Let Me Count the Ways, Vol. 2

Series introduction is here.

~ Jeff & I in San Diego, probably in 2000 or 2001

13. One lovely evening, I was pushing Moriah on the swing, and Jeff was working in the garden.  As he walked past us one time, he paused to watch Moriah, then gave a little laugh before moving on.  "What?" I called.  "She's just cute," he said.  :)  One thing that unites a couple is mutual admiration of their children, and I loved seeing Jeff's delight in his daughter.

14. At the dinner table one time, Jeff was starting to say something, and David broke in to interrupt him with what he, David, thought he, Jeff, was going to say.  After David, but before Jeff spoke again, I piped up with what I thought Jeff was going to say.  Turns out my answer was correct.  :)  Jeff looked at David with a smile and gently teased him by saying, "Mom can read my mind better than you can."  As close as we are to our kids and as much as we cherish them, it's still good to remember--and sometimes, remind them--that there's a uniqueness to the bond that Jeff and I have.  It's sort of like sometimes when the kids are crowding around Jeff or snuggling with him, I say, "I was here first!"  And I was--YEARS before they were even born.  :)

15. A week and a half ago, I received this email from Jeff.  He wrote...

"Something I really appreciate and likely fail to tell you often...

I really love going to bed and finding the bed made...fresh and ready...thanks!"

He notices that??  Just like with #8 in the beginning of this series, the thing that made me feel so loved was that he notices what I do.  Being noticed--and appreciated, of course--certainly inspires a person to even greater heights.  As a matter of fact, do you think I've let the bed go unmade since Jeff's email?  Not a chance!  :)  Not because I feel like, "Oh, great, now I HAVE to make it," but because I want to!  Because it's important!  Because Jeff notices!!  :)

16. Early one morning recently, Jeff kissed me awake before he left for work; then he handed me a CD and said something like, "Here.You wanted this."  I forced my eyes to open enough to see what he was holding out to me; and when I saw that it was a CD of "songs of romance and commitment in marriage" by Buddy Davis, I thought something like, "I did??  I wanted this?  Wow, I really don't remember asking for this, or even discussing it at all with Jeff.  In fact, I don't even remember that I knew this CD existed!  I can imagine that I would have asked for it, because ever since we crossed paths with Buddy Davis at a conference and were so kindly and warmly greeted by him, I've been a fan of his.  And if I saw something about 'songs of romance and commitment in marriage,' it's likely that I would have been intrigued by that.  But goodness!  I just can't recall ever thinking about this CD before--much less asking Jeff for it!  Maybe when I wake up more, I'll remember!"  Later on, when I did wake up, I still didn't remember asking for the CD, so when Jeff got home from work, I questioned him more about it.  And then he made me laugh by dredging up an email I sent him on February 15, 2012(!!!), in which I linked to the CD and said, "Sometime it would be nice to have this...not a necessity, of course...just a wish for someday. :)"  Well!  No wonder I couldn't exactly remember asking him for that CD!  Jeff further explained that he had put an alert on Ebay for the CD, so every time one came up, he would get a message about it.  But up until this point, the price had always risen higher than he wanted to pay.  Finally, a cheap one came along.  And that is why, two and a quarter years after I first asked for it, Jeff woke me up one morning to hand me a Buddy Davis CD that he informed me I wanted!!  :)

17. Speaking of...ahem...shall we say, delayed gifts...  ;-)  For Christmas of 2012, I had asked Jeff for a tent--one that all of us could fit into.  He very obligingly gave me a tent...which sat, unopened, for nearly a year and a half on the floor of our garage.  All during the summer of 2013, which I had supposed would be filled with fun camping trips, we never did a thing with the tent.  After such a long time, I wasn't even sure we'd ever get around to using it; maybe we're just not a tenting family?  But then, Jeff...  :)  

A few days ago, he brought up the idea of camping for Memorial Day.  And where did he choose for us to make our camping-as-a-family-of-seven debut?  Our very own backyard.  :)  In the late afternoon yesterday, he got to work, unpacking and setting up the tent--the longed-for tent--the wow-we-really-can-fit-all-of-us-in-here-with-room-to-spare tent--the glorious, glorious tent.  And we all slept in it last night.  All of us.  All night long.  Yes, even Moriah.  :)  I snapped a few pictures as we were getting set up, then put the camera away because I didn't want to be bothered with it anymore.  But here are some moments we captured...

What do I want to remember from our first ever camping "trip"?  How about...

~ the way the boys were SO excited!  (well, I was, too)  :)

~ their joy at seeing the stars come out as the sky darkened

~ me reading some bedtime stories to the boys, but then Jeff having to take over when it came time to read Love You Forever (and I laid there in the near-dark, with my family all around me, and my heart squeezed so tightly with love that it pushed a few tears out of my eyes--imagine that!)  ;-)

~ Moriah wandering around in the tent for quite a while before settling down and falling asleep--when she finally slept, throughout the course of the night, she was either lying on Jeff, lying on me, or lying on the air mattress between us, which didn't make for the most restful sleep for Jeff and I, but who goes camping to get good rest anyway?  ;-)

~ the coziness of my sleeping bag as the night air cooled

~ my concern that the boys would get too cold (since it had been warm when we went to bed, they were just wearing t-shirts and shorts, for the most part)

~ Shav waking in the night and being sort of disoriented, but settling back down fairly quickly after I gave him my cozy fleece jacket and helped him find his sleeping bag and pillow again

~ the dew that soaked the side of the tent, mere centimeters (it felt) from my face

~ my aching back (which didn't really bother me, because I knew as soon as I got up and moved around a while, it would stop hurting)

~ the splendor of the stars when I awoke (several times) ;-) in the night

~ our rooster crowing (and crowing and CROWING) while it was still very dark--when we're inside, I never pay attention to it, but early this morning I heard it quite well!

~ waking up in the night to hear Jeff saying something like, "Help! Help!"--turns out he was having a bad dream about camels laying on him, and then they started eating his hand!  :)

~ the joy of watching Moriah sleep this morning as she snuggled up beside me, strands of hair curled around her face, warm blankets pulled up around her neck, her breathing soft and even

But what I'll remember most, I think, is how loved I felt by Jeff.

Jeff, who bought the tent for me (well, us).  ;-)

Jeff, who had the idea to do this on Memorial Day.

Jeff, who takes delight in surprising the boys with special activities.

Jeff, who did all the work to set the tent up.

Jeff, who read to us before we slept.

Jeff, who made us all feel so safe and snug.

Jeff, who took down the tent today.

Jeff, who rolled up all the sleeping bags.

Jeff, who surely loves me.  :)