Milestones!

First up today...we have a new podcast for you. We're just telling simple stories this week, but they made us laugh. Right now we cling to the chance to laugh whenever it comes, and we hope if you need a bright spot in your day, you can find it here.

Listen here

Secondly...it's been an entire year since I was given the title Aunt Bekah the Great, and I have had not one, but two opportunities this year to see and hold that sweet baby girl. (If you're new here, they live far away. It's not like they heavily ration my meetings.) The second chance was such a surprise to me, and I soaked up every minutes! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAROLINE!

And thirdly...we hit a milestone this past weekend! 75 months! :)

If you've heard the podcast, you've heard the we-can't-stop-giggling-at-ourselves version of our attempt to celebrate with dinner and grocery shopping, but here are some pictures to accompany the stories!

First, of course, the official monthiversary photo:

We went to dinner at Half Moon, which is a local restaurant with fantastic food. (Fun fact: Ryan's sister used to be a server there!)

We had a card for a free appetizer. We normally don't get appetizers because, well, calories AND frugalities, but this was a special occasion. So we went straight for probably the most carbish thing they had. FRIED MACARONI AND CHEESE BALLS. Oh my goodness. Stop it right now. They were so good. (A bit of a kick if you ever go there and try them...just warnin' ya. But SO good.)

I tried to go MUCH healthier for dinner. This is actually a HALF salad, if you can believe that. And I only ate about 1/3 of it. I was full of macaroni. But it served me well the next two meals!

Ryan kept on his carb kick with fried fish, and he proudly ate the whole thing.

Oh I guess he didn't eat the WHOLE thing. I ate the pickles. :)

We went grocery shopping after that, and this is the moment when I realized I won the "guess the weight of the zucchini x7" game.

So there you have it! Milestones all around. :) And we are grateful.

Deuce Came Back!

If you saw the Shuffle yesterday, you know that Mr. Deuce came back to live with us for another week, and we are sorely missing him now. I felt so bad for him, because he's a Ryan's boy through and through, and in a rare twist, Ryan was hardly home last week, so Deuce didn't get to see much of him. I tried to be a viable substitute, but he couldn't be fooled. (One night, I went into our bedroom to sit with him, because he was curled up on his little bed looking all forlorn, and he got up and LEFT THE ROOM!! Subtle, Deuce. Subtle.)

But even if it wasn't ideal for the poor boy, we hope he had a good week. I know I was sure grateful that it wasn't all Polar Vortexy. Made for much more pleasant walks!

He may be Ryan's boy, but he will take a neck scratch from a.n.y.o.n.e.

I had saved what was left of Moosey, which was the toy we gave him on his last visit. Moosey was pretty much down to just being a stuffed head with a very deflated body. I hoped it would comfort hi in Ryan's absence.

A rare moment of affection. :) In other news, Ryan changed the screen protector on my phone so my pictures are no longer gently frosted in white all around.

Thoughts on taxes, round one. Yeah, I'm with you there, Deuce.

By the second night of taxes, he was a little more demonstrative about his thoughts.

Family selfies with a dog are challenging.

I call this one "hope."

It was a no. Also, yes, we turn into the Barones when the dog is over.

I call this one "happiness."

I'm sure he's happy to be back at home where he can run and roll around in the yard at his own leisure, but we sure miss him.

The Shafferland Shuffle

One week. One week until the time change. Yeah, I still haven't adjusted to those. ;) But I still have a week left, so until then...here's what we've been up to!

* I felt pretty crummy last Sunday. Sometimes it's hard for us to tell (when we don't feel well) if we have actual germs or if we are just exhausted from our life. In case it was germs, we came home from church a little early. I stayed on the couch the rest of the day. That afternoon, Ryan's cousin dropped off Deuce so we could keep him for the week. Braeya froze up solid when she saw him, and she so cracked me up, holding that statue pose for the longest time.

