We Love Surprises

I'm kind of a surprise addict. I love them. I love surprising people--whether it be with some surprising news, throwing them a surprise party, or just jumping out from around the corner and scaring the pee out of them.

I also love being surprised. Like when my friend Heather called to tell me she was not only pregnant, but with twins. Or when Rodney proposed and was so sneaky about it, I had no idea it was coming. (I'll try to share that story for our upcoming 5th anniversary.)

And lately, we've had several more fun surprises.

Back in January, Brian asked me to be a part of a surprise for Chelsea. I was thrilled.

I was sitting in church and received a text on my phone. Jumping into my purse after realizing I hadn't turned it off as it went to beeping in church, I grabbed it and read this message from Brian...."How would you like an all-expense paid vacation to Dallas next weekend for Chelsea's birthday? It's a surprise."

I was so excited I wanted to cry. Partly because "all-expenses paid" make my heart flutter a little bit, but mostly because it melted my heart to know my sister had found a man that loved her so much.

So, Heidi Sage and I made quick trip to Dallas and got to a spend a girls' weekend with Chelsea and Mom who flew in to take care of HS so we could go out for Chelsea's birthday. What a fun surprise!!

Then there was another surprise. A birthday present for me. In early April I had yet another birthday. A bittersweet birthday. I was still getting to celebrate a twenty-something birthday, but I knew it would be the last one. Sniff, sniff.

Luckily, I have a family that makes my age not seem quite so bad. Especially when Clinton is SO excited about a gift he picked out for me all by himself! He "surprised" me with a cake that he picked out all by himself. He got to pick the colors and everything. Rodney will tell you I have issues with store bought cakes because I feel they lack love....but this cake had so much love I ate almost all of it!

And then we got the BIG surprise.

I was dieting, trying to desperately get all my Vail weight off in order to fit in my bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding. This was a dress I had to order back in October....when I still had baby weight from Heidi Sage....so, as any sensible girl would do, I ordered a size smaller than what I measured knowing I would be able to get the weight off.

Well, after a lot a lot a lot of Raspberry Margaritas in Vail, plus a lot a lot a lot of food, including a plate of chili cheese french fries the size of my head (yum!), I felt I had a bit of pudge to run off. However, I have two kids who never let me get enough sleep so I opted for the easier weight loss plan....no carbs.

As a carb addict, this diet makes me SOOOOO nauseous. Two days in I was feeling desperately ill, but tried the snug pink dress on for some motivation and was able to persevere. At about four days in, I realized the nausea was not only not going away, it was far worse. About six days in, I realized I was two days late. Uh-oh.

So without further ado, our BIG surprise is...

We're expecting Baby #3!

Now to be clear, we knew we wanted more kids. However, I was the one on the fence about when. I just didn't feel I was physically ready for pregnancy again. And I guess I was questioning my ability to handle three.

And now I'm not sure if God was just saying, "You can do it, girl. You've got nothing to worry about." To which, I feel reassured and honored that God has that kind of confidence in me. But then there's the other thought running through my head that God is up there laughing at me saying, "You think you've got it rough now? I'll show you work!" :-/ I'm sure it's the prior.

So, as usual we believe God's timing is perfect timing and we are so excited about welcoming Baby #3 around December 1, 2010.

I wonder how many more surprises we will have this year!?!

Happily surprised,