The Christmas Shuffle!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We know many of you are extra busy today with Christmas festivities and church, too, so you might not even be here to read this ON Christmas day, but whenever you arrive at this post, we wish you a very merry Christmas!!

We've had a full week, and our best gift is that we are FINALLY FEELING BETTER!!!!!

* Because a second round of ice was expected to fall overnight Saturday into Sunday, many churches canceled their Sunday morning services, including ours. AND, Ryan's mom postponed their family Christmas, which was supposed to be that day as well. So Ryan and I had a whole day at home! Ryan made breakfast, we watched church on TV, and we took a whole day of rest, enjoying movies, football, scrapbooking, naps, and the Christmas lights!

* Even though it was so bitterly cold that all the schools around here operated on a delay, last Monday morning was so pretty. Sunrise on snow is beautiful! AND I found a cardinal in the tree, so that made me happy, too! Ryan and I had a few errands to run after work, and we stopped by to visit a friend who is home-bound now. He was happy to see us and asked his caregiver to make us espresso, which I promptly ruined by adding creamer. LOL! But it was good to see him and try to bring some Christmas cheer!

* Tuesday was the last day of school before Christmas break, so I did my last carpool run before coming home to work on my 2017 planner. {Happiness in a day!} I also had a little more wrapping to do - including Ryan's stocking stuffers, so I got that done. Our only free night this week was Tuesday, so we finished binge-watching a DVR'd show, and Ryan was exceedingly sad to realize he was going to have to wait quite a while for the next episode!

* Wednesday was my parents' neighborhood Christmas party and we went as photographers for the photo booth, which was much fun! Dinner was delicious, the company was fun, and we had a great time!

* Thursday, I met up with one of my friends for coffee and some shopping in the afternoon, which was a fun treat! That night, Ryan and I joined his family to celebrate his mom's birthday, and we ended up having a good time together - even if we traumatized our poor waitress!

* Friday felt like Saturday ALL DAY. Not sure why! I met with my friend Faith and her daughters for our annual Christmas celebration, and we had a great time. That night, Ryan and I had date night, which included a trip through the We Care Park to see the lights. We drove it since it was rainy, but it was still a lot of fun!

* Ryan had to work yesterday morning, and while he was gone, I had a massive cookie baking extravaganza for all the Christmas celebrations. It was FUN! And last night was our first Christmas of 2016, with Ryan's dad's side of the family. His grandma always makes an amazing dinner {ham, noodles, the whole nine yards} and we got to exchange gifts with that side. Great night!

So...merry Christmas from us!! Can't wait to catch up with you this week and tell you all about Christmas! :)

Let the Celebrations Begin

Party week for the Shaffers is in full swing! Thought I'd let you peek into the last couple of evenings we've enjoyed!

Earlier this year, I read a book called Next Door as it is in Heaven, and it has really changed the way I view neighborhoods. {In a good way!} The book talked a lot about how "back in the day," neighbors knew each other and did life together, because you did ALL of life from your neighborhood. People lived and worked and shopped and went to church and had friendship circles right in their geographical circles. Now we spread our life over a much wider range, and after reading that book, I began to crave the old way of doing things.

That's why I think it is so cool that my parents actually have the "olden days" kind of neighborhood. They know their neighbors and they do life together all the time. They watch out for each other and pitch in to help and share together, everything from extra garden spoils to evenings around a fire pit roasting marshmallows.

So in this season when it seems like many people cram their annual socializing with everyone into one week, this neighborhood got together for a Christmas party - but for them, it's not an annual meeting. It's just a special gathering of a life that happens all the time.

They take turns hosting the party, and this year was Mom and Dad's turn. And a couple of weeks ago, Mom asked if Ryan and I could come and bring our photo booth props for something new and different. Rarely known to turn down food in exchange for anything, we happily packed up our photo booth stuff and drove to Mom and Dad's to be part of the celebration.

You guys, it was so. much. fun. Everyone pitched in with food, and we pulled up chairs around a table to eat salad, my aunt's best-ever-on-the-planet homemade lasagna, and breadsticks from Fazoli's. {Yours truly picked those up on the way over and had to carry TWO DOZEN BREADSTICKS WITHOUT EATING THEM. Slow forms of torture.}

Pie, cookies, and coffee made up dessert, and then we played Christmas games and took turns at the photo booth. And then everyone just sat around in a huge circle and they told story after story after story, each one feeding off the story before, and we laughed until we cried.

