Surprise! Surprise!! Surprise!!!



Surprised. That would be me last night. I had my 40th birthday on Thursday. My MIL made dinner for me and then let the boys stay the night so Doug and I could be home alone. It was a nice, relaxing and low-keyed birthday. Earlier in the week my mom and gramma took me to lunch, and another day my girlfriends took me to lunch.



So imagine my surprise last night when Doug and I go out and I have friends from ALL over the place! My friends from VA were there. Another girlfriend 2 1/2 hours away was there, friends from an hour away, all people we meton SL. Plus lots and lots of friends that we know from going dancing.


These people are so sneaky! Good thing I trust them, because they could really pull the wool over my eyes if they wanted to.


So here's the story. Doug and I were supposed to go to dinner and out dancing for my birthday, all alone because it has been a month or so since we'd done that.


So we go to the restaurant. It was lovely. Doug had gone in the day before and talked to the owner (who he knows of course, because he knows mostly everybody). So we get there and there is a table in the corner reserved for us with a bottle of champagne on ice. I really love champagne. So we had a lovely, relaxing dinner. So then Doug says we need to be to the place early so he can fix the drummer's sound board or some such thing. Needed to be there by 8:15. All was going well until I realized Doug's earring was falling out. Oops, the back is gone. He needed to wear this earring, and so needed a new back. Could we just go home (5 min. away) and get another one? Nope. Had to go to Walgreens. You know what? Walgreens doesn't sell earrings. So then we went to Walmart. I told him he better call Tony and tell him we'd be late.


So we finally get there and Doug drops me at the door, like he always does. I told him I'd go to the restroom and meet him in the hallway, like I always do. He made sure to tell me several times to wait right there for him. DUH, I always do! That man must have RAN through the parking lot because he was standing there waiting for me, and he never is LOL.


So we go and pay and walk in. It was dark in there and I was looking into the back corner where there is a birthday party table trying to see who was back there. I did not look to the right. We rarely sit at the table near the bar anyway.


Well, Doug walks me over that way and I see our friends John and Teri. Yeah, they're always there. But they're sitting at this really long table. I look down the table and I see our very good friends...... HELLO! They live in VA and we were in PA. That is me shocked beyond all belief.


So I look to the end of the table and there are my kids! What?? I am quite in shock and a little confused Then I really look around the table and I see friends from about an hour away, my in-laws, my girfriend about 2 1/2 hours awy, my girlfriend Toni, two more couple friends from an hour or so away, our friends from the band and other friends we know from going out. Oh my gosh you could have knocked me over with a feather! I was so totally surprised!


Then a few minutes Doug hands me the phone and I'm on a 3 way call with SL friends from Maine and Tennessee. So that was a fun chat.


It was so incredibly fun. I feel so very blessed and loved. It was just such a perfect evening.


Thank you guys for driving through such cruddy weather and from far away to spend the evening with me for my birthday! I really love you guys! And these gals can keep a secret. And Doug is quite sneaky! The man got me good. I had no idea!!!


My friend, Kristal, blogged about our night on her blog. It is really worth the read. She people watched and told us all about it.

Pray for Mercy

My dear friend Carri has a little girl that was born with a hemangioma. They have spent 2 years working with specialists.

I met Carri almost 10 years ago (has it been that long?) on an email loop. I've since met her IRL. Our family visited her a few summers ago. Isaac, Allen and I went to visit a couple years ago, too. She is a wonderful lady with a gift for hospitality and a love for her family. So she is a real person :)

You can go HERE and read several blog posts about Mercy's condition and ongoing treatment.

If you'd like to add the Pray for Mercy gadget to your blog, please visit Carri's blog for info on how to do that.

Life is flying by so quickly!

How did that happen? I blinked and my kids were all of a sudden 14, 16 and 18. They're taller than I am. They have such deep voices that I'm not sure if I am talking to them on the phone or Doug! I know they were just babies yesterday. My gramma told me this would happen :)

Next week I'll be 40! How did THAT happen? I didn't accomplish the things I wanted to before I was 40. Mainly lose weight and not be sick. I only have control over one of those, and not even really. I can't make myself not sick. I'm learning I also can't make myself lose weight quickly with health issues. But I did lost 14.5 lbs. in the past 11 months! At this rate I'll be to goal before I'm 50 :::snort:::

Our 20th anniversary is this year. WOW! I am just amazed at how quickly life is flying by.

