***My Happy 80th Birthday Cake***

(A bit confused, read previous post)

*

Don't get me wrong, Im not oblivious to the fact that there are professional cake decoraters out there. Far from my intentions... as this is very basic compared to all those. Mind you, this excels anything I ever thought I was capable of doing.. silly, I know. My luck just isnt always the best when it comes to things like this - flipping layers of cake, and hoping you can get them semi straight, balanced, and centered.

*

I got to thinking after I had decided to take on this little surprise project, that I really dont know if Ive ever made a cake like this before, let alone a cake. My dear sister usually is the one to show her creativity when it comes to desserts... and I sit back and enjoy them.

*

*

*

(For those curious, this is my own "make it up as you go" mint oreo crumb center cake) :)

Life & Its New Perspectives..

Life has an amazing way of changing our perspectives as we get older. "Independence" influences these changes, which can be very exciting, fun-filled, but can also shed some stress too. These past couple months have been an adventure that Ive been excited to participate in.

Ive been deveolping my tastes at decorating, finding some fun in shopping for potential ideas, flipping through catalogs, walking the store isles, searching online. Shopping isn't all about "ME" now, it's about how I can better make my place a home, and I thoroughly enjoy that!

I love organizing/planning for an evening of company and snacks. I find myself flipping through magazines for creative, new recipes that I can try. Being that I work evening shift, these events are few and far between, so it makes for more excitement in the plannning process when it actually does happen.

*

I've decided to make a cake for an individual in which I originally met back when I worked at the Mall. I had opportunities to meet many people, which helped pass time during my shift. These were the faithful evening walkers, who I looked forward to chatting with. Sounds silly, I know.. but I did. To this day, I see them in public, and they always stop and we share a bit of an update on where life has taken us.

*

During my apartment search, and having entered the building I am at now, I caught a glimpse of one of the "mall walkers" in the gym... and was a bit taken back. Within a short period of time, he made his way out of the gym to meet me. We chatted, and I went on... On "move in" day, I realize that this guy is my neighbor. Of all the apartments to live near :)

Anyways, I caught wind that his 80th birthday is in August and since then, has now been determined that I will make him a birthday cake. Birthdays at this stage in life can be lonely (only guessing), as his family life isnt the best right now. Im really excited to present him with a cake, likely the only cake he would have for his 80th on Saturday!

*

It's these things that help me to find joy in doing things for others.

*

Life isnt all about "YOU" or "ME", but to allow yourself to be used to be a blessing to others.

Bible Study Birthdays..

The month of July holds 3 birthdays within our group, but seeing that we never celebrate ANYONEs birthday, I decided to "celebrate" all birthdays together with cupcakes & lit candles. My dear friend, Liz made some icecream cake which was absolutely delicious, and my sister made some chex party bars:)

Same pic, just Liz and I switched out to take the picture:)

*
Wonderful friends..

I was so excited to have this night turn out so smoothly, until

SOMEONE/the group pulled something over on me. I am usually the one to initiate the surprises, so this just wasnt right! From the group, I was given a nice picture frame, a Yankee candle named "Home Sweet Home," and a gift card to one of my FAVORITE stores, Bed Bath & Beyond. I was nearly speechless... due to the surprise. Thanks again to all for a good night.

Visitors

A precious family stopped by on their way up north!

**
**

**

This visit happened to be a bit different for everyone though. As exciting & fun these moments were, there was someone very special that was missing! My Uncle Earl. He's gone to be with Jesus, where there is no pain or suffering anymore. As his dear family tries to carry on, Im sure he was looking down on everyone, and was there in spirit.

*

This precious photo below has gripped my heart, for his little girl knows who her Daddy is. She's been working on crawling/walking with assistance, and as I was watching her this afternoon, she managed to walk along the coffee table and grab her Daddy's picture to hold and look at.

I'm proud to call you family :)

Let's Play Catchup...

Life has a way of reminding us to take some deep breaths & focus...

Many of us are a bit sensitive when it comes to birthdays and getting older, and this year just happened to be this way for me. Life was taking on a whole new meaning, and the idea of being "over the hump" of my 20's was a bit difficult to handle.

