Frosting and batter and such.....

Before leaving for the church.

Almost done....

The finished product!

Lets go back in time....to a day far far away, or at least it seems...LOL

FRIDAY

I baked all day long trying to prepare the wedding cake...

SATURDAY

I rose at 6:15 in the morning and started on the cake by 6:30. I wanted to leave by 11:00 in case we had structure problems during transport. But we got a bit of a late start.

498 mints for wedding...check

cake topper...check

tools to fix boo boo's...check

sugar flowers...check

the photo example...check

Joy's mints :) ...check

camera...check

and last but not least...the cake...check!

11:30 we are off! Holy grahmcracker sandwiches! the ride was beyonde difficult. You never realize how bumpy bumps are until you are holding a 3 level wedding cake on your lap!

We got to the church with minimal damage...besides the side that Scott slipped his thumb through...we were in pretty good shape. The grandparents of the Bride were in the hall setting out chocolates YUM!!! They were very sweet and helped me strategically place the flowers. WHEW! done. Besides the fact that the colors on the wedding cake did NOT match the colors on the sheet cakes (ordered from elsewhere) all went well.

Another Birthday Blog

~Philip or Philippus is a personal name, derived from the Greek name "Philippos" (Φίλιππος),meaning "lover of horses", from philo "love" and hippos "horse".[1].Philippos is also an adjective in Greek;Philippotatos[2](Φιλιππότατος,superlative form) and philippeo(φιλιππέω,verb) I love the horses.[3] Philip (and alternative spellings Phillip, Philipp, Philippe, Felip, Felipe, Filip, Filipe, Phil, Phillipe)
Happy 41st birthday big brother!
Okay, so this definition does not really describe my brother so I have come up with something on my own...
P Protector: Growing up (after we got through the crazy fighting stage of life) he was my protector, everywhere I went he was right there for me, taking care of me, watching out for me.
H Hands: My brother can create amazing works of beauty with his hands. It is truly a gift God has given to few.
I Intense: He is intense in his beliefs, passions, life, and loves.
L Loyal: He has always been a loyal friend and brother. No matter what, no matter where, no matter when, you can count on him being there for you!
I Idiorythmic: I like this word...I found it on some obscure web site today and it works...It means self regulating. Which he is, even when we were teenagers, he never had to use an alarm. He decides what time to get up and boom he is up! That amazes me.
P Proud: he is not a prideful person...I am proud of him! He has overcome many obstacles in life. He has been many places and lived many different ways, life has come full circle and he has come home. I am so very proud to call him my brother and my friend!
Happy, Happy Birthday Flip! I love that you have come back home, share dinner with our family every night, and are here spending time watching my monsters grow up!

misery of a cold

My poor boy, Isaiah has been trying to kick this crazy cold for over a week now. It seems we go in cylces where we think he about has it whipped then he wakes up and is feeling worse than the day before. The stinky thing is that it seems like ever since he had his first surgery he catches everything and then he can't seem to get rid of it. I can't imagine how it will be after this next surgery. He is a funny one though, when he doesn't feel well, he likes to be left completely alone, in bed with his duck blanket (shshshsh don't tell him I told you) and a bajilion pillows. that is easy enough. History channel, check! Duck blanket, check! Pillows, check! juice, check! So I wont hear from him for a couple hours......

Surprise Visitors

Today a good friend of mine called at ehem....6:20 am........no worries I was awake, just lazing around until I had to wake Madison for school.....any way, her baby sitter had called to tell her she would not be taking children today. ARGH! I hate it when that happens! So, yeah for me, I get to have two little visitors today. They are very sweet, and a ton of fun to have around. Tyler is playing army, isn't he cute?!

Tayler is just about sweeter than a bowl of sugar!

Look at her precious little face!

We have had cuddles, stories, tickles, singing and making music, playing farm, army, and Thomas the train. WHEW all that before LUNCH! Sam is in all his glory having playmates for the day! :D

Isaiah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAIAH!!!

September 10, 2007~ today is Isaiah's 11th birthday. I can hardly believe he is that old already! Just a little side note, if any one else feels the need to point out that we are 2 years away from teens with him, please save that comment for next years birthday. I am having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that my oldest is a senior!

We greeted Isaiah this morning with a rousing off key version of Happy Birthday (not the zoo version) then he sang to himself :)...I made him pancakes with special sprinkles for his breakfast. Then it was off to school for art where he shared treats with all of his friends.

