Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Today is a very exciting day in Shafferland!!

THIS IS RYAN'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

You know I love celebrations, and we've already been celebrating all weekend long. (So much so that I'm not sure how I'm actually going make today special in any way, but I'm sure gonna give it a shot.)

I've been all reminiscent lately and looking back over the last almost five years we've spent together has reminded me in new and fresh was what an absolute GIFT Ryan is and how thankful I am he's chosen to spend his days with me.

I've observed it's a rarity to enjoy life with someone who is so funny, so kind, so hard-working, and so dedicated as Ryan is. Maybe that's why it's so hard to find the best way to celebrate his birthday: I can't top the gift of Ryan! :)

Here are some of my favorite random memories and moments from the last few years.

First of all, I love it that our birthdays are so close together, and we get to celebrate for almost a month between the two of us. 

I love our county tours and the way we get to take little day trip adventures just for funsies.

 I love having a permanent coffee date. Truly a blessing.

 I love being goofy together. Life is so much more fun when goofiness is involved.

 I love having a grill-master in the house. And I love all the cooking and kitchen fun we get to have together. I know not all couples both love to cook, so I'm glad we do!

 Rest doesn't come to us as often as I'd like, but to have a Sunday-afternoon-in-the-hammock buddy is a great thing.

 I love all the walks we get to take - in every season. Walks are my favorite.

 I love living with someone who pushes me out of my comfort zone all. the. time. Ryan Shaffer, you're good for me.

 I love having a date to the fair every year - and he probably loves that one sip of a lemon shakeup is all I ever want.

 Did I mention I love his sense of humor?

 And while a segue from pig-kissing to praying is probably questionable, I really love Ryan's desire to serve the Lord and pray over others. He is the leader I always prayed to have.

Ryan is a good and loyal to ALL his friends, and I love that. (And he also knows how to have fun with them.)

 I love the way he has embraced my friends...

 And I love the friends he's brought into my life!

He's a great uncle...

I love our visits to the lake - or to water of any kind. Perfection.

He's the best dad ever to Braeya.

 And the best Daddy-Ryan to Phoebe.

Have I mentioned he ALWAYS makes me laugh?

I never knew I loved traveling around and seeing the sights until I married Ryan. What joy he has brought me through our trips. SO FUN!!!

 (And of course, I had to include everyone's favorite picture of us.)

Happy birthday, my love. You make every single day a joy. I am grateful for your life and how you've chosen to live it. I celebrate you today!

The Shafferland Shuffle

* Happy Sunday to you!!! We are so looking forward to a day of rest today. Much needed after a busy week. Hope you can catch some rest today, too! :)

* Last Sunday was Easter, so we weren't home resting that day! Church, exchanging baskets, lunch with my family, stopping in to catch the end of Ryan's family's celebration...a busy day indeed! But we were thankful for a pretty day, which was more than the forecast promised for Easter!

* Monday I went for a run, and I was pretty nervous about it after the first run of the season (on Saturday) went so ridiculously awful! But even though it was warm and sunny, attempt #2 was much better! Ryan spent the evening working at a friend's house, installing some lights for her, so while he was gone, I started planting the first of our flowers for this year!

* Tuesday was the day of all the crazy stories I didn't feel I could tell on the blog. Here's my pretending-to-be-nicer-than-I-feel-inside face that stayed plastered on much of the morning. And of course, a view from my book that I read at the doctor's office to try to stay calm while awaiting my appointment. Ryan had more work to do that evening at our friend's house, but he did come home in time to take a sunset walk with me. Beautiful view and enjoyable company!

* Wednesday I officially christened my new "open and closed" signs for my office. I like them!! :) This was also the day my brain had reached its fullness point, so I spent some time on the porch just being still (and perhaps napping for a brief time). At the end of the day, I watched our friends' five kiddos, but before I did, I tried out traction for the first time! Hoping it would help some of my sore neck issues. (Hello, computer for 18 hours a day!) Oh! And Ryan did work at other people's houses that night. You know. Something new and different. :)

* Ryan was so busy all week that he didn't have time to mow our yard, and the forecast called for rain, so Thursday morning, I put aside work for a bit to push-mow the yard. What a job! (Our mower is not self-propelled and the "tiny" hill in our yard becomes a mountain when push-mowing! GOt it done just before the rain POURED! That night, Ryan went to work at our friend's house again, and we'd been apart so much of the week that he missed me! So he called and asked if I'd come keep him company, which I was quite happy to do. (And I helped work, too.) When he got home, he found a razzleberry pie waiting for him. I thought he'd earned it after all his hard work!

