The Shaffers Are Doing a Thing

Well, as they say....

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CLEARLY we have the coffee part down. So now it's time to do the things!

And this summer, we're doing a brand new (to us) thing. We're participating in a fundraiser walk!

Several months ago, my friend Pat was kind enough to be my guest on a Walk a Mile in My Shoes Wednesday post, and he shared about his organ transplant experience. If you missed it, you can read that post here.

The quick synopsis is that Pat has received not one, but two kidney transplants in his life, and now he participates in the annual Indianapolis Kidney Walk to help raise funds for others walking a similar road.

Here's why Ryan and I are choosing to walk with Pat this year and help him raise money.

I have two friends in my life that I have known since I was four years old, and Pat is one of them. We met in Story Hour and have been friends all the way through thirteen years of school and still never lost track of each other in the 20+ years that have followed high school. I think, especially in the world we live in today, that's pretty remarkable.

Pat is one of my game night buddies, always lets me know when storms are on the way (because he knows I'm so scared of them), and has been a great and supportive friend for all these many years. Bonus fun fact: he and Ryan were in show choir together in high school, so adding Ryan into our friendship was really easy!

Pat and I were sixth graders when he had his first transplant, and he was really fortunate that time to have all his family members come up as viable matches for him. His dad actually served as his first kidney donor, and Pat had that kidney for about twenty-five years before it began to fail and he knew he was going to need a second transplant.

I remember seeing him while he waited for that second match, and I knew he just didn't feel good. He was even receiving education on what it would be like to have dialysis because that was a very real possibility. Ryan was tested as a possible donor match for him, and even though he wasn't compatible, it was incredibly moving to me that he was 100% willing to donate if he could and if it meant saving Pat's life.

The second time around, Pat was able to receive a kidney through the paired donation program, and he is thriving and healthy with his new chapter in life. (YAY!!!)

Pat says, "I have been incredibly fortunate and blessed, and I know so many people are still waiting and on dialysis. So when people ask why I walk, that is why: to help those still waiting. Hopefully through your donations, more research and technology can help those waiting."

We are grateful to still have our friend in our lives - not just once, but twice helped by organ donation.

When we found out Pat was walking again this year, we started to just make a donation in his name, but then we decided we wanted to actually walk with him. We wanted to help him raise money so other people can still have their friends in their lives. We wanted to do something to stand beside him and recognize how HUGE this has been for ALL of his life and get to experience first-hand a whole community of people who face this (or have faced it) for real just like he has.

So...all of that to say we'll be walking on Team Renal Renal Rock You this June to support Pat and hopefully bring quality of life to those facing kidney issues. We are really excited about being part of something like this since we've never done a walk before. Here's a link to the team's fundraising page if you are interested in reading more about the walk or helping out with a donation. There is absolutely NO PRESSURE at all for you to donate, but I wanted to make the link available to anyone who might want it.

And of course...we'll be documenting the whole thing so you can see what it was like!

At this point we're pretty much hoping it doesn't snow that day. :)

Low-Key Goals

I don't think it's any secret that we tend to be busy people. (We know it annoys some folks, but it's just our season of life right now!)

Ryan works two, sometimes three Saturdays a month, and it seems like his off-weekends are either occupied by a working weekend for me or trying to do something fun, like a county tour. So it's very, very rare that we have an unoccupied Saturday. (I think in 2017, it was July before we had a free Saturday at home together.)

Lazy, low-key Saturdays are one of my most favorite things in life and they're one of the things I miss the most in our work-heavy weekends.

This past Saturday, Ryan had the day off, and we'd not scheduled any plans. We actually stayed in bed until 10:00. (I was asleep until then. Ryan wasn't, but he let me sleep in because he knows how I adore it and never get to enjoy it.)

When we got up, we stayed in our jammies, made pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast, drank a lot of coffee, watched TV, played on our computers, and just rested.

Because of my quick and unexpected bout with the flu during the week last week, I'd not purchased anything for Ryan's Easter basket, and he still needed to shop for me too. So about mid-afternoon, we threw on clothes, did not officially get ready, and divided and conquered the town to get our gifts. We came back together later, went out for a coffee date and grocery shopping, then came home for the day.

We ended up eating dinner about 10:00 that night, and I stayed up making a dessert for his family's Easter lunch. 

It was one of the most perfect days. I threw a quick post about it on Instagram, and one of my friends commented, "This sounds amazing! I'm trying to slow down and am failing miserably, but this post gives me goals."

She's not alone, I know. I crave days like this. We manage to do pretty well at carving out evenings home alone to rest, but to have a whole day from start to finish is pretty rare. Life is just so busy for everyone!

I think one of the things that makes it so hard is that if you don't have "plans," and someone asks you to do something, it's hard to say no. There's no excuse. But I don't think there's a thing wrong with declaring a "no plan day" and making that the plan. Choosing low-key. Staying home. Not doing your hair. Going out only if you feel like it. Sleeping in. Taking naps. Staying up late. Reading books. Watching movies. Cooking fun dinners. Fostering creativity. Doing nothing if that's what you dream of the most.

Let's have more days like that!

