Merry Christmas from Shafferland!

We know you're probably super busy today, but we still wanted to send some Christmas podcast love your way. If you can't catch it today, we'll be here whenever you have time!

Listen here.

And even though today is Christmas, we did have an early celebration I can share with you today! Every year, we have a gathering with Ryan's mom, Allen, his siblings, and all the grandkids. Allen and Nita host it in their beautiful cabin, and we eat breakfast for dinner before we open gifts. This year, with Ryan's mom in the rehab hospital, she obviously couldn't host. And since our house is much closer to the hospital than theirs, she wanted to have the celebration here. She felt like this was a commute she could handle. And indeed, it seemed to nearly wear her out even to come this far. We were happy to host it, even though we were a little nervous about having eighteen people fit comfortably inside our little house.

We did breakfast for dinner again, and we thought it turned out really well. Sure, it was a different kind of evening, but Nita was able to get a hospital pass and join us, which was very special. Our home is a far cry from a rustic log cabin, but everyone seemed warm and comfy, so that's what matters!

We set up our garage for the dinner portion. We used all our tables and borrowed more when our supply ran out. We borrowed chairs, strategically places space heaters around the room, and tried to make it look festive and cheery!

We cleared out the living room as much as we could, so there would be plenty of room for people and presents.

Ryan and I did some of the cooking, but Allen made his pancakes, the siblings contributed food, and even my mom shared a pan of her homemade sticky rolls!

Dinner was delicious!

(One of the few photos of me, so I thought I'd give you proof I was there.)

 Allen and Nita - I thought this was a really good picture of them!

 We didn't do any group pictures, but this give you an idea:

After dinner, Ryan shared a devotional reading with everyone. I'd written it, and it was geared more for the kids, but hopefully the message was for everyone! He did a great job presenting it, and the kids stayed pretty attentive. We used my friend Brent's art print as the focal point. Three cheers for a visual aid!

And then it was time for presents!! The kids were so good to wait their turn and pause to appreciate what they got.

Allen and Nita's present from us was the photo shoot from earlier this week. We were able to get the group picture in time to print one and frame it so we could give them an actual gift.

And after presents, everyone hung around for a while, talking, drinking hot chocolate, playing games, and (in the case of some of the kids) spooning sugar onto marshmallows and eating it.

We are so glad we were able to host. It wasn't stressful at all (truly!) but we were a little bit tired at the end. LOL. This is the best we have of the two of us.

Thanks for taking a peek at our Christmas celebration! We wish you a very merry Christmas today!

Much love!!!

Celebrating Life

Last night, Ryan and I hosted our first official family Christmas. Eighteen people in a little house. So much food, so much coffee, so much volume. LOL. My feet still hurt and I haven't started going through my pictures yet. So in the meantime...

...Saturday was Nita's birthday! No one ever wants to have to spend a birthday in the hospital, but I have to say, she had a great attitude about it and seemed to really enjoy the day! All the hospital staff had signed a birthday sign, and I saw it hanging on her door when I went to visit. And when Ryan and I sat down to have lunch with her, we found a little cake on her tray! Those were thoughtful little touches, I thought. 

Anyway. We brought her some roses to brighten her day. She loves pink roses. :) 

Ryan picked out a card for her...

And here's her cute little cake!

Her brother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit her during lunch too, and then she had to pack up and get back to therapy, so we ended our little party. (Her husband did throw her a nice little party that night, there at the hospital, but we weren't able to go to that because we had previous plans already arranged. We did get home in time to stop in and say hi to at least most of the people who came, but I don't have any pictures of that party since we were technically not in attendance.)

It's okay, though, because we had our own party with her, right?

Look at us all getting the black and gray memo! :) 

I am proud of Nita for all the hard work she has put into her rehab over the last week. She's gotten stronger and has the desire to work hard and excel in what her therapists ask of her. She's taken all the changes to her life (which encompass basically all parts) with such grace. She understands everything looks different now, and she doesn't get angry about it. She just pushes ahead one step at a time and takes each day as it comes. 

