for remembering: small, sweet and dimpled

I just clipped 40 tiny nails: 20 fingers and 20 toes, and 2 chubby, dimpled toddlers worth.
As I was clipping I kept thinking "these fingers and toes will never be this small and sweet again, not even tomorrow. Em and Ian are shooting up like weeds and I need to savor them."

So, once we were finished I sat them next to each other on the couch (even though they were ready to dash off and play) and took a few photos of those fingers and toes.

And then they hopped down and got back to their playing.

<3

almost 3 years

3 years ago today John and I were finally able to be together after not seeing each other for over 4 months. We were finally in the same time zone, same state, same city, same car. It was wonderful.

(photo from the rehearsal dinner - we both needed sleep!)

3 years ago today we were not only finally together, we were finally alone and on our way to our last pre-marital counseling session with our pastor (and the only one that happened in person). The next stop of the day was to get our marriage license. We were sorely tempted to pay the extra $25 and get married then and there - so that we could not only be together but be man and wife just a few days early. But we waited.

It was so good to finally feel each other's touch again, see each other's face ... four and a half months apart just before a wedding is really, really rough. But our God was so faithful.

Our love story is just riddled with bits and pieces of the faithfulness of God, so much so that we asked a friend to sing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" (using Fernando Ortega's new score) as part of the music for our wedding.


Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou for ever will be

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Great is thy faithfulness

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
All I have needed thy hand hath provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me

And you know what? He hasn't changed, He is still faithful.
We've had a very good three years. Interesting, exciting, sometimes trying and sometimes overflowing with joy - but it has been good.
Right now we are in a place that I truly never expected - or dreamed - to be in, but He is faithful. Would I change our current circumstances? In a heartbeat! But then we wouldn't be in the prime place for us to see the greatness of God's faithfulness.

Darling, I love you. I'm so very glad that I am yours and you are mine. You make every day brighter, hearing your voice lifts my heart, and seeing your face ... is wonderful!
I don't know that I'd recommend any other couple taking the path that God has led us on together, but Darling, it's been so good going down it with you.

(another) precious baby boy

We got a new nephew last night!

 John's twin and his wife birthed an adorable baby boy named Owen Hunter. I've heard that Mommy, Daddy and Baby are all doing well and am so looking forward to hearing his special arrival story!

Thinking about them as they are getting acquainted with each other, seeing their baby son face to face for the first time and just resting after all the hard work of pregnancy and birth brings memories of the few days of being in the hospital with our Emma Grace.

Emma was born late at night and we were so very tired, but also so very happy. The day of and following her birth were two of the best days of our lives. That little recovery room in the maternity wing was our own private sanctuary, a place where we learned to know our baby girl, our firstborn, a place to just be quiet and still together and bask in the joy.

Sweet, sweet memories.


Owen, we can't wait to meet you, to love on you and to kiss your darling baby nose. You have been a much prayed for baby and we are terrible excited to finally see you! Love to you three(!) and hope to see you soon!

flaming baked cappuccino alaska

One of the Jacobsen family traditional favorites is Baked Alaska. It's a very special dessert and would usually only be made for very special occasions - such as when Dad's little brother was in the States.
It's best when it's eaten all in one sitting, so having a table full of people was also a prerequisite!

John and I didn't have anything special happening, but a few days ago I had a hankering for some charred meringue atop of a slice of ice cream and cake. Plus, I felt that John needed to experience something that I had such fond memories of!

I knew the gist of the recipe by heart - slices of cake in the bottom of a pie dish topped with ice cream and meringue, brown the meringue, splash it all with some alcohol and strike a match - but I pulled out my copy of the Joy of Cooking just to be sure. :)

According to the Joy of Cooking, the first step is to line your baking dish with a half inch layer of cake - both sponge and angel cake are recommended. My family always used pound cake which tasted delicious and stood up to the weight of the ice cream quite well. I deviated from both and used a pan of brownies as the base.

Next, make up your meringue. Beat 6 egg whites until frothy. Beat in 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, a pinch of salt, 2/3 cup sugar (adding the sugar slowly) and 1 tsp vanilla and continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.

