Home

We are blessed! Adam has been called to be the associate pastor at St John Lutheran Church. We will be near family, which we are especially thrilled to hear. During the call service, both of Isaac's grandmas had tissues to catch their tears of joy! This church is large, has a school and we already feel utterly and completely welcomed. The moving process and house plans are underway and we are thrilled to be getting the ball rolling towards this new chapter!

Thanks be to God!

Back to Normal

Adam's Christmas break was eventful. We traveled a few hours west to visit family for a couple weeks. We enjoyed seeing our dear family again and were sure to fit in some time for chillaxing. Isaac was sure to fit some of that into his busy schedule, too.

A couple days before Christmas a seminary family's infant son passed away. Baby Christian spent Christmas with Jesus - the best place to be for Christmas. Their journey was inspirational and their family is so strong. You can read about their journey and offer support here. We've been following their story from the very beginning. Baby Christian's mommy wrote beautiful updates in the CaringBridge journal throughout the entire journey. When you stop by their site, be sure to bring some tissues with you.


My (Sarah's) kitty, Inkin, began to not feel so well a couple months ago. Her health began to rapidly decline during break. I've had her since I was 9 years old and she was 10 weeks old. However, her time with us came to an end. She now rests peacefully. I'm sad about her passing, but the timing couldn't have been better. Her passing away while we visited my parents' home was best, because she is now resting there instead of us wondering what to do if she passed away while here in Fort Wayne. We wouldn't have wanted to bury her here at our rental home. It was an odd feeling coming back home to Fort Wayne after the Christmas travels and seeing her food and water bowls waiting for her.


On a brighter note, Isaac's Auntie Laura took some fabulous photos of him. She is quite the talented photographer and captured some really lovely moments:

Bath time!

Isaac is very good at unwrapping gifts. He loves loves paper!

Auntie Laura is finally in front of the camera! What a sweet photo.

Isaac seems to like doing a certain thing (blowing bubbles, a fake cough, etc) for a week or two

and then moves on to something else. For one of the weeks during Christmas break he discovered this

expression. This was particularly funny because his uncle did the same thing when he was this age! 

While visiting GG and Grandpa, Isaac was sure to enjoy some puppy time...

...including Sooner! Isaac is drawn to animals, which is so sweet! 

We are glad heenjoys animals, because we do too! 

Isaac likes to hold the puppy's face and then give it a kiss on its nose. So sweet. :-)

During the last week of break we've been trying to get back to normal and get back into a routine. I've been busy making freezer meals (may as well get ahead if I can!), catching up on laundry and putting away Christmas stuff little by little. Adam has also been taking advantage of this last bit of free time; he's been working very hard on his studies and getting ahead in some classes. As this break came to a close, we couldn't help but realize how close Call Day is becoming...

...after all, Call Day is only 114 days away. 

Which is also 9,849,600 seconds. 

Or 164,160 minutes. 

Or 2,736 hours. 

Or 16 weeks. 

November November

This month has been pretty busy with Adam finishing up a quarter, beginning another, routine check-ups, visiting family...whew! Here are a few photos from our month:

More fruit, please!

To Great-Grandma's house we go!

One of my first few times in the exersaucer! Love it!

Seminary Directory Photo

Every year photos are taken at the seminary for their directory. It's a great opportunity for us to get a family photo. Isaac did a great job being in a good mood for the picture. The lil cutie was playing with his daddy's watch during the session. :-)

Moving Day & Etc

The whole moving process began on July 18th. Some of us went to Fort Wayne ahead of the moving truck so that the house could be prepped, nursery walls painted and kitchen unpacked. The large moving truck arrived the next day and some unloading was done. However, Saturday was the big day - unloading the moving truck, arranging furniture and beginning the adventure of unpacking.

We are so so thankful for all of the unloading and unpacking help we received. Moving can be quite a challenge...even more so with a newborn. Some wonderful people from our vicarage church helped as well as some good friends from seminary and family from Illinois. So thankful!

We are very blessed with our home this year. It is a cute house, close to the seminary and a short distance from several places we like to shop. (It is just about walking distance to Hobby Lobby! Dangerous, I know! ;-)) Our home has three bedrooms, which is wonderful! Isaac has his nursery and Adam is able to have a room for studying. There are built in shelves and desks, too. As many of you know, a seminarian can never have enough book shelves. ;-)

Here we are once again calling Fort Wayne "home"...but for only a year! The Call Service will take place in the spring and we are already doing the countdown. :-)

Dinners, Brunches and Coffees Oh My!

