Christmas Fun

Did you have a good Christmas Day? I sure hope so. Our day was crazy busy from start to finish, and I promise not to bore you with 400 pictures of unwrapping gifts, but I thought I would share with you just a little bit of our fun!

Ryan and I had a slumber party by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, so we woke up to the pretty tree! (Ryan pointed out that we have been waking up to a pretty tree for lo these many weeks, since we also have one in our bedroom, but this is a different tree!

We woke up to another gorgeous (and crazy warm) day. I was so happy. I am so sorry for all of you who wanted a white Christmas, but not wearing a coat on Christmas day is THE BEST.

Ryan and I actually celebrated our Christmas on our new sun porch. Breakfast, reading from Luke 2, and exchanging gifts!

We scurried around to get ready and packed up so we could get to our first gathering of the day, which was at my parents' house. One of my sisters and brothers-in-law also came, and we had a really nice lunch and time together!

(I can't show you a couple of my favorite gifts because my other sister and her family haven't had their Christmas celebration yet, and I don't want to spoil their gifts. I'll have to show you later!)

Ryan and I did get a super fancy new Keurig that does iced coffee and all manner of sizes - and it came with a ton of K-cups! Sweet!

Last evening we went out to Ryan's step-dad's family Christmas, where I counted 37 people gathered in Grandma's little house. I didn't take a ton of pictures there because there was just so much going on, but I did grab this one of us to prove we'd been there!

And when we left that Christmas, we made one last stop to see Ryan's grandpa. It wasn't an official Christmas gathering, but we had the best time visiting with him and also Ryan's aunt and uncle.

We have one Christmas celebration to go - but it's not for a few days yet. How is it possible that all the weeks of planning and decorating are done in just a couple of days??

Merry Christmas (again) from us!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Merry Christmas, friends!

I know today is probably a busy day for most of you, so I won't keep you long.

Yesterday afternoon we went to our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service, and the line that has been striking me all season came to my heart again:

A thrill of hope - the weary world rejoices.

In a year that has been weary in so many ways for so many of us, we definitely hope that today brings you a thrill of hope.

Merry Christmas from Shafferland!

The Eve

It's Christmas Eve...and the eve of so much else, it seems to me.

* It's Christmas Eve, which means today is my niece's birthday. Happy birthday, Cassie! I celebrate your life - and you remain (hands down) the best Christmas gift I've ever received. I am so proud of you for pursuing your work passions and for being such a great mom, too! It's fun to see you in action through pictures! (For anyone utterly confused by that...they live far away, so pictures are the only way I can see her in action!) Here's a little vintage Bekah and Cassie for you: 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means there may be a few of you out there who are dreading tomorrow. You have, perhaps, been slogging through this season, hurting at every turn over a loss or a change you didn't ask to experience. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of healing in your heart. Certainly you may not wake up tomorrow and *poof* everything is better, but perhaps this is the eve of the first inkling of healing that will take place in God's timing. I may not know your hurt, but I do know hurt, and I have found those seasons of healing to be some of the most beautiful times I've ever experienced. May your eve arrive and bring you a breath of hope.

* It's Christmas Eve, which means some of you are flat out exhausted. You're facing staying up through all hours of the night to put the finishing touches on Christmas Day. You've been running (possibly literally through airports) to make it to this place or that to spend the day with people who are counting on you. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of giving yourself the gift of rest - of choosing to tuck away some sacred moments to simply be. 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means we're just days away from a new year. It looms, with all its uncertainty and possibilities. Maybe for some of you, those words are frightening and for others they're welcomed. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of beauty in the uncertainty and possibilities alike. I hope this new year and decade allows you to look back and see that God did some amazing things in and through you - all for His glory!

* It's Christmas Eve, which means that we're in the season of reflecting and wrapping up this year. Maybe this is a year you're eager to put behind you so you can embrace those possibilities I just talked about. Maybe this has been such a full year - in all the best ways - that you can't even wrap your mind around all that's happened. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of gratitude as you reflect. In the good and the hard, may you see that God has sustained, held, and provided at every turn. 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means we celebrate the joy of Christ's birth. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of a new understanding of just how much He loves you.

