Lady Mary and Sir Jacob

Jacob and Mary's Feast...

(Sorry about the blinding yellow.  I took the picture in almost complete darkness- candlelight only.)

Jacob is our third son and Mary is his beautiful wife.  They live 1.2 miles up the road from us. Jacob is a fun-loving guy and Mary is a good sport.  Jacob is artistic and creative.  He likes to forge steel, carve wood, and even cook. His heart goes pitter-pat when he spies a chainsaw. He loves cold weather camping and hiking.  He's an excellent huntsman and has put a good deal of meat in our freezer over the past few years.  He especially likes to bow hunt, but he hasn't had any success with that, yet.  His aim is spot on, so it's only a matter of time. He's a sentimental guy, with a trunk filling with objects from his and Mary's courtship and the beginning of their marriage.  Mary... she's a perfect match for Jacob.  She's a lovely, loving person.  She's delightfully feisty and tries to keep Jacob from being such a guy.  She has a thankful heart. She's easily pleased and dotes on her new little sisters- who adore her.  She does tend to worry and Jacob is a perfect match for her in that he rarely worries. Maybe they'll balance each other out. I'm pretty sure they couldn't make a decision without the other one's input to save their lives.  Not a bad thing, I suppose, for newlyweds.  Definitely keeps the peace.  We just couldn't imagine loving them more. (I can't talk about Jacob and Mary without mentioning their puppy, Brave.  He's a labroshepherd and I must say, he's adorable in the way that only puppies can be.)

         

Their feast was a medieval extravaganza. We arrived at their house and dinner wasn't quite ready.  Mary was worried that we were waiting.  We assured her that we were enjoying the wait.  How often do we get to wait for a meal- that someone else is cooking- while seated in comfort?  They invited us into their candlelit meal with a ribbon festooned hair piece for the girls and a Nerf-type sword for the guys.  The table was laden with piles of grapes and loaves of homemade bread(lemon raisin- it reminded me of stollen.)  The bread was braided and as tasty as it was pretty.  There were candles and shields everywhere. They had sparkling grape juice to drink. Then, they brought out the food.  Oh my, what a feast!  Jacob had won a turkey at a turkey shoot.(For the non-country folk- or for those of you who have never seen the movie, Private York- a turkey shoot is a type of sharpshooter contest.) So they had a big turkey with stuffing on a platter, two roasted hens, potato pancakes, homemade rye/bacon rolls and English peas.  We were allowed plates, but no serving spoons or silverware.  As you can imagine, the kids jumped right in with both hands!  It was very, very good and so much fun. Mary worried there wouldn't be enough food, but we had plenty.  (John and Tim went over there and wiped out the leftovers for lunch the next day.)  Their dessert was chocolate cake- made from scratch- and filled with bananas and cherries and topped with whipped cream.  And just in case that wasn't enough and because Mary loves her new father-in-law, they also had another chocolate cake with a chocolate glaze on it- again, made from scratch.  Can you imagine making two different kinds of yeast bread and two different cakes from scratch all in the same day- not to mention a turkey?  And then they say that every recipe was from their new German cookbook. My feet hurt just thinking about it.  We were all stuffed when we rolled away from the table.  We ended up hanging around for another couple hours watching a movie (and napping.)  We had a wonderful time and they did a great job of preparing their first feast on their own!

Will read Isaiah 62:5

  "For as a young man marries a young woman,

so shall your sons marry You,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you."