Plan Z Birthdays

Why does this always happen to poor Ryan's birthday?? I'm pretty sure it was his 39th birthday that we ended up doing a substitute for a substitute for a substitute idea because everything kept falling apart on me. Some of it fell apart the day before his birthday. And I felt like this year was a repeat performance of that year. He was so gracious, but I was NOT a fan. 

This year, I made sure we got three days off in a row for his birthday so we could go have an adventure in Abby. I was going to pick a state park we hadn't explored and go have a grand time. We were going to leave Wednesday night after we finished our shift and be gone all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for his actual birthday. And then...there was a meeting on Friday that we couldn't miss. Right in the middle of the three day stretch. 

That was the end of the camping trip. 

I was determined not to let it dampen my spirit though. I decided we would pick a park close at hand and just spend his actual birthday hiking.

And then it rained. All. The. Live. Long. Day.

So! Would you like to hear about the next plan?

We needed to do something inside because of the rain, but of course those options are still limited. But I remembered that my friends Adam and Michele (hi, Michele!) told me about an adventure they had some time ago that sounded really fun. I decided this was the winner for the day!

We got up early and headed out toward Elkhart, Indiana. This is in a county we've already toured, so we had already seen some of the sights. Somehow, though, we missed a big one!

Before we get to that, though, we stopped at a place called the Baker's Nook Cafe. It's just a little mom and pop spot I read about online. We really enjoyed it. Food was super tasty, and Ryan was excited that they had Jamaican Me Crazy coffee. (That was the coffee we drank all week long on our honeymoon, so it has a special place in our hearts.) 

Then we went to our destination for the day!

The RV Hall of Fame and Museum was actually a lot of fun, and we're so glad we went. It was a perfect activity for a rainy day, and we almost had the entire place to ourselves while we were there, which made it even better! 

There is an exhibition hall inside with a collection of vintage campers and motor homes that tell the story of how this industry came to be. Oh how very glad I was that I did not have to camp in the twenties and thirties! (Of the 1900s that is.) Whew. I won't show you all the pictures we took, but here's a sampling of our day.

We started out in the theater to watch the 7 minute introductory movie. Had the whole place to ourselves! 

I really liked the little display they had of a miniature assembly line. It was fun to get a feel for how RVs are made from start to finish. (And it also took me back to the Barbie days we talked about a few days ago. LOL!) 

Then it was time to start seeing full size models! I think Ryan wanted this car more than the trailer behind it. 

I have to confess that it seems strange to me to think of people who drove cars of this era...camping. I feel like this is an odd match-up. 

This one made me smile. And the S on the wall inside made it feel like we for sure needed a picture with it. 

Then we headed into the main exhibition hall, and I found it darling that they had them all lined up beside a road!

We had fun peeking inside these vintage campers, and in some cases, we could actually walk inside!

This reminded me of an old pie safe...but in an RV. 

Why have a bunk when you can have twin hammocks? I told Ryan they should bring this back. Hammocks are in...why not make a bed a hammock?

Where's Ryan?

Fancy!  Front and back door!

Even Abby has come a long way from these days:

After we were done walking through the exhibition hall, we were able to go upstairs and see it from above!

We had a great time at the museum. (Though I do still have a sore head from misjudging the entrance to a doorway and taking a HARD hit.)

We were done sooner than we anticipated, so we headed back home, and on the way, Ryan indulged me with a quick stop in Shipshewana to see if they still had the little cabins I fell in love with a couple of summers ago. They DO!!!!

Loved it.

We came home and sweet Justine had made Ryan a buckeye pie, so that served as his cake for the day. He didn't mind a bit!

He said he had a happy birthday, and I sure hope so!! :) 

Sunday Sentiments

 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes for Ryan. We had a great day yesterday celebrating him!

The night before his birthday, long after he fell asleep, I curled up on my side of the bed, praying over the many unknowns of our immediate future. We have less than a week until Tim and Justine move on to their next life chapter, and we know the transition season (for which we do not currently have a solid timeline) will look so strange. So different. 

Ryan and I have learned many things during our time here at WillowBridge. Not only have we learned many things in general, we've also learned many things about ourselves, our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other. And one thing I have personally learned in these last few months is that God will likely ask me to do things that feel so very much beyond my capabilities. And when the moment comes, He'll strengthen me for it. 

So as I curled up in bed, wondering how long or short of a time we'll be without our support couple, God nudged me to give that burden to Him. No need to carry it. I can't do a single thing about it anyway. Stewing about it in the darkness from my bed does not make anyone get here faster. But trusting God to bring the right people in His time will strengthen my faith. I don't know what kind of story He's writing, but I remember the story He wrote with us, so why would I think He's give up writing now?

Do I want this season to last indefinitely? Absolutely not. But if it does, do I believe He will give me the day-by-day grace and strength to get through it? I sure do. (Though I may have to remind myself of it now and then. Or frequently.)

These words from Isaiah may need to be written on our walls in permanent marker. (Just kidding, Rob, if you're reading this.) 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? 

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

(Isaiah 40:28-29)

And so I rest in that promise today. God has given me a fantastic teammate in Ryan. We've worked hard the last almost ten months to build up a brand new connection together. We've found a rhythm in working together. We're not perfect, of course, but God has taught us how to make this teamwork flow, and I know we can do this. And when we falter in our own strength, He will be faithful to give us HIS strength. After all, He's not tired.

So we gear up on this day, facing a new week, knowing that by the end of the week, the team we've always shared our days with will be no more.

But we are so thankful that the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is also on our team. He's not leaving or forsaking us. 