Much love to all of you this Christmas Eve!

A Different Kind of Christmas

Last night marked the first of our Christmas celebrations for 2019. We had "Christmas at the Cabin," as we've come to call it. This was the Christmas we always shared with Ryan's mom, step-dad, brother, and two sisters. Last year, we actually hosted it at our house, because Ryan's mom was in the rehab hospital, and it was so much closer for her to get a pass to come to our house rather than commute all the way to the cabin. So it had been two full years since we celebrated at the cabin, and we knew this was going to be a very different kind of celebration.

Yesterday was also Ryan's mom's birthday, and she would have been 65 years old. To have her birthday and the family Christmas fall on the same day was sort of a sweet blessing as well as a doubly hard moment. 

Though our celebration takes place in the afternoon/evening, we always have breakfast food: pancakes, smoky links, eggs, breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, and all kinds of extra snacks on the side. 

I have to tell you that I was so proud of Allen for working hard to make sure the cabin was decorated and ready for Christmas. Inside and out, he had worked to hang the decorations. Nita had always been the decorator, and last year a friend of theirs came in to put up all the Christmas décor (as a gift to them) but he definitely stepped up and made it beautiful out there!

We had all the traditional foods, and Ryan even made the eggs!

Dinner was delicious!

The kids were soooooo excited to open presents and spent quite a bit of time locating all gifts bearing their names (and speculating on the contents).

Three of the grandkids read portions of Luke 2, and then we said the Lord's Prayer together and dove into the gifts. 

I won't bore you with all the present pictures, because you surely have a million of your own to peruse, but this one cracked me up. Can you tell we have a new baby in the family? 

Yeah, I got to rock him to sleep. That broke my heart.

I did want to show you one of the gifts Allen got all the grandkids. (I'd seen something similar on Etsy before, and I thought it was sweet that he did this.) Those of you who have been reading here for a long time may remember that even before Nita was diagnosed with the glioblastoma, she struggled pretty significantly with other health issues. She was a severe asthmatic and had a few other issues too, so there were periods of time when she would be home-bound for a span of time, trying to get or stay well. Whenever she was home, she was in a flannel nightgown. She LOVED those gowns and had dozens of them. 

So Allen and Bre gathered up some of her favorites and had them made into pillows for all the grandkids. Allen brought them out in a huge Santa sack and let each one choose a pillow to keep. 

After all the presents had been opened, he brought out a tub of shirts and jackets that Nita had worn most frequently toward the end of her life. He invited the grown kids to choose something (if they wanted) to have a pillow made. 

As soon as we saw this one, we knew it was the one for Ryan:

We remember her wearing this shirt often - and drinking coffee together was one of their favorite things, so it was the perfect match. 

So that was our different-kind-of-Christmas yesterday. It was hard, but beautiful in its own way. Ryan and I honored Nita's memory in our own ways - paying tribute to her and appreciating all the years we did get to celebrate with her!

The Shafferland Shuffle

Before I launch into stories about our week, I want to pause to honor Ryan's mom, because today is her birthday. Though she isn't here to celebrate as we always did, I do want to celebrate the person she was. Last year on her birthday, she was a patient in Ryan's hospital, and her birthday fell on Saturday. Though the family had a party for her that evening, Ryan and I were able to share lunch with her...just the three of us. We took her pink roses (her favorite) and had our own little mini-party for three in the hospital dining room. It made for a sweet memory, and I thought of it often yesterday. This year she celebrates in Heaven - which is absolute perfection, I know. I will share a couple of pictures of our day last year - our last birthday with her.

(I'm so glad Ryan wanted to document all these days, because we sure treasure these pictures now!)

Her are a few glimpses into our most recent week...back to the year 2019!

* Sunday morning, on our way to church, we returned Phoebe to her home! We enjoyed church, which was in full Christmas swing, and then we enjoyed a day at home. Don't tell ANYONE, but I took a three and a half hour nap that afternoon. My goodness. I wasn't a total bum, though. I did get the gifts wrapped! (At least the ones we had in the house. We had to finish up the shopping this week.)

