Let Them Make Cake!

These are my beautiful students who managed to sit through over 4 hours of instruction and still laugh and listen and then produce spectacular cakes. Brava, ladies!

Of course, what would a Wilton frosting recipe be without Crisco?

Voila! The "Christmas" cake, as Amanda coined it. I think it looks great in her signature grey/blue shell border and red tri-dots.

Amber was ready to chow down! But she refrained and let others enjoy the beauty of her hard work. And she has a funny story that accompanies the green balloon behind her. When you see her, ask her about it.

Jen was about to drop this cake it became so heavy with frosting. She did a fantastic job of smoothing out the frosting and then decorating it herself. Well done!

Our beautiful girl

What a precious sweetheart Madeline is! She so often shows a heart full of gratitude, which is the foundation for a life of serving others with joy. I pray that the Lord will confirm this attitude in her and make her an effective tool for His use.

I Thought You'd Graduated

I sent Madeline into Mason's room this morning when I heard him awake and playing in his bed after his nap. I entered to find a baby and a monkey! And if Mason learns as quickly as I think he will, we'll have to find a canopy for the crib to keep the new monkey in!

E.T.?

I'm not sure who put whom in the animal basket, but Mason sure fits the part!

The Birthday Boy

We took Mason to Denny's for his birthday breakfast. This was one way to get a picture of all four of us together.

Isn't this is a great shot of Jay and Mason? This is one of my favorites. We ordered the "alien" pancakes for Mason and he gobbled up the whipped cream, although he didn't care for syrup on his pancake.

The Denny's staff was very sweet and they brought Mason a bowl of ice cream with a candle in it and then they all sang their special birthday song to him. He was quite amused by the whole production. I was glad we got a pretty good picture of our family during it all.

Happy birthday, Buddy!

Another great shot of Mason and Daddy. Jay has taught Mason to put his hand (or whatever toy he happens to be holding) up to his ear when he says, "Hello". I guess Jay has high hopes of his son becoming a telemarketer. Anyway, that's what Mason is doing in this picture.

And, the Party

This was Mason's cake: chocolate cake with Swiss buttercream frosting. The brown swirls were made from pressed milk chocolate.

This was the cake in-progress. I didn't really know what I was going to do for the decorations on the cake and so I made it up as I went along. This is not the most time efficient way to work, but it all got done in time for the party.

Mason just loves his party hat, can't you tell? It's funny, he'll wear any other type of hat, but when I put this one on his head, he just cried and cried. Well, we needed more table decorations anyway!

This was Mason's entrance to the party place (aka. the garage). Jay brought him down all spiffy and he was ready to celebrate!

And this is it...garbage bins and all. With a few balloons and Chinese lanterns the place cleans up real nice. It really was perfect for our little get together, and the birthday boy didn't complain once. Now, we might hear something different when he grows up and realizes his first party was in the garage. Although I have it on good authority that guys prefer to be in the garage than almost anywhere else in the house!

Mason's Birthday Friends

This is Kate, Madeline's best girl friend. They made "berry pies" all evening, picking the berries from a bush outside our garage.

This is Kerry, my very dear friend and confidante.

Two sweet neighbor gals, Jadin and Brodie, are always offering their able hands to play with the kids in the cul-de-sac. They are extremely entrepreneurial, sending out fliers to offer their service as cleaners, babysitters, and even offering back massages.

The boys in the foreground are Cooper and Campbell. What good friends they are to Madeline and Mason! They have learnt well from their parents what it is to be faithful friends.

And so the party was well attended with all those loved ones (minus family) we hold dear.

Christmas 2007

Jay gave Madeline her first scooter for Christmas. It's the old fashioned Radio Flyer with 3 wheels. He also included in her gift a helmet, knee, and elbow pads, for those inevitable spills. She likes riding it, although she has to build up her leg muscles and coordination a bit more.

Madeline also received a set of new, dramatized Bible stories on cd. I replaced her broken boombox with a new one, and Grammie and GrandBud gave her some new stories to listen to. She is fascinated with the account of Noah's Ark and keeps it on "repeat" all night. I guess it's better to hear the screaming of folks left outside the ark than Britney Spears' latest disc. (I could make an unsavory comment here, but I won't.)

If you click on the above picture, you'll see Mason's first knife. Jay thought it wouldn't be too early to get his son started on a knife collection. And his first one should be a Buck. Mason's been having fun cutting up the carpet, some of his stuffed animals, and his sister's hair!
(Do you really think we'd open the package yet?)

Mason is a very curious little guy. He loved watching Madeline open her gifts and play with them as opposed to playing with his own gifts.

But Mason does love to play with balls of all shapes and sizes...and textures. This "hairy" ball is one of his favorites, sent to Madeline and him by their cousins in Alaska, Luke and Niccole.

These are certainly not all of our Christmas pictures. I have yet to filter through them all and I will eventually add the best ones of our time in El Centro with our sister-in-law, Vicki, and her boys, Caleb and Asa. We all spent the holiday with Gramma and Grandpa. If you visit Jay's blog (see the link in the margin), you can watch a video he made with the boys. We had such a great time! Thanks, family, for giving us such wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving 2007

I love this picture of the King and lil' prince. I just can't say it with more sincerity: Jay is the best Daddy to our children. They are so blessed to witness his model of integrity and tenderness.

