The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Sunday, friends!! Hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend! Ryan and I have been part of the patriotic program at our church and have really enjoyed the chance to participate! :) It's been a full, but good week around here! Wanna take a peek?

* We still had Miss Phoebe staying with us last Sunday, so after church, we took her on a walk through the park, and then we went to a cookout party with our Sunday School class! (They are good cooks, let me tell you!) Once we got home, we rested and took Miss Pheebs on another walk. (We were determined to send her home with some good workouts under her...collar?)

* Phoebe was with us all day on Monday, too! Ryan's experiment to get her to befriend Braeya didn't work out so well, but he was at work, so he didn't have to worry about it. HA! I got to mess with their "encounters." I took Phoebe out with me to run some errands (and give Braeya a break) and that night, Ryan grilled our dinner! YUMMY!!

* We went to another evangelism class on Tuesday night, and then we came home for lattes, practicing our script for the patriotic program, and watching America's Got Talent. (That may be my shortest day recap ever!)

* Wednesday night was our first night to practice with the choir for the program, and we really enjoyed being with them again! (Last year, Ryan was in the choir for this program, so we spent about two months with these folks in preparation. We've missed them!) Practice was shorter than we imagined, so we were even able to squeeze in a quick walk when we got home!

* I mowed the yard on Thursday morning, and even though the temps were in the low 70's at the time, the humidity was about 90% and my GOODNESS. I was a sweat machine!! I got all cleaned up and we went to the last program practice. We got a lot of kinks worked out and hoped for the best at the actual program!

* Friday night was the first program and it went really well! I was excited that my mom, aunt, and cousin came, and I thought Ryan did a fantastic job with his narrations. (I guess I never said, but we're both narrators in it this year.) It was an extremely moving evening...seeing all the veterans come to the stage to be honored gets me every time.

* Ryan had to work all day yesterday, so I rushed to finish a scrapbook (my second one of the week, actually) before the big sale ends, and then last night, we returned to church for night two of the program. I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first night, and we were excited that some of Ryan's family came! We were SO HUNGRY by the time it was over, so we grabbed pizza on the way home and I don't know the last time a meal has tasted that good! (Note: Ryan looks goofy in the picture of us because he was trying to make his face bigger than mine so I didn't feel fat. And the picture of him on stage was borrowed from a gentleman who posted it to Facebook.)

The Saturday Six

One.

My sister sent me this RV renovation that made me all melty in the knees!! Who knew something that old could look that amazing inside?

Two.

I always think it's fun to read day-in-the-life posts, and to read one from a novelist is extra fun! I have no idea how she packs so much production into one day, but I'm impressed!

Three.

I know this might only be popular with like THREE of you, because the rest of you will pummel me with rotten tomatoes, but the three of you who will love me are worth it! Just wanted to remind you that you can catch Christmas movies on Hallmark in July! If you aren't ready for Christmas talk yet, just move along. Item #4 isn't about Christmas. :)

Four.

Because Ryan and I are not your typical grown ups, we tend to not love typical grown up vacations. I actually find some of the best vacation ideas when I search for family-friendly trips, because even though we don't have kids, those are the kinds of vacations we like the most. I found this list of forty ideas. What?!?! Of the suggestions on this list, I visited 6 before we got married (St. Louis, Chicago, The Mall of America, Washington D.C., Hershey, and Niagara Falls) and together, we have been to 4 - Chicago, Colonial Williamsburg, Chicago, and Niagara Falls). I gotta tell you - with the exception of Disney World and Legoland, I think I want to see everything on that list!

Five.

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day - about how to forgive and move on when you've been hurt deeply. She asked my advice, and though I told her all that came to mind, I felt like I hadn't really given her what she needed. I happened upon this post that I thought had some good points in it regarding forgiveness while still acknowledging that a deep hurt took place. Maybe you're in a similar situation, and if so, I will share it with you!

Six.

I like a good festive food...so I think that this coming week, on the 4th of July, I'm going to make this red white and blue protein smoothie! (It's not a members-only recipe, so you should be able to see it!)

What I Learned in June

Two more days of June, my friends! But since it's the last day of the regular week, I'm sharing today the things I learned in June!

1. Competitive jump roping is a thing.

I was watching an episode of Trading Spaces one day while I scrapbooked and the homeowners were former competitive jump ropers. That's a thing? I had no idea! (Also: I would not survive that competition.)

