April Fool wasn't a joke to us.

"You're a shining star no matter who you are," I could tell by the look on her face, this was the perfect card. As we went through the check-out line, my daughter announced we would be going to Dairy Queen next, to purchase an ice cream blizzard cake. She knows this is her dad's favorite. As we pull in the driveway, she makes a plan so she can sneak the cake to the freezer without the honored guest noticing. April Fool's Day is one of the more special days to our family, of course we have had several, but this day was a turning point, a year ago. I realize just exactly how special this day is when our children make sure I know to remember it. The excitement builds as we all know the surprise is planned. During our church service,my daughter whispers to me, "do you think dad will mind our surprise?" Our pastor had just spoken crystal clear words, "extravagant love comes with a cost and a risk." As I spoke these words to her, I saw the redeeming answer in her eyes. We both knew this has been a journey of love and it has certainly come with a cost and a risk. As we light the Number 1 candle on top of the famous Dairy Queen cake, I look around at the faces of our children. The soft, gentle spirit of our son, " dad's gonna love his cake," he says. The bubbling over of our daughter, placing the card perfectly beside the cake, and running to the window to await her dad's arrival. As the "hulk" of the family steps through the door, our children yell, "congradulations dad." With hugs given around the ice cream cake, we choose to the eat the cake before the dinner. My husband cuts extemely large pieces for everyone. We sit around the table and listen to him tell us once again, "these are the best cakes in the world, especially this crunchy stuff in the middle." Extravagant love isn't without cost or risk and our children know this love cannot be joked about, even on April Fool's Day, we know it is real.