It all began about one and a half weeks ago. He asked me if I would be upset if I received my birthday present early, then only get a card on my actual birthday.
I said, "I guess that's fine. Why?"
He replied, "Well, I want to order your present, but it's too big to hide until your birthday."
Whoa! That really got me thinking. I started guessing all sorts of things that would be "too big" to hide until my birthday - such as a new couch, the dining room table we've been saving for, someone to paint our house . . . The list goes on and on. Each time I would make a guess, my hubby's standard response was to fold his arms, put on a total neutral facial expression, and not say one single word.
The stinker.
So I waited.
And I waited.
Then I waited some more. (Hey one and a half weeks can be a really, really long time when you're waiting for a surprise!) I kept watching out the window from some big delivery truck to stop in front of my house. But did it come? Nope.
Then finally, Saturday afternoon, I got it!
Of course, my hubby couldn't just give it to me. Nope. That's too easy. Instead, he hid it in the garage and told me to go search for it.
Huh. Man, I was really, REALLY hoping it wasn't a power tool!
So, I searched.
It didn't take me long before I found a simple white envelope with Happy Birthday, Dear! written across the front. I picked it up and turned towards John & the kids.
"Hmm . . . what could this be?" I asked.
I opened up the envelope, and I found the following coupon book:
Each page was signed by one of the kids or John. These are the files John made to print out the coupon book, so you don't get to see all the cute signatures. Sorry!
Signed by my daughter, MJ.
Signed by my son, Isaac.
Signed by my daughter, Anna. I'm sure someone helped her. :)
Signed by my son, Rob.
Signed by my awesome hubby.
Wow! I was so surprised! I had been trying and trying to figure out a way I could financially afford to go to Time Out for Women all year. But something always happened before I could purchase a ticket to any conferences that came close enough I could attend. I even applied for a scholarship to attend this conference, but then realized I wasn't going to have enough money for the gas, hotel, and food. I was so bummed. Especially since my Relief Society was planning a group trip to this particular conference. (You can find out more about TOFW here.)
What I hadn't realized was that John had started saving his lunch money and plotted with my Relief Society secretary (Sister Brown) to plan it all out. I hadn't realized Nancy could be so sneaky!
My sister, Cheryl, even got in on it. After I told her about John's question & trying to figure it out, she texted and called my hubby. Then she would deliberately call me and egg me on. She never said she knew. She would just ask me, "So, did you get your present yet? What do you think it is?"
Yep. That's my sister. :)
Then I found out, there were actually a group of ladies at church who knew about the surprise. Man. I definitely have some very sneaky friends! I never once guessed anyone knew anything!
It was funny when I stopped my friend, Charlee, at church to tell her I wasn't going to be able to come to her Adults Only Halloween party. She got a big smile on her face and said, "Yeah. I already knew you wouldn't make it."
Yep, like I said - Sneaky friends.
Aren't they awesome?
But my hubby is the awesomest of them all. He's incredible. I don't know how I got so lucky to have married a man so considerate, generous, and totally fun. I'm so blessed that he's my best friend. I often tell him that I'm the lucky one in our relationship, but that he got stuck with me for eternity. Hee hee!
