Birthdays, Versaries, and Such

Today is a very eventful day. Much to observe, much to celebrate, much to remember. And there's no possible way to put all these things in any kind of correct order, so I'll just dive in and go!

Our baby girl turns eleven today.

(That's an old picture, but it seemed appropriate.)

Eleven years old! Can you believe that?

(These pictures are from the day I first got her and from last Mother's Day. We both came a long way in a decade, yes?)

She's a daddy's girl through and through now...could really take or leave me, but she's still cute and fun (except for when she wants to play at 4 in the morning) and keeps life in our little Shafferland very interesting.

Happy birthday, Braeya Jo Jo!

ALSO in the land of birthdays, my sister Lori turns an undisclosed amount of years today. :)  These photos are from Cassie's wedding weekend last summer. (We don't get to have pictures together very often because you know...850 miles apart.)

Happy birthday, Lori!!!! I hope this is a wonderful, non-eventful day for you. Love you!

Because ten years ago today, her birthday was not uneventful. Today marks the ten year anniversary of the tornado that destroyed most of their town, including their home and church. (What a lousy birthday present, right?)

I blogged a lot about that tornado back in the day, starting with this post, where I first asked you to pray for them. I didn't know much of anything at that time except it was all just bad. 

Turns out I didn't even really know what bad was until I saw the pictures.

This is a picture of the bathroom where the three of them were (in the basement of their house) during the tornado. The green towel hanging on the piece of wood is above/behind the toilet where they were all crouched. The planks on the right side of the picture are making a bridge from the back step to the top of the stairway to the basement. The night of the tornado, those planks weren't there, but neither was the floor that used to connect the stairway to the back door. So they had to jump across that hole, in the dark, in order to escape.

 The house.

 The church.

Obviously we remain so grateful for the protection over them physically the night of the storm and we are thankful God has provided every need since then. They now have a new home and a new church building, and my brother-in-law, Jeff, just released a book recounting his perspective on the storm and the heart-recovery the followed. It's called Light at the End of the Funnel.

 While there is no real graceful segue out of the loss of their home into this next versary, today also marks one year since we officially sold our home in Marion!

This praise party was FOR REAL. Five years is a long wait for a house sale. (And I know some of you have probably waited even longer. Bless you!!!)

 Our Realtor, Cathy. She made this process amazing.

Happy sale-aversary to us!!!

And not to be outdone by our own versary, I did want to mention that this week we celebrated our 53rd monthiversary. Wow! I continue to be in awe of this life I have the privilege to live beside Ryan. He is a blessing, and I'm grateful for him.

He did have to work (crazy how work doesn't recognize monthiversaries, isn't it?) so we celebrated in the evening by eating chicken nuggets, asparagus, and a new cookie recipe I found on Dashing Dish.

The official monthiversary photo:

And the post-workout photo. Because we are so cool that we work out for fun to celebrate.

See? I told you it was a big day!!

So grateful for God's goodness and faithfulness. I think it's demonstrated well in these pictures.

Linking up with Tamar (who has a yummy looking recipe today)!!!

Light at the End of the Funnel

You guys!!! I normally talk about books on the Saturday 6, but today is a special day, so we're talking books mid-week!

Before I tell you about the book, I have to tell you about the author, because he is my brother-in-law and very dear to my heart. He and my sister married when I was a second grader, so he's pretty much been part of our family as far back as my memories go.

I simply cannot say enough about how much I respect him and have learned from him over these 30+ years we've been family. He has listened to more than his share of sad Bekah woes (back in the single days), offered helpful advice - even when it was hard advice, and encouraged me on my own walk with the Lord.

When Ryan and I started dating, Jeff happened to be in town for a weekend and Ryan made an appointment with him to talk about our relationship and seek his opinion and advice on our future together. I knew they knew each other, and I couldn't imagine Jeff not liking Ryan or thinking this relationship was a bad idea, but when Ryan called after they were done, I eliminated all small talk and said, "What did he say? Is he okay with us?" (And then Ryan pulled a prank and told me Jeff said NO! I about cried!)

