up really late, or what feels like my culinary zenith so far

Tonight I am up late.
"No biggie," you say. "Rachel's a new mom, she's probably up at 1:00 a.m. because the baby is awake."
"Nope." I would say. "Handsome baby Ransom is asleep."
The reason I am still awake is because I signed up to bring something to church for Easter and I need to have it at the drop off place by tomorrow afternoon. You see, we're having Easter Sunday service at a high school, with a brunch in the school cafeteria beforehand so they're setting things up way in advance.
And what did I decide to make for the Easter brunch? At the time, cinnamon rolls sounded divine. Not just any cinnamon rolls, and certainly not the refrigerated type. I'm attempting, for the second time in my life, Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. They take awhile, which is why I'm still awake with half the rolls in their pans rising before they go in the oven & the other half of the dough rolled out on the counter awaiting butter, sugar, cinnamon, and ground cardamom (the latter being my addition to the recipe).
To tide me over & keep up my energy, I also decided midnight is a perfect time to make a healthy swanky snack like Midnight Asparagus and Creamy Eggs from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. It was very yummy. The taste of egg, lemon, onion, asparagus seasoned with salt & pepper...ah!
It was a "Susie Homemaker" moment, as my mom would say. I feel like a foodie tonight. :)


For a little while I worked in silence, and then I put this on.
With both my husband and my son in their beds, me awake, I'm enjoying this alone time. Alone time. It's rare these days, a freedom I have surrendered since becoming a mama, and I'm not sorry, but I am enjoying this reprieve even if I'll be tired tomorrow.
On a normal evening, I make it a priority to go to bed the same time Andrew does; I've heard advice from married people wiser than me that doing this is good for a marriage. Never fear--when this is over, the cinnamon rolls iced and the kitchen counter wiped clean of every trace of flour, I'll curl up next to my dreaming husband and be thankful again for the man I married.
Tonight I needed to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. I want to present something I'm proud of for the Easter brunch. Perhaps it's an act of worship. I think of my mom and of my friend Rikki, both quilters who pray for the people who will receive the quilts they make. That has always been an appealing idea to me.
Praying over cinnamon rolls...am I losing my marbles?! :)
Maybe not, even if it is late.

dedicated

March 6, which also happens to be my sister Moriah's birthday, Ransom was dedicated to the Lord in the same spot his dad was dedicated nearly 25 years ago.

It is sweet to have married into a legacy like this. Andrew's father Jon was on staff when Andrew was dedicated, and history repeats itself with Andrew working the same job his dad did as Ransom is dedicated to God.

mama ponderings: excerpt from my journal

12-22-10
Wednesday morning

Right now enjoying Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack & Ransom's wakeful stretching. He's on a blanket on the floor.
Drinking a little coffee (again!...didn't care for it during pregnancy). Read Psalm 30 & texted Isaiah 12:6 to AJ:

Shout and sing for joy
O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the
Holy One of Israel.

Lately Andrew has told me he is eager for his band to play music together again because he has the desire to shout from the rooftops again, to do shows. He told me this on Monday night when he & I had a Starbucks date while mom watched Ransom. We read Isaiah 12 then & I thought this verse was a good one for AJ.
The boy got restless so he's in my lap now, wide eyed & watchful as Fur Elise plays on the CD.


I love kissing his wrinkly worry lines on his forehead. And I LOVE when his eyes are open & he's aware! And when he's cuddly!
Last night AJ, mom, Ransom and I went to the church so AJ could practice the music he's doing for a special on Sunday (my birthday!). The song is an instrumental Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen song. It sounded GOOD. And it was Ransom's first time hearing a live band. I'm not sure if he liked it because he was a little fussy that time of night, but there were moments he appeared to be taking it in.


This is a precious morning, enjoying & holding & watching & kissing my son.
I've taken to calling him "sweetie pie". May need to find a more masculine term of endearment for when he grows up.
Mom says he has a sweet spirit.
He responds to music! To singing: me singing "Jesus Loves Me" & "Ransom, little Ransom" to the tune of my song & "Goodnight little Ransom Goodnight" or AJ singing "Count Your Blessings", the song from White Christmas. Or mom playing the piano; that won her over, his liking her piano playing!
Oh and he smiles! Don't know if he knows what he's doing, but I love it just the same! He has his daddy's dimples!

Our front door

Following, is a glimpse of our front door for my dear family so they can visualize where we're bringing our baby home in a little less than a month, perhaps, if his December 18th due date is to be believed!


Bonus points to anyone who can guess what song the little bird is singing! Hint: a foreshadowing of the season to come... My family has an advantage; it's a song we sang together as a family in church one year.

Camping

This Friday we went camping with others from our church & had a blast! I'm sorry to say it was our first camping trip being married and we're approaching two years of marriage! Being the daughter of my parents who met as counselors at a camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I am appaled at myself that this didn't happen sooner. However, it was lots of fun, we slept in a tent (I love tents!), our campsite was near a river, and we were well fed. (Thank you Raineys & Thomases & Sticklers & Townsends & Werners & Fultzes!) The pictures above are us with bikes that our friends Tim & Amy let us ride on. It was so fun! Another thing I haven't done in...ahem...years... And notice my belly. Twenty five weeks along & little Ransom is moving a lot!

when do you feel most alive?

