Cake Pop Extravaganza!

 I. Love. Weddings. I've always loved them...call me a hopeless romantic but there is just something magical in the air at these types of events. The Morcom/Sprinkle Wedding was no exception. I've grown to know and love these two over the last few years and their marriage was one that many called from early on. They are perfect for each other. God has joined two souls in a most beautiful union.

Leading up to this whimsical celebration of love, I had quite a task before me. I had the honor of making the guest favors for the reception. I've never taken on an order this large (with the exception of my camp cook days where a couple hundred of everything were always on the menu).

The process begins by making your favorite batter (homemade or boxed...whatever works for you). In this case, I made five flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Orange Crème, and Red Velvet. Once the cake is baked and cooled, I crumbled it into a gallon bag and placed it in the refrigerator.

After about 30 minutes I took out the cake and mixed it, along with about a 1/2c of homemade butter cream icing (yum!). It does not take much icing. Remember you can always add more, but you can't take away.

I used a melon baller to scoop out the cake to get uniform sized balls. Roll gently in your hands, making them as compact as possible. Set on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Stick them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes but no more than 45 minutes.

Right before you take the balls from the freezer, melt your chocolate. I used a combination of Almond Bark and Chocolate chips (about half and half). Melt for about 20 seconds and stir. Continue melting in 10 second intervals until the chocolate is smooth.

Have your dipping station ready prior to beginning your cake pops. This means, sticks, wax paper to set the pops on and any decorations you wish you use (unless you are icing decorations afterwards).

Take a stick and dip it about a centimeter into the chocolate. Immediately push it about 1/3 of the way into the cake ball. Quickly dip the whole cake pop, up to the stick, in the chocolate. Gently tap the stick on the side of the bowl while slowly swirling the pop several times in order to allow the chocolate to coat the pop evenly.

Place on the wax paper and decorate with sprinkles, colored sugar, etc. If you are icing the decorations, allow the pops to dry completely.

Strawberry with White Chocolate and Sprinkles

Chocolate and Chocolate...enough said

Red Velvet and Light Blue colored White Chocolate with Sugar Crystals

Package or display your pops as you wish.

Vanilla with White Chocolate and Teal Stripes

I was thrilled to see my work displayed along side their beautiful table settings. 

   

Chasing Dreams

"Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long." 

Psalm 25:4-5

God has been teaching me a lot through this verse lately. My sweet hubby and I have a lot of dreams before us and our prayers center around the Lord's will and what He would have for us. I've had a lot of "moments" lately where my perspectives have been challenged and in some instances, changed.

Earlier this week I was talking to my best friend about some of the things weighing on my heart. I told her that I really want to be in God's will and that I am doing my best to seek what He would have for us. In her infinite wisdom she told me that she "once heard that if we are following Him, then we are already in His will. We don't need to worry about figuring out if we are or aren't." Basically I am following Christ and by doing this, His plan will unfold before me through prayer and obedience. I've never thought about my walk with God that way. Maybe it's the church jargon but I've always thought that part of my job as a follower of Christ is to continually seek His will...but I've begun to realize that it's not necessarily His will I am to seek, but to wholeheartedly seek Him instead. By seeking and following after Him, His plan for my life will become evident, His will becomes my will and while I may not always have or gain understanding of His workings (Is. 55:9) I will be giving foundation to my hopes and dreams that are aligned with His plan.

It's no secret that my hubby and I want to add to our family. We've prayed about adoption in the past and have done so now. While we would like to do this in the future, we do not feel called at this time. We do, however, know that God has laid the desire for more children in our hearts. We welcome the beautiful mess that is parenthood.



A typical scene in G's playroom

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My PCOS journey has forced us to deal with matters of infertility, depression, strained relationships, and the testing of our faith. In December of last year I met with my doctor regarding my PCOS diagnosis. I had switched practitioners right before I found out I was pregnant with G, and since we have begun discussing future children, I thought it best to seek out her guidance. Can I just say I love my doctor?! She always has a plan. She always takes the time to answer my questions whether in the office or via email. She is always supportive, open and honest. I am in such good hands.

She ran a gamete of tests and determined that my testosterone levels were high. When this occurs, it causes other necessary hormones for pregnancy to be awry. Her first objective was to help level out those hormones. Then came the medication...again. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate taking medication, but one does what she must. She also recommended that I work on losing 5-10% of my body weight. This is supposed to help support balancing my hormones, potentially increase my fertility and eventually lead to a healthy pregnancy. It was at that point that my weight loss journey began.

I've since lost over 5% and I'm working my way towards that 10% goal. In the midst of losing weight it was noted that I was not ovulating sufficiently so I was put on Clomid to assist with ovulation. We're hoping that these efforts will result in a healthy pregnancy in the near future. All we can do is wait.

