Someone Has a Birthday Tomorrow!!!

Right in the middle of the Saturday Six, someone in this house has a birthday!! You might have heard of him before: his name is Ryan Shaffer? :) 

So today we are celebrating him here on the blog!

What a wild year of adventures we've had together. It's absolutely safe to say that at this very time last year, we had no clue that everything about our lives would change in the year to come. Today I want to share some of my favorite things about Ryan from this past year. 

* At this time last year, Ryan was working on a proning team at the hospital, right in the middle of all the unknowns. He worked fearlessly, ready and willing to do whatever was asked of him to help those fighting against the virus that had taken over the world. I was so proud of him for all he did and all that he was willing to do, even in the cases where he didn't have to. And I was proud of him for being a great example to the women on his team. He still has a friendship with each of them today, and they had a great time together. 

* It wasn't long after Ryan's birthday last year that I found out about the opportunity to work at WillowBridge and presented it to him. At first, he didn't feel like it was a fit at all. But I appreciated watching him take the idea to the Lord in prayer and submitting to the changes God made in his heart that led him to want to move forward with applying and seeing what came of this. I love it that Ryan  always seeks God's will above his own, and this is one of the biggest examples of that I've seen in the time we've been married. (This is a picture I took of him filling out his part of the application, on the same porch where he spent a long time in prayer leading up to this point.)

* When God opened the door for us to come to Grabill, Ryan didn't hesitate at all. He jumped right in with me to accomplish everything that needed to happen to make this move take place in very short order. (We had basically a month between accepting the job and coming to train.) He helped pack, he made lists, he did paperwork, he did touch-up repairs on the house, and he helped organize and run our garage sales. We both worked equally hard on this task, and I loved it that he was willing to carry so much of it!

* When it was time to say goodbye to our Kokomo home - the first one we have ever purchased together - he joined me in saying goodbye through pictures and process and understood my need to grieve that loss in my own way. And when we actually moved, he spearheaded the organization of loading the truck so well. 

* When we arrived in Grabill, he didn't hesitate. Jumped in with both feet to help me organize our apartment, create relationships with our tenants, and immerse himself in a whole new career. He quickly gained a reputation as a hard worker who takes initiative and anticipates needs before they arrive!

* I'm pretty sure neither of us expected to see our RV dreams realized in this past year, but they were. I've been researching and taking online webinars and more for about four years, but once this began to look like a reality, Ryan joined me, looking at all the specifics (many that I did not understand) and figuring out what we could afford and what we would need to do to upgrade. He plunged headfirst into a project he'd never done before, and my goodness. What an AMAZING job he did with Miss Abby, even delving into new skills he didn't know he had!

* We also saw other hobby type dreams come true in this last year: biking together, kayaking, and enjoying the chance to have every day off...together. How long have we dreamed about THAT? It was as wonderful as I'd always imagined to be able to spend this time with him!

* I'm pretty sure no one was more surprised than Ryan that he became the crowd favorite of the littles in our building. I have loved watching him with them. He's so good. 

* This year brought about a plot twist we didn't see coming - when Allen died unexpectedly in February. Ryan handled that loss with such courage and has since launched into working so very hard on all the estate paperwork. (It's a joint effort with his siblings.) Though I joke about being an estate widow, I really am so very proud of him for how hard he works to make sure everything stays organized, nothing falls through the cracks, and everything is handled completely. 

* And in the middle of it all, he still does a million things to be a fantastic husband. He makes my dreams come true. He helps in our apartment. He tells me he loves me. He makes every day an absolute joy. I am so, so grateful. 

Happy birthday, Ryan! Thanks for being the man you are. Thank you for leading us in the Lord, for being so much fun to work with AND live with every single day, for having the work ethic you, and for demonstrating the heart of Christ, even in difficult days. I love you! I hope you have an amazing day of celebration tomorrow! :)