* Deuce was so sad that Ryan had to go to work on Monday, so I pulled out the mostly mutilated Moosey (his toy from last time) for him to continue to dissect, and that seemed to cheer him up. I was so busy all day Monday, cooking and cleaning and doing all my post-speaking chores. Ryan went to his mom's house that night to take care of her, but I stayed home with Deuce. (Photo courtesy of the photos Ryan and I send to each other when we're apart so we don't feel so lonely. Yeah, we're one of those.)

* I spent most of the week in hard-core writing, and that started on Tuesday. I was so grateful for NO writer's block and much inspiration. Deuce was pretty bored by writing, but nowhere near as bored as he was about to be by a whole evening of tax preparation! (Did he pick a winner of a week to come here or what?) I think the best part of the day was when Ryan found out Winter Storm had actually begun. We did a whole photo shoot to commemorate!

* We didn't get the taxes done on Tuesday, so we extended the party to Wednesday, and this time we welcomed our nephew to be part of the fun! (He may never want to come back.) He's such a good baby. I hadn't seen him in over a month, so it was fun to hang out with him for an evening. Deuce LOVED him. Wanted to do nothing but kiss his face all over, so we had to rescue the poor baby!

* I was still writing on Thursday, and I lined up a whole collection of coffee mugs to be my inspiration while I worked on one of the sessions. (I sent the picture to Ryan, and he asked if I was having a heavy drinking problem. Uhhhh no.) I had a meeting at church that evening, and I got this great new binder! (I am so easily won over by pretty binders.) Ryan spent the evening taking care of his mom, and Deuce and I sure missed him! 

* Ryan and I were exhausted by Friday, so I asked him if we could just spend the whole night at home on Mo, watching TV and being bums. He didn't fight me too hard on that. (I did work out right before that, and it was one of the most painful hours of my life. Not like body-painful, but painful in that I couldn't get my head in the game!) We did take a break from our couch party to go visit Phoebe and let her out. I think she was happy to see me!

* Yesterday was our 75th monthiversary, and Ryan celebrated by working all day. :) We did have a special date last night, though. Dinner out and a little shopping after. Some funny stories await you from that adventure! When we got home, Deuce practically knocked Ryan over at the door, curled right up with him on the couch, and napped until his people came to get him later that night.

Our main goal for next week is to see one another more! (Surely it shouldn't be too hard, given the chaos of this week!)

The Saturday Six

One.

Last Saturday was a blessing-filled day, and one of the extra special moments for me was this very sweet post our friend Odie wrote! You may or may not remember that last August, Ryan and I drove over to Ohio to surprise her at her housewarming party. It was the first time we'd ever met her in real life after many years of blog friendship, and in the post, she tells the story from her perspective! Loved it! Thanks, Odie!

Two.

Does birth order fascinate you? It fascinates me! :) I found this article by longtime birth order expert Dr. Kevin Leman, and yep, there I am! (I'm actually a weirdo on this spectrum, because even though I'm the baby of the family, I have no baby child characteristics. I fall squarely into the only child description, because that's how my upbringing looked. My sisters had moved out pretty much by the time I have memories, so I was raised as an only child.) How about you? Did you find yourself on the list?

Three.

This is just cool. What a great principal!

Four.

You know the theme of being still is dear to my heart. Maybe today you're struggling to be still. Maybe these words are for you. (Beautifully written by Lysa TerKeurst.)

Five.

Lent begins soon, and whether or not you participate with a fast, I think you'll find this article by Barbara Rainey well worth the read. Much to think about! I know I'm convicted!

Six.

I love fiction, but I try to mix up the types of fiction I read so I don't get stuck in a rut. This week I read a new-to-me author and a different sort of fiction, and I had a great time with this story.

Grace Hitchcock is a new name for me, but I have to love the fact that she writes about crime and her last name is Hitchcock! :) This book is the first in a series called True Colors, and it's titled The White City. 

The book is set back in 1893 around the Chicago World's Fair. I've never read much about the World's Fair, so this was new and fascinating for me. After I read the whole book, I did a little research and learned that the majority of the framework of this story is quite factual. I recognized many of the names of the characters when reading about the real H. H. Holmes. (Yes, I know many of you history buffs are probably rolling your eyes, because you already know about him, but he was new to me!) Learning about history through fiction is one of my favorite things, so I particularly loved this!