That's how celebrations should be. People stayed late - we didn't get home until about 11:30 - and I don't think most of them wanted to go home then. It was just sort of socially expected.

I saw notes on Facebook of how much fun they all had and how much they all loved each other, and it warmed my heart. I love it that this bunch is proof that a neighborhood can be a neighborhood that works. Not just a bunch of people living next door to each other.

Here are a few peeks into the photo booth. They were fun!

And then last night, the celebrations continued, because yesterday was Ryan's mom's birthday! A group of us got together to celebrate with her at Bob Evans, and it was a fun night!

{This is what happens when my dinner time is delayed. My stomach can't tell the difference between 15 minutes late and 2 hours late. HA! I had downed 2 cups of coffee by the time food arrived, and then apparently there was the fear that I would hoard EVERYONE'S food.}

{No. I did not eat all that.}

While we waited for our food, Nita opened her gifts and had fun with her treasures.

{Ryan and I gave her a calendar that I'd made using pictures of her family and pictures she had taken. I think she liked it!}

And of course, photo opps!!

I think we scared our poor waitress half to death, but she did a good job, and we had a great night together.

Happy birthday {again}, Nita! We love you!! :)

The Saturday Six

One.

Click here to listen.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about Bekah Jane Pogue's new book, Choosing Real, and why I loved it. I was really excited to get to talk to Bekah on the last Conversation Cafe podcast for 2016. Bekah is funny, down-to-earth, loving, and I think you'll enjoy her thoughts and advice during her visit to the Conversation Cafe! It's just over a half hour long - take a listen!

Two.

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Over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to get to know a new friend named Hether Wright. I even got to peek at this article before it was posted to this site, and I love it, so I wanted to share it with you. I'm encouraged by her sensitivity to the Spirit and her bravery to surrender her dream!

Three.

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I love reading Carmella Rayone's blog, and I especially love her series on contentment. Carmella and her family {including 3 teen sons} live in a tiny house, and did so before tiny house living was trendy. She writes this contentment series about learning to do what you can with what you have, because space for possessions is limited where she is. I love this little idea for transporting pies and plates of goodies!

Four.

Ryan and I are taking our Christmas photo booth on the road soon and are making an appearance at a Christmas party my parents are hosting to take photo booth pictures for them. I'm going to remake {updated year, you know} this frame we had at last year's family photo booth, because it was so much fun! If you're doing a photo booth at your family Christmas, this is a great {and cheap!!!} prop to make. And if you need a good idea for an activity for a Christmas party, may I suggest a photo booth! Even the most unsuspecting tend to love them!  

Five.

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THIS. Back when I worked at the station, I "met" Dr. Michelle Watson, who is one of the most delightful women to ever walk the earth. She has a HUGE passion for helping dads of all ages improve the relationship with their daughters of all ages. Her blog post this week regarding a special date for dads/daughters is SO spot on. {Read clear to the end...if a perfume date is not your speed, she gives alternatives.}  

Six.

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Being down with the never-ending-cold-of-2016 gave me plenty of time to read a novel this week! I was glad I had a novel, because when you feel miserable, you just want to escape into a healthier world for a while!


For the Record, by Regina Jennings, was my read this week, and it took me back to the 19th century in the land of the Ozarks: a time and place I don't usually read about! I discovered after I finished the book that it was the third in a series, but I didn't feel lost at all, concerning the characters, and in fact, some people who had read the entire series said that this book didn't really seem to fit in with the first two. Apparently it's set much later than they were. So if you haven't read the others, you shouldn't be behind too much.

I chose this book because the leading lady, Betsy Huckabee, is a budding writer. I love books about writers! In her mid-twenties, Betsy's officially a spinster, not because opportunities for marriage didn't present themselves at the "proper time," but because she just wasn't interested. She'd spent the past several years helping her widowed uncle raise his children, but his recent remarriage has left her in a bit of an awkward pickle. She still lives with them and helps out around the house, but she's no longer the lady of the house. Her uncle runs the town newspaper, and Betsy's dream is to become a respected journalist.

And by journalist, she's thinking much more big-city life than little Pine Gap news, which usually boils down to who has relatives coming to visit. But things do get a bit more exciting when Deputy Joel Puckett arrives in town. Sent by the government to figure out why so much mischief is going along unresolved, Joel's about as welcome in the tiny town as an outbreak of the Plague. Betsy, however, finds him intriguing. Not because she's attracted to him, but because she discovers he makes a delightful fictional hero. {If, of course, she embellishes the truth of his daily happenings just a bit.} If only she can get the big city papers to pick up her stories for the ladies' pages...

