The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Welcome to the first Shafferland Shuffle of 2021! Here is how we transitioned our year from the old to the new...

* Last Sunday we were part of a presentation at a local church, where we talked a bit about what we do at WillowBridge. We have been doing church at home with our tenants for several weeks (their church is online only right now) so it was quite a switch to end the year inside a church building again! We worked the rest of the day too, but that evening, we enjoyed some down time with naps (though Braeya stole our blankets). And I downloaded my first book on my new Kindle!

* Monday was a work day for us, and we ran some errands in the afternoon. On our way home, we stopped in at the coffee shop for holiday lattes before they go away for the season! It was also a mini-date in the middle of a busy day, and we enjoyed that. A kind lady from the church we had visited Sunday came over and brought us a (DELICIOUS) loaf of homemade bread! And we ended the day watching a movie with one of our tenants. A fine start to the week!

* Tuesday was all about the meetings. So many meetings. Apparently there were so many that Braeya wanted to join in and tried to sneak in the Community Room to join us! (Pets aren't allowed in the Community Room because of allergy hazards, so she was out of luck. But I appreciated the interest!) But the best part of that day was getting to have our staff Christmas with Rob! He showered us with coffee and DeBrand treats! :) 

* We had Wednesday off work, and some friends from Ryan's old work came to visit us. We enjoyed showing them around Grabill and catching up on life! They had just left to go back home when it started snowing and being extra-nasty out, so we stayed in and enjoyed a restful night at home. Much-needed!

* Thursday was the final day of 2020, and we established a new New Year's Eve tradition (or at least we hope it becomes a tradition) of ringing in the new year with Tim and Justine! We made party food and had the best time playing games, laughing, telling stories, and ringing in 2021 together here at WillowBridge! 

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(I decided to do a single picture per day in 2021. I've done collages for many years, but some days it's hard to get three unique pictures, so I'm going to do a highlight photo for each day of 2021.)

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* Midnight brought us into Friday and into a new year. Auld Lang Syne, sparkling grape juice, sneaky kisses, and laughter with friends made for a perfect beginning tradition in celebrating a new year. My first first in 2021 came that same day, because it was the first time I've ever worked on New Year's Day. I'm actually pretty protective of New Year's Day, so that was hard for my heart, but Ryan and I had a good day anyway, even if we didn't get to do any of our daytime traditions this year. (We'll do them on a delay.)

* Yesterday was our 97th monthiversary! We are on the countdown to triple digits - and I told Ryan to just wait for that month, because I plan to incorporate balloons! (He looked at me with a mix of joy and terror. I don't think he knew if I was serious or kidding.) We did have to work yesterday, but Tim and Justine were also on duty, so we were able to sneak away for an hour and enjoy some coffee and word games at the coffee shop. I told Ryan that 97 months of singleness didn't go nearly as quickly as 97 months of marriage have gone. I love him and love it that we get to spend each day together. And I love it that after 97 months, we accidentally coordinate.