The Shafferland Shuffle

WHEW! Hope you are not floating away in all this rain we've had! What a lotta water!! Here's a peek into the dry parts of our week.

* Last Sunday was the second and final day of Ryan's continuing education course, and it was also the second (and turned out to be final) day of my 3 Day Refresh detox. I felt like I had the flu, so I pretty much stayed on Mo the entire day, with big hair and no makeup. Ryan got home from class that evening, and I was so happy to see him and so sad to be unable to drink coffee that I just cried.

* Because I called it quits on the detox at 4:03 Monday morning (after a long/short night of hallucinations and no sleep), I enjoyed the most amazing cup of coffee when the alarm went off. I've never loved it more. And I mean that. Ryan had a chance to try out a genuine Mayberry sheriff's car that day. Doesn't he look so cute in it? And I was excited to see a preview of Erica Wiggenhorn's forthcoming study on the book of Acts! It's gonna be great!

* Tuesday was our monthiverary. 53 months! We both spent the day working hard on our respective jobs, but that evening, we enjoyed dinner, a Dashing Dish dessert, and a lovely evening at home together. Even got in a nice, hard workout!

* Wednesday was a big office day for me. Lots of writing and practicing for upcoming talks. When I finally flipped my sign to closed at the end of the day, I was pleased with how much I had accomplished! Know what I was not pleased about? The manicure I got at the double-date mani/pedi last Friday completely fell apart. Had to do my own less than a week later. I think it turned out well, though!

* Thursday the rain began to fall...and it was just one wet, nasty day. What a birthday gift for Braeya, huh? She mostly napped all day and I didn't blame her. Wanted to do the same, myself! :) We didn't have nearly the flooding that some areas had, but it still was a soppy wet mess.

* Friday began our crazy busy weekend! I headed up to Fort Wayne to be a volunteer at WBCL's Daddy Daughter Date Night - photography night for me! It was so good to see all my former work buddies! I also got the chance to meet one of my friends' new little baby! :) Ryan spent the evening helping out my parents and enjoying a dinner out with them. Definitely odd to be apart, but we both had great nights!

* I'd gotten home after 11 on Friday night and we were back on the road by 8:15 Saturday morning so I could speak at the Huntington Baptist Church brunch. Ryan went with me, and we had a great morning with the ladies there! We got home just in time to drive the opposite direction, down to Indianapolis, to attend the wedding of one of my high school/game night friends. A full and fun day!

Birthdays, Versaries, and Such

Today is a very eventful day. Much to observe, much to celebrate, much to remember. And there's no possible way to put all these things in any kind of correct order, so I'll just dive in and go!

Our baby girl turns eleven today.

(That's an old picture, but it seemed appropriate.)

Eleven years old! Can you believe that?

(These pictures are from the day I first got her and from last Mother's Day. We both came a long way in a decade, yes?)

She's a daddy's girl through and through now...could really take or leave me, but she's still cute and fun (except for when she wants to play at 4 in the morning) and keeps life in our little Shafferland very interesting.

Happy birthday, Braeya Jo Jo!

ALSO in the land of birthdays, my sister Lori turns an undisclosed amount of years today. :)  These photos are from Cassie's wedding weekend last summer. (We don't get to have pictures together very often because you know...850 miles apart.)

Happy birthday, Lori!!!! I hope this is a wonderful, non-eventful day for you. Love you!

Because ten years ago today, her birthday was not uneventful. Today marks the ten year anniversary of the tornado that destroyed most of their town, including their home and church. (What a lousy birthday present, right?)

I blogged a lot about that tornado back in the day, starting with this post, where I first asked you to pray for them. I didn't know much of anything at that time except it was all just bad. 

Turns out I didn't even really know what bad was until I saw the pictures.

This is a picture of the bathroom where the three of them were (in the basement of their house) during the tornado. The green towel hanging on the piece of wood is above/behind the toilet where they were all crouched. The planks on the right side of the picture are making a bridge from the back step to the top of the stairway to the basement. The night of the tornado, those planks weren't there, but neither was the floor that used to connect the stairway to the back door. So they had to jump across that hole, in the dark, in order to escape.

 The house.

 The church.

Obviously we remain so grateful for the protection over them physically the night of the storm and we are thankful God has provided every need since then. They now have a new home and a new church building, and my brother-in-law, Jeff, just released a book recounting his perspective on the storm and the heart-recovery the followed. It's called Light at the End of the Funnel.

 While there is no real graceful segue out of the loss of their home into this next versary, today also marks one year since we officially sold our home in Marion!

This praise party was FOR REAL. Five years is a long wait for a house sale. (And I know some of you have probably waited even longer. Bless you!!!)

