A Big Birthday...Coming Right Up!

No, neither of us are turning forty again. ;)

But today I want to talk to you about a birthday of a different kind.

Last Friday, I talked about the changes in decades that I've lived so far on this earth, which was inspired by all the decade challenge pictures floating across social media right now.

I mentioned in that post that I'd tell you later about 1989 becoming 1990, because I had a whole story to go along with that. Today is story day.

I was six years old when I "officially" became a Christian. I put that in quotes because other than the general remembrance that it took place - and where I was when it happened - I don't really remember much about that day. I don't know what the date was on the calendar, nor did I have a marked difference in the way I lived day-to-day. I was already learning about the Lord. I was already a church attender. I was already participating in prayer and family devotions. I just kept steadily learning as I always had.

When I was eleven, I had a couple of major life transitions that lined up and changed everything in my heart.

The first was that my older sister had a baby. Cassie was born on Christmas Eve, and I was a wide-eyed sixth grader who had just been given the greatest Christmas gift any eleven-year-old could possibly hope to have.

The second was that I was just one semester away from beginning junior high. In our school system at that time, K-6 met at the elementary school, and 7-12 met at the combined junior high/high school. My dad was a high school teacher, so I'd heard stories about that building, and even though I was pretty sheltered, I knew I'd see and hear things in education-part-two that I couldn't even imagine. It made me so nervous.

And so it was that on December 31, 1989, I sat in my sister's house, staring at this newborn baby in my lap, thinking ahead to the immediate future. This sweet little baby girl was going to look to me in some way as an influence, and I needed to do my best to not mess up her life. That big bad junior high building loomed in my mind, and I knew I'd have to face things I could not begin to know how to prepare for.

So I passed the baby off to someone else and went into the bathroom to pray. I knelt beside the tub and told God that even though I knew I was already saved, I needed to make this relationship with Him just that...a relationship.

And I did. I started studying my Bible for myself, reading devotional books along with my study, keeping a prayer journal, and paying attention (even taking notes!) in church.

And in just over a month, I will celebrate my 30th birthday...in the Lord. Sure, I know I belonged to Him even before that, but December 31 is the date on the calendar that I choose to observe as my faith birthday.

We talked about such things at our small group a few weeks ago. We talked about how we make a huge deal in celebrating people's regular birthdays. Parties, gifts, cards - an acknowledgement of the day. But what do we do for faith birthdays? Mostly nothing.

In my teen years, I babysat for a family that did make a point of celebrating faith birthdays for their kids. Cakes and gifts and acknowledgement of another year walking with the Lord. I think it's brilliant, and I think more of us should do that.

So of all the decade transitions I've lived, 1989 into 1990 was the most pivotal, because it brought new life. New life in our family and new life in my heart.

My sincere faith turns 30 this year, and I plan to celebrate that!

The Shafferland Shuffle

I don't often get to say this, so I'm going to take full advantage here: it was a low-key week in Shafferland! We were grateful for a bit of a breather!

* Ironically, last Sunday wasn't quite as restful as we like a Sunday to be. We had just a few leftover Christmas decorations to put up that we hadn't gotten done on Saturday, so after a quick attempt at rest, we finished up the few remaining things. (The Merrcy Hristmas sign is baaaaaaaaaack!) Ryan grilled our dinner, as he often does on Sunday evenings, and we enjoyed the first of many nights by the twinkle lights!

* I had to run out to the local radio station Monday morning to record some ad spots for our church, and it was really foggy out there! That evening, we hosted my women's ministry team for an end-of-year celebrations party. It was SUCH a fun night! Ryan grilled dinner for us and all the women brought food to share, and we had the BEST TIME together.

* I spent Tuesday working at home (and catching up on DVR'd shows, including Long Lost Family, which I sobbed over...shocker). We hosted small group that night, so we scurried after Ryan's work to do our last minute prep on that. (We had a great group and loved all we learned!) And we kept right on loving our cute Christmas lights, as did our group! They peeked in all the rooms to see the trees.

* Wednesday was a writing day for me, since I have some devotional articles due soon. I was holed up at my desk, typing away, when I found a cardinal staring at me from the tree. Must have been trying to peek - ha! Ryan had men's Bible study that evening, so my friend Amber came over to hang out with me, and Braeya refused to be comforted until Ryan came home and she could sit on HIS lap. So fickle, that one.

