DeKalb County Tour

Ryan was off work this past Saturday, and we didn't have to work on any pressing projects at home, so he suggested we squeeze in a county tour! (If you're new here, we are slowwwwwwly working our way through a project to visit every county in the state of Indiana. There are 92. We're going to be at this a while.)

Originally I had planned for a county that would take us to a really fun state park. But as the week went on, the temps went up, and they were advising that people not be outside for prolonged periods of time because of the high heat. So at the last minute, I switched up my plan and found us a county with mostly inside activities. It ended up being a really fun day! (It'll take me a couple of days to tell you about it, but we'll start today.)

The county we chose was DeKalb County, and it's in the northeastern portion of the state. (We've almost completed that entire corner, actually!) The county is named for a Revolutionary War hero, and it has some really interesting things hidden in it! :)

Clearly, you can see we started at the covered bridge. :) I love covered bridges, so if a county has one, I'm going to do my level best to find it!

This bridge was built back in 1873 and is 146 feet long. When I had looked it up online before going, it appeared it was still functional for traffic, but when we arrived, I got the feeling maybe that's not true anymore:

We did get to walk through it, though, and took some additional pictures. It's a beautiful bridge!

When we arrived, there were a whole bunch of kayakers gathered there, and clearly some event was about to take place. There was also a guy wandering around with a camera, and I saw him, but I didn't really pay attention. As Ryan and I were about to get back in our car, he came toward me and said, "Hey I know you!" And indeed he did! He went to my church (or did I go to his?) when I was a little girl! He had two sons that were among the kids I taught midweek classes to when I was in high school! I don't think I've seen him since I was in high school. It was great to see him! We were both in a hurry to get to our next adventure, so we didn't get to talk long (and I didn't get a picture with him) but that was the fun, most random sort of happening!

After we left the covered bridge, we headed to Sechler's Pickle Factory. It's located in St. Joe, Indiana, and here's a fun fact for you: there's actually a pickle festival, and it was this past weekend. Because of the heat, we didn't go to the festival, but we did check out the factory. It sits out in the country and offers free tours. (Our favorite word! Free!)

Sechler's has been in business for almost 100 years, and they have over 50 products on the market. I first learned about them several years ago when the church I attended did annual fundraises of pickles...but I'd never seen the factory. They were running tours every few minutes because of the festival, and the lady who talked to me on the phone the day before told me that the festival versions of the tours are a bit shorter than the standard tours, but I thought it was good!

Here's a diagram of the pickle process, in case you're curious how it works.

We got to see their warehouse (which took Ryan back to his distribution center days!) - pickles for days!

They have huge tanks where they cure the cucumbers - year round. In fact, they told us that the amount of salt in the water for the curing makes it four times as salty as the ocean!

We were able to see a part of the process from start to finish, including the filling of the jars and the labeling. So many pickles!

I forgot to tell you that we were able to wear some sweet, sweet hairnets for the tour!

We did a little shopping while we were there. They have a store with some of their own products in it - and other pickle fun, too!

 In addition to making all kinds of regular pickle varieties, they also make relish and pickle other foods too, like cauliflower and asparagus.

 Electronic yodeling pickle? I was so confused. But props for creativity!!

 The dress up pickle and the pickle stress ball. Is it still called a stress ball if it's not a ball? Is it a stress pickle?

We had a fun time at this stop. Free tour? Check. Free samples? Check. Learning and fun? Check. And we were surprised how many people were there for tours (from the festival) on such a hot day!

I'll tell you about one more stop and save the rest for tomorrow. We had to find our coffee shop, you know. There were about three options listed online, and we picked the one called The Cupbearer Café. We picked it because it had a ministry base to it, and we wanted to support that! (The name comes from the verse in Nehemiah, where Nehemiah declares he was the cupbearer to the king.)

Their website says they offer a free community meal every Thursday evening - and they have live music that night, too! They also have live music on the weekends, and all the shows are family friendly. The coffee shop is located on the square in a big building, and the front half is the gathering area for the music and other events. They have seating for 100 up there! There are tables around the perimeter for people who come in to have a meal or coffee - and they even have a little bookstore area in there! They also host a Celebrate Recovery group.

