Laugh. Love. Learn.

Could this sweet little bee be any more precious?

She was so excited to wear her wings and antenna for her party!

She wasn’t too sure what to think about the candle or the people singing at her…

She learned quickly that chocolate icing is gooood!
And poundcake! She ate a whole cupcake.

Look at me! I’m ONE!

Click here to see how we implemented the Bumble Bee theme…

For Tanner’s first birthday, we wanted to choose a unique theme…so we chose Bumble Bees! Just to clarify, they are NOT yellow jackets. Cake #1 contains six layers of dark chocolate cake with yellow buttercream icing in between the layers.

Here’s a picture of the layers in process…it was a fun surprise when we cut into it. The cake was at least 8 inches tall, and the sides were completely covered in mini-chocolate chips.

Cake #2 is a beehive cake! It’s made of vanilla poundcake with a royal-icing-type glaze on top.

Here’s a close-up of the bumble bees….lemon jelly beans with black icing stripes. (p.s. i cheated and got black icing here…the rest is from scratch, but black icing is just too much trouble to mess with.) The next picture is of Oreo bumble bees…

Vanilla sugar cookie bumble bees…
and peanut butter bumble bees, which were totally a hit!

Here’s a close up of the peanut-butter bees, followed by the Bumble Bee Treat Bags…Graham Cracker Bees, Honeycomb, Yellow M&Ms, and Chocolate Jelly Beans.

I also decorated the flower arrangements with these fun pipe-cleaner bumble bees…dusted with glitter and suspended with floral wire.

Our Bee-Day party so fly. Ha Ha.
We have the cutest bee ever!

One of my friends likes me to share my cooking disasters so she feels more “normal.” So, in the name of authenticity, check this out. Today I planned to make 3 cakes.
Cake A: Made a lemon pound cake from scratch. Fresh lemon zest, fresh squeezed juice…etc. It was about 5 minutes from done and we had to leave. We were already late to an activity. Surely the hot pan would continue cooking the cake a little, right? Wrong. Cake A wasn’t done in the center. Cake A is in the trash.
Cake B: 6-layer chocolate cake from scratch. I figured I’d just make that one and let it cool overnight. Got all the way down the recipe…to the buttermilk. We have no buttermilk. Publix is closed, and we live in the boonies.
Cake C: Vanilla pound cake from scratch. Calls for 3 cups of sugar. Which is great, but I only have two after wasting all my sugar on failed Cake A and stalled Cake B.
Cake A, take Two: Not enough baking powder left. Or vanilla.
Score? 0 for 3. Yep, that’s ZERO for three.
How’s that for productivity?

So if you’re bored at 7am tomorrow, send me a tweet. Cause I’ll be standing outside the door at Publix waiting on them to open. It’s always fun to watch your excessive pre-planning crumble in your face. And remember…next time you screw something up in the kitchen, think, “hey! at least I didn’t screw this up as bad as Rebecca did that time!”

We’re currently finishing a series called KINGDOM at The Vine, and we decided to brand the series with a Medieval theme. Remember how there’s a guy in the movie Dodgeball who thinks he’s a pirate? We thought it might be funny to open the services with a 30-second glimpse of a guy who’s convinced he’s a knight. Very fun. I think the third one is my favorite; the photoshopped pictures crack me up. (We also gave away Medieval Times giftcards to a couple of dads on Father’s Day…just to continue the theme!)

This post is a part of Creative Chaos at ragamuffinsoul.com.

Since my love language is food, I did my best to give Lil’ Tan-Tan some birthday love.
We started out with pancakes for breakfast, thanks to the blogging brilliance of Erin and Amanda.

Katelynn got in on the pancake action too, since she’s celebrating the anniversary of being a phenomenal big sister! She said my chocolate chip pancakes were “better than chocolate chip eggo waffles,” so clearly i’ve arrived.

For lunch Tanner had three of her favorite foods: Cheese, Cheerios, and Blueberry Yogurt.

Tanner’s favorite dinner is Kraft Mac & Cheese with Green Beans, so we all dined on those delicacies.

Even though she was hungry, she’s always in the mood to share. I love her heart!

We had a quiet, relaxing, uneventful day. *so thankful*

Sweet baby girl,
I cannot believe you are one today! It seems like just yesterday I was holding a tiny cuddly little newborn. Now you’re running around everywhere, making people laugh and saying “hey!” to every person you see…as well as the cement bulldog. I’m still amazed by the way an 8-pounder completely changed the disposition of our family. You’d been missing the whole time, but we didn’t know it until you arrived. It is my absolute joy to take care of you, to change you, feed you, bathe you, pray for you, teach you, chase you around, watch you explore…I still can’t believe I get the chance to be your mother. I am so undeserving and thankful to Jesus for you. Happy Birthday, Tanner!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

so i’ll have to admit…this moving stuff is owning me. perhaps it’s a little larger task than i estimated. for the last 48 hours my yard has owned me, but it was so worth it. it’s starting to look like home! nick and my sweet mama and i worked in the yard literally all day yesterday, and then nick and i spread mulch for several hours today. and it’s the bomb. check it:

our new home

front right…daisies, lantana, petunias, verbena (those geraniums are just chillin in the pots…they actually hang; they aren’t a part of that bed.)

random bushes, more verbena, a crepe myrtle, a gardenia, two hydrangeas, calla lilies, and phlox

isn’t this hydrangea beautiful? i don’t see how people can’t see the Lord in this. He is such an amazing artist! it was just sitting in a greenhouse screaming “buy me! buy me!”

this demonstrates why we can’t have a dog. i’d feel bad for it and want to buy it a friend. hence this pretty lace cap hydrangea is also living in my yard.

the name of this phlox is “Laura.” that’s my mama’s name, so i needed it. (that’s the name on the tag…as in the name of color of the plant. i do name Macs…but not plants.)

by the chimney…Katelynn loves shasta daisies, and i liked this pink yarrow…

and here’s the color bowl we made for the front door. portulaca, marigolds, wave petunias, and you see that lime green sweet potato vine? it reminds me of my Gran. she always had those in her color bowls. and they were beautiful because she watered them 4 times a day!

i love it. love it, love it, love it. flowers are my favorite.