* I posted about this on Instagram, so some of you might have seen it, but I LOVE waking up to Christmas lights, and this view on Thursday morning was my favorite! Our Christmas cards arrived that day, and I'm excited to get those ready to go! We went grocery shopping that night (completely out of food) and I found a Friends calendar! We made it home in time for Ryan to watch the Colts game. So close. So close.

* I was on fire in the cooking world on Friday! Tomato soup and grilled cheese (healthy versions of both) for lunch and chicken parmesan and broccoli for dinner! I wrote all day and went for a run in the evening, and then we made our way to the grocery store Christmas tree farm to get our live tree for this year. I think this may be the first time we've ever made it there in the daylight!

* When Ryan got home from work yesterday, we ran out to do some errands and had a coffee-on-the-go date while we were out! Then we came home and decorated our live tree! He turned out to be really pretty when he was situated in his corner! :) We read all the stories of all our ornaments and the very last one we put on was Nita's memorial ornament. Right there in front. Perfect.

The Saturday Six

One.

If you're from around here, you probably know at least part of this story, but I hadn't heard all the details of it as they were told in this interview. Scott Swan is a news anchor in Indianapolis, and a couple of years ago, he nearly died from internal bleeding. The story of how God spared his life is a faith booster!

Two.

I don't have teen girls (though we do have a couple of nieces in their teens) but you might! I found this gift guide for teen girls, so if you're stumped on what to buy this year, perhaps these ideas will help!

Three.

If you're looking for some essential oil diffuser blends to get you through the next few weeks...and you can't find them on this list, I may not be able to help you! LOL! Thorough for the win!

Four.

This isn't a new article, but I found it this week and thought it was so sweet. I love the way Bibles can chronicle a life journey, so I really appreciated reading about this woman's grandmother's Bible and the legacy she still enjoys today from reading through it!

Five.

I found a really cute shop with faith-based clothing, and while I like many of their designs, this design-of-the-week is my favorite right now! (I think if you're reading this into next week, it may pop up as a different feature, so hunt around until you find the "True Story" shirt.)

Six.

I realize most of you who hang out here each day/week have been here for a while, so this isn't news to you, but every now and then I try to be a brave marketer, and today is just such a day. :) This year marks the ninth birthday my little advent devotional that I wrote years ago. I officially published it in 2010, and it's been one of the sweetest gifts from the last decade. If you're looking for a new study to read this Christmas, and you haven't already checked out this one, I would be honored to have you give it a try. I published it before I was married, so my maiden name is on the cover, but here is the link if you'd like to get a copy!

Decades Apart

The new year to come is an extra special new year for milestone-lovers like this girl. A new decade.

I don't remember when 1979 slid into 1980, because I was still a toddler and most likely asleep when it happened.

I do remember 1989 transferring to 1990, but that's a story I'm saving for another day, because it's big.

And then, of course, there was 1999 into 2000. Of course I remember that one. I was a senior in college and spent that moment with my on-again-off-again boyfriend. We waved goodbye to the old year by eating boxed macaroni and cheese and putting together a puzzle. (I have no patience for puzzles, but he loved them.) We watched the ball drop at midnight and held our breath to see if the world would keep spinning on its axis, since we'd been warned the transfer of centuries might cause it to fall into oblivion.

When the lights stayed on and all devices appeared to continue working, we shrugged, said goodbye, and that was the rather anticlimactic start to a new decade and century.

Ironically it's the switch from 2009 to 2010 that I remember the least vividly, but thank goodness for blogging, right?

Maybe.

I looked it up, and indeed I did document it right here. Perhaps I've forgotten about this switch of decades because this was a difficult New Year's Eve for me. I was in so many seasons of transition, I wasn't sure where I belonged - or if I belonged at all.

So now we are here, on the brink of another decade change, and life is just so very different for me from all the decade changes I've ever known. It's different in beautiful ways, of course, and ways that I celebrate grandly.

But some things never change, and all the unknowns that I faced coming into this 2010-2019 decade are still here, but they wear different clothes. Also still here is my faithful God, who never changes and will provide as purposefully for me (for us) in the twenties as He did in the teens.

This past decade is something I'll probably blog about again between here and the end of the year, but it was on my mind today after one of my Facebook friends posted a photo of herself from 2009 and then one from 2019. It was interesting to see the ways she had changed (and the ways she hadn't), so I decided to play along, too!

This was the Bekah of late 2009, ready to see 2010 arrive. (She thought.)

And this is me now...excited to see what God has ahead!

You should do it, too! Look back to 2009 and see how life has changed in the decade we've just lived.

Memories Beside the Fireplace

I'm itching to show you all our Christmas decorations, but I feel like it may still be too soon for such posts, so I hunted around for some fall-appropriate blog inspiration. This one just seemed to fit for today!

When Ryan and I were house hunting, we had a list of non-negotiables and a secondary general wish list. On my general wish list? A fireplace. I grew up in a house with a fireplace and found it to be neither here nor there, but in in my adult life, I think they're just so cozy and delightful.

As it turned out, the house we fell in love with did not have a fireplace, so we still have our little portable electric fireplace that sits under the TV and creates artificial ambience. It works!

But I do have some awfully fond memories of life by the fireplace at home. My parents' fireplace was actually one of two main heat sources in our house, so when cold weather came, it ran nonstop. My dad spent his free time cutting and splitting wood so we'd have plenty to get us through even the coldest winter, and for all of my childhood, the stockpile of wood was big enough to last two winters.

Our television wasn't in the living room, so in our house, the fireplace really was the focal point of the room, and in the off season, it also served as my personal stage. Want to see a vintage Bekah photo?

That's me, with all my dolls lined up by the fireplace. They were in story hour and I was the librarian - reading them a book.

When the fireplace was in use, we kept the doll hair far from it, but I loved cuddling up on the floor next to it, feeling its warmth while I read books to myself.

And on the coldest winter mornings, when no one wanted to get out of bed and face the frigid air, Mom would carry my clothes into the living room and spread them out in front of the fireplace so they would be toasty warm when I got up and was ready to get dressed. I'd stay under the covers until the final warning and then sprint into the living room to warm up and exchange the jammies for freshly warmed clothes. (Please note that the ONLY sprinting I did as a child was to the fireplace or the table.)

Sometimes, on the weekends, we'd roast hot dogs in the fireplace and have a picnic in the living room - complete with toasted marshmallows for dessert. (Some things can't be replicated in an electric fireplace.)

We may not have the big lovely fireplace in our house, but I have big memories of life beside the fireplace that served many purposes. And though we have no plans or desire to move, if we ever do, I might move that whole fireplace thing up to a non-negotiable.

Have I Ever...Just for Fun!

Let's have some Wednesday fun, shall we?

I saw this "Have you ever" game on Instagram this week. It was actually a Bingo game, but I thought it would make a fun blog post!

Have you ever...

*made a new year's resolution? Oh yes. Many times! (Although I don't do it as much anymore.) Remember the year I turned thirty and made THIRTY of them in one year? That was ambitious. Or crazy. You can decide.

*fainted? No, but I've threatened to do so many times when hungry and/or overheated.

*cut your own hair? YES! I cut my own bangs all the time so I don't have to pay for in-between appointments at the salon for one simple trim. In college (which I don't claim as my smartest years) I also cut the back by putting my hair in a ponytail , pulling it over my head, and cutting it in front of my face. Ehhh. I wasn't wise and I was broke.

*traveled all by yourself? Yes! From the time I turned 30 until I got married at 34, I took a handful of vacations that required solo traveling. I always met up with friends at the destination, but I did some flying and driving alone in those years.

*laughed until you cried? So often.

*made something by hand? Yes! Many things! I used to handmake my Christmas cards every year until I started working in radio and no longer had time for crafting.

*cooked your own meal? Oh yes. Nearly every day.

*had braces? Nope! I was the only girl in the family to escape braces. My teeth aren't perfectly straight, but they're good enough.

*pulled an all nighter? Yes! I did so a couple of times in college, studying for tests, but I believe I have been more known to pull all nighters (in my single years) talking to guys on the phone. And then there was the one time Ryan and I pulled an all nighter to drive to Kansas! (To be fair, we did each sleep on that trip, when it wasn't our turn behind the wheel. But I still count it.)

*owned a pet? Several! From Lassie the chihuahua to our current feline daughter, Braeya, I've had several pets along the way!

*been skydiving? Are you kidding me? No way! But Ryan has.

*made a YouTube video? Yes! When Ryan and I were first married, we used to document our travels with YouTube videos, and I'm not really sure why we stopped that practice! I was also in a few videos when I worked at the station...and then of course there was our engagement video. That was on YouTube!

