January Traditions

It's been five years since we rang in the new year at the emergency room. You might remember it, if you've been reading here for a while. Ryan had some severe pain and they diagnosed him with a kidney stone, which we named Myrtle, and sent him home. And then two days later, we were BACK in the emergency room where they decided they might have been a little hasty...and it was really his gallbladder. And a few days later, that offending gallbladder came out, and we named it Choly. 

Well, it must be a new year's thing, because guess where we spent yesterday?

You guys?

Myrtle's back. And this time she's real. AND SHE HAS FRIENDS.

Trust me. We were as surprised as you are reading this right now! We had some rough weather (not horrible, but rough) overnight Saturday into Sunday, so Ryan set his alarm for 5 a.m. to get up and check/treat the walks so they could be ready for church. All of that went just fine. He came back to bed after that, because we didn't need to be up until about 7 that morning. 

I heard his alarm and I heard him get in the shower. I got up eventually and headed into the kitchen for my coffee. When I came back to the bedroom to see if it was my turn to get ready, I found him doubled over in bed.

WHAT?!

He said he had really bad abdominal pain and he didn't know what was happening. Said it was like the gallbladder pain, but of course, that bad boy is gone, so we knew it wasn't that. But at least I knew what level of pain we were dealing with, because I've had it too!

We canceled our church plans and I got busy working and checking on him every few minutes to see if he needed to go to the hospital. He assured me it would be okay and we were NOT going to the hospital. 

But he was getting worse, and I knew it. I freaked out and called Rob, and I am sure I don't even want to know what a freaked out fool I made of myself on the phone with him. As I talked and paced and cried with Rob, I looked up and there stood Ryan, in shorts and a t-shirt, holding his coat, doubled over, telling me we needed to go to the hospital NOW. Said he thought it might be kidney stones.

Worst. Case. Scenario. You all know I am a terrible asset in an emergency. I'm also terrible on winter roads. It all converged in front of me. 

So I grabbed all my stuff and ran out the door to find Ryan ON THE FLOOR by the back door waiting for me to show up with keys. He practically crawled to the car and I broke a few driving laws that I'm unwilling to put in writing getting us to that emergency room. I also sobbed, quoted Psalm 56:3 on repeat, and had a panic attack. 

But we all got there in one piece. Ryan quite literally fell out of the back seat into a waiting wheelchair and I went to park the car. (And take the emergency room sign picture. Because of course.)

There was only one other couple in the ER when I joined Ryan, and I was so grateful to find it so empty. He was quite literally writhing in the wheelchair, moaning and crying. I never EVER saw him like that with his gallbladder, and that thing was bad enough. I knew he would hate it if the other couple thought he was a wimp, so when the wife looked at me, I said, "He has a super high pain tolerance. He does not have a man cold." LOL!!! She looked at him, looked at me, and said, "Kidney stone. I bet you anything."

They got us right to the back, and I'm pretty sure the doctor had to comfort me more than he had to comfort Ryan. I was sobbing and shaking and just sure he wasn't going to make it. (Dramatic, I know. but weird things happen to us. They really do.)

The nurses were AMAZING and rushed to push fluids/pain meds/ nausea meds. It felt like forever, but he finally was able to be still in bed, and I got him a warm blanket. 

They came to get him for a CT scan and the doctor (who was amazing - and I don't let that word fly often about doctors) took a lot of time with us to explain the kidney stones. Ryan has a large stone in his kidney still, and I was today years old when I learned that you can live with a stone in your kidney your whole life and never even know it! Another stone (that either broke up or was multiple stones to start with) decided to take a road trip to the bladder, and that was what caused all the pain. The doctor said he might pass them while he was at the hospital...or in a day or two...or in a month. 

Definitive, no?

Here's Ryan with the doctor's diagram:

Here's our pitiful selfie. He was so groggy from the pain meds and I was all smeary-faced from sobbing:

We had to wait for final tests before we could go, so....

