Cody's Birthday

My son turned 8!

Where have the years gone?

My baby is growing up and becoming
a little man.  We love him and are so
proud of him.

Happy 8th Birthday, Cody!

We all love you!

Still baking...

Baking is something I love to do as you

 all know by now.

But the other weekend I did something that if I didn't totally love baking,

 I would have said never again.

A tried and true recipe passed down from my mom

for carrot cake, completely flopped, it tasted fine but in this case (as in most) I am needing it to look fine too.

Thankfully the family that these were for, had said it didn't matter what flavor,

 so after they flopped once I

decided that to try again would not be the best option since I was a little

behind schedule to start with.

Here in Costa Rica, fondant is so different and

not nearly as easy to work with and so I have been

only decorating with it but here is

 my first covered cake in Costa Rica.

This was cake number 1 for the day and when it was

picked up and headed to the party,

the next cake was started.

The next cake was for our sweet friend, Hannah who was celebrating the BIG #4.

Strawberry Shortcake was what I was attempting,

Here is how it turned out!

And then the fiesta and a picture of me with the

birthday girl!

Do you know what they call Strawberry Shortcake in Spanish?

Sweet Meet

A couple weeks ago we had

a "Sweet Meet" at

Language School and a few ladies

that love to bake made cupcakes

to share with the teachers and students

at the break between classes.

It was a great oppourtunity for students and

teachers to get to know each other

a little more and enjoy coffee and sweets.

Thanks ladies for all your help!

The teachers lined up for sweets!

Cupcakes for all and thanks to all who helped

with this Sweet Meet!

Blessings to each of you!

Stress relief...

When I am baking my

stress level is much lower.

So here in Costa Rica as

I try to learn a new language,

I am baking...ALOT!!

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes are some of my favorite and with

cream cheese frosting,

what's not to love?

And usually they are filled with

dulce de leche.

So with a cup of coffee these

cupcakes are irresitable!

(It's good I have to walk to and from school everyday.)

Missing home but

not the snow.

Happy Saturday to you all,

all the way from Costa Rica!

Smores.

Living in the city has been

an adjustment but it is going

well.  We do miss campfires

and smores.

So I decided to make

indoor smores.

Although there are a lot of recipes

I just made them

with what ingredients I had.

The bottom layer is

graham cracker crumbs,

butter and sugar.

Then I mixed up a batch

of box brownies

and spread it over the

graham cracker crust.

And baked it.

After they baked and

cooled 10 min.

I added the mini marshmellows

and broiled them till brown.

These bars were a mess

to cut and I think I

will make them in

muffin tins the next time

so I don't have to cut them.

They were yummy,

especially when they were

warm and gooey.

Indoor smores.

A little taste of home!

Have a great Monday!



Linking up:
Sundae Scoop
Life made Lovely, Monday

Cake in Costa Rica

Excited?  Yes!

I was so excited when one of

the missionary families needed

a cake for their daughter's 5th

birthday.  I was loving "playing"

with cake again.

I only brought a small amount of

my cake decorating supplies along from the US

and so I worked with what I had

and.... I found a cake store within walking distance of

our house.  Yes, I was excited!

It was a challenge to find all the ingredients

but with serveal trips to several different stores

I found all I needed and this is what I came up

with. 

Have a great weekend!



Linking up:
Sundae Scoop

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!



My "baked" ice cream was featured here!



Coffee Break

If you were joining me for coffee today

we would be drinking some of the best

coffee in the world!

We would also be enjoying it in my

new "home"

with the mountians of Costa Rica surrounding

us. 

We are adjusting to life in Costa Rica and

are finding things to do like

walking to the mall and

walking to the grocery store and

walking to the park and

walking to our friend's house and...

...you get the idea.

Unless we take a taxi or the bus

we are walking because we have no car.

We have also been trying new fruits

even if we don't know the name of the

fruit.  Mostly they are sweet and yummy.

We have a couple weeks

until school starts and so in

our free time we are trying to bake some

brownies and cookies

so we will have them for lunches in a couple

weeks.  But it seems my family is eating

them as fast as I can make them.



My cheery kitchen.

So if you were joining me for

the best coffee ever

what would you tell me?

What are you adjusting to?

Can you believe school will soon be starting?

The hardest part is believing that I

will be sitting in school every day

and learning a new language.

WOW!!

Linking up with Amy

~"ICE CREAM"~

It started with a box of 200 cones...

and no ice cream to fill them.

So what is a girl to do?

Bake of course!

