71 Months

Yesterday I wore three different hats and none of them were labeled "photo editor and organizer." So I thought today I'd tell you about our 71st monthiversary, which took place last Friday!

Six years will be here in less than a month, and that absolutely blows my mind. Six years never flew this fast when I was single, let me tell you!! 

I appreciate Ryan so much. He is a good man. This weekend I watched him serve the women at the retreat, and from setting up sound equipment to opening apple juice jars to jumping in on the game fun, he was a great help. He took care of me, prayed over me, and comforted me when I needed a calming presence.

After we came home last night, he got his mom all settled into our house, so we can keep an eye on her while she recovers from her surgery. He made sure he absorbed all the details of her care so he can do it (and teach me what I need to know).

But that was this weekend. Before that, there was Friday and a monthiversary. Ryan worked in the morning, but he took the afternoon to spend with me! 

I spoke at a retreat on the south side of Fort Wayne this weekend, so we packed up the car with all our stuff and made our way north! 

And right about there, we lost control of the day.

We had so many friends we hoped to see while we were in town, but fortunately we didn't make plans ahead of time, because everything utterly fell apart.

Ryan got super sleepy on the drive up, so we had to pull over and switch drivers. We stopped on the way to see my friend Sheryl and drop off some things she shopped from my guest room makeover. I managed to miss my turn to her house, so we had to backtrack. (Not much, but it just fit in with the day.)

It was, though, really good to see her!

Our original plan had been to go to this little coffee shop I used to visit when I worked at the station. We were going to sit and enjoy a coffee date. And thennnnnnnnn Starbucks announced  its free reusable holiday cup with purchase that day, so we changed our minds.

Except the one we went to was sold out of those. So we began the f.u.t.i.l.e. chase around town for that silly cup. 

We finally gave up and just ordered. Ryan got the cup I liked, and the Christmas tree was only half lit. LOL! Fit right in with the day.

By the time we chased nonexistent cups all over town, we had no more time to try to see any friends, and we were too close for comfort for this girl to get to the retreat. 

Because of the layout of the place where the retreat was held, there wasn't a good way to accommodate Ryan, so we needed alternative housing. One of my station buddies lived just a hop, skip, and a jump from the location, so we stayed with them! It was almost like being on location, and we so appreciated the blessing of their hospitality. So we went to their house to settle in! 

Then we scurried over to the retreat location to get set up there. 

This is blurry, but here we are, ready to serve!

I will tell you more about the retreat another day, but let me just say, any man who will do this for the love of his wife's work is a good man:

So monthiversary 71 was a little chaotic, but we were able to be together, and that's what mattered most. HUGE HUGE thanks to Ryan's family for helping out with his mom while we were gone so we could be together this weekend. (The original plan was for his mom to come straight to our house from the hospital, but her discharge happened at the same time we left for the retreat, so they all stepped in and took care of the weekend.)