The past couple weeks have been busy with social gatherings...fitting in lovely dinners, brunches, desserts and coffee dates here and there with friends. The baby will be here in about a month and then the big move is less than a couple weeks after the lil guy's due date. It's been wonderful to see old friends from college, nurture new friendships and continue to invest in older friendships during this time as we prepare for two huge life transitions.

What a blessing! :-)

Lately

The past several days have been busy. The days have flown by with family visiting, a lovely baby shower (what a huge blessing!), writing thank you notes for such wonderful baby gifts, fitting in last social engagements before the baby arrives and packing up our home. On Memorial Day we packed quite a few boxes and wrapped three wall hangings (things are beginning to look more and more bare!).

Our lil packing helper has been adding humor to the packing process, which makes wrapping up this chapter of our lives a bit easier. {Saying good-bye is not fun. :-/}




The lil robin babies have hatched!! They hatched middle of last week. They are growing oh so fast, but here is a photo of them when they are brand brand new. :-) Watching the cute lil robin family grow is such a neat experience.

 

Moving Box Mountain

With baby on the way and our moving date just a couple weeks after, we have been packing as much as possible.

Our mountain of boxes has been growing steadily! It'd be nice to store the boxes in the basement or guest bedroom (not such an eye sore)...but it's easier to keep them in the dining room, which is on the main level. We don't want to wear out our moving helpers by asking them to bring the boxes all the way from the basement or 2nd floor to the moving truck!

Ideally, I'd like to have most everything packed about two weeks before Baby J's due date...just in case he decides to arrive a bit early! Hopefully we're able to accomplish that and live with the essentials until we move in late July.



While we've been packing, another family has been moving in:

This robin family has parked itself on our front door's wreath. We've been trying to use the back door more often because the momma robin gets quite persnickety whenever we use the front door: she will fly off of the nest, sit in a nearby tree, then share with us her dismay by chirping "go away, go away!"

I plan on taking that wreath back to Fort Wayne with us...hopefully Mr. and Mrs. Robin are empty nesters by then. :-)

Spring!

The past few days have been quite warm...80 degrees! This is a record breaking high for the Chicago area. 

The people of Chicagoland are not the only ones who are enjoying the warmer weather...

so are the trees and flowers!

The landscaping is starting to brighten up and reveal their colorful cheery faces.

Warm weather like this in March is nearly unheard of around here...but I'll take 

warmer weather over dirty cold slush any day!

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Baby J is a...

On Monday we went to our 20 week baby appointment for the big ultrasound. This appointment is a big one because measurements of the baby are taken and the baby's health is assessed.

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Another reason why this appointment is so important is because it's when the ultrasound tech tells us if Baby J is a lil boy or a lil girl!

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Baby J is perfectly healthy and an active baby! The ultrasound tech told us that (saraphrased), "You have a very active baby! When you register, you should register for baby gates, outlet plugs, the works!"

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So you probably want to know the sex, right?

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Here is a 20 week baby bump taken a few days after the ultrasound appointment. :-)

Downtown Chicago

We've visited downtown Chicago a few times since our move to Chicagoland. Here are a few pictures so that you can share in our adventures! :-)

"The Bean" >>

Snowy Bean! >>   

Our reflection in the Bean >>

Skyline view from the Hancock Tower >>

Another skyline view >>

Baby Jacobsen coming in July 2012!

Sooner!

We've adopted a dog from Oklahoma named Sooner. He is a rescue and we are happy to have him as part of our family. He fits in well: he doesn't dig, he's house broken, loves his mommy's peanut butter treats and enjoys watching football with his daddy on the couch. A hunter by instinct, his favorite hobby is chasing squirrels or watching them through the window.

Over a Month

We have been in Wheaton, Illinois for about a month and a half now. 

Our time here thus far has been full of  adventures already! 

-The church has moved across the street from their old building into their new building and sanctuary {please see (camera phone quality) pictures below of the new sanctuary}.

-Family has visited not once but twice and another visit is in just a couple weeks!

-We have been approved to be parents...parents of a doggie, that is! The adoption process is underway to adopt a dog named "Sooner," a german short-haired pointer.

July

July has been a busy month for us! We moved from Fort Wayne to Illinois late June. We have been visiting family, a supporting congregation and took a road trip to and from Maine. August 4th is the upcoming big day - moving day! Later this week we will be moving to Wheaton, Illinois for Adam to begin his vicarage.

Here are some photos we took while on our road trip...we visited the beautiful Niagara Falls! The majestic scene reminds me of the Lord's mightiness, His fantastic creations and wisdom as described in Job 38 and 39.

Transition

Dear sisters in Christ, wives of seminary students,


For many seminary families, there are times during the seminary journey when the insecurity of transition can be....well, "uncomfortable."