::via::

Waiting is so HARD! There is nothing easy about it. To help with this during my first pregnancy I began a journal for our child. I wrote to our child often and once we found out her gender and decided on her name, the entries became that much more personal. I still write in that journal and I look forward to giving it to her one day. To help with this new time of waiting, I've begun a new journal in hope of filling the pages with letters, stories and memories for another child. Both of these journals contain not only sentiments but their designated life verses and names that we had/are considering.

The top journal is for G and the bottom is for our "yet to be" baby

We truly believe the Lord has wonderful things in store for our family and as we walk this road we are trying to not fall back into the feelings of anxiety, doubt and fear that we faced during our previous journey to baby. God continues to speak to my heart as I chase these dreams. I'm going after what I believe He has for us and I am doing my best to remain hopeful.

I'm continuing to learn a lot about prayer and coming boldly to His throne with my requests and praise. In Marla Alupoaicei's book study, Prayer Warrior Mom: Covering your kids with God's blessings and protection, she quotes a passage from Martin Collin's "Parable of the Persistent Friend."

God often answers us after long and preserving requests. He hears prayers and grants

blessings long after they appear to be unanswered or withheld. He does not promise to 

give blessings immediately. He promises only that He will do it according to His

will and plan. Although He promises to answer the prayer of the faithful, often He

requires us to wait a long time to try our faith. He may allow us to persevere for months

or years, until we are completely dependent on Him, until we see that there is no other

way to receive the blessing, and until we are prepared to receive it. Sometimes, we are not

ready to receive a blessing when we first ask...If what we ask for is good and accords with

God's will, He will give it at the best time possible. 

So in this time of waiting, I will continue to move forward with the things that I already have going, steps towards other dreams we have, and I will try not to focus or reflect too much on the pain of our past. While those painful moments have been an important part of getting us to where we are both in love and appreciation for the gifts we've been given, they also bring back an ache that is far too familiar and will only distract me from what lies ahead. I'd appreciate your prayers as we wait. 

::via::



Five on Friday!

It seems that life has been going at warp speed these last couple of weeks so I'm glad to finally be able to sit down and reflect on our summer so far. We've had some ups and downs and we continue to make plans for the near and distant future. I'm joining with Darci and others for this week's Five on Friday. I hope you'll join in!





[one]

I bought this material back in April (I think) with the intention of sewing G a couple summer dresses. I finally made good on my intentions this week. I found these adorable prints at JoAnn Fabrics.

[two]

While on our trip last week, we made a pit-stop in Tennessee. One of my favorite places to visit is the Christmas Place. We picked up a few personalized ornaments for family, as well as our family ornament for this year. We have a tradition of buying an ornament on each of our vacations. It's nice to have them as reminders from year to year of the good times we've shared. Also while at the Christmas Place we discovered this adorable canvas print on clearance. We got it for less than half of it's original price and it will go perfectly in G's play room (which I realized I have not blogged about since completing most of the room).

[three]
Over the last few weeks I've gotten a lot of use out of our old clothesline. There is just something about laundry that smells like sunshine...

[four]

Our precious miracle turned 14 months old on Thursday. I can't believe how much she has grown! She has a few words: "nana" (for all things food), "mouw-mouw" (the cats), "woof-woof" (the dogs), "Belwa" (Bella, her moose and best buddy), "this" (for most things she points at or wants), "uh oh" and "no". She is really testing the limits (maybe this means two will be a breeze?) and is becoming even more brave in her endeavors. She is almost at the point of walking. She holds on to the wall and furniture throughout the house but has yet to let go. She loves: giving and blowing kisses, playing in her pool, music, bananas and grapes, macaroni and cheese, Bella, her blankie, and animals. She is learning: to walk, how to color, and new words.

[five]

Last week we took a 9+ hour trip to visit my mom and sister in Georgia. I miss them dearly and while our time flew too quickly, I treasured every memory made. Feel free to catch up on our eventful Road Trip.

Three generations

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A Little Southern Comfort...coming to an end

Our trip to see my family was such a blessing and while the time passed far to quickly,  I've treasured every moment. To a lot of you I'm sure these last few posts have been mundane, after all our trip wasn't to Paris or Africa or Disney World...but to me, going home to see those I love and haven't seen in such a long time is far better.

Our last day was filled celebrating Father's Day.

We began the morning with one of my hubby's favorite breakfasts. He has a major thing for my mom's breakfast casserole and of course, what her favorite (only) son - in- law wants, he gets.

Later that day I snagged my little sister and we ran to the store to by the ingredients for C's Father's Day dessert...More on that later.