Even though I won't get to see her today, I also celebrate my niece, who has a birthday TODAY! She's done a great job this year embracing her new role as a mom, and it's fun to see her with little Caroline. Happy birthday, Cassie! Hope your first birthday as a mom is extra special!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Good morning! Happy Christmas Sunday to you! When I sat down to write this recap last night, I wasn't even sure what I'd been doing a week ago. It's been quite an eventful few days. :)

* It turns out that last Sunday afternoon was our niece's piano recital, so we attended that. She went first (eek!) and did a great job. Fortunately the recital featured a lot of people from our hometown, so we knew a fair number of them, which made the rest of the recital a lot more interesting! That night we went to see Ryan's mom at the hospital (he helped her fill out her menu for the next few days) and then I wrapped the first of the gifts for the year!

* Ryan and I had lunch with his mom every day this week, so Monday was my first day to make meals on wheels for the two of us and take them to the hospital at lunchtime. That night, the family gathered at the hospital to take pictures with Nita. We know it wasn't the optimal setting for a photo shoot, but we worked with what we had, and I think it was lovely. By the time we got home, we were anxious for dinner, and THAT'S when we remembered we had a pie in the freezer. I so wished I would have remembered that earlier and had it all baked and ready to go. Do you know that a watched pie doesn't bake ANY FASTER?

* I went Christmas shopping for Ryan's stocking stuffers on Tuesday! I so very rarely go shopping by myself, so it was kind of a treat! I even stopped by Sonic for a big old iced tea! That night, Ryan mowed the yard. Yes, you read that right. :) Our tree drops its leaves really late, and he wanted to mulch them and then drain the mower, so he bundled up and mowed! I wrapped a bunch of gifts while he did that. (And no, I'm still not done.)

* Nita mentioned after her therapy session on Wednesday that she wished she had some maze puzzles to work, because that's part of what her therapists had her do. I found one at the dollar store, so I got it and she and Ryan worked on one of the puzzles that night. (He also borrowed her hat for a while. Isn't it darling on him?) After we got home, Ryan decided he wanted to go shopping for my stocking stuffers, and he brought me Starbucks when he came home!

* Thursday morning, Ryan went to work early to spend some time reading devotions and praying with his mom before the day began. (He actually does that each day.) He sent me this picture of them praying together and later I found out she had taken a picture of him reading to her. He's a good son. Nita's dad came to join us at lunch, and he wanted to wheel her back to her room after she ate. I thought it was sweet. You're never done being a dad, right?

* Friday morning, I watched our nephew for a few hours. He's such an easy baby to watch. We went to see Ryan and Nita at the hospital, and he ended up falling asleep on me, so I just sat by the traction table and rocked him for a while. That night we had dinner out with a big group of Ryan's work people. It's so strange to see them in clothes other than scrubs! LOL!

* Yesterday was Nita's birthday, so we had a birthday lunch with her! Ryan worked all day, and I worked at home in the kitchen - baking lots of cookies! We'd been invited to dinner by some friends, so we went to their house and had AMAZING food. (I was trying not to be the Bekah-razzi, so no pictures of that, but it was so good.)

And now it's Christmas week!! Hope you have a great start to it!

The Saturday Six

One.

Anyone else need a laugh this weekend? Maybe it's been a tough week? This video is a year old, but I never saw it last year and it absolutely CRACKS ME UP!!!! Not much cuter than a little kids' Christmas program with some Nativity drama.

Two.

You know how there are a million holidays/observances/etc. for people to celebrate? I found this blog that has an entire list for January - and then you can follow right on into all the other months of the year. So Shafferland is about to get REAL interesting. 2019 is the Year of the Periodic Table of the Elements, and January is National Prune Breakfast Month. Oh yes, my friend.

Three.

I know Christmas is in three days, so if you don't have décor up, it may not happen at this point. But if you need just an extra little oomph of something for your family or friend gathering, here is a site with a handful of fun ideas. I've seen some of them before, but some were new to me. Or at least I think they're new! (Sometimes I see so many ideas I'm sure I don't remember.)

Four.

