Month: November 2009

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A Tale of Five Birthday Cakes

Yesterday we held our family Birthday Bash for Lily, who turned five last week. I like to bake and decorate a cake for the girls’ birthdays, since I have fond memories of my mom making my birthday cake. (I just use cake mix and store-bought frosting; don’t get too excited!) Lily’s very first cake was a flower cake; the frosting was a little bumpy and uneven, and it definitely didn’t look like a bakery cake. Lily was a very finicky eater when she was one, and she didn’t like her fingers to get messy. She wouldn’t even touch the cake, much less eat it! We tried to put her finger in the frosting, but she wanted NOTHING TO DO WITH CAKE!

For Lily’s second birthday, she wanted a party that was all about doggies. I made a cake with chocolate dog bones on it, and she was quite different about eating cake now that she was two. In fact, she really got “into” helping me decorate her cake.

For Lily’s third birthday, I kept the cake simple. I made her another flower cake, and decorated it with three ladybugs. We sang to her and she blew out the candles on her cake in the family room so that Ed’s mom could join in the fun, since she wasn’t able to walk up the stairs to our dining room. Having her cake on a TV tray didn’t bother Lily one bit!

I finally attempted to make my own frosting for Lily’s fourth birthday. I made an easy lemon glaze, but I was really unhappy with how it looked. Lily wanted a My Little Pony on her cake; more specifically, Minty. I used store bought frosting for the pony, and even though I didn’t like the glaze, at least it tasted yummy! (And I thought I drew a pretty decent pony.)

This year, Lily turned FIVE, and so was very specific about what she wanted on her birthday cake. She wanted a butterfly cake with a picture of Buddy the T-Rex from Dinosaur Train on top, AND she wanted to decorate the cake BY HERSELF. I finally convinced her that a butterfly cake would be great, and we didn’t need to put Buddy on top. I helped fill in the body of the butterfly, and I was going to smooth out the purple wings, but then I realized it was HER cake, and it was beautiful just the way it was.

I think she was pretty happy with her beautiful butterfly birthday cake!

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Now That’s a Whale of a Story!

When I was single and lived alone, I often spent Sunday mornings in bed. I would have a leisurely day, drinking coffee, going out for a doughnut, reading the paper. I’ll admit, I really miss those leisurely Sundays.

When I was growing up, my family was so Lutheran that October 31 was known as Reformation Day. Church first, to celebrate Martin Luther nailing those 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door, and only then could we go trick-or-treating. I was raised in the church by my pastor father and teacher mother.

I never lost my faith on those church-less Sunday mornings, and now that I am married and have daughters, I attend church much more regularly. Ed and I sing in the choir, and I teach Sunday school. But when I look at some past posts, I have mostly written about my faith when I am remembering someone who has died. Losing someone you love is a time when you need faith the most. But I also want my faith to be living, uplifting, and active.

The Bible verse that we chose for Sunday school this year not only leads me in teaching children about faith, but it also leads me in my life: “Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path.” Psalm 119:105

When I don’t want to get out of bed on Sunday mornings, or when I’m cranky because we can never seem to get out the door on time and I haven’t had enough coffee, I need to remember this verse. Sometimes church seems more like a responsibility than a need. I do need worship; I need to be reminded of how my faith lifts me up, in good and bad times.

So if you’re wondering where I am this morning, it’s not lying in bed with the paper; I’ll be singing hymns and teaching the story of Jonah and the whale. I’ll also be sipping that cup of church coffee in a Styrofoam cup!