Since I had never read a book by Regina Jennings before, I had no idea what to expect, and I found I really enjoyed her descriptions. They were well-done, and I could easily envision the world in front of me, though it was largely foreign to me.

The story however, went way too slow for my tastes. Cowboys and outlaws...I would have thought the pace would have been much faster. I also thought some of the things about Betsy's character were a bit odd for the time period. I understood that she was an independent and feisty girl, but I thought she spent a lot of time out gallavanting around with no down-time in between adventures. When did she sleep? Parts of that seemed unrealistic to me.

While I didn't hate the story, it didn't captivate me like I hoped. I wanted to fall in love with these people and return to this little town over and over to spend more time with them. As it stands, my visit to Pine Gap satisfied me with just one trip.

* Bethany House provided me a copy of this book at no cost. All opinions are my own. *

The Saturday Six

One.

Am I allowed to start with a prayer request? I have one! I am speaking at another women's retreat this weekend, talking on the same topic I presented last month in Ohio. As I have mentioned on here a couple of times already, I've been fighting an annoying cold for the past couple of weeks, and while I feel significantly better than I did, I am still not in the "well" category. I need to be able to present {without sounding horrific} two times today and one time in the morning. {One session is already done.} I would completely welcome your prayers as I speak! And because I know firsthand how important this topic is, I would welcome your prayers for those attending, too. This one does not seem to go without a battle!}


Two.

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For a while now, I have been following the adoption journey of blogger Nicole and her husband. They battled infertility and began an adoption journey, and then found out they were pregnant. They were recently matched with a birth mama and drove to get their baby right after he was born, and the mama changed her mind and kept the baby. They're caught in the place of grieving the son they lost and anticipating the daughter to come so shortly...and Nicole's faith through it all is inspiring. She's writing a series on the attributes of God for Write 31 Days this month, and if you've not seen it, I want to point you to it. 

Three.

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I read this article this week and have to brag on Ryan for just a moment. He does this. He sees people as people. If we go out to eat, he makes a point to learn the waitress's name on her first stop at the table, and he calls her by name every single time she comes back. He does ask the cashier how his or her day is going and proceeds to make actual conversation from the answer, not just shrug and call the conversation done. As a girl who is ridiculously terrible with names and generally hides to avoid divulging that fact to waitresses and cashiers, I have to say what he does, and what this article suggests really matters. 

Four.

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You know of my undying love for all things photo booth related. So even though I know Thanksgiving is over a month away, I wanted to share this now for those of you who might be planning ahead. FUN!!!!

Five.

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At our Bible study meeting this week, we talked about how important it is to teach Bible verses to kids while they're little, because we've noticed that the verses we know the best are the ones we learned early. It just gets harder for most adults to memorize as adults. So I found this list of 25 suggested verses to teach your kids while they're young. I wanted to pass it on for those of you with little ones at home!!

Six.

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Last year, right about this time, I read the book The Road to Becoming by Jenny Simmons. I was extremely excited to learn that she actually signed a deal to write more than one book, and the second one, Made Well, just released. {It's been kind of a big month of Jenny: a book and a new baby! Lots of births! Lots of celebration!}

Jenny writes with such a beautiful heart and no reservation. She'll tell you honest stories about herself, even if they're scary to share. She'll pull wisdom out of them and write it out for you to see, so you can nod your head and realize that wisdom hides in an awful lot of places. And the blend of these two things causes Made Well to be a treasure, in my opinion.

Made Well works two ways. It's a good reminder that as people made in the image of Almighty God, we are indeed made well. It's also a reminder that we live in a broken, broken world, but if we desire to see it happen, we can be made well. {See what she did there??}

Filled with stories from the scope of her life, this book makes Jenny incredibly relatable, even though most of us will never live the kind of life she leads. Not long ago, I read a series of book reviews for a recent release by a pretty well-known author. I noticed a common thread in the review: readers felt like they couldn't relate to the author because her life was filled with privileges that the common readers wouldn't connect with. You won't find that issue in Made Well, because even though Jenny travels and sings and writers {which most of us don't do}, it's not been a smooth journey. The path of service the Lord has called her to hasn't been easy, and while the details may differ from her journey to ours, it's clear that she gets it. She gets the struggle and she's slogging through the trenches with us.