It was a wonderful time with family though, and in so many ways they helped smooth things over to better help me to cope!

**

That next week, started our Conference Zone camp for 10 days.

The services were very rich and just what was needed.

More memories created & filed into my life.

My dear sister had a birthday, which she also was in denial about getting older.
This year must be the year for such things...

*

An amazing friend came for a visit for a couple days and a wonderful time was had.

Fireworks... fun times.

.......And for those of you on the lookout for some peaks into my new life... here are a couple snap shots, to get you started :)

A Recipe To Share

A portfolio piece I came across tonight, that had guidelines to follow from YEARS past. Apparently, I had created a recipe for "Famous Amos Specials" and thought I would share:

*

Ingredients:

1 pound bag of sweet sizzling smiles

8 ounces of honesty

5 sugar cubes of love mentality

2 teaspoons of hunny sickle trusty pop

1 sprinkle of grated quietness

4 teaspoons of patient character

*

Directions:

Get a medium sized bowl, heatable, and melt the sweet sizzling smiles. After melted, dump in the 8 ounces of honesty and stir in smoothly the trusty sickle pop until all t he bumps are out. Next, crush the sugar cubes of love mentality and put in a seperate bowl. In the first bowl, pour in the 4 teaspoons of patient character. Stir until it looks yummy. Put in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Lastly, after taking it out and before it cools, sprinkle on the sugar cubes from the second bowl along with the grated quietness. Your outcome should be something like Aimee : Loving, gentle, and a great listener. Serve until people get tired of you.

Treasures

*

Each phase of life is a treasure to cherish. We try to not be clutterbugs, saving everything that comes our way, but there are just some things that can't be gotten rid of.

*

Cleaning out my closet, which was full of boxes and tubs for years, leads for reliving some cherished memories. It's amazing how much you can forget, until you come across items that rekindle the memory. It's amazing what you feel is important to keep, years past...and then becomes a difficult decision in the present, when trying to downsize.

Toys, collections of past interests, first Bibles, a box of letters from ALL your teen relationships with doodles and such, little dolls, embroidery supplies, etc. These, and so many more, have a place in my life, a place that will always be!

*

It's sad, when you think about all the time that has past, so quickly at that! A relative was mentioning just today at how long the days seem, but how short the years really are.

*

Cherish the memories, pick all the flowers you can on this road of life, and savor the moment.

Happy Mother's Day

*

To My Mother who means the world to me.

Thank you for all your time and attention over the years which has helped me mature into the individual I have become. Thank you for your love and concern when things werent always the easiest, and when it would have been so much easier to just give up.

Life without you, Mom just wouldnt be the same, and for this, I want you to know that there isnt a day that goes by that you arent loved & thought of.

*

I have always enjoyed our many outings together, our laughs, and our tears at times. Each and every moment will be cherished for as long as life is.

*

Thanks for EVERYTHING over the years! As much as it isn't always acknowledged, it certainly doesnt go unnoticed!

*

With Love

*

Here are a few pictures of our little celebration of Mother's Day(well 2 days later).

We all are on the same weekend & at 3 different facilities, but Mom works day shifts. This led to not seeing her on Mother's day so, we all decided to wait until our day off to have her open her gifts. In the meantine, they were left for her to admire. :)

*

*

Mom was giving a little lecture as to how these arent good for her, even though they ARE one of her FAVORITE candies;)

Mom & I

Mom & Ange

Mom & Ashley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!

*
My lil sister absolutely loves a REAL pinnapple, and states she has asked for several years to have one bought for her, so this year Mom did just that:) As soon as she saw what it was... she had a meltdown. This is just one of the "fun/random" gifts she got.

It's hard to believe my youngest sister is 21! Another milestone has been reached- (in reference to my previous post) ! REMINDER: It's not how quickly time passes thats what's most important, but what IS IMPORTANT is what we do with the time we have!

Thank you for the memories you have helped create in our family. As life continues on, strive for the very best that life has to offer. You can succeed!

Life & the passing of time...

