Birthday Fail

When J's birthday came around I had the best of intentions as far as the cake goes*.  I'm usually one who orders our cakes from our favorite bakery. But I saw a picture of a cake and I thought, "easy cheesy lemon squeezy". Ya. Not so much.

How hard could this be? It's four layers and sprinkles. To me, a cake makes the party. I loooooovvvve cake!

So I set out for my cake mixes and sprinkles. I wanted to do two layers of chocolate and two layers of yellow cake mix**.  I had recently come across a cream cheese frosting recipe that I used for the cupcakes that went to school and so I decided to use that for the cake as well.

It didn't help that I waited until the Friday night before the party. The party was Sunday afternoon. The cake layers were baked and cooled***.  So I started with setting up the bottom layer and frosting. The steps that you learn from cake decorating class.

• level cake
• make a frosting "damm"
• fill in frosting 
• level second layer and repeat

 

Doesn't quite look like the picture does it? Then either my frustration was heating up the kitchen or it was an unusually warm day in February****.  Plus, I had gotten some different sprinkles than were shown in the picture.                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                       

With icing running down the sides and nothing being stable I gave in to the defeatist attitude. I just put it in my cake carrier and shoved it in the fridge. At this point panic is setting in and I'm thinking, "What on earth am I going to do for a cake?" 

The next morning J was all excited to see the cake. I warned her that I wasn't happy with it and we could try and do something else. Or buy something else. When J saw the cake, I knew she was sincere. She said she thought it was very pretty and she liked how I did one layer chocolate and one layer vanilla. My seven year old was truly helping me feel better. But I still felt horrible for not being able to provide a cake that I wanted to make for her.  

Then she added, "We can still eat it, right?" Honey, we sure can! It's all about priorities, isn't it? When Hubby went to pick up a cake that he had ordered for my birthday, I asked him to see if they had some spare cakes in the fridge that would be suitable for J's birthday. He (and DC) came through! They had a strawberry cake with strawberry puree on the top. 

After the girls had spent the entire hour painting their pottery pieces they gobbled up cake like it was candy! Everyone enjoyed it. 

I may just have to resolve to order each and every birthday cake from now on. I think I may be okay with that to make sure I get what I want. Or resolve to do this:

• stick to buttercream
• bake cakes one day, frost on another
• take a refresher course at Cake Carousel 

Was it a birthday fail, necessarily? Maybe not. A personal fail in my mind. But, all in all it was a great birthday for J! I couldn't ask for better, sweeter, cuter kids than mine!

*How does the saying go about the road of good intentions?
**Never forget the sour cream in cake mixes! YUM
***I'm not sure if I let them cool enough
****Or a combination of both







 

Forty is Fabulous!

Today I get to celebrate Hubby's 40th birthday! This has been a long time coming and I am one thrilled woman. You see, I've seen the back side of forty for a few years now. It's wonderful! Now I get to share it with him.

Here are forty reasons why I love him and wishes for his special day.

1.  He loves God. With everything he has, he loves God.
2.  I am the luckiest woman in the world to call him Hubby.
3.  He is wise beyond his years.
4.  There is no one else that makes me laugh like him.
5.  At times he has the patience of Job.
6.  He doesn't anger quickly.
7.  He is incredibly loyal, to family, friends and even his job.
8.  He gets better looking as he gets older. No fair!
9.  He is a prime example of how first impressions can be completely wrong!
10. I am grateful he puts up with all of my shenanigans.
11. I'm pretty sure it's on his bucket list to read every single religious/political book out there.
12. He loves our daughters to the moon and beyond. They love him as much in return.
13. By no means is he a handyman around the house, but that's ok.
14. We complement each other very well.
15. If I am down, he never gives up trying to bring me up.
16. Have I mentioned how handsome he is?
17. He does his own laundry!
18. He rocks a pair of eyeglasses now. Ha!
19. He is a true asset to his company.
20. He makes sure we have "us" time.  
21. He's no stranger to the gym. He takes care of himself.
22. My hope is that his faith will never waiver. In himself. In God. In life.
23. How I love that he's the go-to guy when it comes to my fifth grader's homework.
24. He's a clean freak just as much as I am.
25. My wish is that he stays as easy going as has always been.
26. How I love his strong shoulders. They have carried our girls miles and miles.
27. He's like a kid in a candy store when he's playing with the dog.
28. I hope that he'll always carry that playful spirit with our kids without losing his calming influence.
29. He walks daily in the awe-inspiring glory of God's love.
30. He's a wonderful provider. Not just in the financial sense, but in the emotional and mental sense as well. 
31. My kids say they love their daddy because, "He's sweet. He's my daddy".
32. Forty isn't all that bad. It sure beats the alternative and it's not the end of the world.
33. He's the best friend anybody could ask for.
34. He's a solid sounding board for all of my worries, concerns and stories.
35. Forty years and he seems to be mellowing more and more.
36. I have been blessed to call him Hubby for almost 14 years. It gets better and better.
37. I hope as the days go by it continues to get better and better with age. We go together and we grow together.
38. He's kind with his words and actions.
39. I love how he loves to learn.
40. Hello? He's just the most handsome forty year old around!