One of the many perks of home school is that you get your birthday OFF! Yeah for him! He is in all his glory watching the history channel and building Legos, what else is there in life??? no cake for the birthday boy, he is having chocolate fountain and fixings instead. Yummy!

Some random things I love about Isaiah:

1. He still loves to cuddle or sit on my lap.

2. He is a very creative thinker and his mind goes to places I never dreamed of!

3. He is extremely good at strategy type games, he can figure just about any kind of puzzle you hand him. My mind doesn't work that way.

4. Isaiah is one of the most brave kids I have ever known.

5. Patience is something God put in him in great volume when He created him. He can sit and wait ALL DAY long and not get even a little irritable. That is why he is so good at golf.

6. He is a man of few words, what he chooses to say is certain to be important because a lot of thought goes into every word before it is spoken.

7. He loves to play practical jokes on people and has been known to set a trap or two for unsuspecting friends...

8. He loves to watch the history channel and true detective crime shows.

9. I love to see him when something cracks him up, he laughs from deep down in his belly and even slaps his knee...so cute!

10. He loves his siblings, but is especially close with Elijah.

11. He is the happiest person I have ever known, which to some may be a surprise, but you'd have to spend time with him to know what I mean. He enjoys life more completely than anyone.

12. His middle name is William after my Dad, but if he could choose his own name he would change it to Rex!

13. Isaiah loves chocolate more than any other dessert.

That is just a short list of my Isaiah's great qualities.

Happy Happy Birthday my second son! I love you tons!

I'm Invisible

So, I have been struggling a lot lately with emotional junk. Last week I had some real good discussions with a couple of my TRUE friends. That helped a lot. Then my aunt sent an e-mail with this story in it. I can't tell you how much better I felt after reading this! I am not saying that it was a fix all, but it sure did help adjust my out look. So from this invisible mom to the rest of you, I hope this story hits the right target for you too!

I'm invisible...
It all began to make sense; the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?"
I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?"
I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair waspulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals -- we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith thatthe eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to theworld by the sacrifices of us invisible women.

JOY

JOY~
–noun
1.
the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
2.
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated: Her prose style is a pure joy.
3.
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4.
a state of happiness or felicity. –verb (used without object)
5.
to feel joy; be glad; rejoice. –verb (used with object)
6.
Obsolete. to gladden.

So this is for my Fav. cousin Joy! The best baby sitter in the history of the world! I was informed (casually) by Joy that when I posted Amaris's birthday blog, I neglected to mention the fact that Amaris's middle name is JOY after Joy! Other wise known as Joy Anna, Joyful, Joyful Belles, Belles. I think that may be all that I know of. Any way, really, we did call her and ask if she minded if we named Amaris after her in a midlle sort of way ;) Joy #1 is the type of young woman of God I hope my girls grow to be. She lives by her faith and seeks after God in every thing she does. She works hard to make it through school. God has blessed her with a gift for children...we always call her at least a month before she comes home for a visit just so we can schedule time away. Sometimes all we do is go grocery shopping. Joy loves children her heart beats for them and I love that about her. One day she will be the best mom in the world! She already has more funny kid stories than any one I know. Her poor children are never going to get away with anything because other people's children have already tried everything in the book. (mine included!)
Well Joy, I love you and this one is for you!!!

Week ends fly by......

this weekend is a blur!
Friday we celebrated the birthdays with my family....Saturday we celebrated with the Albers side. I am pleased to report that the kids loved the cakes, Amaris had a flower and Sam had a train. Now, Sam thinks he should be getting presents everyday :D
Sunday brought a fever for Elijah. So he and I stayed home from church...:(
Scott Isaiah and my brother all went golfing, apparently Isaiah is dangerous on the course...He hit Philip in the leg with a long drive, and then whizzed a ball past Scott's head narrowly missing him.
Monday Elijah felt better and now Isaiah is not well. I hope this ends with them and goes no further.
my hand is no better, I went back to the doctor Friday thinking it was broken for sure. New x-rays show no fractures, the think it is a nerve thing and would like for me to have a never study....for which I have not the time or money. So I will be sucking it up and dealing with it! Us moms are good at that, aren't we?
We Bar B qued for our dinner last night and pretty much laid low...
So now Tuesday feels like Monday and here we are in our Monday routine a day late....Long weekends can be nice but the after-math? not so nice!
For all my friends out there who start school TODAY....have a GREAT first day of school.