Birthday Bash: Heading Out on Vacation!

 

Two weeks ago today, we headed out on our annual birthday trip! If you’re new here, I’ll tell you that Ryan and I have birthdays three weeks apart (his is in April and mine is in May), so starting in our first year of marriage, we decided to take a trip every year – somewhere in the vicinity of our birthdays – to celebrate! This year it came a bit late. The weekend we were gone was the only weekend I wasn’t speaking at church this summer!

            When we sold Abby the RV earlier this year, the person who bought her works at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. She surprised us with a pair of tickets to visit the Biltmore, so we built this entire trip around that. If you’ve been reading here long, you probably know that we tend not to go back to places after we visit once, and we did visit the Biltmore a few years ago. But we went in the winter, and I knew it was a whole different scene in the summer. So we went back, and though we carefully planned the entire trip, much of it turned out to be very Plan B. Stay tuned for some stories on that!

            We were blessed with stunning weather the entire time (which has not always been the case on birthday trips) and we had the best time away. It was not the longest trip we’ve ever taken, and it had its frustrations along the way (hello, Plan B on repeat) but we still came home SO happy!

            Another tradition we started that first year of marriage was taking a chalkboard photo before every trip, so here’s a throwback to the first one, and then this year’s version!

            Our first stop was in Florence, Kentucky, and if you’ve been there (or through there), you recognize this sight!

            Several weeks ago, while watching a show on the Food Network, we saw The Maple Street Biscuit Company featured as a great place to eat. It’s a franchise, and it just so happened that Florence holds one of the locations! So we stopped for brunch there. Coffee was good, and the food was really good. Ryan got “The Five and Dime” and loved it. I got the Keto Bowl, which was equally delicious.

            We got back on the road and happened upon…Buc-ee’s! Cleanest bathrooms on the road? Sure, we’ll stop! Found a sign I need…

            We got fresh coffee, Ryan gave his best Buc-ee smile. Every time.

            As we headed down into Tennessee, the mountains were too pretty not to photograph!

            Found some tunnels. They’re not the worst, but they’re also not my favorite. I’m always glad to be on the other side!

            We arrived at our hotel just before dinnertime. No delays on the road, which is pretty amazing for a Shaffer road trip!

            Ryan surprised me by getting a room with a balcony! Sure, we were in town, so it had views of other hotels and the Cracker Barrel, but the mountains were out there, and my heart was so happy.

            For dinner that night, we went into downtown Asheville to eat at The Early Girl Eatery. I ate there twelve years ago (this very same weekend) when I first visited Asheville with Lynnette! Look!

            I wanted to take Ryan there because I had loved it so much last time. Unfortunately, our experience there this time was not as stellar. The best part was that we ate outside and listened to live music during dinner. I ordered the exact same dish as last time, but it looked completely different. We ordered water and coffee, but they said they don’t serve coffee after noon, and the water was warm. (Not just room temp. Warm.)

            So…after dinner, we went in search of dessert and coffee. We found this cute little place called Sweets and Seats. It’s a dessert and coffee place that stays open late. (Why does this not exist everywhere??) We shared a delicious piece of cake and had – truly – the best cup of coffee we can recall having in the longest time. It was so, so good. It was delightful and totally made up for dinner.

            Our view on the way to the hotel…if you ignore the construction cones, it’s kind of pretty, don’t you think?

            We enjoyed the balcony when we returned to the hotel, and then it was time to rest. We had a big day coming up!

Celebrating 139 Months of Love

 

Yesterday was our monthiversary! 139 months married – and happily so.

            We both worked, so much of our day was spent apart, but we tried to sneak in some phone calls whenever we could.

            Once work was over, it was boot camp night, so we headed to the gym. Apparently I needed to see if I could use ALL the weights in one tiny workout. 😊

            It was a good workout: Ryan does a great job teaching our class and encouraging me to keep pushing myself, even when I think I can’t. I can tell I’m getting stronger, so that’s exciting.

            And what is a good follow-up to the gym? Oh, did you say ice cream? Good! Because we did! We went to our favorite ice cream shop for a little treat. Ryan got Boston Cream Pie and I got a Caramel Crunch. SO GOOD. We ate outside and had the best time chatting while we ate.

            Then we came home and had dinner. (Sometimes being an adult really doesn’t have its benefits. Dessert first!) Ryan grilled chicken that I’d been marinating all day, and I made roasted veggies. It was all pretty delicious!

            After dinner, we headed outside to put our patio furniture back in place. Everything had been moved while we had some work done on our patio to correct the drainage issue. I am counting this as a double-workout because some of that stuff is HEAVY!

            One of the things I am so excited about is that for the first time in four years, we have our hammock again! You might remember that we received a hammock for our wedding, and when we lived in Marion, it was in our pergola in the backyard. We had it in Kokomo, too, but it was harder to use there, because we had zero shade and zero privacy. Makes hammock life less relaxing. When we moved to WillowBridge, we didn’t have a place for it, so we were going to sell it. My sister ended up taking it and then gifting it back to us when we left WillowBridge! Alas, we still haven’t had the right spot for it until now, so it’s been in storage at my parents’ house. We’re reunited now, and I love it as much as I ever did!

            Lexi and I hung out outside with Ryan while he watered the yard we’re repairing, and we enjoyed a pretty sunset.

            It was a good day, and I’m grateful for it! Love you so much, Ryan! 😊

Speaking Snapshots: June 2024

 

Yes, I know it’s July, but the very last day of June fell on a Sunday, so I waited to recap my speaking adventures from last month.

