Happy Birthday Jesus!

With just a little less than a week before Christmas, our elves arrived with the cutest baker's cap and apron that read, "I love my elf" and "I love my family!" AND we LOVE Jesus, so we were excited when we saw that they left us all of the necessary goodies to bake a cake for Him, for His birthday!

Cookies!!!l!

COOKIEEEEES! My kids love to bake them and they especially LOVE to eat raw cookie dough. That's why when I spotted this ELF cookie dough, by Pillsbury, I immediately came up with an idea and had to have it.

Officially A Teenager ~ Birthday Cake!

The official theme for Tyson's party was paintball, but there was also a hint/twist of the game FortNite.  I had several cake ideas in mind.  I had (2) paintball cakes and (3) FortNite cakes that I was really contemplating. However, this was a milestone birthday and a big deal to BOTH of us, so I wanted something at his party to scream "Officially A Teenager!". I decided that that "something" to be his cake.  Recently, I discovered a new bakery in town. It's located in Downtown Roanoke.  The name of the bakery is called Freshly Baked Bakery. I was thankful to have the opportunity to work with them during the month of May. They were SWAMPED with graduation and wedding cakes.  

I described to the owner, Sarah, exactly what I wanted and even shared a photo of both Ty and his bedroom, along with all of his hobbies and loves: Playstation, Basketball, Virginia Tech, attends Glenvar Middle School, Golden State Warriors, Steeler's, iPhone, Sleeping In! 

Basketball

Steeler's Football

Dirty Socks

#13

Iphone!

Snacks!

Headphones!

Glenvar Middle School!

To hear a little bit more about this cake, watch the video below.  There is ALSO a backstory to why I decided on a cake like this one.

TY and his friends loved it.  I had a hard time capturing photos and videos while the boys' sang.  So... the video below is all I have documented.  BOOOO!

H

Thank you Freshly Baked Bakery for sharing your talent and for making people's events extra memorable!!!

Christmas Cookie Tradition ~ 2017

It's a Christmas tradition that everyone in the house enjoys... even daddy.

First... we cut and bake cookies.

It usually includes a ton of very serious and focused faces.

The dough has GOT to be COLD. COLD. COLD. or it will spread in the oven and be disfigured.

We always just use the Pillsbury ready made, sugar cookie dough.

 

Sometimes I have to step in and help with soft dough dilemmas.

This part is not as fun as the decorating, but it's still something we all enjoy doing together.  I think more dough gets eaten (raw), than it does cooked.

I love watching my man partaking in our family traditions.  

These cookies are for Santa, but we always make a few cookies that spell out Jesus' name.  

Jesus gets a CAKE from US!

Pre-decorated cookies.

The next day, we decorated.  So we aren't artists or anything, but I still think our cookies turned out adorable.  

I love all of the special touches and details... especially the mustaches and candy cane smiley faces.

We barely ate these.  Hmph.  We did leave them for Santa to enjoy though.  No wonder he's so chubby.

Elf On The Shelf - Day #6

"An excellent [Elf] wife who can find? She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens."  

~Proverbs 31: 10 & 15

Our girls, Ariel and Rozee, put their new baking apron to great use.  They baked and baked and baked, until they couldn't bake anymore.

They baked gingerbread houses and Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Straws (thanks Dollar Tree), Gingerbread men, mini festive brownies, and mini cupcakes, mini pepperidge farm cookies, and cake cookies (thanks Kroger), and adorable lollipop cookies (thanks Wal-mart).  

I also utilized some adorable baked good "minis" from A.C. Moore and Michael's craft store.

Even this little mixing bowl is a "miniature".  

These chocolate chip cookies, on a plate, gives you an idea of how small these miniatures really are.

I meant to grab some Dunkin Donuts too, but I think we had a sweet overload as it was.

Lilah was SOOOOO giddy over this!

See more, below, by viewing the video.

Our female elves, I guess, are ignoring the fact that our male elves are trying to keep their physique lean. Haha.  These boys are going to be so tempted to splurge on some holiday treats after their workout.

These elves are always up to something!!! They keep this momma so busy!

He Will Wipe Away Every Tear!

Over the passed year, I have become sociable with a sweet girl named Lexi.  She is a Glenvar High School cheerleader.  She lost her father suddenly, on October 18th, from a tragic accident.  Being my love language is gift giving, I felt the sudden urge to begin finding things to temporarily comfort her during this difficult time.  This beautiful bracelet was purchased on ETSY from the seller LoveDesign.  The day of Lexi's dad's funeral, I spotted it on her.  It blessed me immensely to know if meant that much to her.  

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

~Revelations 21:4

 

I made this cake for Lexi's dad, but mores for Lexi.  I have been doing the best that I can to witness to her and be a strong support system for her, in my own way, all while still managing life with three kids of my own.  As I get to know her more fully, I want to keep her dad alive and the memories of him, so periodically I have been asking her about some of the things he loved or THEY loved to do together.  One of their favorite shows was "Stranger Things".  Being I am always looking for a reason to bake, I decided to bake HER/HIM a cake on her father's birthday, which was on November 3rd (about 3 weeks after his passing).

I have NEVER seen the show.  I don't know the name of the characters or the significance of ANYTHING on this cake.  The cake isn't even PRETTY, but it's what google images CLAIMS a "Stranger Things" cake is supposed to look like.  I would bet my right arm that it tasted PHENOMENAL though. Haha. I took my time and I made it with extra love and ingredients.  

A little love and tiny details go a long way, especially for someone hurting.  STOP and take the time to serve others.  It's actually a command from the Lord.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." 

~Romans 12:12-15