June 15, 1906

This morning, we pulled into the lumber and logging town of Ballard. One of Aaron's friend is the pastor of the Lutheran Church, Eric. Eric, his wife Brita, and their two children moved to Ballard at the turn of the century when the logging industry was taking off. The majority of these new loggers were from Sweden and they wanted a Lutheran Minister who could conduct the services in Swedish. Thanks to Eric's Swedish mother and grandmother he spoke and understood Swedish with ease.

Aaron took me by the hand and led me from the pier straight to the Lutheran Church. He didn't even bother to secure the boat. He let the men who worked the docks take care of that. They were all willing when he told them that we were on our way to get married.

Aaron and I walked hand in hand from the pier to the church. Once we arrived at the church we knocked on the door of the parsonage and we were greeted by Eric and Brita. We had a few minutes of introductions before Aaron turned to Eric and said, "let's get this wedding started".

Eric started to lead me to the church, but I halted. Aaron asked me if I was getting cold feet. I stood there paralyzed not sure how to explain what I was feeling. I was about to get married and neither my mother nor father was here to witness my wedding. I was realizing, not for the first time how many other events they would miss in my life.

In addition to my sadness, I realized I was getting ready to get married and I looked terrible. Most of my clothes were lost in the quake, resettlement, and on the boat trip. I hadn't had a decent manicure or my hair styled in months. I couldn't tell you the last time I wore makeup.

Fortunately, Brita could read my mind. She told Aaron and Eric that the wedding will take place later. She told them that she needed to take me away to get ready for the wedding. Brita took me to her friend Harriet who owned the local dress shop.

Harriet was able to produce a simple white wedding gown. It might have been simple But I have ever seen a more beautiful dress. While Harriet did final preparations on the dress, Brita took me to the salon where I got my hair, nails, and makeup done.

Eric married Aaron and me in a very simple ceremony with Brita, their children, and Harriet as witnesses. Eric surprised us with a wedding cake that he had asked some of the ladies of the church to make. We went back to the boat and celebrated our first night as man and wife.

March 4, 1907

I can't believe all that has happened since our arrival in Ballard. Aaron landed a job as Manager of The Bank of Ballard. Under his leadership, the Bank of Ballard is even outperforming some of the bigger banks in Seattle. Shortly after Aaron started his job we were able to buy a house on a lovely piece of land that overlooks the church and gives us a view of Puget Sound.

We have also been very active in the church, and not just because of f our friendship with Eric and Brita. I have been very active in the Ladies Auxiliary group from the church. Believe it or not, I have sewn clothes for those who need them, helped teach children in the schools, and baked pies for our church dinners. These activities and my friendship with Brita and Harriet have given me a tremendous peace with God.

How did I go from being angry at God to peace with Him? It started last August when I discovered that I was going to have a baby. The thought of a new life has excited me in so many ways. I can't believe how much I have adjusted to the thought of being a mom. Every day I feel our baby move and the trivial things that used to matter to me no longer important.

Aaron is hoping for a son. He is already making plans for his son's life. Where he will go to school, how he will join him in the bank and take over for him one day. When I ask him what will he do if we have a daughter, he quickly changes the subject.

While Aaron is openly hoping for a son, I am hoping for a healthy baby and a safe delivery. The fear of childbirth and infant mortality equals and sometimes surpasses my excitement of having a baby.

I have been praying daily that God will let my child live. Infants who die shortly after birth is a fact of life. Mama had four babies, I am the only one that survived. Only two of Brita's four children lived past one year of age. Last year in our little church there were 63 pregnancies. Only 47 of these pregnancies resulted in a live birth, and 9 of these births died before their first birthday.

Not only am I concerned about my future child's health I am also worried about my health. There is no denying that having a baby is dangerous. I know two girls that I grew up with who died during childbirth. One of the girls in Harriet's shop died right before Christmas due to childbirth complications. And just last week we had a funeral at church for one of our members who died while giving birth to her first daughter.

I wanted to go to her funeral. She was not only my friend, but I wanted to be there to comfort her husband and three surviving children, I knew this family well from my work at the local school. Sadly, I was told that I was not allowed to attend the funeral because it would upset me. No one asked me what I wanted.

March 18, 1907

I am no longer Adeline the carefree girl. Nor am I the Stanford graduate who was a product of various debutante balls. And I was not the newlywed wife of the handsome bank manager. Four days ago I received a new name and role in my life, mom.

Four days ago I gave birth to a beautiful 7-pound baby boy. Labor lasted over 8 hours. Brita and Harriet were by my side the whole time. They delivered little Theodore Walter Larson. Walter is from Aaron's brother and my late fiancé. Theodore is in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was in town the day our son was born.

When labor started and I knew the baby was on the way I sent Aaron to go and get Harriet and Brita. They arrived at our home very calm and confident, a contrast to Aaron who was nervous and appeared lost as to what he should do.

Harriet and Brita told Aaron to leave our bedroom. Aaron later told me that it was difficult for him as he heard me moan and cry out in pain. He said he felt so helpless, but he knew not to enter our bedroom.

Baby Theodore is sleeping. But I am still thinking about minutes ago when I held him un my arms. I shed a tear and said a prayer that his grandparents could see him. I said a prayer of thanks for both Theodore's and my health. I said a prayer that I will be half as good mother as my mother was for. If I achieve this goal my son will be a very blessed child.