The Worst Kept Secret - EVER!

I had completed these books of our blog and had them published in November, but I didn't tell our kids about them.  They were to be a Christmas surprise.

Interestingly enough, a few weeks before I actually published, our Dallas son sent me an email and said that I ought to write a book.  I emailed back and asked, "Why would you say that?"  He simply said that I should.  Hmm.  Did he telepathically read my mind from Texas to Arizona?

At the very end of the process I asked our Houston daughter-in-law (who is very computer savvy) to keep the secret, but see if she could help arrange some of the pictures into a better layout.  She did a great job of it!

But then I had to just hold my breath and keep saying to myself, "Don't tell.  Let it be a surprise.  Don't tell."

Once again, the best laid plans of mice and men...

Granpa and I opened our few gifts to each other Christmas morning.  That's when he got his set of "Heritage Travels."  He has never been an excitable kinda guy (and that's a understatement!)  I was not at all surprised by his "uh-huh" comment.  That's Granpa talk for, "I really like this!"

Then he went to spend Christmas Day with his momma and brother's family.  I had secreted a set of the books in their Christmas totes.  I wish I had been there to see Granny Beth's face.  I know she showed a lot more excitement than John had!  She had read them both by the time she came to see us a few days later!  I never heard from his brother and sister-in-law, but John said her sister picked one up and spent the rest of the day reading it!

The following Sunday, our Dallas family and us decided to surprise Granny Beth at her church.  (I think that was the best Christmas gift she could ever have because her church family means so much to her, and to be able surprise her and them was awesome.)  Afterwards, we went to her house - the same house she's lived in since Granpa was three years old!  The true colors are what we told the grandkids: chocolate milk with raspberry shutters!

Granny Beth (you can see her standing in the doorway waving goodbye as we left) had left her set of "Heritage Travels" on the TV cabinet - unbeknownst to me!  Our Dallas daughter-in-law was just looking at the family photos on the cabinet and said, "Oh! What's this?!"  Aw, man!  So much for the secret!

The next day, back at our home, our other daughter-in-law's momma had come to visit.  While I was talking with her, Granpa was having his own conversation with Lori.  He asked what she thought about the "books."  "What books," she asks.  So much for the secret!  (He must have really liked them after all because he wanted to talk with her about them!)  So I went ahead and gave her mother her gift to open right then - a set of "Heritage Travels."

Finally our family gathered around the tree, read the Christmas story from Luke's version in the Bible, and shared gifts.  We had a grand-nephew visiting from Alaska.  He's stationed at Ft. Hood in Texas on his way to Afghanistan.  When he opened his set of  "Heritage Travels," our oldest son was sitting next to him.  Phillip asked, "What are these?"  Lori got my attention - and as it dawned on Larry what he was looking at and his expression transformed.  It was priceless!!  Finally someone was actually surprised!

If you like our blog, you can buy the book forms on Amazon under the “Heritage Travels” titles.  There are Kindle version's, also.

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