The Shafferland Shuffle

Not sure if any of you who read here are from Florida, but if you are, I'm praying hard for you today! I cannot comprehend the magnitude of this storm you're facing, but I am praying for you to sense God's nearness. It feels odd to share the random happenings from our week when some people's worlds are in such upheaval, but I also know it sometimes helps to see something normal in the middle of the heaviness. So please know that despite sharing our normal, I'm praying over your day!

* Last Sunday morning, Pheebs and I could NOT wake up. We did finally get out of bed in time for church. Well. Ryan and I went to church. Phoebe, not so much. She was really excited to see us come home and even more excited to play tug of war and fetch with Ryan! we went to Wendy's that night, where Ryan became Brian: it always cracks us up!!

* Monday was Labor Day, and labor was the name of Ryan's game! A lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng day at work for him. I took it a little easier, meeting up with my friend Amber for some coffee and Hobby Lobby fun, podcast editing, and TV watching. That night after our hard run, Phoebe cleaned Ryan's head for him. :)

* Tuesday was just a normal day around here...office work, long walks, naps, but that night we did enjoy a beautiful view on our walk. I love water and pretty skies. Even if the water is a retention pond! :)

* This picture of Phoebe cracks me up. When I left on Wednesday for my carpool run, I shut our bedroom door. (I do this to make SURE there are no Phoebe/Braeya interactions that are unsupervised.) Phoebe has gotten really good throughout this time of NOT jumping over the ottoman that serves as the barrier to the bedroom door. But she sure will get right up on it and sleep there! So funny! She got a fun treat when we went to get Ryan for lunch: one of his co-workers let her clean the mashed potato bowl from her lunch. Phoebe actually tried to eat the BOWL! And she missed Ryan so much that night (when he was out mowing) that she spent forever kissing him when he returned.

* Thursday night we hosted our first Thursdays at the Table (formerly known as Tuesdays at the Table) for this season. Chili, cornbread, and peanut butter pie. DELISH. And we enjoyed opening our home and having good conversation with some of Ryan's family members!

* Friday, I stopped by the Seiberling Mansion (historic site in town) to get some postcards to send to my friend Jenna, who is teaching a homeschool unit on the 50 states. I had promised to send something from Indiana to her kids. They're putting a new roof on the mansion right now, and I'm fairly certain ALL the scaffolding in the whole state is in our city for this project. Pheebs helped me write all afternoon, and during our errands that evening, we bought a new post for our new mailbox. I sense I may need to wear heels for mail retrieval now. Or stilts.

* Ryan worked yesterday morning and then spent yesterday afternoon starting installation on our new mailbox. Pheebs and I sat outside and observed. (And I took pictures of her.) :) Last night, we did the unusual and did separate activities! I had a meeting with some college students about my book (they're planning to study it together) so Ryan had dinner out with the guys from work! We both had fun, but it's really strange to be apart!