Hitchcock's story introduces us to young Winnifred Wylde, the daughter of an Chicago police inspector. Winnifred's mother has died, and her aunt has appointed herself the task of finding Winnifred an acceptable suitor to marry her before she becomes an "old maid" - at twenty. But Winnifred would far prefer to bury her nose in any of Percival Valentine's romance novels, and in her reading breaks, she loves a good real-life mystery. Unfortunately, her father doesn't take her amateur sleuthing seriously and he absolutely forbids her to entertain any thought of courting a lawman.

While on an outing (a hideous one at that) at the World's Fair - orchestrated by her aunt - Winnifred witnesses a man kidnapping a young woman at gunpoint and rushes to tell her father. He insists her eyes surely deceived her, but with reports of mysterious disappearances taking place around the city, he assigns a new detective to follow her and keep her safe. Winnifred spots him immediately and asks him to help her investigate the kidnapping - without her father knowing.

The book is a beautiful blend of life in the late 1800s, the suspense of mystery, a little danger, and a little fun. (And after reading, I'm OH so glad I do not have to wear a corset!) It was fascinating to me to learn about the rules of high society, the setting of the World's Fair, and the methods of investigation back then, and I got completely caught up in the storyline.

I'm excited to have uncovered a new author, and I'm excited that the next book, The Gray Chamber, will release next January. I'll be sure to read it!

* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. *

Fun for Friday

Hello, March! It is lovely to see you. I would like to say, if I could, that I've looked at the weather forecast for the next few days, and you seem to have forgotten to bring SPRING with you. Please remedy this. I am actually begging.

We've had quite the week here in Shafferland. I've barely seen Ryan, which is extremely unusual for the two of us. Of all the weeks for Deuce to be here! Ryan is his favorite, and he's not been here for Deuce to stalk. In addition to that, I've been in heavy writing mode for a retreat I'm speaking at in a few weeks, and while the writing has gone very well, it has left me completely exhausted. Hard core writing days are like labor and delivery. The end result is well-worth the time and effort, but it's exhausting in the process.

So I was really excited to see Natasha participate in the What's Up Wednesday blog prompt this week, and I'm showing up a fashionable two days late to turn the prompt into a Fun for Friday. :)

What we're eating this week: We've had some fun new foods this week! (Dashing Dish, of course.) Turkey Quinoa Soup, Low Carb Cheddar and Zucchini Herb Biscuits, Chicken in Lemon Cream Sauce, Roasted Parmesan Summer Squash Chips (that's a freebie recipe!) and Mini Cheddar BBQ Meat Loaves so far! All have been declared keepers!

What I'm reminiscing about: As I mentioned, I'm in writing mode, and if you've ever heard me speak, you know I pepper my talks with a healthy dose of illustrations from my life. So I've been looking back over all the years of my life that I can remember, pulling ideas to help demonstrate my points. And also...there's this gem from circa a long time ago:

What I'm loving: I have to also nod to writing here. I haven't had hard core writing days in a long, long time, because I haven't had time. This is feeding my soul so very much.

What we've been up to: Passing like ships in the night. Workouts, watching Deuce, watching Ryan's mom, meetings, weird work schedules, taxes, childcare...all the busyness and none of the together time. Next week is a new week, right?

What I'm dreading: I have a dentist appointment soon. Need I say more?

What I'm working on: Trying to have a really good attitude. I'll tell you what: when I do have hard core writing days for ministry work, Satan increases his jerkiness. I know this and expect it, but it's been a rough one. This week my heart hasn't particularly longed to share (Ryan, food, sleep, etc.), I don't love winter anymore, and it's been a grand exercise in showing Jesus' love when I'd rather be grumpy.

