Fletcher's First Flight!

One of the huge blessings of our new job is that we always have the same days off together! That wasn't always the case in our previous work. And, since we live and work in the same building, "home" maintenance is part of our work, so on our days off, we don't have to mess with the yard or anything else. 

Fort Wayne is the land of rivers, so we thought it would be really fun to get a kayak and start kayaking on some of our days off. Alas, as you may have noticed, all outdoor toys are either outrageously expensive right now, or they're out of stock altogether. I've heard that trampolines, pools, and playsets are impossible to find, and bikes are the same! Kayaks are hard to find - and they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of our price range, especially if you want a tandem kayak, which we did. Plus, we don't really have a place to store a kayak here. 

So we were super excited when Ryan found an inflatable tandem kayak that was much more affordable - and it came with paddles. We've gotten some strange looks when we've told people about our inflatable kayak, but if you think about it - whitewater rafts are inflatable! The material for our kayak is really similar to those. It's not like a beach ball. 

It took us a while to find life jackets, which are also apparently a hot commodity, but we finally found some fishing jackets. I loved them, because they had pockets EVERYWHERE!!!

So last week, we made a plan to go on our first voyage with our new kayak - and we named him Fletcher, by the way.

Ryan got him all set up before we left home:

And then it was time to load up the truck and head to the boat launch!

We had a GORGEOUS day to set sail for the first time:

We were out on the water for about two hours and had the best time.

Ryan said I did well. (I'm not known for arm strength, but I like to think I helped row a little of my own weight!)

I can't wait to explore in the weeks we have left before it gets too cold. I think some of these waterways are going to be gorgeous once the leaves start to turn! 

What's Up at WillowBridge?

I told you last month that on the second Wednesday of the month, I would do a What's Up at WillowBridge post, so you could keep track of life here in our new job! Can you believe it's already the second Wednesday of September?? So here I am with an update!

What's Happening Around WillowBridge?

* Since the last post, we had the incredible blessing of the United Way team coming to do a work day here. That was so helpful!! We are grateful for the facelift it gave the building and grounds.

* We also have a Facebook page now! We haven't figured out a specific rhythm with posting yet, since it's all so new, but we do have the page, and we'll be adding to it regularly. If you're on Facebook and want to follow along that way, please feel free!

* Justine (who is part of our support couple) and I have been reading through the handbook for the building, seeing if there are ways we can clarify things or add to it so it's more complete. As we bring in new tenants in the coming months, we want to make sure it's the most up-to-date it can be! It's also been really helpful for me to learn more about the way things work as I read through the handbook.

* We've tried to spend a lot of time in conversation with our tenants, getting to know them better and helping them work toward the goals they've set for themselves. We've had some great conversations along the way and hope we've been able to plant some long-lasting seeds in their hearts. We're also learning that they're very FUNNY! We try to keep track of the hilarious things they say, because they are too good to forget.

* We had the privilege of seeing one of our tenants get baptized in the last month, and we have another one getting baptized soon. We've also enjoyed having some great conversations about faith with the tenants!

* One of our tenants made dinner for the team one night, and it was really delicious! It was a great way for her to hone her planning and cooking skills, and we appreciated her including us in her guest list!

* We hosted a community night (dinner and a movie) and co-hosted another community night (okay, DAY) with Tim and Justine. That second one was really fun; we went on a photo scavenger hunt around Grabill. I think they had fun, and I know I did!

* We've started to figure out a rhythm with office work/building work/transportation/meetings, etc. We're starting to get a little faster at some of the tasks, and we're beginning to understand better how to make the days flow smoothly. It's not perfect (and may never be) but it's getting better!

* We LOVE working with our support couple and are sad on the days when they're off and it's just us here. We don't begrudge them their days off, but we really enjoy working alongside them and look forward to the days when that happens! We've gotten a lot more comfortable in our teamwork in the last month, and that's been really wonderful.

How can you pray?

* We are working to bring a few more tenants into the building and are praying for God to bring the RIGHT ones to us. We are eager to help these young adults find their way into independence and know that God knows who needs to be here. We are praying for wisdom for all involved as we work to increase the number of people who live here!