I've been going through this book called Expecting, which goes week by week through pregnancy & describes the baby's development & the development of the mom & there's a prayer that ties in to the week's developments & finally a page to briefly journal. I've been procrastinating with it, now being in my fifteenth week of pregnancy, so I am going back over the previous weeks & reading & praying what I've missed. Tonight I just finished week 6 & the journal question is: when do you feel most alive? I wrote:

"It always has something to do with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it's celebrating-a wedding, a graduation, or watching spontaneous baptisms at church! Sometimes it's on a date with AJ when we really get to talking & merely holding hands is electrifying. Sometimes it's talking with a friend (like with Jamie last night) & hearing her stories of God's provision-I get such hope! Sometimes it's when I create-paint, cook. Sometimes it's when I'm on a walk & the breeze hits my face & the air smells like Michigan. Or in the summer when I've just gotten out of a lake & the sun warms me dry. Or when I finish reading something good, or experience something beautiful in an unexpected place. Like a cellist playing in the Portland airport as I wait for a flight."

retreat into luxury

Also in May...I went to a ladies retreat put on my my church. It was very lovely. We stayed at Embassy Suites. We were pampered there. Breakfasts with made-to-order omelets. A catered lunch. Angel hair pasta. Angel hair pasta is my favorite. A daily snack bar with chips and salsa. I really like both of those things. Hmmm. Food seems to have been a highlight from the retreat...could I be pregnant!? ;)

We went to the Cheesecake Factory. Those of you who know me will think, "Rachel! You mean to say you entered dairy territory of your own free will? Rachel, do you realize that the word "cheesecake" begins with the word "cheese"? What were you thinking?"
I do realize the dangers that faced me in that place, and that in a moment of weakness I could have risked an allergic reaction of epic proportions, but I ordered a dairy free smoothie and shivered through the night, safe from the dairy monster.
Above is the ceiling of the Cheesecake Factory & I thought it impressive.

I didn't take so many pictures from the weekend, so here's one of the only good ones I can find of Tiffany (center), Robin (right), and me.

On a different non-food plane, during this retreat I had the opportunity to co-teach a workshop with my friend Sherri. Sherri is a spiritual mama, she loves to cook (YES!!!), she loves to pray, she loves her husband, loves her kids, loves being a grandma, and she asked me to co-teach with her at this retreat! What!? The timing of her asking me to do this was really something. I had just finished completing a spiritual gifts assessment & much to my chagrin I scored the highest in the gift of teaching. I use the word "chagrin" because of my dismay to discover this, having avoided the teaching avenue because of my desire to be different from my parents, my sisters, my aunts, who all teach. But Sherri approached me & I thought it might be a providential opportunity to exercise my so-far ill used gift. Our topic was investing in others. When the time came for me to present my piece of our subject at the retreat, I went through my notes as best as I could, but faltered. Sherri had shared before me and during her part she called out to individual women and encouraged them with something specific God had given her for them. It moved me to witness the Father's love for his daughters in this way; hearing Sherri speak encouraging things to women who soaked it up like daughters enraptured by their Daddy, hungry for His attention, really moved me & I was a potential mess when it was my turn. I think it went well, despite my croaky voice, and I spoke what God had been giving to me, so I'd say it was a good learning experience & we'll see where this teaching thing goes. I'm not going to be adverse to it anymore. (And thanks, Erin, for your pep talk about this.)

And to wrap up, here's my fun friend Anne, (another of the few pictures I took), wearing a hot pink suit I told her to put on in the middle of the store. She was buying hot pink shoes that matched, so how could I let her get by without this?

celebrating his 24th year

There's been a lot going on in our lives in the last couple of months, and I've been remiss in blogging about it all, but hopefully I can catch up with the highlights in the next week.
The first most important thing to say, in May, my beloved AJ turned 24! (But he's still younger than me.)

Diane, our pastor's wife, presented AJ with a cupcake on the morning of his birthday before worship practice, and we all sang happy birthday! I really appreciated that (also Jerry bringing him coffee) because waking up early every Sunday morning to lead worship can get to you, and when you're doing it on your birthday (although he didn't lead that morning), it's nice to be celebrated a little. I...really...appreciated it.

For AJ's birthday cake I attempted baked alaska for the first time and it was a success! I had made a pear ginger cake (which was flatter, easier for the birthday candles to go into) and the baked alaska. AJ's friends demolished the baked alaska in no time. Thanks to Aunt Jane for the baking cookbook!

For the occasion of AJ's birthday, one of his best friends from Arkansas, Justin, conspired with me to surprise AJ with a visit, just in time for birthday celebrations. This plan was put in motion in December, and we managed to keep it a secret for that long. It was worth it! I love watching AJ respond to surprises, good news, etc., and he was so surprised.

Here are the two friends inside of a beach shelter displaying pieces of driftwood. Men & wood...my sisters & mom & I have this running joke about conversation topics that men have (from where we're from). Firewood & weather are the topics of choice for them.

Our friend Tia graced us with her company a few times while Justin was in town, although she refused to eat our seafood. This picture is my attempt to capture the four of us, AJ, Tia, Justin and me, as we're playing Rook and enjoying root beer floats.
It was so good to have Justin in town for AJ's birthday week & we missed him when he had gone.