Dear 2016

** Originally I planned to share this blog post next week, as a 2016 wrap up, but who am I kidding? I'll have 239482983749238740 Christmas celebrations to share with you next week! So let's just move this little bit of reminiscent fun up to today and unwrap gifts together next week, mmmmmkay? ** 

Dear 2016:

Well, you were just a year of dreams coming true, weren't you?

We welcomed you with much celebration, in the home of friends that we had no idea would move far away from us within a year's time:

And less than one month had passed before we walked through a house - "just for funsies" - and ended up falling madly and hopelessly in love with that little house and the hope of what could be if it - gulp - could be ours! The journey that followed was a hang-onto-your-hat rush of faith building that we are grateful for in so many ways.

And while all that was happening, you kept rushing on, 2016. We spent time together, enjoying things like surprise dates:

...and hosting friends in our home - all the while knowing our time in that home was probably about to come to an end:

The faith journey kicked into high gear, with much sorting and purging and packing and stacking and planning:

And before we knew what was happening, 2016,you brought along a HUGE dream. come. true.

A new home - all ours. And even though it was "move in ready," you know we're the Shaffers, and we can't go without a couple of projects:

And so the renovations and the moving went, eating up far more weeks out of the year than we planned, and accomplished only because of the village of friends who pitched in to help. But even all the work was a dream come true, because we were taking a house and making it our very own.

And 2016, you brought another huge dream come true/answer to prayer, too:

We are so thrilled for the new owner and the legacy our first home is already carrying on. Moving out was hard, but easy at the same time, because we knew this place would be so loved.

2016, you brought the joy of settling into our new home and making it ours, and rarely a day passes {TRULY!!} that we don't express out loud our love for our home and the opportunities we have in this new place.

You also brought the opportunity to leave home a few times and see new places and enjoy some much needed rest and friend/family time!

You brought along the chance for us to minister in our own ways, together and separately {and OH how much we love the together part}.

2016, in you we realized the dream of hosting friends and fun in our home!

And you brought the joy of celebrating newness and milestones all over:

Oh 2016, you still have a little over a week left, and we intend to fully embrace every last minute of you, but we are grateful for all we've lived in you so far. Cannot wait to see what adventures await in 2017!!