13!

We got back last night from a little spring break trip.  While we were gone Jonathan had his 13th birthday!

We were at our friends, The Trewerns, that evening so Lori made him a cake.

I now have 2 teenagers, which is the most I'll ever have at once since our kids are so spread out in ages.  We are so thankful for Jonathan.  He's such a great kid.  I love being his mom, though I'll soon be looking up to him.  We realized just last week that he is now the same height as me.

Finished!

Except for band (which will continue until the middle of May), Zachary is finished with high school!!!  We have homeschooled him since 6th grade (except for one semester of high school in 9th grade that didn't turn out well).  There were days I wasn't sure he'd ever finish, but he (we) stuck with it and all the hard work has paid off.  He will participate in a graduation ceremony with other homeschoolers in April and he'll have a diploma from Liberty University Online Academy.

He's not sure what's next.  He says he'll go to college and is interested in film making, but has not made any definite plans yet.  For now he's going to look for another part time job to start putting money in the bank.

I know God has a great plan for his life.  I'm excited to see where He takes him.

Nerf War Party!

Yesterday we celebrated Ben and Jon's (who will be 13 on March 12) birthdays with a Nerf war party. These two may be three years apart, but they are very close and do not mind at all sharing a party.  It didn't go quite as planned, but it was a success anyway. 

We had reserved (and paid for) the room at our neighborhood community center to hold the party thinking it would be great - lots of room to run around, easy to keep all the darts contained, saving my house from all the craziness.  Well, no one showed up to open the room.  So back to the house we went - at least it was close!

The kids didn't care. They had a great time.

My house survived. And we're getting our money back.  So all's well that ends well!

Baby Cables

I just remembered I never posted a pic of these baby blankets I knit for our nephew's (and his wife's)  twin girls.  They were born last week and they are adorable!

I love how these blankets turned out.  The yarn was kind of hard to work with, but knit up into such a soft cushy blanket.  Here's the pattern on Ravelry.

Hats

Here's some hats I knit for Craft Hope's latest project.  These will be going to kids with cancer.

I used some soft cotton yard left over from another project.  I found the pattern on Ravelry.  It was a simple and quick hat to knit and easy to make smaller or larger.

10!

Today is Benjamin's 10th birthday.  I sure love this kid.  We are so glad we decided to have a 3rd child (of course now we have a 4th!).  Benjamin is such a joy.  So happy birthday to my sweet, funny, talented, determined, lovable young man!

18!

Today is my oldest son's birthday.  18 years ago he made me a mom.  And what a ride it's been!  I am so proud of the man he is becoming.  He is a passionate, dedicated servant of Jesus Christ.  And I couldn't ask for more.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for his life.

Oh how he loves his baby sister!

Happy birthday Zachary!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Happy Valentines Day!

And here's a recipe in honor of the day.  I hosted Bunco last night.  I was searching for the perfect dessert to serve since it would be right before Valentines Day.  I thought chocolate and cherries would be good, so I started searching the internet for recipes.  I never found exactly what I was looking for, so I ended up using three different recipes to get what I wanted.  This cake was amazing!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Cake
1 Devil's Food cake mix
eggs and oil according to mix directions
1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp. almond extract

Filling
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temp.
1/4 tsp. almond extract
10 oz. jar maraschino  cherries
2 tbls. juice from cherries

Chocolate Ganache
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
7 oz. heavy cream

Cake
Beat eggs, oil, almond extract, and pie filling in mixer.  Add cake mix.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Bake in 2 greased 9" round pans at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  Cool completely.

Filling
Whip butter, powdered sugar, cherry juice, and almond extract until light and fluffy.  Spread on first layer of cake.  Cut cherries in half.  Place on top of filling.  Place 2nd layer on top.  Place in refrigerator while making ganache.

Ganache
Chop chocolate and place in mixing bowl.  Heat cream in sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly just until it boils.  Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth.  Let ganache cool slightly then pour and spread over cake.

Enjoy!

Emily's Story

When we went through our foster care training, we learned a little about the importance of a life book.  Most foster kids don't have anything like a baby book or even photos of themselves.  They encourage foster parents to put together a life book or scrapbook for the child that tells his/her story.  Ideally the book stays with the child even if he is moved, adopted, or returns home. 

I never actually saw a life book and I really don't know what other people have done, but I did want to put together something for Emily that tells her story.  I wanted it to be something that I could start reading to her and showing her now so that she never remembers not knowing how she came to our family.  I've been working on her book for a few months now and finally finished it and ordered it today.

I used my scrap-booking software and created each page using the photos I've taken, plus the photos I received from Emily's former foster parents.  I kept the text on a preschool level.  When she's older, we'll be able to fill in the details for her as she's ready for more information.  I uploaded all the pages to Shutterfly and created a hardcover photo book.  I ordered 2 copies:  one to keep out and read/look at often and one to keep in her memory box so it stays nice.

Here's a few of the pages from the book.

There are pages about her first foster parents, her bio siblings, and about J among other things.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I can't wait to get the book and show Emily and start telling her her story!