What I'm excited about: 75 months of marriage TOMORROW! I have tried to reserve Ryan for a couple of hours so we can celebrate what feels to me like a pretty stinkin' huge milestone. And also, with all the prep I've been doing for this upcoming retreat, I have to tell you I'm so excited for that, too. It's a group I spoke to last year, so I'm excited to see the ladies again. But the message God has given me feels powerful and sacred and encouraging. I can't wait to share it!

What I'm watching/reading: I'm reading The White City by Grace Hitchcock. (LOVING THAT.) I'm also still reading through the book of Matthew for my devotions (and Charles Spurgeon's commentary on Matthew as bonus material). I've watched a lot of HGTV and Family Feud in the background this week. I did sit to full-attention-watch Counting On, Bringing Up Bates, Manifest, and New Amsterdam.

What I'm listening to: I've been kind of obsessed with piano music lately, so I've pulled up a lot of it on YouTube while I get ready. Anthony Burger, Kim Collingsworth, Erin Paine...

What I'm wearing: Dog and cat hair, mostly. LOL!! Under that? Yoga pants and t-shirts. Tis the week of writing and working out. Yesterday I did put on a real t-shirt and jeans and makeup. It was kind of revolutionary.

What I'm doing this weekend: Celebrating 75 months of marriage, trying to see more of Ryan, watching Deuce, reading, and maybe, if I'm lucky, some scrapbooking! AND A NAP!!! Bring me a nap!!!

What I'm looking forward to next month: Spring. (PLEASE.) The women's retreat where I'll be speaking. Spring.

What else is new? Nothing. New would be fantastic!

Bonus question: What is your favorite board game to play with your kids? Well, I don't have kids, so that makes it tough. I'm also pretty terrible at games. I think the most recent one I played with kids who came to visit was Hi Ho Cherry-O. I lost. Yes. The preschool game. I lost that game TO a preschooler.

What I Learned in February

How is it that January flew, and February crawled, even though it's a shorter month? How?? You would think that for as long as the month felt, I would have learned a lot more than I did. Maybe my brain was just too overwhelmed to take in more information; I'm not sure. But whether or not this is of lasting significance, here's what I learned this month!

1. Kleinfeld keeps extra dresses in the ceiling. 

Earlier this month, I found a Say Yes to the Dress marathon on TV and watched it until the commercials for Dr. Pimple Popper made me so sick to my stomach that I had to turn it off. But Ryan asked me a question about the show that sent me Googling...and although I didn't find the answer I was looking for, I did find this fascinating list of behind-the-scenes info about the show. They say the store is much smaller than you'd think, and the stockroom is so packed, they have to store some of the dresses on a mobile rack in the ceiling. It kind of reminded me of the doors in Monsters Inc.

2. Potholes can pop up in a big way in no time at all.

I mentioned this in a Shuffle post earlier this month, but we went to Ryan's mom's house one evening and our street was fine. By the time we came home a few hours later, the road was completely torn up for several feet. How did that even happen??

3. People pay attention to where you sit in church!

Yes, I'm a creature of habit, but even more than that, I'm a girl who needs structure in life. That spills over into seating, I'm afraid. Whenever I go to Bible studies or meetings or church or any other organized event like that, I like (and somewhat need) to sit in the same place. We've had our seat in church for a while, but we began to notice that occasionally another family liked to sit there, and it seemed to be as important to them as it was to me. We didn't want to create a stumbling block for them by taking their seat, so we found a new one. You would not believe the number of people who commented on the fact that we were in a different seat! It made me giggle!

4. Some carts are designed to physically not leave the store.

During our belated Valentine's Day date, Ryan and I shopped in a variety of stores down in Indianapolis. One of the stores had carts for your shopping pleasure, but we learned (at the expense of the guy in front of us) as we were leaving that their carts have wheels that actually lock up when they are pushed outside the store. That's one way to keep them out of the parking lot! We had never heard of such a thing. Have you?

