My Birthday Present

Well, I promised I'd tell you more about my birthday. Roger was in Dallas for a conference for the week leading to my birthday. He got home late on Thursday night and my birthday was on that Friday. Friday morning, I got breakfast in bed. Now, don't tell my family, but I really don't enjoy breakfast in bed. I mean, come on... who wants to eat cold eggs and bacon in bed? While everyone is watching? But, I would never dream of letting on...so, I eat my breakfast in bed in front of everyone. Then, Roger let me know that he had taken the day off work so I could have a day off too! He planned to do school with the kids, do all the driving, make lunch and dinner, etc... I could go to Fayetteville, lock myself in my stampin room, read in my room...anything I wanted! So, I went over to Fayetteville. I went to the mall. I hadn't been to the mall in about 3 years! I had a real nice time...I just browsed and took my time. No one to keep track of. I could stay in one store as long as I wanted. I at lunch in the food court and read a magazine... it was lovely!!

I thought that was the gist of my birthday, and was very happy and relaxed when I got home around 3:00. Roger said that the kids had gifts for me, so we picked up Zack from school and then I sat down to open my gifts. Sam got me a toothbrush. Nate gave me a huge bottle of Aussie Shampoo. Katie gave me a package of 8 bars of soap. Zane gave me hairspray. It was very sweet, but I must say, I was thinking, "You didn't pay full price for this, did you?" Then, Roger gave me a bag, and in the bag was a book....Italian for Dummies! Then, he gave me an envelope with an airplane ticket! I am going to Italy!!!! Our dear, dear friends live in Germany and I'm going to fly to Germany and meet my friend Toni. Then, she and I will fly over to Italy for 4 days. Then, back to Germany and home!! Can you believe it!! I leave on the 25th for 8 days. The first thing I asked was about the kids. Roger has been working on it for about a month and has pretty much gotten everything covered! I can't believe he was able to keep it a secret from me for almost a month!

I can't even tell you how excited I am. You see, if I had unlimited money, I'd travel. I love traveling, but don't get to do it very much. Roger, on the other hand, is somewhat of a home body. He enjoys vacations and being with us on trips, but if he has extra time or money, he'd rather work on his hobbies at home. So, his gift really is a blessing to me. Two girls on the town in Italy!!