They sent him home with some pain meds and anti-nausea meds to hopefully sustain him until the stones pass. 

I never ever want to see him in that kind of pain again. It was the worst. And I am the worst. I apologized over and over for being such a scaredy cat and mostly praying for him from the hall. 

He said, "You know I was that patient, right? The one they all talked about in the lunchroom? And you were that patient's wife." 

Indeed. 

I'm thankful to have him home with me tonight. I'm thankful he's up and moving around. I'm thankful we are at the end of our 8 day work stretch so we can have a break over the next couple of days for him to rest even more fully. 

And I'm ready for a new January tradition. 

Sunday Sentiments

 

This week I started reading the book I mentioned in my Currently post back on Thursday. It's called The Women of the Bible Speak, and it's written by Shannon Bream. I've only read the first chapter, so this is by no means a review, but I did want to share a line from the first chapter that was meaningful to me. 

But before I do that, let me back up to say one other thing that relates to the line I want to share. As you know, I'm slowly crawling my way through Genesis, studying each chapter in-depth, and one thing I noticed in the account of the Fall and in the account of Cain and Abel was this: in reading about each sin, I noticed that God began his interactions with His people by asking a gentle question. 

He didn't blaze down in a storm from Heaven and scream "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??" He simply asked Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" And then He actually continued with more questions over and over. And then He did the same thing with Cain. "Why are you angry?" 

I took note of it as I did those slow studies, because I hadn't really paid attention to it before. The tenderness of it all really struck me. 

And it struck me again as I read the chapter about Sarah and Hagar in this book I just began. The author mentioned the time when Hagar was out in the desert and God met her and said, "Where have you come from and where are you going?"

Shannon said, "God always gives us an opportunity to be honest with Him."

It made me stop and consider the real possibility that there have been times in my own life when I've done something, and God has given me the chance to be honest with Him - and I totally missed it. 

Those chances don't mean we'll escape consequences, necessarily. Sometimes our actions require something of us. Something difficult or painful, even. But those chances do mean we have an opportunity to be honest, and that is what we are always called to be.

I'm learning two things from this whole idea, actually. One is to be grateful for and aware of the moments when God comes with a gentle question and respond appropriately. The other is to use the same approach with the people around me. Rather than rushing in with accusations and condemnation, what if I arrive with a gentle question that gives an opportunity for honesty and explanations? 

There's no guarantee the people will take the opportunity, but at least I can open the door to see!

I'm thankful today for the opportunities to be honest with God and the prayer of my heart is I will sense them when He offers them...and answer. 

The Saturday Six

 

Maybe it's been the frigid Indiana temps, or maybe it's just the January wardrobe creativity hitting, but I've had scarves on my mind this week. All that thinking inspired this entire Saturday Six. Enjoy!

One.

I had the best luck at Big Lots a few years ago (maybe a couple of different years in a row) and found affordable winter-themed wreaths for the front door. I love them because they're truly winter-focused, not Christmassy. But I happened upon this idea this week that also intrigues me: a DIY wreath that features a scarf! I mean, let's be honest: we all have extra scarves that we hardly wear for one reason or another. This wreath doesn't look that hard to make, even for the crafting impaired. A little wrapping, a little pinning/gluing, and a pretty on top to add some pizzaz! 

Two.

Then, of course, there's the whole question of how to store scarves without ending up with a wadded up mess in your dresser drawer. I have this scarf holder from IKEA, which I bought a few years ago, and I really like it. My original scarf holder was a similar design, but the rings were hard plastic and seriously about 1/4 the size of each of the rings on the one I have now. I couldn't stuff some of the thicker scarves through the holes! This one works great and has a little give to it, which I also like. But that aside, here is a whole post full of ideas for how to organize and store your scarves. Options!!!! (I may have to go through and organize mine by color!) 

Three.

