surprise!?!

i am aware that i am late in getting this posted, for that i am so sorry. i just want everyone out there to know that i have the greatest friends in the whole world! jen and shari devised this plan to throw me a hugely unexpected, unforeseen, and completely unnecessary but HUGELY appreciated surprise birthday party! my birthday was on sunday, october 21st so i awoke that morning thinking that it was just going to be another "normal" sunday for me...you know the usual, sleep in until 11 watch some much loved nfl (is that odd that i like the nfl since i am a girl?) have lunch with my aunt (i rarely see her, and lunch was more hurtful and sad than happy, but more about that in a later blog), go to Bible study then church, and end my evening with the special treat of going out to dinner with my friends jen and shari and then come home.

the majority of my day went exactly as i anticipated, you know everything up until the part where there are 8 of my closest friends lining a ginormous booth at chilli's. let me ask you this, have you ever been on the receiving end of something that is so nice and appreciated but completely unexpected? that is the best way i can describe what this experience was like for me...i was in complete awe and speechless and emotional that all of my friends took time from their own families, lives, significant others, or whatever for ME! i wasn't quite sure what to say, how to act, and to be completely honest i was just plain dumbfounded standing there thinking "what in the world is this? is this really happening to me? no, it can't be or can it? i just don't know!"

part of my shock is largely impart to me thinking that i am completely aware and moderately in control of my surroundings and the situations in which i put myself. for example, i don't know if any of you watch tlc's show "what not to wear" but i seriously think that i would catch on to people's antics like posing as market researchers or something like that...in a nutshell i am leery of people and approach some aspects of my life with a great deal of skepticism. but, thankfully that particular sunday i wasn't playing my "a" game, if you know what i mean, because a few things were said and done that i would normally question. here's a case and point, jen called just before Bible study to confirm that we were still going out to dinner after church and if she could get a rid with me and of course i agreed then she proceeded to say something about shari coming along to. i vividly remember sitting on the floor a little puzzled thinking i never told jen that shari was coming too but ok and just let it slide. there were more incidents like that throughout the night but i just went with the flow instead of being my normal inquisitive self aways asking, "why? or how did you know that?" amazingly my friends were completely successful as NOT spilling the beans as to what was going on - because some of them, like myself, are horrible at keeping certain types of secrets.

anyway, the night was a HUGE success and the most memorable birthday to date! attached are some pictures that were snapped while at chilli's. The left top picture of this guy that works at chilli's who came about to sing me his own whacked out rendition of "happy birthday" - he had just come out with my free chocolate shake and insisted that i get out of the booth i had no clue what sort of surprise i was in for! the bottom picture is where i was standing there as red as a tomato thinking "my word, this really is not happening to me is it?" the guy was out of control - that is clearly visible in the photo where everyone else is busting out laughing!

to be completely honest i liked brandon's version of "happy birthday" so much more...jen video taped him singing the song to me at church without him knowing it...check out the video below.

finally, here's a huge shout out to erin, jen, shari, jamie, megan, jenn, brooke, johanna and katie (in spirit and just so you know your card was the icing on the cake, it made me burst into tears ask jen!)- the greatest friends in the whole world! in case you are wondering, well because i would be , their names are in no particular order that's just the order in which we were sitting at the booth! i really don't know what else to tell you except thank you, thank you, thank you...you all mean a lot to me and i am so thankful and grateful that i am able to call you my friends!

love,

me