The Shafferland Shuffle

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY (to you)!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)!! I fully anticipate today to be crazy busy here in Shafferland, but it'll be great to fill you in later!

Meanwhile, here's a peek at our last week.

* Last Sunday was Ryan's sister's bridal shower, and I took pictures at that while Ryan stayed home and enjoyed a MUCH deserved nap! Bre's shower was so nice, and she got tons of nice gifts. I think she was a little overwhelmed by it all, actually! But it was a good day.

* I actually had Monday off from my carpool duties, but I ended up helping another of our friends get his kiddo home from school, so it ended up balancing out. At least it was a pretty-ish day and I could enjoy my time in line! I spent the whole afternoon making props for one of my talks next week, and then I did my first "dress rehearsal" for it. Ryan felt it necessary to take my picture. I told him it looks like I'm directing a choir. LOL!

* Ryan had a carry-in at work on Tuesday, and I made these uh-mazing Samoa brownies to take to it. I was hoping everyone would hate them and I could bring them all home, but it didn't work out that way. That night, Mom and Dad took us out to eat for our birthdays, and we got free dessert! Made up for the Samoa brownies that didn't come home. HA!

* I spent Wednesday creating my 10 page color-coded itinerary to get us through the upcoming schedule madness, and that made me so tired by the end of the day, I just wanted to sit down and put my feet up! So I did! I did watch my friend's kiddos that evening for a little bit. This one cracks me up. Wants to play with the ball that's the same size she is!

* By Thursday, we were pooped, and Ryan took a nap at the end of lunch to get enough energy to get through the afternoon. I've been there!! We went out to buy all the rest of our flowers for this year so we could get those planted. It wasn't a super warm and sunny evening, but at least the rain held off!

* Friday, to celebrate the end of National Hospital Week, a food truck came to Ryan's work, and he was SO excited, because it was BBQ, and he loves BBQ! Friday was the nicest day of the whole week, and we were able to mow the yard and plant all our flowers. Looks like summer, now!

* Yesterday, Ryan had to work, and while he was gone, I got the garage set up to host Mommapalooza 4.0 and worked to prepare all the food I could ahead of time! When Ryan got home from work, we got all dressed up and went to wedding #2 for the month! Had a lovely time! Ryan makes one handsome date, doesn't he???

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was Mother's Day, and I'd been asked to speak at a church's breakfast honoring mothers. I had a great time sharing with them, and then we came home so we could get ready for Mommapalooza 3.0! We had a fantastic day with our families! I really enjoy having both sides of our family come together and celebrate together!

* Monday was my first day of a new normal, it felt like. We'd been working so hard to get ourselves TO Mother's Day, to have the house ready to go, and to be prepared to welcome guests, so come Monday, it was time to rest and read and write. Ryan made pour over coffee, and we ended the day with a workout that hurt a lot worse than this picture shows. Ha!

* Tuesday, I was bitten by the writing bug and spent the ENTIRE DAY holed up in the office, writing. Braeya slept through the whole thing. Ryan finally gave in to a much-deserved nap after so many weeks of working SO HARD on the house. He's so adorable. And I went to an exercise class with one of my friends. I learned I have no moves, but I had fun! :)

* Wednesday evening, Ryan and I got together with my parents to celebrate our birthdays. I picked Culver's, because it had been a long while since I had a really good burger. It was delicious. Delicious. We even had ice cream for dessert! On our way home, we stopped at a park and went for a long walk. I think we needed it after the burgers and ice cream!

* Thursday I had the opportunity to go to a ceremony at the Sheriff's Department, in support of Ryan's brother and the other officers. They offered commendations to employees who had done exceptionally well over the past year and honored the life of the deputy killed in the line of duty a couple of months ago. I'm so glad I went and got to see a part of that world for a while.

* Friday I went to Ryan's work over lunch, because they were having a corn hole tournament and he was up to play! I like getting to be part of his day for things like that! We went for a run that night and then used the last of the good weather to work on the yard and check out the new flowers that have popped up in our yard! {Fun to find out what we own!}

* Yesterday was my birthday!! Ryan took me to IKEA for the day, which was AMAZING, and we also got to have a treat at Sonic! It was so wonderful to have the day with him, and I was glad we had chosen an indoor activity, since it was so cold we had to bring in all our plants and have coffee by the fire. Hello, mid-May! But thank you, Ryan, for a truly WONDERFUL birthday. It was sweet to spend it with you!

Mommapalooza 3.0

We had a busy but wonderful Mother's Day yesterday!

I was invited back to speak at Chapel Pike Wesleyan to speak at their Mother's Day breakfast, which was a joy! I used to attend there, and it's always good to go back and see my friends! Ryan went with me - I just so dearly love it when he can go with me!

 After I spoke, we went home to get ready for the Mommapalooza.

I don't know if you remember this from last year {WHY would you?} but we had issues with the dinner rolls we bought for the day. No matter how long we baked them, they were still doughy and gross {in my opinion}. So this year we had rolls we bought from a fundraiser. Texas Roadhouse rolls. We got them out before church so they could thaw, and when we came home...this. WHAT!? Are we just cursed in the rolls department?

{For the record, when we baked them the ones that look normal were super doughy, and the ones that look like a pizza crust were pretty decent.

We planned to have Mommapalooza outside on our back porch, but it was COLD in Indiana yesterday, so we moved the party inside. Ryan and I would have been the only two comfortable being outside, so we just scooted the furniture around and put the tables in our living room. Worked great!

