It's a PRAISE PARTY!!!!!!

For the last five years, I have come to you with the same prayer request. Post after post, time after time, interrupted by spurts when I tried to give you a break because I felt you were as weary of hearing about it as I was of talking about it. And yet you were always so gracious.

But yesterday. Yesterday.

This.

 God. Sold. Our. House.


It was a day that I confess I feared may never come. And that included yesterday morning when I woke up and got out of bed. I'd heard horror stories of buyers who didn't show up at the closing and figured that sounded about like something that would happen to us. And yet even with the fears that I allowed {shame on me!!} to burn wild, I had this underlying peace straight from the Lord that this would be okay. That this buyer wouldn't bail.

For all the times I prayed and God said no {or wait}, there was a good reason. One of the best reasons is standing beside me in that picture. Had I been granted an immediate yes on this house sale five years ago, he never would have asked me out and we never would have gotten married. So that was a pretty great denial of a house sale.

And I'll be honest: I didn't just pray for God to sell the house. I prayed for God to sell the house to someone who could love and appreciate its legacy and who would use it for the Kingdom. Because that's what this house has always been about. Always. All the way back to when my grandparents lived there. Sometimes I hated praying that prayer because I feared I was sealing my own delay/denial on a sale. Why couldn't I just pray, like a normal person, that the thing would sell? On the double???

Because I knew the house was meant for more than just an owner. It was meant for a Christ-loving caretaker and the right one wasn't ready yet.

I met our buyer back on the first day we moved into our present house. Ryan had come on over to demo the wall in the new house and I stayed behind for the home inspection of the first house. The buyer arrived and shook my hand, looked me in the eye and promised me he would love and care for the house the same way we had. He had found my blog and read my posts and knew the house was more than just a structure. It had a legacy and he would carry it on.

And I knew he was trustworthy. A kindred soul of sorts.

So we waited. The thing we seem to do best and love the least. We waited for paperwork. I panicked a few {dozen} times and texted our {longsuffering} Realtor to say what if he changes his mind and runs away and this house never sells and they take away our new house? God love her. She was patient and talked me down from more than one seller-ledge.

Last week we heard the news. Wednesday, May 4 at one p.m. Closing. And still I couldn't exhale. Those horror stories blared in my mind.

I kept a nervous eye on the phone all day yesterday. What if she called and said it was off? That he'd gotten cold feet? {For the record, I did not worry about cold feet ONE TIME in approaching my wedding. I paid for it with plethora of house sale fretting.}

She didn't call, so we got in the car and drove to town. She didn't call, so we made our way, hesitantly, onto the street and before all four wheels hit the pavement of our own street, I saw that beautiful red beacon of a sold sign perched on top of the everlasting sale sign.

And I cried. Happy, happy tears. We hadn't signed yet, but if she had put up the sold sign, I could at least breathe for a minute.

And right there in the front lawn, we had a praise party. Cars drove by and we ignored them while we leapt and wept in front of a sold sign - capturing the moments from a timer and a tripod across the street.

So we went to the title company to sign it all over. We met our dear buyer, who again immediately assured us of the good plans he had for this house and the love and care he would offer it.

We gave him gifts and our heartiest congratulations - easy to do when we knew our beloved home would continue to be fully beloved.

And I have to pause to thank our Realtor. Five years ago, I listed this house with a woman named Susan, who worked for this same company, and for close to a year, she tried to sell it. Within the last two years, we listed the house two different times with Molly, also from this same company, and she worked hard to sell it. In the end, it was Cathy who made the sale, but I wanted to mention all three, because in my mind, all three were part of this story God wrote. The other two may not have made the final sale, but they worked with me {then with us} and were kind and trustworthy in trying to help us. The entire time, I knew God was the real Realtor, and He would pull out this sold sign when the moment was right.

Even so, Cathy has been a joy to us. I met her almost twenty years ago when she and I both worked in Financial Aid. I actually took her position when she left the school and I ventured forth on my own. Who would have known that all these many years later, she would come back into my life and be part of this pivotal step in our journey?

