Grateful Heart

Thank you all so much for traveling through 100 months of memories over the last few days. I know the posts were long and picture-laden, but I adored writing them. I loved looking back over our almost eight and a half years of marriage in such a purposeful way. 

It had never before stood out to me that different parts of our life together have had such specific purposes. There have been seasons of establishing, seasons of fun, seasons of pain, seasons of serving, seasons of teaching, and more, of course. 

Yesterday we went for a walk together, since we're keeping one eye on the forecast and it appears Indiana is about to briefly forget that spring has sprung. We walked all over Grabill, pausing to appreciate buds popping out on trees throughout town, holding hands as we made our way down the sidewalk, and talking about the this-and-that of life right now. Even something as simple as that made me so very grateful. It made me remember all those long, long walks through the IWU campus, where I held my stack of prayer cards tightly and prayed over a someday-husband, someday-marriage, and someday-life. 

The night before last, Ryan stretched out on our bed to play with Braeya while I folded and put away the last of the laundry. We talked while he rolled the dryer ball back and forth with Braeya, and I remembered days of yore when I thought even double the laundry wouldn't be so bad if it meant I got to share my home and life with someone. (And that was a correct assumption on my part.)

It's not lost to me that we'll celebrate our 100 months in the very city where our promise of life together began. Back when he proposed, we thought we'd be moving to this city and continuing on with our established careers. We figured I'd do radio forever and he was a lifer for health care. We looked at so many houses online and wondered which of them would be ours.

And here we are, 100 months later, just outside the city we imagined, working a career together that neither of us would have imagined. And those houses all went to other families, but we're happy as can be in our apartment - which is something else we never would have imagined. 

I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the answers to prayers that came in a yes form. I'm grateful for the answers to prayer that came in a NO form. 

And I'm grateful for Ryan. He makes life so much fun. He is a great listener. He's a fabulous conversationalist. He knows how to do pretty much everything. He has amazing vision and is a confident and steady leader in our home. 

These one hundred months have been a joy. Thank you, Ryan! I love you!

Memories...Months 91-100

And so we've reached the last of these posts! The memories of the last ten months, which have totally changed our lives! It's crazy to think that ten months ago we were living in a different city and working different jobs, and had so much about our life that was completely different than it is right now. The craziest ten months of our lives, right?

Month 91. 

And this was the month in which EVERYTHING changed. How do I even pick one thing to be a highlight? They were all highlights! We came to Grabill for our interview. The next day we accepted an offer for the job, and the day after THAT, we found out Ryan's rehab hospital would be closing and he would be losing his job. I turned in my resignation at the church and started packing our house so we could move! By the end of that month, we were under contract on our house and I worked my last day at the church. What. A. Whirlwind.

Month 92. 

Ryan me in my garage sale/packing adventures. We passed the baton of our home to its new owners, took our final photos, and packed up to go to Grabill. We started out living in a temporary apartment while we went through training during the day, and we spent the beautiful summer evenings taking long walks. We closed on our house and returned to Kokomo to pack our moving truck and make the official, final move to Grabill! This was a first for us...living more than 15 minutes from our families and the town where we grew up!

Month 93.

We launched into our new job, learning as we went. We began to get to know our tenants through conversations, game nights, and transportation runs. We began to learn to make time for us, too, in our down time. We found some parks to hike, worked on putting together our apartment (another first for us), and began hunting in earnest for an RV to call our own! This was also the month Ryan said his final goodbye to his co-workers from the hospital, which was a grieving process, since he'd spent a decade living life with these people every day!

Month 94.

This was a fun month! We found a sunflower farm to explore, an outdoor ice cream shop to enjoy, and bought a kayak to use on our days off. (Allen came to kayak with us this month, which would be our last chance to do this with him, and we didn't even know it.) We continued to get to know our tenants through our work and had a lot of fun planning community days for them! We took a class at church to learn about the feasts of the Bible, which was both fun and informative. But our best memory of this month was purchasing Abby, our sweet RV girl! Dream come true!

Month 95:

We celebrated EIGHT years of being engaged...with chocolate! We took our kayak out for its final spin and went on a long bike ride on a trail! We took our tenants to a pumpkin patch and then decorated pumpkins here at the building! WillowBridge turned one year old, and we had fun celebrating that, too. But our biggest task that month was doing demo work on Abby and beginning our reno project! SO MUCH WORK!

Month 96. 

Fall showed up in full force, and we stayed busy at work and at home! We finished up painting in Abby - and Ryan finished up his 196 coats of paint on the cabinets. (He may never look at a paint brush again.) We made a quick trip to pick up our Christmas stuff from storage, which was Abby's first trip out on the open road! We decorated our apartment for Christmas, and then we had another first: our own Thanksgiving. We made all the food, and it was so much fun!

Right after Thanksgiving, we left for our eighth anniversary trip, in Richmond, Indiana. We stayed in a SUPER COOL Airbnb loft above a coffee shop and enjoyed doing the Wayne County chocolate trail and scavenger hunt while we were there! We also had a private tour of the Levi Coffin House before we came home!