* It started snowing Sunday evening, so when we woke up Monday, it was so pretty outside! I will admit that I had prayed for the church secretary's baby to stay snug and cozy just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle bit longer so she didn't have to rush to the hospital in that snow, nor did I have to drive to work in it! And it worked out just that way! I made bagels for lunch and did chores around the house, trying to continue getting all squared away for full time work. Ryan was super hungry that night, so we shared a bowl of popcorn - which is something we don't have nearly as often as we should!

* Tuesday was the day of pretty snow all day and pretty sunsets at night. I did more work at home, and when evening came, Ryan made lattes for us, and we enjoyed them by the light of the tree. Gorgeous and delicious all at once. 

* Wednesday was a HARD day in my heart. I blogged about it a little already, but there was just a lot of crazy emotion and prayer-worthy things stirring around in there. I tried to distract myself by making meal plans and more working ahead, but I was still a mess. Ryan canceled his plans for the evening to stay home and help me feel better - which partially included a Blizzard run and my first ever time to see Christmas with the Kranks! Being home with Ryan was definitely a big help in feeling better! 

* Thursday I made a quiche for lunch, and then I made more lists so we could do some grocery and Christmas shopping that night! I found Braeya nestled among the gifts under the tree, and she wasn't overly amused at having her hiding place documented. She was MUCH happier after we got home that night and she could snuggle up with Ryan. 

* Friday night, Ryan and I went to Phoebe's house so Ryan could do some electrical projects. Phoebe and I were not invited to help - can you even imagine why? We hung out in the dark and watched, celebrated when the work was successful, and then hung out for a while telling stories. The stories, I should clarify, were strictly among the humans in the room. Phoebe slept.

* Yesterday was crazy busy! I had a shopping trip planned with one of my friends, where I finished up the last of all the Christmas shopping. After Ryan got off work, he and I walked through the neighborhood to help a friend of his move some furniture - and we found the most beautiful sunset over the pond while we were out! And the rest of the night was dedicated to cookie baking! Batches and batches of cookies! 

The Saturday Six

One.

I was reading an article about the ten most popular houses for sale on realtor.com throughout this past year, and I found THIS ONE which is actually still for sale. If you have a spare eighteen million burning a hole in your bank account, you could actually get it. I had missed this one when they featured it originally. An underground paradise? INTERESTING!!!!!

Two.

Some minimalist Christmas décor (proving that it doesn't have to be over the top to be beautiful and festive)!

Three.

One of the best parts of this past year has been slowly studying my way through the four Gospels. I have loved the pace and learning more in-depth about the life of Christ. I thought that throughout the next year, I would share my monthly reading plan with you in case you want to make that your focus in study for the coming year. I tried to link to the January plan, but it wouldn't take the link, so I'm adding it here as a picture. My scanning options aren't working at the moment, but I'll try to fix that and add it back in as a better quality piece. Meanwhile, this page gives the rundown, including little check boxes for you to mark off after you've done the daily reading. If you do this, you'll be in the book of Matthew the entire month, and if you want to study a commentary alongside, I can recommend the one I studied, which was called Matthew by Charles Spurgeon. (I would also recommend the series by Chuck Swindoll, but his volumes on Matthew don't release until partway through 2020.)

Four.

Ryan wants to try this footlong crunchy taco challenge. (Hey, we haven't done this county yet, so...)

Five.

I remember, as a kid, making paper snowflakes at school. It was one of those projects teachers would keep on hand to occupy the kids who finished their work first. (If math was involved, I was never that student. But reading or writing? Oh yes.) I saw this post this week - now these are some fancy snowflakes!

Six.

