Celebration cake

We like to party. Not the go out to a club and dance party, we mean the balloons and cake because it's the thirteenth time the gate was closed by the same person in a row. Sounds strange and you'd think we partied each week, but no. We haven't had a proper party with cake for a while so when my 3 yr old finished reading,(or having the Bible read) to her, then it felt time to have a cake. I asked her what kind she would like and she said,"A Joseph Cake". Hmmm,Joseph cake......Ughhh, Joseph cake. Ohhh, Joseph and the cake of many colors!! I had it! And better yet, I'd seen a cake of many colors and I could try to make one too! So I did and this is what it looked like on the outside.


FRANKENSTEIN'S School of CAKE DECORATING!!!!(Just Kidding)

Beware, this called for more frosting than I was ever prepared to make at 8pm at night. Did I say I was tired and should have done this in the morning?
Also, never try a new undertaking without checking for all of your ingredients first. My pantry usually stays well stocked but with summer and 2 cooking teenagers- well, things have disappeared at an astoundishing rate lately. They seem to eat all day. I had to go to the store twice today and I. wasn't. happy.

Even with all of that, she was so happy and the cake was delish! (Too much sugar for my tummy, but well worth the smiles. Pretty, pretty, pretty!
I will do it again and fix that icing!

Ciao!!

A letter to a friend in South Ameerica.

Yes, I misspelled that.
I was in a hurry and finally looked up and saw it. And it looked cute. Something like what my 3 yr old would say with her British accent.
I wrote an email to a dear friend in South America whom I haven't written to since April. I thought it was clean enough and funny enough to share with you.
This is what I do on Sunday mornings after I do my Sunday school lesson, read my Bible, and figure out breakfast. I try to write a letter to a friend. It helps me reflect on the week and just pull my heart together before church. You should try it!
Here is an excerpt,


Dear Friend,
I beg your forgiveness on not writing you back immediately. The time just passed so quickly and I kept saying that I'd get to you. SO sorry!
You folks are enjoying that lush climate right now. It's not the rainy season, is it?

There has been so much going on and wow! my season of life is changing too! My oldest has graduated and the pressure seems to be on her to A.) get a job or B.) go to college. Frankly, I don't want her to go anywhere if she has to be far away from us, but she dosen't feel the need to go back to America without us anyway. She has had ongoing medical issues with her allergies, surgery to repair a hole in her heart that failed,(but we did see an aneurism in there-they say it shouldn't rupture), and chest pain when lying down which results in her sleeping in a recliner each night.
I don't think it's time for her to go anywhere, do you?

My son has sprung up into a giant! He is nearly 6 ft tall now at the ripe old age of 13! Sweet boy has a lazy streak and a computer addiction. I am praying and working on that.

My 9yr old- hmmm, dosen't need glasses anymore. Praise God!!! She has taken on the job of most excellent disruptor of anything and antagonizing all until someone wants to hit her. It must be a middle child thing-but she pushes my buttons too and dad seems to ignore it. I have lost my patience too much on this little girl and have asked for forgiveness and guidance on dealing with her. Do you have a child who likes to "start" things too?

My 3 yr old- ahhh she is like a breath of fresh air! She wakes up rejoicing in all of her surroundings and is so happy! "What's for breakfast, mom?" I love to hear her say that! She is 3 now and has moments of rebellion but I am SURE it is due to her sister. Need to squash that too.

Baby dear- oh boy!! She is an pint sized Amazonian powerhouse with a bit of fuzzy hair glued to the top of her head! She nearly weighs as much as 3yr old and can pin her down on the floor in a split second. Full of kisses and energy, her ability to lick shoes and eat paper,(including books with only 6 teeth!),all while limping in a circle, could impress any Olympic athlete! Her hobbies include, pulling books down from the shelves, climbing chairs and walking across tables, and eating sand. She is also a self-proclaimed, part-time, vegetarian!


Ciao!!!

The Last of France!

April and I decided to go to this one man show entitled, "How To Become A Parisian In One Hour".
We were lured by the title and even more so by the subtitles, "So you think that Parisians are rude? You're right,they are! You are too nice and you want to become arrogant! Do not wait and come to my training!
He was so-oooo funny! I did have to cover my ears a couple of times, but he explained a lot and we learned so much more! Olivier Giraud is his name and here he is with April! Lok him up if you ever go to Paris, but better yet, he is going on a world tour next year!! Cheers for him!!



Another beautiful view of Notre Dame, this time from the water.....



A lovely sample of French architecture just down the river from Notre Dame.



Did I slip another Notre Dame photo in there? Ohh, I must like it!


Vivacious Parisian art is everywhere! Such attention to detail.
That is the beauty of Paris!
Oh la la!

Let's finish this Paris thing!

Whew, the pc is fixed and I had a nice break. I was even able to get some school work done on my break.
Really, though I had better get this over with........



Fountain in the Place de la Concorde




The Arc de Triomphe





The statue of the Zouave marks the rise of the water in the river Seine. Wet feet mean high tide.




The 3,200 year old obelisk from Luxor.(Every country seemed to have plundered something from Egypt!)




Pont Alexandre Bridge Pylon (Near where Madeline~from the little girls storybooks~ fell from the bridge into the Seine river! We wanted to look down but didn't want to reenact the scene!!)

Our Friends who live in Scotland are headed to our house right now, so I had better get cleaning and cooking!

Ciao for today!

Paris has to wait!

Sorry folks,
I have tried hard to finish the Paris series but a savage virus has taken over my laptop and I have no way to access the pictures. This problem has been plaguing us since the day after the last Paris post, so I am a bit frustrated with it.
I just wanted to let you know that we are still alive and kicking but without the use of my trusty laptop.

Bless you all,
Misty

P.S. Laptop is having surgery over the weekend and may be usable on Monday!

Paris in Pictures, Part 3 of 6

Oh, what a beautiful morning to visit this loverly cathedral. Now why would there be men with automatic weapons here? It puts a damper on our visit.
(We found out later that this was the day which the Muslim burka law went into effect. The Muslim women could no longer wear face coverings. They protested here right after we left! What timing! Thank you Lord!)

Do you see that guy with the gun? My goodness!


Look at the beautiful statues!


The doors and carvings around them are so ornate!



Gargoyles. They are quite detailed also.


Notre Dame. Need I say more?

Paris in Pictures, Part 2 of 6

Another day in the life of Paris.....

Embarrassed, I must say that I forgot what this building was. If you really want to know, then ask me and I will look it up.
This is what happens when you walk around aimlessly in a foreign city!
Isn't it beautiful! The architecture is magnificent here!


This is an elementary school in the neighborhood we stayed in. You can only get in through the front gate and it has a really beautiful courtyard for the children to play in. Not much grass though. The preschool is on the left side of the photo.


These men clean the streets everyday! I really do mean everyday. Back in the olden days, the city folks from here used to throw their trash into the streets. They also(umm, how can I say this nicely?), urinated wherever they needed to. Some people still do this today. Hmmm, some habits are hard to break. (And bad ones are easily established.) So the city is the one elected to clean this up. I hate to say this, but some parts of the city were quite trashy. There was stuff everywhere! Other parts were quite clean. This happens everywhere, but the smell of urine here and there could really upset ones tummy. You have to ignore it and watch where you step since there could be dog poo on the sidewalk also. Next subject.


These are bikes that you can rent by the hour or by the day. They are everywhere!



If you peer into the background, you can see a famous landmark that we are headed to next- Notre Dame!