After making the dessert we all sat down and went through some old photos from my childhood.  It was fun to see how G is finally starting to look a little like me. Mom gave me some more info about our family and for the first time I got to see what my biological grandmother and great grandmother looked like (my mom was adopted). It was such a neat experience.

We also reflected on fond memories of my dad and grandpa. Dad passed very unexpectedly on my birthday in April 2012. His dad, my grandpa, passed later that year in October.  Needless to say they are loved and missed every day.

It is with great joy however that I get to celebrate my husband.  Not only is he a wonderful blessing and one of the most humble and Christ-centered men you'll ever meet, he is also a phenomenal dad. He loves our little girl with such a  fierceness.  He is protective, playful and provides so much love to our precious miracle. My heart melts every time I see them interacting. God has blessed G with such an amazing daddy.

April 20 1-3 catching a nap on the afternoon she was born

We ended our day of celebrating with dinner at his favorite restaurant and some family pictures.

We then came home to enjoy my Snickers version of this Ice Cream Sandwich Cake. Yum!

(I used fudge, Caramel, peanuts and chopped up Snicker bars in the middle layer and on top.)

Bright and early the next morning we headed back. We did the full trip and, with much rejoicing,  arrived home without incident. The Lord has been good indeed.

If you missed any part of this road trip adventure,  you can get caught up here.

A Little Southern Comfort Day 4

This was one of my favorite days of our trip. This day consisted of some wonderful girl time, makeovers and a surprise date!

The day began with me meeting my baby sister at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.  I highly recommend their Cookie Dough flavored ice coffee. She then treated me to a manicure for my big date.

We then went back to my mom's where we were treated to Mary Kay makeovers.

Me

My sweet momma

My baby sister

Once my makeup was done, it was time to get ready. I've been excited about this date for a few days. My husband, who has always been so wonderful, decided to treat me to a little extra romance. We have not had an actual full night out since G was born (almost 14 months ago!). So, we handed G off to mom and headed out to what would end up being a wonderful evening. 

Granna and G just a swingin'

Now let me preface this date. I am very Type A. I don't tend to like big surprises and the planner that I am insists on knowing details. In this instance, I was not given any of these options. My hubby was determined to surprise me and for probably the first time in my life, I relinquished control and allowed him to take care of everything.



Ready for a night out...

We began the evening with a fabulous dining experience at La Scala. I've never been but have always wanted to go! This establishment is known for their good food and a truly fine dining experience. (I'll never forget C's face when the waitress took our silverware after eating our salads and provided us with clean forks, knives and spoons for our main course.)

To top it off, because we were there before the "real" dinner crowd, we had the place to ourselves for  the first part of the meal (around 6:00pm people starting pouring in.)

Compliments of the Chef

This was our delicious appetizer...

  

Our beautiful salads...the vinaigrette on mine was amazing!

My main course: Pasta Margherita



The hubby's main course



  

After enjoying an amazing meal, he treated me to a real movie theater movie (haha). I have been dying to see Maleficent. I'm in love! This movie was well worth the wait.

I hated to see the evening end. The "us" time was long overdue. It's been a while since I've sat back, relaxed and just enjoyed myself. Being a mom is truly the best thing in the world and I would never trade it for a million of these types of nights, but it was nice to feel pretty again, dress up, and go somewhere without a diaper bag on my shoulder.

My vacation posts are quickly coming to an end. As I look back on the pictures and memories I've yet to share, I become excited about other possibilities this summer holds.

*I was not compensated for any of my opinions regarding any establishments or products in this post.*

A Little Southern Comfort Day 3

I've been really looking forward to this part of our trip. We woke up and got everything ready for another mini road trip.  

She found Granna's phone

We loaded everything and everyone in the car and hit the road. We were heading to Ashland Alabama. 

G and Granna catching a nap on the road

What's in little ol' Ashland you may ask? Here is where you can find my long time friend and former college roommate and her adorable cupcake shop, Just a Little Frosting.  If you remember from Day 2, we make a point to visit local cupcake shops and even though this one required a two hour drive, it was well worth it. Good friends are always worth it. 

She and her mother own and run the shop. It is filled with cute decor and tasty treats. If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop in for a a cupcake or two or three. They also provide breakfast and lunch sandwiches and catering services.

After enjoying our treats and saying our goodbyes, we headed an hour north to my college Alma Mater, Jacksonville State University. 

Upon entering Jacksonville we knew we'd head to the notorious Jeffersons for lunch. This place was and remains a college student staple. They are most famous for their wings and then of course you have to get their fried pickles. Yum!

Once we ate our fill we headed to the campus. We drove by some of the buildings in which I had spent many hours.

We also stopped by my old dorm...oh the memories.

There are so many fond memories from those years. It's crazy how time flies.

You can catch Days 1 and 2  our trip if you missed them. Be on the lookout for more to come!