Earlier this year, Lee and I attended an auction for a local school where we bid on and won a backyard grill package. This item included a huge grill (which we ultimately sold) and a party that would be completely planned and catered for us.

So, in the spirit of awesome wifedom, I cashed in on said prize and threw Lee a surprise party for his birthday.  And I actually managed to pull it off, which is no small feat when you’re married to a man who tends to smell surprises and weasel them out of you early.

I may or may not have told a couple of little white lies in order to pull it all together, but I’m pretty sure that somewhere in Leviticus the Lord tells us that lying to protect a good secret is permissible and encouraged.

Or maybe it’s in the book of Nahum…

Whatever the case, my fibs worked – thankfully.  I thought my secret was blown Friday when he came home at noon to find someone cleaning our house.  I had made a big deal out of the fact that I was planning to clean the house, when in fact I was really out running my last few errands.

So when he came home early (noon – he came home at noon!  He never comes home at noon!) I spun a fantastic tale about my mom wanting to bless us with a deep house cleaning and I called this girl and she just happened to have an opening that morning and blah, blah, blah…

He bought it. 

It’s like feeding candy to a baby.

And so, after my poor dad had to stall for quite some time, Lee showed up having already downed a couple of margaritas, a hot dog and a quesadilla.  And he was surprised.  Very, very surprised. 

The party package included a caterer who made amazing appetizers, a grill master who smoked a brisket over night and delivered it hot to our door and an amazing Jazz band.  The weather was perfect; it was crisp and cool – perfect for sitting around the fire pit and listening to the music and enjoying family and friends.

And we have sweet, sweet friends.  I am constantly amazed at just how blessed we are to have such amazing people around us, pouring into our lives.

I got a few pictures.  They’re not great, because I’ve finally embraced the fact that I’m not a good photographer.  I’ve messed around with my camera so much that I think it’s finally gone on strike and is refusing to take a decent picture purely on principle.   I can almost hear it laughing at me every time I take a picture.

But these shots should give you a basic idea…

Now, earlier this year, I left my dear husband for eight days while I romped around the Caribbean.  That trip really set me back in my bid for Wife of the Year.  But this party, my friends, this. party. put me back in the running – big time.

You all are going to have to work pretty hard if you want to catch up now.

The end.