Christmas cards

I ordered our Christmas cards on Shutterfly today and I can hardly wait to get them!

Photo Card

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Marriage and Surprises

I'm so proud of my husband. Like, really, really proud. He works hard to provide a great life for the kids and I. He loves the Lord and loves our babies. What more could I ask for? Yes, he still farts and often leaves an empty toilet paper roll just sitting there...waiting to be changed...by someone other than him. My point is that, for the most part, he's the most awesomest dude ever. Second to Jesus. But He set the standard pretty high, you know, so being second to Him is saying quite a bit.

He drives a car that was graciously given to us a few years ago, but the ol' thing has seen better days. So over the summer I got a wild hair and decided I was going to get a few extra jobs and buy him a car for Christmas. And not tell him.

I made curtains. I cut grass. I made more curtains. I cleaned houses. I made yet some more dad gum curtains. I did some landscaping, painting, organizing. I made clothes, baby slings, and yes, some more flippin' curtains. And I hung Christmas lights, not knowing exactly how an extension ladder worked. Turns out the death warnings are supposed to be right side up, lest ye ladder come falling to the pavement. But that's aWHOLEnother blog post.

But, it was really weird. I found myself loving Tim more as I completed all the tasks knowing that I was doing all these odd-jobs so he could drive a nicer car. Even when I thought I was going to fall over and die in triple digit heat working outside, there was a sense of, "Man, I really love my husband."

So for half of the last year I've saved, worked, taken on extra sewing jobs, and stuck it all in a secret savings account that I may or may not have threatened the lady at the bank not to tell my husband about. There was some hard work involved on my part, but this whole surprise gig would not have been possible if not for the incredible generosity of a couple that hired me to work for them. My favorite part is that through the process of trying to make enough money to get Tim a newer car is that I came out with some pretty awesome new friends. Sorry, I'm getting off-topic, but it was important enough I had to mention.

Enter in the dilemma. After several weeks at my new top-secret job, Tim got suspicious and asked me what I was up to. It seems that if I come home covered in mud and sweat from doing yard work at aforementioned job some people tend to think it a bit fishy. So I used vague and loose phrases to communicate something along the lines of, "Just shut up and don't ask me anything else or I'll punch you square on your left cheek because I'm tryin' to surprise your nosey self!"

Tim assumed and I didn't correct him to think that we were going to take a vacation around Christmas time. I avoided lying as much as I could and when he asked, "Are we driving or flying?" I responded with, "Oh, it's a lot of driving. A LOT of driving." Truthful? Yes. Totally honest and forthcoming? Perhaps I have room for improvement. There were many moments of "Oh snap, how do I handle this?" but for the most part, I did okay thinking off the top of my head, which doesn't happen to be one of my spiritual gifts.

So a couple weeks ago the best car dealer in the WORLD (Contact Jim Baer at www.cardinalcredit.com if you're looking for a good pre-loved car) called and said he found the perfect car. I knew I couldn't hold it in any longer and wanted to reveal the surprise NOW!

Ergo, we have today. I woke up with a nervous stomach brought to me in part by yesterday's stomach flu with support from a great deal of anxiety about how he would respond to such a surprise. Now I realize that my husband, unlike me, does not carry around little packets of confetti to toss out at exciting moments and doesn't have Inspector Gadget-like pom-pons that break loose from his palms just in time for a cheer. That said, I was still hoping for a "HOLY COW!" or "WHAT ON EARTH?!"

I hummed "Eye of the Tiger" as I saw Tim pull into the church so he could (wink, wink) "help me carry some stuff out to the car" (wink, wink). So I walked him right past our car, he turned and said, "Uh, the car is right there..." and that, my friends, is where we pick up:

Can I just say that during the last several months when I was shoveling gravel on a ridiculously humid July day, I imagined how he would turn a cartwheel when I magically unveiled his sweet new ride! When I sewed through my ever-loving finger for umpteenth time, the pain was soothed with visions of Tim sweeping me off my feet, twirling me around like Beauty and the Beast, spouting sonnets of what a wonderful surprise I had given him!

But, he just stood there. Looking at me. And my co-workers that had gathered at a second story window of the church to witness the glorious moment shrugged and said, "That's it? Hmph." and returned to more exciting things. Like stuffing envelopes.

But, hey! That's what marriage is all about! How boring would it be if we were all the same? In that moment, I had to rush back inside for my next class but after school I came home to find a grinning-ear-to-ear guy who had apparently just come out of shock because his crazy wife just sprung the surprise of lifetime on him, and he spoke right to my heart. He wrapped me in that unmistakable "Come here, Baby!" embrace, I gave him that never misunderstood "Um, the kids are still up" look, and I said, "I have SO many stories to tell you!" We plopped down on the kitchen floor and I back-filled him on all the times I had to use my cover story, on all the crazy jobs I'd done, and how I'm pretty sure the new accounts lady at the bank didn't believe my story. He threw his head back and laughed, asked so many questions that started with, "So, that time when..." and I said, "Uh-huh! Yep!" Most importantly, I reminded him how proud I am of him and that I'm super glad to be his sidekick in ministry and in life.

Then he forced us all into his new car and we drove to see our parents to show it off. Eli cried half the trip because he wants the old green car back. Awesome.