On December 1, I turned 30! I told Robert last year, that all I wanted for my birthdays to come, was to be with my family. Well, life hit some bumps and as we grew closer to December, I knew that it was not going to happen. This brought me great sadness, but I could not let on because the last thing I wanted to was make Robert feel guilty as I knew that he would move Heaven and Earth to get me there if he knew just how badly I wanted it.... Well, he did just that!
Friday evening, November 30, I was told someone wanted to come look at our house. To say that I was excited is an understatement - the thought of moving to MS made the pain of not going to MS for my birthday bearable. But boy was I surprised when I walked in that door....
Waiting for me was Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer... and my parents, sisters, and brothers! It was incredible! My single, solitary birthday wish had been granted! That night, we laughed, we smiled, we caught up on lost time. I was absolutely in Heaven! Around 10, they left for the hotel and Daddy and I put the kiddos to bed. We stayed up talking until almost 2am as I could not sleep.... When Wesley woke at 4, I was not a happy camper, but luckily, he agreed to snuggle in my bed until Hannah woke at 6 :-(....
When the sun rose and we were all awake on December 1, we realized that Mr. Elf pulled a trick on us - he had the yard decorated with a barn and 30+ cows! The barn read, "HOLY COW! Mary is 3-0!" The kiddos LOVED it! As the day moved on, Aunt RaRa and Uncle JoJo came over and took the kiddos for a bike ride. When they returned, Daddy and Aunt RaRa went to the store.... for some odd reason... while JoJo, the kiddos, and I walked to the Dock. We came home, fed the kiddos and put Wesley down for a nap and Hannah in her bed for some quiet reading, while Little Robert did some reading on the couch.
Within minutes of laying Wesley down, the rest of the crew came over... they have not had little ones around in a while and do not understand how to use an inside voice! Luckily, Wesley slept right through it all.... for almost 4 hours! We all enjoyed some chilli and then just spent time relaxing and bonding --> Making memories! It was fabulous! I LOVED just sitting and chatting with Mama and Papa. I LOVED feeling a part of the family, instead of the outsider that I so often feel. It was so incredibly wonderful!
After a while, everybody decided to go out to dinner. We did and it was so much fun! Of course, they told everyone that it was my birthday! The company was great, the restaurant was slow and mixed up entrees, bills, etc etc. They definitely could have done better! So, we left there a bit frustrated, but little did I know, ANOTHER surprise was coming....
Robert, with the help of 2 very dear girlfriends, had organized a surprise party! After the surprise of the night before, this was the last thing I had expected! I so enjoyed it, though. I LOVED being able to introduce mama to my friend girls - that alone meant so very, very much to me. Since we are so far apart, we do not see each others day to day. So, to be able to do that, made me feel so very good! This was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!
Sunday brought with it the dreaded goodbyes. Those are always hard, but this time it felt just that much harder. I adored every single second of my time with my family. I enjoyed every single second of the entire weekend. There is not a single thing I would change.... except for someone truly buying our house and us moving back to MS! Special thanks to my wonderful husband for all he did to make this past weekend so absolutely incredible!