* Friday night we had some friends over for dinner. They were new friends we made not long before we moved to Kokomo, and we hated leaving them! Because everyone has such a busy schedule, they hadn't been to our house since we moved, so we were glad to finally find a date that worked to have them over. We had a make-your-own-pizza bar and played Jenga together. (Ryan won.) It was just so nice to have them over and catch up with them!

* Saturday morning, at SEVEN IN THE MORNING, we went to help our friend move. (The one whose house Ryan worked at all week.) It was cold and cloudy, but no rain! We'll take it! (By the way, the seven a.m. time was chosen by Ryan.) It really was a pretty quick move. Last night we went out for the first of Ryan's birthday celebrations! Our annual pilgrimage to Tucano's for the bottomless meat festival, and this time we went with our friends Mike and Angie!

The Saturday Six

One.

 I was excited to stumble upon this article of places to eat around Indiana. (Places with spectacular patio dining!) We have actually been to the very last one on the list and loved the food AND the view. And now? We have more places to try!


Two.

 Love these words from Holley Gerth. If you're struggling to forgive yourself of your past, or if you wonder if Jesus meant that He loves you, read her words.

Three.

 Did anyone try the new Unicorn Frappe from Starbucks this week? I am not even REMOTELY tempted by this, and of my social media friends, I only saw one thumbs up. I will just go ahead and stick to my caramel delights, thankyouverymuch.

Four.

Since I'm not a parent, I do try to limit my parental advice on this blog. I know I am not a reliable source. But I happened upon this post through Twitter this week, and out of curiosity, I read it. AND I TOTALLY AGREE. I actually have a couple of friends (meaning one couple married to each other) who parent this way, and it actually works. Their kids are well-behaved, innovative, creative, and in my non-parental opinion, balanced and healthy. So I think there might just be something to this madness!  

Five.

This is kind of a throw-back to an old post, but I'll tell you why I'm reminding you of it! Last year, I shared this post of how I'd started making my own marinara sauce. (It was a by-product of the 21 Day Fix lifestyle and learning to eat less processed foods.) I've used this sauce many times in lasagna and other such dishes, but I made a new batch a few days ago and pulled some out for Ryan to use as dipping sauce for some bread he had. I clearly underestimated how much he would love it and had NOT reserved enough. He told me he was done with all pre-packaged sauces. This was it for him from now on. So in honor of that, here's a link to the recipe! 

Six.

THIS. IN EVERY WAY: THIS. (Pause: it is true that there is no book review this week. I read two books but neither has been released yet, so I can't review them. Believe me. It's killing my OCD as much as it's shocking you right now. I'll be back with a book next week. PROMISE.) Okay back to this point.

I have had so many conversations lately with friends, fellow-believers, fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners and my brain spins over this entire conundrum. As Beth says so much better than I can, we are living in a world where we are taught and encouraged to promote ourselves. If we have something to offer, we have to make graphics and videos and do blog tours and podcasts and push, push, push to get our name and offering out to every soul we've ever met. We beg for retweets and reposts and stalk our social media numbers to make sure they're growing.

I don't like any of it. It's not how I was raised, it wasn't what I saw modeled, and it's not how I want to live. I share what I have to offer, because I want you to know it's there. I want you to know if you need a laugh, you can listen to Spill the Beans and chances are good we'll make you giggle. I want you to know if you want to read about the randomness of our lives, you can come here every day and find something to munch on for a minute. I want you to know if you need a devo, I've written a couple, I believe in their message, and I hope they'd be an inspiration to you. So I let you know when something's here. I want you to know that I love to share the messages God has given me with groups of people, so if you need a speaker, holler, and we'll talk. But oh my word, I never want to be the girl that shoves any of it down your throat.

I don't want to be the girl who gets hidden from every Facebook feed because my every post, even if shrouded in some fun story about my life, is somehow going to turn into a desperate plea to hire me or buy something I've written. I agree with Beth 100% and I am in her camp. I don't want to be about the Bekah Shaffer brand. I want to be about Jesus and hope you see Him through these outlets I have the chance to offer.

Stepping off soapbox.