Many Thanks!

Okay, so this post is going to have two parts.

First - I have to thank all of you who have been praying for us over the past few weeks. Many of you know that I have been SUPER anxious about this short season that Jeff and I are enduring at the moment while he studies for the BAR exam and I have been very vocal about needing people to pray for us. (Okay, pray for me). I cannot explain the sense of joy and peace that has been flooding over me these past two weeks. God has filled every single void that needed to be filled while Jeff is out of the house more than he normally is. He has given me a calmness of heart that I have never experienced before and has given me energy and strength to finish the day strong. Sometimes, when I find myself getting a little sad that we're not getting to spend as much time together as a 'family', I am reminded of this verse that the Lord placed on my heart a few weeks ago.

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you..." (Isaiah 66:13)

I know that it breaks Jeff's heart that he cannot play with Brady as much as he would like and that he's not getting to be home as much as he wants to... but he is working so hard. In fact, the Lord has used these past two weeks to show me how under-appreciated Jeff goes around the house. I'm so quick to think that he wouldn't know what to do without me here... but last week I was shown in a big way how MUCH Jeff does around here. I have been gladly trying to take over his duties around the house and I wouldn't have been able to say that without the prayers of all of you. I know that I have a problem getting irritated when dishes are left in the sink or the trash hasn't been taken out - and these past two weeks, I think I've only 'huffed' once and the Lord convicted me of it right there and then. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, but to tell you that God is good. He is faithful, even when I am not. He is true to His promises and He has granted the "peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension" that I have never experienced in my life. (Philippians 4:7) My sweet friend,Kate, was right when she told me that God would use this time to reveal Himself to me in a new and real way and that He would develop friendships that I never thought possible... and I am already beginning to see Him work.

So thank you to all of you who have been so kind in keeping me occupied and to those of you who have been so faithful in your prayers for both Jeff and I. It seems so small, and there are much bigger concerns out there, but it has been such a blessing in all three of our lives.

Onto the second part of my post - patting my hubby on the back.



With all of that said in the first part of this post, I really want to emphasize that I know that everything that I have been "doing" has not come from me, but from above. I do not have the strength, or the patience to deal with everything around the house and a stressed out hubby who is doing his very best to be an active father, a doting husband and a provider all at the same time that he is studying for the Mother of all tests he has ever taken. Nevertheless, I do not expect any sort of earthly reward for the mere two weeks that we've gone through so far without a melt down on my part. (Which I am still shocked that this hasn't happened yet - another evidence of God reigning down on us). So I have to say that I was quite surprised when Jeff arrived home last night with pizza and a silver box in tow.

I would like to preface this with the romantic that my husband is... or was... or is, depending on how you look at it. When we first started dating, he wrote me love letters, showered me with all sorts of teenager-type gifts and took me on all sorts of romantic and incredibly thoughtful dates. Of course, as time went on, the romance didn't necessarily dwindle, it just changed. Now, I consider it romantic when I get a phone call in the middle of the day for no other reason than he was thinking about me. Or when he stops on his way home to get me a kit kat... or like Wednesday when he came home an hour earlier than he said to a messy house and an un-showered wife just because he missed us. Romance now if folding the laundry with me, getting up with Brady in the middle of the night, or offering to pick up dinner on the way home instead of me cooking something. There are no more grand gestures or expressions of love - and there is no need for that anymore... but it does not go unnoticed when it does happen.

Back to the box. I opened the Nordstrom box and there was a gift card inside with a business card next to it. I looked him, not quite understanding, and he simply said, "I want Sunday to be your day." Ya'll... the Hubbs not only got me a massage, but he made an appointment for me! He wants me to sleep in (yes, I'll be missing church) and eat breakfast in bed and then go to the spa and get a massage. Oh my gosh. I was shocked. I was in tears by his sincere thoughtfulness and his sheer generosity. This man has holes in his shoes and he is getting me a massage, and taking care of the Bug. I must say he knows me and he knows that if he and the Bug were here, I would not be sleeping in or relaxing... even if he made me stay in the bed. It just wouldn't happen. I have forgotten how to do it. It's beyond my control to holler a suggestion or ask if he needs my help when I hear Brady in the next room with him whining.

Anyway... so you will not see me tomorrow. I will be getting a massage... and loving my husband even more than I did yesterday and not because of the extravagant gift.... but because he knows me better than anyone else and better yet, because he is the most selfless man I know... especially when it comes to his family. And yes, I am bragging on him, I think he deserves it, don't you? I write this post not necessarily to show you how wonderful Jeff is, but because I know that those bad days are going to come when I am going to need to look back and be reminded of how I am feeling at this moment. I also write this because I want Brady (or let's be honest, his wife) to look back on this some day and see how extremely hard-working his father was.

Thank you, sweet Husband. I love you. More than you'll ever know.