Hey Look! It's Wetumpka!

Yesterday I told you that we were in Alabama, on our way to Florida for our 10th anniversary celebration, when we decided to take an impromptu side trip.

We were just north of Montgomery and were stopping for fuel and a Thanksgiving lunch snack when I happened to see a sign that said Wetumpka was just about 15 miles away.

You're saying it, aren't you? "What's Wetumpka?"

Ryan and I love watching Hometown on HGTV. It's Ben and Erin Napier's show, where they redo houses in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. (That's a bucket list location for us, too.) Well, a couple of years ago, they did a show called Hometown Takeover, where they went outside of Laurel to help revitalize another small town. They ended up in this little place called Wetumpka, Alabama. And there we were, practically in Wetumpka's backyard. We decided it was WORTH IT to add an hour or so to our trip in order to see Wetumpka in person. 

It was Thanksgiving Day, so nothing was open, but it made for great photo opps! (I would love to go back here someday when things are open, because there were so many places we would love to see inside.)

If you saw the Hometown Takeover season, you might remember the shipping container they turned into a pop up shop. Found it! It is adorable. The whole shipping container shop is a brilliant idea, in my opinion. 

Found the mural, too! There was a whollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle parking lot and the ONE car that was there parked right in front of the mural, obstructing the view. (!!!!) The driver finally left just as we were driving away, so we went back for a full picture. 

Here's the cut-off version (the car is just off-camera to the right).

And here is the whole thing that we were finally able to see after the car left!

Couldn't eat at Coaches Corner, because it was Thanksgiving, but we got a great picture of it. 

The bridge is just as cool in person as it was in the drone shots on the show. You can walk it too, but we didn't have enough time for that.

The downtown had so many cute shops and a restaurant for sale. (Just in case any of you are looking for a career change.)

We've never seen the Big Fish movie, but we had to get a picture with the house Ben and Erin made over.

Thanks for the side trip, Wetumpka! You were SO FUN to see in person!

From there, our destination in Florida seemed to be about four million light years away. The whole trip had gone quickly and smoothly, but that last leg was a little bit brutal. We also lost our sunshine (!!!) and that was sad!

Made it!

Months ago, we found an Airbnb with a water view, and we got there just before dark!

Well. There's a water view when there's not drizzle and fog. (!!!)

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our Airbnb and some of our mind-blowing Thanksgiving evening adventures. We just had to laugh. 

Heading Back to FLORIDA!

Settle in, friends. It's virtual vacation time with the Shaffers! :) 

We are safely home, but we were just gone for ELEVEN beautiful days to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Typically our anniversary trips are just long weekends, but this was a big year, so we made the trip big to match! I have so much to tell you, so this will take a few days. Hope that's okay! 

Months ago, we began talking about where we wanted to go to celebrate this milestone anniversary. We talked about going back to Siesta Key, where we were married. We went back there for our fifth anniversary, and we weren't sure if we might make a tradition of always going back on the five year increments, but there are just so many places we want to see, so we decided to do something different this time. 

This was the only trip of any length we took this year, and we definitely knew we wanted to go WARM. So after tossing around a few itinerary ideas, we landed on checking out the panhandle of Florida!

We left just after lunch the day before Thanksgiving, and we had a GORGEOUS day for travel. 

Remember a week ago when I told you we had a handful of days that were filled with "ARE YOU KIDDING ME" moments? Started right....HERE. Perhaps I shall signal these moments with a triple exclamation point in parentheses after each story.

We stopped to get fuel and that's when we learned that some card companies put huge charges on your card when you swipe it at the pump. This had never happened to us, but we were on an interstate, so maybe that was the difference? It was almost a $200 charge ON TOP OF the fuel charge. It did fall off after a couple of days, but it was startling and delayed us about a half hour while we made phone calls to try to figure out what was going on. (!!!) Note: apparently this is a new thing since fuel prices have gone up so much. 

Just before the Indiana/Kentucky line, we stopped at this little coffee shop for a break and some coffee (and possibly a snack). It was such a cute little shop and the baristas were extra friendly. 

WOW. The sunset as we crossed into Kentucky was stunning!