Linking up with Tamar!

64 Months!

Monday was our 64th monthiversary, and we woke up to this!

It sure was pretty, but um....it's April!?!!?!?

This was actually my favorite kind of snow, because it accumulated everywhere except the roads and sidewalks. They were perfectly clear. (And go figure: I didn't have to be anywhere!)

Ryan went to work, and I got to work at home. He came home for lunch, and we were so exciting that we had Easter leftovers. LOL! Leave it to us to be riveting that way.

I even had leftover Easter hair. Normally my curls don't keep well for a second day, but they did this time!

Late in the afternoon, Phoebe's people dropped her off, because they had to pick up some incoming family at the airport. Normally when she arrives, she's ready to just collapse and sleep, but she had a ton of energy and wanted to run all around with her little squeaker toy. So we played and eventually went to see Ryan. (I think that's all she really wanted, and I couldn't blame her.)

We worked out - all of us. Phoebe chased tennis balls, I ran on the treadmill, and Ryan lifted weights. (We are nothing if not exciting on our monthiversaries!)

This may not have been one of our more extravagant celebrations, but I still celebrate the life we share. I'm grateful for terribly ordinary days like this one, that are made up of second-day hair, leftovers for lunch, and dog-sitting.

Ryan commented last night that he feels like these 64 months have absolutely flown by, and I agree. (Why didn't the last thirty days before the wedding do the same thing?) We are both so thankful for this life.

And for melted snow.

Easter 2018!

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's podcast Tuesday! Lots of stories for you this week that go right along with yesterday's and today's posts! :) Enjoy!

Listen here!

I was so excited to wake up on Easter morning and find that it was sunny! (It wasn't warm, but it was sunny!) I knew they were predicting some very winterish weather later in the day, so I guess I'd just expected cold and yucky all day. So sun was a blessing!

I wanted to curl my hair, and that takes about an hour, so I got up really early and went into hair and makeup (ha!) for the day. We were actually ready right on time and out the door for church!

Our church had a really great service that we thoroughly enjoyed. (That is actually no different from any other week, but I'm just pointing out they did a great job with Easter!)

(We kind of sit in a little perch all alone. So yes, other people do attend our church. Ha!)

We hurried home after church so we could exchange our Easter baskets before we had to scurry off to family gatherings. Ryan did a great job putting together my "basket," which was actually a fabulous new crate that I have great plans for. :)

And he said he liked his! :)

We took our official Easter photo and got on the road to visit the families! (We always do our Easter photo outside by a tree, but it was just SO COLD! And the tree still looks dead from winter, so that doesn't help.)

We had lunch with my parents, and Mom fixed a really nice meal for us! A small group this year, but we still had a good time.

When we left their house, we went to one of Ryan's family gatherings. They were finishing up lunch and getting ready for the egg hunt. We didn't eat a whole second meal, but we did have a snack. :)

We stayed a few hours, catching up, telling stories, and watching the kids divide the egg hunt spoils.

This was our sister-in-law's solution to making sure our nephew's pant legs didn't get muddy during the hunt, since they still had one more Easter to attend. Tuck them in the socks! Once he put the bucket on his head, it was just a whole outfit to behold.

 Competition runs fierce in this family!

 I spy a golden egg!

 I laughed and laughed over this. Ryan's brother tucked in our nephew's shirt and hiked his pants up as high as they would go. They were up to his armpits! He didn't care. Just stood there and ate chocolate the whole time with his britches up to his neck. Hilarious.

There was an egg hunt for the adults, too. :) Ryan participated, but the golden egg went to his cousin's fiancée.

By the time we left this Easter, it was snowing, and by that night, we had somewhere between five and six inches of snow. Happy Easter!

The Easter Dress Saga

Every. Year.

Every. Single. Year.

Why do I think the year will come when Easter dress shopping will go smoothly for me? It hasn't in the last almost forty. And yet I remain eternally optimistic that the day will come when it will be effortless.

This was not that year.

Let me give you a little background. The biggest problem I have while Easter dress shopping is that I'm just flat out weird when it comes to fashion. I am a pretty classic girl in my tastes. I don't like things that are overly trendy in pointing to a specific year. Not in fabric, print, or style. And if I ever do happen to warm up to a trend, I usually do so right as it sails out the door. I know this about myself, I've accepted it, and I know it will always be a thorn in my clothes-shopping side.

Another big problem? I'm cheap. I hate paying money for clothes! That's why I usually shop Goodwill, consignment shops, and garage sales.

And finally, I'm kind of oddly proportioned. I do just fine when shopping for just tops or just bottoms. But when I have to do the whole dress thing, it's hard to find something that fits me well.

So with all that stacked against me, it's no small wonder the dress shopping never goes well. (It's also a wonder I found my wedding dress in about 45 minutes flat.)

I had not yet purchased a dress for this year, so when Savannah and I went shopping last Monday, I decided to just keep an eye out for possible option. I didn't want to use our day out together as my shopping day, so I had no intentions of trying on any dresses, but I figured if I saw something I liked, I could go back later in the week and try it.

Oh boy.