This article came from one of our local newspapers. Unless you live around here, you probably don't know about this accident that happened earlier this year, but I believe the story is powerful even if you don't know the people involved. I remember reading about this...it was one of a handful of horrible accidents that happened in our county in a very short amount of time. But the words of the story are also a good reminder that we never know what an impact we'll have on someone - even years later.

Five.

Those of you from this part of Indiana might be familiar with MudLOVE. I first learned about them when I started working at WBCL. Lynne and Jamie gave me one of their mugs, and I've also collected a handful of their bracelets over the years. I love their products and their mission. Somehow I missed one of their newest products, but I think it's pretty cool, so I wanted to tell you about it! If you're looking for gifts for into next year or a fun project for a girls' night out, here is the info about their new Makers kits. Watch the video to see the story behind it and check out all the info. Pretty cool!

Six.

I've seen these "save $1000 over the course of a year" things before, but they always look daunting to me. Especially the ones that increase per week as you go along. Ummmm, I'm not rich! I stumbled on this chart this week and it looked doable! There are amounts all over the board from $3 to $60, and most are in the middle of that. (There's even a zero for the week when you just cannot.) It's kind of like Bingo...you don't have to go in any order. Just pick what you can afford that week, stash it away, and cross it off. At the end of the year, enjoy your $1000 savings!

Precious Over Perfect

Thank you for the kind words about yesterday's post. I appreciate those of you experiencing a hard year receiving those words in love and hearing my heart! I just sat here and cried over your comments and emails, because I know this hard-year-thing is really hard for some of you.

And that has inspired me to add one more reminder for you.

As you know (if you've been here for any length of time) I'm the crazy picture lady. I take pictures of everything. All the time. I don't apologize for it, and I don't care if anyone finds it to be going overboard. The bottom line is that life can change so fast, and I don't want a single regret. If someone I love isn't sitting around the table with me next Christmas, I want to know I captured every memory I could...while I could.

And while I love a good official photo shoot as much as the next person, the pictures I love the most are the little moments I capture, even if they aren't perfect. They're still precious. 

Yesterday morning, Ryan went to the hospital early to spend some time with his mom before his work day began. (He does that every day.) He does devotions with her and prays with her. While he prayed, he snapped a quick candid picture. She had bedhead and no makeup, was still in her nightgown, and had her head bowed in prayer. Was it the best picture ever taken of her? Absolutely not. But at the bottom of the frame, she was clinging to his hand in a way that showed how her heart clung to his words as he prayed. 

I've taken many such pictures in this journey with her. In the time she lived at our house, in the time she's been in the hospital...I've quietly captured moments from the sidelines. I show her most of them (because she's a crazy picture lady too and finds the same joy in them that I do) but now and then I forget to show her one. I don't take all of them for the purposes of posting the on the blog or social media. (And if they're unflattering, I do my best NOT to do that to her.) But I want them for us. 

Because sometimes life is unflattering. Sometimes you aren't the weight you want to be. Sometimes your hair color is a mistake. Sometimes the outfit looked better on the model than a real person. Sometimes the food is a presentation flop. (Hello, waffles from last week.) Sometimes the floor is covered with toys...there's a place for everything and not one single thing is IN its place. Sometimes your nose wasn't made for profile shots. 

It happens.

But don't let those things keep you from capturing a precious moment. Imperfect though it may be, if you feel compelled to grab it, do it. Because you never know when you may not have another chance for that photo. 

Life isn't perfect. Why in the world do we think our pictures of it have to be?

As you get together for your Christmas gatherings, don't be afraid of the imperfect. Find the precious moments and capture them.

Don't delete the picture just because your niece thought it would be the funniest thing in the entire world to add bunny ears. Keep it because she knows her uncle loves good fun and won't be mad that she did it.

Take pictures of your mom practicing hospitality at a party, because that is the core of what she loves to do the most, and few people pause to capture hospitality in action. 

Sneak in a photo of a grandson excited to share his new present with his grandpa. 

Did the wife get worn out from all the celebrating and cash in on a happy nappy? Better capture that too!!

