Good Afternoon! I want to start with a question. Is there ever a time where lying is ok? A time when the outcome could be a huge blessing for someone? The reason I ask this is because for the past 2 months I have lied to my husband in order to pull off a surprise on his birthday. I will tell the story, but let me just say Chris did not make this easy. I do not like lying to anyone, especially Chris. You have to remember the lies you have told and keep your story consistent all the way through. As many of you may know, I don’t have the best memory. So this part of it was VERY difficult for me. Here is how it all played out
A few months ago we decided that because of work and school schedules we would not be able to go to Arkansas during the Holiday season. Chris’ birthday also falls in the middle of all the Holiday excitement. I have tried to keep birthday and Christmas separate and always love when I can do something special for his birthday. This year after talking with him Mom, we decided they would come down and surprise Chris. About a month ago we started planning. His Birthday fell on a Saturday which made things easier. The hardest part would be keeping it from Chris. I told him that he needed to ask off for the Monday following his Birthday. I couldn’t tell him that the reason was so he could hang out with him family, so I made up a story about me having a whole day of fun planned for him. He bought that and filled out all the paperwork. He asked me probably a hundred times when his mom was going to be coming to have Christmas with us. Both her and I kept telling him we didn’t know. She couldn’t get her job to give her days off. What made all this even harder was that he really wanted to see his Mom and was bummed to the idea that she might not make it here for a visit. I had to tell him that she was doing everything she could to get here, knowing that she was coming in just a few weeks. They decided to drive in Saturday while Chris was at work and stay until Tuesday. Once we knew what days they would all be here, I had to secretly check out hotels and find them somewhere nice, but cheap to stay. We got that mission accomplished and from there it was just a matter of lying about what we were doing for his birthday weekend. One lie led to another and yet another and I nearly blew the surprise several times.
Finally Saturday was here. Chris got up and went to work sad that he was working on his birthday. He made a comment that this was the first year he wasn’t off for his birthday. That made me feel bad but knowing that his Mom, her boyfriend, his Sister, and his Grandma would be here when he got home made it better. I kissed him bye and then frantically started getting ready for their arrival. My house wasn’t that messy but there are just certain things you do when company comes in town and I had to get those things done. I had floors to vacuum, a kitchen to mop, a bathroom to clean up and a cake to bake. All this in a couple of hours!! I got it all done and around 2 they got here and we plotted on how to surprise him. When it was time for Chris to get home everyone ducked in our patio. When he walked by they all jumped up and yelled SURPRISE!! Chris was shocked. He said he had no clue! So, all my plotting and lying paid off. He had a great birthday that I’m sure he won’t forget! It was hard for me to keep it quiet but well worth the look of joy and excitement on his face. We all went out to dinner and came back home for cake. I made him a German Chocolate cake from scratch. Thats a whole blog in itself. Maybe one day I will tell that story. Just like the day, the cake turned out great. Below are a few pictures of the excitement. I wish I had gotten a picture of his face when they jumped up and yelled but it all happened to fast!!
Jordan, Chris’ Mom Darcy, and her boyfriend Todd
Chris’ Sister Desty and Jordan
Both Jordan and Chris were excited. I hadn’t told Jordan they were coming until that morning. I didn’t think a 6 year old could keep the secret!
Can’t remember what was in here but Chris was laughing becaue the box said "ornament"
And the favorite birthday present award goes to…. The RC Helicopter. Thanks to this copter we all got a good haircut! My reaction when he opened this was. “Are you turning 6 or 26?” He was SO excited and we are all having fun watching him learn to fly it.
And Finally the cake. Not bad for my first attempt. the icing was messy but isn’t that what makes a cake good??