Jeff performed our wedding ceremony and has been a huge encouragement to us as a couple in all the days that have followed since.

But aside from this important role he has played in our lives, Jeff is probably at the top of the list of most sincere Christ-followers I know. He's a minister in the Mennonite Church, but denominational boundaries aside, his highest goal is to seek the Lord with all his heart and live a life that pleases God. And while he does teach that through his work at the church, he also lives it out every day, even when people aren't watching.

And that closeness with the Lord was what carried him through the devastating EF5 tornado that claimed his home, church, and town ten years ago next month. If you've been a longtime reader of this blog, you remember that back in 2007, I shared dozens of posts about this horrific tornado that swept through southwestern Kansas late on a Friday night. But I could only share as a terrified family member, 850 miles away, wondering what was happening and how to help.

Jeff can share as a person who was there in the midst of the storm and in its aftermath. And he has done just that in the publishing of his first book, Light at the End of the Funnel. (Don't you just adore that title?)

Jeff and I are kindred spirits when it comes to processing our life through the written word. I have always loved his writing style, and over the years, we've had many good conversations about writing, journaling, and our mutual love of the written word. (Our spouses are grateful we understand each other that way and they are spared such conversations. Ha!)

I've always known Jeff did some journaling about this experience, but as all wise writers know, you shouldn't try to write publicly about something you're still too close to emotionally. You need some distance and perspective to write well, and for this last decade, he's still been too close. It wasn't time. But late last year, he came to me with the news that he thought it might be time. He bravely shared his initial manuscript with me, and I eagerly read it.

I shared my thoughts and he sent a second draft, which I also eagerly read. And the next time I saw the manuscript, it was neatly bound inside a cover with his name! (Can you tell I'm a wee bit proud of him?)

This book is not a how-to of tornado survival. It is, in part, a chronicle of that night in May 2007 and the weeks of cleanup and rebuilding that followed. The story itself is interesting to read, but he goes past just story. The book is centered around his study of Psalm 91 and how the verses in that psalm prepared him (though he didn't realize it at the time) for what was to come, carried him through the literal storm, and shaped his spirit in the difficult weeks that followed.

Even if you've never been through a tornado, there is so much to learn within these nearly 100 pages. Because of course, a tornado is but one kind of storm in life. We are each presented with storms and asked to trust the Lord to use them to shape us. I believe Jeff did that well. And his offerings are a gentle teaching. Not condemning. Not preachy. Just a humble conversation from his heart to yours that can guide you on your own journey.

In the back, he does have a few resources that could be helpful to you on a literal level, if you live in an area prone to tornadoes. Ideas of what to pack in a storm bag and ideas of how to help others in a very practical way when you hear of areas ravaged by tornadoes. And in that respect, he also leads by example throughout the book of things that are and are not helpful to say and do when interacting with folks affected by natural disasters of any kind.

This book is relatively short and an easy read, so if you're not a thick-novel-lover, this is a perfect size for you. His writing style is conversational and easy to read; he's a good story-teller. I hope you'll check it out. It's available here on Amazon.

Jeff, I'm proud of you for being brave enough to share your story and heart, and I am grateful for the bigger-picture life example you shared through the experience you faced. Congratulations on your first book (please write more!) and a job well done! 

Touring Greensburg

Podcast Tuesday!!! You'll enjoy this story...Bekah and the car dealership. Ohhhhhhhhhhh what a day that was.

Click here to listen.

Thanks so much for praying for Ryan's grandpa yesterday. The surgery did go well and it appears he is on the road to a good recovery. They'll keep a pretty close eye on him in the days to come to make sure he doesn't develop infections and complications, but for the moment, all appears to be going well! Ryan and I spent the day at the hospital and got to see him both before and after surgery; I'm glad we were able to go!