* We would also love for you to pray for wisdom and direction for us as we seek to figure out how to best help them grow in Him. We have a lot of brainstorms running around right now about how to guide them in a way that fosters a hunger and thirst to study and learn on their own!

* We are praying for God to give us creative ideas across the board for connecting with our tenants and preparing them for independent life. We want to guide in such a way that they remember what they learn and feel confident and equipped for life!


Thanks for reading along!! :) Hope this helps you understand what's up at WillowBridge!

Fall Scents...

First up this morning, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom! :) We're looking forward to seeing her for a little bit today to sing wish her a happy birthday in person!

Next up...in a couple of days, there's a Fall Favorites link-up starting, and I decided to jump in - at least for some of them, including this one.

The first week is about fall scents, and when I hear that term, my mind always goes to candles. I know that fall scents can go a variety of directions, including bonfires and pumpkin spice lattes, but for me, fall scents = candles. I have to say I always read more about people burning candles in fall than any other season - including Christmas!

I've always enjoyed candles, and in my single years, I relied on them heavily not just for scent, but for little bursts of heat in my cold, cold living room. Having said that, I've used them less frequently in recent months, because I've read more about the toxins used in so many, and we're doing what we can to try to eliminate toxins from our home. (We're not complete about it, but we're trying to be diligent.) We're also trying to lead by example in not burning candles in our current apartment, so that means...more essential oil diffusing for us!

In order to help myself switch up the diffuser blends in the coming weeks, I thought I would look up some that lend themselves to fall feelings, and I'd share them here with you! I have what I would consider a decent collection of essential oils, but I certainly don't own everything, so I'm going to try to pick blends that contain ones from my little collection. (I like to think I own mostly common choices, so maybe if I have them, you have them too!)

Pumpkin Pie
5 Drops Cinnamon
1 Drop Clove
1 Drop Nutmeg
(I confess I would probably not own clove and nutmeg, but I purchased them a couple of years ago solely to create more fall scents.)

Fall Leaves
6 Drops Orange
1 Drop Patchouli
1 Drop Ginger
(I can't remember now why I bought the patchouli oil - but I do own it! I bought the ginger before our cruise to help with motion sickness.)

Orange Spice
5 Drops Orange
1 Drop Cinnamon
1 Drop Clove
1 Drop Nutmeg

Autumn Spice
4 Drops Orange
3 Drops Ginger
3 Drops Cinnamon

Hay Ride
1 Drop Clove
4 Drops Lemon
2 Drops Frankincense

Cozy Flannel
5 Drops Bergamot
4 Drops Orange
3 Drops Stress Away
(Stress Away is a Young Living oil that is one of my favorite scents. Now that I buy the bulk of my oils from Selah Oils, I use their comparable version called Sigh.)

Snickerdoodle
4 Drops Stress Away
3 Drops Cinnamon Bark
2 Drops Nutmeg

Fall Sunrise
3 Drops Rosemary
2 Drops Ginger
2 Drops Orange
1 Drop Eucalyptus
1 Drop Cinnamon Bark
1 Drop Clove

Cozy Blanket
3 Drops Frankincense
2 Drops Lavender
2 Drops Nutmeg

Staying Well
3 Drops Thieves
3 Drops Frankincense
2 Drops Orange
(Thieves is a Young Living Oil...the Selah alternative is called Armor.)

So these are going to be some of the fall scents in our home! How about you? Favorite fall scents?

Shafferland 3.0: The Entry and Coffee Nook

I must tell you ahead of time that today does not feature my finest photography. I had a super bright day and tried to take them on my phone rather than my camera - and the whole thing just didn't turn out great. But you'll still get to see our little spaces!

Today I wanted to show you our entry area and our little coffee nook!

One thing we don't have in our apartment is a private porch area, but we do have a foyer, so I use it as our porch for decorating purposes! (And I don't have to worry about stuff fading and getting weathered - so that's a win!)

This little coffee table was one we'd just purchased for our front porch in Kokomo, and it serves perfectly as a landing spot for my decorations. We already owned all these little items - and that "Hey Friends" sign has a fall sign on the back, so it's a two for the price of one special! I'll have to show you this space again soon, because I'm about to decorate it for fall.

