The Shafferland Shuffle

What a full week we've had! It was a great mix of normal and out-of-the-ordinary. :)

* We started off the week with a difficult shock, when we got to church Sunday morning and found out our pastor has begun his retirement earlier than expected. It was hard news to hear, but the gentleman who has come to serve in the interim did a fantastic job with the service and it was a very Spirit-filled time. (So much so that I totally forgot to take a picture!) Ryan and I were invited to our Sunday School teacher's house for lunch, and I didn't want to be that guest, so I didn't take any pictures there, either. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and company, though! We stopped for coffee on the way home and enjoyed the rest of the day home together. Ryan replaced the rope lighting in our kitchen, since several of the lights on the old rope had burned out. And look at this: he left his dessert unattended on the ottoman and Braeya ate a good chunk of the top layer before I even saw her. Sigh. That girl.

* I had a big writing day on Monday, and I accomplished quite a lot! I had several things due to the church that day (for the conference we're speaking at this fall) and I am pretty sure I had everything submitted on time! I made Asian chicken and zoodles with peanut sauce for dinner, and they were pretty delicious!  And check out this big old pile of garden goodies my parents shared with us! YAY!

* Among the garden goodies were some green beans. I have never cooked an actual good-tasting batch of fresh green beans before. Many fails. No successes. I was determined to figure it out, and Tuesday became my winning day for that! Even Ryan raved about them! In the not-healthy category, I made a batch of Texas sheet cake cookies for Ryan's carry-in the next day. (They were so good.) We also went back to my parents' house that night so Ryan could install a couple more lights for my dad.

* Ryan had a visitor at work on Wednesday! His sister brought her new baby in to see him and all his co-workers. Braeya and I worked on some more writing projects that afternoon. Oh wait. It was just me doing the working. She did the napping. I remember now. And another keeper recipe rolled out of the kitchen that night: chicken stuffed peppers! (It's a Dashing Dish recipe.)

* Remember when we went to Kansas and I bought the thrift store shirt, only to find out my sister had donated it in the first place? Wore it on Thursday. Had to send her a picture. Twinsies!!! Ryan and I ran some errands that night, which included a coffee-shop-stop and a Christmas ornament find! (We get an ornament every year that sums up our year. Since we're reading through the Bible together this year, I wanted to try to find a Bible ornament. I had been searching everywhere online with very little success, but look what I found at Hobby Lobby!!)

* Friday was SUCH FUN!!!! Ryan took off work at noon and we drove over to Ohio to surprise my blog-friend Odie at her housewarming party! She had no idea we were coming and was completely surprised. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!! Her new house is so beautiful, and we felt very love by her family and friends as we basically crashed the party. :) We may or may not have also stopped at Duck Donuts on the way....just sayin'.

* Ryan had to work yesterday, but last night we hosted game night for our high school friends! It had been a long time since we'd been at a game night! (We actually missed the last one they hosted, so it had been extra long for us.) We didn't win anything, which was no real surprise, but we had fun!

So it was a fun week, and we appreciated the opportunities we had! :) Hope your week was a good one too!