A day of surprises and deception!!!

 This story must be told:  Wednesday night my momma and I were Belk in Trussville when I received a text from Shari.  She asked if there was something we could do to celebrate my momma's upcoming 60th birthday!  I said sure and she agreed to plan.  I just invited Frances and then had to ask my mom some questions, which was difficult without leading her on to something going on.  I was really excited to surprise her, even if she doesn't like surprises, and to celebrate HER because she doesn't ever do that!  It was hard driving home from Belk because Shari was texting me and then my momma called Shari, and I was also having to get answers to questions like, "What is her favorite place to eat?" "What is her favorite cake?"

This blog would not be complete if I did not include my last dinner with my mom & Frances' 3L club.  These women have been so welcoming, kind, generous, and just all around wonderful to me.  They are so sweet to allow me to join them in having good fun, a ton of fun, lots of laughter, and of course a good glass of wine! ;) Thursday night was their auction for charity and we had delicious Lebanese food!  Like last year at the auction, I got a very cute purse, and it is going to Italy with me! We talked about them coming to visit, and let me take this opportunity to say to any of them that may be reading this: PLEASE come!  Just email me or facebook me when might be best for you and we'll work it out!  When we said bye to Frances, I knew I would see her the next night for my momma's birthday...but my momma didn't know that!  Then while we were driving home I was texting April and telling her that I wanted to see her again and I talked her into coming to Birmingham for my momma's surprise party!  This was fabulous because my mom loves April and I love April, and I wanted to hug her once more!  Now...can I teleport my other loves so that I can hug them too?!?!? So, April was now in on the secret and a part of it (important detail for later).  Also important to note that I was sitting next my momma in the car and was wanting to jump out of my skin from excitement and could not say a word.

So now, today was my momma's birthday, and it was a day full of surprises and deception; good deception that is!  I knew we had a busy day, but it got started earlier than I thought!  I took my Chili for a walk, because I am going to miss doing that!  I'm going to miss my dog so much, and I know he is going to miss me like crazy! 

So then I had to take a shower.  I was also supposed to have a skype date with April, which made me so happy! While I was on skype with April I was excited to see her face, but of course I knew I would see her later.  However, for my mom's sake I had to drag it out as though I wouldn't see April's face for a while.  We had to be somewhere at 10 (mom's work), so she was trying to get me to hurry!  I kept acting as though it was no big deal.  Then, I did hang up with April and got dressed.  Then, I was taking my laptop with me to read the dissertation as we were driving and I noticed I had a missed skype call from April, but it was after we had hung up.  So, I called her back and ended up carrying her all the way out to the car (yay for good wifi).  THen I put her in the car with my mom while I moved my momma's car.  So, April and my mom skyped for a few minutes (another small important detail). 

When we got to southside, we were lucky and got a great parking space.  When we walked into the department my mom looked in the break room where the tailgating food was supposed to be, and noticed that there was no food.  She said, "didn't you say they said 10?? (because I had asked on facebook)  SO then we stopped to talk to everyone and then they showed me the food...OH MY GOSH!!!! Cindy made this amazing cake for....ME!! Whaaa??? It is my momma's birthday and they made a surprise cake for ME!  I was shocked...floored...and it made me feel so special!  I am so lucky to have so many people in my life that are showing me love!!  I am so grateful to know that people are thinking of me, praying for me, and sending me off with love!  I cannot even describe the cake because only pictures can begin to do it justice:

Also, I should say that I looked at the cake and was in amazement, but it took me a minute to realize that the yellow brick road was in the shape of ITALY! Then I noticed that where my pictures was, there was something red at the bottom.  Of course I assumed it was the Ruby Red Slippers, but then I realized that it was a red star where Cosenza is on the map!  SO CREATIVE!!!!!! We had some good tailgating food and the cake was delicious (white cake...I'm pretty sure and the homemade frosting had an orange flavoring).  My mom's friends are so good to me!  I hope they take care of her while I am gone!! 
**So, my momma told April while they were on skype that she was sorry that she had rush me off of skype because....and she explained the surprise....sneaky sneaky April was in on TWO surprises now! 

The rest of the day was great.  I was able to talk to some of my favorite people: 1. Maria- whom I just love so much and she is always so insightful and thoughtful and just all around wonderful!  She always offers me a fresh perspective on things mixed with encouragement and love.  I just love her so much.  2. Mrs. Malissa- I just love me some Mrs. Malissa!  If I ever doubt that I am loved (by anyone other than my parents), all I have to do is call Mrs. Malissa!  It makes my heart happy to know that there are such wonderful women/role-models in my life!  My momma and I also went to get pedicures because that is what she wanted to do for her birthday!  Despite my aversion to this, and for good reason because it did hurt, we had a good time and my toes are Rockette Red (my own bottle...not at the place) and ready to go!  We also had Panera coffee.  The rest of the afternoon was spent packing some things and resting.  We also went to the airport and weighed my biggest suitcase and it was 50 lbs ON THE DOT!!!

THEN....we came home to get ready for my momma's dinner.  April called and said she was on the way and I was trryyying to drag things out so that we would get there after everyone else.  When we got there I jumped out of the car and ran in to "get a table"!  Then, I went and got my momma and daddy from the front of the restaurant and she started saying, "what did ya'll do?!?!?"  She was ACTUALLY SURPRISED to see Shari, Mike, Bear, Sharyn, & Frances.  Mr. Frieson was on his way and April was too!  I was so so so excited that she was truly surprised!  We had great food...great conversation...good laughs...and I think my momma really enjoyed it!  I was so excited that everyone came to help her celebrate because she deserved a night for her! I still cannot believe that we were actually able to surprise her...and that I didn't give anything away. 

Top: Mike, Shari, Bear, Sharyn, Mr. Frieson, & Frances Bottom: April, me, Momma, & Daddy

Our photographer took a million pictures and so they got silly

Daddy, Momma, & Me

Me and \a

Loving on my \a

I was excited to see April once more before I left!  I wish I could see all of my friends again.

When we got home I tried to finish packing...got stressed out...cried a little because I was so frustrated.  However, I got to talk to Erin!!!! :)  The advantage of her late nights is that I get to talk to her!!!  I miss her so much!!  Can she move to Italy with me?!?!? We did decide though that we will skype on Thanksgiving.  this seems like an eternity from now, but here is the reasoning behind it:  last year I was in Italy for Thanksgiving and Erin had to work.  It was the first time for both of us to be away from home.  However, it made my day so much better just to see her face and hear her voice.  So, we decided that no matter what happens that day, we will talk.  It will be our own new Thanksgiving tradition for as long as we live in different cities!   

I also talked to April once more and then finished packing some! 

I am truly blessed with the most wonderful people in my life!  I am so grateful, and I hope that they know that I do not take them fore granted.  God has been so good to grant me peace and strength during this time and I am looking forward to seeing what He has in store.  He has blessed me with the greatest support system that a girl could ask for, and I thank him EVERY DAY for that!  

TOMORROW IS THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!