This is the private entrance to our apartment, so I decided to add a wreath. It's about all I could do to spruce up an industrial door! :) And we have our own little mailbox and everything! It's so cute. Even has Braeya's name on it.

In photography-speak, this is one of the worst pictures EVER, but that's okay! This is just inside our door, and I had to show you our shoe tray and coat rack! We don't like to wear our outside shoes in the house, because we walk through a lot of horse shrapnel in the streets! No need to bring that inside! :) So we have a little tray by the door to take off our outside shoes when we first come in. Then we can move them to their permanent locations. I want to fill the tray with river rock, eventually, just to make it look a little nicer. That little coat rack was FREE from Kohl's! (Hello, Kohl's cash and a sale!) It's like a coat tree that takes up no floor space, and it's perfect. Right now, since it's not coat season, we use it for mask storage. We have a coat closet for our coats, but there isn't much room for guests' coats, so they can hang theirs here!

The little room inside the entry was supposed to be a dining room, but we elected to use it as a coffee nook and entry area instead. This cedar chest was my Grandma's, and we thought it would fit well here. The bowl on the left was our foot washing bowl from our wedding, and the pitcher next to it is one I got at a retreat I spoke at a year or two ago. The group photo in the middle was a gift from Phoebe's people. It's the first small group we ever led in Kokomo, and they added the phrase "Love God, Love Others" to it. We love it! The little cross was a gift from the people who bought our Kokomo house, and the framed print on the right is one we used to have in our office, but we put it here instead. It's a Lindsay Letters piece that says "May our lives together be a sign of love to this sinful and broken world." All these pieces together remind us of our calling to serve in ministry.

Above it we have a photo with Micah 6:8 on it and a couple of magnet boards to hang notes and cards from friends!

This is also in the entry area - and Braeya wanted to be in the picture, too! This table belonged to my other grandma, and we think it fits perfectly here. It's a cozy little entry area!

We have a picture of our last small group - and we pray for them every time we see it! We also have a picture from our honeymoon, a little bottle of sand from our wedding spot, and a picture from last year's photo shoot!

This bookcase used to be in our bedroom, but we decided to use it as a coffee cup and cookbook holder here. (We didn't want to hang all the open shelving here that we had in Kokomo.) And it sits next to our little coffee nook!

It's the perfect little spot, and we love it. :)

The Shafferland Shuffle

It's been a good week here in Shafferland! We are thankful for that and wanted to give you a peek at the fun we had!

* Last Sunday morning, we visited another church service and really enjoyed it. It was an early service, so when we got home, Ryan made breakfast, and we enjoyed our day while being on duty. There was a really beautiful sunset that night, so we enjoyed it while we took a walk!

* Remember how I loved getting the mail when we lived in Kokomo? (I was kind of ridiculous about it.) That hasn't changed. I just have to walk farther for it now! LOL!! And we were rewarded on Monday with mail for US! I made taco stuffed mini peppers for dinner that night, and after we were done with all our work (which was really late that night) we went for a nighttime walk. Grabill is just as pretty after dark as it is in the daytime!

* Our sidewalk had some grease stains on it, so Ryan worked really hard on Tuesday trying to get those to go away. Tuesday actually wasn't my finest day. We walked into the community room to find a meeting about to start - that we had somehow both failed to remember - and then we had to do online first aid training after that. The training was really, really long, and partway through it, my computer froze up and I had to start completely over!! I was not entirely thrilled about that. That night, one of our tenants made dinner for the whole building! She did a nice job and it tasted delicious.

* This week our weekend fell in the middle of the week AND it lasted three whole days! And they were delightful. Wednesday was the first day, and we had a blast. I told you a bit about it already because it was also our monthiversary! We explored the little shops in Grabill, had lunch at Panera, found a park to walk (and it had a sunflower field!!)  and capped off the day with ice cream at a local spot in the next town over. It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

* Thursday was a much busier day. Ryan began the day by joining a men's Bible study at a coffee shop. I stayed home and did laundry, my workout, and a bunch of other chores. After Ryan's Bible study was done, he tried out the world of plasma donation for the first time. It was a long appointment! He got home JUST in time for us to go grocery shopping, and then we went to dinner at the home of some of our new co-workers. Our friends Mark and Lynnette also came to town to visit their family, so we got to see them after dinner!

