Frozen Party

We finally got to have a Frozen Party!  After our false start last weekend, W was healthy and ready to party this weekend.  We had her little gang over for some Frozen fun.  They watched the movie, played outside and ate lots of sugar!  It was the most laid back party ever and they absolutely loved it!

I was pretty worried about the cake after it sat in the freezer for a week but it turned out fine.  The fondant got a little droopy but overall the cake still looked good and tasted fine.

The ice castle cake! 

 Lots of fun decorating with all things turquoise!

 Being silly as usual!

 Cake time!

Presents!

Frozen in Fun…sort of

Happy 5th Birthday to sweet W!  We were all ready to get frozen in fun this weekend for her 5th birthday.  Sadly, we have just layed around all weekend with a sicky.  W ended up throwing up on Friday night after the cake was made, the table was decorated and we were all ready to go.  So, for now, our party is frozen in time, our cake is frozen in the freezer, and we are hoping for a frozen party next weekend.  In the meantime, here are a few photos from what would have been our fabulous frozen party!

 I made the cake using the Wilton Castle set which I just happened to find on clearance at Michaels a few weeks ago.  Score!  The cake was actually easier than anticipated to make and the turrets were pretty easy to work with.  I covered the peaks in fondant and then rolled in sprinkles.  The windows I just piped with buttercream and then covered in sprinkles.  It turned out beautifully I think and Whitney loved the cake!

I was a sucker and bought the vinyl characters off of Amazon and paid about $30 instead of $12.99 they would have been at the Disney Store if they were in stock.  This shortage of Frozen merchandise made for some creative party making.  We went with all turquoise and just winged it.

 I printed an Ad and cut out the Elsa and Anna so that we had a little bit of the princesses at the party! I am making turquoise ice cube jello jigglers to fill the plastic wine glasses for a little more frozen fun!

Turquoise jewels, lollipops, and hershey kisses gave us a great look I think!

So much fun decorating!  Hopefully next weekend when we try again for a party, the girls will enjoy the frozen look and have a great time!

First Day of School Through the Years!

Honduras

This week, A and I have been on a mission trip in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I have been processing much of our week and wanted to share some of it with you all. We have spent most of our time working with the kids at Jubilee School in La Era. La Era is a barrio of approximately 10,000 people. Driving up the mountain in La Era is to witness poverty as I have never seen before. The houses are very small structures made of pieces of steel, cardboard, wood, or whatever materials are available.  It is dirty, dangerous, and scary. 

Jubilee School is a private school in the area that charges parents $5 a month to send their children there. They are trying to educate these children to help get them out of the barrio and at the same time, teach them about the love of Christ. Approximately 25% of these children have lost a parent or grandparent by murder. Many of these children live with a grandparent or aunt because their parents are living in the US trying to make ends meet.  The stories are heartbreaking. 

While I knew to expect such sadness, there has also been great joy this week. I have spent time with these kids and seen the love of Christ in so many ways. These children are joyful. They have truly taught me that to live is Christ.  They know the good news of Jesus and they are content and even joyful, despite their dismal circumstances.  They are excited to spend time with us - their brothers and sisters in Christ. What a privilege and a joy to be able to love them and serve them this week. 

 

This is Daysa. She has been my special little friend this week. She is one of those children that lives with Grandma because her mom is in the US working.  Daysa has sat on my lap and held my hand for the past 3 days. Even though we don't speak the same language, love has crossed all barriers. I have been able to hold her and love her when her mom can't.  Saying goodbye tomorrow will be heartbreaking but I will find comfort in knowing that someday, there will be no more hurt and instead of worshipping together in a classroom, we will walk the streets of heaven together. 

Summer Fun

Forever and day since I have posted on this blog.  The sun is hot and life is good in Texas. I finally downloaded the app to update my blog from my phone. So, here's to many more updates! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We had a wonderful Christmas here in Texas.  This Christmas Eve we were blessed to spend time with another family from church.  We all attended our church service together and then came home for what has become our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner.  Yummy lasagna followed by Happy Birthday Jesus cake!  We had an evening of loud, wild, chaotic fun with the 8 kids in attendance. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus at least 5 times - every child had to have a turn blowing out the candles!  After dinner, we shared our Christmas Eve tradition of reading the Christmas story - no not about a red rider bee bee gun - about Jesus's birth.  The kids all opened one present (new pjs of course) and snuggled up together to hear about the first Christmas when Jesus was born.  It was a wonderful evening and so great to hear so many little voices speak with such confidence about the true meaning of Christmas.  Some of the things said by the 4 three year olds in attendance... "Jesus came to save us"  "He died on the cross to save us." "Mary was Jesus's mom."  "They went to Bethlehem to be counted."  "The angels praised God in heaven!"  How special to hear the truth from such little mouths. 

Four adorable three year olds...

The Jesse tree filling up with ornaments representing God's story

 Christmas Morning!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

 Merry Christmas!

We are in full swing getting ready for Christmas around here.  This year we are enjoying a new nightly (hopefully) tradition of the Jesse tree.  We have a devotional each day that is a story from the Bible with a corresponding ornament to put on the tree.  The stories show God's plan throughout time to send Jesus, a savior for the world.  It is a fun way to dig into the Word with our kids, and to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

 

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