good for me.

1. How about a new hair routine?

Photo by Shari Sirotnak on Unsplash

I. Have. A. Lot. Of. Hair. (And that's putting it mildly.) It is actually, certifiably exhausting to wash, dry, and style it all in one fell swoop. I dread hair washing days, because it just takes forever. Not the actual washing part, but combing out all the tangles, drying and drying and drying it...and then straightening or curling it. (Actual curls take me close to an hour to put in...on top of the drying time.) I've been slowly training my hair (thanks, Callie, for introducing me to that term) to last longer between washings without looking gross. I still have some experimenting and training to do, but it's so nice now to not feel compelled to wash it quite as often. 

Maybe you could try washing your hair at night instead of in the morning (or vice versa) or learning some new styles. Preaching to the choir on that last one. I'm a style FAILURE.) 

2. Try getting up or going to bed at a different time.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Before Ryan, it was not unusual for me to stay in bed until noon or later on a Saturday. I loved sleeping in. I loved staying up half the night. Since getting married, I've switched up my routine to become much more of a morning person. And you know what? It's not awful! I actually kind of like getting a big chunk of work knocked out before lunch. (Lunch, of course, being when I used to get up.) You may never fully and naturally transform yourself into a morning person or night owl, but you might find some blessings hidden in switching up the time of day you get up or call it a night. 

3. How about trying a new driving route? 

Photo by why kei on Unsplash

We've been forced to do this around here a lot in the last year or so because of road construction closing off the roads we would often use. It may seem silly or trivial to think about switching up your route from one place to another, but I think it can be a great thing! It helps you see new places, remain more alert (since you're not driving on autopilot), and learn more about the area where you live. (I've lived in Kokomo for three years now and there are still roads and neighborhoods that are completely unknown to me. I'm always learning about a new place!)

4. Besides the time you go to bed or get up, try changing what you do right before and after sleep.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

I've read that it can really help you change your mindset or outlook on the day if you change the things you do immediately before bed or when you first get up. For example, if you're not in the habit of making your bed in the morning, try doing that when you first get up. See if the cleaner look of a bedroom helps change your attitude about mornings. Or at night...what if you read instead of watching TV before falling asleep? In experimenting, you might find you really enjoy benefitting from something simple you just never did before. (You can also look up morning and evening routines on Pinterest to get some ideas for how to change them, specifically.)

5. Try changing something about your diet.

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

A few days ago, I mentioned changing up your workout routine so you could "shock" your body a little bit. The same thing is true of eating routines. In the last three years, as we've worked to change our eating habits, we've learned that sometimes it's not just about what you eat...but it matters when you eat it. You could eat the same number of carbs in two given days, for example, but if you eat them earlier in the day one day, they could have a different impact than the ones you eat later in the day another day.

I'm a firm believer that the same eating plan doesn't work best for every person, so keep changing your routine to find what works best for you! (And don't go crazy. Do something sustainable.)

We Interrupt All the Freshening Up...

Today is a very special day, and it absolutely calls for interrupting all this April freshening up we've been doing!

Someone is turning forty years old today!

You might know him...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!!!!!

In honor of his big birthday today, I thought I'd celebrate with a few pictures. (I know. You never saw that coming.) Some of these are brand new to the blog and others are repeat favorites, but hopefully they capture the full and wonderful life of this man I love so much! I am excited to spend today with him and hopefully make the day special!

Meanwhile...

Here is a picture I found in Ryan's baby book, which we inherited after his mom passed away. I loved it that she documented her pregnancy! (Pretty sure she took at least one photo a month if not more.) Anyway. That's Ryan in there!! Last baby bump picture before he was born!

He always told me he looked like a frog when he was born.

Oh bless him. (Insert all the hearts here.) He didn't stay a frog forever. Grew into a very handsome prince!

And then there were the mullet years...

And the high school years. :)

(All these friends/family are still part of his life today; that's pretty remarkable!)

Graduation day - on his way to being a PTA!

And along the way, he never lost his sense of humor and crazy!

I'm not really sure how you condense forty years into half a blog post, so I'm not going to try. Because truth be told, if I were to give him what I consider a proper tribute, I'd need about a year's worth of posts. I think he's lived well for these first forty years of his life. I am proud of him for the choices he's made, the intentionality he devotes to those around him, the desire he has to honor the Lord with his words and actions, and the way he leads our family. Bottom line: if you've been hanging out here any length of time, you know all the reasons I love Ryan so much and how good he's been to and for me over the last six and a half years.

(If you want to see some of my past tributes to him, here are ones from 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018)

So for this year, I want to show you some of my favorite memories of Ryan over the past year. These are among the reasons I love him so much and am so proud of the way he chooses to live his life.

In no particular order...

He plans the BEST surprise parties. My 40th party was amazing and covered down to every last detail.

He's a really fun uncle! (SWING ME AROUND, UNCLE RYAN!!!!)

He ministers with me whenever I speak. (And he looks at it as a co-ministry. Even though he's not the one on the platform, he is as invested as I am, every step of the way. He told me it's one of his favorite things!)

He's my favorite walking partner. And our evening walks are one of my most favorite things. (Ready for the weather to stabilize so we can make them REGULAR FIXTURES again.)

He's a good friend to everyone - including the friends he adopted when he married me! (From the kidney walk last June...)

He's the best small group co-leader. We love our little group!

He uses his talents well! (This was from the patriotic program at our church. Can you find him?)

He works hard to stay healthy. (So handsome!!!)

He's the best road trip companion! LOVE traveling with him. He makes every moment fun. Even the traffic jams. (And it's not a Shaffer road trip without one or six of those, is it?)

He makes me feel loved all the time.

He loves my family just like they were his own.

He takes me to the lake and watches sunrises with me. (Even when I look scary and bleary-eyed.)

He works hard, every single day. I don't know that I've ever met a harder worker, actually. I appreciate his work ethic so much!

He takes me on middle-of-the-night dates to Dan's Donuts! (Still scary-looking and bleary-eyed.)

He's so cool that Deuce cries when he leaves for work. (Me too, but it's probably cuter coming from the dog.)

He's a fun adventurer, no matter where we go or who we take with us!

He was 110% devoted to his mom's care from day one of her diagnosis.

He was caretaker #1 when she lived with us. He rocked it so much better than I did. And he made everything fun. Even blood pressure readings.)

Even though Phoebe is really my girl, she loves her Daddy Ryan too! And he always does the early morning and late at night walks so I don't have to worry about them. It's the equivalent to taking the middle-of-the-night baby feeding, I think.

He's turned into a fantastic latte maker.

He never fails to make me laugh!

He is always studying the Word and trying to learn as much as he can.

He honored his mom through her last breath and even beyond.

Life looks very different than we thought it would as we enter his forties, but I am thankful for a husband who continues to push forward, find his footing again, and love and serve those around him!

Happy birthday, Ryan! I love you, I'm thankful for you, and I am excited to see what this next decade holds. I'm praying for big things for us. Whatever God allows, I'm grateful to get to live out each day by your side!

Love you!!!!

- AS