(Side note: we observed that our trip took us through Indianapolis, which was the location of our first anniversary trip...Louisville, which was the location of our sixth anniversary trip...and Nashville, which was the location of our ninth anniversary trip!) 

I see that the non-toll bridge into Louisville still doesn't have a "Welcome to Kentucky" sign. Sigh. (!!!)

We had a great time talking ALL the way through Kentucky, and suddenly Ryan pointed and said, "TENNESSEE!" Too late for a picture of the sign. (!!!) I guess it doesn't matter, because it would have looked like this. 

It worked out, though, because that reminded me of a couple of state sign pictures I took on our all-nighter trip to our wedding. I'm pretty sure Georgia looked JUST like that picture above. 

Hi, Nashville! You're as pretty as you were last year!

We traveled as far as Franklin, Tennessee (south side of Nashville) that first night. You guys, our hotel was not a win. (!!!)

We visited Franklin last year (side trip one day) and learned it is very upscale and NOT an inexpensive place to live (or visit). So looking for a hotel room in a more affluent community ON a major holiday was a lot of fun. We found a hotel that was within our price range, had great reviews, and we carefully combed through all the pictures. It all looked really nice.

If only reviews had smell-a-vision.

I think Ryan legitimately felt bad for me because when we pulled in, we realized it was a hotel with exterior doors to the rooms, and those terrify me. We checked in and learned our room was on the first floor on the back side. Strikes two and three! 

The room 100% reeked of cleaners, and we put ice in the refrigerator with our food, because we didn't think it felt very cold. We tried not to touch anything unless we had to.

We stood up to eat our dinner (which I had packed in our cooler) and ran the diffuser PRONTO.

We actually ended up hopping back in the car and going to a Publix and Home Depot just to walk around and breathe clean air - until everything closed for the night and we were forced back to the hotel.

Breakfast the next morning (at the hotel) was an experience to match the rest of it, so it should not shock you that we got on the road a whole hour early. We were also in central time, but our bodies were on eastern time, so that helped motivate us. 

If we ever stay in Franklin again, we'll choose other accommodations. ;) 

It was Thanksgiving Day, so we looked the part! Pretend we ironed the shirts. The hotel room had an iron, but of course, it was broken. (!!!)

We hadn't been on the road long before we entered Alabama, which was a brand-new state for me. And I managed to JUST catch the sign before we missed it!

Ahhh, Sweet Home, Alabama! I do love that movie. Anyone else have a bit of Melanie Smooter living inside?

We stopped at the rest stop right inside the state line to get some pictures.

We talked and told stories most of the way through Alabama, and right about the time we stopped for our Thanksgiving lunch, which is pictured below, we decided to take an impromptu side trip! You'll have to wait until tomorrow for that, but please enjoy my idea of a dream Thanksgiving lunch!

Sunday Sentiments

 

My heart is full today. Ryan and I have had a beautiful time of respite and celebration over the last few days. Many stories are coming your way in the days to come, but for today, I want to talk about the heart.

We had some of the most beautiful talks over the last few days. Long hours in the car make for great hours of conversation. Long, slow mornings with nothing on the agenda but sunrises and coffee sipping make for great hours of conversations. Winter evenings that grow dark early make for great hours of conversation.

We spoke long and often, and straight from the soul. Sometimes we tossed around our heart-wrestlings, without a single solution being found, but we felt better just for having discussed them. Other times we made concrete dreams and goals for the near and far future. 

It was so good for our hearts. We've had so much change in the last couple of years and we have more change yet on the horizon. It's good to talk and understand how we both feel!

That was the best anniversary gift of all. I loved everything about our time away and our celebrations, but I loved just talking most of all. I loved hearing his heart and sharing mine.

It could be the best Christmas gift of all, too. How many people would love someone just to set aside time to sit and talk with them? Probably more than we realize.

Ryan and I had a chance to do a little of that on our time away, actually. We met people here and there, talked to them about their stories, and just listened to what they had to say. I have no idea how many of them have people in their everyday lives who ask questions or listen to what they have to say. (Some of them were fairly outgoing, but others weren't quite as much. 