Heather said, “don’t even act like you have time to sit down and answer these questions.” (She’s right; I don’t.)

And my mom responded, “Heather has the best one. What makes you think you have time to answer anyone’s questions right now? Oh, I already know, “Make time to do what you want to do.” Think I have heard that.”

That’s right mom, you have heard that. You see, this is a philosophy issue. Because the requirements on my life will never go away. The laundry is never done, the dishwasher always needs to be unloaded, the vacuum lines on the carpet always disappear… BUT… I have to hang on by a thread to activities that refuel me and contribute to who I am. Luckily for you, one of those activities is blogging. Ha Ha. I’ve always admired parents who’ve successfully raised well-rounded, Christ-following, pleasant-to-be-around kids…and maintained their identites. I love my girls. With everything I am. But one day they’re going to go to college, and get married, and have families of their own. If my only identity is based in my girls and the corresponding chores necessary to take care of them, what will I be left with? Practically nothing. That’s how I feel when I don’t do anything Rebeccaish. Like Nothing. A shell of who I long to be, or who I used to be. A shell is far from abundant…in fact, it’s desolate. So, sometimes the laundry may sit for two days. Or the dishwasher might not get unloaded. Or (gasp!) my pantry may become unorganized. But chances are it’s because I’m reading, painting, listening to music, baking, or blogging…long after the girls go to bed. It makes me love life more and be a much better mom for them when they wake up in the morning.

(p.s. I think my mom understands this whether she always follows it or not, because she sneaks into her garden whenever possible. Right mom?)

I’ll have to admit, the more I watch my husband be a father, the more I fall madly in love with him. Nick is an outstanding father — so outstanding I have trouble putting it into words. This Top Ten list won’t skim the surface of the depth of excellence, but it will give you a glimpse.

1. He does all things baby. Diapers, laundry, feedings, baths, bedtime, all of it. With joy.
2. After our second daughter was born, he realized how badly I wanted to stay home with her. And he wanted me to stay home with her too. So he did whatever it took to make that happen. Major sacrifices.
3. He works two jobs to provide for our family. And he has never complained once.
4. He plays with the baby in the floor. Her toys, Her books, Her eye-level. No distractions. He makes her laugh constantly, and she LOVES her “DaDa!”
5. He practices softball in the yard with Katelynn for hours. Literally hours. Not because he’s that guy in the bleachers who needs his kid to hit a homerun for his ego…he just wants to spend time with her because she asks him to. He takes her to gymnastics as well.
6. He helps me around the house more than you could possibly imagine. I didn’t realize how unusual this was…until I’ve heard other girls discussing it. In addition to all the traditional “manly” stuff (cutting the grass, taking out the trash…) he sweeps, polishes hardwoods, vacuums, uses windex with precision, picks up toys, puts away laundry, cleans the bathrooms, unloads the dishwasher, hangs things, assembles things, goes to the grocery store….seriously….it’s amazing. I never ask him…he just does it.
7. He models servant leadership for the girls. He serves us, serves tirelessly at the church, helps his friends, family members, random people he doesn’t even know…he has a true servant’s heart.
8. He puts up with me, which can be quite the challenge. Putting up with me involves things like long photography sessions, girly music, lots of Food Network, paint in the carpet, glitter on the floor, endless construction projects at church, always taking longer than I should when running in for “one thing” at the grocery store…it’s never-ending.
9. He protects us and kills all creepy things including spiders, ants, flies, and any other insect who dares enter our home.
10. He wants our girls to have the best lives possible, and be the best versions of themselves they can be. No matter what that requires. Including installing custom beadboard for 20 hours.

I am so thankful to Jesus for him.
And thankful that my girls get to see a picture of His love.

Ten Reasons My Daddy is Amazing…

1. If I find him in his rocking chair, I still crawl in his lap and he holds me. Without complaining. And I’m sure I’m heavy.
2. I remember him singing me to sleep every night…”Because He Lives” and “Something About That Name.”
3. I always find toasted almonds and pecans in his kitchen…and he shares! (my favorite)
4. He substitute teaches everyday at a high school, which is a thankless severely underpaid job, and the kids LOVE him. They request him by name. And when I’m around, they say, “Hey, isn’t Mr. Hayes your dad?!?”
5. He watches every Georgia Football game (on mute) while listening to Larry Munson on the radio…100% sold out to the Dawgs.
6. He loves to read the Word. Frequently. With Discipline. Actually, he’s disciplined about everything he does.
7. He’s the most wise person I know.
8. He’s a Mac convert. Yea-yeah! And a fan of all new tech gadgetry.
9. I have fond memories of riding around in his truck listening to the Oldies station…and I now know lyrics like “Sittin’ on the dock of the bay…”
10. He loves my kids. And they love their Papa. He plays with them. And reads to them. And talks to them. And prays for them.

I understand (from a human perspective) how much God loves us, because I know how much my daddy loves me.
*so thankful*