The surprise weekend

I love surprises. A lot. And just as much as I love being surprised, I love surprising other people. For two months I have been scheming on a surprise weekend trip for Mike this past weekend. Two months! Do you know how hard this was, or how stressed I was about it slipping?

Let me preface this post by saying that I had planned for a really big surprise for Mike for Christmas: concert tickets to go see Michael Buble in the City. Only the surprise was ruined because Mike found out he was coming to the City and wanted to buy tickets. Sigh. So ever since then I've wanted to do something else for him. Two months ago, I had the perfect idea...if only I could work the logistics out and make sure no one spilled the beans.

The prep work:
I had two free airline tickets to use before the end of the year, and Mike and I hadn't really discussed how we wanted to use them, so I took it upon myself to make that decision for us. :) I booked our flights, made our hotel reservations, made a few phone calls and then waited....for a month and a half. Since last Friday was my day off, my plan was to pack our suitcases, take care of some errands for the church, and clean house while Mike was at work so our trip would go undetected until the next morning when I would tell him. However, I came home from work Thursday to a lovely note from the electric company that our power would be turned off Friday from 9-2:30. Ugh. So I set my alarm to get up at 7:45 so I could do the things I needed to on the computer and to pack as much as I could before the lights went out. It was a busy day! Mike got home from work and we went to his sister's surprise birthday party that night. I was so on edge that someone would spill the beans, I never left his side the entire night. I had only told a handful of people (and only those that I had to)...since we would be missing church Sunday, I had to get approval and find someone to do the music for us. We survived the night with no bean-spillage. Whew.

The surprise:
Saturday morning, it was my turn to take Simon outside, so at 5:00 that morning, I took him outside, then moved our luggage (which I had hid in the guest room) into the living room with the card I had made for him laying on top. Then I went back to bed and TRIED to fall asleep. I was so excited it took forever to finally fall back asleep. When my alarm went off at 7:45, Mike rolled over and gave me that "why in the world is your alarm going off at 7:45 in the morning on my only day to sleep in?!" To which I replied, "Happy Surprise Day!! I have a surprise for you, but it's in the living room." He agrees to get out of bed to go see what the surprise was. He opened the card and read that we were leaving at 9:00 to fly to Dallas (well, our final destination being Lindale, TX). When he looked at me very confused, I proceeded to tell him that we were going to Paul Baloche's church on Sunday in Texas. (Side note: Paul Baloche is a fantastic worship leader who has been in the industry 20+ years. At our church we sing nearly every song he's written that is available on CCLI; Mike has purchased and watched his entire worship leaders training DVD series, and completely looks up to and admires Paul and the ministry that he has shared...so to Mike, this was a BIG deal.)

We make the flight to Dallas and since I knew ahead of time that the list of things available to do in Lindale, TX are slim to none, we spent the majority of the day in Dallas shopping until we dropped. Mike looked at a few guitars that he's had his eye on and we spent some time at Guitar Center playing the instruments. It was fun. After we'd spent our money shopping, we drove on to Lindale for the night.

The next morning we get up and get ready for church. We decided to go to the morning service. Paul was leading the music when we came in, and since church had already started when we arrived, we just took a seat towards the back. It was such a blessing to sit under Paul's ministry and hear him sing songs that have become so familiar to us back home. The sermon was really inspiring also. After the service ended, we went up to the stage and introduced ourselves to Paul. He was so humbled that we would travel all that way just to attend a service at their church. He was so personable and down to earth. It was so encouraging visiting with him. He sat down and chatted with us for about an hour! He was so interested in us and our ministry back home. I really appreciate how genuine he was with us. He wrote a passage for Mike in Mike's song-writing journal, which meant a lot to Mike. It was so awesome to see this surprise coming to life before my eyes. It made hiding secrets from Mike for 2 months all worth-while. After visiting with us, he went back up on stage to prepare for the second service, which we ended up staying for.