And always, always, always, take pictures of the people you love. This was Ryan with his mom one year ago tomorrow - on her birthday. We had no idea that in one year, she'd be spending her next birthday in the hospital. So yes, take pictures, even in the side room of Bob Evans with the back of people's heads in the background. 

Put aside your inhibitions. Don't be afraid to make and capture memories. 

When Christmas Looks Different

I notice it more this year than I have in the past. So many people plodding through such big hurt, and it seems like most of them dread the coming holidays because something isn't the same as it was last year.

It's hard. It really is. I've been there before. The Christmas after my nephew died, and we didn't have the baby to buy presents for. The Christmas after my grandma died, and our extended family Christmas just simply ceased. The Christmases when my sister doesn't get to come home. The Christmas after my relationship (before Ryan) ended and I didn't have someone beside me to share any part of the holiday.

The grief is real and hard, and I don't want to take it away from anyone feeling it this year. But I do want to submit to you something that the Lord has brought to my mind as I think through our own different-kind-of-Christmas this year.

They're all different.

I love traditions as much as the next person. Truthfully, I probably love them MORE than the next five people standing next to me (combined). But have we gotten so intertwined with our traditions that we fail to appreciate the unique beauty and soul-impact that comes with each Christmas? Even the hard Christmases?

Our first Christmas came twenty-three days after our wedding. We'd gotten married, taken a honeymoon, driven eleven hundred miles home, resumed double commuting, and somehow in all of that, we had to find time to buy gifts and decorate our house and begin traditions of our own. Being the consummate over-decorator that I am, I had no idea how I would get all seven trees up and perfected in the time I had.

I lamented this at work one day, and my co-worker Amy carefully and hesitantly suggested that rather than getting out ALL my tubs of decorations, I only get out maybe...say...five. I think she feared for her life with this offering, and with good reason. I would have trembled saying it to someone like me, too. But you know what? That's exactly what we did. We turned it into a game. I sent Ryan into the attic to retrieve five tubs, because I knew he wouldn't know what was in any of them. (I did.) Whatever he brought out was what we had to work with. We would assemble an entire Christmas from our five hodge-podge tubs.

That Christmas didn't look like the years before, but I learned two things from it. First, it made a beautiful memory I've never forgotten. The tubs Ryan "happened" to get contained my blue and gold Christmas bulbs. The blue was the same color we used in our wedding and the matte gold bulbs looked like sand...like our beach! That first tree was a perfect continuation of our wedding celebration, and I've never forgotten it. Secondly, just because we had a dialed-down Christmas that year didn't mean every year for the rest of decorating forever was doomed. It was just that one year.

The next year, we didn't get to take our big Christmas shopping trip, because on the only free day we had for shopping, Indiana was smacked with snow and ice. We had to stay local and cut it short, but we had a blast together. And the year after that, we went back to the big shopping day.

And so it has gone. One year we couldn't get to a Christmas tree farm in time and had to switch up our live tree purchase to the grocery store parking lot. And don't you know I took pictures all the way down that line of netted trees and we got a selfie with the store sign. Oh yes. We'll find a Christmas tree farm at the supermarket if we have to!

One year we missed an entire Christmas celebration because we were in the emergency room with Ryan's cranky gallbladder. And when we went to another one a few days later, he couldn't eat anything except the can of chicken noodle soup I brought along so he could have something.

Christmas looks different for us this year. This will be the first time we gather with Ryan's step-family and his grandpa won't be there. (He passed away right after New Year's Day.) Ryan's mom plans to be part of the family Christmas, but her health is still fragile and I know she won't be able to enjoy it in the same way she always has.

My heart feels the sadness of these changes, but I still look forward to Christmas this year. It won't look the same, but none of them ever do. There's always something a little different.

But it's always a reminder of the hope and joy we have in remembering that Jesus was born and because of that, we can have the opportunity to enjoy a relationship with Him and look forward to forever with Him.

If you're hurting this Christmas, I'm sending a blog-hug to you right now. I'm not minimizing your grief in any way. But I also hope you can know that there is hope for this Christmas to still be meaningful. It can still make an impact on your memories and on your soul, if you let it.