Did I tell you I took a mini-lesson in crocheting last month? Sarah worked with me for part of an evening back in December, but alas, we were also trying to keep tabs on a six-year-old, and I'm not sure I retained much more than water. But anyway...I really would love to learn something more than one really long train of stitching, and when I do, I have so many ideas of things I'd love to make. This cowl scarf is one of them. I think it would look stinkin' cute with my hat that Ryan's aunt made for me. (I still get more comments on that hat than anything else I ever wear...ever.) Since I walk so much in the cold winter air, this looks like a perfect scarf for keeping both my face and my neck warm against the chilly wind! 

Four.

I know I've shared a link or two over the years with some ideas on how to tie scarves creatively. I don't know about you, but it's something I can always stand to take a look at again! I tend to be the girl who always ties everything the same way, and I know I need to shake it up a bit. Though I don't always wear scarves at work (because I don't dress up too much), I do wear them to church and anywhere that takes me out into the cold, so maybe I'm posting this as much for myself as anyone else! 

Five.

My mom bought something very similar to this for one of her friends for Christmas, and I thought it was adorable! It's a kitchen scarf...so you don't have to hunt for a towel to wipe your hands as you cook! (Can also serve as an oven mitt of sorts if needed.) If you're crafty, you can make your own, but you can also buy them on Etsy and other places too. Pretty cute!

Six.

I've never tried to make a t-shirt scarf, but I own one that Ryan's grandma gifted to me a few years ago, and I always get so many compliments on it when I wear it. I also like it when the weather is warmer and I can't handle heavy scarves, but I can still wear an accessory beyond a necklace! Anyway - if you want to see a tutorial, check out this one!

Flashback Friday

I don't know that I'll do a flashback Friday post every week, but I had an idea for today, so I'm running with it! 

With the pandemic that has settled in for the last couple of years, I think it's sometimes tempting to forget that there are actually still OTHER sicknesses flying around. The flu seems to be a popular one in our general area right now, and several people I know have good-old-fashioned-honest-to-goodness colds. Some of them were genuinely surprised to find they had something other than THE sickness, which reminds me of a meme I saw last week that made me laugh. It said something to the effect of, "Everyone else is getting the genuine sickness, and I'm getting the store brand version." Right???

So anyway! As I've doled out advice (over the phone) to former tenants about what to do when they get the store brand version of sicknesses, it has made me think back to my own childhood and some of the staples of sick days back then!

* If I was too sick to go to school (or church), I was too sick to go have fun with friends or do anything else. Anyone else?? I remember the first time I chose to go "do something fun" after calling in sick as an adult. I felt SO GUILTY. I wish you could have seen that moment, because it was so funny. I was feeling much better from whatever had kept me home from work, and about 10 p.m. there was a HUGE fire a few blocks over from where I lived. One of my friends, who likes to chase stuff as much as I do, called to see if I wanted to drive around with her to see if we could find the fire. I told her I didn't think I could go because I'd called in sick to work and I probably shouldn't go have fun. I'm fairly certain she had to work hard at not laughing as she said, "Bekah you're literally a passenger in a car - IN THE DARK - to look for a fire that is around the corner." I went. And I confessed it to my boss the next day. #nerd.

* My parents both worked in the school system, so if I was sick on a school day, they had to figure out whose calendar would take the greater hit by missing work, so they could figure out who needed to stay home with me. But as I recall, regardless of which one went to work, they were both good about stopping at the Comet Cone on the way home to get me a Coke or a milkshake. (The Comet Cone was a little local ice cream and burger spot on the edge of town.) I always got excited to see that clock creep toward mid-afternoon, because I could imagine my little treat was coming soon!

* One super weird thing about me was that I hated (and actually still hate) broth soups. So while all normal people asked for and desired chicken noodle soup when sick, I asked for cream of mushroom. Mom would tell me that was not normal, but I did not care. It's what I wanted. I actually don't really eat soup at all now when I'm sick, but that was one weird thing about my childhood sicknesses.

