2016 Christmas Card

I've confessed to you before that I am ridiculous about the mail. I wait every day for the mail truck to drive up and barely give it time to pass by before I fly out of the house and rush to see what treasures await. {And if the only "treasures" turn out to be bills, I'm sorely disappointed.}

So Christmas card season is just about my favorite. I love sending cards. Real cards. And I love getting them, too!! Since there are so many of you, and I don't know where all of you live, I'll send you my card this way, and I'll even include my letter! Enjoy!! :)

2016 from  A to Z in Shafferland!

Almost 9 months passed  this year before we resumed our quest to visit all 92 counties in Indiana. We did manage to get to Tippecanoe and Delaware counties before the year ended. But  if you keep reading, you'll quickly see why we were too busy to visit more!

Book time! Bekah released a new book this year, called Be Still: Learning to Know He is God. It's a combination of story and study, and we are really excited to see how God is using it! 

Clean eating! Starting with our 3rd anniversary last December, we began a journey of new, consistent workouts and improved eating habits. We feel so much better, and Bekah lost about 30 pounds!

Dog sitting was a new adventure this year. In March, we watched a Great Dane for a couple of days, and in May, we got to keep little Phoebe, a miniature Golden Doodle, for a week. Her people have let us watch her many times since, and we love her!

EF3 tornado came through Kokomo and flattened our Starbucks {and did a lot of other damage}. We were thankful that our home wasn't damaged and other than Bekah's panic attack, neither were we! 

Focus no more! We sold Bekah's car this year. We figured since I no longer drive to work, we didn't need to own three vehicles. So the Bekah-mobile, which turned over to 200,000 miles this year, found a new owner in a college student! 

Greensburg, Kansas, was the location of our summer trip. We pulled an all-nighter to drive 850 miles to attend Bekah's niece's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and we enjoyed a few extra days in Kansas spending time with family and seeing the town!

Home improvements! We moved into a move-in-ready house and spent four months overhauling it to make it ours. Yes. We're crazy. But it really is perfect now! {Kudos to Ryan for HOURS of hard work!}

Ignoring Bekah's mom's wishes for NO PARTY meant we got to celebrate her 80th birthday to the hilt. We hosted a fun cookies and canvas party for her and her friends, and a bonus: both of Bekah's sisters came too, so it was a double surprise party!

Just a few side jobs popped up this year! Ryan dabbled in home health care in addition to his PTA job at the rehab hospital, and Bekah did some photography, writing, and editing, as well as joining the "carpool" ranks by driving one of our friend's kids to school every morning. 

Kokomo is our home now! In January, we put an offer on a house, we closed in March, and took possession a week later. We adore our new home and town and are thankful for the faith journey God took us on to get us here. 

Leading small groups! We hosted a small group in Marion {through our church} before we moved, and we co-led another group this fall, along with Ryan's boss and his wife. We love having enough time in our schedule to do this! 

Mommapalooza 3.0 was our first big party to host in our new home. We love having both our families come together to celebrate Mother's Day every year, and despite having a frigid-weather day for this year's party, we had a great time!

Newspaper debut! After Bekah blogged about the great garage makeover of 2016, we were contacted by a Wall Street Journal reporter, who included us in an article about the changing face of garage use! Never thought we'd see our names in the WSJ!

Our little Braeya kitty turned ten this year. She was unimpressed with the gift we gave her: a new home. She has finally settled in, but turning ten made her no less of a diva! Whew!

Podcasting continues to be one of our favorite things to do together! Every Tuesday, we release a new episode of Spill the Beans, a half hour podcast about life, where we try to balance much laughter and story-telling with a few things of eternal significance! And this month, Bekah added a second interview-based podcast called The Conversation Cafe.

Quality time together...on our dates! We kept up our tradition of observing our monthiversary on the 2nd day of every month, and we went on many dates, big and small, all year long! 

Retreats were our thing this year. Ryan served on a Brethren Way of Christ team in March, Bekah spoke at two women's retreats in the fall, and she spoke at a number of other events throughout the year as well. 

Sold our first house! The house Bekah lived in since 2000 {which had been her grandparents' home for their entire marriage} finally sold after five years of being on and off the market. So thankful!

Twenty years out of high school for Bekah meant attending a class reunion! 17 classmates got together for a tailgate party before a football game and we had fun seeing old friends! 

Unique new project we started is called "Tuesdays at the Table," which keeps us accountable to inviting someone over to share a meal with us every other Tuesday evening. We LOVE opening our home and can't wait to carry this into next year!

Visited Lake Webster with ALL of Ryan's family - 15 of us under one cottage roof made for a tight squeeze, but it was fun to be together for the weekend and to enjoy time at the lake!

Wisconsin...specifically Chilton, Wisconsin, was the site of our annual birthday trip this year. We combined business with pleasure to travel there so Bekah could speak at a conference. We stayed with our friends, Tom and Olivia, and they treated us to a peek at life in Wisconsin!

X-rays and hospital visits were part of our fall this year. Not for either of us, but for Ryan's Grandpa, who had brain surgery {twice} and then spent some time in the hospital where Ryan works, recovering and rehabilitating. We loved being close enough to visit him every day!

Yuletide is one of our favorite times of the year, and we are excited to decorate our new home for Christmas, make new traditions in our new town, and celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Zee end of zis letter has finally arrived. You're welcome. Thanks for reading along, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!