* Friday was the last day of our weekend, and it was a fun day, too! We started out with a kayaking trip! (More on this later.) Fort Wayne has three rivers, so kayaking life can be a thing now! We took it easy in the afternoon and then met Mark and Lynnette for dinner - and then we ended the day with an impromptu date/walk back at the same trail and sunflower farm we found earlier in the week. Sunset with sunflowers is not a shabby way to end the day.

* And then yesterday we went back to work, starting with a community day for our building! I'll have to tell you more about it later, but it was a photo scavenger hunt that went all around our little town. (It was a town-sponsored hunt, not a Pinterest idea - although that would be fun, too!) In the afternoon, we went to a birthday party for Mark and Lynnette's little girl! It's so fun that it happened right up here by us and we could actually go! A great end to a great week!

The Saturday Six

One.

This past week brought us into a new month, which means we have a new one-second-per-day video to share!

Two.

I found a really cool blog post about soft fall decorating in a house - and I particularly loved her use of wheat! She did more of that than anyone I've ever seen, and I really enjoyed how it looked. I am attempting to link to it here, but it doesn't seem to want to let me link to the actual post - just the blog. So if the fall home tour is not the top post when you arrive, scroll to that.

Three.

I don't think I shared this exact link before, but if I did, just pat me on the head and move along. It has links to a bunch of virtual tours all around the world! Whether you can't go somewhere right now because of travel limitations, or some of these places are just beyond where you ever would feel comfortable traveling, take a look! Next best thing, right?

Four. 

Working on fall photo ideas? Here are some poses for couples - if you need suggestions!

Five.

I made Paula Deen's macaroni and cheese recipe this week to take to a dinner. Delightfully creamy - and I did the slow cooker version, so it was busy-day-friendly, too!

Six.

And rounding out this week - some ideas for September outfits! This is a tricky month. Is it summer? Is it fall? Is it winter? Is it all those in the same day? (Probably, if you're in Indiana!) I needed some outfit inspiration and found it here! :)

Shafferland 3.0: The Living Room

Can you handle one more tour this week?? How about a peek at our living room? This is the last part of the big open space created by our kitchen/dining room/living room. We love it so much.

Here is a picture of the living room, taken from the little peninsula space in the kitchen. Everything we had fit perfectly into our new living room. (Including Braeya.) This is the same couch we had in Kokomo; we simply reconfigured the sections, and it fit without an inch to spare! We kept the same coffee tables and end tables, too. The tree back there was on our sun porch in Kokomo, but we put it behind the couch for a little bit of ambient lighting. The doorway on the right leads into our laundry room. First time in my whole life I've ever had a whole ROOM for laundry!

And here is the TV across from it. When we were preparing to move, we weren't sure we were going to be able to hang the TV, so we bought the little entertainment center beneath it in case we needed to use it for the TV. We found that we were able to hang the TV, though, so I get to decorate the entertainment center! YAY!!! This part of our living room has our family pictures and a few other keepsake items. And the little electric stove we had on our sun porch has a home over there in the corner of the living room.

Please also note that the plant from Ryan's mom's funeral is still alive!!

The cozy little top of the entertainment center:

(That little hope stone was a gift to Ryan from one of his co-workers at the hospital.)

And here's a closer look at the bottom part of that cabinet. The barn doors on the sides hide some storage.

We have our Surrender Cross hanging front and center - and we need to update our prayers on it!

Our Shaffer family pictures hang over the couch. The "I Still Do" sign was my gift to Ryan on our 5th anniversary and the pallet picture beneath it was his gift to me that same year. The two other pictures are from our photo shoot last fall.

And here's our girl, in her happy place, watching over all the happenings out the window. Whenever she's not napping, this is where she hangs out!

So there you go! A quick spin around the living room in our new home!