We. Loved. This. Coffee. Shop.

It reminded us of a bigger scale version of our dear Shaka Shack in Adams County. And since we had lunch there, we were able to enjoy both the food and coffee offerings.

Here's a peek at the building:

And here's the big gathering space at the front:

The ordering area was so cute, and oh my goodness, the barista was the nicest girl in the whole world. She helped us figure out what we wanted to order, and she was as sweet as she could be.

She told us one of their most popular drinks was the choco-freeze, which is basically a frozen hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it didn't have coffee in it, but she said she could add espresso for us. So we both got that (since it was SO hot outside) and it was absolutely amazing. I've had frozen hot chocolate before, and I love it just the way it is, but adding the espresso? Oh my.

I'm actually legitimately drooling, just looking at the pictures.

We got little paninis and chips for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed just sitting back and resting. We sat in the front window and overlooked the square while we ate.

And before we headed on to our next adventure, we walked around the square. As usual, Ryan made a place for himself in the city sculpture art. He never fails to crack me up!

I'll tell you about the rest of our day tomorrow! :)

The Shafferland Shuffle

It. Has. Been. Such. A. Blissful. Week. I have told Ryan over and over again how much I've loved it. Our attempts to put a hedge of protection around our schedule actually worked, and we were able to enjoy a whole series of days at home, working on our own projects and (much more importantly) resting. It was so needed and so appreciated.

Without further ado: a week of (mostly) rest in Shafferland.

* Last Sunday was exempt from this aforementioned rest. Ha! We went to our little nephew's first birthday party. He hates cake, but as long as that wasn't in front of him, he was pretty happy. It was a good party and a good way to celebrate this year of his life. As soo as we left that, we went to hear our friend Brent in concert at a little church not far from us. It was great to see him! We hadn't run into each other in about two years!

* Monday started the resting. At least for Ryan. :) He got some tasty treats at work, which he happily sent pictures of...ha! I was doing chores at home and found that Braeya had moved herself into the guest room. Guess she needs her actual own place. That night I had a meeting with the women's ministry team at our church....I don't travel lightly to these! While I was gone, Ryan had the chance to take naps and catch up on things at home.

* Although my mom doesn't drink coffee, she invited me out for coffee on Tuesday, so of course I said yes! (She had Coke...I had coffee.) Ryan worked out in the crazy heat (which was crazy allllll week long) and that night, we cuddled up to watch AGT and drink milkshakes. I can't even remember the last milkshake I had. I love them so. I could seriously drink one every day, but I force myself not to go crazy with them.

* The heat continued on Wednesday; this whole week was like suck-the-breath-out-of-your-lungs hot! We stayed INSIDE as much as possible! I tried not to do anything to add heat to the house, so it was salad-time for dinner! And I worked on planning our next county tour, which was a nice, air-conditioned activity.

* I have the chance to speak this weekend, so I spent part of Thursday working on that talk and unearthing some vintage Bekah-writing. Whew! 90s bangs! It was smack-you-silly hot outside, but my flowers on the inside looked amazing, and I enjoyed them very much from my air-conditioned perch. And Braeya? She was so happy to see Ryan on the couch so much in the evenings this week and stole him every chance she could get. Little thief.

* Friday evening we picked up a few groceries...I double-shouldering the Aldi bags! :) And then we went out for a good, old-fashioned coffee date like the days of yore. We had a gift card and just sat, talking until they were about to close. Loved it so much.

* And then yesterday we did a county tour! (Finally!) We headed up to DeKalb County - and had all kinds of fun. I picked that county rather last minute because I wanted to find a place that had a fair number of INSIDE options, since the heat was still super high. We toured a pickle factory, had coffee, went to a car museum, and even saw a covered bridge. Can't wait to tell you more about it!

The Saturday Six

One.

This is for those of you who have kids or know people who do. Please take just a second to watch and learn! The mom in this story is a friend of mine from college, and the beach where this happened is a beach Ryan and I have been to before up in Michigan. Like Susanna, I never would have guessed that this could happen, so this is a chance to learn something that could save a life!

