Surprise!

Well, I finally got him and I got him good. I threw Stephen a surprise birthday party on Saturday. It was fun to plan and a lot of fun to finally have the party but I am SO glad it's over. He never suspected a thing. At least that's what he says. And I really don't think he did.

We were supposed to have our monthly youth leadership meeting that night and it's usually at our youth pastor's house. My helpers and I got Chris (our youth pastor) involved with the planning for the party and he did my dirty work by telling Stephen that the meeting was going to be at the coffeeshop at church instead of his house. I invited over 60 friends and family members and started planning the food. I had to completely rely on other people to pick the food up and get the coffeeshop all set up for me. I couldn't have pulled this off without their help. We showed up a little after 6:00 that evening to a pretty empty parking lot. I saw the scout run into the coffeeshop when we pulled up. I had asked people who wouldn't normally be at our meeting to park on the other side of the parking lot so that Stephen wouldn't see their cars when we got there and get suspicious. When we walked in there were only a few people visible right away and then from out of the far corner of the room came a loud "SURPRISE!!!" At first you could tell that he didn't know what was going on and then as it sunk in he turned very red. He turned to me and asked "Did you know anything about this?" I smiled and said "I did this." He looked completely shocked. I still don't know if he was shocked that I did that for him or because I was actually able to pull it off without him even having a clue. Maybe it was a little of both.

Stephen set off visiting with the guests and I went and got plates of food for the girls. His mom started the VCR and played home movies while we ate. I had also asked her and Stephen's sister to bring old pictures of him and those were set out for all to see. I don't think he was very happy about that, but oh well. After eating, all of the kids that were there started running around and playing with the balloons that were all over the floor. Cake was next. I didn't realize that you have to specify which colors you want the roses to be when you order a cake from Costco. When I ordered the cake the display showed roses in autumn colors so I thought they would make his cake with autumn colors. Boy, was I wrong! They made his cake with yellow and pink roses. PINK! And, the cake said "Happy 30th Birthday Stephen!" right on it. Who makes a cake for a guy with pink roses on it? I guess it wasn't really that big of a deal. It was more funny than anything else because it would only happen to Stephen.

After a couple of hours people were starting to head home and we cleaned up. We have a lot of extra food still and we finished off what was left of the cake last night. It was a fun night and I'm so glad that it went off without a hitch. I couldn't have done it without all of the help of family members and my good friends. Thank you everyone!

Happy Birthday Little Boy!

Happy Birthday to my little man! This is a bit of a late birthday wish since his birthday was actually on Sunday but he can't read so that's okay I guess. Our son turned one. I can't believe it's already been a year since he came into our lives. I think that has been the fastest year of my life so far. We had a little party for him with my family on Sunday and we will have a party with Stephen's family next weekend. He enjoyed his birthday cake. I think he was cleaner than both of the girls were on their first birthdays.

So, now we have a one year old, a two year old and a five year old. I have my hands full!

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband who has reached the ripe old age of 30! Of course I have been giving him quite a hard time about leaving his 20s and turning 30 but I know he'll give it right back when I reach that age. He'll always be older than me though. :)

I love you Stephen!

Big Changes

I was just noticing that it has been awhile since the last time I posted. We have been very busy in our household.

My dad left for India on Saturday. I went to their house on Friday night with the kids to spend one last evening with him before he left. Steve and I will see him again in a couple of months when we make the journey over to India but I don't know when the kids will get to see him again. It might not be until my family comes back for a visit next summer. It was hard saying goodbye to my dad. He's only been gone for a few days but I already really miss him. Whenever he's left in the past I always know that he's coming back soon. This time he's not. This time he was going home instead of leaving home. The sale of their house closes on the 16th and my mom and brother and sister will be leaving on the 21st to join my dad in India. That will be hard as well.

Another big change that will take place in our family is that my brother, Jeff, has joined the Marines. He will not leave for boot camp until January or February because he has to finish up the semester at NIC. I will really miss him when he leaves too. Steve and I are hoping that we will be able to make the trip down to San Diego when he graduates from boot camp next spring. My family is also going to try to fly back from India for that event as well.

All of these changes are very hard for me. I have never liked change. My family is going to literally be spread out all over the globe. My sister is in Florida with her family, my brother will be in California for several months for training but then who knows where he'll end up being stationed and the other half of my family is going to be on the other side of the world. I will be the only one left in Idaho besides my grandparents. Somedays I feel like I'm being abandoned but I realize that everyone is doing what they feel that God has called them to do. And, I have my husband and kids here with me so I am happy. It's just going to be so hard for me when I can't go over to my parents' house to visit on a Sunday afternoon or call up my mom to babysit for me. I will miss just seeing everyone on a regular basis. We have always been a very close family.

I do have to admit though that I am anxious to see what God has in store for all of us in the future. And, I am excited to see how He will use everyone in the situations that He puts them in.