It was a beautiful day, the signing. After all the signing was done, Ryan, Cathy and I joined hands with our buyer and Ryan prayed over him and over the future he will have in that home. {And I cried, because that is what I do.}

And then it was done. We breathed. All the way out. And all the way in again.

It felt appropriate to celebrate with my coveted annual strawberry shortcake:

So the day may be done, but the praise and celebration continues heartily. We are so thankful. Thankful for the whole story, for the lessons learned in the hard times, and for the immense blessing of being back to one home again.

Thank you...so much...for all the times you prayed for this sale. We celebrate WITH YOU because you were part of this with us.

Happy Tenth, Little Girl

Today is a day of MUCH celebration in our world, for a variety of reasons, one of which is that it's my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, Lori! :)

But it's also an auspicious occasion for this munchkin:

Today she turns ten.

TEN.

How did this happen?????


Ten years ago today, my friend Kari emailed me to tell me her mama cat just had a litter of kittens. I'd been toying with the idea of getting a little brother or sister for Kaegan, my yellow cat who had just turned five. I felt that he would really enjoy a younger sibling. Glares and stares later indicated that perhaps I was mistaken in that theory.

But anyway. Kari said I could have first pick if I wanted. The parents were black and white cats and every cat in the litter was the same - except this one. {The vet later told me this meant she had a different father. Who knew they could do that!?} So I decided she was the one I wanted, and on Father's Day that year, she came to live at my house.

And for the last ten years, she has been a mixture of cute, adorable, irritating, maddening, hilarious, and on her own terms - cuddly. She's been the lone ranger for the last five years, since Kaegan's death in 2011, and this time I've learned to read the clues ahead of the game, and I'm certain that bringing home a sibling of any variety would be tolerated...in no way whatsoever.

She's loved having a dad named Ryan and truthfully could take or leave me, these days. Who cares that I took care of her exclusively for the first seven years of her life. Have you seen RYAN?!?! He's the best EVER! That's why if you need her, you'll most likely find her lurking somewhere around him.

But before those days, it was just the two of us:

 {We've come a long way in a decade, haven't we??}

She was so little back then:

And though he insisted he did NOT like her, they made fast friends.

And she's been a Grandpa's girl from the get-go.

My girl, too. You know. Before Ryan. :)

We've celebrated every year...from the big first birthday bash:

And we'll be celebrating today, as well! {And she's no less possessive of toys as time goes by.}

So happy birthday, Braeya-girl. You make us laugh {and occasionally you make us crazy}. We love you and are excited to have you as part of our new season of Shafferland!

41 Months...and Goodbyes

Before we get to all the newsy stuff, it's Tuesday, so it's podcast day!! This week we bid a fond farewell to the Bekah-mobile, after 13 years of {mostly} faithful service, and we offer up our favorite things learned from the big move!

Click here to listen

Yesterday marked 41 months of marriage for the two of us. And as so often seems to be the case in the "warmer" Indiana months, it proved to be a monthiversary in which December in Florida was warmer than this summery day in Indiana. 

To celebrate, we went out for coffee {because of course}...

 ...and then we made our final pilgrimage to our old house. We are scheduled to close on it this week {and would love your last bit of prayers to push us over this hump with hopefully no complications}. We wanted to mow the yard one more time, which was fun since it rained that evening, and we also needed to say our final goodbyes.

Before we did anything and got all wet and bedraggled looking, we took our monthiversary picture: the last last last one ever in front of our trusty backyard tree.

We have taken so many pictures in front of that tree. So many photographic memories in this spot. We're still working out our new spot at our new house, but we did one final shoot in front of this one.

And then off to mow. Ryan informed me I am an "angry mower." He said I look flat out mad when I push the mower. I told him it was probably because I don't enjoy mowing - especially in the rain. HA!! But I did smile for the picture.

He did a little mowing too!

{And trimming.}

He was gracious to me and while he finished packing up the last couple of things in the garage, I went into the house to say my initial goodbyes.