2. We really like Biggby Coffee.

During our weekend getaway to St. Joseph, Michigan, we went to Biggby Coffee, which is a chain, but not one that has a location anywhere near us. We really loved it! We had a latte the first day and fresh brew the second day, and we really loved the flavor of both! (Bonus: the barista was fantastic.)

3. I like using the Total Gym.

Ryan's work received a Total Gym machine (hello, Chuck Norris/Christy Brinkley infomercial!) and though I was hugely skeptical at first (because I'm skeptical of ALL infomercial products), I discovered I really like it! If you're not familiar, it's a machine that, depending on how you position yourself on it, can work any muscle group in your body. And there are no added weights. YOU are the weight. The incline of the board you're on makes it harder or easier to move. I've done legwork, arm work, core work...and I've been pretty sore! It actually works! (It also comes with cards that show you how to do different moves...and cards that show you which combinations of moves to do for a whole workout.)

4. There aren't any Starbucks locations in Italy.

I was reading a post earlier this month with a bunch of ideas for souvenirs to collect in your travels. The first suggestion? Starbucks mugs. (If you don't know, you can get mugs with names of states/cities/countries.) The writer said that she's gotten one from every place she's traveled (and she's well-traveled) except Italy, because they don't have them there. She said Italy wants to preserve their local, independent shops, so they don't want mega-chains in the mix. (It's on the internet, so it must be true, right?

5. The ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz weren't originally red. 

WHAT?! On Father's Day, one of Ryan's cousins told me about a Wizard of Oz trivia list she read. She said she learned that those famous ruby slippers were not originally red. Now, I will confess that I don't think I've actually seen the Wizard of Oz (movie version) all the way through, so I'm HARDLY an expert on it, but I thought the slippers were sort of key! I don't know if this is the list she saw, but there were several interesting facts on it!

6. Stair rods are a thing.

Have you ever heard of them before? I hadn't, until I read this post over at Thistlewood Farms. I still don't think I've ever seen any in real life. Fascinating.

7. We like the little protein snack packs from the store.

I like protein shakes, but they're not always convenient to make. Ryan found these little protein packs on a dollar sale at the store the other day, so he bought a few to have on hand. With our busy, on-the-run schedule, they've been quite a help, I must say! Sometimes if we just need the tiniest little pick-me-up, we'll split one. Otherwise, they make a fantastic mini-meal! (If you haven't seen them - they're in the refrigerated section: meat, cheese, and nuts.)

So that's what I've been learning...how about you?

Little Pheebs

As you know, Miss Phoebe stayed with us for a few days recently, so I thought I'd give you a peek at her fun.

I took this picture almost as soon as she got here. She was a ball of energy, and getting any photo LESS than a blur was impossible.

She was also excited to chase her toy around the living room. We bought her this back at Christmas time when she stayed with us, and it just hangs out here as her Shafferland toy. Something new and different when she comes over. (She actually now has her very own DRAWER at our house, which pretty much makes her an official family member.)

We went to visit Ryan at work, which she considers an extension of home. (Our home = hers. Ryan's work = hers. Our car = hers. You get the idea.)

Ryan and Phoebe woke me up on Friday morning, and while they were waiting for my eyes to be able to stay open, Phoebe thought Ryan needed a bath. Clearly he loved it.

I mowed the yard Friday afternoon and was a MESS of sweat when I came inside. Another bath was in order:

She's basically a live cleanup on aisle seven.

And then she sat with me while my body temperature returned to normal.

When I finally pulled myself out of bed Saturday morning, I found her having quality time with Ryan:

She was SUPER EXCITED about our shopping trip:

And Lowe's. Lowe's is her happy place.

We took her on a walk in the park after church on Sunday:

And it stormed a little that night. It's not her favorite thing, but she didn't freak out. Just needed some cuddles.

She ran a quick errand with me on Monday - mostly to give Braeya a break.

And then she went home. :(

Braeya hasn't been TOO brokenhearted that she left. Ryan's master plan to get the two of them to be friends during this stay didn't entirely go according to schedule. But if anyone can foster a friendship between these two, it's Ryan. Maybe one day!

Well Hello, Summer!

Summer's here for real now, you know. I'm not sure if it's hot or snowy where you live but at least the calendar reflects summer, and we've had a fun little start to our official new season.

