Cake decorating contest

My kids love dessert.

My kids love to help make dessert.

As they are getting older, they like to make dessert with a little more independence.

So....when Kellen had a chance to once again participate in the Cub Scout Cake Decorating Contest, he jumped at the chance.

And he wanted to make a dinosaur.

Here is us getting the cake mix ready....

And pouring the batter into the dinosaur mold.

His sister wanted to watch....so we set up a station for her.

Into the oven went the dino, and a short while later, viola....

We put the dino in the freezer so it would be easier to frost and decorate. First, we flipped it over onto the foil covered cardboard and arranged the cupcake pieces.

Then he frosted and decorated....and did a WONDERFUL job! (Granted, I might be slightly biased, but you be the judge!)

He's so proud of his accomplishment, and I'm so proud of him!

Hakuna Matata

Hakuna matata.


'It means 'no worries', for the rest of your days,' and it isn't just a song you can sing from a movie you know by heart.  (And just in case you are one of the folks who cannot quote the movie verbatim from memory, it's from Disney's The Lion King.)


And it's biblical.  


Yes, hakuna matata is biblical.


“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26, NIV). [Emphasis is mine]


If you're anything like me, you need that reminder.  A lot. 


So it bears repeating.


I was called to live a hakuna matata life....one with no worries.


Sometimes it sounds so easy.  In a very churchy way, it's easy to say, but oh-so-hard to live out.

• Don't worry about your youngest child's complete and utter disdain of baby food - at 8 months old.
• Don't worry about her horrible reactions to rice and oatmeal and what that might mean for her down the road.
• Don't worry about your 4 year old-going-on-14's sassy attitude and disobedient streak.
• Don't worry about your oldest child's growing pains.
• Don't worry about funding three children in school and daycare, and eventually college.
• Don't worry about summer plans.
• Don't worry about ill relatives.
• Don't worry about the current economy.
• Don't worry about your job.

It's quite difficult to not worry about these things, huh?  It certainly is for me.


Although there are plenty, I think I've discovered at least one reason why this is so difficult.  


I sometimes confuse care or concern with worry.  


Think about that statement for a minute.


I feel that if I'm not worried about it that must mean I don't care about it.


And I need to stop that thinking.  Immediately. 


Worry-
(verb) - to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret. 
(noun) - a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
(noun) - a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.


Why do I torment myself?


Why do I allow this anxiety?


Cast all of your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7, NIV


Care- 
(verb) - to be concerned or solicitous; have thought or regard
(verb) - to feel concern about


Worrying about something is not the same as caring about something.  Jesus wants us to give Him our worries, our fears, our anxieties.  He wants ALL of them.  It says so right there in 1 Peter.


It's not my job to worry.  It's my job to care.  And if I find myself worrying, I'm not allowing God to do His job and I'm also not trusting that He has it all figured out.


Ouch.


Don't worry about your future, God already has it figured out.  Don't worry about your kids, God already has that one covered, too.   Hubby - check.  Job - covered.  Finances - yep, He's got that area, too.


We can care very deeply about each of these areas, but we can do so without worrying.  


It's hard.  Really hard.  


And I don't have it down yet.


But I'm certainly trying.


Want to try with me?  


So sing and play with your kids, grab your husband and dance around the room, show your family that you care deeply about them, and live the hakuna matata life.  Obey God today, give Him your worries, and trust Him with tomorrow.


And if you have a lovely bunch of coconuts, I would like to know if they're all standing in a row.

8 months

Our bookend baby, our little peanut, is now 8 months old.

8 months.

3/4 of a year old.

What?

That's some kinda' crazy, let me just tell you.

*sigh*

Time just goes faster the older you get, doesn't it?

Let me celebrate by updating you on Jacey-things now that we've reached this milestone.