Listening is a gift, and I'm grateful to have been able to both give and receive it this week. Maybe this is a week for all of us to take a moment to just listen! 

The Saturday Six

 

Now that our anniversary is behind us (only by a day...but still!) I'm gearing up for full Christmas mentality! I thought I'd share a few ideas with you today.

One.

I love creative gift wrap, and this post has so many ideas of ways to decorate brown paper packages. (You started singing the song in your head, didn't you?) I have used brown wrapping paper a few different times, but with this list, you could use it for MANY years and never repeat the look! 

Two.

I've never made gingerbread cookies, but I do love the simple, classic look of a gingerbread cookie! Here's a recipe to try, along with some decorating ideas. Are you fans of gingerbread? 

Three.

Well THIS is a fun list! A Christmas bucket list! I have done almost all these (anyone shocked by that?) but it looks like there are still a few ideas left I haven't tried! 

Four.

This fingerprint Christmas tree wall hanging could be fun to make no matter who you are and how many people you have in your family, but I think it could be extra amazing to make one at a big extended family Christmas gathering. If you have tons of cousins/aunts/uncles, etc. - think how fun it would be to have everyone add a print!

Five.

If you embroider (or know someone who does), this is an adorable Christmas gift idea! Have one of the kiddos in your life write his or her name and transfer it to a keepsake ornament (complete with age documented). I love this!

Six.

And if you're looking for a game for a gathering this Christmas - check out these Christmas Scattergories printables! Something a little different! :) 

Happy Tenth Anniversary, My Love

 

Dear Ryan - 

Ten years ago this morning, we met in the courtyard of the resort in Siesta Key and walked to the water's edge to talk, eat cookies for breakfast, drink coffee, pray, and prepare for our wedding day.

That morning will always be one of my dearest memories, and I'm so glad we chose to begin the day with that time! I'm also glad I found a professional to tame that hair prior to the ceremony!

We shared our first look, which was another favorite memory from that day:

And then we said our vows!

That day, I told you that with deepest joy, I came into my new life with you. And indeed it has been my deepest joy. These last ten years have been a blessing beyond anything I ever could have imagined. The days have been sweeter because they've been spent by your side. I'm so grateful for the life we have crafted together, as we have followed the Lord's leading. 

Standing before you on our wedding day, I promised to strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you, and I hope you can say that I have done each of those well. I know I haven't done any of them perfectly, but I hope when you scan over the decade, you can remember more times when I did well than when I failed. 

You also made promises to me during our ceremony - to love me as Christ loves the church - and you have done that so well. You have taken care of my heart with such tenderness, and you've made our life together a grand adventure. I have no regrets in saying yes to you, and you should have no regrets in the husband you've been in these last ten years. It has been easy to be your wife, largely because of the husband you choose to be.

So much has changed in our world in the last decade. Four of the people who sat with us that day have passed away since this picture was taken. Two of those were your parents. We never imagined it that day, but I am thankful God allowed me to be part of your grief journey, and I'm glad you made room for me in your heart and life during those two hard seasons. 

The people we were that day in 2012 had no idea the joy, challenges, adventures, grief, and dreams that would come in the decade ahead. We were two starry-eyed lovebirds who only knew we wanted to take on the days ahead together. 

And we have done exactly what we set out to do. We've fixed up houses until they became homes. We've followed the Lord into work that took us away from careers we loved and were good at, but obedience mattered more. We've gone on grand adventures in 18 states and counting. We've learned how we grieve, and we've carried each other through deep, dark valleys. We've learned things about ourselves that we didn't even know we were strong enough to do. We've laughed...so much. We've prayed and studied the Word together. We've served side by side. 

May this only be the beginning of a lifetime of decades filled with stories and memories!

Thank you, my love, for a beautiful first decade. Thank you for loving me so well. I love our little family with Braeya and Lexi. I love the dreams we have for the decade to come and the dreams we don't yet know will be ours. 

Let's keep living first unto our God and see what He has for us!