When I think about life and all that it entails, I am reminded of the passing of time - Early lessons learned, discipline from those who love us more than we know, which helps mold/give structure to our lives, developing likes and dislikes, having creative imaginations, increased responsibility and so much more. Life has a way of unfolding in ways we never dreamed of, based on decisions we make throughout life.

*

Early years bring much excitement to reach "certain" year milestones. We look forward to becoming a teenager, getting our permit/drivers license, graduating from highschool, picking a career and going to college to study it, getting married, etc. So many milestones we look forward to! Humanly, we are excited for the future and what life has to offer us, but as I look back... I also am reminded at how quickly it has passed. Are we so excited to reach these milestones, that we dont breathe in the flowers of today?

*

My life has brought me to a point where Im about to start another chapter, reach another milestone. I find that Im attempting to smell the "flowers of today" so much more than previous days, because these flowers will never grow just the same again in such a short while. This brings great emotion that is so hard to explain! So many emotions felts all at the same time so, because of change, it's very difficult for me. How can one be sad, somewhat nervous, sentimental to what you've always known, but at the same time... be excited to reach out in life, look for new possibilities, and watch yourself grow even more into who you were always meant to be? Again, life has a way of unfolding in ways we never dreamed of, and because of this.. Im excited to see what the future holds.

*It's about time*

Glad to have my sister back home again! Over the years, we have grown close, having gone through some mountainous times, which have helped us become who we are today:) Through it all, we have truly gotten closer as sisters. :) So glad to have you back!

*

*
*
We can't choose our family, but we can choose our friends.
Thank you for your friendship that continues to grow!


*
Our CDCF group, meets on a regular basis..(twice a month), so tonight we decided to try something different. We all met at The 99 Restaurant for dinner together and had such a fun time:) Here are just a few snapshots of the evening... as some people that I WONT mention... hate the idea of the camera coming out. It's ok, some day you will thank me:)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

*
*

Give Anyways...

I can be very moved by music, and never know the artists in which created it. That part of music has never stuck with me, or I havent cared to remember, so having been given a bunch of music from my sister, this song started playing...
*
Being that it's another Saturday night, at times my mind goes to Sunday morning responsibilities- helping out with the 3-5 year old class. I wonder who will be there, what cute things will come out of their mouths, and most importantly what they will take home with them from our class. Sometimes, we have just a handful of children, and other mornings we'd have more than we sometimes feel we can handle, especially when some misbehave!
*
Being an assistant, I dont have to prepare a lesson plan very frequently, but there are occassions in which I have. Sometimes, I wonder, truly wonder if they get anything out of our 45 min classes. God has been faithful to remind me/ show me at times, and very recent... just how much these precious children absorb! Children that will just sit there while the rest sing about the Bible and the characters that express the Bible, and then say "Do it again, do it again!" To hear later, they take those little songs home with them and sing these songs, brings such comfort to me.
*
Each one, created by God, to grow up and have a desire to have a personal relationship with him, starts in the early years. As much as we still wonder what our products will be, I am reminded that he is faithful! So, as I walk into the church doors and downstairs to my little class, I will give everything that I have, and when I don't feel I have a lot to give.. I will be reminded to give anyways!

Every penny (+) counts

It amazes me those that throw away change like it has no worth ! I have to admit, there have been times when I found that change was more of a nusaince and took up "bulky" space in a wallet. For me, I don't like to carry it around for a great length of time. I'll pick the perfect combination of a couple quarters, nickels, dimes and a few pennies if needed to save from gaining LOADS of change from a transaction at the store, but other than that... I hate carrying change around. I've gotten to the place where I throw my change into a glass-like container, visible to the eye as more accumilates.

*

This past week, I decided seeing it was getting near the top, I would take time counting it all out. Never realized just how much time it would take to count change and place them in their designated wrappers to ship off to the bank. Fumbling around with the wrappers and my fingers for a bit, I finally seemed to get a system down which helped the process move along at a quicker pace.

*

In the end, if for nothing else... I've found that as quick as change accumilates, it's worth saving your pennies (+) for a rainy day!

$89.00 later