The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday, as you already saw, was our first Christmas of 2014. It was at Ryan's mom and Allen's STUNNING log cabin in the woods...and we had a really nice time with his brother and sisters and their kids. So much good food. So many lovely gifts. SO MANY PICTURES. Fun fact that will get you nowhere in life...this was our second Christmas with them in 2014 as our Christmas LAST year got postponed until New Year's Day!

* Monday was Ryan's mom's actual 60th birthday, so her kids organized a little dinner-out adventure at Bob Evans. We all gathered for a meal and gifts and fun - and it WAS fun, until we left, and Ryan came down with what I can only assume was food poisoning. He was one miserable boy the rest of the night, and I felt TERRIBLE for him!

* By Tuesday, Ryan was better, and we both went to work...and for me, it was my last day of work this week!! YAY!!!! It was a CRAZY mid-fifties day for the first day of winter. SERIOUSLY!!? Didn't it snow on Halloween? Ohhhh, Indiana. Tuesday night, y'all, I got a massage. And not just a massage. A massage AT MY HOUSE. I told Ryan the only thing I wanted after our house sold was to get a nice massage to work away the 2 year stress of selling the thing. I couldn't find a therapist in town open late, so I found a therapist who makes house calls! She came over, set up her table right by my Christmas tree, and then she worked away all my stress. HEAVENLY. She even brought purple sheets because she knows I love purple! I was happy at the end of that! Went to sleep by the light of the Christmas tree, one happy girl.

* Wednesday was Christmas Eve, and I was off work, but Ryan was not. I worked on some last minute things at home, and when Ryan got off work, we went to our church to take communion, since we weren't going to be able to go to the Christmas Eve service. We hadn't done that before, and it was really a sacred experience. After that, we headed to Ryan's grandma's house to have Christmas with his dad's side of the family. I got to hang out with Ryan and his two brothers, and we laughed until we cried! A great night!

* Thursday was, of course, Christmas day, and we had two celebrations to attend after enjoying our own stocking exchange that morning. The first was with my family - and Ryan's mom and Allen and his sister, Bre, came as well. My parents are sick, so we had a Petri dish Christmas, complete with masks!!! So fun. We also had a photo booth - which ended up being so much fun, we brought it out again that night at Allen's family Christmas with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. A blast!! It was a long day, and we were pooped by the end, but it really was a lovely Christmas.

* When I woke up on Friday, I felt horrible! Ryan had to go to work, so I moved to the couch and stayed there the majority of the day. Braeya sat with me and was a quiet, good girl. I did feel a little better for a while in the afternoon, so I got up and did some cleaning and sorting of the Christmas gifts. Next year's stash-o-boxes are ready to be stored in the attic!! {I hate buying boxes!!!} Ryan brought home an iced tea to make me feel better and we curled up to watch The Nativity Story for our Friday night date!

* Yesterday was our last Christmas celebration with family...and it was Ryan's extended family on his mom's side. We had a huge and delicious taco bar to eat for lunch, and then we brought the photo booth back...and played all kinds of games...and watched the little kids open their presents. Ryan's grandpa shared with everyone the story of how he became a Christian, and Ryan's mom recorded it so we always have it. It was a really beautiful day {even if I did make a whole bunch of mistakes and ended up having multiple meltdowns - one right there in the middle of Christmas!}