Two.

It is h.o.t.t.t.t.t.t.t.t. here in Indiana. Like dangerously hot. Like even if today is beautiful, you probably shouldn't go outside, because you might legitimately fry like an egg. So if you're stuck inside with kids who need cool-down games, here's a post with some suggestions of ways to play with ice!

Three.

Have you been using all the emojis correctly? I haven't.

Four.

If you like essential oils and need some new ideas for summer diffuser blends, here's a great list! Unfortunately for me, spearmint makes me gag (not just the oil, but all spearmint scents) so some of these are out for me, but there are some unique ideas on here!

Five.

I discovered this week that one of the twin actresses who played Grace Ingalls on Little House actually has a blog an a book coming out. Many of the actors and actresses from the show have written books at some point, but I didn't know about Wendi! Since she was so young when she played Grace, I probably know less about her than any of the other actors on the show. I'm not sure she ever even had a speaking part! But I've read through some of the blog posts and it's interesting to see her take on her co-stars from a behind-the-scenes perspective.

Six.

This week I'll close out by telling you about something I purchased recently that I really liked, so I case you're on a similar hunt, I'll introduce you!

For the last couple of years, I've been searching for a safer deodorant. I'm guessing you're familiar with the news that most standard deodorants that we've all used for years and years are not the best for your body. They contain chemicals and ingredients that could be scary to think about from a long-term-use cancer perspective, and the anti-perspirant part of them (while delightful for comfort and clothing preservation) actually works against what your body was designed to do.

I don't get super intense about these sorts of things because it produces way too much anxiety within me, so if you're looking for stats, research, and deep arguments about the dangers of all this, you're not going to find it here. I'll just keep it pretty basic.

Having said that, I did think it was worth the few extra dollars per bottle to try to find something that was safer and healthier for me. I started with deodorants from the regular store, but I couldn't find any I liked. It seemed like the sticks were either crazy hard and impossible to apply or they were crazy slick and felt like they never dried under my arms. One I tried even made me break out HORRIBLY (which is really odd for me - I'm never sensitive to skin products) and it burned like fire when I shaved after using it. I tried one from Lemongrass Spa (where I've been buying all my skincare products) and loved the first stick, but then they made some changes and the second stick didn't work AT ALL.

It was really frustrating, because I was trying to do a good and right thing and couldn't find anything that worked and felt good. (And though we're not talking super high dollar amounts here, the cost was enough that I didn't want to keep burning through sticks that didn't work.)

Finally, I decided to try Etsy. I spent the better part of an afternoon researching all kinds of shops, reading the stories of the makers and the reasons for their creations. I read hundreds of reviews, and at last I landed on one I thought I might want to try.

Here were the selling points for me:

* The shop, By Robin Creations, is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On my search, I looked for USA companies only, partly to support American-made products, and partly so I didn't have to wait six months for a little bottle of deodorant to be shipped from some far reach of the world.

* Free shipping in the US. I learned that as you shop on Etsy, you can adjust filters for what you want, and free shipping is one of the filter options. I always put that in, because I try to be budget-conscious for our home, and I wanted to try to avoid paying shipping costs to keep this more like what it would be if I continued to shop at the store. (Her entire shop has free shipping in the US, regardless of how much you spend. Some shops offer free shipping with a certain amount spent.)

* Price. Her sticks of deodorant are listed at $10.00, which is just a couple of dollars more than the ones I had tried that didn't work. I was willing to add a couple of dollars to see if this would work. Before I placed the order, she put them on sale, so my total was $8.50 - almost exactly the same as I paid at the store. (And again, free shipping.)

* Great reviews. She had over 600 positive reviews on her products, and that was good enough for me! I read through several of them to get a feel for people's specific thoughts, and I was sold.

* Freebies. Her information page and several reviews indicated she also sends free samples, so I knew I would be getting even more bang for my buck.