One of you asked about Ryan's new pillow, so I asked him to give me the details. Until about a week or two ago, Ryan hadn't had a new pillow since 2004. (WHAT?!) The 2004 pillow was a latex pillow that he really loved, but over time it had started to break down and he'd begun having neck pain. He decided to get a new version of the pillow in hopes that it would help, and he said so far, he really likes it - AND his neck feels better! The new pillow has similar features to his old one, but it's a bit different in style. His old pillow was solid latex, and this one is made of shredded latex. This new one was created for back, side, and stomach sleepers. (Or as Ryan has labeled himself, "an a.d.d. sleeper." It really is true. He sleeps hard, but he changes positions often throughout the night.)

He said one thing he really liked about his old (solid latex) pillow was that it never lost its shape. It never went flat. (And that is true! Even all broken down, it looked exactly the same as my much newer version when it just sat in its pillowcase.) The newer one, filled with shredded latex, forms around his head as he sleeps, no matter what position he's in. It doesn't sit up quite as tall as mine, but that really doesn't matter. We have shams over our pillows during the day anyway.

These pillows are pricey compared to what you'd grab off the shelf at the store, but as you can see, they do have a remarkable life span, so if you calculate that out over time, it's worth the extra money. And Ryan, the former mattress maker, is of the firm resolve that the two things you should never skimp on are your sleeping tools (mattresses and pillows) and your walking tools (shoes). If you invest well in those two departments, he says life just goes better across the board.

Here is a link to the one he got...and if you have any questions, just ask! I'll pass them right along to him!

Coming Full Circle

Earlier this week, I had a day that was jam-packed with some serious warfare in my soul. I used to face days like this on a regular basis, but it had been a while since one popped up. I'd forgotten just how draining they can be. I paced the house and prayed out loud - and that night Ryan even canceled his plans so he could stay home with me and help me fight through whatever messes my heart faced. (I love him so!) 

After both Ryan and Braeya fell asleep on the couch, I scrolled through old blog posts from this year, preparing to write my annual recap post in a few days. I went back to this first post of the year and found a fresh conviction in the words I wrote almost a full 365 days ago. 

It was all built around this word and this verse:

I wrote these words:

Waiting takes courage.

Did you ever think about it that way?

When I first thought about courage, I thought about all the big things God might ask of me in the year to come. What might He ask of me that is uncomfortable because it's too loud in some way? 

But it might be that He simply asks me to wait. Or He might indeed ask something that feels loud to me, but before it can be loud, it must be shrouded in waiting. 

It happened just that way.

It took courage to wait for the Lord throughout Nita's illness. It took courage to find the strength to pray for her healing and not know whether that healing would take place on this earth or through an ultimate, eternal healing. It took courage to live those last weeks in the fullest ways we knew. It took courage to kneel on the floor beside her bed to pray her Home. It took courage to figure out how to make our way forward in a new kind of life after she died. 

It took courage to wait for the Lord throughout this long year of not having a permanent pastor at the helm in our church. As we became more and more involved in ministries there, it required astounding amounts of patience to pray for God to bring the right person to lead us. None of us ever imagined, all the way back in January, that we would be closing out this year without that person standing behind the pulpit...still. (We do have a pastor coming - that is a very recent answer to prayer. But he won't arrive until partway through January.) It took courage to accept more responsibilities within the church without knowing what those would look like eventually when a new pastor would arrive.

It took courage to wait for the Lord when my schedule mysteriously cleared. After several consecutive years of a steadily growing speaking and writing schedule, the last few months have been strangely silent. The words of our Christmas program narration perfectly summed up what we knew to be true about this time: In the silence, He was preparing us. But that didn't make the silence any more comfortable. 

And it is still taking courage for us to wait before the Lord right now. We believe with all our hearts that He is mightily at work in this very moment, preparing us for something to come. We don't know when it will happen. We aren't even sure what it will look like. But we believe it's underway in behind-the-scenes ways that we don't see or understand right now. And that is what wrecked me so much earlier in the week. My courage was failing. I flailed and begged for immediate answers. 

My immediate answer was that God took me back to that post from January first and reminded me that I'm to courageously wait. He hasn't forgotten about us. He's working. But for now, the answers are shrouded in waiting. 

