A book cake (+ crochet bombing a birthday chair)

11 years old. A book cake.

          

This girl is amazing. She is full of constant ideas and inspiration. She can find something fun to do in ANY situation and she usually drags her brother and sister into having fun too. She loves life and being with people. She is soft hearted and her imagination is endless. She values things that are important and at eleven is careful what she watches and reads. Her favourite books are mostly the Classics...

thus the Wizard of Oz Book Cake. :) 

Those little red 'fish' are suppose to be red shoes...

ya know the click your heels together shoes. 

Oh well :) 

We had a few girls over before we celebrated as a family

 and they made 'High Heel Cupcakes'. :) Seriously this was super easy and 

cute.  I was able to use the cake batter to make just enough for every girl to have one high heel shoe. 

I could post more pics, but I won't. Lots and lots of inspiration on pinterest if you are interested in making cupcake heels. I just used what I could find here in Turkey to duplicate it. 

Here are a few pics of some Yarn Bombing of our Birthday chair. :)

   Autumn and Lydia are learning to crochet thanks to Jenny (our fabulous Homeschool helper who is living with us for the school year). So we had a lot of crocheted yarn chains hanging about our house that Jenny used to bomb the Birthday chair. :)

Ok so maybe our yarn bombing is not quite up to standards. This is amazing isn't it. 

Love the idea of splashing color in the most unusual places. :) 

source

Grateful. 

In my west corner, 

Becky

Dog cake and some Birthday 'magic'

8 years old has arrived for our tip toeing middle girl.  Dog loving has also arrived and so you guessed it, a dog cake was the appropriate animal cake of choice this year.  We tried to do a dog themed party with some fun entertainment.

We also added a little bit of a talent show from the parents... it was a hit! Enjoy the pics. 

Here he is one and all:  Jock Illuzion... the magician. 

The kids LOVED this and David was so hysterical. This was the hit of the party.  I think we have found some hidden talent. 

If you would like to see a YouTube video of Jock Illuzion in action view here: 

Birthday magic :)

I was the comedy act but the act before me put me in for a pretty expectant crowd. 

Their favourite joke: What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator. (ba ha ha)

The theme of our family party was dogs. 

I made a cardboard doghouse for Lydia's presents and

 I also threw together a 'Dog dress up kit'.

In the 'Dog dress up kit': Head bands with felt dog ears I made, a ribbon collar and

 a small doggie treat of candy dog bones to snack on during the show. 

Here is our 8 year old with her cute little birthday present. Yep a little puppy. Tonight the puppy has found a new home in the cardboard doghouse next to Lydia's bed. :) Oh how we love you lovely Lydia.  Happy Birthday. 

This was just a family party and what a precious time with our family it was!

In our west corner - using what we have and who we are, to bless each other,
Becky

Heart necklace birthday cake. :) ~7 years old

"Ya know mom I thought turning seven would feel different but it doesn't I guess I am just so used to being six." Happy Birthday to my now 7 year old!!!

 Oh how I absolutely love the sweet innocence of these ages. Right now I have a 9, 7 and almost 5 year old I so want to take the time to enjoy them!

Drum roll, Yes yet another very amateur attempt at a fun shaped birthday cake. Hope you enjoy.
One of the gifts we gave Lydia was a heart necklace for her birthday, thus the Heart Necklace Birthday Cake ..the idea was born one night just before I went to sleep. :)

*I used a heart shaped pan for the pendant part and the chain is obviously mini cupcakes. 

Lydia and I worked on this together. 

*For the latch I used a gummy warm cut in half and two rollos. 

Truth be told I would have liked another idea but well this idea came to me an hour before the festivities began so no complaints at least the necklace had an edible latch. :)

 Also one thing I did was set up a small decorating station for the kids to decorate the extra mini cupcakes. Each child decorated one and it was a fun little addition to the evening. 

Enjoying every year with you my little sunshine girl. 

Oh how to keep you little and still let you grow?

In our west corner,

 celebrating the gift of each member of our family~ today that is our new 7 year old.

Becky

linked up at: crafty confessions

Peace symbol cake & Perfect every time Carrot cake recipe

Well as most of you who follow my blog know I post pics of our birthday cakes. We have a tradition of making our cakes some fun shape or size, done up each birthday just tacky enough and unprofessional enough that they are certain to be called a labor of love. :)

So without further ado I will now post my oldest daughters Peace Symbol birthday cake which was 

4 months ago. Yep I am on top of it all over here. 

My 9 year old is very into peace symbols. :) She is such a sweetie that girl.

This time with my fabo cake pics I have a recipe for you too. ;)  If any of you like Carrot Cake this one comes out perfect EVERY time and is sooooo simple. You can serve it as a Birthday Cake with frosting or with no frosting with tea/coffee. I am always complimented on this cake!

This cake was to celebrate my husbands birthday, 1 month ago. (a little more on-top of this one. ;)) 

Man I love that guy (my husband that is)!!!

Perfect Every Time Carrot Cake

*1/2 cup oil

*4 eggs

*2 cups sugar

*2 cups all-purpose flour

*2 cups grated carrots

*2 tsp. cinnamon

*2 tsp. baking soda

*2 tsp. baking powder

*1 tsp. salt 

Cream cheese Frosting

*1/2 stick melted butter

*1 8 oz. package cream cheese

*3 cups or so of confectionery sugar 

Pre-heat over to 300 degrees F, Prepare 10' x 10" baking pan or two round or square pans

- Grate carrots, Mix all of the wet stuff, then mix in the dry stuff. Pour the batter into your prepared buttered baking pan(s) and bake for 45 min to 1 hour. (when toothpick comes out clean)

If you would like to see more fabo cako pics to inspire you here is the most recent besides these. 

