A New Chapter

My dear brother Micah asked me what design I wanted for my cake - when I showed him a sketch I had done he literally went right to it! It was so cute! I was doing some paper work at my desk and I would hear him mumble under his breath as he was baking!  He would make little comments about all the work and length of time it took just to bake off a few cakes! Makes him appreciate more baking and cooking now!  Working on the design together!  He did an incredible job Et voila - the final product - He was so proud of it and I was so proud of him! He stuck at it right to the end - did the red rose all by himself and made suggestions about the design all the way through - this guy has a good eye! Was special to work on it with him!

Well... not me! While Amy and Matt were vacationing in Jamaica there was lots of excitement happening here at home!  They were gone over my birthday - had lots of friends stop in and show their love! Little Jack LOVES flowers - we learned how to sniff them this weekend!  PD Day to boot - McDonalds provided some great entertainment!The boys are getting big enough now to climb everything! They love it!  Was one of the coldest days of the year and yet they still wanted ice-cream - go figure!  Comfort food!  Lots of willing helpers! In the Cadi on the way home from church! Was a great weekend - thankful for some extra time to spend with these adorable ones that have come into my life! 

My best friend turned 51 All the decorations were in light pink and white - her favorite colors, right now! The tables Et Voila - here she is, one of the most amazing woman in my life! Love her so much and everyday I find a new reason to be grateful for her! "When I grow up, I want to be just like her!"  All the food & desserts were little finger foods Coffee Pots de Creme - a new recipe - so very yummy! These are some of the people that came and blessed my dear mother! Was a lovely afternoon - chatting, eating, showing our love for one amazing woman! So thankful I get to call her mom!

February 19th, 2014 The sunrise is a sign of a new day, bright with hope for new experiences and God's faithfulness and mercy " Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand has provided! Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me."  My dear brother Aaron showed up at work quite early in the morning and tried to sneak in and out without me seeing him... he brought me these beautiful flowers! Made all the other girls jealous - yes I'm super blessed! (notice the candle) Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes with a refreshing lemon meringue icing - made by my dear sister Faith. I think this has to be my absolute favorite type of cake - so sweet of her (no pun intended). She also handmade chocolate "#21" to go on top of them! Not quite sure, but this was supposed to be Daniel's birthday picture My dear, dear sister, whom I love so very much and miss every day!! Thankful for the moments and times we do get to share together, but...

  The evening started out with a really special twist! Mark and I were able to work on a cake together so enjoyed that time:) Then it was rush-rush-rush to get to Niagara-on-the-Lake half on time!:) The evening started out with a tour by horse and carriage lovely time:)  Never really seen Niagara-on-the-Lake before (during the day). Really cute town, jam packed with history! Heather and Co. put so much time and energy into this evening made all the name place settings by hand - did the table arrangements and Nelly did an amazing job on the flowers! Henry & Heather organized the evening and did an amazing job! Rented a room at "Prince of Wales Hotel" and put together a super program!  Heather put all the names into a hat and pulled them to figure out where everyone would sit - so smart!  In Celebration of Mr.& Mrs. Henry Heikoop (Cake looks super small in this picture) Waiting for the car & visiting - such a lovely even...

 My dear Grandmother turned 80 on the 24th of May - and what a trooper she still is! We took her down to Niagara Falls, NY to do some shopping - yes I know you can do shopping right here 10min down the road, but this trip was something super special that meant a lot to her! We got her this outfit (with a white skirt:)) she was thrilled! We got in on the Memorial Day sales - found some really good deals:) She's such an energy giver - always smiling, ready to laugh! Love her so much and thankful the Lord has given her all these years!  We all went to Crossroads, Elmira for dinner on Saturday night - was really nice and a great way to celebrate the 80yrs of her life! Praying for many more for you Grandma!

It seemed to come unexpectedly this year - Daniels birthday - There was just a lot going on and all of the sudden it was here! I returned from the grocery store with 2 hours to make the meal and decorate the cake! Lots of time - right?  Beginning it  Taking longer then I had - what a wonderful sister! She did amazing by the way!  The plan was a quick supper...  A six foot long banana split - I wanted to do this for Daniel - He's such an ice-cream fanatic!  Blowing out the candles  The inside of the cake - colors to match the color scheme!  Finishing out the trough!  Took some pics of Faith in the apple tree - so beautiful!  ...quick supper then mini putting... thankfully we called to see what the hours were and found out they weren't open for the year yet - so we used our "soccer field"  Was quite the game! Kick, shoot, score! So Happy Birthday Daniel - my favorite 18 year old younge...