"Oh boy" cupcakes!

I have wanted to try cupcake toppers for a while now. So, when I was asked to do baby shower cupcakes and was given free reign over what to do, it was the perfect opportunity!  I loved how they came out.  Making the toppers was a little time consuming but definitely worth it in the end.  The cupcakes were half devils food and half classic white.  The icing was all vanilla buttercream.  Take a look!

PS- FAR too many chocolate chips were consumed in the decorating of these cupcakes!

Bathtime fun

Bath time has never been something that the boys have enjoyed over the past 6 months.  There's always lots of complaining and fussing about getting in the tub.  I guess like all little boys, they just like to be dirty!

Well, thanks to Pinterest, I found some ideas to try to make bath time "fun".  Here's what we tried tonight:

BATH TUB PAINT 

(ok, it's just shaving cream with a little food coloring)

The boys had a blast with this!  I just gave them each a paint brush and they went to town.  To be honest, I was not 100% sure how easily this would come off the wall.  But thankfully it wiped right off!

I mean, isn't this a masterpiece?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Pearls of Wisdom" cake

This weekend I had the pleasure of making a birthday cake for my friend Ashley.  Her best friend Tiffany contacted me and asked me to make a "pearl" theme cake.  For many reasons, pearls are very special to Ashley.  If you know her, you know that she always wears her pearls.  Actually, I think she gave birth to her son Fletcher in pearls!  So, this cake was a combination of my ideas and Tiffany's.  We were both pleased with how it turned out!  Happy birthday Ashley!!

catching up

We have officially had the foster boys for 6 months (on Feb 8th).  In some ways it seems like it has flown by, but in other ways...not so much.  It's hard to explain really.  They have learned so much in such a short time.  I remember how shocked we were 6 months ago that they didn't know their colors, numbers, animals, animal sounds, etc.  But just by being exposed daily to it, they have learned so much.  We're still not sure they will be completely ready for kindergarten but they'll be much more ready than they would have been.  There are days when I'm so encouraged at the changes in their behavior.  For instance, when they first came to live with us, we took them to the children's museum.  It was an absolute nightmare.  I thought I was going to cry from embarrassment in the first 5 minutes because they were so wild.  But, just last weekend we took them again.  Comparatively, they were perfect angels!  Ok, angels isn't exactly the right word but they were way easier to control and it was actually fun for Chris and me.  We have tried so hard to "undo" the past 4 years of bad behavior (which I know we can't do and really shouldn't be our goal) and sometimes it gets overwhelming.  There are moments that I have cried because I can't believe a 4 year old is talking to me "like that".  But, hopefully those moments will begin to get fewer and farther between.  On a more humorous note, we have been really trying to instill manners into them- please, thank you, etc.  So this morning, I asked one of them to get dressed (always a battle in the morning).  He looked at me with an adorable little smile on his face and said "no, thank you!".  Haha, ok teaching them manners backfired!  It was all I could do not to laugh.  I looked at him and said "Well, thank you for your good manners but you still need to put your clothes on."  But, all in all, I think we're making good progress with them and it's getting easier.  Everyday I pray that we are making some sort of lasting Godly impact on them.  Who knows where they will be in another 6 months to a year but I certainly do hope that what we have tried so hard to teach, sticks with them! 

Exactly what I needed today...

 

From where I'm standing
Lord, it's so hard for me to see
Where this is going
And where You're leading me
I wish I knew how
All my fears and all my questions
Are going to play out
In a world I can't control

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricenter.com/e56458-casting_crowns~already_there_lyrics.html ]
When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
‘Cause You're already there
You're already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You're already there
You're already there

From where You're standing
Lord, You see a grand design
That You imagined
When You breathed me into life
And all the chaos
Comes together in Your hands
Like a masterpiece
Of Your picture-perfect plan

When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory

‘Cause You're already there
You're already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You're already there
You're already there

One day I'll stand before You
And look back on the life I've lived
I can't wait to enjoy the view
And see how all the pieces fit

One day I'll stand before You
And look back on the life I've lived
‘Cause You're already there
You're already there
When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
‘Cause You're already there
You're already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You're already there
You're already there

{Already there by Casting Crowns}