Christmas Cards in Shafferland

Christmas is officially less than a week away now, so I thought I would use this day to share our Christmas card and letter with you! Stamps are a bigger bill than they used to be, so I can't send out unlimited tangible cards, but I hope you'll feel no less loved and celebrated by receiving your card here in this space!

Merry Christmas from Shafferland!

2019 was quite a year in Shafferland. To play on the theme of our card, you might say that a latte happened and we donut have time to tell it all. But if we turned the story of our year into a donut and coffee shop menu, it would look a little something like this: 

Plain: Some moments may not have been majorly new and eventful, but they filled our year and brought us delight just the same. *We enjoyed visits from the two dogs we dog-sit for upon occasion: Phoebe the miniature Goldendoodle and Deuce the Blue Heeler. (Braeya still hates them both. Hospitality is not her gift.) *In 2018, we read through the whole Bible in a year, and this year we slowed it waaaaaaaaaay down and intensely studied the four Gospels. We both learned so much and enjoyed having such a specific focus on our learning! * Bekah took three rounds of senior pictures and two rounds of family pictures this year. She also had the chance to photograph a few events and enjoyed that, too!


Twist: The year brought us a few difficult twists, and most of you probably know the biggest one of all. *Our lives from January 2^nd through March 4^th, when Ryan’s mom went through her final hospitalization and subsequent hospice care, were filled with all kinds of twists. We did our best to be intentional and create memories to hold while we still had time with her, and we have no regrets. We said our final earthly goodbye to Nita on the evening of March 5^th. We both sat beside her as she went home to Jesus, and we have been grateful for God’s care of us since then.


Sprinkles: Even though our year had its share of hurt, it also had its share of joy and celebration. *Ryan found his way into a new decade this year when he joined the forty club! His dream celebration was a Caribbean Cruise, so we visited three new-to-us ports: Aruba, Curacao, and the Dominican Republic. Despite some ultra rocky seas at the start of the trip, we had a great week away celebrating his big four-oh! *We just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary! Seven is a significant number in the Bible, and this has been a significant year in our lives – in the best and hardest ways. *And while we’re still in the single digits, Bekah’s parents celebrated sixty-five years of marriage, so the family came together in Shipshewana this summer for a weekend celebration of that milestone! 


Turnover: We enjoyed some new experiences this year! *We got to meet our favorite Bible study author, Erica Wiggenhorn, when she came to Michigan for a book signing! *We went to our first air show this year – at Grissom Air Reserve. It was fascinating to us! *We went to our first Purdue football game together – as guests of some friends – and though the game itself didn’t go well, we had a blast people-watching! *Bekah experienced a new kind of writing this year, writing for a jewelry website. She had fun learning a different kind of craft. *We filmed a promo video for the small group ministry at our church, and that was so much fun! *We also participated in a skit at church one Sunday. Ryan excelled in that adventure. Bekah learned it is not her first (or fifteenth) talent. *This may never happen again, so we should mention it: we both had storms named after us this year. In February, Winter Storm Ryan descended over the western part of the US, and this fall, Tropical Storm Rebekah arrived in the Caribbean. Typecasting? That’s for you to decide.


Fritter: Travel fun isn’t really frittering away your time, is it? Regardless, we found time for a few trips this year! *We marked four more counties off our list in our quest to visit all 92 in the state of Indiana. Kosciusko, DeKalb, Hamilton, and Owen counties gave us to four more delicious coffee shops and adventures unique to each county! *We also enjoyed an overnight trip to St. Joseph Michigan, which included a hike at Warren Dunes State Park and some time at Silver Beach. *Just last month, we took a super fast weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet our friends’ sweet new baby and be present at her baby shower!


Latte: We didn’t just play all year. We did a latte work, too! *We spent a few weeks helping Ryan’s dad and step-mom fix up their house to sell. Bekah painted and Ryan did a little bit of everything! *We did several projects at our own house this year, trying to make some of our outdoor spaces more usable. We love all the changes and appreciate our cozy little home. *And speaking of work, Ryan still works as a PTA in the outpatient department at the specialty hospital, and he still loves what he does and the people he works with each day! *Bekah was invited to share at churches and retreats nine times this year, and Ryan traveled with her for almost all of them! 