I believe it was about ten years ago now that I had a heart-heavy Christmas that led me to write (for myself) a study on how Jesus arrived in the lives of so many people who lived in His day. Two years later, that study made its published debut, and I'm still learning from the lessons each year when I re-read the books. If I hadn't had the hard Christmas, I never would have done the study. I never would have drawn near in that way. I let the hurt make an impact on my soul, and God transformed it into something beautiful.

I know He can do the same for you. Christmas might look different, but then again, they always do.

Much love to you!

Some Holiday Q&A

I have things I want to tell you, but you know...Christmas. Can't be giving spoilers!! So today I'm borrowing a Q&A from The Blended Blog. I love a good little Christmas quiz, don't you?

1. Candy canes. Yes or no?

No. I actually don't like peppermint...pretty much period. I do like about one peppermint mocha a year (which, come to think of it, I haven't had yet) and I have come to tolerate peppermint essential oil. And if the mint is in chocolate (like an Andes mint) I can usually handle it because it's mild. But candy canes and mint gum...no can do. (Clarification: I can't handle gum at all in any fashion. But when I'm around a mint gum-chewer, I about go crazy.)

2. Christmas morning early riser or sleep in? 
I'm pretty sure as a kid, I was up early for presents. But as an adult...not so much. Since we don't have kids waking us up, we do get to sleep in a little on Christmas morning, and that's kind of nice. We do get up early enough to enjoy a special breakfast together and unwrap our own gifts before joining family celebrations.

3. Do you shop on Black Friday? Yes or no?
Nope. Not in stores, anyway. I'm to afraid of being trampled. I don't have an aggressive enough personality to survive Black Friday crowds. You'd find me cowering under a table, rocking and sucking my thumb, probably. I don't even really shop much online on Black Friday, because I prefer watching Hallmark movies. But I've been known to get sucked into a deal now and then.

4. Christmas trees up in November? Yes or no?
For so many years, I did all my decorating the day after Thanksgiving, to give full respect to the season of thanks before the season of holly jolly. But for the last two years, I've decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving, mostly because of our schedules caring for recuperating mothers. That ended up being the best weekend to decorate both times, and I really liked it. I like having everything up just a little longer so I can enjoy all my hard work.

5. Do you get holiday ideas from Pinterest? Yes or no?
Of course! Don't I get ideas for every part of every day of the week from Pinterest? This year I made most of my gifts and used it HEAVILY for those. I also used it for some gift tags. You'll have to come back after Christmas to find out what we did for those gifts. (I'm actually pretty excited about them.)

6. Christmas glam or ugly sweater?
Sigh. Neither? I'm not glamorous, and we have absolutely no corner of our lives that requires dressing up at Christmas, other than going to church. I actually went to a consignment store yesterday and looked at party dresses (because they were there) and wondered why I had even stopped to look. I don't go to fancy parties! Unfortunately, my broken thermostat dictates that I cannot wear sweaters without risking a heat stroke. So no ugly sweaters either. I think there's a rule that they have to be made from THE heaviest possible materials. One year, Ryan found a t-shirt made to look like an ugly sweater. I need more of those to be manufactured. I typically wear some sort of Christmas-themed t-shirt or long-sleeved-tee to our gatherings.

7. Stocking stuffers: wrapped or unwrapped?
Wrapped!! Ryan and I started a tradition several years ago where we buy a "big" gift together that we can use throughout the year. (It started the year we bought Mo, our couch.) So stocking stuffers are the only gifts we get each other that are a surprise. So yes! Wrap that toothpaste and underwear! Just kidding. Mostly. (But did anyone else get those for stocking stuffers growing up?)

8. Traditional or modern Christmas songs?
Mostly traditional. And that's mostly so I can sing along. Every now and then, I fall in love with a more modern song, but it doesn't happen super often. I feel like some of them are too much of a reach. If it doesn't flow naturally with a good message, I'm probably out. I also don't like it when traditional songs are given new tunes. This goes for hymns, too.

