A Little Peek into Shafferland

My house is becoming our house...and I love it. LOVE. IT.

Many of our rooms are in a state of um...disarray...but our living room is pretty well arranged, and I love it. I love the way it reflects who we are and how it brings us comfort in its cozy little way.

 My best friend gave me this frame a couple of years ago - right after the desert - and I fell in love with it. It says "Life is fragile. Handle with Prayer....If God brings you to it, He will see you through it." Seemed fitting after the desert. All this time, I've had in there a picture from this vacation...when God began to heal my heart.

What an absolute joy it was to take out that picture and put in the picture of redemption...

One of our newest acquisitions...Ryan's giant clock. He'd wanted one of these the whole time we were engaged, so I was excited to get it for him for Christmas. He loved it, and hung it up right away. I love seeing it hang in our living room...a strong reminder of how precious our  time together is.

This was a gift from Ryan's sister and brother-in-law...and I just love it. She read my blog post of my vows and knew I'd included this Scripture passage in my words to Ryan, so she hunted around for this wall art and gave it to us as a wedding gift. We put it near the clock...a wonderful reminder to me of the promises I made that day.

One of my favorite parts of the living room is our fireplace. We love sitting by it every evening while we watch TV, eat our dinner, drink coffee, and have great heart-to-heart conversations. And most of all, I love the pictures on top...one from our engagement...one from our 10K race...and one from our first dance (with a bottle of Siesta Key sand beside it....) This is our life.

 Pictures...dances...races...and coziness.

Our sign that we bought for our engagement photos and then used again at our wedding. Love what it represents.

We are an and now.

Ryan bought me this sign for Christmas. It says "Life is a journey. Enjoy it." I love that. This is how we strive to live...enjoying and soaking up each moment and not wishing away the seasons as they come. Enjoying the hard times and what they teach us as well as the fun times {which are just easy to love.}

I love it that we put this over our door...as a parting thought for ourselves and for anyone who comes to visit.

And speaking of parting thoughts...he gave me this one for Christmas too, and I love what it represents. We hate being apart by so many miles every day but trust the Lord to do this for us.

Our little couch-nest, where we curl up every evening to rest and watch TV. Our ottomans, which serve as laptop tables...dinner tables...{yes we are one of those couples who has a table but doesn't use it}...coffee holders...you name it. It was sitting right here that our relationship began, in its most fledgling form, in the first place. I love this spot.

And one of the most beautiful sights to me in the whole living room...is Ryan's Bible. I bought it as a gift to him when we first started dating, and he puts it right here after his devotions every day. I love seeing it there and being reminded that someone else dwells here now too. And that someone leads me so well...God is good.

So that's just a little peek inside the organized part of our home. It's small, it's a little quirky...but it's so us. We love it here. And we hope those who visit see God in these walls and in our marriage.