* I also couldn't swallow pills until I was embarrassingly old. It was at least junior high, if not high school. If the medicine didn't come in liquid or chewable form, I was not a candidate. I'm pretty sure when Mom realized Children's Tylenol was just no longer a viable option for me, she had to bribe me with a gift to start swallowing pills. Fun fact: I still hate swallowing pills and have a very low threshold for the size of pills I can take. When I was on the antibiotic after my dog bit, we had to cut each dose into FOUR PIECES before I could mind-over-matter my way through it. 

* My childhood illness of choice was strep. Got it every single winter until one year I didn't...and I've only had it once since then. (In college. In the SUMMER. Mom had to hide those antibiotic pills in ice cream.)

* My favorite thing, when I was little, was that after I'd been sick for a day or so, Mom would send me to the bathtub to get all cleaned up and while I was gone, she'd put fresh sheets on the bed. I loved it so much. I just felt better after a bath and fresh sheets. 

* Another favorite thing from when I was little was when I finally felt well enough to relocate from my bedroom to the living room to rest on the couch. It felt like such an upgrade on the way to well! I always had to stay in bed until the worst of it had passed, and then I could go to the living room. Mom would make me a little bed on the couch, and I could socialize with the family until bedtime again.

* Worst part of sickness as a kid? Homework. When that absentee folder arrived, no amount of Coke or milkshakes could help. 

So that's my flashback Friday about memories of being sick when I was little. What was it like for you when you were a kiddo? Any fond memories?

Currently...

 Hey! I'm only late by a day for Anne's January Currently topics. I always love doing these posts, even though I'm rarely on time for them. They make me think, and I like that. 

So, here are my answers for the month of January! I am currently...

...anticipating...Lexi's arrival in our home, which is coming in just a few days! I think we have all the major things we have to have to bring her home. It's seriously like bringing home a baby with all the gear you have to have! We have the crate, bed, food and water bowls, leash, harness, food, toys, toothbrushes, hairbrushes...and a whole bunch of other random little supplies. And the first batch of bandanas should be here before we pick her up. We're so excited!

...organizing...the aforementioned things for Miss Lexi! We hate disorganization, as you know, so we are trying to find a way to store everything efficiently and without making our house look like the crazy dog home. :) I do have to show you the way-too-adorable treat jar I purchased. It was my one impulsive-dog-mom splurge. Every other purchase was very calculated and researched. This one just jumped into my hands. :) And the toy in the photo was a gift from my Secret Santa at Gateway. I'm not sure who she is, but she knows about Lexi!

...reading... The Women of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. Sarah and I are doing a study together with a friend from church, and this is the book we are going to read. My copy just arrived, and I'm going to begin it today. It will be a while before I get all the way through it and can tell you my thoughts, but I'm excited to start! 

...resolving...to eat one new food item on the regular. Have I told you about this? I can't remember. It was one of the goals I made with my health coach. There are a handful of foods I've discovered I like now that I'm an adult. Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, and avocados are among those foods. I would like to try a few more! This week we're trying beets. Not pickled (which is the only way I've ever had them and I hate pickled beets). I'll let you know how it goes.  (Beets not pictured because I haven't made that dish yet, but here was the soup I made earlier in the week. Veggie-laden white chicken chili!)

...scheduling...time off in the middle of our days. One of the perils of our job is that we never get a true evening. Like most people who work from 8-5 go to work and then come home and have an evening. We work from 9-5 and then we work from 5-9 and then sometimes we work from 9-12. There are rarely any stretches of time that ALL tenants are out of the building. (They all have different work/class schedules.) So the potential of being needed is fairly constant. This year we're trying to do better at writing on the calendar "FLEX TIME" and taking a couple of hours off in the middle of the day if Sean and Sarah are here to cover. This is our first week to try it. I love it and am trying not to get too attached. I know it won't get to happen every day! 