9. Fruitcake? Yes or no?
Noooooooooooo.

10. Is your Christmas shopping finished? Yes or no?
Mostly. It helped that I made most of the gifts. But I do have just a handful of last minute things to get. I hope to knock it out today. Or at least by Christmas Day. :)

11. Is there snow in December where you live?
Usually at some point. In our part of Indiana, the consistent weeks-on-end of snow on the ground doesn't normally hit until January. But we do often get a snowfall or four in December. This year we haven't had any shovel-worthy accumulation yet. And if it falls now because I said that....grrrrr.

12. Classic show: A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph?
I wasn't allowed to watch much TV as a kid, but Mom did let me watch all the holiday specials, including these two. I'd take my bath and wash my hair and then sit down in front of the TV to watch while the stove across the room helped dry my hair. I love both these stories, but I think I prefer the animation of Charlie Brown to whatever the style is called in Rudolph.

So there you go! How about you?

Christmas Memory Lane

Helloooooo! It's podcast Tuesday!! Enjoy some stories and send bubble wrap, will you?

 Listen here

I have read on multiple sites this year that the ceramic Christmas trees of yore are back in style. (They've been in style at my house for always, because my mom painted the one I have, so I have always included it in my décor.)

You remember the ceramic trees, right?

My mom painted ceramics for several years back in the 80's. There was a little shop somewhere here in Kokomo, and we'd go after school for her to pick out her pieces, choose her paint and brushes, and pick up things that had been fired. (Sometimes I got to paint, too!) One year she made these trees for each household in our family. She picked out all the bulbs and put them in the holes, carefully carving out the holes that hadn't been made large enough the first time.

She made one for my great-grandma (we called her Gran) and when Gran died, I inherited her tree. I was the only person in the family who didn't have my own household at that time, so I hadn't qualified for a tree. I usually put Gran's tree in the bathroom, because it's the perfect size for a small room.

Since most people probably didn't have moms who painted ceramics, or Grans to inherit trees from, I'm not sure what's brought them back in style, but it's good to be up with the times again.

Meanwhile, it's made me curious about other Christmas decorations from days of yore. Want to see some of what I found?

Source

I remember these! The satin ornaments. They were beautiful, but there were always one or two that had strands pulling loose. They'd stick straight out like static cling hair. Mom, do you still have these ornaments?? (Fun Fact: My "Baby's First Christmas" ornament is satin!)

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The wooden ornaments! My mom would get me a new ornament each year, and several of mine are wooden. I guess I didn't realize that was a specific thing of the 80's!

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YES!! Remember the tinsel that would never go away? Its basically like long stringy glitter. You find it everywhere forever. When I was little, it was a great privilege to help hang the tinsel. (Mom probably went back and rearranged it all after I went to bed. I have a feeling I probably threw it at the tree like a softball pitcher.)

Source

Ahhhh the window snow. A staple in every classroom at Christmas, and in some homes, too. (Not ours. Too messy to clean up. I fully appreciate that now, because Ryan and I tried this a couple of years ago on the decorative windows in the garage. UGH. No.)

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I don't even know what these are, but I had the Santa. Anyone else?? The little melted plastic thingies? Were they ornaments? Coasters? WHAT WERE THEY?????

Source

I actually still own a couple of these. Mom handed them down to me when she gave up making roll out sugar cookies.

So what am I missing? What do you remember from Christmases of yore?

A Christmas Card from Shafferland

I love Christmas cards. They make me so happy! I love sending and receiving them, and I always live in fear that someone's will get lost or misplaced and they'll think I don't like them. (NOT TRUE!!)

But I also like to share our card here every year - and our letter, too, so I can feel like I've sent all our bloggy friends a card!

Here is this year's card, and our letter follows!

He has made everything beautiful in its time.
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 –

            For the last six years, we’ve watched as God has slowly and methodically woven beauty into every corner of our lives. We are so grateful to be celebrating the milestone of our sixth anniversary as we head into this Christmas season! The year has been full of so many things, and we’ve see the push and pull of Ecclesiastes 3 in each of them, so we’ll share the good and the hard of our year through the words of that chapter.