Today I wanted to show you some of the pictures from our day of touring Greensburg! Ryan and I decided to stay in Kansas one extra day beyond all the wedding festivities, and we were the only ones who stayed that long, so it was a tour for four around the big city. 

We visited all the cute little shops around town, but I'll pick up the photo tour at the Big Well. In case you're unfamiliar with the Big Well, I'll fill you in. It's the world's largest hand dug well, constructed in the late 1800's. It's 109 feet deep, and it turns out that if you have a fear of heights, this also translates to a fear of depths. I was pretty anxious for the whole climb, so Ryan took over the picture taking so I could concentrate on...you know...breathing.

Here's the Big Well Building from the outside:

We added a pin to Kokomo!!

Before the tornado, the well was mostly a visual experience. You could look through a cover down into it, but you couldn't go down the stairs into the well anymore. {I heard they were old and scary, so it was kind of okay that they closed it.} After the tornado, they built new stairs and opened it for business again. 

There's a whole museum, too, which includes the complete history of the well, dating back to the 1800's, and it also includes a bunch of tornado memorabilia and even video clips from the news stations the night of the tornado.

We went down inside...I freaked out.

Photo from the bottom. 

{No, they didn't have to hoist me out with the cable.}

You can also climb up into an observation area to look out over the town...and look way down into the very very bottom....

 Every window tells you what you're looking at...

And after all that climbing and descending, we felt it was only appropriate to visit the old fashioned soda fountain. {PLEASE NOTE: RYAN AND I SHARED THE HUGE SUNDAE.}

We spent the rest of the day with Lori and Jeff, watching the Olympics, and then it was time to say our goodbyes...to them and to Murph. :(

It was a great extra day to stay...thanks for hosting us, Lori and Jeff!

Complete RANDOMNESS

I have a number of completely non-related items to share with you today.

* Let's start out shallow and address TV, shall we? I watch Greys - and I'm curious AND nervous AND not happy about the news that they're killing a main character on the season finale this year. Phats suggested it might be Adelle (or however she spells it)...but I think it's going to be one of the doctors. Please leave Shepherd and both Greys and Bailey and Karev and Kepner and Sloane and Jackson and Yang and Owen and the Chief alone. Just a request. I'm not that attached to Teddy or Arizona or Callie.

* This is what happens when Lynne leaves her label maker at work. :)

* Yesterday was Braeya Jo Jo's birthday. She's six now and she is a d.i.v.a. I tried to get some pictures of her...you know, cute, sweet pictures of a kitty enjoying her day? What I got was a mess of blurry pictures of her inhaling her treats, chasing a laser light, and begging for a belly rub. And I even had my camera on the sports setting! She's like a toddler. Here's one I managed to get of both of us. We both look horrid.

* Yesterday was also the five year anniversary of the Greensburg tornado. I know some of you are new to the blog in the last year or so...so you weren't around for those blog posts! Five years ago yesterday, a massive F5 tornado hit the itty bitty town of Greensburg, where my sister, brother-in-law and niece live. It wiped out the entire town and they lost their home and the church where my brother-in-law is the pastor. The town has been working hard to rebuild, and it's remarkable, when you think of how much destruction they had. (To see all those posts from days gone by, you can check out the May 2007 archives.) Anyway, here's a link to a news report from this week showing both then and now.

* My roots are coming in (pure white, thankyouverymuch) and I don't want to pay for a full color job to just fix that. So. I'm THINKING of trying one of those little root touch up kits. Has anyone used one? What are the chances I will dye my hair orange? (Remember that HAS actually happened to me.)

* I went house hunting again this week and found a house I ADORED. I've found two other houses I adored in the past year. One sold and the other has an offer on it. (I'm such good luck for other people's house sales!) Anyway. Mine still hasn't sold, so if you want to pray with me for that, I welcome the assistance!!
Think that's all I have for today!