The Shaffers Shuffle In

What a weekend! Ryan and I have been praying, planning, and preparing for weeks for this weekend, so today we're shuffling your way...on our way to Mo for some rest! :)

* Last Sunday (which now seems like a million years ago) we had a visiting pastor at our church. He is actually a minister at a church down in Ecuador...a sister church to ours. He and his translator did a fantastic job with the morning service! Ryan stayed home that afternoon to watch the Colts, and I went to a baby shower for one of the ladies in our church. It was a very nice shower, and of course, you already saw how it produced my Penelope-from-SNL imitation.

* Ryan was so excited on Monday, because he reached the two million step mark for one of his work challenges. I didn't make it to the end of that challenge. (In the time frame required.) I did well, but not two million well. I did, however, make it through three hours in the salon chair, getting a whole new look for myself! Out with the unhealthy, overbleached hair and in with the highlights again. Happy happy girl!

* Tuesday morning was a beautifully foggy morning that produced a pretty sunrise! I spent the day watching 9/11 documentaries, because that's what I do every year on that day. I never want to forget that the people who lost their lives that day were people with stories. I never tire of hearing them, because it reminds me why our stories matter so much. That night, after he got home from work, Ryan spent the evening in the garage, building the mock-up of our massive stage prop for speaking this weekend. His vision was so much more creative than mine. I was so proud of him!

* I already told you about Wednesday, but that was the day Ryan woke me up early to take me to Dan's donuts for a date! :) Loved that so much! I spent the day working on our event for the weekend, which included sorting freshly-washed stones. AND! I made my own bagels. Delicious.

* Thursday I was able to pick up the booklet the church made for our event...so strange to see the two of us listed as co-speakers. I loved it, though! I made shrimp fried rice for dinner (okay, cauliflower rice) and after we ate, we took a quick walk through the neighborhood. It has been so pretty lately, but the mosquitoes are absolutely no joke, preventing us from walking. I'm such a mosquito buffet.

* Friday was event day! It actually took us TWO vehicles to get to the church with all our props and notes and outfit changes and such. LOL! The place was decorated so very beautifully, and we were able to present the main portion of our message that night. It seemed to go well, and we were welcomed warmly, so we were thankful!

* We were up bright and early yesterday morning to go back to church and prepare for the next portion of the conference. We spoke together (briefly) again and also spoke separately with other friends. We are so grateful we were able to be part of this event together. (We also learned so much from the other speakers of the weekend!)