Birthdays and other fun

As expected, the past few weeks have flown by thanks to the constantly full calendar December has had.  It's been a great start to the winter (though someone should tell the weather that it's actually winter - for those of you that don't live in Denver, we've had temps mainly in the 50s/60s all month with but a few snowflakes one night in November.  Madness!).

The month started off with Matt's birthday - the big 2-7 (which I have to laugh about being a cougar and all), celebrated in several stages (who doesn't love getting the most out of their birthday week??).  I was hoping to surprise him for his birthday and decided to "steal" his car during work to have new front speakers installed (big thanks to my parents for splitting them with me!).  I thought it'd be perfect - I even made him a lunch that morning in hopes that he wouldn't have any need to leave the office. So, after a frustrating yet successful trip to Best Buy (I don't think I'll go there again for installation!), I headed back to Matt's office to return his car.  About 5 minutes before I got there, Matt calls me in a panic having been looking for his car for the past 10 minutes.  Surprise ruined.  When he came across my car in the parking lot, he put two and two together, and I had to let him in on his surprise gift of new speakers.  It was the thought that counts, right?  :) 

The next night we decided to use a giftcard we had purchased at a silent auction fundraiser for Phoenix Multisport earlier in the year to a great restaurant in Boulder called Salt.  Despite the hurricane-force winds that evening, Boulder was gorgeous and we had a great time grabbing a drink at The Kitchen next door then heading in for a fabulous meal.  (Boulder has some phenomenal restaurants, in case you weren't aware) :)

It was a great evening out celebrating my fabulous husband.  And for all he knew, it was the end of birthday festivities.  Fortunately, he has an awesome wife who was plotting behind the scenes to spoil him with a Big Lebowski surprise party - only Matt's favorite (or 2nd depending on the day you ask him) movie and something he's long been wanting to do.  White Russians and robes?  Sure!

Our fantastic friends Keri and Joe were kind enough to host the party at their home so Matt wouldn't get suspicious at ours beforehand.  I picked up some items for the party, printed out a few Big Lebowski pics, baked some delicious cupcakes (which I tried to make look like bowling balls) and slyly gave them to Keri the day before the party.  She and Joe couldn't have been any better to us getting their house in party-shape and providing delicious apps and beer (and our friend Rachel did an awesome job converting my pictures to signs around the house).  Matt had NO idea it was coming.  We had been getting things done around the house all day Saturday and eventually ate dinner and started catching up on some DVR'd shows when Matt decided to text Joe to see what they were up to.  In a completely inconspicuous way, Joe offered to have us come hang out at their house and have a few drinks.  Matt, being as easy going as they come, was up for anything, so we headed to Park Hill.  When we walked in the door, our friends yelled surprise, and Matt was floored!  I had given Keri the "Dude" attire for Matt to wear, so he quickly changed and was in awe at how awesome are friends are for taking part.  (They are extra awesome because only ONE person there had even seen the movie!  Shocking, I know.)  Anyway, it was an awesome way to celebrate and share laughs and good times with our friends.  The evening even ended in a prolonged dance party, which is always a great time in my book.

Capping off an extremely fun birthday weekend, my folks came over on Sunday evening and bought us some delicious Karma takeout (we had gone their last year with them for Matt's birthday too) while we all played games and watched football.  It was an excellent weekend.

On a non-birthday related note, Christmas season is upon us.  It's such a wonderful time of year, and it always reminds me of just how blessed we are here in Larsonland.  One of things I'm so grateful for is the Bible study that I've become a part of.  We celebrated the end of the year (and finishing a great book - The Blue Parakeet) with a secret Santa gift exchange at Keri's house, and it was so nice to spend an evening with ladies that I so enjoy.  (Cheesy alert!) I'm so thankful for the consistency that we've each shown with the group, and I'm excited for the year ahead as we continue to grow in many ways. :)  I'm also proud to go to a church that is home to such awesome people who are willing to ask tough questions and push each other into occasionally new or different understandings than they may have grown up with.  It's a great place to be when we don't take things for granted and seek to always become better people and examples of Jesus' love.

School also sucked up a lot of my life in the last few weeks as we finished out the semester and got prepped for entering REAL secondary schools starting January 3rd!  I was assigned to Arvada West High School where I'll be spending 2 days a week from January through May.  After finishing our group project, our entire class was summoned for a day-long seminar on campus last week where we got to ask more questions about what's coming next, and where we mainly were scared into the reality that will be the spring and fall semesters.  Apparently, I will have no life at all while I take 4 grad courses and spend upwards of 18-20 hours each week at Arvada West.  (Did I mention that I have to be at school by 6:40am and it's about a 30-35 minute drive? Yikes!)  They did a good job "preparing" us, but I'm also secretly hoping that it's not as bad as they say it will be.  Here's hoping!  Anyway - after our last class of the semester, my new friends (and fellow comrades) in the program Gwen and Erika and I celebrated with lunch at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square.  I'm so glad I met some people to suffer experience the program with!

After my seminar at school on Friday, we headed down with my sister and Lincoln to New Mexico to visit my mom.  She and my stepdad had given us a night at a hotel in Taos back in March for our anniversary which had yet to use (getting to NM, while only 4 hours away, can be tough to do!).  With the nice warm temps and an easy drive, it was a great time to go. 

I'll post more on the NM trip tomorrow.  This is quite a lot for one post already, but there is one last thing I wanted to talk about.

For those of you that may not know my lively, stubborn, outspoken, blunt, generous, and amazing grandmother, she has been someone that I've looked up to all my life.  My grandfather, her husband, the love of her life, passed away from cancer in 1991 (he was just about the most wonderful man you could ever find), which left her with a gaping hole in her heart.  Despite having to continue on without her best friend and companion, Gram stayed her strong self and was determined to live life.  She's never been one to shy away from giving her (strong) opinions, yet she's always been the level-headed, loving backbone of our family.  I say all of this because on Friday, we found out that Gram has colorectal cancer.  I can't put into adequate words what a complete shock this was for me and how sad I have been since learning of the news.  I spoke with Gram briefly on Saturday, and to hear the fear in her usually strong and confident voice was heartbreaking.  She'll be going in for surgery later this month, and I just pray that God works some miracles.  I know she's lived a good life, but she has so much yet to do and see.  It will be a difficult time moving forward, but I'm praying for the best outcome possible.  We love you Gram.  There is no one like you.