Asa's Big Gift

I just realized I have never written a post about my big gift for Asa! When he signed up for the Army, we decided to sell Asa's crappy Isuzu Rodeo and we would buy him a truck once he had graduated from training. So, the whole time he was in training, he would send letters talking about how he couldn't wait to get his truck when he graduated and exactly what he wanted.

Well, around the beginning of February, I decided that I wanted to buy it for him as a surprise! I don't think the people I told about my plan thought it was the best idea, and sure it made me nervous! But all I could think about was how happy he would be! So, I set out to find exactly what he wanted. There were a few snags in the plan, mostly because of what he wanted. He wanted pretty much the most expensive version of a Toyota Tundra and it was hard to find that in our price range. I had to lie to Asa and tell him I was letting my cousin Mike, who works for Toyota dealership in Houston, was looking for one but not really finding anything. We had planned that Mike would look for us and then once Asa got to come home to move he would go down to Houston and buy it.

Two weeks before his graduation, I found exactly what he wanted!It was perfect, in our price range, and close by! So, my mom, Marley, and I drove down to Houston to test drive it. The dealer let us take it to lunch, so we drove to a nearby Chili's and talked about it. While we were there, Asa called! So, I had to give a very vague version of what we were doing... "Oh, we have just been shopping this morning, and now we are eating lunch at Chili's..." He totally bought it, and even spent some time on the phone with me talking about how he really hoped we could find what he wanted. I went back to the car dealership and told him I wanted it. There were a few things that needed to be done to it, so I had to come back the next weekend and pick it up.

Fast forward to family day, the first time we had gotten to see Asa in six weeks. Both of our families knew about the truck and couldn't wait to see his face when I told him. We parked a few parking lots over so ensure that he wouldn't see it until I was ready to tell him. The night before, he had called me and was really really sad when I told him I couldn't find what he wanted. He said, "I might just have to settle for something I don't want..." Meanwhile, I am on the other end of the phone with a HUGE smile! Anyway, we found him and greeted him (which I still have to do a blog about) and then it was time to walk to the car. I had been trying to figure out what to say when I told him, but I could never decide on the perfect way to say it.

I had parked it at the very back of the parking lot, and luckily there were still plenty of other cars in the parking lot to disguise where we were walking. Once I got my nerves up I said, "Well, I tried to fit everything in the Corolla, but I couldn't. So, I had to go buy this truck over here."

Asa didn't say anything. He just stopped walking, hugged me, and cried on my shoulder.
It was a better feeling than I every could have imagined! He was so happy! Once he had composed himself, Joel gave him the key and we walked up to the truck. He was so excited and surprised! I will probably never be able to pull off such a big surprise for him, and it was a blast! His reaction was priceless, and he is still just as happy about now a month later!
I love it and Marley really, really loves it! I have a great video of everything, but I have to edit it a little bit so you can understand what we are saying. So, I will put it up when I get that done. But you can tell by his smile how happy he was! And that makes me ecstatic!