Surprise!!! Nicole's 40th Birthday!

Most days, I am fine with living far away.  But, there are some things I can't miss...like my little sister, Nicole, turning 40.  Nicole and our Danceline friends starting planning their weekend together back in January for her March birthday.  Just for the fun of it, I thought I would check flights.  Wouldn't it be awesome if I could be home to surprise her!!!  They were a bit high, but I continued to check.  In late January, they took a huge dip, and the price was one I couldn't refuse.  I booked it!  Now to keep a secret for over a month!!!  Normally, this would be easy, but our group chats daily on the Voxer app.  I cannot tell you how many times I almost slipped.  Then, the week of the party, Nicole called, and we chatted for nearly two hours.  That was the LONGEST two hours of my life.  I spent the whole time trying not to mess up.  Thankfully, I didn't!  

So, on Friday, March 6th, I headed out of Brussels for Newark, Chicago, and finally Moline.  It wasn't ideal, but it was cheap.  While in Chicago, I found wifi and caught up on my Voxer messages only to find out my grandpa had passed away that day.  Our family friend, Nicole Miller Smith, had passed away on March 2nd, so I went home knowing I would be able to attend her funeral.  I had no idea I would be staying for a second.  I spent Friday night at my mom's house.  It was so good to be home.  Now, I normally chime in on Voxer when I get up in the morning.  I wanted to make sure I stuck to the normal schedule, so I set my US alarm for midnight (7 am Brussels time...holy jet lag) to wish them all a happy Saturday, lots of fun at the party, and told them how much I wished I could be with them.  Hehehehe...sneaky.  Then back to sleep.  My mom drove me to Normal on Saturday morning where we met at Danielle's house.  Nicole was due to arrive around noon, but of course, she was late for her own party.  :)  Finally she arrived, and it was the BEST surprise EVER!!!  I think I've watched the video 50 times!!!

Danielle had decorated her home with a Paris theme (Nicole LOVES Paris.)  It was awesome! And, she used my Eiffel Tower pics in the decor.  LOVE!

Jenny brought the cookies from the St. Louis area.  So adorable!

Here's the video!  EEK!!  So fun! 

Try to ignore my super annoying, excited giggle.

She was just a little shocked!

Trying to figure out how this all worked out.

The Williams girls

The Gift!  The 40th Birthday gift is the infinity bracelet from Tiffany.  I'm the only one who is surprised since I'm the oldest.  There's one perk!

The girls...just missing Katy!

 To continue the Paris theme, we were off to Merlot and a Masterpiece in Bloomington to do some painting.

My masterpiece!  I followed the directions very carefully and could not figure out why it looked so weird.  Well, after finishing, we all realized the top of the tower was too short.  You would think I would have figured that out while we were painting.  I've seen the tower a couple of times. Ugh!

Love how they are all a little different.  But, they have one thing in common...the top is too short. ;)

She was kind and shared before she devoured the rest.

What a terrific celebration!!!

 Sunday afternoon, was the funeral for our beautiful friend Nicole.  She passed away at just 34 years old after a very courageous battle with cancer.  Nicole was very transparent about her battle.  She kept a blog that updated everyone on her progress as well as her setbacks.  She was always positive and no matter the news she received, she used it to glorify God.  What an inspiration and role model for so many. She will be missed.

Rather than flying home on Monday, I rebooked my flight to leave on Tuesday morning after my grandpa's visitation on Monday night.

It was so good to see my cousins!

Pizza at Mom's house after the visitation.

Our kids with Grandpa at Christmas.

Tuesday morning, I was packed and ready for my flight.  My mom and Mike dropped me off at the airport before heading to the funeral.  While sitting at the gate, my flight was cancelled due to fog.  So, not only could I not make it to my connecting flight in Chicago, but no one could come and get me because they were all at the funeral.  And, I just wanted to be at the funeral.  I had a little cry fest all to myself for a couple of minutes.  Some nice stranger offered me a ride wherever I needed to go...thanks, but I'll be okay.  In the end, our friends came to pick me up, and I was still able to attend the luncheon.  The next flight out was Wednesday night from Chicago. So, Wednesday morning Mom and Mike drove me to O'Hare.  They are the best!  Of course, when I got to O'Hare, I wasn't on the flight.  Really?  Because I rebooked it YESTERDAY!  I'm in meltdown mode at this point and trying to hold it together.  I'm fairly certain the gal at the counter sensed this and got me on that flight.  Phew!  So, I arrived home safely on Thursday morning to leave again on a flight Friday morning.  More on that in the next post.

 It was definitely a weekend I will never forget.  I was meant to be home.  It was really God's perfect timing to have me there for so many important events.  He never ceases to amaze me.