 Our Realtor, Cathy. She made this process amazing.

Happy sale-aversary to us!!!

And not to be outdone by our own versary, I did want to mention that this week we celebrated our 53rd monthiversary. Wow! I continue to be in awe of this life I have the privilege to live beside Ryan. He is a blessing, and I'm grateful for him.

He did have to work (crazy how work doesn't recognize monthiversaries, isn't it?) so we celebrated in the evening by eating chicken nuggets, asparagus, and a new cookie recipe I found on Dashing Dish.

The official monthiversary photo:

And the post-workout photo. Because we are so cool that we work out for fun to celebrate.

See? I told you it was a big day!!

So grateful for God's goodness and faithfulness. I think it's demonstrated well in these pictures.

Linking up with Tamar (who has a yummy looking recipe today)!!!

The Shafferland Shuffle

You guys, last Sunday seems like 20 million years ago! Seriously! (Ryan said Tuesday seems like 20 million years ago.) Guess it was a long week! Here's a peek at it:

* Last Sunday was our monthiversary! 52 months, baby! We celebrated with a little shopping, lunch out at McAlister's (pause to appreciate their amazing iced tea...), a nice walk in the sunshine, and some lounging on the patio. It was a gorgeous day, and we appreciated it!

* I mentioned this earlier this week, but Ryan's sister just got engaged not long ago, and Monday was a big girls-of-the-family planning meeting during lunch. His whole family is full of fantastic event planners, so I am confident they did not need me at all, but I went with my nerdy color-coded pens and listened to the beginning of the planning-palooza! We had gotten a gift card to Texas Roadhouse, so Ryan suggested we go there for dinner. I think he just wanted to fill up on peanuts. :)

* Tuesday was super busy, including a podcast interview for me and Tuesdays at the Table for both of us! We had Ryan's mom and Aunt Ruthie over for dinner, and after the meal was done, some of the wedding planning palooza continued at our house.

* I was so happy to see our oils order arrive on Wednesday, because Ryan was mid-cold and I needed to have him start feeling better! That night we went to hear our friend Brent Vernon, who was in concert right here in town! We hardly ever get to see him, so anytime he's within driving distance, we go! He did a great job, and it was fun to see him (and Sam the dummy)!

* Thursday was a writing day for this girl. I hunkered down and worked for hours!! That was also the day my brother-in-law's book showed up in the mail, and I was so happy to finally own my very own copy! :) Ryan was pooped when he came home from work (thankyouverymuch, cold) so he and Braeya rested on the couch for most of the evening. They're so cute!

* Friday was still a little chilly here in Central Indiana, but the sun came out and it made me SO EAGER for warm spring. I put my laptop right by the little patch of sun and sat in the warmth while I worked! And I noticed the pretty pink tree in the yard is starting to come to life! We stayed home all evening just to rest after a busy week. Tried to watch Dateline (don't be jealous of how cool we are) but we fell asleep in the middle of it. That might explain our poor, tired faces in this picture. HA!

* Yesterday I wore two hats at once. (Not literally, of course.) I was the speaker and photographer at a bridal shower, and it was just a blast! Good food, fun fellowship, and I enjoyed the day immensely! (More on this later.) While I was busy working, Ryan was busy working too - on the yard! He rolled and mowed it for the first time this season. Bring on the warmth!

Our 52nd Monthiversary

If you saw yesterday's post, you know we had a rather...um...interesting date over the weekend. Lots of mishaps, wrong turns and maddening moments that made for great podcast fodder! We're not perfect - by a long shot - but the imperfections make for great stories later. Enjoy!

Take a listen right here!

Sunday was our 52nd monthiversary, and we were still reeling from the maddening little weekend. We were, however, excited to have the whole day together!

(Pretend like we both do not look like we need some SERIOUS sleep. Where were my lips? I must have eaten right before the picture.)

We went out for lunch, to McAlister's. I am so in love with their iced tea!

(Is it meant to be if we both pick the same meal without realizing it???)

It was SO gorgeous that we also took an afternoon walk in the sunshine and sat out on the patio for a while, enjoying our new furniture!

Many good talks, much prayer, and a movie to end the day: yay for days of rest and celebration!

Over halfway to 100 months. Thanks, Ryan, for loving me well, despite my many flaws. I love you!!!

The Shafferland Shuffle

We're celebrating 52 months of marriage today! So while we enjoy that, hope you enjoy a peek at last week!

* Last Sunday was a super rainy day in central Indiana. Good day to be home! And rain is one of Ryan's favorite things, so we curled up on Mo, watched some movies, and let the rain fall! Before the end of the day though, he sneaked out to the garage to put the last of the poly on the cabinet doors. And with one final stroke of the brush, that project was DONE!