• She's now completely and fully mastered the art of crawling. Complete with permanent red marks on her knees.
• Within a week of crawling, she began to pull up on furniture.
• She still will not eat baby food.
• She hates taking medicine, but thanks to her most recent ear infection (only #2!), Matt and I are a little better at pinning her down to do so.
• She still doesn't have much hair, but the bald spot she had rubbed on the back of her head has finally grown back in.
• She is trying desperately to master the art of blowing raspberries.
• She still only has 2 teeth (her bottom front), but considering the amount of drool she creates, I image she'll get more fairly soon. (Note: I've been saying that for a while, so we'll see).
• She's in the midst of separation anxiety.  Big time.
• She's a momma's girl.
• I would say she likes everyone she meets, but earlier this week she 'made strange' with someone for the first time. (Sorry, Pam!!)
• She's still not sleeping through the night, but we've whittled the night feedings down to one (at least this past week).
• She babbles quite a bit, and has said the sounds, "da" and "ba".  And Matt and I both certain we heard her say, "Hi" once.
• She doesn't seem to care too much about signing (but we need to do a better job of signing to her.)
• She has one of the best laughs in the world.
• She adores her brother and sister, and will *try* to follow them around everywhere.
• She has a temper, which is a fairly recent realization.
• She loves to snuggle into my neck and give hugs.  It's wonderful.

Clutter Busting

I just read a great blog post about clutter busting....in 15 steps.  Take a look.  While I don't agree with all of the items wholeheartedly, most of these are great!

I can't wait to try them out.

Yes, I know...I'm excited about cleaning.

I'm weird.

We always did a major 'spring cleaning' when I was growing up.  Combine that with my desire to rid myself of clutter and my goal to do so this year, and I'm ready to go.  (Too bad I'm working my real job during spring break....)

What are your great decluttering tips?

Scripture Memory! (Verse 6)

I know I just put up my March 1st verse a few days ago, but I'm desperately trying to stay on-time and on-task with these.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 1:6 (NIV)

Here's the link to the LPM post....

Smile!

In case you needed a smile today...it is, after all, Monday!

Make the most of your day today!

......and......

Have a safe, happy and healthy spring break!

Flowers!

I saw an adorably cute flower favor picture, and thought I could fairly easily replicate the idea for Tatum's birthday party last weekend.

I folded my colored paper in half 3 times, then cut out a flower shape (making 8 total flowers from one piece of paper).  I used the same fold/cut technique to cut leaves and a stem out of green paper, including a small slit for the stem of the sucker.  (Note: my 'small slit' was quite a bit larger than it needed to be to actually hold the stem of the sucker.)

I then taped my sucker onto my flower (Note: a flat sucker would have worked much better!)

Then I added the leaves and stem.

For a cute little flower.....

And when I was through, I had a whole field table full!

And they were ready to be handed out at the birthday party!

Note to self: I must remember this for Valentine's Day next year!  These would be so easy to personalize and hand out to the kids friends!

Scripture Memory! (Verse 5)

Goodness, goodness....I'm late on this once again.

I've been thinking about what my new verse might be for a while....but I apparently need to think less and act more, because I still hadn't decided on the verse until I read Beth's blog entry...

Judges 5:21b  (NIV) March on, my soul; be strong!

Here is the link for the LPM page for verse 5.

All things work together.....

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

This is my life verse.  Well, to be fair, this has been my life verse for at least the last 17 years.  I'm not arrogant enough to pretend to know what God's going to do with me in the next 17+ years of my life.

{Well wait, sometimes I am.  Darn.}

I am; however, smart enough to realize that whatever happens to me or through me, God is going to use for a good reason at some point in time, so I don't know if he's going to give me a different life verse for the next chapter of my life.

I do know that this verse has been my 'go-to' verse for a while.  It's the verse I say over and over in my head when I don't understand some circumstance, when something messes with my sense of fairness, when I don't understand the 'why' of the situation.

"All things" means just that. All things. The kids spilling milk at the kitchen table for what seems like the millionth time. The sassy response of a 4 year old who might morph into a teenager overnight. The child, small for his age, who has become the brunt of teasing by 'friends'.  The loss of a baby I'll never know here on earth.

All things.

"...work together for good." All of those situations, all of those experiences, all of those feelings, all of those regrets are coming together into a product only known to God.  He's using those things within me and through me for good.  What Satan means for harm, God uses for good.  The experiences work together, which means that one experience doesn't occur in isolation and that all experiences are necessary for me to fulfill what God intends.  And what God intends is good, even if the experiences necessary to get me there don't feel like it to me as I'm living them.

