The best things in life...

So for months now, our family has been counting down weeks, days, "sleeps", and finally just HOURS until we were all going to be reunited again.That's right, Joe and Court and their gaggle of kiddos :) were supposed to be coming home tomorrow (as in MONDAY, the 13th!!!) night. We've skyped about how excited we are with them, planned all the fun things we're gonna do while we're together. On this side, we've sat around the pool and talked about how much MORE fun it will be when they are all here. Tiffany and I have literally said about a hundred times that we couldn't WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE to see our sweet sis, Court and spend a month making memories again. We'd even planned funny ideas for how we could show up at the airport and make a big scene for them...bottom line, friends, this has pretty much been the number one thing we've looked forward to for...well...7 months...since the day they left! :) But the point is, we were counting down until "Monday, the 13th, at 6 pm!!!!"

So how did I snap this picture TONIGHT...


...of my sweet ray of sunshine, Briley, holding my newest love, Jude Warren for the first time????

The answer: BEST SURPRISE OF MY LIFE!!!

See, last night, my Dad had planned a big birthday party for my Mom. I'd thought it was a little odd that he kept asking people to bring their kids...I thought it was weird that he kept saying we'd swim after dinner...a little out of the ordinary that GAVIN was coming all the way in town for it...and oddest of all that he invited several of OUR best friends, along with our family...for "Mom's party". Well it was her party, but just as we'd all eaten our fill of Nathan's delicious ribs, I noticed another car pulling down the driveway. I didn't recognize it, but that wasn't that suspicious. I was in conversation with my cousin so I really just kinda glanced at it and kept going. Then my Dad said, "Ok can I have everyone's attention one more time??? This is the REAL SURPRISE of the night pulling up!!!"...and as if perfectly cued for that moment, that car door flew open and out came a Briley, a Braxton, and a Bear running across that field. It was so surreal and I was taken aback by my own flood of emotions as I BURST into tears and took off running toward them myself. It was truly the BEST SURPRISE EVER!! We actually ALL took off running because my Dad had actually KEPT THIS FABULOUS SECRET from ALL of us (except Gavin who never would have come to the party otherwise :))...so there we were- me and Tiff squeezing little Courtney (sorry to disappoint, people, she's still as perfectly teeny tiny when she left!!!) to death, Nathan was jumping up and down with Joey, Rich got to Brax first and almost squeezed the life out of him...we just ran around in circles like a bunch of wild indians crying and laughing and absolutely not believing our eyes. Too good to be true. But true! Dad and the South Africans tricked us all.

And when I lay down my head last night (after Courtney and I text JUST BECAUSE WE COULD -which was technically the same as our daily black berry messaging, but felt better because we were actually "texting"), I couldn't stop smiling again that one of my favorite memories probably of my whole life got to happen on that day. That's why I love surprises. Real surprises sneak up on you and make you so happy on a day that you just didn't even know you were gonna get to feel that way...you know what I mean? That was yesterday. And I realized that the BEST things in life, the really BEST things like surprises and family and deep love...are FREE. Absolutely free. Isn't that GREAT???

We spent today with them... and we'll spend every minute we can with them over the next month. If I have learned ANYTHING over the past 7 months, it is that we cannot take for granted the time we have with each other...to squeeze each other's bodies while we're together :)...to be able to just sit and talk...to just hold each other's babies and soak in the summer sun together and really SOAK it in, every minute. Because there have been so many days gone by this year that we could not...and so WE WILL!!!!

So excited about this next month of memories and joy...and so thankful tonight for the gift of surprises! So happy that my Jadeybug will get to really know her 4 cousins she's just come to know on a computer screen. So happy Court will get to see me struggling as a new mommy of 2 and be able to BE with me as she gives me her priceless advice. In person. Gotta love that. So happy Joey will get to stop in and visit Rich and Nate and sit across the desk like they have a hundred times before and just BE together...laugh and talk about senseless stuff like they do...

Just happy tonight. So happy. So thankful....