My husband is now forty years old. This is what I want your birthday to usher in for the year ahead for you-

B - Blessings so that all your endeavors are successful
I - Inspiration to do beautiful things in life
R - Reassurance in times of being low
T - Tolerance for both happy and sad times
H - Happiness all year round
D - Daring to go in unfamiliar areas where other people haven't ventured
A - Admiration that other people will harbor for you because of your deeds
Y - 'Yes, yes, yes', a zest for everything positive in life

XOXO and Happy Birthday to my wonderful Hubby!

The Perfect Ten

I first met her with ten fingers and ten toes. When I first saw her she had blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was and is a blessing to me. She is a lively and creative spirit. She has a tender side and she's very sensitive. She is smart and energetic. She is the apple of her daddy's eye. And mine as well.

My oldest is ten today. I'm a little freaked out. Time has flown and I don't know where it has gone. I want to grab on to some moments and just live them forever. I want to never forget. I want to never forget the time when she was a baby and I would move my hand in front of her mouth and she would make funny noises.

When she was a toddler we would ask her what Daddy says. Her response would be, "I love you". When we asked her what Mommy says, her response was, "Sh*t". Yep. That's when I knew she was watching me and I had change my ways.

Then came time for her to go to pre-school. No biggie. She was cooler than a cucumber and ready to make new friends. We had a few years of "Muffins with Mom" and "Donuts with Dad". There were Christmas programs where they actually sang Christmas Carols.

Sending her off to elementary was a breeze. There hasn't been a teacher she hasn't liked. There may have been one or two I haven't liked, but she knows none the wiser.

My heart leaped for joy when she was ready to be baptized. She had followed God's command and made a public profession of faith. A tender heart learning to live in God's love and light. I get none of that glory. I don't deserve it. God gets all of the glory!

Ten years have gone by. Ten years of growing in God's Word. Ten years of growing up girl.

Ten years have gone by.

Thank you, God for allowing me the privilege of being this young girl's mother. Thank you, God for blessing me with her smile, sense of humor, her silliness. It just doesn't get any better than this! I lift her up in prayer to grow more independent in her faith. I pray for her to have a strong mind and body. I pray that she hears and feels a strong sense of destiny and purpose. Whisper in her ear, God, what You would have her do. May she have a desire for integrity and strive for excellence. May she always glorify Your name in everything she does, Lord.

Ten years have gone by. It's unreal. Happy birthday to my ten year old daughter!

Turning 6 and a Sleepover

My little one's birthday came and went. Thank God! She had been talking about it non-stop. That's ALL we talked about. Every day leading up she would ask if it was the day of her party. Finally it came time for the slumber party. WOOHOO!! I can finally stop hearing about it.

In a huge way I love planning the kids parties. In a huge way I hate it. It's stressful and hardly anybody RSVP's anymore. The school makes it impossible to discreetly hand out invites, you either mail the invites or you invite the whole class. I would have loved to mail them if  the PTA would have gotten the directory out by then*. Plus, there was no way I was about to invite a whole class of girls and boys to a sleepover. Don't want that many kids here OR that many gifts. It's just common sense why you can't invite boys to a sleepover anyway.

I had planned for the girls to decorate pillow cases to go with the slumber party theme. We had cupcakes and we had gotten the movie How To Train Your Dragon to watch before lights out. Everything went great. I had made a sample pillow case to show the girls. They were super easy. I got some fabric markers and once I was done with my case I tossed it in the dryer for thirty minutes to set it. 

Here's mine:

It turned out to be a fun little craft that took up a good chunk of time. I'm pretty sure the girls had fun with it. 

This is how J's turned out:

L did a great job on hers as well:

I love how my oldest did a picture of the family. Isn't it scary, crazy how the likeness is so much like Hubby? 