With all my love, heart, and being,

Your Bekah

December Goals

Welcome, December! It is good to see you. This is always such a busy month, between our anniversary and everything Christmas. This year I'm throwing a new job in the mix, so it will be even busier! Even so, here are some of my goals for this month!

1. Buy all the gifts!

I have the cards, but not the gifts. Clearly, I need to get right on that, without delay. We're just 25 days away (and even closer for some of our Christmas gatherings). Perhaps my future-year goals should include shopping sooner. This is one thing that I just haven't gotten a great grip on since getting married. I seem to get the decorating and the card-making in on time, or even early, but gifts...I always rush for those. 

2. Begin my new job wholeheartedly.

I'm less than two weeks away from beginning my new job. I'm so very excited for it, but I'm also appropriately nervous about it! I want to give it everything I have and do well, and all of that starts on the very first day. I know there will be a significant learning curve, and I am committed to doing my best. I absolutely welcome prayers from any of you who wish to join me, because I am certain I'll be nervous at the start!

3. Figure out my Bible study plan for 2023.

2022 was devoted to the book of Genesis for me, but I still have not figured out what I should study in 2023. I presumed I should move on to Exodus, and maybe I should! But I have been praying for God to show me clearly if there is something else that I should study instead. 

4. Begin scrapbooking our 10th anniversary adventures.

I don't like to wait long to start scrapbooking our celebrations. I don't want to forget anything! I know there is SO much happening in our world right now, but scrapbooking is a wonderful way for me to rest my mind when it's overwhelmed. I want to make sure I get started as soon as I can with the book before all the best stories have left me!

5. Participate in Love INC adventures.

Ryan and I have a couple of Love INC commitments for this month - and they all happen at the beginning. I want to do my portion of those commitments well! (Can't wait to show you more about them!)

6. Make 2023 goals.

You know I'm a goal maker! I mean, obviously, since this is a whole post about goals. But even though my goals tend to be month-to-month rather than over the whole year, I want to make sure I am intentional about some goal themes for the year at large! 

So how about you? Any big dreams for December?

Update on November Goals

After an October that felt a little lackluster on goal accomplishment, I'm pleased that November went much better! Here's an update on the goals I made and how they went!

1. Plan and celebrate Lexi's first birthday.

When Braeya turned one, I had an actual party with guests. Don't tell Lexi that we didn't go quite as all-out with her first birthday. But we did order some fun little props and decorations and a dog-friendly cake. (I've never baked a dog cake before!) We put up a happy birthday banner and got her a little birthday bandana and hat. (She hated the hat.) We had the most fun day celebrating her. It may be one of my favorite memories from the last decade! 

2. Decorate for Christmas.

Done! Because of our anniversary and my new job starting and all the general chaos that is surrounding this particular year, I didn't put up as many trees as I normally do. But our decorations are still cozy and inviting - at least in my opinion! Decorating with a dog underfoot is a whole other level of interesting, and that drove some of our decorating decisions, too. I wouldn't say it was my favorite year of decorating in terms of the real-time experience, but it is done, and I'm loving the results. 

3. Enjoy our mini-getaway and training time for Love INC.

Done! It really was a sweet treat to be able to combine a work trip with a chance to get away and spend some uninterrupted time together. We were able to see a new part of the country we haven't been to before (would love to see it at a slower pace, too!) and we slept all the way through the night without a cat wanting to play! (ha!) We learned so many great ideas for the future of Love INC and felt affirmed in the work we're doing. I am so grateful for this opportunity. We couldn't have done it without God's provision for the financial details and without Ryan's office manager running the show at work while we were gone!

4. Prep for our TENTH wedding anniversary celebration. 

So. Many. Lists. :) Would you expect any less from me? I was so grateful I had already done all the itinerary planning, but I made all our packing lists and such, arranged for care for Braeya and Lexi, did the gift exchange with Ryan (our gifts were not really travel-conducive) and then it was time to actually celebrate! I am over-the-moon grateful for this opportunity!

5. Order and address Christmas cards.

I was able to find a good sale and printed out our cards! (Cards are a whole separate blog subject for sometime. I hope I remember to write that post.) The cards arrived less than a week later (woot woot!), leaving me plenty of time to address them. And I love how they turned out. So super cute! (And you thought you were going to get a picture...)