"...to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." That's me!  I hope that it's you, too. No matter how often I stumble, no matter how badly I mess up, I love God.  That means everything I have gone through, am going through, and will go through is worth it, because it's molding and shaping me to be the person God wants me to be so that I can accomplish the things He wants me to with His help and through His strength.

I feel like the things He wants me to do have a lot to do with the my personal experiences.  Those same experiences that I felt necessitated Romans 8:28 being my life verse.  I feel like I'm supposed to reach out and assist those going through life trying to wear some of the same hats that I've worn.  Those perhaps stumbling in the same areas in which I stumbled and struggling in the same areas I've struggled.

My next question is, "How?"  Followed closely by, "What might that look like?"

One avenue to assist me along this journey could be the She Speaks Conference, sponsored by Proverbs 31 Ministries.  Lysa TerKeurst is hosting a scholarship contest on her blog and the scholarship recipient will be gifted with attendance to their annual conference, which is designed to answer those very questions for women.  I'm hopeful that this conference might solidify for me exactly how God wants to use me and what that might look like.  I've sat too long on my experiences and feel convicted to use my life experiences to help others through theirs.

The She Speaks Conference is designed to assist those who want to develop their speaking, writing, or women's ministry skills to their fullest potential.

I'm not worthy of doing this on my own and in my own strength, and trust that I'll certainly need to rely on the Lord's guidance as I set out on this journey.

Regardless of who wins the Cecil Murphy Scholarship, please pray for each of the ladies entering, as I have no doubt God wants to do amazing things through their lives.  Please pray for the conference itself and those involved in the preparations.  And I'll selfishly ask that you pray for me as I try to answer these questions in my own life.

Castle Cake

So let's say you get adventurous in your baking and decorating attempts.

Let's say you see a picture and think you just might be able to pull that off.

Let's say that the picture is actually part of a video, with what someone felt was step-by-step instructions.

You may just be tempted to make a castle cake for a little princesses 4th birthday.

Let's say you actually succeed, and make one little 4 year old incredibly happy at her princess party.

Here's how I did it:

I made several cakes in a square cake pan (one cake mix ended up making 2 squares).  After they cooled some, I cut the rounded portion off of the top to be sure they were flat on both the top and bottom (is it just my cakes that have a severe rise in the middle?)

When I had all of the squares made (you'll need 5 total), I layered strips of waxed paper around the bottom edges of the bottom layer, then assembled the base of the castle, using white icing to 'glue' together the squares (I used 4 squares for the base).

After stacking all of the square layers, I frosted the entire base.

With the remaining square, I cut it into 4 equal pieces, and made a smaller stack on the top of the base in the middle.  I used the same process of using icing to 'glue' together the pieces, and then frosted the entire thing.

I then placed it all in the refrigerator to cool and allow the icing to harden up a little.

I then turned my attention to the turrets.

I used waffle sugar cones,

coated them with a thin layer of icing,

then rolled them in red sugar sprinkles.

I then put the turrets on the four corners of the base and in the middle of the 'castle' structure. 

I used gel icing to define the door and castle edges.

I then added pink and purple M&M's (thankfully, Easter is right around the corner and getting M&M's in girly princess colors was pretty easy!)

and defined the tops of the castle 'walls' with the M&M's.

As you can see from the above picture, my 'ceiling' was a little crooked.  Oh well!

It was a castle fit for a princess....and her little friends!

The many faces

of my beautiful 4 year old!

I'm not sure what we're going to do about her crippling shyness.

Jacey's new trick(s)

Jacey had quite the milestone week last week.

The recap:
On Monday (February 28th), she figured out crawling.  And Mommy mourned the loss of her somewhat immobile baby. *sigh*

On Tuesday (March 1st), she went to the doctor and we figured out that she had an ear infection.  She's weighing in at 16 lbs, 8 ounces.  We also figured out that she, in no way shape or form, likes to take medicine.  At. All.  For real.....(But of course she doesn't...this kiddo doesn't like anything except her milk.  But that's an issue for another post.)