*broken a bone? Yep! Age 11! Fell off my bike and broke my leg.

*met someone famous? I guess famous is relative, but I did meet a number of artists when I worked at the station.

*skipped school/a class? One time...my senior year of college. I still feel like a rebel. (That was also the first time I had missed any college class for any reason, including illness.)

*eaten sushi? No way. Nothing about that appeals to me.

*gotten your ears pierced? Too many times. There was such drama surrounding my original ear piercing. I ended up having five holes punched to have one hole in each ear. A few years later I got them double pierced and I have always loved that decision.

*been on an airplane? Not nearly as often as most people, but yes. I do not like to fly at all. I was actually 26 before I flew for the first time.

*seen the same movie three times or more? Oh my, yes. And not just Hallmark movies!!

*had allergies? To work? Oh wait. :) Just kidding. I've never had food or seasonal allergies. The only thing I've ever been told I'm allergic to is nitrous. I had it at the dentist and it made me get sick.

*embarrassed yourself in public? Pretty much daily on that one. :)

*been on TV? I think I have been indirectly - in the back, in crowds.

*gotten a tattoo? Nope. I barely handled the pain of the ear piercing. Tattoos are not for me.

*gone skinny dipping. Nope. Way too chicken for that.

So close...and yet no Bingo.

Thankful Tuesday

I haven't forgotten Thanksgiving...I promise! But we have started feeling pretty merry around here! Stories for you from the land of a little Christmas...

Listen here

And to PROVE that I haven't forgotten Thanksgiving, I shall spend today talking about some gratitude.

(In full disclosure, I just typed the holiday as Thanksgibing. This is what happens when you don't blog until your brain has retired for the night. You may find some highly questionable nonsense words in this post.)

This has been a strange year. Ryan and I are still trying to process it all in our heads. So many months were spent in unusual ways with his mom's illness, the work on his dad's house, and the changes in our responsibilities at church (to name a few of the differences). In some ways, we've felt a bit scattered and unsettled and curious as to what God has next for us. Where do we fit into His story right now? What are His desires for us? There's so much we don't know, and we eagerly await God's unfolding of it all.

But as we wait, we try to live well. We want to do and give our best where we are right now. And for me, part of that doing and giving is in church ministry.

Last night, all but one of the ladies from our women's ministry team came over for an end-of-year celebration. (Full disclosure: they really were all invited, but one had a family obligation. We weren't trying to keep her out of the party!)

It's crazy to me to think that one year ago, this group of women wasn't even assembled. We're only ten months old as a team. In fact, one year ago, I only knew one of the ladies in this group.

It's also crazy to me to think that when the group began, there were three more who have since been called to be part of other ministries and have stepped away from this one. (And we added one more, but she is the one who wasn't able to join us last night.)

But in the last ten months, these ladies have become dear friends to me. We are all as absolutely different as we can be. We all have wildly different gifts and passions.

Some of us have been Christians for a long time. Others are newer in faith. Some prefer to serve in the background and others are gifted on a platform.

But together, I think we make a pretty great team. I love the creativity that flows from these minds and I love the desire to see (and help!) women grow in the Lord.

Last night was a celebration. Last night we brought our food offerings and ate together here at our house. We relaxed on the couch and talked about life. We put together a scrapbook for the sweet baby girl about to join the home of one of our team members. We laughed and took pictures and talked about Christmas trees.

(And Ryan served us the whole time. He grilled our chicken and cleaned up the whole kitchen while we made scrapbook pages. He is AMAZING. That's a whole separate thankful post in and of itself.)

So that's what I'm thankful for today: a team of women who make my job delightful. They show up and work hard. They care and pray and encourage. And last night, we celebrated that!

Picture Time!

Seven years ago at this time, we were on the countdown to our wedding day. I remember the little picture frame message board I had in my bedroom, and every day, I'd erase the number and make it one smaller. I think I was knee deep in making boutonnieres and putting the finishing touches on our printed program - and so ready for the day.

We have a tradition of always getting new pictures taken in October, because that's when we had our engagement pictures taken that first year. Now we use those pictures for our Christmas cards each year, and we just received this year's final batch last week. Want a sneak peek?

