Surprises in the Bag

It felt like we were having a big party as Melissa opened her suitcase full of goodies for us!! Mind you, she brought two bags...the carry-on suitcase was for her clothes and the large check-in size suitcase was full of our surprises!!!!!!! Wow! We were amazed at the blessings. Melissa had asked if she could bring anything from the states for us and ofcourse I took her up on it:D I told her to keep a tab and we would pay her back. Well, to our surprise some of the church families back in Pearland had signed up for things on the list and purchased them for us!!!! They also sent cards and letters. I was so amazed. And the best part of what they gathered to send as an extra surprise was everything needed to make ENCHILADAS!!!!!!!! I can't wait. I had included my old enchilada recipe in one of my past posts. Afterwards I thought that was pretty dumb to have included this unnecessary, long list of ingredients in a blog but i'm so glad i did b/c Melissa used it to gather the goods to make my favorite dish!!
My mom and grandmother also sent us a package of fun goodies and Melissa came bearing MANY, MANY space gifts for the boys!! T-shirts, soap, toys, a book, pictures, school activities and the greatest of all...an autographed photo of the 7 astronaut-crew that will be on the next mission!!!!!!!!!!!! Now tell me what boy wouldn't think that's the coolest thing ever! It may not fully register now but just wait til they're about 10! It'll be an even bigger deal! Melissa is so thoughtful and GENEROUS especially to get so many people involved in bringing us joy. I took some pictures of the goodies and the boys in their space gear but what I can't figure out is how I managed to not get a picture of Melissa yet:( I've always been one to miss photo ops--like picking her up at the airport and out sightseeing yesterday!!)--so I will be diligent about taking and posting lots of Melissa shots to document her trip here.