Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Birthday Surprises




I told you several weeks ago in one of my messages on spiritual gifts that one of the things I enjoy doing the most is buying birthday and Christmas gifts for my wife. Last Sunday was my wife’s birthday, and since it fell on a Sunday, I was excited to plan a special day for her, especially in light of the fact that this is her last birthday before our daughter Joy heads off to college (she is going to Liberty University…without any doubt in my mind the best university anywhere, but that is a topic for a different blog entry on a different day!)!

So how did her special day play out?

I always leave for church well before anyone else in my family on Sunday mornings so on my way out I placed a very special card on the steering wheel of the Buick that she would find when she got in to drive to church that morning. It was one of those musical birthday cards that played “You Take My Breath Away” when you opened it. I would tell you what the card said inside but then I would have to put a “parental guidance” rating on this blog entry. And because I know that little things mean so much to a woman, I attached a cute little snowman shaped like a bell to the outside of the envelope (Laura loves snowmen).

But that was just the beginning. At church I had dozens of vases prepared in which I put a single rose in each of them. I had as many roses as my wife is old. I lined the stage of the auditorium with these roses which allowed me to recognize my wife’s special day in front of both morning worship services. If anyone wanted to know how old she was, all they had to do was to count all of the roses correctly. Many counted incorrectly because they missed the rose on the piano. The only hint I will give you is that I ordered four dozen roses but didn’t need to use them all.

I had made reservations for our family for dinner so as soon as I finished preaching second service we jumped into our Rendezvous and headed east to Boiling Springs, PA. There we enjoyed a wonderful buffet dinner at the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse before seeing their family holiday musical, “Santa’s Favorite Gift” (2nd row seats, mind you)!

We then headed back to the house where several more surprises awaited her. After she had left for church that morning I had snuck back home and taken a new set of dishes (8 place settings) that I had bought for her birthday and spread them out around the dining table with bows on each piece. There on the table were some other surprises including two of her favorite Yankee Candles (the large ones of course) and an additional piece for her to add to her Christmas village along with several other related accessories.

The night then capped off with some friends coming over to enjoy some cake that Joy had baked for her mom. And to add the final cherry on top of the day for my lovely wife, I was able to track down some of her favorite ice cream of all time – peppermint (which, I might add, is very difficult to find prior to the Holiday season officially beginning).

So there you have it…another successful birthday celebration filled with many special surprises and wonderful memories. Now I get to start all over again because there are only 41 days left until Christmas!

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