5. Online writing conferences are the way to go (for me). 

I've been to a few traditional writing conferences in my day, and not too long ago, one of my friends asked if I planned to attend one this year. I decided against it, partly because of the cost involved (both financially and in time away from home) and partly because I wasn't sure if it was wise to commit to one with all we have going on with Ryan's mom. Then I learned about the Flourish Writing Conference, which is a free online conference (available for just a few more days if you're interested!), and I signed up. This may have been the most perfect conference for me in this season of my life. The conference is 6 days long, with a total of 25 sessions spread over those days. The whole thing was free for the space of a month (with an option to buy a lifetime pass if you want), and I could watch the sessions at my leisure. I could watch crazy late at night, super early in the morning, or even while I had something else going on. I didn't have to pay travel expenses, I didn't have to feel like I was abandoning my other work, and I learned so much. I'm so very grateful for the chance to learn right from my own couch.

6. You can live (permanently) on a cruise ship.

Did you know this? I sure didn't! You can live full time in a studio, one, two or three bedroom apartment on a ship that sails all around the world. The cost of the residences do not seem to be published. I'll go ahead and guess I can't afford it. ;) But a girl can dream, right?

7. Ryan's wish came true.

If you heard the podcast, you know he was hoping (with crossed fingers AND toes) that he would get to know the joy of his very own winter storm. Per The Weather Channel, his dream has come true. And we documented it.



PS - I haven't linked up with Emily in forever, since she doesn't do these monthly anymore, but she was the one who got me started on this monthly post, so I linked up today!

How We're Trying to Stay Healthy

I hesitate to even write this post, because as sure as I do, one of us will get sick, right? Ugh!

But we have both noticed (and dared to comment) that we've not struggled with sickness this year like we normally do. To be fair, we are actually pretty healthy people, and we are grateful for that. I read on Facebook about all these friends of mine who struggle with all kinds of respiratory things and ear infections and asthma flare-ups (and on and on the list goes) and we have historically not had all those things. We're also both pretty terrible patients, so maybe its just a big old blessing that we don't have to subject each other and all those around us to the sick versions of ourselves.

Because of our insane schedule as of late, we have definitely both had a lot of days when we've been exhausted almost to the point of feeling sick. And we've spent a lot of time in hospitals (visiting and working). They're not known for being germ-free, you know. So I have tried to figure out what we've done right or differently this year that has helped keep us well when there are so very many things working against us in life as a whole. Here are the things I came up with. They're in no particular order.

1. We're changing the sheets more often.
This was actually Ryan's observation. I'll make a confession: I used to be pretty terrible about changing our sheets. We tend to make the bed very first thing when we get up in the morning, and then I'd forget to unmake it and wash the sheets. Embarrassing but true fact about my housekeeping. Sigh. But this year, with the new cleaning schedule I'm observing, I wash the sheets once a week. Ryan is convinced that this one thing has made the biggest difference in our wellness this year. Maybe he's right. Maybe he's not. But it surely can't hurt, right?

2. We diffuse pretty much every day.
We've been using essential oils for about four years now, I think, but I've historically not been consistent about running the diffuser. I would run it like mad if one of us felt sick, and I would run it if the house smelled funny, but I didn't run it every single day. This year (with the exception of when we've had dogs around) I've run it almost every day. (I know some oils shouldn't be used around dogs, so just to make sure we don't make any of them sick, I just don't diffuse when they're here.) I have used all kinds of blends, but I really do think it's helped.

3. We've been using immunity blend rollers.
Also at the start of the year, I looked up a recipe for an immunity blend roller and put one together. Though I will confess that we should use it more diligently than we do, I do think it has helped. I put it on about every half hour when we were spending our days at the hospital.

4. Hand sanitizer!
Ryan uses a hand sanitizer at work a million times a day, because that's just what they're trained to do. I confess I'm not a fan of the hospital grade sanitizers, but I have made myself use it regularly when I'm there to visit or work out. (ESPECIALLY working out. I don't know who held onto the treadmill before I did!) But we use the Young Living Thieves hand sanitizer at home, and we have tried to use it more than ever. Obviously we wash our hands a lot too, but having hand sanitizer on the run is helping, I think.