Although the picture is a bit blurry, you can certainly make out our smiles. Jay may have sacrificed his presence in the photo but he was sure to keep his seat at the table and indulge in our tasty feast. He made is annual cornbread dressing, which was by far his best batch yet. And of course, we couldn't have Thanksgiving without Cherry Coke Salad. And, yum-yum, Mimi's mashed potatoes were sensational! I know all my readers probably have warm, wonderful memories that they are recalling of their Thanksgiving celebration. But we delighted in God's lavish provision of comfort, bonding relationships, laughter, and spiritual discussions...not to mention the After-Thanksgiving shopping spree! What a kindhearted, unsparing and generous God is ours!

Thanksgiving fun

Before picking Poppy and Mimi up from the FlyAway station, Jay took Madeline to Van Nuys Airport. She rode her tricycle down their "runway" and had a grand time with Daddy.

Mimi loved feeding Mason...and Mason loved having a new face to watch as he ate. Amanda is so good at keeping him preoccupied with her fun voices and faces that he eats all his food before he knows it!

Poppy and Mimi brought Madeline some dress up accessories: a fuzzy tiara, a pink tutu, and a "glass" purse that included a brush, mirror and a set of sparkly rings. She loves being the princess, and I don't mind as long as she knows who's queen!

Mason got a monster truck that's soft on the outside but has a "voicebox" that rumbles and growls and sounds just like a real truck. He's not sure whether to cuddle with it or run from it!

And of course our celebration wouldn't be right without some story time with Poppy. Madeline looks like she's found the perfect recliner...although I don't think he'd like to be called a La-Z-Boy.

...well, a couple of tricks.

At first, Madeline didn't quite understand the whole knock-on-the-door-and-they-give-you-candy idea. She simply followed Campbell and Cooper around to each house. After about 30 minutes, though, she caught on to the scam. No matter what costume she was wearing, whether or not she said "Trick-or-Treat", or if she looked scared by the decorations, the person behind the door would reach their hand into a large bowl of candy and hand her several. She was delighted! Her cavity pot was getting heavier and heavier to carry. That's why we came along, actually. Soon, she was outrunning the boys to get to the next house.

At this particular house, she looked up and saw a large, hairy spider hanging from the eaves. She wasn't quite sure what to think. After she rang the doorbell, and no one answered (to her chagrin), she knew exactly what to think: "I've been tricked!" Later, she told me and Jay that she got "a little frustrated" when she knocked and they didn't answer.

I'm surprised Mason wasn't giving me a scornful look. "They dressed me up in this silly thing, and I don't even get any candy!"

We really did have a great time. It's wonderful to see how big and spooky our family is getting each year.

All Treats, No Tricks

This Reformation Day we went out and plundered the egyptians. We joined our friends, the Ficketts, who live near several streets where they do it up big for Halloween.
The "Pirates" house is always our favorite.

Campbell dressed up as a swamp creature and Cooper donned his Darth Vader costume. Of course, Bill and Kerry looked fresh from the kitchen in their chef's attire; Notice what lurks under Bill's hat, hailing a recent animated movie. Kerry informed Jay and me that we are required to dress up next year. I thought we were dressed up: a working dad and a housewife with 2 kids.

Neighborhood Harvest Party

Several families from our subdivision hosted a Harvest Party for the kids. They had games like "Mummy Wrap", a cupcake walk, and a wishing well (hook a bag of treats). They also provided activities like making magnets, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and coloring. And of course we had food; the parents provided lots of yummy dishes like: vegetable soup, pizza, chips and homemade salsa, croissant wraps, chocolate-dipped pretzels, cupcakes and lots of candy. Madeline and Mason wore their costumes; Madeline was a buzzy, bumble bee and Mason was her "Hunny" pot. They were adorable! Although we did get some needed rain during our festivities, it didn't dampen the spirits of anyone there.

Could it be? I'm 33!

)

For my 33rd, Jay took me to our favorite Italian restaurant, Sicily. We had a great meal (Italian quesadilla filled with mozzerella, pine nuts, basil, chicken and sundried tomatoes topped with a creamy tomato pesto sauce, a green salad with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts, and the angel hair pomodora with fresh tomatoes. Of course I couldn't leave without indulging in their crispy, sweet-cream filled, chocolate-dipped cannoli. I think I packed on 33 lbs., one for each year of my life! Then we attended a local High School football game with our friends Bill and Kerry and their two boys. The game ended in a tie and was a nail-biter at the end. (Notice the beautiful October moon we had lighting up our sky.) A thrilling end to a remarkable year. Truly, the Lord has crowned me with lovingkindness and compassion, and satisfied my years with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle (Ps. 103:4-5).

Oh, the Places We'll Go

Mason is now my little stair climber. If I don't hear him playing somewhere downstairs, I know he's happily taking himself upstairs. I have long-since forgotten the fun of climbing stairs, but for him, each ascension is an accomplishment. We have not yet covered the descent, which I'm sure he'll enjoy just as much...and perform twice as fast. Each day has enough trouble of its own!

Shiny, Happy People

I'm so thankful to the Lord that He gave us 2 joyful children. They make each other laugh...and of course it's contagious; Jay and I find ourselves laughing right along with them. Madeline is trying out all her silly faces (imitating Mack on Cars) and Mason thinks they are hillarious. Isn't God good and creative to give us a sense of humor? I wonder what makes Him laugh.