More Things I Don't Want to Forget...

Sometimes, it is the small things that are the most significant. For my birthday, we decided not to do too much because we are going on a nice vacation in July. Jake sent me to get a pedicure Saturday while he watched Avery, which is was good enough for me! On my actual birthday, however, he surprised me. He got up early, while I was still sleeping, and took Avery to get me breakfast from Dunkin Donuts...coffee and a yummy bagel!! He gave me a funny card (as usual), and we sat down and ate together. He then left the room, and told me he had something else for me. He came back with two small velvet bags, and proceeded to tell me how he'd had these things since we were in New York, but was waiting on the right time to give them to me.
As you know, there are lots of street vendors there, and he had previously told me about one particular lady that he conversed with on the street when he went to work out one day. He pulled a polished stone out of one bag that read "believe." He told me that he thought of me as the corner stone of our family, and that when he saw that stone, he thought about me. He said a few other very meaningful things, and then pulled out the next stone. It was a pink heart shaped stone, that was almost perfectly smooth. I say almost, because there was a small imperfection, almost like a crack, on the surface that had been sealed. The lady had given him that stone for Avery. Just like Avery's heart, it is beautiful, with a little imperfection that had been repaired. Jake didn't even know about the crack, until I showed it to him- I thought that was really neat.
That was probably the most significant and meaningful gift I'd ever received on my birthday. Jake is not the mushy, romantic type, so that makes it even more special to me. It made me feel so appreciated, loved, and just thought of more than anything else. While I didn't share the most intimate details of what he said to me, I wanted to write this down as a very memorable moment in my life...one that I never want to forget.
A few other things...
The way Avery puts her head on my shoulder and clings to me as if giving me a big hug when I pick her up from her nap.
Avery's happy, belly laugh.
The sight of Avery slumped over asleep in her bed because she fell asleep sitting up-she is so hard-headed!
Watching Jake and Avery play on the living room floor each night.