Kindness Challenge

Yesterday during our lunch break, I casually scrolled through some blog stuff, and that's when I first read Tammy's comment on yesterday's post. 

First of all, let me say that I do read all the comments you guys leave here. (I think I might miss some if they're left later on earlier posts, but I catch most of them, at any rate!) I appreciate ALL the kindness that is shown. My hope and goal for this space is that you'll not only feel uplifted by the words you read in the posts, but also by the words you read from each other. Like Sunday, for instance, I saw one of you praying for another, and I thought that was so kind. 

This season of life is one in which I have to let some little things go in order to make the big pieces spin, so I don't get to comment back like I used to. Please don't think it's because I don't appreciate what you have to say!

All of that to say...Tammy's words yesterday made me stop and think, and that's what has led to today's post. The end of her comment to me said, "How is it that you aren't aging? You look so much younger and happier than ever!"

Well, I am aging. I think the makeup product I'm running through the fastest these days would be concealer. Ha! Part of it is aging, part of it is lack of sleep, and part of it is the job we do, but for the first time EVER in my life, I have actual bags under my eyes. So I'm super grateful for that concealer!

My stylist mentioned recently to just let her know if I decide I want to let the hair color go, because it's pretty much pure white and would look amazing. (I'm not ready.) 

And I'm getting a deluge of emails from AARP and Silver Singles (!?!?!?!) lately. 

So yeah, we're aging, and maybe at double speed right now. I'm not sure. 

But there was something so remarkably uplifting about reading that! Two simple sentences added to a comment on a random blog, and suddenly, I didn't feel so frumpy and creaky. 

It's the same thing my health coach has been encouraging me with over the last few weeks. She's been reminding me that part of being healthy has nothing to do with what you eat or how much you exercise. It has to do with your state of mind - the words you say to yourself and the words you ingest from others. And she's a big proponent of doing random acts of kindness every single day, because those things improve your mind's health, too. 

Those acts of kindness don't have to cost anything at all. She actually prefers it when they don't. A note. A text. A phone call. A kind offering to the person behind you in line!

I tried to do that on Sunday when we were greeters at church. I tried to look women in the eye and tell them something I liked about their hair...their outfit...their coat...whatever. We had icy roads and sidewalks on Sunday, so most of those women walked in gingerly with furrowed brows, focused on not slipping. It was fun to watch their faces relax and smiles appear when they heard something nice about themselves.

We all need it. We all need to be reminded of the good about us, because most of us are probably not likely to remind ourselves.

So my challenge to you today is this: try to say as many nice things to as many people as you can today. Whether these are people you talk to in person, in Zoom meetings, on social media, or in a text, just take the two seconds to encourage! 

And don't stop today. Do it again tomorrow. And the day after that. 

Thanks for your kindness in coming here each day and in the encouraging words you leave me and each other. Now go...find some people to be kind to, and give them a blessing! 

Lexi's Growing Up!

Over the weekend, we went to see our Lexi girl one last time before she comes home with us!! Leaving her is SO HARD! Ryan basically has to drag me out, because I'd honestly still be sitting there cuddling her. 

A few tidbits from our time with her:

* We took a blanket along that they'll put with her/her mama/her littermates so it's all good and family-smelling by the time we go to pick her up. Then we'll bring it back home with us to put in her bed. I felt a little like a bad first-time-dog-mom because I didn't take the blanket to get it embroidered with her name and birthdate before I took it to her, but hopefully it will still accomplish its purpose. (Ha!) (Kidding!) (Kind of.)

* She's gotten great reports from the vet. She's healthy and growing and getting cuter EVERY DAY! (Okay, so it's possible the vet did not report on her cuteness, but I'm sure he meant to.) 

* She is a snugg-LER!!!!! Ryan casually mentioned that when she moves home, I actually can't sit and hold her all day and all night. ;) I do know that. Doesn't mean I like it. Just means I know it. But oh goodness, what a snuggler she is.

