18 CANDLES..................

November 19th was my 18th birthday. At first I wasn't going to have a birthday party, but at the last minute (two days before to be exact), I decided to have one.

  The day before my birthday I made one layer of my cake. All went really well except for the fact that our water had stopped working the day before...so I had no way to wash dishes. Then it came to me as I was looking out the window at the snow piled up outside...So, I went out  and scooped some snow into a big bowl, then hurried back into the warm house. One of the girls we were babysitting and I did this a few more times, melted the snow on the stove, and I washed dishes with the water...I felt very hard core ;)

November Birthday's cake

A few weeks ago I went with my mom  to babysit for a friend. When we arrived, the oldest girl, P------, suggested that I help her make a cake. She had already picked out the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake to make, so we set out to make it. After a few slight mishaps, the cake made it into the oven, baked nicely, and made it out of the oven safely.

AUTUMN leaves

There is just something about this time of year that makes me  smile. Something about sweaters, scarves, tights, and boots that makes me feel like everyday is special.

Cookies and Cream Cake

I have been wanting to make this cake ever since I got my cookbook (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). In the book, the cupcakes are made with the chocolate cupcake recipe, not the vanilla one. I didn't have cocoa powder, but I did have some Newman's O's....

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

Here I am again! I don't really have anything to say, but I thought I would post some pictures of these Coconut Lime Cupcakes that I made sometime in September. The recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. For the frosting, again I used regular butter since I did not have Earth Balance. They were SO good, not to mention just plain cute!

the BIGGER picture.

    So many times I think of trials that come up in my life, and they seem so big. Like they will just keep coming and never end. But I realized something that I've realized in other trying circumstances...when hard things happen in my life, it makes me rely on God. I rely on Him when things are going good too, but going through times in your life when you absolutely don't know what the next step is going to be...that makes you have to put your hand in His and know that He's the only thing that's going to lead you out of the darkness.

    Another thing I realized was when I was reading 2 Corinthians 4:17 tonight. It says, "For our light affliction, which is but a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are not seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (NKJV).  I noticed almost right away how it says "light affliction". My immediate thought was, "My trials aren't 'light'!" The thoughts to immediately follow that one were, "But...look at the whole verse. What are these trials being compared to?"  My life on earth really is but a moment; and the affliction I go through is but a moment of that. So I started seeing how that moment of a moment really is nothing compared to "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory".