Super Surprise! – Part 1

My hubby had a super surprise for me at the end of last week!

One of the homeschool groups that I am a member does an annual retreat every year.  I was planning on going until the Lord revealed that the money should be saved for something that we are saving for instead of being spent on going to the retreat.  I was fine with the decision but I didn’t anticipate how hard it would hit me.  Everyone was posting about packing, shopping, and traveling that week.  I did a lot of crying on Thursday and even doubting that I shouldn’t have changed my mind.

Thursday night David came home to a very upset wife.  I didn’t have dinner ready, I was upset, and he could tell that I had been crying.  The tears were more than just not being able to go.  Some were due to that but the majority was due to another decision I made a while ago and still suffer the consequences of my actions.  Take my word and when the Lord tells you to do something or not do something listen to Him!!  I am so thankful for His grace and forgiveness!

We talked and then the surprise came.  He asked me if we had the money would I still go.  I said if I had the money for both then yes I would go but I wasn’t going to take away money that the Lord told me to specifically use for something else.  He told me he had the majority of the money for both but I would have to wait a few more days for entire amount!!  Then the waterworks started again!

I made some quick calls and sent some messages.  My mom said I could still borrow her car for the weekend and she would watch the kids on Friday because David had to work.  I contacted my friend “T” at 8:30 Thursday night to see if there was space and she said, “Come!!!!!”.  She also said not to tell anyone and I could surprise them. 🙂

I quickly packed so I would be ready to go first thing in the morning.  In the morning, I dropped the kids off at my parent’s house.  They were thrilled to spend the day at grandma’s house and also see their aunt who is staying there while my brother is out of town for work.  The car ride was very long and driving by myself was not fun.

I keep my friend “T” in the loop of where I was at during the drive and despite GPS directions from the place that we were staying drove me to a spot in the middle of the woods with no roads near by.  🙂  I drove a little bit further and found the entrance to the park and then figured out where I needed to go.  It was quite interesting because “T” wasn’t at the villas when I arrived and no one knew that I was coming.  I sat outside for about 5 minutes figuring out if I was in the right place because nothing like going up to a door with a room full of people and it being the wrong door.  Also, I had never met any of these ladies in real life.  We have been talking for a few years on-line but it never worked out to meet any of the face to face.  “J” was the first lady that I met.  She was walking out to her car when I rolled down the window.  I introduced myself and she introduced herself and she said go on in.  It gave me the courage to get out of the car.

When I walked in the door I was quickly welcomed by a bunch of wonderful ladies who I had only seen pictures of!  They were very surprised because they knew I wasn’t planning on going!  Even though I had never met them in person before that night and most of them had met at least one other person in the room before that night you couldn’t tell!  They took the time to get to know everyone and make everyone feel welcomed!

Friday evening I was expecting them to have already eaten dinner by the time I got there.  I left 1.5 hours later than planned and then traffic and other stops added extra time to the trip.  It was around 7:30 by the time I got there and found the villa where everyone was hanging out in.  It helped tremendously that they hadn’t eaten dinner yet.  We were able to start bonding with each other over the meal.

– More Coming Later –