Steele Farms Night!

 

Last Wednesday night, our church had its annual family night at Steele Farms!

                This year was a strange year for me/us, because Ryan, who has been helping teach GriefShare this fall, had to lead the class on his own that night. It’s the first year we’ve not gone to Steele Farms night together, and it was sad for my heart to be there without him.

(Photo credit on that last one goes to Ryan, who stopped by long enough to eat dinner and take a GREAT picture!)

                Our church deacons sponsor this night, and I was so stinkin’ proud of them for all their hard work in making the event a great one for the people of our congregation. They brought food to share, served it with a smile, and cleaned up everything when they were done. The people lingered for a long time, enjoying the yard games, corn maze, hayrides, and more. I was so happy to see them enjoying it!

               Like I said, Ryan was able to swing by for a few minutes before GriefShare so he could grab some food, and then we took a quick picture and he was on his way. And that is the only picture to prove we were there. 

                I spent the night documenting the fun so I could have some picture fodder when we remind people about this next year.

                Without Ryan, I wasn’t up for the corn maze, so I missed out on that, but everything else was fun to see!

                If you’re in the Adams County area and haven’t been to Steele Farms in the fall, you should go! They’re open on weekends and also offer some special events throughout the fall season. Check it out!

Sunday Snapshots: Memorable Moments from the Week

 

This has been a full week. Full of good and hard things alike…and full of memories! Here’s a peek at our adventures:

Ryan was so sweet to take this picture last Sunday, when I led the part of the service where people share prayer requests and praises. The staff takes turns leading that part, and it was my turn!

Ryan’s grandpa is in the end stages of his life. He’s been steadily declining for the last couple of years, but the decline seems to be speeding up. We made a trip to visit him, knowing he could be like this for some time – or this could be the last time we see him alive on this earth. This was the first time we’ve gone when he didn’t know us, but he was still so happy to see us in his room. After we visited with him for a bit, we went to see Ryan’s Aunt Sandy, and we had coffee with her for National Coffee Day!

Swiss Village’s mystery trip this week was a bus ride to our house for a fall boat ride. It was totally summer weather, but we had a little over a dozen residents show up and enjoy some laps around the lake!

Our church’s annual night at Steele Farms was this week, and it was a huge success! We had so many people show up for dinner and fun around the farm. The only sad part was that Ryan didn’t get to join me this week. He had to lead GriefShare. He came for a couple of minutes to get something to eat, and we got one selfie while we were together. I spent the rest of the evening missing him and documenting the event!

Our 154^th monthiversary was this week, and I already told you about that, but I reiterate that it was a sweet day of appreciating the life we have. The day was chaotic (as is life right now) but I appreciated the chance to spend some time with my sweet love!

By the end of the week, we were WORN OUT. I spent quite a bit of Friday listening to lectures for school, and Lexi stayed with me – but she slept through most of it. I don’t think she’s earning her degree. 😊

Yesterday was our 13^th engagementversary, and I will tell you more about it this week, but it was just a sweet day that we loved. It was a gift to have most of the day together and to enjoy, dream, reminisce, and celebrate!

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

                Today is another special day in Shafferland! Thirteen years ago today, Ryan asked me to marry him! What a wonderful surprise he gave me that day, and what a wonderful memory that still makes me smile every time I think of it! I can’t let the day pass without sharing the video for you to enjoy again! 😊

Right after my desert-of-the-heart journey in 2010, I remember buying a couple of sweater dresses that I absolutely loved. (I wore one of them for my very first trip to WBCL…the trip that led to a job there!) The problem with sweater dresses (for me) is that I get way too hot in them, but the two I owned had short sleeves, which made them doable. Walmart has this sweater dress this year (for a good price!) that is actually sleeveless! It caught my eye, so I had to share it.

I ordinarily scroll past sponsored posts, because I don’t always find them to be authentic in content. But this post at the Inspired Room did make me pause. Melissa asked some good questions that I just might circle back to in a post of my own: What do I want Thanksgiving to feel like? What do I want Christmas to look like? These really are good things to ponder – and to ponder early – so the holidays don’t take over. And even though I am not all about the sponsored stuff, she does have some cute things in the post! Take a look!

Need some ideas for healthy fall meals? I found this roundup and thought there were some yummy-looking options in there. Everything from immunity-boosting drinks to meals…all right here! BONUS: I’m also intrigued by this pumpkin cream cheese roll that’s a little on the lighter side!

Remember when Ryan and fixed up Abby the RV? That remains one of our favorite projects we have ever done. I also enjoy seeing other people’s made-over camper projects, and one of the best places to find them is on the Renovated RV website. Some people flip them to sell and others simply sell them when they are moving along…or looking for something bigger for themselves. Anyway, I thought this one was super cute! I have never seen an RV done made over with red accents! BONUS: If red isn’t your thing, this one has much more muted colors – and a whole laundry room! That’s a luxury in camper-land!

If you have roughly 1.6 million burning a hole in your pocket that you’d like to spend you can buy a campground in Indiana. It was a Girl Scout’s camp location and is now up for sale. Lots of land and a pretty sweet commercial kitchen!

I’m not sure about actually HAVING an outdoor party in the winter…at least in Indiana. But I am fascinated by the idea this post outlined. It sure looks pretty, and I guess it’s no different than hanging out on a ski slope, right? (For the record, I don’t hang out on ski slopes, but I know people do.) Thoughts on outdoor winter parties?