Soon my guys will all be graduated. Jordan graduates this year. He is just about finished up with all of his school work and is looking for a job. He doesn't want to attend college right now (or ever he says ;) ). So he's looking for a job. Not an easy thing to do in this day and age or in the area we live in.

Isaac and Allen are both in high school and barreling towards the finish line! Isaac is wanting to get his driver's license soon. He needs to find a part-time job first so he can pay for at least some of his insurance. Teenage boys are expensive to insure! Allen gets his permit this year! Amazing.

So today I am sitting here remembering them being little and how crazy life was then. It isn't any less crazy now, it is just different crazy. I am really enjoying life with teens. They are growing up into amazing people.

So next week will be busy with birthday celebrations. Mom is coming on Tuesday for lunch. Two girlfriends are meeting me for lunch on Wednesday. Doug will be home on my birthday, which is Thursday :) We had plans to go away overnight, but we may not do that. If we stay home, hopefully we'll have a quiet family evening celebrating. Doug is taking me out on Saturday to dinner and dancing to celebrate.

Life is good :)

What I've Been Up To

It's been a busy month. I can't believe February is almost over! Wasn't it just Christmas?

We've been quite busy. January we were buried in snow and freezing with close to zero temps.

Doug and I got together with friends a couple of times. We had dinner and went dancing with one couple at the end of January. Last weekend we wento to dinner with 2 couples. We met all of these couples on Sonlight. Isn't the internet fun?

Sunday I went to PA to visit my girlfriend (Another SL friend) and got home today. Allen came with me. It was SO relaxing and nice. I cuddled her 3 year old daughter and Allen played with her 7 year old son. We relaxed and visited and did not much of anything. We did enjoy sunshine and the fact the temps were above freezing :) I babysat yesterday evening so she and her husband could go out.

We've been plugging along with school. We've all been cabin fevered. Just a couple more months and it will be spring.

I've barely left my house other than visiting Jen and going out with Doug on the weekends. I think I've only driven my car 4 times since Christmas LOL.

I've been feeling so-so. Better than last year, but not good. I've been doing a pretty good job staying on top of the fibro this year. I've been napping and getting enough sleep at night and not over scheduling. This is one of the toughest times of year for me. But I'm doing so-so.

Doug will be home tomorrow, although very late, so I won't see him until Thursday. We have plans Thursday and Saturday. I hope to be incredibly lazy all Friday evening after errands on Friday.

My birthday is next week. Doug and I are hoping to go away for the night. We'll see if that works out.

So that's me lately. Same old same old, not much going on but winter ;)

What have you been doing? How is your weather? I'll live vicariously through your sunshine if you tell me about it :)

My Mom gave me this blog award. Thanks Mom!

The official rules are as follows:

1. Copy the award to your site

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers

4. Link to those on your blog

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated

Jennifer ~ Jennifer's Joy Ride ~ I "know" Jennifer from the Sonlight forums. She is always so encouraging to me.

Peg ~ Life at La Geron ~ Another friend I know from the Sonlight forums. I've had the pleasure of meeting her IRL a few times. She makes me laugh. She knits beautifully and has an etsy shop.

Bethany ~ The Land of Curly Hair ~ OK, so I know a lot of people from the Sonlight forums :) Bethany has the most adorable kids, great pictures, lots of frugal living tips and great recipes. She has a recipe blog linked from this blog.

De'Etta ~ Choosing Joy ~ I know De'Etta from a home schooling Yahoo group. She is a military mom of a large family. So encouraging in life and school and being healthy.

Kristal ~ Knit 1 Kids 4 ~ Another Sonlight friend. Kristal only lives an hour from me and I've had the pleasure of calling her a friend. We're going on a double date (well triple since another couple is going, too) soon. She takes beautiful photos and also knits beautiful and has an etsy shop.

Robin ~ Knittin' Peace ~ Another Sonlight friend. Robin makes me laugh. And she sews the most stunning aprons. She also has an etsy shop.

Susan ~ Wild Life in the Woods ~ Yep, another Sonlight friend. Susan makes me laugh until I cry. She is also blessed with the gift of encouragement. She will always have something encouraging to say about whatever is bothering you. Such a blessing she is.

Anybody else that would like to participate. Please leave me a comment so I know you did :)