Bekah's Bits: Love

Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

What I Learned in May

PODCAST TUESDAY!!!

I know this is the most random conglomeration of stories ever, but I promise it's worth it!!

Yes, I know it is not the last day of the month, but two things caused me to post my "What I learned" a day early. First, I don't plan on learning anything today, so I should be safe. (TOTALLY KIDDING!) Secondly, yesterday was a super busy day, and I didn't get a chance to write a post just for this day. So without further ado, here are the things I learned in May!

1. My body rebels against a detox/cleanse.

And don't we all, I'm sure, in some way? Isn't that kind of the point of a cleanse or detox? To shock your system back to health and life? But seriously, I learned that my body freaks out in unhealthy ways. Not sleeping at all and feeling like I'm hallucinating? Not worth it to me. I think I'll just be more conscious in my eating choices. It works better for me.

2. Ryan and I still hate being apart.

We were told the longer we were married, the more we would "get over" the need to be together all the time. Hasn't. Happened. Yet. Ryan was gone all day for the Saturday and Sunday of one weekend, and the following weekend, we were apart all evening Friday and most of Sunday afternoon. We decided that's too much. We love being together, and we don't apologize for it!

3. In busy seasons, we rely on color-coded itineraries.

We had a couple of stretches this month that were too busy. TOO busy. The kind of busy where you have to schedule in bathroom breaks if you really want them. So I resorted to creating color coded documents that outlined our every waking hour and told us what we needed to accomplish and who was in charge of it. We couldn't live like that every day, but when we have to, we must have organization.

4. I love, love, love, having our garage finished for entertaining.

Truly one of the best decisions we made (even though it nearly cost us our sanity when it was in process) was to finish off the garage so it could be used as an additional living space. Hosting Mommapalooza 4.0 out there was so freeing! Everyone felt a lot more comfortable with the extra space!

5. The Ninja has revolutionized our coffee grinding experience.

Ryan gave me a Ninja system for my birthday, which was THE most perfect gift. I haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet (hello, busy May!) but we used it to grind our coffee right after we opened the box, and my GOODNESS. What used to take 15 minutes to complete took about a minute and a half. No. Way.

6. Ryan and I make a great team at events.

I love being in a partnership with Ryan, and I love having him accompany me to events. It makes me so happy! But my visit to IWU was the first time he stood up front and helped me with a presentation. It went seamlessly. We had rehearsed several times, but I was so excited to see how well it went in real time. I am thankful beyond words for a husband who doesn't just support the work I'm called to do, but he crawls into it with me and takes an active role.

7. I love writing curriculum.

Back in the day, I wanted to be a teacher, but I elected not to pursue it once I saw how the education field was changing (even 20 years ago). This month I wrote some curriculum for a workshop I'm leading this summer, and I adored every moment of that work. Ryan would come home to find me in the same spot I'd been in when he left for work, and I was a TERRIBLE wife on those days, but it fed my soul in amazing ways to write for teaching purposes!

And that's been May in a nutshell! Here's to learning even more in June!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Wedding #2!

You guys!!!

Thank you so much for all the birthday love yesterday! It was such a lovely day, and I can't wait to tell you about it!

But before I tell you about my birthday, I have to tell you about our Saturday! Ryan worked, and I spent the whole day cleaning and cooking and preparing for Mommapalooza 4.0. (Don't take that in a complaining tone; I loved doing it!)

But that afternoon, we got all gussied up (as they say) and went to our second wedding in as many weeks! I told you last month about my friend Brittany (whose family has taken me in as an additional family member) and her bridal shower, where I served as speaker and photographer. Well, the wedding was Saturday! And it was lovely.

The wedding was at a country club, so that meant we had to pull out better than our Sunday best!

We had a gorgeous day for a drive, which was good, since we had a little over an hour on the road!

I ran into one of my former students at the wedding (from my Financial Aid days) as soon as I arrived. We stared at each other for a minute, trying to figure out who we were. We finally got it! I don't often see people from those days, so that was fun!

Because I've forgotten how to look at a camera:

Brittany was a beautiful bride, and I sneaked a few pictures, while trying not to be "that" guest.

Really enjoyed the ceremony, and then the reception was fun, too!

Brittany shared that they chose to get married in May because her parents had gotten married in May, and so had her aunt and uncle, and so had her grandparents! They honored her grandparents by sharing a special dance with them. (Also, I first typed "daince," which may pay tribute to the fact that an Andy Griffith marathon played in our house all day today.)

And speaking of her grandparents, I stole these two pictures from them. Seems I got asked to dance (or daince) too!

Thanks, Sandee! :)

When we left the reception, we headed in search of some coffee and then went to pick up our Phoebe girl, who spent the night with us. When we made that stop, I GOT FLOWERS!! These were part of my birthday gift from Ryan!

Fun evening!! And we got home before the shoes started killing my feet! BONUS!!!!

Monday, April 24, 2017

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Today is a very exciting day in Shafferland!!

THIS IS RYAN'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

You know I love celebrations, and we've already been celebrating all weekend long. (So much so that I'm not sure how I'm actually going make today special in any way, but I'm sure gonna give it a shot.)

I've been all reminiscent lately and looking back over the last almost five years we've spent together has reminded me in new and fresh was what an absolute GIFT Ryan is and how thankful I am he's chosen to spend his days with me.

I've observed it's a rarity to enjoy life with someone who is so funny, so kind, so hard-working, and so dedicated as Ryan is. Maybe that's why it's so hard to find the best way to celebrate his birthday: I can't top the gift of Ryan! :)

Here are some of my favorite random memories and moments from the last few years.

First of all, I love it that our birthdays are so close together, and we get to celebrate for almost a month between the two of us.

I love our county tours and the way we get to take little day trip adventures just for funsies.

I love having a permanent coffee date. Truly a blessing.

I love being goofy together. Life is so much more fun when goofiness is involved.

I love having a grill-master in the house. And I love all the cooking and kitchen fun we get to have together. I know not all couples both love to cook, so I'm glad we do!

Rest doesn't come to us as often as I'd like, but to have a Sunday-afternoon-in-the-hammock buddy is a great thing.

I love all the walks we get to take - in every season. Walks are my favorite.

I love living with someone who pushes me out of my comfort zone all. the. time. Ryan Shaffer, you're good for me.

I love having a date to the fair every year - and he probably loves that one sip of a lemon shakeup is all I ever want.

Did I mention I love his sense of humor?

And while a segue from pig-kissing to praying is probably questionable, I really love Ryan's desire to serve the Lord and pray over others. He is the leader I always prayed to have.