One week before Christmas I got the news that I would be having Christmas off! I was so excited and bought my ticket that day. At that time I thought it would be fun to make it a Christmas surprise for the family. I talked with Lizzie about it, and we planned the surprise. I would fly into Raleigh were she would pick me up and then we would go to Wilmington. We did not tell anybody else in the family!! The same day we made the plans I ended up skyping with my parents. They asked me if was going to be able to make it but I told them no because I was going offshore. I was sooo thankful that I did not have my camera that day because they would have seen me with a big grin on my face when I was saying this!
I knew it was going to be a short trip but knew that it was going to be worth it so to help optimize my time at home I bought my tickets to fly out of Merida. I got on a bus after work and rode for 5 hrs to make my 6 am flight back to the US. It ended up working great! When I into Raleigh I met up with Lizzie and Jake. I wanted so badly to get on facebook or online but kept my phone off since I knew my dad would be checking where I was with his app that keeps track of where your friends are!! I did not want to ruin the surprise over facebook!!
The next day Dan, Lizzie, Jake and I drove down to Wilmington. I ended up surprising everyone in 3 parts. The 1st part was the best one! We stopped at my grandparents place first where my mom, dad, other grandma, and uncle were. Again because my dad likes to stalk people, the surprise was almost ruined. I planned on walking through the door but when we arrived at the complex my parents were already outside waiting for us. Thankfully Dan's windows are tinted so they did not see me. I ducked my head and Dan rolled down the window. I then popped up and my Mom was like "oh my gosh" and gave a quick little scream and looked at my Dad in shock. I think my dad was too shocked to do anything!! I wish I had gotten a video when everything went down . . . it was great!
After some time at my grandparents', it was time to go to the next stop. This time it was to the beach house we were staying at. Becca did not know I was coming either and we were going to meet her there. One of the main reasons she was not brought into the loop with Lizzie was because she lives with my parents and it would have been harder to keep the secret!! When she got to the house I hide in another room while she went upstairs to her room. Right when I went up to surprise her, she said that she was happy that she finally did not have to share a bathroom!! Well, I kind of spoiled those plans! When she saw me the first thing that came out of her mouth was "What". It was great as well!
Finally the last stage of the surprise was done. It again was almost ruined because my dad "checked" us in on facebook. We quickly told him to erase it and wait until the last surprise was done. We headed to my uncle and aunt's house for dinner. I first saw my cousin Kate when I walked in the house and she just said "Wait . . . what are you doing here" and then laughed. I then went out back and surprised the rest of the family. It was really nice to feel loved and missed, but most of all it was nice to be with the WHOLE family!!
After the surprises everything went back to normal. We had great time together. There were sooooo many presents . . . though not many for me but it was ok because I was with my entire family!! At one point on Christmas morning I just sat back and thanked the Lord for my great family and the ability to come back home for this time together.
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