* Her hair is getting long and curly already, and I love it. Her markings are really distinctive now, and I just can't get enough of all the cuteness. In the first picture we ever saw of her, she kind of looked like a dalmatian, so I'm excited to see her actual markings defining themselves. 

And so, we're in the final stretch before she comes home to us. We have many more training videos to watch and toys to organize and a heap of other things, but we are mostly just excited. (As are the tenants!)

Can you handle some pictures?

She loves Ryan so much. (Can't blame her there. I am going to need her to love me more, though. Ha!)

We put her down on this little glider, and she just posed so beautifully. My heart sang. 

AGHHHHH! This sweet face! I just can't.

During the time when I wasn't interested in sharing:

She burrowed down in my coat and was so happy.

See why I couldn't say goodbye?

So very soon...she'll be coming home! Feels like a hundred years yet, but I know it isn't really. 

Love you, sweet Lexi!

Welcome, 2022!

For those of you returning to work/normalcy (whatever that is) today, I wish you well! I hope the start of the regular-week-new-year is a good one! We are also going back to work after an actual normal weekend off! We worked New Year's Day last year, and I deeply desired the chance to have it off this year, so we took it! And then yesterday was our monthiversary, so we took that too. :) 

Today begins an 8-day work stretch for us, so we're right there with you who are returning to the land of the working.

But I thought I'd give you a glimpse into our New Year's Eve! We were going off duty that day for our weekend, but we stuck around to ring in the new year with Sean and Sarah and our tenants! And we had a great time!

Sarah actually really loves to cook, so she did probably more of the food prep than I did for this one! She had gotten a new cookbook for Christmas (all cookies!!!) and wanted to make something, so she was trying a new recipe. I found her like this, waiting for them to turn golden brown. LOL!!!

We had fun New Year accessories...

Sean and Sarah had gotten a new game called Blank Slate, so we played that. I really liked it. It involved words, writing, and no pain.

And then we played Throw Throw Burrito. 

This game was not for me. It involved fast throwing of cards, and then a modern version of dodge ball that just brought up every bit of trauma I have from that game in PE class! Ryan loved it. Sean and Sarah loved it. Next time I'll just take pictures. But here are a few from that night:

Much more my speed? Sparkling grape juice:

We counted down the new year and then toasted to what we hope is a better year, right?

We helped clean up and then we skipped merrily off to our apartment to enjoy two days off! We had the most lovely day of rest. Prayer, Bible study, naps, white chicken chili, a Hallmark movie...ahhhhh.

At the end of the day, we went through our annual memory box...from 2020 AND 2021. We worked last year on New Year's Day and never had the chance to go through the box. Among the memories were cards we received when we moved, like this one, from Ryan's hospital co-workers. He still misses them all so very much. They were a group like he'll never find again, for sure. 

It was a fine start to a new year. We were so grateful for the rest and the slow beginning!

Sunday Sentiments

 

One of my links yesterday in the Saturday Six was a list of ideas for a theme word for the new year. To be honest, the list was overwhelming, and the way our week went, I didn't have time to sit and really think through what I might want to focus on. So...I hollered over to Ryan, "Hey! Pick a number." 

Yeah. I was that girl.

The number he picked was pretty much the one word I hoped I wouldn't get, because honestly it didn't feel like it made a ton of sense as a word of the year. I almost ask him to pick again, but then I figured perhaps the very strangeness of it all was what made it the perfect word. 

Are you ready for it?

Foster.

I thought it sounded strange, because it felt like some sort of an announcement that we were going to become foster parents, and that's not a calling God has placed on us at this time. (I mean, our job sort of encompasses that most of the time, so there isn't much margin left over to foster within our home beyond that.)

My next step was to make myself think about what the word foster means beyond my first thought of foster parenting. I looked it up and found it means "to encourage or promote the development of something, typically something regarded as good."