What seemed like a simple little project

turned out to be a bit

frustrating but still sweet in the end.

First I baked mini cupcakes...

 After they had cooled

I crumbled one and filled the

bottom of the cone...

Then my daughters added a

swirl of frosting...

And they added another mini cupcake

on top of the frosting swirl,

And then I added a swirl of frosting on

top and my little man

added the sprinkles.

Super easy to make but...

the hard part was getting them to the party.

I made holes in an egg carton to hold the cones

but with the frosting on top they became top heavy

and so every bump and turn along the way

was a potential disaster waiting to happen.

We did make it to the picnic without

any major frosting/cupcake disasters.

What I learned?

I learned that I should probably make

a neat little cone holder if I plan to make these

again and I learned that even though they

weren't perfect, the kids enjoyed them.

Sweet as can be!

Linking up:

Simply sweet home

Sundae Scoop

DIY Home sweet home

sweet-treats-thursday

Costa Rica...

We have arrived in Costa Rica for our
year of language study.

More to come...

I really getting anxious to bake here in
my bright little kitchen.

Coffee break...

Here it is,

one week before we

move our family to another country

for a year!

If you were joining me for coffee

I would tell you that the packing is in

full swing and

fun family outings are

thrown in the mix and all

last minute things are being taken

care of, and there are even some teary

goodbyes happening.

We continue to be amazed at Gods

provision for our needs as we follow

His call.  He keeps the little miracles coming

and when I doubt or am struggling to get it

all accomplished, He reminds me ever so gently

that He is still in control and He is ever

FAITHFUL. 

I will share a little miracle that happen.

As I was gathering school supplies to take

along for our year in school, I needed

some notebooks and so off to Walmart I went

and they were all sold out.  I was a little annoyed

because it is just the start of school shopping and

they are out of notebooks already.

Well my family was helping at our church that

night and guess what they came home with?

Yup, notebooks!  Given to them by a special friend.

So was it coincidence that Walmart was sold out?

NO, I don't think so!

That is just one example of
how God cares for his family.  The list is
LONG!!

Blesssings to each of you,

I am off to a day filled with packing

suitcase and boxes.

Enjoy your day and join me over at

Virtual Coffee with Amy.

Coffee break...

Hello Friends,

Today is virtual coffee with Amy and so I'm adding

virtual coffee to the list of coffee breaks today.

My day started out with

breakfast and coffee with my mom

at a local coffee shop.

Although it was HOT we ate out on the patio,

'cause well

we liked the atmosphere.

Then we walked around the quaint little

town of Lititz and visited

a couple shops.

Then around 1:00 I met

Robin for another

cup of caffeine

and chatting.

(I would insert picture here

but I forgot about my camera)

 It was another cute little coffee shop.

So many coffee shops,

so little time!

And now I am drinking

a cup of decaf before I

retire for the day.

Just so happens that I have been featured on

another blog.

I think its kinda exciting!

Check it out here 

Summertime...

Watermelons are a favorite part of

summer. Juice dripping,

dripping

down your arm

and off your elbow.

Sticky, yummy and so refreshing.

But then there is another kind of

watermelon that is my favorite.

It comes in the form of a cookie!

A yummy sugar cookie with a

glass of cold milk sounds refreshing to me!

Go enjoy a slice of watermelon!

Sample a bit of summertime

just the way you like it!

Thankful...

We are so thankful for the rain!

The corn and the farmer are happy!

Happy Saturday!

Coffee break...

If we were sitting down for coffee today
I would tell you I am really
looking forward to a good cup of
Costa Rican coffee.
The wait is getting shorter and shorter.

In less than 1 month I will call
Costa Rica, home.
Am I excited?  You better believe it!
Is there a lot to do until we board that
early morning flight on August 2nd?
Y~E~S!!!!

If you were enjoying a cup of coffee with me
I would ask how your holiday weekend was
and tell you that our weekend was great
but not completely packed and crazy.

I really didn't think I would be seeing any
fireworks on the 4th but
my Mr. Sweet got off work
earlier than expected and we
headed out to the local park for
the fireworks display.  It was so fun
just our little family of five.

July 4th to me marks the middle of
summer and time keeps moving
along at a fast speed.
So today I am trying my best
to live in the moment.

One day at a time,
sweet Jesus, give me the strength,
to live, one day at a time.

My lovely daughters...

...and the men in my life,
make each day a new adventure.

Thanks for stopping by
for a coffee break,
enjoy life
one adventure at a time.

Linking up: Virtual Coffee