this season + cake balls

The wedding season has officially kicked off in our family. This weekend marked the first bridal shower for my future sister-in-law. I headed up the planning for the weekend celebration and thanks to the help of my family, the shower was a complete success. And I am so so excited to have Kayli as a part of our family!

One of the biggest hits of the party were the cake balls. If you've never had them, you're definitely missing out. They're bite size and dangerous because its really hard not to have just one. I got the original recipe from the Bakerella website, which she has awesome bakery recipes.

Cake balls are pretty simple to make but do take some pre-planning for time.

Step 1. Bake a cake. Just like you normally would. I used a red velvet box cake.

Step 2: Once the cake has cooled completely. Crumble it up and put it in a bowl.

Step 3: Add one container of frosting. Now, I'm not a big proponent of store bought frosting but it works the best for this recipe because its the right size and consistency. Also, I used cream cheese frosting with the red velvet cake. The consistency of the cake balls works well with these two elements.

Step 4: Mix together the frosting and crumbled cake. Then take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Place it on a wax paper covered baking sheet. Once the whole mixture is rolled into cake balls, place them in the refrigerator to chill. (I chilled mine overnight but you can also put them in the freezer if you want to do it all in one day)

Step 5. Once the cake balls are chilled, remove them from the fridge. Next, melt either candy coating or vanilla/chocolate bark in a pan or the microwave. It's best if you don't melt the whole package at the same time. Take smaller portions because the cake tends to turn the bark the same color as the batter (in my case the white bark turned red). Once the bark is melted, dip each cake ball into the bark. I used toothpicks but you can also use a spoon or tongs. Once it's fully coated, place it on wax paper to cool and dry. This is when I added to sprinkles, as well.

Once they are cooled, you can serve them immediately or you can stick them back in the fridge to chill for a bit longer. Serve when ready and enjoy!

They're so so good. And don't sit next to them or you may eat the whole plate. You've been warned.

Lastly, here are a few shots from the lovely bridal shower.

On the farm

As many of you did, we celebrated Easter this weekend. Each year our family has an egg hunt on the farm.

It looked a little something like this...

on wandering

Right now I'm reading through the book of Exodus. It's a pretty intense story if you read it. A story about enslaved people for 430 years and then it takes 10 plagues before the Pharaoh let them go. 430 years before they were free. Now that's patience.

But the story reminded me of my own life. Being enslaved to my own thoughts, insecurities, past, but God was still faithful and set me free from it all. Now that's a great story; such a nice happy ending.

Except when you read the rest of the story it talks about how God didn't take the people on the most direct path. He made them wander in the wilderness. He took them on a path that might not be as scary, so they wouldn't turn back and enslave themselves again.

Such a life lesson there. A lot of times God doesn't take us on the most direct, and usually what seems to us to be the most obvious, path. He takes us on a journey that will be better for us, even when it doesn't seem to be. That is just so much my life story and probably pretty similar to your own. It takes patience and trust to follow through the wilderness. And for me I usually have the path figured out and exactly how I'm going to get there and where I'm going to need to stop for gas.

But life is so much like the exodus. We wander in expectation. We have to be patient and trust that He is faithful. Oh but that being patient thing is so hard. It's hard when you just want that part of life to start right now. When you want to start college, or that new career, marriage, owning a home, starting your ministry, having a family or maybe even retirement.

Patience is a part of life.It's a lesson that I have to relearn often. But sometimes wandering in the wilderness can be a beautiful route, albeit slower,but maybe, just maybe, we can bask in the journey.

two things

Two things that have been coming up this week: trust and being still.

These two ideas just seem to keep popping up all over the place. Usually when this happens, it means it's time to listen. Trust is such a hard things for me sometimes. Not necessary with people but with God. I struggle with trusting all the incredible blessings. I find myself thinking, "It's too good to be true." But often it's not, when the blessings come from God. He wants to bless us and see us thrive. And a beautiful thing happens when we trust and are receptive to His gifts. There is peace. Maybe just a minute, or a moment, but peace exists when we land in the place of trusting in the true blessings of our lives. It's not too good to be true. It's just trusting in the fact that you get to experience these things as a gift.