* These two things don't matter to me personally, but I know they do to a lot of people: her products are vegan, and she's moving toward being a plastic-free shop. The items I received were packed in plastic (which I'm okay with) but her "about me" page indicates she is moving toward plastic-free.

I ordered a stick of her deodorant in the Ocean Breeze scent. (She also offers Tangerine-Grapefruit, Eucalyptus-Lemongrass, Jasmine-Gardenia, Lavender-Pine, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Rose-Geranium, and Unscented.)

It arrived a few days later with a handwritten note from Robin, thanking me for my order, a coupon for a future order, and TWO free samples. She sent a tube of her unscented SPF lip balm (which also comes in scents) and a trial size tin her of her sunscreen.

I was skeptical about that sunscreen. That's another thing I've been trying to find in a healthier version, and so far, it's been a dismal failure. (I tried a stick version of it from Lemongrass Spa, and it didn't go on evenly, was way too sticky, and way too soft. The stick actually broke off and I had to shove it back in the tube. I was not impressed.)

The day that Ryan and I painted the deck was ridiculously hot and sunny, so I gave the sunscreen a try that day. It goes on like regular lotion, but it left not a single trace of stickiness on my hands. (Unfortunately I applied regular sunscreen to Ryan's back right after that, so I ended up sticky anyway.) I did get a tan that day from the sun, but I did not burn. Not at all. And if I was going to burn, it definitely would have happened that day. So I'm sold on the sunscreen and will be buying that.

I'm also sold on the deodorant. I've been wearing it for about two weeks (maybe a little more) now and I love it. It goes on as it should - not too hard and not too slick. I love the scent. I notice it, but it's not overpowering. I do still sweat, since it's not an anti-perspirant, but I can tell the deodorant is still working, despite the sweat. (I don't know how to explain that any better than what I just said.) It has not made me break out. A little bit goes a long way (which is great for my budget)!

So this is my recent find that I like! A stick of deodorant, a free lip balm (which I also like!) and a free sunscreen for $8.50? OKAY!!!!

25 Years of Words

I spent some time this week preparing to speak, and as I did so, I dug through the archives of my writing to chronicle my journey. I've actually really enjoyed this prep time, because it's allowed me to look over the whole of my writing adventure and see some things that God has done in preparing me for where I am now and, I'm sure, where I'm going in the future.

I don't want to give away my whole talk, in case any of you happen to be there, but I do want to share this one piece of it that stuck out to me particularly.

It's been twenty-five years since I published my first writing.

Twenty. Five. Years.

We could pause to talk about how I'm not even old enough to have been able to hold a pencil twenty-five years ago, but I fear you might just laugh at me.

Twenty-five years ago, I was newly passionate about writing. Mom and Dad had given me a journal for Christmas just a few months earlier, and I was diligently recording the fascinating happenings of my day. (AKA high school drama and the recap of that day's Little House on the Prairie episode.)

I soaked up the chance to do any and all writing assignments for school, and I was just learning that this writing thing could actually be a thing.

Back in those days, Walk Thru the Bible Ministries was under the leadership of a guy named Bruce Wilkinson. You remember him, right? The Prayer of Jabez? They published a monthly devotional magazine called YouthWalk, which it appears is no longer in publication. It was geared for teens and was absolutely foundational for me in the early years of my serious pursuit of Christ. Though I had become a Christian when I was six, I got serious about having a growing, maturing relationship with Jesus at eleven, and shortly after that, I discovered YouthWalk. Our church had a subscription, and I would eagerly pick up my new copy every month, take it home, and read it faithfully every single night before my self-imposed bedtime of 10:15 p.m.

(I really was a dream child at times. You're welcome, Mom and Dad. I was a real pain at other times. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad.)

Anyway - if you want to read the full story about this first publishing, what I wrote about, and how I found out it was actually being published, you can read about it in this post and this one.

I won't rewrite the whole story here, because today isn't about that day twenty-five years ago (almost exactly) when I found out my article had been accepted.

Today is about the twenty-five years of words that have followed.

Since that day, I've written millions...billions...trillions (I failed math and don't really know what comes after that) of words.

