Surprise!

For our anniversary, Jon planned a surprise date for us...I knew we had a mystery appointment and that we were going out to eat at a restaurant of my choice, but he managed to keep the appointment a secret (which is a very difficult thing to do with me!). I think the best part of it all was that for the first time since we got married and our lives started going on a wild ride with all the moving and family deaths, we have both planned surprises...Jon got me on our annivesary and I will get him at Christmas. I think it's so telling of how God has put us in a good place in our lives...we feel more secure and a bit more settled (even though we're still not in our own place yet).

To make a long story short, Jon got both of our parents to go in with him to buy me a brand new electric acoustic guitar so that when I'm no longer pregnant and short of breath, I can join a praise team at church and not be embarrassed by using a pick-up on a not-so-wonderful and generally beat-up acoustic guitar that I've had for a long time. When we got to the parking lot in front of the store, my pregnant emotions kicked in over-drive, so naturally, I started balling. The store was next to another store we needed to visit, so I convinced Jon to take me in there to get our shopping done so I could have a few moments to calm down and n

ot have red, puffy eyes. 

Last Friday, while I was in WI for Shana's graduation, Jon visited a member of our church, Mark, who is the manager of the Guitar Center store in Fairview Heights, IL. He met with Mark to explain what he wanted to do, Mark picked out some guitars, and when we got there, all I had to do was choose. But it was a difficult decision to make! One of the guitars was ruled out right away because of its contoured back-side (I know they sound great plugged in, but I just couldn't get over having plastic on my guitar...). The other two were both beautiful. I won't bore you with the details, but I ended up choosing the Fender because the neck was thinner, which is what I'm most used to and comfortable with. It has a beautiful, cris

p sound, and as an added bonus, it comes with its own tuner so I never have to worry about being out of tune (unless of course my battery is dead...) :)

I am so grateful for a husband who knows me and who worked so hard to get me a great gift! The surprise and all the work he put into the date meant more to me than anything! I love you, babe! :)

Here's a preview, but for more pictures, visit my album here.