Mike and I decided that even if we'd gone to the national worship conference (which we will miss b/c we will be in Ireland), we wouldn't have been able to spend the one-on-one time with Paul like we were able to this weekend. :) I am so thankful the Lord worked it out for us to be there this past weekend. Paul travels a lot and it was a blessing alone that he wasn't out of town this weekend.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and resting. Then that night, we went to the drive-in movie and watched "Prince Caspian." Neither Mike nor I had ever been to a drive-in, so we wanted to try it out. It was so much fun...and a great movie!

The next morning we slept in and took our time getting around, then headed back to Dallas. We ended up going back to Guitar Center so Mike could buy the guitar he'd been eying for so long. We flew home and spend the rest of the evening at the house.

I couldn't have planned a better weekend surprise if I'd tried. It turned out so perfectly. I am so thankful that everything fell into place the way it was supposed to. I love surprises and this weekend was a much-needed refreshment.

I've already told Mike that I'm not going to be able to top this weekend, so he shouldn't expect anything better from me for a long time. :) ha ha At least I'm covering my bases. :)

Murphy's Law

Why is it when you really really really want the time to fly by quickly it merely drags on in agony? It's like it knows how excited I am about the upcoming, long holiday weekend.

Okay, that is all.

Life lessons from a 6 year old

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were in town this weekend visiting/moving back, so we went out for a family lunch, and I sat next to my 6 year old niece. After a little while, the conversation went like this:

Her: Amy, what is your favorite thing to do?
Me: (without stopping to think) Scrapbooking.
Her: Hmmm
Me: What about you? What's your favorite thing to do?
Her: Hmmm, probably playing.
Me: What do you like to play?
Her: Anything. I just like playing.
Me: Do you like playing outside or inside better?
Her: That's tough...but probably outside because you can run around and be active.
Me: Of fun! Me too...do you like to roller skate?
Her: I don't know how.
Me: Well, why don't you have someone teach you?
Her: Who should I ask?
Me: How about your mom and dad?
Her: They don't know how to skate!

Then a few minutes later she asks:
Her: Amy, what is your favorite thing to eat?
Me: (Thinking) Wow, that's tough...there's a lot to choose from...how about cheesecake.
Her: What is your favorite HEALTHY thing to eat?
Me: (dumbfounded) OH! Um, fruit?
Her: I like fruit too. It's good for you.

Oh to go back to the days where "playing" is my favorite thing to do...and I guess I need to be more conscious about what I eat. Yikes...a six year old is putting me in check.

This is home.

Typically when I pick a song for my MySpace profile, I don't pay much attention to the lyrics...I look for one with a good beat or a pretty melody. Since my favorite band (Switchfoot) just put out a new song from the Narnia soundtrack, naturally I added it to my page without even listening closely to it. A week later I actually listened to the song and read the lyrics and I was surprised at my discovery. It was the perfect song to describe my life right now. After a long struggle through a difficult journey, I finally feel like I've found home again. Many months ago this place seemed so far away, and yet here I am...at the end of a long road, at my comfort place, home. Life is good again. And for the first time in a very long time, the smile on my face is authentic. I'm so happy to finally be here. To be home.


This Is Home
by Switchfoot

I've got my memories
They're always
Inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe now
I've come too far
No I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I've never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back

Back to how it was
And I got my heart
Set on
What happens next
I got my eyes wide
It's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

(Chorus)

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

(Chorus)

Now I know
Yeah, this is home

I've come too far
Now I won't go back
This is home

Travel

It's official...I'm going to Ireland. I received the flight itinerary in the mail today. I can officially start to get excited (not that I wasn't already). I don't know what it is lately, but I have been in this funk where all I want to do is get away. From work, from responsibility, from life. Luckily my next trip will be one of leisure and not business, so hopefully I will get refreshed. I'm tired of this funk. Traveling here I come!

This must be the year of traveling for me. By the end of 2008, I will have traveled out of Oklahoma 8 times: Houston, Springfield, St Louis, Ireland, Vegas a handful of times, and New York City.