I also love my flowers we got so the vase on the counter wouldn't be empty. HA!

 I'm a nerd.

 Our photo booth!!

A quick {and rare} photo with the closest thing to a kiddo I have. :)

{Yeah she's not hugging me. She's definitely pushing away.}

Sneaking more fruit.

My sister, Lori, wasn't there, but here are the Freelan girls present!

And the whole Mommapalooza crew!

This was, for the record, our first big hosting in our new house, and we loved it. Loved having our family over and introducing them to our new home!

 Julie and me with Mom and our Aunt B!

Housewarming gifts from my parents!

Ryan and 2 of his siblings, along with his mom!

With our moms. We are so thankful for them. I'd say both of us got a little extra blessed with good moms and good moms-in-law!

 With my love...who made this whole hosting in our new home a delight. Thank you, Ryan, for working so hard to get our landscaping ready! Thanks for helping me with the food, and best of all, cleaning up ALL of it!

Mothers and Others

This weekend, I had the opportunity to share at Bryant Wesleyan Church's "Mothers and Others" dinner, which proved to be a beautiful evening for ladies of all ages! My friend Amie made it possible for me to be part of their event this year, and she told me what a wonderful, welcoming church they have, and she was right! I appreciated all their hospitality, and their cooking was incredible, too.

I spoke about how we can serve each other by pouring into the lives of those around us, so they used pitchers as decorations around the room. Loved it! {AND I got to sit at the purple table, which just happened to coordinate with my outfit. Bonus!!}

This is my friend, Amie! We went to college together but didn't really know each other then and become friends during my WBCL years. She is a writer too, and we enjoy going back and forth about writing stuff upon occasion! :)

I was also excited that Ryan was able to go with me this time; he worked a full day, changed clothes, hopped in the car, and drove me to Bryant! {And that was a blessing because we drove part of the way in absolutely blinding rain!}

They had a basket auction {with some really great stuff!!} and a delicious dinner made by the fabulous cooks in the church.

Ryan and Amie both took pictures throughout the evening, so I'll share a few of them with you:

They were a kind and welcoming group, and it was a joy to share with them.

I casually mentioned to Ryan after the evening was over that....you know.....we were only twenty minutes from Celina, Ohio, and...ummmm....you know....Celina has a

So bless that sweet man's heart, he decided I deserved a Sonic treat, so he drove round trip 40 miles out of our way so I could have one.

I. Am. in. Love. {with Ryan.} {And my treat.}

And one more funny picture for you. Ryan took this during my time of sharing. Can you find me?

Thanks, Bryant Wesleyan, for hosting such an outstanding night for your women! And thanks for inviting me to be part of it! :)

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Last Sunday was a busy day in Shafferland! I started out by speaking at my old church, Chapel Pike Wesleyan, for their Mother's Day breakfast, and then Ryan and I hosted Mommapalooza 2.0, for both of our families! We had a great time, our families had a great time, and we enjoyed the day so very much. And when everyone went home, we finally SAT DOWN.

* Monday was a busy day at work, including a confusing phone call with insurance. I know NOTHING about insurance, and we had some sort of mixup in billing with a bill from the great gallbladder eviction. I had to call, since the bill was in my name, and Ryan wasn't there to coach my questions. At the end of the call, I had no idea if I'd actually fixed the problem or ordered a large pizza, but at least the people on the phone were nice! :) Then we came home and crashed, exhausted from our long weekend. We took a long nap, Braeya cleaned up our dessert, and Ryan worked on my birthday blog post. {Swoon.}

* Tuesday is proof that Ryan and I really are just dorks at heart. It was some sort of appreciation week in the health care world, and Ryan got a new water bottle as a gift...and he sent me a ton of goofy pictures with it, so then I started taking goofy pictures to send back. One of my co-workers walked in my office RIGHT after I took this picture. How would I even have explained this???? That evening, I worked hard to FINALLY get out our summer clothes. You know. Since it's MID-MAY!?!?

* Wednesday I worked my tail off at work...so much so that sometimes I actually forgot to breathe! And what was Ryan doing? Advancing to the final four of a tournament at his work! LOL!! That evening, though, heaven in a living room: I got a massage! She came to our home and gave me the massage {and Braeya joined me on the table for her turn}...and she even brought me chocolates for my birthday! Ryan came home with pre-birthday flowers, and it was just the perfect way to start the celebration!!

* Thursday was...MY BIRTHDAY!!! {More on this coming soon.} Ryan spoiled me ROTTEN with breakfast in bed at 4:30 in the morning, and then all my work friends spoiled me with hugs and gifts. I felt very loved. That evening, Ryan took me out to dinner, which was, of course, followed by coffee. {Not a birthday without coffee!} Loved my day! 37 is shaping up to be a good one!

* Friday, I had a day off work {trying to use random vacation days before I lose them,}, so I was busy catching up on housework, with the help of Miss Braeya. AND - I tried another new homemade recipe: DIY bug repellent with essential oils. I'll let you know how it works when I get to try it! Ryan went to work, but they had a fun day there, because he and his co-workers threw a baby shower for his their fellow therapist, Amanda. It looked like fun! I should have gone! :)

* Yesterday, we both had the day off, so we slept in and went out for a delicious breakfast. We took it easy all day...did a little shopping...did a little napping...ate a little ice cream...{absolutely meant to take that picture BEFORE I gobbled it up}. We needed a day like that so much. Thankful for it! And of course - thankful for Starbucks to cap it off!