Family Surprise!!

My sister, Kelli, turned 40 years old this past week.  Being that she lives in Michigan and her birthday was the day after Thanksgiving I knew that in order to have a surprise celebration I would need to devise a plan. 

The plan (or so Kelli thought)...
Kelli and Hannah would come over for the weekend to help do some holiday baking, Keri and Kelli would go do something special together, then on Sunday we might have Isaiah's baby dedication.

What actually happened...
The Wednesday before, Tamra (Kirk's wife) flew in to spend some time with us.  Saturday morning Kelli and Hannah arrived and were shocked to see Tamra at our house.  Then we all jumped in the car to drive to the airport so we could pick up our little brother, Kirk.  From there we drove to downtown Chicago.

It was a cold but sunny day.  A perfect day to view the city from the 96th floor of the John Hancock Tower.  A secret we've learned is that instead of paying for the observatory deck, simply go up a couple more floors to the Lounge.  Here we enjoyed lunch (which cost less than the admission fee) and had the same view.  You should see the view from the women's bathroom..AMAZING!!!  Sorry men, your bathroom doesn't have a glass wall.

After a leisurely lunch, we strolled down Michigan Ave. taking in the holiday sights and sounds.  We also took a few detours through some stores before heading back to our place for dinner and birthday brownies. 

Sunday morning we enjoyed worshipping together as a family at our church then went out to lunch for some Chicago style hotdogs.  Soon afterwards Kelli and Hannah needed to head back to Michigan but thankfully Kelli left knowing that she was loved.

I am so blessed to have siblings that love the Lord with all of their hearts, minds and souls.  I am blessed to have had this special weekend with Kelli and Kirk.