Christmas Card Day!

 I love to share our Christmas card and letter here each year, so I thought today would be a good day to do that! Without further ado...enjoy!

 

Christmas 2021: The Top Nine Defined

          Instagram calculates its users’ “Top Nine” moments of each year, and we thought that in honor of our nine fine years of marriage this year, we’d choose the top nine moments that defined our year. They certainly weren’t all the best moments. Some were very hard indeed. But they certainly defined our year in memorable ways.

          ONE. The first one was extra difficult for us. One night this past February, we were awakened in the middle of the night to the news that Ryan’s step-dad, Allen, had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. We traveled back and forth to Howard County several times that month preparing for our final goodbye, just short of two years after saying goodbye to Ryan’s mom. It was definitely not how we imagined starting our year, but we are grateful for God’s sustaining grace.

          TWO. Earlier this year, we moved into the triple digits in monthiversaries. Yes, we still celebrate our marriage on the second day of every month, and we made that 100^th celebration extra special! We visited the botanical conservatory in Fort Wayne, had a photo shoot in a park, went for a special coffee date, and ended the day at a Good Friday service with our friends. We feel like this year, and the work we do, has brought us even closer together and made us more unified. We are so thankful for the story God has written and continues to write with our lives.

          THREE. This year marked our inaugural season as RV campers! In the early spring, we wrapped up renovations on our little fixer-upper RV that we named Abby. Despite the chaos of our jobs and the year, we were able to take six camping trips this summer (one was two weeks long!) and visited a host of campgrounds, state parks, and other fun places! We were pretty relieved to learn that we actually enjoy RV camping, and Abby made the perfect home-on-wheels for us. We appreciated the respite from our live-in job and only wish we could use Miss Abby year-round! (Perils of life in Indiana in the winter…)

          FOUR. Speaking of Abby the RV, another one of our top nine moments this year was our big trip west with Abby. We were gone for 13 days and visited our friends (the Bromptons) on their ranch in Colorado, as well as Bekah’s family in Kansas. (We had a brand new great-nephew to meet out there.) Along the way, we also took in the sights in Dodge City, Kansas, Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, two Little House on the Prairie locations, and the small town of big things in Casey, Illinois. It was SUCH a fun trip and much-needed break for us.

          FIVE. We had some staff changes at WillowBridge (where we work together) this year. Our friends and support couple – Tim and Justine – stepped away from their role at the end of April, and when we came home from our vacation in mid-June, our friends Sean and Sarah (who were in our small group back in Kokomo!) had arrived to take over that position. We miss Tim and Justine so much and are glad they are still in the area so we can see them often. But we are so happy to have Sean and Sarah here to minister with us in the work we do!

        SIX. Speaking of WillowBridge, a year-defining list would not be complete without mentioning our daily life here. In 2021, we have served eight young adults and two small children – though not all at the same time. We have had some beautiful wins with our tenants who have grown and made great strides toward independent living, but we’ve also had some deep heartbreaks. The work here is hard and constant, but we are committed to doing our best every day to represent the Lord and pour into the lives of these young adults in our building!

          SEVEN. Another not-so-fun moment from our year happened this summer when we participated in a variety show for work. We were doing a little dance to a mash-up of songs and Ryan’s shoe caught on the stage and he came down hard with his full weight…and sprained his ankle badly. (The pictures would make you shiver.) He spent some time on crutches and still isn’t back to full strength, but we are beyond grateful it wasn’t broken and didn’t require surgery – only an ER visit.

          EIGHT. Back on Mother’s Day, one of our former tenants asked us if we would be willing to become her son’s godparents! He spends a weekend with us every few weeks, and we really enjoy still having a chance to be part of his (and his mom’s!) life.

          NINE. And speaking of becoming parents, we are ending this year with another kind of parenthood: a new puppy! Braeya, at the age of fifteen, is finally becoming a big sister – and we’re sure she’s thrilled about it. Little Lexi Grae Shaffer was born on November 21, 2021, and she will come to live with us later next month. She’s a miniature Bernedoodle, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her into our family. (Her birth occurred 2 days after Bekah was bitten on the hand by a dog on the street – so interesting timing, right?) Becoming puppy parents is a big undertaking, and we know that, but we are excited!

          Thanks for taking a look at our top 9 from year 9! We hope you have the merriest Christmas this year!