We had so much fun with these...our photographer Barb makes every shoot such a joy. We love working with her! :)

The Shafferland Shuffle

Good morning! Happy Sunday to you! Hope you've had a good week; ours had a lot of plot twists and schedule changes, but it was still good!

* I was so happy to be home last Sunday morning! During our morning services, they officially relaunched the small group program, so Ryan and I staffed the little booth to collect surveys after church. When we came home, I took the longest nap. I was so tired from my days away! When I woke up, I dove into editing pictures from our Georgia trip. Had some help with that. :)

* Monday was supposed to be my dentist appointment day in Fort Wayne, but as you can see, we had our first significant snowfall of the season, so I scrapped that plane and stayed home to work on catching up from so many days of being gone. It really was a pretty snow - once I didn't have to drive in it. In other plot twists of Monday, someone showed up in the living room all clean shaven!

* Tuesday morning's sunrise was so pretty over the snow!!! You already read about my Tuesday adventures - the rescheduled visit to the dentist, which turned into my graduation day from that particular dentist! We scurried home in time to meet with some of Ryan's family to celebrate his grandma's birthday. She's 92!

* I cannot wait to show you all our Christmas decorations (which are now underway) and Wednesday brought one of our newest additions. I did a whole new theme in one of the rooms this year and turned it into a mini Christmas tree farm. I bought a sign from Etsy for the room, and WE LOVE IT!!! I also conquered a run on the treadmill that day - right before Ryan made me a latte. My friend Amber came over that evening and the two of us designed and ordered our respective Christmas cards!

* I made Mexican pizzas on Thursday; they were delicious!! Ryan started coming down with a cold on Wednesday, so I ramped up the diffuser in hopes that we could end that before it began. Even though he felt terrible and went to sleep super early, he did crawl into the attic and brought me all the Christmas tubs so I could be ready to decorate! 

* While Ryan was at work on Friday, I started decorating. We have some gatherings coming up next week, so it was easier to go ahead and get the decorating done rather than try to scramble later when I didn't have time. Braeya stayed right at my feet and "helped" the whole time. Both of us felt pretty lousy after he got home from work, but I think we caught it in time. We felt much better by yesterday!

* Ryan didn't have to work yesterday, so he did one of his favorite things: made breakfast for me! We resumed decorating and almost got it knocked out. (Kept running into obstacles that took more time to fix than we planned.) Yesterday also would have been Ryan's mom and step-dad's anniversary, so we met the family for dinner.

The Saturday Six

One.

I told you a few weeks ago about the fun video shoot Ryan and I had the chance to do for the relaunch of our small group program at church. I thought maybe you might like to see the finished product! 

Two.

Baking season is upon us, which means the need to halve, double, and triple recipes is also upon us! I'm pretty sure you all remember that math isn't my favorite, so this little printable now resides IN THE KITCHEN to help with some of those fraction-laden moments!

Three.

I told you a few weeks ago about a local band that had a song that made it to the Billboard charts. They released the music video to the song last week, so I wanted to share it! (Fun fact: one of the band members is the same guy who made our video above - and he did this one, too. Extra fun fact: Ryan and I got a way way way sneak peek of this video, because Scott had just finished it the night before he shot our footage. He showed it to us when he was at our house that night. I think outside of the band itself, we were among the first to see it.)

Four.

While I was at the conference last weekend, I visited a booth called "Secrets Savored." I really liked the concept of their ministry, so I thought I would share it here! It was created to intentionally mix together women of older and younger generations so the older can teach the younger! The studies are a blend of teaching cooking, kitchen skills, home skills, and hospitality, as well as learning from the Bible. You can check out more about the ministry and see their study books here!

Five.

If you heard the podcast this week, you might remember my threat promise to Ryan that we could play Hallmark Christmas movie Bingo at some point this year! GUESS WHAT!!??? Found some free printable cards right here. There are twenty-five. We're set.

Six.

And since yes, I do know Thanksgiving is next up on the holiday list, here's a Thanksgiving charades game to keep your family party moving along!

Graduation Day

Way, way back in 2015, I went to the dentist and found out I had advanced periodontal disease. Some of you might remember reading about that back in the day.

I had to have a five hour sedated surgery/procedure to correct the issue, and it was absolutely terrifying to even think about.