For starters...we got new summer shoes! My quick slip-on shoes from last summer had worn through to almost a hole on the bottom, so we hit a BOGO sale and I got these cute little things. It's weird to walk and not feel every rock! (Ryan got new shoes too, but we kept being in the way of other peoeple in his shoe aisle, so we didn't think we should stop for photo opps.)

If you heard the podcast, then you heard the story of the exhausting free ice cream debacle. Here we are at the first Dairy Queen, we attempted.

The second location DID have the free ice cream cones, but by that time, I just wanted a full Blizzard, thankyouverymuch.

And. They. Were. Good.

Isn't it weird when the first official weekend of summer coincides with hunting for end-of-season bargains at the store? We were on the lookout for some marked down porch treasures.

Summer days are for hanging out in the driveway and big sloppy kisses.

They're for celebrating the flowers that finally filled out:

They're for cookouts at friends' houses...and it's a bonus when the friends have an amazing backyard!

And they're for looking forward to more of this!

Hello, summer. It sure is good to see you. Won't you stay for a while?

Nita's Tree

GUESS WHAT!?!?!?!?! You're not podcastless this week! Enjoy some new stories!

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Next week marks four months since Ryan's mom passed away. It seems so much longer than that, but we're reminded now and then of just how new this change in seasons is for us. We ran into some friends over the weekend who hadn't heard the news yet, and we sort of froze in place when they asked about her. (They live out of state for part of the year and were gone for her entire illness, actually.)

We've learned that everyone handles this journey in different ways, and we are thankful that for the most part, we're similar in our grief processes.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about the little memorial ornament that one of Nita's friends gifted to us on Mother's Day. Displaying it on our tree this Christmas (and in all Christmas seasons to come) is one of the ways we hope to honor her life and remember the things that were so dear to her.

One of the other gifts we received came from our small group; they gave us a gift card to a local garden center so we could choose something for our landscaping to honor her memory. Between the lousy weather and our busy schedule, we've not been able to go spend it...until this last weekend!

Ryan really wanted to get a tree to replace the one we had to remove from our yard earlier this summer. I wanted him to choose whatever he wanted, since this was about honoring his mom.

It was supposed to rain this past Saturday, but it ended up being a beautiful day, and we had Phoebe with us, so we were eager to find things to do that could include her (and give Braeya a break). I called to make sure the garden center was pet friendly, and they were, so we drove over to see what they had to offer! (It was our first time to visit.)

It was a much bigger place than we imagined, and they had LOTS of options. We walked around on our own for a while, reading tags and talking through what we might like to have.

Finally we asked for some help from one of the employees, and she was so helpful. She was able to direct us to something size-appropriate for our space. (Budget-appropriate was also important. I had no idea trees could be that expensive!)

This is what Ryan chose!

It's a weeping cherry tree. The two things that made him pick this one were as follows: it blossoms pink, which was Nita's favorite color, and it is a weeping tree...and she loved a good cry. It felt like the perfect fit all the way around.

We brought it home and he planted it immediately.

It's a perfect little fit!

(We're planting grass seed, so it won't look polished just yet, but this gives you a pretty good idea.)

The stone underneath was a gift from my parents, sisters, and niece, and we think it's the perfect pairing.

(We have another stone to put in another landscaping project that is still in a planning phase, so we'll update again when that is done!)

I'm excited to see this tree in full bloom, and I'm excited to see it grow!

Little Love Showers

One of the things we hear often from many of you is that you appreciate how intentional we try to be toward one another and toward life. That makes us happy to hear, because we do try to be intentional, and if you can see it happening, then we must be doing something right!

The decision to be intentional was one we made before we ever got married. We realized it was important to pause and find ways to show tangible love to each other. We know it's easy to get lazy and think it's obvious the other knows we love, so we would be purposeful to display that love.

Sometimes we do that in big ways. That's the reason we're intentional about our getaways, even though it's just the two of us at home. Taking time to get out of our routine and travel to see sights and meet people? That's one way we show love.

But I'm a firm believer that sometimes love is shown best in the littles love showers. Not in the cruises. Not in the anniversary gifts. Not in fancy dinners.

Little stuff.

Ryan is really good at this, and I want to brag on him for it today. I also want to encourage you husbands who hang out here on this blog to reach out with little love showers for your wife. The way you show love may look different, because she may not like any of the same things I do. But let me show you some of the things Ryan has done lately to show love in little ways that seem so huge in my mind.