Month 97.

When we came home from our anniversary trip, it was time to kick Christmas into high gear at WillowBridge! We decorated the building together, which was so fun! Gateway had a virtual Christmas party for all the staff, which was so creatively done, and we loved it. Ryan and I were home for Christmas Day, rounding out the year of holidays on our own, and we actually really enjoyed it! And I think one of our favorite memories from the month was the WillowBridge Christmas night. It was a joy to see our tenants all caught up in the joy of opening gifts and celebrating together. Though we don't have kids, we imagine it must be kind of what parents feel like watching their kids on Christmas morning!

Month 98.

We welcomed 2021 this month! We continued working in Abby, doing more finishing touches. (This is when Ryan figured out he can do upholstery!) We celebrated the birthday of one of our tenants and spent a little time helping Allen clean out some of Nita's things at the cabin. We had no clue that would be the last time we'd ever see him. The snow found us that month too, which felt like the biggest thing we did. Shoveling upon shoveling upon shoveling upon shoveling. What a workout!!

Month 99.

This was the month of the unexpected. More snow (which we should have expected in February in Indiana, but still...). I was a guest in a college class (via Zoom) and our internet picked RIGHT THEN to get cranky. Of course. We had a wonderfully fun Valentine's Day celebration for two at home together! And right after that, we received the news that Allen had died from a heart attack, and our entire world upended again. So many arrangements and decisions and goodbyes - without warning. Our second parent loss in just two years. One with months to prepare and one without a moment's notice. Both so hard in such very different ways.

Month 100.

And now we're to this hundredth month together, which we'll celebrate in a couple of days. It's been a whirlwind of change again. Ryan and his siblings have been hard at work (zooming and texting often) to wade through all the paperwork after Allen's death. One of our tenants moved away, and that brought with it a deep wave of grief for us, because we love each of them so much! So as we work on the push and pull of hellos and goodbyes within the building, we've had a lot to process! And I think our biggest moment this month was officially finishing Abby in preparation for her first real outing! 

One hundred months of life together. Adventure. Joys. Sorrows. Challenges. Change. I'm so grateful we've gotten to experience it all together. Life looks so different than it did 100 months ago, and I have no doubt it will look different in 100 months down the road. But I am so very grateful for the gift of life with Ryan and the ways God is using us together! 

Thanks for reminiscing with me!! :) 

Memories...Months 81-90

 And just like that, we're up to the last two days of memories as we count down to 100 months of marriage! 

Month 81.

Ryan and I had our acting debut at church, participating in a skit on a Sunday morning. Ryan was amazing. I remembered why I don't act. ;) We toured Hamilton County, which took us to Colts Camp (didn't know it would be the last one of those available to the public for a while...) and a long and memorable bike ride on the Monon Trail. (Remember when I almost couldn't pedal up the overpass anymore?) A crew drove very large trucks into our back yard to pour footers for our new sun porch, which made a HUGE mess and a LOT of noise in our quiet little neighborhood. Then another crew came and stamped the concrete in the back so it would be ready when the room went up! They also did our front porch, but they had to use a different technique there. But our big memory of the month was going on a trip with my family to celebrate my parents' 65th wedding anniversary! An afternoon on the lake on my sister's boat, touring Shipshewana, and lots of food!

Month 82.

We went on a super fun date this month: to the Grissom Air Show! It was our first time to attend an air show, and even thought it was hottttttttttttttttt and sunny that day, we had the best time! We pressure washed our driveway and sidewalk and sealed both of them. (What...doesn't everyone do that?) We went to a Purdue football game with our friend Pat. And we put our yard back together and put down rock landscaping (to the tune of eight tons!) after the biggest news of the month: our sun porch arrived! We hired it done so it could be done quickly and efficiently, and that it certainly was! Within a week we had a gorgeous room to relax in! (We miss our porch.) 

Month 83. 

We celebrated our 7th engagementversary with a trip to a pumpkin patch and corn maze - and had a super fun night (even though I think we were the only non-parents/non-teens there). We were part of a video shoot for our church to promote a new season of small groups. Making that video was SO FUN! We had our pictures taken that month, too, but I think our favorite part of the month was our tour of Owen County, which included a whole day hiking in McCormick's Creek State Park. Fall hikes are some of our favorite, and this one did not disappoint! (We even got to meet a bride about to get married in the park!)

Month 84. 

This month contained the last time we had to be apart - and I STILL cried when I left. Such a sap. I went to a women's conference with some ladies from church, and obviously Ryan did not fit that bill! I am pretty sure we wore out FaceTime on that trip. I was so happy to see him when I returned! We decorated for Christmas that month - which included turning our beloved new porch into a mini Christmas tree farm! We went on "Turkey Tour 2019" which took us to FOUR Thanksgivings in one day. But our two most favorite memories that month were our impromptu weekend trip to ATLANTA to meet Mark and Lynnette's sweet new baby girl! It was a whirlwind trip, but we had the best time! And at the end of the month, we served as photographers at our friend Charity's recital for her piano students, and this marked the first time we'd ever met her in real life. So fun!

