Six Years and Six Months - A Guest Post by Harlan

This time 6 years ago I was eagerly anticipating my wedding day. It was four and a half years in the making and I could hardly wait. Rachel and I had gone through engagement counseling and read books on marriage and love languages and conflict resolution. We had advice from our parents and from friends that had gotten married before us. You could say we were prepared, and as I mentioned in a previous post we had a 5 year plan. Well, you can't prepare for what you don't see coming. That goes for both the blessings and the curses.

In the first four years we were married Rachel and I moved in and out of jobs, bought a house, bought a car, raised a dog, attended 2 churches, traveled to Mexico 3 times, drove to Colorado, opened retirement accounts, had wisdom teeth removed, made new friends, lost touch with old ones, and generally experienced a lot of growth in our marriage both spiritually and physically (yes, that's me).

The fifth year, though, was horrendous. I say that with Rachel's permission as she would agree with me.

First, I lost my business just as it was taking off.  It wasn't something I was prepared for at all. I was depressed, scared, and didn't know how to deal with the sudden loss of income. I'm sure a lot of the grey in my beard can be attributed to this experience.

In the midst of trying to find a new job, our air conditioning blew up in the hottest part of the summer and we had to completely replace the entire HVAC. That was just wrong.

The worst of it all was my year long journey with Rachel through infertility. (I don't wish this on any marriage and unfortunately more and more of our friends are facing this battle. It's a drain emotionally and financially so please reach out if you are dealing with it.) While it was hard I knew God was walking with us and had faith that he would answer our prayers to have a child. Losing the first pregnancy at Christmas was a final, cruel blow to that struggle and we were absolutely not prepared for it. We had questions for God that were going unanswered and we were just plain angry and confused.

As bad as it was, 2010 was a defining year for us and one that we will never forget because it challenged our faith in God's promises and allowed us to come face to face with Jesus. Who knew that three weeks after the worst year of our lives God would reveal himself in such grandiose fashion? Boom! There's a gestational sac. Boom! There's a heartbeat, a spine, a brain, a nose, fingers and toes. Boom! You wanted a baby, you got one. In just a blink of an eye, God turned our lives upside down, in fantastic way. Are we prepared? You tell me.

Six years into our marriage and six months into our pregnancy, it's amazing to see what God can do if you trust Him. Out of the ashes of our experience with job loss, financial burden, infertility and miscarriage, He brought life, literally. As we prepare for this baby girl we are reading the right books, taking the right classes, and getting advice from family and friends. We have a plan for it all but know with 100% certainty that the only way to get through the next 18 years is to continue to trust, pray, wait patiently for God to reveal Himself. I honestly can't wait.

Thanks for reading,

His Beardness

A few quick snapshots:

Belly Growth (after a big anniversary breakfast)

Beard Growth

Anniversary Cake with Cake Topper from our Wedding!

The Quest for the Perfect Cake

Happy Friday! 

Harlan and I are coming up on 6 years of marriage next week, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I want to make a fun cake to celebrate.  For years I've enjoyed watching cake shows on TV like Ace of Cakes, The Cake Boss, and even the cake challenges on TLC.  However, once you see how professional cake decorators make these amazing cakes, it's discouraging when you try it at home and fall VERY short.

For example, wouldn't it be amazing if I could whip this up:

In a dream world, I would love to become a pastry chef.  I even looked into it briefly and discovered it costs over 30K for the one year program in Austin.  I don't think so.  My sister and I have talked about taking some classes, so I need to buckle down and just do it!  Last summer, my sister and I made this cake for my sis-in-law's baby shower.  Since I'm still learning and am also a perfectionist, it was so stressful!

This time around, I really want to enjoy the experience, so I've been on the hunt for simple recipes with quality ingredients.  Baking is a way I show love to others, so my goal is for it to be stress-free and delicious!

Here's what I'm thinking:

For the cake, this vanilla bean cake recipe from Sweetapolita:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks,  341 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature (on counter apprx 20 minutes)
2 2/3 cups (540 g) granulated sugar
9 (275 g) egg whites, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups (630 g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (22 g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
2 cups (500 mL) buttermilk
1 tablespoon (15 mL) Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste - 4 oz OR 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Butter three 8" x 2" round cake pans, line with parchment rounds, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until lighter in color and slightly increased in volume, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the egg whites gradually, mixing until fully incorporated.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix vanilla extract and vanilla paste (or contents of vanilla bean) into buttermilk.  Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk into creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated or finish by hand gently.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. If possible, weigh the batter in each cake pan on a digital kitchen scale to ensure even layers.  Smooth with small offset palette knife, and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating once after 20 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick or skewer comes clean.
5. Let pans cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto racks, gently, peeling away parchment rounds. Let cool completely.

