Happy Birthday Leah!

My first born is 8. I can hardly believe it! We gathered today for a party with the family and it was a lot of fun. We have a family tradition (on my side) of creating shape cakes that have something to do with the birthday girl/boy's interests. They were always a surprise and mom and all the siblings would hide away in the kitchen, laughing and making a huge mess, to create the work of art. There have been some pretty amazing cakes over the years. I remember a cow pasture cake when I worked at the Berry Dairy, complete with cow pies. The rule was that everything we used had to be edible. That rule has definitely been bent over the years but the tradition has lived on- for the most part. Leah, is not fond of the tradition. She hates to be left out of an opportunity to create and she can not stand the suspense of waiting to see what the cake will look like. Here is the cake I made for her last year. It was partly a surprise and partly not.

I told her what I was going to do and then I made it while she was in bed. Those are teddy grahams laying on fruit roll up towels at the beach. You can see I fudged on the rule that everything had to be edible. Some years I am feeling more creative than others.

So anyway, this year was a year of no surprises. She asked for a confetti cake mix with vanilla icing. She also asked to be allowed to do all the decorating. She got what she wanted for the most part. She had to get some help from time to time as her hands wore out, when the top burst off the cake decorator and yellow icing suddenly burst on top of the almost finished cake, and when one of us managed to drag something through the icing on the side of the cake. It was one thing after another but the final result was exactly what she wanted since she had gotten to be in the mix from the beginning to the very messy end.

The party was a pretty casual affair. The kids hit the cul-de-sac on bikes and scooters,the dads gathered in the kitchen so they could have easier access to the grazing grounds,

and we ladies camped out at the table and talked the day away.
Of course, there was the usual napping by the grandpas. One of these days I'm going to compile a scrapbook for each of them and in it will be all the napping house photos we've taken. I particularly like this one Jeff took of my dad today. It is quite artistically done, don't you think?
The greatest part of today (other than celebrating the gift of Leah in our lives) was having Jeff's aunt join us. Aunt Margaret has been really sick for a while now as she has battled cancer. She found out this week that her body is cancer free!!! The kids have been faithfully praying for her and constantly asking us to call for updates. She got to tell them her good news in person and it was such a joy to have her join us today. We thank God for the blessing she has been in our lives.

So, now I get to breathe. It has been quite a week! We drove countless miles, went on amazing field trips, and spent wonderful time with family and friends. I'm glad we did every bit of it but I am happy for the chance to regroup and relax.