* Monday evening, Ryan put the cabinets back up so we could declare the kitchen FINISHED! We were both so happy to have everything back in order! I got to hang out with my favorite baby for a little bit, and the buds on our flowering tree got a little bit bigger. Lots of good things happening in one day!

* Ryan was so busy Tuesday, he couldn't take much time for lunch, so I surprised him with Subway at work! We hid in his cloffice and ate together. Romantic! :) That night he helped me write my blog post about the kitchen cabinet makeover, which is how we ended up having a can of poly and a dessert plate sitting together on the table. Only in a blogger's life, right? Tuesday night was also the Fixer Upper finale: anyone else watch?

* Wednesday was a day of many treats! We were gifted some of the most amazing lemon cake I've ever had, and I met up with my best friend's mom for yogurt in the afternoon. I promise I got a super tiny yogurt! I got behind on my work, so I had to finish up in the evening, but it was nice to be able to see Ryan while I worked!

* On Thursday, my mom "graduated" from physical therapy! She's doing really well - just over a month post-surgery, now! On his way home from work, Ryan found this spectacular rainbow, and he knows how much I love them, so he came home to get me and took me back - and it was still there! I was so surprised! It was one of the most stunning complete rainbows I've ever see! And isn't this picture of Braeya too cute? I decided she must surely be praying over me. (HA!)

* Friday was "change-the-calendar-to-a-new-month" day, which is always one of my favorite days! That night, we had a big party with our Bible study crew, which was not only a lot of fun, but it also had some pretty spectacular food! They even surprised us with a gift for leading the study, which was so sweet! :)

* Yesterday was another alphabetical date! We went back to the letter F, since we'd skipped it earlier. More about this later, but a couple of highlights were getting a free drink at Starbucks, thanks to a pay-it-forward lady behind us, and watching Beauty and the Beast! AND we got our first glimpse of the new IKEA down by Indy! It's really happening!

The Shafferland Shuffle

I feel like this last week has been busy, but not necessarily news-worthy. So it may not be the most interesting shuffle in the history of shuffles, but I shall soldier on and document!

* Last Sunday, Mom told us NOT to come out to visit. (She worries we spend too much time on her.) Her exact quote was, "I don't want to see you today." So naturally, we sent a selfie so she had to see us. Hee hee hee. Ryan was doing a big paperwork sorting project, but he paused for a nap, so Braeya "helped" by sitting on top of all the stacks while they were unoccupied. Me? Well, I just read blogs.

* On Monday, I did a full day road trip over to our old stomping grounds of Marion to deliver books to folks who wanted to use them for a Lenten study. It was like the days of yore, packing up my car for a day of commuting! While I was in town, I felt it only right to go to Poppy's Xtreme Donuts to get Ryan a treat! And after stopping to visit Mom, I discovered I had a treat of my own waiting when I got home...NEW SCRAPBOOKS ARRIVED!!!! Woot woot!

* Tuesday was crazy busy with all kinds of chores and errands, so I took just a quick second to sit and rest in the afternoon before hopping up to cook, because we had friends over for Tuesdays at the Table! This time we had friends from our old church in Marion. They hadn't seen our house yet, and we had a great time hosting them! :)

* Well Indiana proved the old adage true: March came in like a big old mad lion. Woke up at some ridiculous hour with weather radios going off and hail hitting the windows and the power going out. Whew! It finally calmed down, though. My sister came up to be with Mom that day, so I had the WHOLE DAY to work in the office. Braeya was so happy, she snuggled right up with me while I wrote! And it was the first day of the great spring capsule wardrobe project. More on that later!

* Thursday was our 51st monthiversary, and it was nothing but pure chaos and not much time together. Ryan didn't even get to come home for lunch that day, so I took lunch to him and we ate in his cloffice. By the time we got around to taking our official photo that night, we were both exhausted, I'd had a massive meltdown, and it took THIRTY TRIES to get one good photo. (And I don't even really like IT. I was just tired of redoing it!)

* By Friday, we were just pooped. I tried to cram in steps during the day, and Braeya kept high-fiving me whenever I walked by the bathroom. Ryan and I had plans for a double date that night, but we had to reschedule it, so we just stayed home and watched a movie. It was much-needed down time! And at the end of the night, Braeya played hide-and-seek with us. Do you see her?

* Ryan had to work yesterday, so I stayed home and did work there. We'd awakened to snow, but it melted off when the sun came up, and it was just a nice blanket/work/coffee/sunshine kind of day. We had to run some errands, so we went for coffee, and found out it was a BOGO day for macchiatos. SWEET! We went to visit Mom, and check out the amazing sunset we got to see! And with that...our crazy week was complete!