They've wanted to sleep on them ever since. No ink has rubbed off, everything is staying where it should. I credit http://familyfun.go.com/parties/sleepover-party-704560/ for the wonderful ideas! She's a little more grown up and a little less my baby. It sort of breaks my heart. 

*What's the point of getting it out in late February? Half the year is gone. If you can' t get it out by October, don't bother. Save the money and the paper. 

facebook & "friends"

In the recent past I had posted a status on my facebook page. I said that I was "torn between two churches".

There's one church, very close to home. It's pretty much the only "traditional" Baptist church in Plano. it sort of "won" by default on the traditional front. It has a great group of "blue hairs" that my husband and I love. We've been close with them for years. It seems harder though to connect with people our own age. It seems close to impossible to get "leadership" to agree on anything within the department and when asked for volunteers there is nothing but the sound of crickets....

Then, the second church is a little further away. The worship is amazing. It takes traditional to a whole new level. There's even a group of "blue hairs" there as well. We have somewhat of a connection with people there our age. I just have to come to grips with the drive.

A week after I made my post my husband had breakfast with another leader of our Sunday school group. The other person isn't even on facebook. So, I can assume that one of my facebook "friends" probably gossiped to the other guy, instead of just asking me about it. Don't you just love it? How high school! He said something to my husband with the implication that says, "You need to control your wife and what she says on facebook". Hhmm..

Let me make something crystal clear. My husband IS the head of our house. I have no quandry with that. But, we discuss everything, we have to come to the same consensus on most everything. We are a partnership, not a dictatorship.

What was wrong with what I said? That instance makes me a little less torn between two churches. But, I don't want to leave this church out of anger. I want to hear the voice of God telling me where he wants my family and I to worship.

Facebook is a lot like high school.

Church is a lot like high school.

They both can have this feeling of a false sense of intimacy that eventually you just have to laugh out loud about.

My family and I are visiting the church that's a little farther away for a while. I'm not sure how this will end up.

I've got 'friends' on facebook that I go to church with. The funny thing is that some of those 'friends' don't even say "boo" to me on Sundays. What gives with that? Why even bother?

My 40th Birthday

I recently had the best birthday party ever!! We had food, we had cake, we had a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!! We had family, friends, and neighbors.

One family happens to be neighbors. They are a fun couple with 2 great kids! Their oldest child is in school with our oldest kid. Their youngest has eyes to die for! The husband of the couple is a great handyman. He's one of those neighbors you wish your nerd husband could be more like. The wife of the couple is hysterical! She's as fun as can be.

Another couple that was there, we go to church with. They're in the next stage of life, but we're as close as family. They are great role models for my husband and I. They've been in our life for almost 8 years or so. We have lunch with them often after church. They're great listeners and advice givers.

Another couple, the husband works with my husband. They've worked together for 10 years. He's a great unofficial book club adviser. He's the one that recommended, "The Shack" and "The Circle Trilogy" to my husband.

We also had a couple who grew up with my husband. They've been lifelong friends. The husband of the couple is the reason my husband and I met to begin with. The wife of the couple is a very strong and faithful young lady! She's very wise and book smart.

My very good friend was also there helping with all of the festivities. She's the best friend a girl could ask for! She's the sister I wish I had! She's kind, patient, a spiritual and political giant. Her husband is a laugh riot. With their 3 boys, they are never bored!!

Another couple are friends from when we went to HGBC. They had been away for a while on the mission field. I was sad to see them go. Now, I'm glad they are back. They have the best sense of humor. I am glad they are back in our lives!

Then of course, we have family. There were aunts, cousins, in laws and mom. It was a thrill to see my mom and her 2 sisters in the same room again. They are so funny! Three old ladies who at times have trouble hearing. There was a cousin who just couldn't stop with those "big brotherly" type of jabs. Quite annoying at times. Oh well. How his wife puts up with him is beyond me. JK. Another cousin couldn't make it, but his wife did come. She's fun to have around, but she seemed a little quiet most of the time. My in laws were pretty quiet also and mostly kept to themselves. I'm not sure if it's shyness or maybe they just didn't feel socializing. My mom is the short one running around with the weird bun in the back of her head.

Then we have my husband. The tallest one of the bunch. The one who loves me without condition. Who put up with the painful organizing of it all. The one who opened his wallet so that his wife could celebrate the big 4-0. I get to look forward to coordinating his celebration of the big 4-0. He still has 3 years to go, though. It's great to be us! We make a great team. I cherish what I have in him.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!