The Shafferland Shuffle

How in the WORLD is it May already? It's always extra awkward to me when a month starts on a Sunday because I somehow don't feel quite prepared for it. But it's here!!! May has arrived!! So to wrap up April....

* Last Sunday was Ryan's official birthday, and while I've already told you all about it, here are a couple of my favorite pictures of our low-key day. Church, lunch together at home, a nice long nap, a leisurely stroll in the evening: it all made for a fun day! And the bonus? We're the same age now for the next three weeks!

* Monday I was a yard-mowing machine! I had to travel over to Marion to mow the yard at our old house, and I came home to mow our present yard, because rain was in the forecast and Ryan needed his off-work time to work on the stone wall. His co-workers also celebrated his birthday at work, which led him to have a cupcake photo shoot with Brutus the rhino. That guy cracks me UP!!!!! Though it was a long, tiring evening to follow a long, tiring week of such work, he officially FINISHED the stone wall that night! 

* It's funny what working on a house for weeks on end will do to you. For us, on Tuesday, it made us excited to put on REAL clothes {like jeans and normal shirts, not workout clothes} and run errands in town. We felt like real people for the first time in a long time! And we started another house project that has ended up taking days longer than we expected: hanging things on the walls. We have a LOT of wall art. But it's feeling more and more like home each day! And just for fun, I made fajitas for dinner that night. {And I cannot make them without pronouncing them like Ross Gellar!}

* Wednesday I did my first real writing in my new office. I LOVED IT! It was such fun. That space works really well for me! That night, Ryan used one of his new birthday gifts for the first time - his French Press. He loved it! And we continued our picture hanging party, along with Supervisor #1.

* Braeya seems to be regressing a bit on her approval of the moving situation, so we sat together for a bit on Thursday. I hoped that would help her feel less anxious or whatever she's feeling! And then I had to get busy cleaning out the Bekah-mobile, because we are planning to sell it! I've owned that car for most of my adult life, so it will be odd not to have it anymore! And guess what else we did? We hung more pictures. :)

* Friday I took the car in for an oil change {before we sell it} and check out the waiting room furniture at the car place! Ha! When I got home, I decided I needed to clear my head, so I went for a run and ended up beating my time at the 5K race last fall! {And I haven't been running much lately, so that was exciting!} Ryan made us pour over coffee that night - he's enjoying his new coffee toys!

* Last night I had the opportunity to speak at Bryant Wesleyan Church for their "Mothers and Others" dinner. They were quite the welcoming group and I enjoyed both dinner and the chance to speak! Ryan went with me, and we had a great evening. It turns out that Bryan is just 20 minutes from a Sonic...so....