Celebrating 154 Months

 

Yesterday marked 154 months since we said our vows. And what a 154 months it has been.

                As I said yesterday, we certainly couldn’t top the fun of last month’s celebration!

                It was a work day for both of us, so we scurried around the house prepping for the day and then ran off to our respective work adventures.

                As I walked out the door, I received an email that was a bit discouraging, and sweet Ryan talked to me for my entire drive to work, speaking truth over my life and encouraging me to try to look at the situation from perspectives that would prove helpful. This is not a new thing for him to do, but I mention it because this is marriage. Those words of life were a real-world continuation of the promises he made 154 months ago. He said in his vows, “I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care.” And he has provided those very things over and over – including yesterday.

                After I worked at the church for the morning, I headed home to continue working, but on the way, I stopped to visit him at the open house he was hosting for Swiss Village. I’m so proud of him for how hard he has worked on these open houses. I love seeing him in his element, and it was fun to see other people coming through to see where they could live!

                I also brought him some M&Ms because I figured he hadn’t had time for lunch. 😊

                When he came home from work, we had dinner and then enjoyed the ENTIRE evening together.

                I told Ryan that based on days of the week, the day also marked the anniversary of his proposal. (It happened on a Thursday.) We’ll celebrate that on Saturday, the day on the calendar when he proposed. But it sure didn’t stop me from reminiscing about that beautiful day and all the joy it brought to my heart!

                We never could have known, back on that day 154 months ago, all that we would enjoy in our life together. I am thankful for Ryan and for the life God has allowed us to craft together.

                Happy 154^th monthiversary, Ryan! I choose you!

Date Night at Hawkins Family Farm

 

HAPPY 154^th monthiversary, Ryan! One month ago, we celebrated our monthiversary by exploring Mackinac Island, and we most certainly cannot top that today. However, we will mark the day with some kind of celebration, even if it’s dialed down significantly. 😊

                But you know what isn’t dialed down? The really fun date we enjoyed last week, which I want to tell you all about today!

                A little over a month ago, Ryan came home from work and told me about a place he’d learned about from some of his coworkers. It’s in North Manchester, Indiana, which is about an hour and twenty minutes from us. Hawkins Family Farm is a produce farm that offers pizza nights on Fridays in the summer.

                You can order your pizza starting the Friday before, and they accept orders until they sell out. On pizza night, you show up at the time you chose, pick up your pizza, and then you can hang out and enjoy a picnic on their grounds if you want! You bring your own picnic gear, sides, drinks, etc.

                We had the perfect night for a picnic.

                We picked up our pizzas at the building where they bake them, and then we headed to the yard to set up our picnic.

                We just took a blanket, but there were some fairly fancy setups around the yard. One group brought a card table and tablecloth and everything!

                The pizzas are smaller and really delicious. We ordered a sausage pizza and an order of cheese sticks. I appreciated that the crust was thin and the sauce and toppings weren’t overly heavy.

                We had the best time hanging out, watching families enjoying their evenings. They had some yard games, a swing, and lots of space for kids to run and play – and they did!

                While we enjoyed our pizza and conversation, Ryan checked to see if there were any ice cream stores in the area…and he found one! Apparently it’s famous on TikTok, but we aren’t on that, so it was new to us. It’s called Chillz, and It was started a few years ago by a Purdue student. I had a lot of fun reading the story of how it went from operating out of a shed to being in the beautiful building it’s in now!

                Ryan and I shared the Donut Delight. WHOA.

                I know I rarely meet an ice cream I don’t like, but this was next-level good. I would drive an hour and twenty minutes for this ice cream. (They’re opening one in Fort Wayne soon, so if you’re near there, check it out!)

                It was such a fun night. Sure, the food was a splurge, but we really did have the best date. One of my favorites!

Dreams and Goals for October

 

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I knew going into this week that it was going to be a busy one – and it has been – but it’s been a pretty good week. As we enter this new month and sail full-force into fall, I have a few goals for the Shaffer household, so I’m sharing them with you today.

Celebrate our engagementversary. Believe it or not, Saturday marks THIRTEEN YEARS since Ryan surprised me with a proposal! Some of you remember that day well, don’t you? You were surprised right along with me. 😊 We don’t tend to go over the top with engagementversary celebrations, but I do have a few ideas for dates to enjoy the goodness of the day.

Take a personal planning day. I am so excited about this one. When I attended the staff retreat this past month, we did a lot of collaborative planning for the next year. Now that I know those plans, I am ready to have a planning day of my own! I have made lists (upon lists upon lists) and plan to lay out not just the events to come, but the timeline of planning leading up to those events. My producer days sure are coming in handy!

Plan for and enjoy family photos. We have our family picture day coming up later this month, and while I think we have an idea of what we will wear, we need to finalize that idea and then enjoy the chance to hang out with our friend, Barb, for the night!

Work on vacation album. I want to try to knock out most/all of the Mackinac trip prior to our anniversary. It should go pretty quickly once I get into it. I just need to begin!

Work on Christmas letter. I normally pick a theme for our Christmas letter very early in the year and then slowly craft the letter all year long. This year…um…I haven’t thought of the theme just yet. I need to make that a priority this month so I can begin my wordsmithing!

                I think these should keep me plenty busy enough. What plans do you have for October?