5. We're doing better at cleaning the house.
This probably should have gone right after #1, and I really have no idea if it's helping a lot or just a little, but like the sheet theory, I think it can't be hurting! I have a schedule that keeps me cleaning one thing a day, so our bathrooms, floors and general surfaces are getting a lot more attention than they used to. The one thing I need to do even more? Doorknobs. Kind of like the sheets - I always forget about them!

6. Bundle up!
We're trying to do a good job of making sure we are consistent in wearing hats, scarves (okay that's just me), and gloves every time we go out in the cold. Ryan is good about wearing a hat, because he doesn't have hair to keep him warm, but I haven't always been great about it. But I'm determining this year to ALWAYS take time to bundle up, even if it takes forever. (Try telling Deuce about the importance of that when he's ready to go outside!)

7. Get ahead of it at the first twinge.
Ryan learned kind of by accident last year that if he starts to feel a cold coming on and he immediately starts regular doses of Mucinex, it kills the cold before it starts. We keep it on hand so if we start to feel a little twinge of something coming on, we can immediately start trying to counteract it. We're both cheap and hate the idea of "wasting" it, since it's not the most inexpensive medicine on the planet. But it's cheaper to take a couple of doses and ward it off than it is to need two (or more) bottles (each) during a cold!

8. REST!!!
Like I said at the beginning, the physical and emotional toll of this season has worn us down faster than anything else. We are trying to be very diligent to allow ourselves rest, because we really do need it. This past Sunday, I started feeling really achy and sick at church. I had no idea if it was an actual sickness or just being run down, but I didn't want to mess around with it. Ryan brought me right home and I spent the rest of the day on the couch. I think I took three naps. We can't always rest to the fullest extent when we wish we could, but we try to give ourselves the biggest graces we can when time allows.

9. We try to eat well and work out.
The working out part doesn't happen as much as we wish it could right now, but we get to the gym every single chance we get, and we hope that exercising and clean eating will help keep our bodies happier! (And we also think the occasional Blizzard could only boost it, right?)

Could we do more to help ourselves? I'm sure we could. We don't have a vitamin routine, and like I mentioned earlier, I could probably do a little more in terms of sanitizing door handles, phones, laptops, etc. But when I think about all the germs we've encountered, I feel like we've done a pretty good job trying to stay ahead of sickness-paloozas!

Do you have any good tips we should add in for staying healthy in this cold and germy time?

92 County Tour: Kosciusko County

Before we tell you about our latest county tour, we pause to bring you a fresh round of podcast stories! Enjoy!

Listen here

Wow. It has been NINE MONTHS since we last toured a county. What in the ever loving world? It's true. Our trip to southern Indiana for our birthdays last May marked our last county tour. And in some ways, the one you're about to read about was very abnormal for us. But it felt good to whip out the chalkboards again and do something normal and Shaffery.

If you're new around here, you're probably very confused. County tours? What? Five years ago, Ryan and I began a project that is apparently going to take us the rest of our natural lives. We intend to visit every single county in the state of Indiana - and there are 92. Our goal is to find fun and unique things to do in each county, and of course: find a coffee shop. We've had such a blast visiting new-to-us places and seeing portions of our state we'd never seen before.

Because I spoke in Warsaw this past Saturday, we decided to officially mark its county off our list, but this one wasn't handled in a normal way at all.

First of all, I should tell you the name of the county: Kosciusko. Try saying that three times fast. Or spelling it fast.

I absolutely thought this county's name was probably Native American, because many counties in Indiana are tied to them in some way. But I was wrong! I learned (Wikipedia, you know) that it was named after a Polish general, Tadeusz Kosciuzko, who served in the Revolutionary War and then returned to Poland. And the county seat, Warsaw, is named after the capital of Poland. Something fun and different for state history!

It's actually one of the bigger counties in the state in terms of land, but even though it doesn't have a huge number of cities, there's much to do in this county. You know why? LAKES! Several of the most popular lakes in the northern portion of the state are located in Kosciusko County - including our beloved Lake Webster, where Ryan's family has a cottage.