Multiple times as I read, I stopped to read out loud to Ryan, because the things she said fit so perfectly with what we're learning in our small group study or conversations we've had in recent days. Affirmation poured over us as she said what we'd been trying to say...only she said it better.

The wounds for Jenny run deep: the plague of lifelong, debilitating anxiety, the loss of people dear to her heart, the disappointment of a career that didn't do what she hoped, the confusion of trying to parent well so her daughter is strong and well-equipped for life, the exhaustion of trying to keep up with it all and be all things to all people.

But the gifts of healing for Jenny run just as deep: story after story of God's provision in unexpected ways, the glimpse of this story He's weaving with all our lives interconnecting, the reminder to look for Him in the most obscure places.

I dearly loved this book and will treasure it as a permanent resident in my library. I'm grateful for the reminder that someone else struggles in ways similar to mine, and I'm grateful for the reminder that God is very much at work in our world today. {How much we need to know that right now!!}

Thank you, Jenny, for being so transparent with your life and for writing deep wisdom, coupled with compelling stories. You were made well...and you are being made well. I'm grateful for both!

* Thanks to Baker Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *

A Christmas Wrap-Up

Thought I'd shoot a few more pictures of our various Christmas celebrations your way, just for fun {and for posterity}. These are in no particular order, but are some of my favorites.

When we had Christmas at Ryan's grandma's house, he picked out mugs for us to have our coffee. He chose one that came form the restaurant our entire family wanted to bring home from Florida after our wedding. MEMORIES!

Who wore it better? Ryan or Rudolph?

Or maybe it's Ryan wearing Rudolph??

Ryan's dear grandmother with the newest great-grandchild. His grandmother is one of the sweetest women I have ever met. And she has more energy than I do!

This was one of my faves: Ryan's dad reading to our nephew.

 The photo booth made an appearance again this year:

And there was even a photo booth at our extended family celebration!

What a fun, memory-filled Christmas!

World's Largest Starbucks Date

Remember how Ryan and I missed our planned Valentine's Day date last weekend? We had purchased tickets to a comedy show and then he was too sick to go, so I went with my friend Amber. :)

I think we officially made up for it this weekend!

When I got home from work on Friday night, Ryan had flowers waiting for me! This is one of my favorite things ever in life. I adore flowers. Adore. {Does anyone else find it hilarious that the one thing I love almost the most is the one thing that did NOT make an appearance in our wedding?}

Anyway. Gorgeous red roses from my handsome husband:

And then...someone else interfered.

We started off our evening with some takeout Chinese and a movie...and then we remembered we already saw that movie. LOL!!!

I had read online that Friday, from 2 p.m. to close...there was a chance to participate in the World's Largest Starbucks Date. They had three special deals on coffee and a food treat - each for $5.00. That alone made it worth the trip. They also said there would be photo props and other fun, but we went for the coffee deal.

Oh. My. Word.

What a ridiculously fun night!!! According to the barista, some of the things at our Starbucks were the standard across the board, and some things were the creativity of the store manager. To both, I say BRAVO. This was a fabulous night with treats above and beyond. Check it out!

The entire store was decorated with hearts and flower petals. Flower petals scattered across the counters and tables, vases with flowers on the tables, and hearts hung around the room. It was such fun!

They had a table set up out in the middle, with free samples of white chocolate raspberry mochas, little samples of chocolate scones and salted caramel brownies, photo booth props, and even a bowl full of hearts with questions on them. A barista was right there to hostess for the evening and let us draw hearts from the bowl and answer questions for tickets in a drawing. We both got entered and while we were there...she drew a ticket and I bet you can't guess who won!

HINT!

His prize? Coffee mugs. {Could there be a more perfect gift????}

We had some fun with the photo booth props.

Is it bad when your own nose looks like the fake nose on those glasses/mustache thingies?

And we loved our coffee. Ryan got the French Press Coffee and brownie deal:

And I did the white chocolate mocha and chocolate chip cookie {they had run out of sugar cookies}:

We sat and talked and enjoyed...it was the most lovely evening. A lot of college students came in and out while we were there, and some other couples and families were there playing games, drinking coffee, and taking pictures. It was just such a fun night!

We went for a coffee deal and ended up having such a great night. Great, fun thing Starbucks did, and I'm so impressed that our store participated to the max. That was SWEET!

Thanks, Starbucks!!!