Once the meringue is quite stiff and glossy, mound 1 - 1 1/2 quarts of slightly softened ice cream on top of the cake. I used coffee ice cream, but any flavor combinations are acceptable! Fruit flavored ice cream is especially good.
Joy of Cooking says to next lay strips of your cake over the mounded ice cream. I didn't, and my meringue didn't quite cook through, so I am guessing that this is an important step! At this point you may choose to freeze the Baked Alaska for 30 minutes or so to firm it up.

Spread the meringue over the ice cream and cake, taking care to cover right down to the edge of the baking dish.
Rinse off half of one of the egg shells and place it on the top (this will hold the alcohol).
Brown the whole thing under a 500 degree broiler for no more than 3 minutes. It browns quickly, so watch carefully!

Grab some plates and forks and matches and tell everyone to gather round! Pour about 2-3 tblsp of alcohol into the egg shell and shake the Baked Alaska so that some runs down the sides. Strike a match, turn off the lights ... and voila!

24

Emma was very interested in the birthday pound cake. :)

It has been a good year.
John had his first Father's Day.
Emma and I went to visit my family in California.
Brian and Leah got married.
We moved.
Found out that God had given us Baby #2.
John's sister Sarah flew with Emma and me to California to visit my Gramma just before she died.
Emma had her first Thanksgiving and Christmas.
John and Emma and I went to see the CA Jacobsens.
Emma learned to walk, turned one and cut some molars.
We celebrated our second anniversary by dropping Em off with some friends and going out for a rare but wonderful date.
Emma went on her first Easter egg hunt.
Ian was born!

just the three of us

Mother's Day 2010

It will only be the three of us for a little longer.
Mimi (John's mom, Teri) plans to come and pick up Emma when we give her a call, and then wait to hear.
It may be soon.
It may be in a few days.
Either way, we are treasuring the last few days being just us three.

mother's day

my second mother's day, and the second baby is almost here.
time is passing quickly, so quickly.
what will the next year hold? 10 new little fingers, 10 new little toes. New baby smells and sounds. Emma's first words. A little life beginning to explore the world, with a sister just barely older than he.
and God only knows what else.
one thing is sure - it will never be dull!

2 years ago

we were madly running errands, rehearsing, and celebrating because on the next day
we
were
getting
married.


what a difference two years makes!

recipe: Ambrosia, a.k.a. "5 cup salad"

This fruit salad has lots of memories for me: it was a standard Easter dish at Gramma's house, and often served at other Moose/Jacobsen gatherings as well. Gramma taught me the recipe when I was staying with her for a few weeks one summer and it is so simple that even a 10-12 year old can remember it. And it's really yummy, too (come to think of it, I say that about every recipe that I post here).

So here you go (ready? you might want to write it down ..... ;) ):

Combine:
1 cup chunked pineapple
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sour cream

Stir.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, until the flavors have melded.

Yup.
So simple. And so good.

projects

Emma's birthday is just around the corner (where did the year go?!), and in anticipation of it there are a few projects that I am working on.
The napkins are for the party that we are planning to have with the Smillies, and the ribbons might be part of Emma's first year album that I am hoping to have finished by then.
At the rate that I am finishing pages, though, I will be doing well to have the album done by the time Baby #2 is here!

treasure these moments

Emma will be our little baby for only a little while.
Soon - too soon it seems sometimes - she will have to share our attention with another baby and be the big sister, no longer the center of everything. She is growing and learning so very quickly. So many "big" milestones such as her first birthday, first steps and first words, are just around the corner and our little Emma Grace is so ready for them.
For now, though, she is still our baby, and I am treasuring the moments. Treasuring the moments when it is just her and me at home during the days, treasuring being able to focus on her, being undistracted and able to notice and celebrate her little achievements. Treasuring our baby girl.

Emma's first Christmas...

...and the ornament that I made for her.

My Gramma used to give each of us grandchildren all the same type of ornament each year: Daniel got soldiers, I got ballerinas, Anna got angels, Julia got nativities, etc.

I decided to make Emma's first ornament this year, and made her a bird. I hope that one day she'll have a whole collection of birds, one for each year.

memories

memories, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

Both my grandmas were wonderful cooks.
Grandma Jacobsen always made this tea ring for Christmas breakfast, and the plate in this picture is from Gramma Moose who organized her church's Christmas Tea each year. They each had their specialty dishes: Grandma J. always made goulash for everyone to eat the first night we of our visit (it's an easy dish to rewarm in case we arrived late, which we often did since we drove 3 1/2 hours to get there) and Gramma M. would cook lamb chops with mint jelly for the grandkids when we visited one at a time.
And now I'm tearing up .........

want one?