The Saturday Six

 

First up...the OFFICIAL happy birthday to Ryan! If you missed it, I celebrated his birthday on the blog yesterday, since today is Saturday Six day. :) You know, I normally don't have a theme to the Saturday Six, but today I sort of do. I was drawn to all sorts of things that are fun but more than likely will never be a reality for me. It's probably the same for you, but maybe you can have some fun looking!

One.

I most CERTAINLY do not have fourteen grand to spend on a swing, but man, oh, man, if I did...have you ever seen anything so delightful? I'd probably never leave it. 

Two.

Ryan and I are always looking for ways to live smaller, so we're probably not contenders for this 50,000 square foot mansion in Texas. (Though if we could afford it, we could also afford the aforementioned swing.) Nothing about this house tempts me...except the pool. I could take a second look at that! 

Three.

This one might not be entirely far fetched, but it is for us right now. Still, I think it's creative! I found a link to this blogger's free e-book about how to visit all 50 states in 12 trips. If you download the e-book, she has each trip laid out into an itinerary! So if you hate vacation planning this could actually be helpful! 

Four.

On the complete flip side from a 50,000 square foot mansion, the Apartment Therapy website has the 251-500 square foot home contest open until Monday. I have had a BLAST looking through the small spaces which somehow don't look nearly so small when well-organized and beautifully decorated. I would say our chances of living in a home this size are far greater than the 50,000 square foot house, but still, probably not likely right now. 

Five.

I do love a good milkshake. I don't get them very often, but I do love them. I don't know when or if I'll ever make it to one of the locations of The Yard Milkshake Bar, but I drooled ALL the way through the menu. Is it milkshake overkill? Oh absolutely. But in the best possible way. Brilliant. 

Six.

I hope this one DOES happen for us someday, but I wanted to share it because some of you mentioned after last week's Six that you also love the idea of a Route 66 trip. This site gives turn by turn instructions if you want to keep planning away! (I won't lie...it mesmerized me!) 

Someone Has a Birthday Tomorrow!!!

Right in the middle of the Saturday Six, someone in this house has a birthday!! You might have heard of him before: his name is Ryan Shaffer? :) 

So today we are celebrating him here on the blog!

What a wild year of adventures we've had together. It's absolutely safe to say that at this very time last year, we had no clue that everything about our lives would change in the year to come. Today I want to share some of my favorite things about Ryan from this past year. 

* At this time last year, Ryan was working on a proning team at the hospital, right in the middle of all the unknowns. He worked fearlessly, ready and willing to do whatever was asked of him to help those fighting against the virus that had taken over the world. I was so proud of him for all he did and all that he was willing to do, even in the cases where he didn't have to. And I was proud of him for being a great example to the women on his team. He still has a friendship with each of them today, and they had a great time together. 

* It wasn't long after Ryan's birthday last year that I found out about the opportunity to work at WillowBridge and presented it to him. At first, he didn't feel like it was a fit at all. But I appreciated watching him take the idea to the Lord in prayer and submitting to the changes God made in his heart that led him to want to move forward with applying and seeing what came of this. I love it that Ryan  always seeks God's will above his own, and this is one of the biggest examples of that I've seen in the time we've been married. (This is a picture I took of him filling out his part of the application, on the same porch where he spent a long time in prayer leading up to this point.)

* When God opened the door for us to come to Grabill, Ryan didn't hesitate at all. He jumped right in with me to accomplish everything that needed to happen to make this move take place in very short order. (We had basically a month between accepting the job and coming to train.) He helped pack, he made lists, he did paperwork, he did touch-up repairs on the house, and he helped organize and run our garage sales. We both worked equally hard on this task, and I loved it that he was willing to carry so much of it!

* When it was time to say goodbye to our Kokomo home - the first one we have ever purchased together - he joined me in saying goodbye through pictures and process and understood my need to grieve that loss in my own way. And when we actually moved, he spearheaded the organization of loading the truck so well. 

* When we arrived in Grabill, he didn't hesitate. Jumped in with both feet to help me organize our apartment, create relationships with our tenants, and immerse himself in a whole new career. He quickly gained a reputation as a hard worker who takes initiative and anticipates needs before they arrive!

* I'm pretty sure neither of us expected to see our RV dreams realized in this past year, but they were. I've been researching and taking online webinars and more for about four years, but once this began to look like a reality, Ryan joined me, looking at all the specifics (many that I did not understand) and figuring out what we could afford and what we would need to do to upgrade. He plunged headfirst into a project he'd never done before, and my goodness. What an AMAZING job he did with Miss Abby, even delving into new skills he didn't know he had!

* We also saw other hobby type dreams come true in this last year: biking together, kayaking, and enjoying the chance to have every day off...together. How long have we dreamed about THAT? It was as wonderful as I'd always imagined to be able to spend this time with him!

* I'm pretty sure no one was more surprised than Ryan that he became the crowd favorite of the littles in our building. I have loved watching him with them. He's so good. 

* This year brought about a plot twist we didn't see coming - when Allen died unexpectedly in February. Ryan handled that loss with such courage and has since launched into working so very hard on all the estate paperwork. (It's a joint effort with his siblings.) Though I joke about being an estate widow, I really am so very proud of him for how hard he works to make sure everything stays organized, nothing falls through the cracks, and everything is handled completely. 

* And in the middle of it all, he still does a million things to be a fantastic husband. He makes my dreams come true. He helps in our apartment. He tells me he loves me. He makes every day an absolute joy. I am so, so grateful. 

Happy birthday, Ryan! Thanks for being the man you are. Thank you for leading us in the Lord, for being so much fun to work with AND live with every single day, for having the work ethic you, and for demonstrating the heart of Christ, even in difficult days. I love you! I hope you have an amazing day of celebration tomorrow! :)