Summer, after seminarians have received their vicarage assignment or call, is one of those times when hundreds of questions and uncertainties may arise in our minds.  And anxieties of moving away from our dear friends...or them moving...or both of us moving!


Concerns I've heard over the past few summers at sem:


"All my friends left for vicarage! They will be back in a year, but then we'll be leaving for our vicarage....hopefully our paths cross next summer."
"My good friend has moved away...and it's for her husband's call. They won't be coming back to seminary. I may never see her again."
"We move for vicarage in a matter of days and I'll be leaving the friends that are more like family. What if I don't make friends during vicarage.... I'll only be there a year....  w h y  make friends?"


Dear sisters in Christ, this seminary journey is such a great adventure! Yes, it has its sorrows and frustrations, but we are so blessed to have this opportunity and privilege of supporting our husbands through this trek and further the Gospel. The seminary community is rich with support, encouragement and comfort. As Philippians 4:19 reminds us, the Lord will provide.


During this time of transition (and always), let us count our blessings and keep our eyes on Jesus. Close friendships can be maintained (thank you email, Facebook, Skype, texting, phone, etc). Embrace where you have been placed...whether it be at seminary, vicarage, or call. Bloom where you have been planted and trust in His plan - He loves you and will always take care of you, even through the heart-wrenching pain of leaving beloved friends.


Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."


Hebrews 12:1,2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Finally in Illinois

Moving day on June 30th went well overall. Despite a leaky tire on the van and the day running behind schedule, our things made it to storage at our vicarage church.
For the month of July, we will be living with family and vacationing. Early August we will be moving to Wheaton for Adam to begin his vicarage. (Many sem students have said that time flies during seminary...it's so true! For two years I've been looking forward to vicarage and it's here already!)
We are thankful for the wonderful support from our family, friends and supporting congregations during this time of transition and always. Thank you!! 

Limbo

We have been filling boxes lately - packing up our home of two years into boxes is bittersweet. We worked hard to make our apartment feel like home, a refuge and a cozy place to welcome family and friends. Now it's being taken apart, sorted, wrapped, boxed and labeled.


Bittersweet.


When we unpack these boxes and treasures,  they will be filling a new space (although for only a year). I am looking forward to making our new home a cozy house, warm and welcoming for family and friends (both old and new friends).


The different emotions of transition and overwhelming sense of temporaryness looms in the air. A verse that gives us encouragement and comfort is:


Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.


Despite the many transitions through the circle of life and journey of an education, the Lord is with us through all of it and His promises never change. Knowing that we are blessed with a wonderful opportunity to further the Lord's kingdom and learn is so exciting and fueling our enthusiasm for this "sweet" chapter: vicarage.


Our cat, Inkin, has been a great source  of comic relief. She has lightened the tough moments during the ongoing assembly  of our moving box mountain. Whether unexpectedly making herself at home in a random basket  or creating a "fort" out of packing paper, we can't help but respond with hearty laughs.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God.

Our Vicarage Destination

Well, it is official.  This August Sarah and I will be heading to Wheaton Illinois.  That's right this is Adam and this is my first post here on "The Glory of our Pilgrimage."  It was a pretty intense night this past Monday.  As my fellow brothers went on before me to receive their vicarage assignments, I was praying that wherever I was sent it would be the best vicarage for me.  My prayer was answered when Prof. Nuffer announced that I would be serving at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois.

So where is Wheaton you might ask.  Well its about 30 minutes west of Chicago but north of Joliet and Lockport.  From what my documents tell me there are 56,000 residents in Wheaton, but there are numerous towns that surround us.  The church itself is very large with over 1,000 members, and three pastors.  Pastor Scott Bruzek will be my supervisor.

There is a twist to this story though.  I know my supervising pastor.  Pastor Bruzek was the pastor at Our Savior Lutheran in Momence Illinois.  During his time there around 18 of my relatives passed away (yes I have a large family).  During that time I was under Pastor Bruzek's care, but now I will be under him as a vicar. I look forward to learning more from him now that I am twelve years older.

I will be writing here periodically, checking in with those who are following our vicarage and updating you all on our progress.  If you would like to hear more about where we are going check out: http://www.stjohnwheaton.org/

In Christ our Risen Lord and Savior,

Sem. Adam E. Jacobsen

9 Boxes

As of today we have now packed 9 boxes.

We will lose count eventually as we excitedly get closer to May 2nd. May 2nd is when we will receive our year long vicarage assignment, which will direct us as to when and where we shall move beginning this summer.

Blessings in Christ,
Sarah