Immediately I thought of the verses in 2 Peter that says, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1:5-8)

I might not be fostering children in our home, but I am fostering lives with our tenants.

I'm fostering our marriage - which, by the way, reaches 109 months today - so, happy monthiversary, Ryan! I love you!

I'm fostering my faith, which has been tested and challenged in so many ways over the last year.

I'm fostering cleanliness in our home - in the way we eat and the toxins we are working to eliminate.

And then there's that entire list from 2 Peter that needs and deserves my fostering attention. Goodness. Knowledge. Self-control. Perseverance. Godliness. Mutual affection. Love. All these inner qualities need my attention so they can grow within me.

Fostering is ongoing. I don't know that I will ever reach completion with growing these qualities in my soul, but that shouldn't discourage me. I will hopefully see growth and improvement in each area, and that should be cause for celebration!

So that's my word for 2022. 

Foster.

I am striving to encourage and promote the development of good things in my life, heart, soul, faith, marriage, home, work, and more. 

Do you have a word or a verse for 2022? I'd love to hear it! 

The Saturday Six: New Year's Style!

 

One.

Happy New Year, my friends!! Welcome to a shiny new day in a shiny new year! If we've learned anything from the past two years, we've learned we can't predict what's coming, right? But despite that, we can still choose to put forth our own best effort! Let's give 2022 everything we have to offer and trust the Lord to use our efforts to His glory! With that in mind, I know some of you enjoy choosing a word to focus on throughout the year. If that's you, and you're still trying to choose your word for the year, here's a long list of options!! Take a look! 

Two.

I really missed having basically ANY time to read in 2021. I'm hoping to change that in the year to come. Ryan and I are working hard on carving out more Shaffer time and not working at our job every single minute of the day. I do love a good reading challenge, and while this one is probably not new, I don't remember seeing the concept before. (If I have and have even posted about it, just pat my head, bless my heart, and send me on my way.) This challenge encourages readers to choose a story set in a different decade each month of the year. (The book didn't have to be WRITTEN in that decade. Just SET in that decade.) Please note that there are recommendations attached to this post, and I have not read through those. I can't vouch for the quality or content of the recommendations. I'm merely intrigued by the challenge.

Three.

If one of your goals this year is to bring some organization to your home, check out this list! Sometimes trying to decide where to begin and how to go from there can be the most overwhelming part! This list covers an entire year and breaks down the organization into manageable pieces. You can start Monday and find yourself more organized and downsized (perhaps?)  in a year! The first week focuses on cleaning up your kitchen counters and sink area. Could be very liberating!

Four.

I love to menu plan, but at this season in my life, with all the busyness of work, sometimes it's hard to really put the time into planning that I'd like to. Unfortunately, that tends to lead to poorly constructed meals. Happily, I found this site with fully planned meals for the month! I am going to try to use this throughout January and see how it goes for me. Earlier this week, I sat down and went through the first week, modifying a couple of things (really can't stand beans and rice, for example, so I had to change up that meal a bit) but holding to the spirit of the plan. I like it that the recipes are healthy and they help you use full servings of ingredients so you don't waste! 

Five.

I love a good bucket list, and even though this one was published in January of 2021, it can still work! It's written as a family bucket list for the month of January, but I think it could be fun whether or not you have kids or even a spouse! Several things on this list are already definitely happening in Shafferland, and I think adding a few more of them might be fun, too! :) 

Six.

A few years ago, Ryan and I read through the Bible in a year...chronologically. It was a memorable year of study and discussion, so if you haven't tried it, I would highly recommend! I have probably shared this very link before, but it's worth sharing again, even if I've already done so. Here is just such a plan if you want to go all the way through the Bible this year! (I'll be crawling through Genesis for a while, myself, but I still recommend this plan!)

Have a fantastic start to the year, my friends! Much love to you!