I put a large bowl of clementines on our coffee table, thinking that even if Emma could reach it she wouldn't be able to damage them (the worst she could do would be to suck on the fruit). Well, our little one has longer arms than I thought! And now she spends several minutes after each nap standing at the coffee table under our window pulling clementines out of the bowl and either dropping them or handing them to me. And sometimes she lets me keep them, too. :)

how I remember her

Gramma Moose died yesterday morning. We knew that it was going to happen very soon and were expecting it at any moment, but still, we are mourning (and rejoicing for her).

For the past several days I have been thinking about her, about her life and my memories of her.
There are so very many wonderful memories, but the one that is sticking out at the top right now is of syrup. The picture of little pitchers of maple syrup sums up many of my memories of Gramma.

Maple syrup (I can't remember any other kind in her house) in little pitchers with pancakes or Belgian waffles was almost always a part of our visits with Gramma. In everything she did she tried to be and do her absolute best, even if it cost her a little more, so that she might bless those around her. If it cost more, she just graciously made do with less or saved somewhere else and didn't let it interfere with her goal of making the time special.

Little pitchers were important too, so that each person would have their own by their plate because each person was individually important. Gramma was one of six children and she understood how very important it is for a child or an adult to feel thought of, special as an individual and not just part of the larger group.

There are so many memories, good and wonderful memories.
Maybe I'll share them with you later .........

remembering

Gramma, Anna and Lizzie, 1988

Emma, Sarah and I took a last minute trip to the Bay a week ago Wednesday. Gramma is not doing very well, and she wanted to see me and Emma again. It was a good trip, but a difficult one.

I'm still feeling rather numb, but going through some boxes of old photos is helping. It's bringing the memories and the tears.

peace

This hymn is one of my Gramma's favorites. She taught it to me when I visited her in San Mateo during the summers, singing it as she tucked me into bed at night in the "pink" room before we prayed. Even now, after her stroke, she still has a beautiful singing voice.

"Like A River Glorious", by Frances R. Havergal

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,

Over all victorious, in its bright increase;

Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,

Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed

Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,

Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;

Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,

Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,

Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;

We may trust Him fully all for us to do;

They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true. Yes, amen.

Now to learn to trust .......

a divergence ...

a rooting jar, hanging in our window

... from posts all about Emma, that is (and yes, I did just go look up "divergence" to see if it really is a word, which it is, and if it means what I want it to, which it does).


I love Crate & Barrel. I mean, I love Crate & Barrel. Not obsessively, but I have a very strong affection for that store. I even registered there for our wedding when there weren't any C & B stores in Fresno. Walking in and seeing rows and rows of shining glass, white porcelain and china, and the brilliant colors of the crisp linens brings me such joy. It also brings memories of the first time I was introduced to it by my Gramma, walking in carefully and holding her hand lest I break something, enjoying the smell of candles and wood. The vivid colors and all that white china, the pots and pans. The gadgets I had no idea what they were for. It is such a wonderful place .....

So, imagine my delight a few weeks ago when I found out that there are others who share my love!


"the feeling of being with [my mother], in that store, surrounded by so much cooking possibility, stuck with me. Contained within the shelves there, packed away amidst the plain white plates and jelly jar glasses, were meals as yet uncooked, conversations unspoken, a whole future of smells and tastes and togetherness."
"... being surrounded by anything food-related -- kitchen ware included -- brings me a calm usually reserved for places of worship."

-Emily Franklin, Too Many Cooks

There is something so exciting and yet restful and calming about a store that is devoted to homemaking, entertaining and cooking. And I can't get enough.

little gem

In the last month she has learned to smile (with a kind of scrunched up "cheese!" smile) when she sees me pull out the camera.

She makes our every moment so precious. Just sitting here at the computer is taking myself away from her soft little hands, her ever learning, sparkling and laughing eyes, her range of faces as she begins to figure out emotions.

trying to grab the camera

so pleased with herself!

cheese, again

are you finished yet mommy? I'll keep smiling until you're done!

I love how

when I accidentally wake Emma up during her nap, she gives me a sleepy little grin and then puts her head back down, sucks her thumb, and goes back to sleep. I love her.