Kid Cakes...

You know I've been doing some cake decorating and I think you probably know I have a wedding cake I'm doing at the end of July. Well, I didn't want to just make any old cake (because that's the way I am!) so I've been experimenting with different white cakes, frostings, fillings, etc.

Tonight we will be sampling the three finalists but to do that I had to bake three 6" cakes and prepare them exactly as they would be done for the wedding. The are all a white cake with vanilla simple syrup, bittersweet chocolate ganache (that I could overdose on!) and white buttercream frosting.

Since I had to do three cakes anyway I decided to let the kids each decorate one before we sample them. (Gracie decorated a cupcake and herself. ) Here are the results...

Arielle's is on the left, Jessica's in the middle and Josh on the right.

And the tops...

I think they show a lot of promise! (But then again, I am their mom so what else would I think? lol)

There's only grace...

Today something happened that made me feel like my shameful past had come back to bite me.

How's that for a good way to start a post! ;)

When I was younger I was not a "good girl" to put it mildly. Even though I wasn't aware of it I carried guilt and shame from that type of lifestyle for a very long time. When I came to know the Lord He began to show me how it had affected me and I wept over what I had been.

Had been; those are the operative words aren't they?

Sometimes I forget. Not that I go back to that lifestyle, more like I forget that I'm a new creation and begin to feel the shame of it all over again. Most of the time these days though I don't really think about it unless something brings it up. Like what happened today. I'm not going to tell you what it was but know that I began to be pulled back into those feelings.

Feelings like I'm a sham and just pretending to be some sort of godly woman. Feelings like "if they ever found out what I really am they would be shocked and appalled!" Feelings like my poor husband got the short end of the stick when he married me.

I've made no secret of my past, I feel like those who may still be in it or just out of it might need to hear that someone else has been there. So why these feelings? I guess I just start to buy the lie again.

But then the One who rescued me in the first place reached down His hand again and pulled me out of it. I turned on the radio in my car and this is what I heard:

There is no guilt here
There is no shame
No pointing fingers
There is no blame

What happened yesterday…
has disappeared
The dirt has washed away
And now it's clear

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only grace

You're starting over now
Under the sun
You're stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun

An’ there's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me…it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there's nothing left now
There's only grace…

And if you should fall again
Get back up, get back up
Reach out and take my hand
Get back up, get back up
Get back up again

Mathew West may have been the one singing but the Lord was speaking directly to my heart.

You knew exactly what you were getting but you chose me anyway.
Thank you.

Baby Shower Cake...

I had so much fun making this thing! It's chocolate cake, whipped ganache filling, creme de cocoa moistening syrup and white chocolate buttercream frosting. I only put the syrup and ganache in the middle for one layer of filling. Next time I will torte the layers and put ganache between those too, making three layers of filling per tier. (You probably don't really care though! lol) Here's my cake...




BTW, the creme de cocoa syrup was non-alcoholic. I didn't want to use alcohol in my cakes but all the recipes for flavored essential syrups call for it. In a moment of inspiration I decided to use those coffee syrups instead. I bought some Davinci's flavored syrup and it worked perfectly! :)

Seven Things...

Apparently blogging two or three times a year just isn’t enough for some people because Shannon tagged me with this “meme” thing to force me! (What the heck does “meme” mean?) I guess I’ve put it off long enough but I don’t know what seven things I’ll be able to come up with. You’ve been warned…

1. I was the reason my parents got married. Apparently I was on the way long before they considered getting married and I was conceived in the back seat of someone’s car. This is not something I ever needed to know about myself (or my parents!) I still need therapy over this one! :)

2. I really wasn’t sure I wanted to get married and if I did it wouldn’t be until I was at least 25 but preferably later. And I certainly didn’t want children! I figured I’d just mess them up. I was going to have a career and a nice black and white apartment in the city somewhere high up.

Reality: I got married at twenty (I guess I just couldn’t resist that trick he does where he pretends to take his finger off! Sigh, he’s so dreamy!) I have four kids and I homeschool them. I live in a rural town (example: my neighbor and I buried her dog in her front yard last week. You just don’t do that type of thing in the city! Yes, he was dead.) I’m some sort of hillbilly Martha Stewart or something and I still don’t know how it happened! (My oldest says I’ve been “countrified!” )

3. When I was a kid I could turn my eyelids inside out. It was gross but the boys thought I was really cool. I won’t do it now because it hurts.

4. My mom was a truck driver and I used to travel with her around the Midwest (she was long haul). I went to more bars when I was a child than I have been to as an adult. Traveling from city to city and sleeping in that little sleeper compartment was really pretty fun. I felt so adventurous (and yes, cool!) skipping school for a few weeks at a time to travel the country. Truck stops still have a special place in my heart because it’s there that I first learned of the miracle that is the Shirley Temple drink! I’m getting’ a hankerin’ for greezy food and soda! (Maybe that’s why my dreams of city life were doomed! It was those truck stops!)

5. This one is for Shannon. I once had a big cut on the back of my heel. I took a needle and thread and sewed it shut. Myself, Rambo style. With no medication! I didn’t get an infection and I don’t have a scar there. I didn’t even know how to sew! I don’t recommend it.

Two more?! I’m not that interesting!

6. I was a brazen shoplifter as a kid. You know those electronic things at the front of the store? They probably invented those because of me. I once went into a store, got a paper grocery bag and filled it with stuff (unpaid for) then just walked out. I had posters sticking up out of the top of the bag and no one stopped me. I also once stuffed umbrellas up the sleeves of my ski jacket and walked out of the store. That is the extent of my life of crime. I’m not on the FBI’s most wanted list or anything so you will get no reward for turning me in.

7. I wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer. Do you remember that show? I loved those sparkly, flashy costumes! I would practice with my sister and our cousin in front of the TV trying to do those moves. I also loved watching American Bandstand! We’d dance to that show too.

Phew! I made it to seven! Anything I’ve said should not be used against me! (Or I will make all of you join me in a Solid Gold style dance expo at the chili cookoff!)