Some of them have been well-crafted in ways that continue to surprise even me.

Some of them have been truly terrible and I'm glad they're hidden in the privacy of journals.

Some of them have been truly terrible and I wish they would have been confined to the journals, but they escaped publicly.

I've learned that I'm not a fiction writer, and all attempts to become one were among the "truly terrible" category.

I've learned that I love non-fiction and tend to lean toward being funny or deep, with little middle ground.

I've shared words on this blog since 2006, and since 2011, the words have appeared every single day. This blog isn't a money-maker and it doesn't have a massive readership. But I love it, and I love all of you who come to visit and read the sometimes-good/sometimes-awkward words shared here.

I've published two books, and that still blows my mind.

I've written way more than two books and whether any of those other manuscripts ever see an audience or not doesn't matter to me. The words had to escape my head, and they did.

In the eyes of a lot of writing professionals, I'm probably a flighty failure. I don't have a specific enough niche. I don't have a big enough "fan base." I choose to write when the words flow and don't force them out if they don't.

But I've been given the gift of twenty-five years of words that have been shared through all kinds of platforms. Small though they may be, they're the platforms God has put before me, and I'm grateful for them.

As I get older, I try to be so careful about making sure every word counts and the poorly written ones stay in the confines of the journals.

And I try to write about more than television show recaps.

Twenty-five years is a long time, but I'm so glad this last quarter century has been filled with words for me. It's been a complete joy.

And now, a complete joy for you:

Nineties bangs.

(I think the bio should have said, "enjoys reading, writing, and memorizing episodes of Little House.)

This n That

I mentioned yesterday, as I championed the joys of resting (especially in this heat wave), that I've spent a fair amount of time on Pinterest. This has caused me to unearth some completely random, seemingly unrelated things that have made their way into a "this n that" kind of post for today.

* Let's talk hula hoops.
I can't do it. You'd think I would be a natural, right? But I've tried and failed many times. Yet the whole idea of hula hoop workouts utterly fascinates me. I didn't even know such a thing existed until several months ago when one of my Facebook friends posted about how she got into it and it had really helped her strengthen her core and increase her self-confidence. (I actually think I shared about that in a Saturday Six back in the day.) I still find it fascinating, and I still don't know how to do it.

* And while we're at it, let's talk mini trampolines.
It's another child's toy that I've read can give you a good workout. You know what I'm talking about, right? Those little 3 foot (or so) trampolines that are just a few inches off the ground? I had one as a kid, and apparently I should have hung onto it. Because I have read that you can do a decent workout on those, even as a grown-up.

* Remember flannel graph boards?
Ryan and I talked about this on a recent podcast. They were all the rage when I was little. It almost seemed you couldn't have a proper Sunday School class without displaying the stories via flannel graph figures on the boards. Nerdy-wannabe-teacher-Bekah had her very own board at home, complete with actual books of Bible story figures. Oh yeah.

* What was the first major world event you remember living through?
(This was actually prompted by a Facebook question I saw.) My first big event that I remember firsthand was the Challenger explosion. I was in second grade. Music class, to be exact. The principal interrupted class over the intercom to let us know that the explosion had taken place and asked us to take a moment of silence. I don't recall fully comprehending it in that moment, but the look on the teacher's face and fact that this news warranted the pause of learning throughout the school told me it was significant. It did end up making such an impact on me that I made my first "scrapbook." I saved all the newspaper and magazine articles from our house and glued them on construction paper and tied them together with yarn.

* Time to schedule pictures!!!
I know! It's crazy hot, it's July, and Christmas is forever away. But most photographers are already scheduling fall sessions (and senior sessions...and weddings) and if you keep putting it off, it's going to be September and you're going to call to make an appointment and the photographer will laugh at you. I may or may not have scheduled ours this week. (I mean I made the appointment this week. We are not having photos taken this week.)

* I've had fun shopping in my head.
No, not on Amazon Prime Day, but on the Bates Sisters Boutique. I still can't climb on board the floral trend (residual shivers from the 90s version of it) but I do love this and this!