Got a little teary-eyed sitting in the room that served as my bedroom when I first moved into the house. Later, it was our office, and between the two, God and I had more than a few talks in those walls. I have so many thoughts that I'm eager to share with you about this whole process of goodbye, but I have to do a bit more of just that: process.

Ryan came in and we did the little project I found on a blog post last week: signed our names on a floorboard in the attic.

We closed up the attic and walked hand in hand throughout the house, crying and remembering the moments we shared in each room. So many memories in just over three years. So. Many. Memories.

One last dance, to the song Ryan chose. He picked Life is Beautiful by The Afters, and as we danced and I listened to the words, I decided it was the most perfect song ever for saying goodbye to a house you loved. 

This was the room where we used to have a goodbye dance every single night before Ryan went home. I cried through all of those because I didn't want him to leave. I cried through this one because I was overwhelmed at the beauty of what we shared there and what we have yet to share where we are now.

We prayed together - thanksgiving and sorrow and blessing for the future. It was a sacred moment I won't soon forget.

And then it was our last goodbye.

Goodbyes are hard and bittersweet. We are so excited for the new owner. Truly, giddy excited for him and for all that will take place as he begins his life there. We don't second-guess our decision to leave and we adore our new home and our new city. But Shafferland began here. Our first three seasons happened here. Beautiful memories that we will always have and always cherish.

It seemed right, somehow, to say goodbye on a monthiversary. To mark the day with a pivotal moment. Forty-one months may have been lackluster in weather and interesting in celebration choice, but it will always be remembered for the beautiful goodbye.

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

How in the WORLD is it May already? It's always extra awkward to me when a month starts on a Sunday because I somehow don't feel quite prepared for it. But it's here!!! May has arrived!! So to wrap up April....

* Last Sunday was Ryan's official birthday, and while I've already told you all about it, here are a couple of my favorite pictures of our low-key day. Church, lunch together at home, a nice long nap, a leisurely stroll in the evening: it all made for a fun day! And the bonus? We're the same age now for the next three weeks!

* Monday I was a yard-mowing machine! I had to travel over to Marion to mow the yard at our old house, and I came home to mow our present yard, because rain was in the forecast and Ryan needed his off-work time to work on the stone wall. His co-workers also celebrated his birthday at work, which led him to have a cupcake photo shoot with Brutus the rhino. That guy cracks me UP!!!!! Though it was a long, tiring evening to follow a long, tiring week of such work, he officially FINISHED the stone wall that night! 

* It's funny what working on a house for weeks on end will do to you. For us, on Tuesday, it made us excited to put on REAL clothes {like jeans and normal shirts, not workout clothes} and run errands in town. We felt like real people for the first time in a long time! And we started another house project that has ended up taking days longer than we expected: hanging things on the walls. We have a LOT of wall art. But it's feeling more and more like home each day! And just for fun, I made fajitas for dinner that night. {And I cannot make them without pronouncing them like Ross Gellar!}

* Wednesday I did my first real writing in my new office. I LOVED IT! It was such fun. That space works really well for me! That night, Ryan used one of his new birthday gifts for the first time - his French Press. He loved it! And we continued our picture hanging party, along with Supervisor #1.

* Braeya seems to be regressing a bit on her approval of the moving situation, so we sat together for a bit on Thursday. I hoped that would help her feel less anxious or whatever she's feeling! And then I had to get busy cleaning out the Bekah-mobile, because we are planning to sell it! I've owned that car for most of my adult life, so it will be odd not to have it anymore! And guess what else we did? We hung more pictures. :)

* Friday I took the car in for an oil change {before we sell it} and check out the waiting room furniture at the car place! Ha! When I got home, I decided I needed to clear my head, so I went for a run and ended up beating my time at the 5K race last fall! {And I haven't been running much lately, so that was exciting!} Ryan made us pour over coffee that night - he's enjoying his new coffee toys!

* Last night I had the opportunity to speak at Bryant Wesleyan Church for their "Mothers and Others" dinner. They were quite the welcoming group and I enjoyed both dinner and the chance to speak! Ryan went with me, and we had a great evening. It turns out that Bryan is just 20 minutes from a Sonic...so....