He understands that memory-making is so important to me, and he helps me do it. I love this photo that Jason Graves took during my last speaking event. Ryan had sneaked away from his Power Point job to get some pictures of me speaking. I love it that in the photo essay of our marriage, I get to be represented (in more than selfies!) because Ryan makes a point to take pictures too.

He gives me cooking breaks. I'm the resident chef of Shafferland. I love to cook, I have the time to do it, and it's one of the ways I get to show love to Ryan. But almost every single Sunday, he takes time to put together a meal for us. It doesn't matter to me if he's grilling or warming up leftovers; it's a treat to get to hang out on the couch and have my plate delivered to me! (But he really is fantastic at the grilling, and I love it when he makes our meals that way.)

He makes time to go on walks with me. These last several months have been demanding of our time, and we really haven't had a lot of down-time to spend together. The longer we go without that, the more we see the absolute value IN it and the more we crave it. I'm grateful for the times he suggests we take the time we do have and head out for a walk. (That's also been a bit more challenging this year because of the rain!)

He's kind about my needs, even when they differ from his. I'm not sure I've ever met another adult with as much unending energy as Ryan has. We've been trucking along at a hundred miles an hour for about the last seven months, and while we are both exhausted, he powers through better than I do. I need little breaks to rejuvenate so I can move ahead again. This last weekend, I was worn out to the point where I could tell I was fighting sickness. (BLAH.) He didn't have to work on Saturday, so he told me to sleep in as late as I wanted. He got up early and took Phoebe out for her morning potty walk, kept her occupied so I could rest, and when I did get up, he made pancakes and smoky links for us. (And he cleaned up the kitchen when he was done!)

I appreciate all these little things because they remind me I'm loved...even when life is utterly exhausting. I appreciate the big things he does too, but sometimes love is shown in a candid photo, an evening walk, a lazy Saturday, and a break from cooking.

Thanks for loving me well in the little things, Ryan!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Happy Sunday, my friends! Hope you are having a great start to your Sunday! And here's a little peek at our week...

* Last Sunday was Father's Day, and I already told you all about it. I got to see my dad for a moment on our way to the big Father's Day bash with Ryan's family at the cabin. It was supposed to rain all day, but it ended up being sunny and quite beautiful, so that was a nice bonus to the day.

* I also told you this week about some of the new ministries Ryan and I are working with at church. Monday night I had my first meeting with the women's ministry team. I didn't think I was going to be running that meeting since it was the outgoing leader's last night, but she asked me to go ahead and begin, so I spent the day getting ready for that. The team gave her a going-away gift, and I loved seeing her face light up when she opened it! While I was doing that, Ryan was over at the condo, working away!

* I made some delicious meatballs and cauliflower fried rice on Tuesday; that was definitely a keeper meal, and I kind of wish I had more right now! That night, Ryan suggested we get a Frosty, and while we were in line, I saw a sign that said they were hiring. I asked if he wanted me to get a job, and he said he didn't think it was a good idea...because he could just envision me sticking my head under the Frosty faucet for a snack. (He might not be wrong.) We also were able to get in a quick walk that evening! It was so nice.

* We had another monsoon rainstorm on Wednesday, but it was okay, because we were just heading back to Ryan's dad's to do some more work there. When we got home, Ryan made lattes for us, and they were just so delicious. He really is the best barista. 

* Thursday morning, you guys, I LOST MY WEDDING RING. It happened while I was doing laundry, and I knew it had to be here in the house, but it took me a while to find it, and I did some hard praying!! Phoebe came to stay with us that day, too, so we hung out, took walks, rested, and had fun! (And....more work at Ryan's dad's.)

* Friday was the first day of summer!! It was a beautiful day, and we went for a sunny early morning walk before Ryan went to work! Ryan and I ran some errands Friday night, which included our attempt to get the first-day-of-summer-free-ice-cream-cone at Dairy Queen. Fail. FAIL FAIL FAIL. But fortunately we have two Dairy Queens here in town, so the second one came through for us!

* And yesterday was wonderful. Ryan didn't have to work, and I have been worn out from being on the go, so he told me to sleep in as late as I wanted, and then he made us breakfast! It was delicious. We took Phoebe and went to some pet-friendly stores to do some shopping, including getting a new tree for our yard. I'll have to tell you all about it next week, but we found one and Ryan planted it as soon as we got home. We did a little more work at the his dad's that night and as far as I know, that was my last day to work there and Ryan will just have one more time to go over in a couple of weeks to do some muscle work!!