The idea came to me during Deb’s visit this summer. I threw it out to Em and she was on board. I threw it out to Jul and she was on board. I checked in with Nate’s sister-in-law who lives in Atmore, and they were on board. And so the waiting began.

We bought tickets to fly to Alabama to surprise, Deb, Nate, and Alexander for Baby A’s first birthday.

We held our breath as to whether or not we could pull this off. There are several over-talkative, unable-to-keep-a-secret links in our family chain 😬 myself being the main one.

Deb kept saying things like “I miss y’all” and “I wish I could see the twins again” and when she ended a conversation with Julia by saying “See you soon” we were on high alert. But still we moved forward.

I spent a far amount of time collecting items to entertain 2 lap babies for the duration of travel time- finger puppets, stickers, new books, sunglasses, magnetic men, and as many snacks as I could cram into my backpack.

The week of, Deb was up to her elbows in planning Alexander’s birthday party and we all teeheed at ourselves. “Those pig cake pops look so good I wish I could eat one, I love cake pops” “Be sure that Alexander checks the mailbox today, his surprise is out for delivery!”

So fast forward thru 2 flights, a 3 hour flight delay 😅, 2 wild Indians who missed naptime, were hopped up on sugar, and insisted on riding their suitcases for miles thru the vast airport prairie… We arrived at our destination with our entourage, including both snuggies and all 4 crocs. 😅

(Side note- God provided us with a beautiful little room called a Mother’s Nursery where we stayed for some time- it was such a relief to be able to let them rest in the quiet instead of trying to calm them in the midst of all the busyness. I’ve never traveled with children before-so I didn’t realize such a thing existed-but wow, it saved the day for us)

Kevin graciously picked us up and we beelined it for Deb’s house.

We grabbed boys and rolled in her door and it was perfect. She gasped and stared and we all cried, and thus continued our whirlwind visit. (Alexander and Nate did not react as amazingly as Deb, but I’m sure they were surprised too😂)

We spent our weekend juggling naps, shopping (it was so much fun to see one of Nate’s thrift stores) ordering take out, getting ready for the birthday party, and just enjoying being together.

Alexander loves pigs, so Deb did a great job at a pig birthday party.

Pigs in a blanket (made from Alabama’s special Conecuh Sausage, fresh green beans (straight from VA thanks Laura) cheeseball, veggies, fresh fruit, finger jello made with Grammy’s pig cookie cutter, and piggy cake pops.

And of course a smash cake that none of the rest of us wanted to touch after the birthday boy ran his hands thru all the icing.

Deb found a huge bag of balls at a thrift store and bought a small inflatable kiddie pool and Alexander’s birthday gift was a huge hit

How we all felt about being together ❤️

How big is Alexander? Soooo biiiig

In the spirit of fairness, I dusted off our Fisher Price collection and put together a story about Cousin Wade flying to visit the twins on the farm. The point of the entire story comes from Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t worry because I am with you. Don’t be afraid because I am your God. I will make you strong and help you!”

I hope those Words get written on your heart, little buddy ❤️

Celebrating you was a treasure for the Memory Chest.

Aunt Ken

Bonus Pic:

Same giraffe, Same boy; one year difference