And then there is being still. I am so bad at this. I like to keep going...to always be moving. I struggle to just be still and present in the moment. It's so easy these days, isn't it. Easy to keep some sort of screen or technology in front of you. Things are wireless or handheld. You can watch TV, text, surf the Internet and be around people all at the same time. But what if everything is turned off? What if we did just one thing at a time? I think we would find these previously multitasked items to be more rich and that we would be fully present.

I know that I fail at this often, but I think its time to strive for being still more often. Soaking in each moment before it slips right through my hands.

Starting now.

words

There is nothing more beautiful than the art of the written word. Whether it's a story, poetry, blog, or a mere quote. There is something powerful in words. They hold substance and value. They give life to the lifeless and love to the loveless.

Right now, I'm finding myself getting caught up in this book, Cold Tangerines. It's beautiful and a story of grace that combines lots of short stories about her life and its lessons. This is the second book of hers that I've read and it is keeps me turning the page for hours. I love her style of writing and find myself in a lot of her experiences. This story moves me and helps me find places inside that can get overlooked.

I hope that some day I am able to use my words to move people. To give them words that encourage and motivate. To allow people to find freedom in my stories and experiences.

That's what is so beautiful about life, even if you don't feel like it, there is always someone that has gone through whatever it is that you're going through. We're meant to share in this life with one another. During times of pain, sorrow, betrayal, joy and hope, we were created to lean, comfort and celebrate with each other.

And when that's too much. Books have that ability to take you to a completely different place, but not just a place, a completely different mindset. They are a modern time machine. Yet, they are so classic. There is nothing that can replace them. And I think that one perfect example of that type of books is The Hunger Games. Yes, it's the most recent Hollywood release, but the books are so incredibly written. You just can't flip the pages fast enough. Do yourself a favor and read them.

So many stories to be read and so many stories to be written. Dive in.

lately

Last night I had my first wedding panic dream. Nothing was ready. My hair wasn't done, my dress wasn't on, my veil wasn't even put together, and we started the wedding 30 minutes late! Ah. I hate those kinds of dreams, but I feel as though it was some semblance of what is going on in my head. It could just be this week but I am starting to feel slightly overwhelmed with everything on my plate right at the moment.

One of the ways that can help when I get overwhelmed is to make lists. I really enjoy making lists. It's a way that I can take my jumbled thoughts and put them on paper and make sense of what all is going on in my mind. Another way is to go for a run. It always manages to clear my head. (Probably because I'm just worried about not passing out).

And sometimes when I start getting overwhelmed, I am short on words. But there are a few things that I am excited about. this week.

1. Jake and I will be celebrating 2 years together.
2. Hunger Games comes out on Friday. Eek!
3. This weather...it feels like July.
4. No work on Friday.
5. Life cereal for dinner. It's the small things, right?!?
6. And I bought new sandals.
 
So hopefully after a few lists and a quick run, I can give you a little more substance to read about.

What helps you when you're feeling overwhelmed?

PS - Do you like our new wedding piece? We've been antiquing.

173

You know those moments that happen so unconsciously and so quickly but drastically change your life forever. Some are good and some are not so good. Well two years ago, I had one of those moments and it changed my life for good. I returned a phone call from a man named Jake and now, in a few quick months, that man will become my husband.

It's one of those moments that I had not expected, nor planned out. It was something that God had been brewing up for a long while. If it had been in my control, it probably wouldn't have happened at all. But, I am so thankful that it did.

In 173 days, I will take a new last name. I will begin a new journey. A journey that is exciting and scary; thrilling and nerve-wracking; awesome and God-inspired. I'll be honest, there are moments where the big idea of marriage is daunting. So often today, we see marriages splitting, unfaithful spouses, selfishness over commitment. And I'm sure that no one intends those marriage to end up that way. I highly doubt that anyone walks down the aisle and thinks that it won't last forever.

I too am one of those people. I believe that we will choose marriage over singleness. Love over hate. Humility over self-righteousness. This is our prayer. This is my prayer. I pray our hearts are prepared for the unknown that is before us. I pray that we turn our eyes to Jesus before one another, our jobs, our money, or another person.

Jake and I may never be a CEO of a hospital, or a top selling author. But if we leave any impact on this world, my hope is that we leave a legacy of love and can show the world how to be a marriage that lasts.

In no means, do I think our relationship is perfect. We'd be the first people to say we have our own points of "uniqueness." But I know that we will try out best and love as well as we know how. And survive each day through prayer, grace and forgiveness.