* How much reusable would you reuse?
I happened upon some homesteading type posts on Pinterest, which makes me ask...where would you draw the line in reusable items? For example, you can make your own paper towel sheets and reuse them. Would you? How about toilet paper? Feminine hygiene products? Coffee sleeves? Diapers? Where's the line for you?

* Do you walk out on glass ledges?
I was reading this article about the Grand Canyon Skywalk, so it made me want to ask you the question! Lines and cost aside, would you walk out on the glass ledge? Ryan and I did the glass ledge in the Willis Tower in Chicago. It scared me, but I was proud of myself for doing it. Unfortunately, we were there when a number of pushy folks were touring, so we couldn't edge our way in for a GOOD, unobstructed photo.

* Cobblers or crisps?
I mean, I rarely meet a dessert I don't like, but if you're going to hand me options and ask me to choose, I'm likely to choose a crisp. It's a texture thing. I love the granola-like feel of it. But make no mistake...I recently devoured a serving of a cobbler with much gratitude and NO complaints!

* And finally...what was your go-to cereal as a kid?
I remember particularly loving Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cocoa Puffs. My favorite part of both was the flavored milk at the end of the cereal consumption. :) In college, I lived (sometimes exclusively) on Captain Crunch Berries. It is possible I did consider the berries a fruit serving. Ryan and I don't eat cereal for breakfast, but we do almost always have a box of healthy granola-ish cereal in the pantry for quick snacks as needed.

Thanks for jumping all over the place with me today. Hope you have fun thinking!!

Rest. Sweet Rest.

Yesterday I told you about our hard work on Saturday, and how excited we were to work on our own house after so many weeks of working at Ryan's dad's. It is indeed a blessing to be able to take care of your own things, isn't it?

But one of my other big goals for us in the month of July was to be able to get some rest. You've heard of that word, right? :)

Rest can take many forms. My favorite form happens to be a nap, but it's not the only way to rest.

In a weird way, for all the hard work it entailed, Ryan found our Saturday activities to be restful because they allowed him to mark things off his to-do list and gave him a sense of accomplishment he could see every time he looked out the window.

* Going to the fair last week was restful for us, because it gave us a night off from the norm and allowed us to have fun, a date night, have some of our favorite foods, and see friends.

* Scrapbooking here and there over the last couple of weeks has been restful for me, because it's given me a creative outlet. (Bonus: I received the last four books I ordered on a massive sale and may or may not have subjected everyone who crossed my path that day to sitting and looking at them.)

* Yesterday I spent a hefty dose of time on Pinterest. I hadn't done that in a while. Not only had I gone several days without even glancing at Pinterest, the last few times I had opened it, I had a specific hunt for information in mind. Yesterday I just scrolled and found treasures.

* Last night, Ryan and I sat together on the couch and watched America's Got Talent. We weren't working on computers or doing any other task while it aired. We just watched. Together. Over coffee. And I cried. (A lot.)

* Yesterday I also began working on our next county tour. We can count on one hand, I think, the number of county tours we've taken in the last year - maybe even year and a half. That's how crazy our schedule has been. To think about getting to do one of these days that brings us such joy is so fun. I'd almost forgotten how to plan them, but it was kind of like riding a bike. Came right back.

* We've squeezed in as many naps as we can possibly find time to take. Lunch hours, evenings, Sunday afternoons...if we can find a little stretch of time, we nap.

* Ryan has found rest in doing some small, truly not labor intensive projects around the house. Sometimes those little, easy things that pile up can end up becoming a big pain in the neck, can't they? He's had a chance to organize, purge, and update, and all of it has made him very happy. (And it's cut down on all the little piles!

Rest is sitting. Rest is napping. Rest is hobbying. Rest is togetherness. Rest is a gift.

The fall will be here in all its fury before we know it. I already put in a request to schedule our annual pictures in October...we're organizing our fall semester of small group studies...all those things are headed right for us, and life will get busy again. We know it.

So we embrace the rest.

And let's face it: it's going to be crazy hot over the next few days. What if we all just called that a great excuse to rest?