Our seventh wedding anniversary trip rolled around right here, and it was so much fun. It was the last one before the world changed completely, and I'm so glad we were able to make so many sweet memories! We toured Franklin County, which was a little town in southern Indiana with some fun things to see (including the world's largest collection of cookie jars!). We stayed at a cute Airbnb in Cincinnati, visited IKEA, the Air Force Museum, Duck Donuts, the American Sign Museum, and the big moment of the trip: Winterfest at King's Island. Ryan got to ride a roller coaster, and I ice skated for the first time! 

Month 85.

We came home from our anniversary trip and immediately wrapped up our last full in-person semester of small group. (We also wrapped presents with them for the Rescue Mission!) We went to see Christmas lights, officially joined our church as members, enjoyed Christmas celebrations - and our traditions! But the biggest news of the month was that I returned to the regular work force by going to fill in at our church for my friend Abagail during her maternity leave. And our biggest memory that month was serving together as co-narrators for the church's Sights and Sounds of Christmas program. It would be our last time to do that, and we had no idea. By the following Christmas, we would be moving, our church's music pastor would retire, and you know - a pandemic. 

Month 86.

We started the new year (2020) with such normalcy. Had no idea, did we? We said goodbye to the pastor who had been serving our church for the past 18 months, welcomed our friends Frog and Jenna for a weekend, and started a series of at-home dates, "just for something different." Seriously had no idea. Our biggest moment of the month was welcoming a new pastor at our church, which felt like a whole fresh start for our church after many months of waiting and healing from difficult situations. I launched into our women's ministry with new gusto, determined to have a great year leading these ladies! And the whole time, we just had no clue.

Month 87.

Ryan and Shawn went on their annual ski trip (while I kept the lodge under control). Ryan was elected to the church board that month, too - a first! We spoke at a Valentine's Day Banquet, which would become the last in-person event we spoke at together that year. We gutted our guest bathroom to begin finally making it into the vision we'd had for a long time. But our biggest memory that month was the WONDEFUL surprise getaway Ryan gave me for Valentine's Day! He found an Airbnb in Indianapolis that overlooked the canal and skyline, and we spent Valentine's night there. We were able to see Mark and Lynnette and their darling baby girl the next morning (ships passing in the night) and then spent the day touring Marion County. It remains one of my favorite surprises he's ever done.

Month 88.

We started the month with a torn-up bathroom, so much of the month was devoted to working on that: new lighting, painting and installing shiplap, new flooring...you get the idea. I ended my work as a temporary administrative assistant and immediately launched into a mostly unknown new job at the church, doing a little of this and a little of that. Of course we didn't do much of anything for very long, because the biggest news of the month hit: the pandemic arrived. Both our jobs changed: Ryan resorted to doing odd jobs at his rehab hospital, since most patients weren't supposed to come in, and I started working from home. We stocked up on the essentials: cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and groceries. We spent our free time reorganizing our closet and putting up a barn door on it, too. Church started meeting online, and before the end of the month, Ryan was moved to the main hospital to do odd jobs in ICU. It was a strange, strange month.

Month 89.

It felt like life got progressively stranger this month, but we made the most of it. Ryan began the month working in ICU, and I was working from home. Spring showed up outside in all its beauty, and we sure loved it. Ryan was asked to do a monologue for the Easter Sunday Service (pre-recorded in an empty room) and he did a magnificent job. We spent our first ever major holiday alone: Easter Sunday. Even though we were alone, it seemed a most meaningful day, starting with a sunrise service and continuing with a full Easter meal for two! We decided to redo our guest bedroom and make it the Anne of Green Gables room I'd always wanted. Ryan began working on a proning team at the hospital, partway through the month. When he was home, he wanted plenty of projects, so we also started redoing our entry to include board and batten. OH! And we repainted the closet. But probably the biggest moment of the month was celebrating our first quarantine birthday: Ryan's. We stayed home and had Giordano's pizza (they deliver on dry ice, if you didn't know) and did an online escape room! (And my parents surprised him with a drive by party.)

Month 90.

We finished the Anne of Green Gables room and the board and batten project. Braeya celebrated her birthday in quarantine too, and I made her pose with the sign. My job went back to in-person work, and I had my first Zoom speaking engagement (Mother's Day). We ran out of projects at home, so we landscaped and decided to paint the entire living room and kitchen. We also did a big mulch project in the yard. I celebrated my birthday in quarantine too, which was one of our big moments of the month. Ryan did an amazing job of making the day special for me: had Chipotle delivered to the house for lunch, since he was at work, and then made our entire dinner from scratch - for my Anne of Green Gables party! The other big news in month 90? We found out about a job at a place called Gateway Woods, had a Zoom meeting with Rob, and filled out an application for employment! We ended the month with our annual birthday trip - a hiking trip to the Hocking Hills in Ohio (and on the way, a stop at a police station for some fingerprints for this job application...). 

There you go! Almost up to the present day!