The bike cake

In my west corner feeling random and goofy,

Good night.

Becky

The Bike Cake

Happy Birthday Lydia. :) 

The BIKE

The BIKE CAKE

The Bike owner

The Friends

The Party

The tired mom saying good night with a sigh of relief and joy.

I feel so privileged this year to have been able to buy our little girl the perfect princess bike for her and to have had the time to make a cake that she loved.

Thank you Lord for your constant gifts and tender care. ~ Thank you for helping me to know my kids and giving me the wisdom I need to be their mommy. ~ Also thank you for the privilege of being able to speak Turkish so I can be the mommy my kids need in this culture. ~

In our west corner, heading to bed ~ Becky

Our pumpkin girl, cake and applique

For our little Pumpkin:

Happy 8 year old Birthday sweet Autumn.

She is such a delight to our life. She fills our lives with colors from the rainbow. She has her own unique style and confidence. She loves the outdoors. She is generous and a dreamer. She is honest and loves to share her passion for Jesus. She values her family and traditions (espaically Saturday morning family breakfast ).~

Ever since she was a little baby we (me) have called her pumpkin. This year I wanted to remind her that she is our little pumpkin, deeply loved and cherished for who she is.

A pumpkin shaped birthday cake. 

I made her a pumpkin place mat with the clear contact paper I have found these days for her birthday dinner. David and I then wrote out a bunch of things we enjoy about her.

This year we had a simple family celebration with our dear little friends 

Lindsey and Maddie over for dinner and an intimate party. 

Here is the little pumpkin applique shirt I made for her :) 

it has a few cute little fabric yo yos on the shirt too.  

This girl has a winning smile and a way to make you feel like you are the coolest. She is ridiculously creative and loves things that I make for her. She received ALOT of gifts this year, including two little turtles..Doodle and Toodle. 

My constant prayer for her is that she would be convinced of Gods love. No matter life's circumstances or even our failure at times as parents that Gods truth and word would be rooted deep in her heart and she would know not only our love but the love of her Heavenly Father.

~will post again soon... 

Oh yeah and tomorrow I will be starting up my "investing in my neighborhood schools" again by doing a craft project for Autty's class.  Every time I do one of these projects in the local school I am reminded how I should still be studying my Turkish! 25 students and a ten lira budget. :)

In my little west corner of Turkey to all of you in your corners of the world,

Becky

I HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET OF BEING CONTENT IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION, WHETHER WELL FED OR HUNGRY, WHETHER LIVING IN PLENTY OR IN WANT. I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH." PHIL. 4:12,13

Little boys & a car cake

"A little boy is a symphony of noise lovingly covered with dirt." author unknown

Today my little guy tumbled over my freshly stacked clean and folded laundry and then jumped in it.

Today my little guy decided to experiment with spit, all over the living room floor.

Today I am taping together books that my little boy tore apart during one of his nap times.

Today my little boy told me " I wuv you mommy, and you wuv me."

Little boys are such a unique treasure to their mommies.  After having two girls, Isaac and all his boyishness, aggression and physical stamina was a surprise.
Our little Buba love is such a gift to our family and he completes us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy 3 year old Birthday Little Buba love!!!

The beginning of summer had us celebrating Lydia's birthday and the end of summer had us celebrating Isaac's. 

Here is his car cake. His favorite of all things other than his family are cars.
Also the car is orange because orange is his favorite color right now. :)

Don't you just love this crazy looking vehicle. :)
It is a three wheeled truck. :)

Lord let Isaac be convinced of your love for him
 and let him be like his Baba ~ a man deeply in love with his creator, trustworthy, stable, strong, full of integrity and eyes bright with fun. 

From our west corner in Turkey ~ celebrating my children and their growth.

~Becky

"I HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET OF BEING CONTENT IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION, WHETHER WELL FED OR HUNGRY, WHETHER LIVING IN PLENTY OR IN WANT. I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH." PHIL. 4:12,13

Living with sunshine for 5 years. :)

She is our Sunshine on a cloudy day!

Our summer started with our Lydia turning 5.  She has lost two teeth and is learning to swim and is so tall. I can not believe that my little Lydie is so big.  

You are my Sunshine girl. Everything about you brings a touch of light to a room.  

She is our princess lover, twirling skirt wearing, makeup buying, music loving girl. Happy 5 year old Birthday Lydia.
Her princess Barbie cake that she requested was made by Autty and me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I enjoy her style. Age 2

I love her walk.  Age 3

Lydia and Lamby.  Age 5

I am enchanted by her dancing.

Her day to ShInE, 
and I still love that walk.

=

 I stumbled on this video other day again, and is proof that her sunshine is contagious~ 

I adore you Lydia and find such delight in you every day!! (age 3)

You are generous and compassionate and full of mercy and music.

Lydia Hope you will be a world changer. 

You were created at the perfect time in history for a purpose that is beyond you, 

but perfect for you and your maker to accomplish together.

Your creator will always beside you, in front of you,behind of you, surrounding you. 

You have already begun to change the world, by changing my world and heart. 

I love you.

  Mommy