9 days ago marked the day of my 21st Birthday - a day that I thought would be like the day before. I was wrong - so wrong!
While showering that morning, my roommates, Jennifer and Heather put up balloons and Happy Birthday signs on my door and in my room. In the hallway sat a vase of flowers and a birthday card.
I thought, aww how sweet! I have great roommates! Little did I know, the day was just beginning!
Once I got to work I was flooded with food! It was donut day (Thursdays) and Betty the one who makes the donuts had wrapped me two as a gift! I also received lots of chocolate and carrot cake! I was amazed at the amount of flowers I got, from roses to sunflowers! What great gifts! They really brightened up my day- and my desk!
Jennifer came in mid-morning and brought me two cupcakes and a birthday card. She had expressed that she needed to leave but to be prepared as the surprises were not over.
I told Bethany she could go on her break as I had a few things I wanted to finish up. My phone rang, and it was for Tim. Little did I know that Jennifer had not left - in fact she was in the office that called.
It was around this time that I was so lovingly kicked out of the office for a break. Tim tried to persuade me that I should take a walk on such a beautiful day but I really just wanted a cup of coffee and a quiet place to sit in the kitchen across from the office.
I sat down in the kitchen, in perfect view of he office, I had no idea what was going on. Soon Valerie (the one who had called earlier) came in, it seemed like the perfect time for a break as a few of my close friends were in the kitchen. Little did I know Valerie was standing in the door way so Jennifer and Bethany could decorate - oh dear!
I went back to the office after my coffee was consumed and this is what I found:
And every time I turned the corner at school this is what I found:
Needless to say, everyone knew it was my birthday! So at the end of the school day, as I am tearing down signs and cleaning up confetti, I was thinking "this was an awesome day." Little did I know - the day was not over!
As I was checking my email and just winding down at home, I was asked if I was ready for dinner. I was a little surprised as none of us had really started on making anything. I was then told to dress warmly. Before we left I had to sit on the couch and I was handed a gift from the girls. It was a picture frame with a picture of the 3 of us in Basel, Switzerland a few weeks previous.
After many questions and trying to figure out what we were doing I jumped into the car with Heather, Jennifer, Brad and Janis (our host family/dorm parents :D). When we arrived at a parking lot half an hour later I was told it was time to close my eyes and they would lead me. It looked something like this:
I was safely led to our destination, which was this awesome restaurant called Funfschilling (spelled something like that!)! It was an awesome evening eating outside with my Germany family.
I thought what a great ending to my birthday! (by now you probably know that the surprises were still in the works)
Two days later takes us to Saturday September 4. It was a nice morning of sleeping in. After getting groceries and spending some time outside, Jennifer asked if I wanted to go for coffee and kuchen(cake) (what they had looked into doing on my actual birthday but it wasn't open very late) I eagerly said yes and we agreed we would dress up.
I found myself waiting on the couch for the girls to finish getting ready. Heather all of a sudden wanted to straighten her hair and Jennifer was helping Janis cut vegetables for their evening guests.
I saw a shadow outside our door and so like anyone else would I opened it. It was Laura! She is an RA at the dorm Storch (the one I sub at). Heather was suddenly at the door and explaining how it was nice Laura stopped by on her day off. I was starting to wonder what was going on. Not too much later lots of our close friends were at our house and all dressed up saying surprise! We had great food and great fun playing farkle! Let me introduce you to some of the people that made my birthday a very special one:
Jonathan and Valerie
Brad
Janis
Kristi, Emily and Anna
I am so blessed to have these amazing people in my life who made my birthday so special!
I am thankful for these wonderful roommates I have and all that they did for me to have a great first birthday in Germany! I look forward to what God has in store for us this next year and the ways we can celebrate His faithfulness in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment