Ta-Da!

 Here it is! Ella's completed birthday cake! I just couldnt wait to show you all-

I think this is by far the nicest, most creative cake

I have done to date and I just love it! 

Ella does too!

She likes the hair the most, she said! 

I REALLY like the cake bunting the most! 

(they sell that stuff on etsy for like $20 for what you see on my cake!- 

and it cost me like $2 to make!)

Today is her party and its at a gymnastic place- everyone is so excited!

Including me, because I dont have to do much! They run games and everything! 

And it was VERY reasonable and she can have 20 kids 

and an unlimited number of adults- 

so we have around 35 people coming today! FUN!

I made a new chocolate cake recipe for one layer and 

the other layer is half strawberry and half vanilla with a chocolate mousse filling. 

I got a bunch of tips to make my cakes better from another blog 

and they really helped this time around! 

Megan is taking professional pictures for us at the party

so I thought I'd try to wait to post really nice pictures of the cake but I just couldnt, 

so my little camera ones will have to do...

What a Weekend!!

 This weekend was a whirlwind of baking! 

I had 2 wedding cakes to make for a 100 people each. 

I made them from scratch and covered them with fondant.

My sweet husband helped me SO much by watching the kids, 

making endless runs to the store and even helping me decorate! 

What a guy! 

We were able to go to Salina and Zachs wedding and it was beautiful!

(thanks grandma and grandpa for watching our 4 kids so we were able to go!)

 I love weddings! They remind me so much of how much I love being married to my best friend.

Mark is the man of my dreams and I told him I want to renew our vows and have another "wedding" with all our family and closest of friends! Maybe for our 15th anniversary! He didnt seem to crazy about the idea, but he'll do it- thats how much he loves me:)lol

 The reception was lovely, bright and colorful! Just like Salina! 

They had Mexican food and it was SO yummy! 

I like wedding food and this was so good and filling!

 Every time I agree to make a cake, the day off, I always tell mark that I never want to do it again. It is very stressful and a ton of work. Even as I was saying this, I told him I have some birthday cakes to make next weekend:) I just cant say no! It reminds me of my dad. He would say yes to all kinds of cakes and cooking, even though it was a lot of work! I sorta view it as a ministry to others, offering them cheap cakes that look good, although I am no professional! I do enjoy using cake decorating as an outlet for my creative juices. 

Well, now to get caught up on my life.... laundry, cleaning, etc.

Let us eat CAKE!

Creation

My sweet friend, Katie, always drums up business for me in the cake decorating field. 

Here is a wedding shower cake I made.

They didnt want fondant, so I used a new buttercream recipe

 and a new double chocolate chip cake recipe. 

It was So yummy (I made a small one for me)

I need Mark to continue working on my website so I can start promoting my business 

and drum up some more customers!

PINK! PINK! PINK!

My sweet friend, Katie is FINALLY having a girl after 3 little boys! 

We had her baby shower last night and I made the PINK cake!

It turned out cute and I was so happy to help

Katie celebrate little Jadyn's arrival

with all things PINK and girly!

(on a side note, I miss my dad. Every time I decorate a cake, I think of him and wish he could see my creations, offer advice and critique it:) He truly was a master decorator! and I really feel I gained MUCH knowledge and a love for cake decorating from him)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

We celebrated Jesus's birthday by starting the morning reading Luke 2-
the birth of Christ.
The kids listened intently while Mark read.
Then we all took turns praying and thanking God for His Son's birth.
I was brought to tears while Arianna and Sophia prayed as they thanked
God that Jesus was born and that he died for their sins on the cross.
They truly seem to understand his sacrifice.

At dinner Christmas night, I made a birthday cake (per the twins request)
and we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Here are some pics of the presents and stockings....

We had a fancy Christmas breakfast...

And later that night had the Smiths over for a HUGE dinner.. Please pray for Nate and Karie- he is without a job and they have 6 girls in their family!

It was a FUN and busy Christmas filled with constant reminders of the precious gift that was given to us many years ago in Bethlehem!

New Venture...

I've started making FONDANT cakes and really enjoy it!
This was my first one and I found most of the tips and recipe for fondant HERE
I got paid to make this cake, so I am thinking of trying to advertise more and start my own little business. I think people would buy them since it does take time to make and it is a bit tricky to get it just right! It really was fun to make!

ELMO PARTY!!!!

Ella has never had a really big birthday party, so this year we threw her one! It was Elmo!

I made the cake- it turned out okay:)

Ella had around 10 of her little friends there.

We played pin the nose on Elmo and a shape hunt game

Ella seemed to really enjoy being the center of attention and also being the only one to open presents despite her sisters constant attempts to "help" her:)