Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I did it!!!

Okay, many of you already know about my plot. I just wanted to let you all know that it was a complete success! You want details, do ya? Okay...

I have been attempting, unsuccessfully, for many years to surprise my husband. He prides himself on his ability to figure things out. You can't watch any kind of suspense movie with him, because he will figure out the twist before it happens and ruin it for everyone else. Well, I have not had any success with surprises... until today! Let me enlighten you.

Back in November, we were watching TV and saw an ad for the Bon Jovi/Daughtry concert on April 15. (His b-day is 4/21.) With Jeremy between jobs at the time, he never guessed that I would take his comment "That would be a great birthday present" seriously. Little did he know that I made arrangements to purchase tickets that very next day! You see, Jeremy has a bit of a man crush on Jon Bon Jovi. I knew I couldn't let the opportunity pass.

I didn't tell anyone at all for a couple of months for fear of letting the secret slip, but I started getting excited and blabbed a bit. By today, most of the people I know knew about my surprise. Except Jeremy! There were a couple of close calls in the last week or so, when I was sure he would figure things out. He even asked me point blank last week if I got tickets for him, and I lied! It was one of the hardest things I have ever done! (I'm pretty sure I am forgiven now.) What saved me is the fact that I am such a bad gift giver and liar. He could tell something was up, but I have always been so pitiful with my gifts that he assumed I was planning some "stupid surprise party." Again. But not this time! Darin and Amy watched the boys for us, and Amy tried to discuss plans covertly on Sunday, and Jeremy caught on that she was being secretive. He thought that she was going to talk about some problem that Noah was having at school. He got all concerned about it until he slept on it, then realized that a plot was brewing. But once again, he thought it was some "stupid surprise party," and didn't figure out the truth.

Now we get to today. Jeremy broke one of our TV's when we moved, so he knew we were getting a new one. I then "surprised" him by buying the biggest TV in the store. (What was I thinking!?) So he thought that was his birthday gift. We were unloading it at 5pm when I told him that we needed to hurry and get dressed for the concert. He got the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face, and I knew that he hadn't known. I was so proud of myself!

Anyway, we went to the concert, which was incredible! (Except for the spilled beer on my purse and shoe.) He told me that this was the best birthday gift anyone has ever given him. :) I did, however, make sure to inform him that I could never top it, and I was retiring from the surprise business. It was so fun!

By the way, Jon Bon Jovi has aged very well. Richie Sambora has not.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Time to join the fun!

Okay, so my husband has found a new hobby through his new job. Apparently the "in" thing to do is talk about yourself and let people read it. The last thing I want to do is be out of the loop, so here I am! I make no promises about the frequency of my postings, as I can assure you that this will cause me to procrastinate on just about everything that I need to be doing. But I must be responsible, so I will try to be moderate with my time here.

Here is some general information about me.
I am joyfully married to my high school sweetheart, Jeremy, who I will probably call Vern sometimes out of habit. (Ask him about it; he's dying to tell the story!) We will soon celebrate our 14th anniversary. It amazes me that we have made it this far, and we are more in love now than ever! God has truly blessed us! We have 2 boys. Derek is 13. I am SO glad that I'm no longer 13. I wonder if there is some way to fast forward through several years of parenting, because I have discovered that I don't relate well to teenage boys. Thank goodness my husband still is one, or we would be in trouble! Derek is a great kid, who loves to be loved. It's not his fault that he's 13. Noah is 6, going on 16. He is convinced that he is older, wiser and more mature than his brother. Occasionally, I agree with him.

I work as a labor nurse. Currently, I work nights, but I am looking into other options. Pulling an all-nighter occasionally is fun, but several days a weeks for years can slowly drive you insane. I love my work. It took me awhile to find God's plan for me, but I did! My latest adventure in acadaemia is working toward a Masters degree in Nursing Education. Ultimately, I will become a midwife, but that is a plan for the very far future. If all falls into place, I will be fininshed with my degree next August.

Our family recently embarked on a great adventure. After living in one town for the past 12 years, we picked up and moved 2 weeks ago. We are all adjusting at our own speeds. Noah is done adjusting. This is his home now, and that's that. It helps that his 2 newest "best friends" live close enough to spit on. Derek, on the other hand, reminds us frequently how we have ruined his life. He is fitting in well at church, but he really misses his friends from Edmond. School, however, is not great. In Edmond, he was surrounded not only by people he had know for years, but also by a truckload of christian friends. At his new school, he knows 2 other kids from his youth group. And the environment rougher than he was accustomed to. He is starting up with sports, so hopefully that will help him find his place. Once again, I am SO glad to not be 13! Jeremy and I are kind of in the middle. We are incredibly relieved to finally be here, and not to be in limbo driving back and forth. We miss many of the people from our old church, but I don't think we miss the church itself much. Alameda is an awesome place to worship, and I think I speak for both of us when I say that we could be happy here for a very long time. The transition has not been entirely smooth for Jeremy, but things are moving forward, and the youth group has HUGE potential! The staff is incredible, too. We have both developed some great relationships in the past couple of months, and I know that as we get to know more people, it will start to feel more like home.

Well, there you have a (not so) brief overview of me. For all of my new friends, I look forward to getting to know you better. This talking stuff is fun! I hope I can convince myself to do homework tomorrow...