That whole day scared me to death. We went in store after store after store...and I didn't see anything I liked. I know florals are in, but I am still not over wearing them in the 90's and I just can't bring myself to go back there (yet). I will probably wait until they go out again before I decide I like them. So that eliminated most of the options. There were other patterns, but some were so loud and busy that they literally made me dizzy to look at them. I don't like the cold shoulder trend (on me), so that knocked out more, and I also didn't want anything too short, so that eliminated another hefty portion.

I planned to go around town on Thursday to look for my dress, but alas, that's when I got hit with the flu and didn't leave home all day. That's how it came to be Good Friday (night!) and I still didn't have a dress. My brave husband went with me to watch me plod through the agony of trying to find a dress.

Store #1:

I actually did find one dress in there I liked (and it was even floral!) but it was about $70, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Store #2:

They didn't have much to choose from that was Easter-dressy. Most were casual, sporty dresses.

Store #3:

I'm too old. We were nearly knocked over by teenagers in a hurry, and I got dizzy from the patterns.

Store #4:

Ryan was trying to make it look like he was picking my nose in this picture. We're so twelve! Anyway! SUCCESS!!! Finally! I even tried on multiple dresses! (And I actually liked all of them I tried on, even though I didn't like all of them on me.) It was so refreshing!

Ryan thought I should wear the dress with those gray shoes there. I think that was because he did not want to go shoe shopping. (Which was our next item on the agenda. It took just as many stores and even more headaches.)

This is how we carry our clothing:

In the end, we got this dress on sale - and an additional discount was so kindly offered to us at checkout, so the price was tolerable! (It was actually great, but when you're used to shopping at the Goodwill, it still makes you choke a little.) The shoes ended up costing as much as the dress, but I knew I needed them. (They're very versatile, so I should easily get my money's worth.)

Some of you have already seen this on Facebook, but for those who haven't I tried SO HARD to get Ryan to get this for his Easter outfit, but I was unsuccessful.

Thanks for shopping with the Shaffers! Be glad you didn't have to catch the live show!

The Shafferland Easter Shuffle

Happy Easter, my Friends! Regardless of what the weather might be like today (I'm looking at you, cold and windy), I hope it is a beautiful day in your hearts as you celebrate the hope we have in Jesus!

* Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and we enjoyed the celebration at our church, complete with kids with palm branches! (Fun fact: Easter Sunday last year was our first Sunday at this church, and we have LOVED our almost-year there!) On the way home from church, Ryan decided he wanted some iced tea, so we stopped at McDonald's to get some. When we pulled into the parking place, this squirrel was staring us down. Felt like some bad movie scene about to happen. LOL! We had a great day at home, and I ended the day by cooking our lunch for Monday, since I wasn't going to have time to do it then!

* I already told you about our Monday, but that was the day we spent with my/our bonus-niece Savannah! I drove to Marion that morning to pick her up and got home just in time to have lunch with Ryan. While he worked that afternoon, Savannah and I went out for coffee and shopping, and then all three of us went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was a really fun day!

* Tuesday afternoon, I was busy cooking dessert for our small group study (and trying to get the house ready for it, too), and Braeya was busy napping. Such a bum, that one. Right before small group, Ryan decided he was over the porch furniture being stored in the garage, so he declared it to be spring and put it all back out on the porch. I love it! Can't wait to sit on it!

* Wednesday was my first TRUE day of spring break - no responsibilities related to any of the schools. I spent the ENTIRE day scrapbooking. I did 54 pages in one day, thankyouverymuch. It was so good for my soul. So good. Again...Braeya slept. (Eyeroll.) And I started in earnest on my PT exercises for my hurt shoulder. Yep. Still hurt.

* Thursday was entirely unexpected. I woke up from a dead sleep at 2:30 in the morning RIDICULOUSLY sick to my stomach. It was so weird. I had been absolutely fine when I went to bed. I was up all night, sitting on the couch for much of it, staring at the lamp and praying to NOT get sick. I did not ever actually get sick, but I was one miserable girl for all of Thursday. I slept for most of it, did not want any food, OR coffee, and Ryan pretty much had to fend for himself. Bless him. I rallied late Thursday night just enough to stay awake for an hour and watch the Easter Pageant DVD, which is one of my Easter traditions.

* I woke up feeling better on Friday. Still sort of wiped, but at least I wasn't sick to my stomach anymore! Ryan knew I was better when I accepted a cookie with ice cream at lunch time. :) I think the squirrel from McDonald's followed us home. Look at what stared at us all through lunch on Friday! LOL! That night? Ooooh. Easter dress shopping. (Look at me planning ahead!) That's a whole post in and of itself. Let the record show we finally were successful, but WOW. What an ordeal!

* Yesterday was a little slice of perfection. Ryan didn't have to work and we didn't have any plans. (What!?!?!) We slept until 10:00!!!!! We were total bums, had pancakes and eggs for breakfast, never really got ready, and went out later in the day for a grocery-shopping-and-coffee date. We didn't even have dinner until 10 p.m. because all our meals were pushed back due to a late start! I made our dessert for Easter dinner and called the day pretty amazing. (Insert all the hearts here.)