When I had all this done, I was working in Fort Wayne, and I knew I needed to find a dentist that offered sedation and would understand my extreme dental anxiety. That was how I landed at the office in Fort Wayne in the first place. (To be fair, it was a combo of Google and God, heavy on God. I did Google dentists that offered sedation, but I believe God led me to this place, because he knew the exact person I needed to walk me through this multi-year journey of getting back to oral health.)

The dentists were nice, but it was the dental assistant that really made the connection with me. She was so kind and so determined to see me become a success story.

In the weeks that followed the procedure, I had to go back for checkups every six weeks...and then two months...and then three months...and just recently I was granted the privilege of returning every six months like a normal person.

Even after leaving the radio station, I continued to drive back for my dental appointments, because I only trusted these people with  my anxiety. "They know my crazy," I'd tell Ryan. It's three hours round trip in the car to go, but it's been worth it to me.

And then came this week.

I was scheduled to have an appointment at 11:00 this past Monday morning, and of course when I checked the forecast on Sunday, it showed 3-5 inches of snow falling all across my path from home to the dentist - starting about 9 a.m. Right when I'd need to leave home.

You know I hate driving in the snow. You know what I hate worse than that? Driving in the first snow. That's when all the people who have forgotten how to drive in snow try to keep their dry-weather driving habits alive and well. I didn't want to be among them

So first thing Monday morning, I called to reschedule. I knew they would understand. They knew I came from a distance. I rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon, because the rest of the week was supposed to be well above freezing.

Key words: supposed to be.

Not so much. Tuesday didn't bring more snow, but it brought frigid temps that kept the roads all icy. I paced and stewed trying to figure out what to do. I was afraid to cancel again, and I really just wanted to get the appointment out of the way. In a beautiful God-moment, Ryan was able to make adjustments to his schedule, so he could drive me to Fort Wayne. (Our county was a solid sheet of ice, all the way to the county line and then the roads were fine from there.)

On the way up, we talked about what we should do, and he said he thought I was doing well enough to look for a dentist closer to home. I knew he was right, but it made my heart sad to think about leaving my dear assistant who has coached me along for five and a half years.

At the end of the hour, when it came time to make the next appointment, I told her our decision. She told me she was impressed I'd kept up the dental commute as long as I had and she didn't blame me a bit. She said I was doing great in my recovery and it could just be my graduation day.

Words that (five years ago) I never thought I'd hear!

Ryan thought I deserved a graduation treat:

So I've graduated! And now we'll hope I can continue to thrive just as much...close to home!

Wrapping Up and Heading Home

I promise I'm almost done telling you/reminding myself about the leadership forum!

So here's a funny story to start you out. Last Friday's lunch break was from noon through 2 p.m. Of course noon CT is 1:00 in Bekah's belly. By the time we arrived at the restaurant and ordered our food, it was 1 p.m. CT, which is 2 p.m. in my belly. (If you're new here and don't know, I eat at noon on the dot. Not 12:01 or 12:02. So 2 p.m. was stretching me.)

And then get this! TWELVE WOMEN in our party and I was the last one served.

So for a while, I sat and watched women eat pizza and then I received one of my own! We ate at Brixx Pizza - another new place for me!

When we went back to the conference, I heard Kelly Minter speak again, because she was both a general session speaker and a breakout session speaker.

And right before dinner, I heard Karen Ehman speak. I remembered her name from my radio days. I remembered Lynne had interviewed her about her first (I think) book.

The final session that evening was the one that made me cry. If you heard this week's podcast, you heard me talk about Jonathan and Alena Pitts. Jonathan's wife, Wynter, passed away suddenly last year, and he talked so candidly about their marriage and the loss of her presence in his life. Alena is the oldest of their four girls, and she played the daughter in The War Room if you've seen that. I really appreciated their tribute to Wynter and Alena's beautiful solo, too.

The final speaker that night was Whitney Capps. I had only recently learned about her at all and it was (obviously) my first time to hear her speak. LOVED HER SO MUCH! She brought a powerful message and was a good southern girl with all the gushy additives to her talk. (I need that.)

The conference ended on Saturday with a final breakout session, time of worship, and speaker. I was SO EXCITED to get home to Ryan that I took virtually no pictures throughout the day. I just wanted to get home and see him!

We stopped at a cute little BBQ place on the way home:

I about squealed when I saw this:

And this:

And him:

I jumped straight into his arms the minute I saw him. I sure did miss this man. Glad to be home with him - and glad for the chance to learn so many things while I was gone!