Red really likes to plan surprises. When we were dating, almost every date was a surprise. I got used to Red answering my question of what to wear by saying, "Wear athletic clothes, bring casual clothes, shower stuff and a dress..." aka I carried a duffle bag full of every kind of outfit for our dates :).
Red has the special talent of making me feel incredibly loved on my birthdays (and most other days too). The birthdays stick out in my mind because somehow he knows what I would like better than I seem to know myself most of the time. I am thankful to God for giving me Red as my husband and I think I get just the smallest glimpse of His great love for me in the ways that Red loves me extravagantly.
I remember two years ago when Red threw a surprise birthday party for me and a bunch of our friends stood huddled in the corner waiting and waiting for me to be ready ;).
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| This is my surprised face! |
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| Everyone huddled in the living room :) |
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| I miss you ladies!! |
Then last year he told me we were going for a weekend getaway for my birthday and I packed up my books for the drive only to find us exiting the highway before getting on I-10 and pulling into the Houstonian. We did have a weekend getaway...in Houston!
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| The view from our room - I can't believe this place is inside the beltway in Houston... |
Now living in Sakhalin, he has still managed to surprise me - so thoughtful and sweet. My birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and he told me we would go out to lunch after church and spend the day just the two of us, a more low-key birthday than the past couple of years. We left church and walked to Gargarin park and rode the ferris wheel and teacups. We were the only people on either of them. We then meandered over to the train station for the park train. We bought our tickets and hopped on and took a train tour of Gargarin park and just talked. We pulled back into the station and as we stepped off the train I saw many of our friends here and heard "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Red told me we would be enjoying a picnic altogether in the park...so sweet! And to make it even sweeter, he (with some awesome help from friends) hired a famous saxophone street musician from town to play for the picnic, so I got serenaded and we even snuck in a dance too. :) It was so fun to celebrate with friends and, of course, Sakhalin's unpredictable summer weather struck and it started pouring...every last one of us got drenched (except Elvira...that girl has talent!). The rain effectively dismissed the picnic and we headed back to Olympia. Later that evening we met up with a few friends on the patio for shaslik and games. And then to finish off the night we headed to Adriana's for some delicious chocolate cake and a precious Feliz Cumpleanos sung by Mattias :). What a great birthday! Thanks Red and friends! (And Celeste, thank you for taking pictures!)
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| I didn't know it, but people were waiting for the train to pull in... |
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| My surprise face again :) |
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| My husband is the best...surprises even on Sakhalin! |
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| Everyone sang Happy Birthday |
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| The park train |
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| Saxophone serenade |
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| Our Picnic |
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| A little dancing :) |
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| The beginning of the rain... |
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| Ticket to Ride of course! |
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| Adriana and I with my delicious homemade Venezuelan cake! |
Birthday traditions are a little different here in Russia than they are in the US. You still celebrate with family and friends with cake/drinks/dinner/presents. The difference is that here when it is your birthday you are responsible for providing the cake and/or drinks and dinner and guests are only responsible for presents. If it is your birthday, you have to go out and buy enough cake for everyone at work and/or in the family. We had a great evening yesterday celebrating our friend Lena's birthday - Happy Birthday Lena!
That's all for today! Check back tomorrow for a post on Russian weddings as the Blog-a-thon continues...
Carrie & Red
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