6. Finish Ryan's anniversary surprise. 

Finished - and given! (Early!) He loved it, and I had such fun putting it together for him. I already told you all about this one, so no need to elaborate here!

OTHER NOTES

* This may seem like a random goal, but I actually wrote it in my planner and stayed accountable to it! I have issues with really dry feet - all the time - and I am particularly bad about remembering to use lotion. This month I used it every single day, and while it's not been a perfect improvement, it has been a MARKED improvement, and I'm glad!

* I updated the pictures in our house frames to reflect our latest photo shoot. I always love making that switch-up. 

* I took pictures of all the ornaments we've collected this year and wrote the stories of those ornaments on the back of the pictures so we were ready to go when decorating night came! During this adventure I learned we bout the same ornament twice to represent two different trips. Ha! What a great story!

* As I decorated for Christmas (and put away the fall decor) I did an in-depth sort to get rid of things we no longer use or things that no longer fit our space, color scheme, or season of life. (Hello, Lexi.) I also relabeled the storage boxes, since the original labels were probably 6-7 years old and badly faded. It all looks so pretty. I know only Ryan looks in the attic, but at least it will look nice for him while he is up there! Ha!

What I Learned in November

It's been a newsy little month in my head, and I've learned a lot! I thought I would share with you some of the highlights! 

1. Lunaversaries is a much prettier word than monthaversaries.

My friend Michele taught me this one. Michele, I forget if you said you heard this on a podcast or read it in a book, but I did remember it! :) She found someone who also celebrates their wedding date each month, but this gentleman used the much more proper term of "lunaversary." How I wish I would have known it when we got married! Now I can't decide if I should switch for our second decade or keep my own word! Either way, we'll keep celebrating them. 

2. Private messages on Facebook spark more conversation than random birthday comments.

Facebook has been a rough place for me in the past couple of years. I enjoy reading, but some folks have made it really challenging for me to enjoy posting. Ahh, the passive-aggressive nature of the social media world, right? I even find it hard to post birthday greetings to others because I feel like a handful of people even use that against me. This month I tried sending those greetings in a private message rather than a public post, and what I learned is that people are often more likely to strike up a conversation privately than they are publicly. I had fun chatting with friends I hadn't talked to in a while!

3. Amish country in Ohio is extra beautiful, even in the winter months.

You might remember that earlier in the month, Ryan and I traveled to Holmes County, Ohio for Love INC training. That is Amish country, and I really didn't expect to be wowed by it, because we live in Amish country (Indiana) year-round. We see the horses and buggies, the laundry on the line, the big houses, the whole bit. I don't know if it was the addition of the hills or what, but it felt extra beautiful to me, even though winter had already hit the landscaping and all the trees were bare. It would be gorgeous to go back sometime in the fall, for sure!

4. A dialed-back Christmas is okay!

I shared our Christmas decor with you last week, and I have to say that I am quite satisfied with the outcome of this year's look. It's dialed back, because of the busyness of our year, but it's okay! It's a lesson I first learned the year we got married, and it is a great reminder for me this year!

5. Decorating with a dog's assistance is...interesting.

I was nervous about decorating with Lexi underfoot. She has FOMO to the fullest, and I feared she would try to eat everything or even knock over a tree. I did wait until Ryan was home to do the biggest trees, so he could help me keep an eye on her, and we had her sit during the ornament portion, but it went well. It definitely slowed me down to do my decorating with her there. I had a lot more considerations, but we got it done. And she's left the trees alone, for which I am so very thankful!

6. Cracker Barrel serves a limited menu on Thanksgiving.

Since we always have multiple family gatherings to attend on Thanksgiving, I've never paid much attention to Cracker Barrel's Thanksgiving offerings. But I learned this year that they don't serve a full menu on Thanksgiving. Did you know that? They do Thanksgiving food only. It makes sense. I'm sure it's much easier on all the staff. But I guess it will be out for me if I ever need it, since I don't eat Thanksgiving food! 

So that's what I learned this month. How about you?