Consider this your permission. Rest your body and feed your soul, my friends.

Working on Our Own Habitat

It's podcast Tuesday!! Some stories for you...

Listen here

As you may remember, for the last several months, we've been helping Ryan's dad and step-mom do some work on their house so it could be put on the market. Lots of painting for me and lots of all kinds of projects for Ryan.

And since there are only so many hours in a day, we got just a teensy bit behind here at our house while we worked over there. This past weekend, we declared a work day at our own habitat. 

Why is that sometimes the hardest decision to make and feel good about? Why is it that we feel crazy guilty for turning down invitations to do something if we are "just" working at home? Our own homes matter, too!

But I digress.

Ryan is such a morning person, so he was up with the sun, getting breakfast and getting everything ready for our work day. 

Meanwhile...

I woke up eventually.

We started by taking out a fence around our patio. It seemed like a simple project at the start. Just pull apart the slats, right?

It's all fun and games until you get to the posts buried in cement. 

We didn't want to be those neighbors, doing hammer-and-saw projects before 10 a.m. so we abandoned the fence posts and started painting the deck instead.

It took us about two and a half hours to paint and trim out the floor boards, and then we took a break for lunch. It was really hot in the first part of the afternoon, so we took an indoor-work break. Ryan put up a new fan in our room, and I...well, I scrapbooked. That's work too!

Ryan did work really really hard to take out the fenceposts, but it took forever to even knock out one. They were so firmly planted!

So we painted a little more...worked on the fence railing part. 

And then Ryan's step-dad came over with the big tools to help knock out the rest of the posts. It was terrifying to watch, but they've been working together for many years, so they knew what they were doing and did everything without injury! (Except to the yard.)

We worked a little bit more on the fence after that, but it got too buggy to continue, so that project remains for another day.

 But we made a lot of progress on our project and both of us really enjoyed the chance to be home and work on our own habitat!

Date Night!

What a busy weekend we've had! I haven't had a chance to get through all my pictures yet, so I may be telling you stories backwards.

Like I told you yesterday, we spent allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll day Saturday working crazy hard on projects around the house. I have brag on Ryan, because he is so knowledgeable about so many things and can do almost anything we need all by himself. Together we worked on painting the deck, but he did almost everything on the ripping out of the fence. It was a complete ordeal, and I'll have to tell you more about it later.

We definitely were tired yesterday, but we went to church (and it was such an amazing service) and then we had our nephew's first birthday party, where I was on picture-taking detail. So we were just on the go the whole time!

But I had seen a few weeks back that our good friend Brent Vernon was going to be IN OUR COUNTY for a concert last night, so we just had to go. He's not in Indiana all that often, so when he is, we try so hard to make sure we see him!

First of all, let me say that although he was here in our county, we drove through some parts of it that neither of us had ever been to before, and I felt like we had been transported to a whole other part of the state. All these back, winding roads and hills and creeks...what??? It was a beautiful drive.

We got to the church early, but the parking lot was already packed, and so was the sanctuary!

It's been about two years since we saw him, so it was really great to meet up with him, and we just hung out in a (literal) back pew so all the people there could get up close. (And so I could take pictures without annoying everyone around me.)

If you haven't heard of Brent before, you should definitely check out his site. He's super talented and can do everything: he sings, plays the piano, writes music, writes and illustrates children's books, and is a ventriloquist. And in his spare time...(ha!)

Here we are: back pew date!

These aren't the most high-quality photos, because I was just using my phone, but here are a few peeks at the evening:

Singing AND playing at once: amazing talent in my opinion.

Sam the dummy (aka his ventriloquist figure). Ryan and I both really like the Sam routine, and we laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME. Even if we've heard the story before.

He sang some of our favorites - including the song that Ryan sang at my sister's church last year when we visited there. (I dared Ryan to rush the stage and sing it with him as a duet.)

After it was over, we waited in line to talk with him for a while. Because the line was so long, I didn't ask for a new group picture with him. Next time, right?? :)

It was a great evening of music and fun, and we were glad to have a date at the same time!