Morning Reflections from an Eager Mother

My husband is so wonderful!  The last two mornings, I have not been able to sleep in much.  I think this is due to the nearing end of my pregnancy and a slight cold that I have been fighting for the last few days.  So this morning, I was up before Andrew and puttering around the house.  My thoughts drifted to something Andrew did for me a few weeks back that I wanted to share with you:

On Holy Saturday, the day after my last day of teaching, Andrew had a surprise planned for me.  It was almost ruined by my mom (it's ok Mom!) when she asked me the day before if "we were still planning on going to Fiesta together."  My response to her questions was that of confusion, and then she quickly followed up saying "oh wait, that's on Monday."  Still confused, I didn't push the subject further, and went away from the conversation thinking we may be going out to dinner on Monday.  

During the day on Saturday, Andrew and I did a lot of work cleaning the house and getting ready for Baby.  Andrew suggested that we go on a walk in the afternoon.  We always say we should do things like that, but hardly ever follow through on such ambitious plans as a "walk." Yet on this day, Andrew was determined.  He even took a shower before our "walk" and told me I should do my hair.  I was a little confused because I don't normally do my hair when I am going to exercise.  But to please my husband, I made myself presentable for our walk.  When he got out of the shower, he was in a rush to get outside.  So we left, and walked down the street.  He asked, "Where should we go?"  I said "Wherever you want to take me" (Something I would likely say, and he was counting on me saying it).   So he casually and seemingly randomly took me a certain way, and before I knew it we took a quick turn into the Fiesta parking lot.  It was then that I saw our friend Becky sitting in the restaurant, followed by a quick recognition of Tom, Carrie, and my parents.  

It turns out, Andrew had been planning the whole dinner as a congratulation dinner for me in honor of finishing teaching.  There were tons of clues, I should have guessed something was coming.  But I was honestly surprised.  

I wanted to tell this story because I think it is important to recognize and remember all the good things people do for us.  When I was a teen and before I was of dating age, I remember longing to love someone, other than my parents.  This love I longed for was a kind of love that did not use the other person are do kind things with ulterior motives.  A love that I think is well displayed in a book I am reading now called Redeeming Love (Read it! Read it!).  With our world the way it is, I couldn't imagine anyone loving me for who I was and not for what I could "do" for them in return.  

In our marriage so far, and in our time dating, I have felt true love from Andrew.  I love when he plans things for me and is excited to see my surprised face.  It makes me feel so valued and special.  His gifts are so clearly from his heart, and I never have felt that he gave in order to receive something from me.  Naturally, I want to reciprocate his loving actions, but I know he does not require me to do so.

This leads me to my final thought as the birth of our baby is quickly approaching: 

Andrew and I are a family, and our familial love is present with or without children.  It is important for us to remember that this child is joining our family- not creating it.  In the eyes of the world, people may not see a married couple as a "family," but they are.  Children are a blessed addition to the family.  This is a sentiment our friends Mike and Kristine shared on their blog before the birth of their daughter last year.  I held on to this thought because I thought it was so true.  I love being a family with Andrew and I feel that we do strive to live out the love I longed for as a teenager.

That being said, we are very eager for our son to come out!  We can hardly wait for this "addition" to make his presence known to the world.