            There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

       A time to be born and a time to die. This year we said hello to a new nephew on Ryan’s side (Camden) and our first great-niece on Bekah’s side (Caroline). And we said goodbye-on-earth to Ryan’s Grandpa Echelbarger and some friends who had become dear to us throughout our marriage.

            A time to plant and a time to uproot. We tried to plant seeds for the Lord throughout the entire year. We continued leading a small group through our church, and Ryan started meeting with some guys in an accountability group! We also tried to plant goodness in the lives of some of the kiddos in our world. Bekah hosted a mini-reading camp this summer for one of our friends’ kids, and she spent the first part of the year driving two kids to school each day.

A time to kill and a time to heal. We did kill a lot of mosquitoes this year (though not quickly enough sometimes) – but we’ll put our focus on the healing here. We learned at the end of October that Ryan’s mom had an aggressive brain tumor, and she immediately underwent surgery to have it removed. The surgery was successful, but she has a long road ahead of her. She came to live with us for a while following her surgery, and we did our best to help her recover safely and with intentional goals in sight. Now we take each day as it comes and join her in her ultimate prayer that God will be glorified in her journey.

A time to tear down and a time to build. For once, our year wasn’t laced with home improvement projects, so we turned our focus to tearing down treat-laden eating and lackluster workout habits that had begun to creep in and worked to build up healthier versions of ourselves!

A time to weep and a time to laugh. We did plenty of both this year! We learned in fresh ways that we make a great team, we work well together, and we know when it’s time to laugh and when we should cry. We are thankful for friends and family who supported us so fully throughout the year, standing with us whether we laughed or cried.

A time to mourn and a time to dance. We tried to do more dancing than mourning. And our year was indeed filled with much celebration. Bekah turned 40 in May, and Ryan threw a massive Beauty and the Beast themed surprise party with 100 people in attendance! We celebrated again on the actual big 4-0 day with a scavenger hunt around Kokomo. We helped other friends and family celebrate their milestone birthdays this year, too, and one of our nieces graduated from high school. We tried to celebrate at home, too, hosting Mommapalooza 5.0 on Mother’s Day and game night with our friends!

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. In our marriage, stones represent memories, and we sure scattered and gathered many this year. We crossed five more counties off our list in our quest to visit all 92 in the state of Indiana. (We visited Dearborn, Wabash, Ripley, Jefferson, and Decatur counties.) We took in two concerts this year: David Phelps (of course!) and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We took a long weekend trip to Madison, Indiana, to celebrate our birthdays, tour the little town, and hike at Clifty Falls State Park. And this summer, we took a long Midwestern vacation with stops in Springfield, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Greensburg, Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; Kansas City, Kansas; Monticello, Illinois; and ended in North Webster at the lake with Ryan’s family! This fall we took a day with two of our friends to hike at Turkey Run State Park. Lots of memories (and lots of stories).

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. Mostly we tried to refrain from embracing the idea that we should refrain from embracing. 😊 We continue to embrace our monthiversaries on the second day of every month, and we also embraced the opportunity to open our home to many this year. We hosted a missionary for a week, dog sat our beloved Phoebe (and another dog, Deuce) multiple times, and we helped out with child care for a number of our friends and family throughout the year. That guest room of ours has served just about every purpose it can, we think! We are grateful to have it and put it to good use.

A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be silent and a time to speak. We aren’t very good at being silent, but we did a lot of speaking! We were able to speak together at a few events this year and Bekah also spoke at quite a few churches and women’s events. We also both participated in our church’s big patriotic program this summer: Ryan sang in the choir and Bekah was a narrator. We’ve been able to record the weekly announcements (a video adventure) for the church a few times. Always weird to see ourselves larger than life on the big screen during the morning service, but it’s been fun to find these new ways to serve together. (We have started serving communion, too!) We are also still hosting our weekly podcast, called Spill the Beans, and we’re having fun with that!

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. We work hard to make our home and marriage a place of love and peace, and we hope that all who encounter us or come to visit our home sense both those things. 2018 has indeed been a time for everything and full of multiple God-ordained seasons. As we say goodbye to this year and our sixth season together as a couple, we heartily agree that He has made everything beautiful in its time. We pray that He will continue to make our lives a beautiful representation of His love and that you will enjoy this Christmas season, as you celebrate His most beautiful gift ever, delivered in the fullness of His time.

The Shafferland Shuffle

WE ARE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS UNTIL CHRISTMAS, PEOPLE!! Not to freak you out or anything....just offering a friendly reminder! In addition to getting ready for Christmas, here are some of the things we've been up to:

* Last Sunday, we were invited to lunch at the home of some of our church friends. The food was delicious, and we loved meeting new people. We had barely made it home from there when we had to head out to Ryan's step-mom's 60th birthday party. It was a really nice dinner party! (I think this day sort of kicked off the season of parties for us.)

* I spent Monday in the office putting the finishing touches on a Christmas talk. (I loved doing one of those. I don't often get to speak in December.) Ryan worked a little harder than I did...at a hard-core workout. He was sore the rest of the week! After a couple of weeks of not-so-great (yet delicious) eating, we got back on track with salads!

* Had to head back to our church on Tuesday to pick up the cards for Ryan's family that I accidentally mailed in the church drop-off box. (If you heard the podcast...my suspicious were correct.) I also spent a little time in traction that day because...if you can even believe this...I injured my back addressing Christmas cards. Don't ask. And I put together the Power Point for my talk!

* My mom came to town on Wednesday to run errands and she dropped off our box of Christmas candy. SO delicious. It's hard not to eat it all at once. That evening, Ryan went to his grandma's house to install a television for her, and I went to his sister's house to watch the baby. (His sister is prepping to move, so I entertained the baby while she packed.)

* We kind of already told you about this, but Thursday night, Ryan and I went to the Seiberling mansion here in town to see all their pretty trees and décor! We also stopped on the way home for a coffee date. (Gift cards!)

* Friday was my speaking day - at a MOPS group! I hadn't spoken at MOPS before (probably because I don't have kids!) but this group was incredibly gracious, and I enjoyed them! Ryan's mom, who had been in an Indianapolis hospital all week, was released that night, and she came to Ryan's hospital to spend some time there. We went to see her when she arrived.

* Ryan worked Saturday morning, and I hauled one of our trees down to the hospital to try to make his mom's room a little more festive. (What, doesn't everyone carry decorated fully trees in their car?) Phoebe came to spend the afternoon and evening with us. Ryan took a much-deserved multi-hour nap, and Pheebs and I watched Hallmark movies.

The Saturday Six

One.

I always feel like my Christmas gift tag game is lacking. Anyone else? (And in full disclosure, it'll be lacking again this year. Life is too full right now to step it up.) But for those of you who have time TO step it up, or maybe for Bekah of next year...here's a really cute DIY ornament idea for gift tags!

Two.

I wanted to share this article I wrote for Annesley this month. Hope you enjoy it!

Three.

I have these ideas in my head that one day I'll learn to make pretty wreaths. Hasn't happened yet, but a girl can dream, right? This post has a bunch of wreath ideas featuring dollar store supplies, but I thought the scarf one was particularly fascinating.

Four.

I had no idea Yankee Candle had a massive flagship store, and it's unfortunately way too far for me to pop over and visit. But as I was browsing through links on Tamar's blog this week, I found this post, and now I absolutely want to go visit and see all the things. This may be the coolest thing I've seen for a while!

Five.

I'm always looking for new ways to pray. I don't like to sound like a broken record, so I always look for new topics and words and ideas. I found this post this week centered around praying specific things over your husband and marriage. YES! And even if you're not married yet, these prayers can work for your someday!

Six.

When I was first out on my own, my dad's entire Christmas list was made up of gift cards, and it drove me CRAZY. It wasn't that I didn't want to get them. It's that they were SO BORING to wrap. One year  I came up with all these insane ways to disguise/hide/wrap them, and I was so proud of myself. Now that I'm a little older, I get the beauty of receiving gift cards in a way I didn't back then. But it's still maddening to come up with creative ways to present them. I found this link with several cute ideas! It's not a new article, but I checked the links and they all still work, in case you want to download any of the ideas to use yourself this year!