For the filling, I'm going to do a strawberry buttercream (Harlan's request), and I'll stick with a classic vanilla almond buttercream to ice the whole cake.  Wish me luck!

What I baked this week:

CHERRY TURNOVERS!!!!  Other than strawberry shortcake, cherry turnovers rank up there with one of my favorite desserts/breakfast treats/all around amazing, flaky bites to eat.  In my hunt for new recipes, I thought I'd try my hand at *pastry dough.  As I dug a bit deeper, I found that many pastry chefs actually don't think making your own dough is worth the time and effort, so they all recommend store bought.

*Side note:  Do you know how many sticks of butter are in pastry dough?  HOLY COW!

So, off to the store I went for pastry dough and cherries.  Vanilla Garlic had a delicious recipe for Blackberry Marscarpone Turnovers, so that's what I modeled mine after.  I felt so fancy once I saw the results!  Don't they look AWESOME?  I made some like Vanilla Garlic suggested, and then I decided to make some larger ones.  They are *DE-LISH!

*Another side note:  I sure hope I don't end up with gestational diabetes...

Pregnancy News:

Next week I'll be 24 weeks pregnant!  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for this baby girl.  Her kicks are getting a lot stronger and more frequent, and I've actually seen my belly move!  Harlan got to see my belly rock 'n roll last week, and I'll never forget the priceless look on his face.  There are no words to describe how grateful I am  - I just cannot wait to meet her!

While eating dinner this week, we were surprised by a knock at the door.  On our door step was the changing table we registered for!  My parents and grandmother surprised us, so Harlan's been hard at work getting it assembled.  Things are starting to come together! 

Next Week

 

A guest post by Harlan is coming up!  I'll also post a picture of my 6 month baby bump and the finished anniversary cake.  Should be lots of fun!

What I'm Thankful For:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing"  Zephaniah 3:17

 

Oh, How His Beard Grew

It's Friday, which means we're 22 weeks!  I can't believe we're so close to being 6 months pregnant!  Harlan's also been growing his beard for 6 months.  Here are a few things I'm learning about being married to a bearded man:

1.  We're starting to get stopped in public places.  It seems like everyone has something to say about a man with a beard, especially one with a very RED beard.

2.  Beards need maintenance.  Harlan got his hair cut, and his stylist recommended he use a leave-in conditioner to help keep his beard soft.  There's even a specific product line, called Beardsley, for beard maintenance.  It "Leaves Beards & Moustaches Clean & Fresh, Unusually Soft & Smooth."  Seriously?

3.   Harlan's beard has volume.  Some men may have beards that grow straight down (picture this guy, or maybe this one), but Harlan's is growing OUT.  It's quite fluffy. 

4.   I have 18 weeks, give or take, left before we meet our little girl.  That means 18 long weeks of further beard growth.  Have mercy.

So, I need your opinion, blog world.  Should baby girl Elam see her daddy for the first time with his beloved beard, grown in honor of her?  Should it be shaved during the labor? Maybe he should compete? Inquiring minds want to know!  For a frame of reference, here's his progress:

Baking:

I had these butterscotch chips I wanted to use, but I was struggling with a new recipe to try.

I had Guittard brand chips, so I just went to the Guittard website!  They have a recipe for Butterscotch Fudge Brownies.  BUTTERSCOTCH FUDGE BROWNIES!  How could I not make them?  I took them to work, and unfortunately I don't have a picture to show you.  They're all gone!

Do you own this book?

I highly recommend it.  The pastors at my church often use excerpts from it during sermons.  After our first failed pregnancy, Harlan read passages from it to me quite a few times.  It's a collection of Puritan prayers, which may sound a little "old school," but the words are so powerful.  I really love it, and I'll leave you with the first prayer from it:

Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
Where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
That the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high
That the broken heart is the healed heart
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
That to give is to receive,
That the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
And the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty
Thy glory in my valley.

 
Have a wonderful weekend!