So much to blog...so little time

I'm behind - way behind - on blogging. I miss it terribly, and think daily of things I want to document or share on here. Life is good for our family, but right now our youngest member isn't keen on my sitting at the computer. I even have to check email in record time, while standing! The only reason I'm blogging now is because he is asleep and I'm not falling over asleep myself - yet. :-)

This past week was James' birthday week (40th!), and I wanted to at least acknowledge that. I made a carrot cake at his request on his actual birthday, which we enjoyed, and Elijah especially loved the cream cheese icing with orange zest. I'll have to share a video of that. We decorated our house with handmade signs, had an outing to go bowling, and Abigail scored a strike on her first try!

Friday night a few couples met up with us for dinner, which was a blast, and it was so fun to have a rare night without children, (except for Elijah of course). We also enjoyed a visit to Aldridge Gardens with my parents and yesterday was a visit with James' parents, sister, and brother-in-law. We are so thankful for the family and friends who love and celebrated my well-deserving husband. He is a treasure and though he's not the type to want a big ol' celebration in his honor, he sure is worthy of one. I wonder if I can list 40 reasons I love him...that would be a great post. I'll have to work on it. There are even more reasons than that, but I'm not sure if there is adequate time...

Anyway, in the meantime, here a few pictures of the highlights of the week, and the aforementioned video. Hopefully, I'll be back soon.

The Evidence

Apparently, my little sweet-toothed son had a morning snack before I was awake. Smart Isaac remembered I'd made 2 cakes this weekend for the first time in ages, and I guess he assumed correctly there was some leftover buttercream. However, in his haste, he forgot to remove the telltale sign of his partaking of his little foray into the fridge. This morning I saw a little spoon in the bowl, and giggled at his lack of guile. He's so sneaky, isn't he? :-)

Sweet memories

I've been reminiscing lately over the cakes and catering I did for several years, and how part of me misses that creative outlet, but another knows it's just not feasible at this point in my family's life. Plus, the past few months I've totally avoided making anything resembling buttercream icing, and turned down a few random requests for cakes, since the thought just sent my tummy churning. I have a couple to do this week, and the fact that they're easy and for dear friends, make me actually look forward to baking again.

I also recently had lunch with Sandi at Diane's restaurant. Since I did Diane's baking and icing making for nearly a year, being a part of her catering business for those months really gave me an appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into owning your own growing enterprise. After working for her, I knew I wanted to learn how to decorate cakes myself, so 12 weeks of classes really did train me well enough that I was able to supplement our family's income for years while James was in nursing school and beyond. The classes, plus the experience with Diane were invaluable to give me the confidence and knowledge to prepare receptions and cakes to serve, and please, hundreds of people.

Anyway, it's awesome to now see Diane doing so well with her cafe' and we were able to catch up a little Friday. I'm very proud for her success, and know that God's blessed her with a wonderful talent. I'm also grateful that He provided me with the opportunity and a supportive husband to try something that was new, and at times, quite daunting. Catering was nothing like teaching first grade, but I'm so glad I have those memories to look back on. Here are a few pictures for fun. I regret not having a digital camera then, since these were all scanned into my computer awhile back, and just aren't great quality. It's so neat to look back on just this sample of bazillions I did over 5 or so years, and think of the story there is behind each event. So many happy times that were celebrated in our lives, and friends'. It's really an honor to have been part of so many wonderful occasions. So, now, go have some cake!