Sweet Memories...Round 9

 Today marks my next-to-the-last post of sweet memories from my decade together with Ryan. We had some really beautiful, fun, and memory-laden moments in this year. We also had some really hard moments in this year. (We had a lot of difficulty with some tenants who came in and out of WillowBridge really quickly. That isn't reflected below, but the joy of the year you WILL see below helped bring heart-respite from the hard we faced at work.) All in all, even with the hard of work, we did a great job making time for our relationship in this year. That part was very, very good, and looking back at it in this way helps me see that we were being more purposeful than I was able to see in the moment.

Month 97: Fun Anniversary Getaway

We were at WillowBridge during our 8th anniversary celebration, and it was difficult to take much time away for a trip. (That was partly because of the time of year and partly because of staffing at work.) We ended up taking a long weekend getaway to Richmond, Indiana, which you would NEVER think of as a destination, but it ended up being so fun! We did the chocolate trail and a county-wide scavenger hunt, both of which were way more fun than imagined. And we stayed in one of the coolest Airbnbs ever - a loft above a coffee shop. Our stay came with breakfast at the coffee shop each morning. LOVED. IT. (And then we came home and literally walked through the back door of our apartment and right through the front door, into a three hour meeting to handle a massive issue that had come up while we were driving home.) 

Month 98: Just the Normal

This month was full of just a bunch of normal. Lots of work, some snow in Indiana, trying to establish relationships with our tenants...nothing extraordinary. But I was glad to be doing nothing extraordinary alongside Ryan who makes the mundane even better. We did have an outing with our tenants to paint pottery, and that was a fun adventure! Neither of us had ever done anything like that before, and we had a good time. (Ryan and I made a Christmas ornament, which we still hang on our family tree!)

Month 99: Loss Revisits Us

This was the month we received the middle-of-the-night phone call that Ryan's stepdad had died of a sudden heart attack. We were unaware he had heart problems, so the news was shocking. We continued to work throughout the month, trying to juggle trips back to our home area for planning/the funeral. It was a hard and unexpected season of life, but once again, we worked hard to get through it together. I'm so proud of Ryan for how he handled this difficulty!

Month 100: A Completing Month

This was the month we officially finished working on Abby the RV and declared her done and ready to travel! It had been quite the winter of working on her in all our spare time, and we were so excited to see her ready to go! I'm so glad we did this project together. We have done a LOT of projects in this decade, and each of them are dear to me in their own way, but this was something new and different and extremely meaningful!

Month 101: New Adventures

And we didn't finish Abby a moment too soon because this is the month we needed her! I spoke at a women's retreat in southern Ohio, and we took Abby on the road and stayed in her while we were away at the speaking engagement. It was pretty wonderful to have my own home-retreat-on-wheels in between speaking sessions. We had fairly terrible weather the entire time we were gone, but it was okay. We fell in love with the camping life! (We even incorporated it into Ryan's birthday celebration this month by visiting an RV Museum in Elkhart!)

Month 102: Birthday Fun!

This month held my birthday, and Ryan planned a fun surprise for me! We went exploring on some trails in Fort Wayne! I saw DEER!!! We had such a pretty day to be outside, and it was a complete gift to be able to get out and do something after the previous year of quarantined birthdays! I always appreciate how Ryan makes birthdays meaningful and special. He's so good! 

Month 103: The Big Road Trip

This was the month I knew for sure I want to do cross-country road tripping someday. We set out in Abby the RV and spent 11 days driving 2000 miles out west and back. We went through new states, we got to meet our friends in Colorado and see their oxen, we met our new great-nephew and spent time with my family, we saw gorgeous rock formations in Kansas, and we went to Little House sites on the way home. AND we saw the little town of big things in Illinois! This was an amazingly fun trip and one of the true highlights of our year. (Hence all the photos.)

Month 104: Hello, Emergency Room

We had some fun things happen this month, like a little more camping and Ryan's big year-delayed birthday gift to me: seeing The Sound of Music at Beef and Boards in Indianapolis. But the big moment this month came at the very end. The WillowBridge team and tenants did a routine in the Gateway Woods variety show and Ryan ended up coming down wrong on his foot and badly, badly spraining his ankle. We had to go to the emergency room to see if it was broken, and it wasn't, but wow. That was one long, slow recovery. (And in some ways, I don't think it will ever fully heal.)

Month 105: Deepening Relationships

One of my favorite memories from this month was getting to have our godson stay with us for a few days. (This was a lot easier to do when we lived at WillowBridge and had more flexibility in our work days than we do at standard-work-hour jobs.) He stayed with us four days this month, and we had the best time with him. The memories we've been able to make with him in the time we have known him matter deeply to us, and I'm thankful this month was rich in those. This journey of investing in a life in this way was something we never imagined when we got married, but we wouldn't trade it!

Month 106: Camping on a Lake with Phoebe

We had Phoebe for six weeks this particular fall, and during that time, we took her on a camping trip to see what it was like to camp with a dog. (We already knew we would become dog parents soon.) We ended up finding a spot RIGHT on a lakefront. It's the best of all the worlds! Dogs! Camping! Lakes! Campfires! We loved this weekend so much.

Month 107: Helping Out Some Friends

This month, our friends (and former WillowBridge coworkers) had their second baby, so we hung out with kiddo #1 while she became a big sister! It was so much fun to have her for a few days! Our bonus nieces and nephews are such a blessing. We are thankful for them! (And their parents, too.)

Month 108: Dogs and Hallmarky Living

They have nothing to do with each other, but they were the big moments of the month! :) This was the month I was bitten on the hand by a little rat terrier who decided I was too close to him on the sidewalk. I spent nine weeks in a bandage and still can't clap properly. (But the wound healed. Nasty scar, but the wound healed.) Two days after my bite extravaganza, Lexi Grae was born! We wouldn't get to meet her until the next month, but she was born in this month. But one of my favorite memories from this month was when we attended Grabill's tree-lighting ceremony. It felt like life had just stepped onto a Hallmark set. It was pretty remarkable!

Next week...the final round of memories in this little mini-series! Thanks for reading along!