Happy New Year in Shafferland!

I'm guessing most of you go back to some version of work/school/normal this week, so if you fall into that camp, I hope it starts well! We didn't have a true break, so our week will probably look a lot like last week - and that's okay!

I did want to give you a peek into our New Year's Eve fun, though, to celebrate the official work week beginning of a new year.

For the last few years, we've spent New Year's Eve with our Sunday School class. We'd all pitch in some food and spend the evening playing games before watching the ball drop and toasting with sparkling grape juice. Our Sunday School teachers had a huge home that was perfect for entertaining, and that was really helpful, because we attended one of the biggest classes in our church. 

This year our welcome-in-the-new-year party was considerably smaller, but it was every bit as much fun. Tim and Justine were here at WillowBridge, and the tenants were out for the first part of the evening, anyway, so we had a party for the team for a few hours!

Justine made delicious ham and turkey sliders, and I made skinny taco dip. Justine brought mini eclairs and Ryan wanted some of those two-bite brownies they sell at Sam's Club, and that made up our dinner! 

We ate together and then did some photo shoots with our party props! (There were a few photobombing incidents, of course.)

We set up games in the Community Room and played. (This was one of the gifts Ryan gave Tim for Christmas.)

I have no idea how this happened - because I am TERRIBLE at it - but we won!

One of our tenants came home after our games; she'd been working that evening. So she joined us and we sat around talking and playing a few unofficial games until midnight. Then it was time to pour the sparkling grape juice and get ready for the countdown!

And then it was midnight!

We toasted and kissed and listened to Auld Lang Syne....

...and just like that it was 2021. A year as unknown to us as 2020 was one year ago. Certainly we hope it's less eventful, but we can count on it being just as God-saturated. And for that, we are grateful!

We stayed up to clean up the Community Room and made sure everyone who was out got back safely - and then we went to bed for a few short hours before we had to get up for work on New Year's Day. 

It was a happy start to a new year, spent with some of our favorites!