(And Mommy and Daddy learned that amoxicillin is an irritant in the eyes, but doesn't cause permanent or long-term damage. Don't ask.  We also have a hypothesis that spraying a baby's face with water to wash out the eyes might necessitate therapy later. Remind us of that in about 15 years, ok?)

On Thursday (March 3rd), she pulled up to standing in the crib.  Note for Mommy and Daddy, moving the crib to the lowest setting was added to the lengthy to-do list for the weekend.

During the night of Saturday (March 5th), Jacey figured out how to get out of her crib. And she explored the floor of her bedroom until Daddy discovered her exploration (and put a stop to it).

On Sunday (March 6th) she managed to sit up all on her own.  Her big brother says that he's seen her do that before, but it was the first time Mommy had seen it.

Where did my little baby go again?

Why?

Q - Why did the dinosaur eat his homework?

A - He heard it was a piece of cake.

Gleefully brought to you by Kellen - 2nd grade

She's 4!

I put her to bed last night as a 3 year old....and this morning she woke up as a 4 year old.

I'm not too sure that she's excited about being 4.  She's talked about it, but last night we discussed when she was going to turn "5".  I think that in her mind, when she's 5 she gets go to go school.  I'm continually telling her that she DOES go to school, but I guess because I interchange the words "school" and "daycare" with regard to her school, she doesn't feel quite as grown up as her brother - who truly goes to "school".

4 years old.

Wow.

Here she is a little before her 1st birthday....

And her first birthday....This party was just so much fun! 

Her 2nd birthday....
On her actual birthday - 

And at her birthday party at a park really close to our house....The thing I remember most about this party was that it was windy!!  She had a great time trying to fly her kite!

In case you're wondering about that scratch on her face, it was actually a scar by that point.  A 'friend' at day care mauled her and left some lovely scratch-marks on her face.  Luckily, the scar has faded quite a bit over time, and shows up when her face gets red or she's really hot.  Otherwise, unless you know it's there, you would most likely never notice it.

Here she is for her 3rd birthday.....This one we had in our backyard, and I'm so thankful that the weather cooperated for us!

And now we're at #4.

Have I already said wow?

Some things about Tatum....

• She can be as sweet as can be
• She can be a toot
• She's adorable while she's being a toot
• She knows that she's adorable while she's being a toot
• She loves to read and be read to
• She can count in both English and Spanish
• She can sign her alphabet in sign language
• She adores and idolizes her big brother, and wants to do everything like he does
• She can't wait to go to kindergarten
• She loves to play dress up
• She loves to have tea parties - with anyone she can get to sit down with her
• She loves her baby dolls
• She loves crafts and art projects
• She's meticulous in doing crafts and her art projects, gluing things in straight lines or 'correct' patterns, coloring within the lines, etc
• She dawdles
• She likes oatmeal, cereal, Dad's morning mess, or Grandpa's pancakes for breakfast
• She loves chocolate
• She still loves her 'lovey'
• She is a wonderful big sister to Jacey, and is ready to teach her how to do all sorts of things
• She has never met a stranger
• She doesn't know how to be quiet
• She's incredibly entertaining
• She loves to fold towels and to 'help' Mommy
• She has beautiful long hair and likes for me to fix it in a pony tail, pig tails, or pig tails with braids
• She loves to go fishing with her Daddy
• She is, and will always be, my princess

Happy birthday, sweet girl.  Always know that you are loved and adored!

Review of running - February

7 - 2.5 miles
13 - 5.5 miles
14 - 2.5 miles
15 - 2.5 miles
16 - 2.5 miles
17 - 2.5 miles
19 - 6 miles

February mileage total = 24 miles
Average mile per day (February) = 0.857 miles/day

2011 Mileage total = 16.33 + 24 = 40.33 miles
2011 Average mile per day = 0.683

As a reminder, I needed to do an extra 15 miles this month (over and above my yearly goal) in order to catch up from what I didn't do last month. Consistency.

Still working on that consistency.

Also working on figuring out what in the world I did to my ankle/insole.  *sigh*

Note to self for February - don't get so consistent that you end up injuring yourself.