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Category: love

Saturday morning in December

Saturday morning in December

This, plus reading Luke 3 and the weekend edition of NPR, has been my morning so far. Oh – I made some fudge, too. It was a good and cozy way to spend my snowy morning.

** evening update **


So, I put up my feet for a while and then got antsy, so I made pumpkin banana nut muffins and the dough for soft and spicy gingerbread cookies. And worked on the dishes that had piled up. :) After all of which my wonderful husband came home (to an apartment that smelled like heaven) and told me I needed to put my feet up again while he, tired though he was, got something together for dinner. I love that man.

oct 3

oct 3

toast, with really yummy lemon curd

This morning John and I went to visit the midwife again, and we came home knowing that both baby and mama are doing great. Both healthy and growing, though my blood pressure is a bit low – 112 over 60-ish – and she had no explanation for why my hair keeps falling out. Silly me, it’s supposed to fall out after Baby is born, not before. Baby even put on a little show for her by moving all around when she tried to listen for the heartbeat (which is loud and strong!).

Happy Birthday Darling!!!

Happy Birthday Darling!!!

the brand new birthday banner (very fresh, as in, made today …)

breakfast in bed

I am thoroughly convinced that I have been blessed with the best husband in the world. Really. He has come home and cooked dinner when I haven’t been feeling well, sent me off to take a bath, and then asked if there was anything else he could do for me. He patiently waits at the doorway of the women’s dressing room, and doesn’t mention it if “nothing works”. He makes sure to tell me he thinks I’m beautiful, especially when I am feeling particularly “un-beautiful”. I could go on and on, but I need to get the cake frosted. So I’ll get to the point. Today is John’s birthday, and I am terribly grateful for (and in love with) him.

Happy birthday, Baby. I love you.

quotes to ponder: the highlights of chapter nine

quotes to ponder: the highlights of chapter nine

Christian love is an aggressive movement and an active commitment. In reality we choose where to place our affections.
… the opposite of Biblical love isn’t hate, it’s apathy. To stop moving toward our spouse is to stop loving him or her. It’s holding back from the very purpose of marriage.

When God calls me to continually move toward my [spouse], he is calling me to shape myself into his very image.

Even in the moments of anger, betrayal, exasperation, and hurt, we are called to pursue this person, to embrace them, and to grow toward them, to let our love redefine our feelings of disinterest, frustration, and even hate.

Getting married is agreeing to grow together, into each other, to virtually commingle our souls so that we share a unique and rare bond. When we stop doing that, we have committed fraud against our partner; we made a commitment that we are not willing to live up to.

Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas
chp. IX

dinner guests

dinner guests

Evan, Sarah, Leah, Elizabeth and Esther stopped by for the evening yesterday. It was awesome to have people over!
We took them to church with us (we went last night because John had to work today) and stopped to pick up groceries on the way home. John BBQed some burgers and hot dogs (he is really starting to enjoy the charcoal grill!), and I made up some guacamole. John and I decided that we really enjoy having our family over. Mhmm.
The girls gave us a housewarming gift!

Oh, as they were about to leave I remembered that I had a cheesecake in the refrigerator that I had made up the day before (just because I felt like it). So they decided to stay a moment longer to partake. The recipe looked rather mundane, and the cheesecake itself rather resembled a wheel of Brie cheese, but once you bit into it (with some blueberry coulis on top), it was heavenly!
Sour Cream Cheesecake
Joy of Cooking
Crush or grind fine:
1 1/2 cups graham crackers
Stir into the crumbs until well blended:
1/4 to 1/2 cups powdered sugar (if substituting granulated, use 1/4 cup)
6 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Pat into a 9″ springform pan. Chill.
Mix well, then pour into the crust:
2 well beaten eggs
3/4 lb. soft cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla)
1/2 tsp salt
Bake about 20 minutes in a preheated 375 oven. Remove from oven and dust the top with cinnamon.
Let cool to room temperature.
Mix well and pour over the cake:
1 1/2 cups thick cultured sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Bake about 5 minutes in a 425 oven to glaze the cheesecake. Let it cool, then refrigerate from 6 to 12 hours before serving.
Blueberry Coulis
Cook’s Illustrated, May/June 2003
12 oz fresh or frozen thawed blueberries
5 (scant) tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
In a medium saucepan, bring berries, 1/4 cup water, sugar, cinnamon and salt to bare simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally; cook until sugar has dissolved and berries are heated through, about 1 minute longer.
(I skipped this next step) Transfer mixture to blender or food prcessor; puree until smooth, about 20 seconds. Strain through a very fine-mesh strainer , pressing and stirring to extract as mush seedless puree as possible.
Stir in lemon juice.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, as least 1 hour.
little happenings

little happenings

Three weeks from right now I will be sitting in the back room of a church, waiting for my wedding to begin and counting down the minutes until I become John Smillie’s wife. Forever. Three weeks.
In the meantime there are a veritable ton of things that probably should be done, but most of them are non-essential.
All of those things are non-essential when I stop to think about what life will look like in, say, 4 1/2 weeks. It helps me put it all in perspective when I remember that soon, very soon, it will be all over and I will be his wife, unpacking our boxes and washing our laundry. In the meantime I miss him terribly. Even with all the bustle of seeing friends and busyness of getting things ready, I am lonely. But, in 2 1/2 weeks he will be here, and the hours until the ceremony will fly past. They are flying now, which means I need to get the next thing done (the lining for the skirt of Anna’s dress, I think …. ).