 Until next time,

Wendy

Forty Fest Part 2

Before I start rambling about part 2 of my birthday, I have to give a shout out to some friends that I failed to mention in part 1.  A big thanks to the Keowns for treating us to dinner on my birthday.  They covered dinner...and we covered waffles.  Fair, right?! :)  And, thank you to our friends the Wheatleys and DeKunders for watching our kiddos, so we could enjoy a romantic weekend in Paris.  I feel better now that they have been acknowledged. :)

Okay, on to Part 2....

When someone turns 40 or 41 or whatever age over here, it's a great excuse for a girls weekend.  So, off to London we went to celebrate my big 4-0!  There was concern about making it to London in the first place.  Trains were cancelled due to snow but thankfully ours was spared.  We arrived Friday night and enjoyed the giant flakes!  We had dinner at Bills thanks to a recommendation by our friend Allison and all enjoyed a fabulous meal.

Oops, sorry about the snowflake in the face, April!  What a fun shot!

Saturday morning, we braved the cold for a walking tour of London.  I really can't tell you how to get anywhere in London unless it is underground.  I just need to take a nice long walk (in the summer) to see how close everything really is.  This particular walking tour took us from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's Cathedral.  Did I mention it was really cold?  And, I think maybe my brain was actually frozen because I'm pretty sure I could not get you from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's ever again.

I stopped in and purchased some really yummy tea!

See those cool doors...they were used in the Harry Potter films for the doors to Gringotts.  Cool!

St. Paul's Cathedral

After our walking tour (half did the tour and half went shopping) we met at the Covent Garden Inn for afternoon tea.  I was super excited about this because it was new for everyone.  Here are my lovely friends Ericka, Melonee, Claire, and Lisa.

And on this side is April, Mackenzie, Staci, Lucinda, and Brandi.  

The food was awesome!  I know you're supposed to be all dainty and sophisticated, but I ate like a heathen.  I was STARVING!  I shared with April, and I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was capable of eating that much food.  

After some shopping and posing at Platform 9 3/4, it was back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.

Dinner was at Camino (a Spanish bar and restaurant) and a short walk from our hotel.  

There's Shayna on the left.  We were so glad she could join us for dinner.  Melonee and Shayna were enjoying London with their families as well that weekend.

Our only picture of the whole group!  I don't want to sound cliché, but I really do feel incredibly blessed to have found these friends.  And, how amazing that I was able to share my 40th birthday with them.  I think God knew if this overseas move was going to be successful for our family I would need a really good support group.  He certainly knew what he was doing when he put these girls in my life.  I am so incredibly lucky!!!!

I failed to mention that by Saturday morning, our train for Sunday had been cancelled.  What??  So, half the group decided to go home on a 1:00 train and the rest of us waited until the 5:04 train.  More on this later....

Flat Stanley joined me on both birthday weekends, so I had to get some shots of him around London.  We hadn't visited any of the big sites, so that was the plan for Sunday.  It was snowing like CRAZY but off we went to see London in the snow!  

Buckingham Palace

Four of us trying to hold our eyes open for pictures while being pelted with snow. Good thing the shot is from a distance. :)

Lucky shot!  With my phone!!!  A photographer spotted Mackenzie with her Union Jack umbrella and asked if he could get some shots of her walking through the park.  He worked for the London Times...or so he said. ;)  I took it upon myself to grab my own shot, and in my opinion, it was a winner!

We had such a good time!

And a few more shots with my phone.  It was so wet that I actually had to put my camera away.  But, I really love how these turned out.  Do you think I could start a photography business with my iPhone and Instagram??  Just kidding...well...not really.

 The afternoon of sightseeing went much too quickly.  Luckily, we were able to squeeze in a quick late lunch at Wahaca for the BEST Mexican food I have had on this continent.  And, the margarita was oh so yummy.  Too bad we had to inhale our food to make our train.  We arrived at the train station with about 40 minutes to spare only to find out that our train was delayed...and then it was delayed again...and again. But, it wasn't cancelled!  Phew!  We ended up leaving London on restricted speed due to the snow and arrived just after midnight in Brussels.  We had a cab...and then we didn't have a cab...and then we had a cab again.  I made it home with white knuckles as the cab driver had great confidence in his winter tires.  Then I could barely get Brandi and Lucinda to Brandi's house because I don't have winter tires.  Did I mention it snowed all weekend in Brussels too?!?  After safely navigating to Brandi's, I barely made it back home and was stuck on my road.  Better my road than some other one I guess.  I had to wake Chris around 2 A.M. to push me down the road and into the driveway.  I talked to Ericka after I was home and settled (she had dilemmas of her own getting home) and fell into bed around 3:00 A.M.  But you know what....I would do it all over again.  It was totally worth it!  

And that....is my Big 4-0 in London!

Thank you again, girls!  I'll never forget this terrific weekend!!!

Until next time,

Wendy