That's actually what made it kind of tricky for us to visit. We've gone to North Webster, where Lake Webster is located, every single summer since we've been married. So it seemed silly to spend part of our day there, when we already have so many adventures and memories documented. And there are a couple of other areas we plan to visit in the county later this summer when it's...you know...NICE outside. So our time on the "official" documentation was spent in one little part of a great big county with lots to see.

But let me point you back to some of the fun we've already had at our lake! Here's a peek at our first summer visit to the lake. It was not a pretty weekend to be there, but we made the best of it, and Ryan got to barefoot on the lake, which made him so happy. And here's a year where the weather was actually nice enough to see sunsets! That same year, we visited Dixie Days, the town's claim-to-fame festival, and we also went to Dan's Pies, which was amazing. (Dan was the cook at the church camp Ryan and I went to growing up. He's retired from camp cooking and opened his own pie shop. I believe it's only open in the summer, but it's worth every penny. That was also the year we first encountered The River Coffee Shop, which quickly became home to us. We still love that place so much. And before we move on, here's another fun day with family, shopping, and walking around town, and here's the day we met our blog friends, Dave and Natasha and took them around North Webster!

As you can see, we have much love for and many traditions in North Webster. (And one day I will ride the Dixie!)

But our official county tour day began right before we spoke at the Warsaw First Baptist Church. Before we went there, we stopped by a franchise of one of our favorite Indiana donut spots: Rise n Roll!

We visited the flagship store (ha!) five years ago when we went to LaGrange County. This is an Amish-originated bakery, and my parents (who go to Amish country a lot) bring us treats from there nearly every time we go. It seemed wrong to NOT go for ourselves when in the area. It was a cute little store inside! They even had these adorable bikes as a nod to the Amish background.

Around here, the donuts are known as Amish crack, and once you have one, you understand why. So. Addictive. Ryan and I each got one to eat for our breakfast there in the store, and then we bought some to bring home to one of our friends who was having a birthday. (Okay, okay, we also got a box for ourselves.)

I think he liked it.

After we left the donut shop, we went to the church to speak and have brunch, and then we headed over to the little village of Winona Lake.

Winona Lake is quite possibly one of the cutest places in the state of Indiana. It's just adorable. I actually told Ryan that if we didn't live where we did, I would probably want to live in Kosciusko County, and Winona Lake specifically.

Here.

That's an old hotel converted into condos. They have huge ones and little studio ones. I mean, not that I've looked online to see them or anything. SO CUTE.

I'd first gone to Winona Lake back in 2008, with my friend Marie! That was a much prettier day than what we had, but we still had fun.

First, we took our official county photo. :)

Then we took a gander at all the little stores. They're set up in cute little houses along a canal, and they're as cute as they can be.

We also took a walk along part of the river. It was frozen over, but still OH so pretty.

Ryan was pretty hungry, because he hadn't been able to eat much at the brunch. He had helped the men serve the food and then he had to jump in and run my Power Point. So we went to a restaurant/café I'd picked out.

It's called the Light Rail Village Café, and it was REALLY good. Ryan had a brisket sandwich and I had a half salad. We shared a dessert and fresh brew. We loved the food and the atmosphere!

Winona Lake is also a college town; Grace College is located there. So there were a bunch of college students with textbooks and laptops hanging out in the main space of this café. Happily, they had made the porch dining area somewhat winterized, so we were able to sit out there and enjoy ourselves!

Fun fact (which you may have already heard about if you've listened to the podcast: I came to this same building for lunch with Marie the day she and I hung out at the lake. It was a different restaurant then, but we sat on the same porch, and I had my picture taken that day too! Two different days, two different restaurants, and in some ways, two very different Bekahs!

After we ate and did a little more walking around, we hopped back in the car to drive through the Grace campus. (Would have been great to walk, but the temp was dropping quickly!)

We had a fun day and were glad to have an official tour under our belts again. We'll look forward to the third segment of this county this summer!

And just for funsies, here's a peek at all our tour photos so far! 27 down, 65 to go! (I was very wrong on that count in the podcast.)

PS - To see all the rest of the county tours, take a look at the bottom of this page!