Espresso: Sometimes you need extra energy to do what God calls you to do, right? *We are still leading a small group through our church. This year it’s more like a medium-sized group, but we love every one of our people and are so glad to get to learn with them! *Bekah joined a newly formed women’s ministry team early in the year and then was asked to assume the leadership of the group during the summer. She loves the opportunity and the people on the team. *Together, we’re overseeing the small group ministry at our church, in addition to leading a group of our own. We have a lot of work to do on this particular ministry, but we’re excited about it! *We both served as narrators in our church’s patriotic and Christmas programs this year, which gave us a welcomed opportunity to serve together. 


Blended: Amid everything else this year, we did blend in some of our favorite traditions: *Ryan and his friend Shawn went on a ski trip back in February, and Bekah hung out in the lodge all day with youth groups galore. *We still celebrate our monthiversary on the second day of every month. We are up to 84 months now! *We made two trips to the county fair this year and made sure to get all our favorite not-so-heart-healthy foods! *We enjoyed game night with our friends from high school – and we still haven’t learned how to win. We have mastered being gracious losers.


            So now you’re caught up on our 2019! We are grateful for every part of it. We felt the unmistakable presence of the Lord during the hardest days and are so thankful for the prayers and the tangible outpouring of support from friends and family that sustained us. We continue to commit to being a team in marriage and life and do not take for granted the moments we’re given. Each one is a gift that we treasure. 


            We’re looking forward to this Christmas and to the year ahead – with whatever God allows us to enjoy in its days! Merry Christmas to all of you! Thanks for being part of the sprinkles added to our days!

Date Night, Christmas Lights!

One of our favorite dates each year is the Christmas lights date! We rarely do it the same way twice, but I never care - as long as lights are involved!

When we lived in Marion, the city park had a truly fabulous light display that people would come from all over to see. (They still have it...we just don't get back over that way very often.) Our city park here also has a light display and it's really nice, but it's just not quite as big as Marion's.

There's also the We Care display, which was featured last year on ABC's Great Light Fight, but it can be a very hectic place to get through, since it's actually set up in a residential neighborhood. When we decided to go out on a Christmas light date last Friday night, it was a little too cold to walk the lights, and we didn't feel like sitting in the car forever, so we skipped the We Care park.

We did go to the main park, though, and once we pulled over and let the tailgater go by, we had a delightful time!

There's a beautiful, old, historic neighborhood in town with big houses that are all character-laden, and I'd noticed while driving by one evening that some had really pretty light displays. So I asked Ryan to drive us through that. I didn't take any pictures, because it felt a bit stalkerish to creep through a neighborhood taking pictures of houses after dark. But oh so pretty.

And you know what? My two favorite houses actually didn't have traditional lights on them. They had beautiful wreaths and greenery displays on the windows and entrances and regular lights illuminating those areas. So majestic looking!

We wandered toward downtown and happened to drive past the Seiberling Mansion, which I've blogged about before. It's this huge, historic home in town that always gets decorated to the max at Christmas. A few nights throughout December, different businesses will sponsor the admission for the evening and people can come through for free. We hadn't checked the schedule to see when the free nights were, but there were a ton of cars parked there when we went by. I pulled up Facebook to check, and sure enough! It was a free night! So even though it hadn't been in our plans, we parked and went through the mansion.

The themes are different every year, but this year seemed to have more of a traditional spin on it and I think these were some of my favorite displays yet!

 His form kind of reminded me of mine...in no way.

 We decided the carolers must not have checked the forecast before going out to sing. The little one is almost buried in snow!

 It's hard to take a quick selfie when surrounded by people in a very tiny room. Not our best work, but proof that we were there!

The third floor of the house is this huge ballroom with trees that are normally the same (or at least very similar) every year. That includes the Santa tree, the upside down tree, and the patriotic trees. AND my favorite: the village!

I think this was my favorite tree of the whole place:

And this was Ryan's:

We had a great evening looking at the lights and made it home in time to relax and watch a movie before our super busy day on Saturday!