            June is typically not a busy month for me in the world of speaking, because I usually share at women’s events, and summer is not a popular time for those. But since I’m filling in at church this summer, my June was very full!

            My first Sunday to speak was June 2, which was also our monthiversary. It was also the day after I took pictures at Ryan’s cousin’s wedding, so I was pretty tired going into the day. I had tried to rest as much as possible after coming home from the wedding, but when I went to bed that night, something happened that never happens to me: I had a nightmare about speaking. Not just a bad dream. A full nightmare. It was so real that the place was our actual sanctuary and the people in the dream actually attend our church. And it was awful.

            Needless to say, I was pretty rattled when I woke up that Sunday morning, and I felt physically sick almost the entire time I was up there speaking. Ironically, my topic that day was “The Messy Middle,” which felt very much like my life that day.

            But you know what? God was amazingly faithful, as He always is, and together, we got through that message. And apparently the phrase stuck, because I’ve heard it used often in the weeks since!

            The next Sunday, June 9^th, I did something else I (almost) never do: wore a headset microphone. I’ve worn them a couple of times in the past, but my oddly shaped head, coupled with ALL THE HAIR makes it so hard to keep them in place. It probably doesn’t help that I talk with my hands, so I’m always moving. But that Sunday, my entire message revolved around a sign (like in sign language) and I needed both hands to accomplish that. We got through the morning without losing it off my head, so that was a win!

            But what mattered more to me that day was that this Sunday marked the first time in my life I have ever led a communion service. It was quite a step for this former Quaker girl who grew up not taking communion elements at all! I imagined, going into the day, that it would be a pivotal day for my heart. I had no idea how much. I had no clue how meaningful it would be. I’m gathering quite the collection of photos that carry great meaning with them, and the photo I took of the bread and cup before church started falls into that collection.

            Ryan and I are also deacons at church, so once communion began, he and I stood together at the front to help serve and to pray for anyone who wanted prayer. It was a beautiful, sweet time that I won’t forget.

            June 16^th was Father’s Day, and it was also another extremely pivotal day for our church, because it was the last Sunday we met together in our current sanctuary before relocating while construction takes place. I spent a lot of time praying about that and how to address it within the context of a Sunday morning worship service. It felt important enough to be a focus, and yet I didn’t want it to distract us from worship. So we talked about prayer, and then at the end of the service, I gave everyone an index card and asked them to write (on one side) a prayer of thanks for something meaningful and memorable God had done for them in THIS sanctuary, and then (on the other side) a prayer of hope for the new space to come.

            I compiled all the prayers to give to our pastor when he returns, and I had goosebumps reading the words and hearts of the people. Being able to share that service was another pivotal moment I’ll not soon forget.

            The church met for the first time in the new space without me, because it happened to fall on one of the few Sundays this summer that I have “off,” so Ryan and I took our vacation that weekend. They were so on my heart and mind, though, that Sunday morning.

            This past Sunday, June 30^th, was my first day to share with them at our temporary location, and Ryan asked as we made our way to church how I felt. I told him I didn’t feel nervous or worried, but I also struggled to feel excited. It all felt a bit…disjointed.

            We’re meeting in a school, and our church takes place in the gym, which isn’t air conditioned. Indiana, July, no air – eek! But we just passed out fans to everyone and I made sure the platform fans were pointed at me enough to keep me cool but not so much that my note blew away. Once I started sharing, it just poured out of my heart and felt like home.

            We talked about how we’re sojourners – in that space and on this earth. I hadn’t planned it so that this was the topic the first time I spoke at the new location…but God worked it all out!

            So what a full and unique month it was. I am grateful for each experience – even the hard ones – and all God is teaching me along this journey!

Dreams and Goals: July 2024

 

Good morning, friends, and welcome to a brand new month! July is upon us, and with it – the return of the Olympics! I’m just a tad excited about that.

            June was one full month, and I would say that I hope July is calmer, but you know saying that guarantees it won’t be. So I’ll just keep my mouth shut.

            I will, however, share with you the dreams and goals I have for this month!

ONE. Work on our anniversary trip. Wait. Didn’t we just come home from a vacation that I haven’t even told you about yet? Yes. Yes, we did. Isn’t our anniversary half a year away? Yes. Yes it is. But I am ready to start dreaming up what we’ll do while we’re gone, so we need to, at the very least, land on a destination. I hope to do that this month!

TWO. Work on office organization. Our home office is my next room to “re-see” as I’ve been writing about this year. My bookshelves, specifically, need some attention. It’s time to curate the book collection a bit more and just try to pull together a more cohesive look on the shelves!

THREE. Work on vacation scrapbook. So excited to work on the album for the trip we just took. I want to have it put together before the fun(ny) details become fuzzy. So excited for it!

FOUR. Read for ½ hour every day. I have several books (many borrowed) in my to-be-read pile, and I need to make sure I’m carving out time every single day to read. I’m so bad about prioritizing it, and I need to do a better job.

FIVE. Continue the Summer Baking Bingo Challenge. I have made five (I think) things on the bingo card so far, and I want to make many more this month.

SIX. Work on recipe collection. I’ve been putting some of our new favorite recipes in a recipe file collection. I need to print the ones I’ve created so far and do a better job of keeping the file up to date as I cook and find recipes I like.

            That should keep me busy this month – and provide just enough time to look at the pretty lake!

            How about you? Dreams? Goals?