Buttercup Lagoon: May 2009

Wesley's Graduation Party

This is Wesley. Wesley goes to our church. He graduated high school this year.

I was told to make a simple cake for his graduation party at church.

I did as I was told. I do that from time to time.

I'm a good girl, I am. (p.s. I wasn't ready when this picture was snapped!)

A Favorite- Blue Jars

I absolutely love these Ball Mason jars. They are the most beautiful shade of blue. My Mom has about 5 of these in her shotgun house. I wonder what it would take for me to get one?

In memory of our fallen soldiers, and in appreciation of those who have served and are still serving, I wish you all a happy Memorial Day.

Below is a video of some beautiful patriotic songs, wonderfully sung by the Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase & the Signature Sound Quartet. Enjoy & remember our brave men & women who proudly wear a soldier's uniform and fight bravely for our country.

A Few of My Favorite Books

Let's Say Thanks

According to this article from Woman's Day, saying thanks & expressing gratitude might make you healthier & happier.

To increase your health & happiness, visit this site each day. Let's Say Thanks is a program sponsored by Xerox. On the site, you are able to choose from a selection of post cards with images drawn by children around the country. You can type a message to be printed on the card you choose, along with your name and location. (You can submit a different card each day.) The submitted cards are printed and mailed in care packages to U.S. troops stationed overseas. These care packages are mailed by military support organization Give2TheTroops®.

Xerox is committed to helping people across the nation express their gratitude to our troops overseas. The launch of this program is aimed at reminding them how much Americans appreciate their service.

Mother's Day

These are some pictures from Mother's Day.
NOTE: None of these pictures are of my Mom.

I got to hold this handsome fellow at church!
I love this little guy!

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

He kept smiling after the picture was taken.

I gave him the rest of his bottle,
but it wasn't enough...

so he decided to try to eat his Mom's hair!

Caleb & Stephanie

The Gray family: Rhonda, Charles, Abigail, CaSandra & Stephanie
This is a sweet group!

Abby, CaSandra, Steph & Caleb

Stephanie, Carol, CaSandra & Me
These girls are like my sisters. Steph & CaSandra, that is. Carol is my sister!

Caleb & McKenzie

I call these 3 "The Little Rascals".

Madalyn
"Spanky", because she's the leader and always in charge.

McKenzie
"Darla", because she's the sweet little girly-girl.

Ian
"Porky", because he's the youngest in the bunch.

My sister, Dala, & her girls

Kenzie & Maddy Faye

Me with Maddy & Kenzie

Ian & Ricky giving Carol kisses!

Kenzie, Carol & Maddy

I guess he was in a kiss-giving mood!

Shawn

Me & Shawn

These last shots are some examples of what happens
when one of the kids gets the camera.

This is Buddy, Dala's husband & Madalyn, McKenzie & Ian's Daddy. Buddy came home Iraq the weekend of Easter. He had been gone for a year. We are SO GLAD to have him home! (I think he was caught offguard.)

Quote of the Day

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein

Image via here

The ABC's of Life

I love this painting by Sara at Sara's Art House. These are some great words to live by. I love how she put them all together, giving 26 separate pieces of advice in one painting. These are small words that hold much wisdom, and I think we should all try to apply at them in our personal life.

I think "Pack lightly" would be the one I'd have the most trouble with!

Panda Cake

Mama's making a panda cake. A panda cake is not like any other cake. It's special. It has has many wonderful ingredients, but before she can make the cake, Mama has to send her two boys shopping. So, she sends them on their way with money, a list and a basket.

Instead of going to the store with Mama's list and money, the the big brother, Willy, decides to take the sunflower seeds, huckleberries, eggs, cherries, apples, roots, honey and bamboo shoots needed to make the cake from the other animals. Then, he sends his little brother home with Mama's basket while he takes her money and goes to the fair.

When the cake is done, Mama invites all of the animals to join her and baby brother for tea and cake. When Willy gets home, after spending all of Mama's money at the fair, there was no cake left for him. All he got were two pieces of leftover bread.

I think there's a moral to be found in this story.

If you have the time for another great children's book, you can read about my favorite, "Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!", in this post.

My Birthday, part II

Back in March I posted about my birthday with promises to post more later. At the time, later meant something like the next day, not almost 2 months. Better late than never, I guess!

Me & my niece, Madalyn
We were about to cut the cake.

Me & Shawn
Got to love that jersey! He fished that day and just couldn't take the time to change. He came to my Grandaddy's party with it on, too.

I made my cake.

It was going to be a 2-layer topsy turvy.

I had the proof at home (LOTS of extra cake!!)

I ran out of time. That happens a lot with me.
It came out good, though.
This was my first attempt to cover a cake completely with fondant. Since I was rushing, I didn't have time to figure out how to get it smooth on the sides. I decided liked the draped look, so I left it alone.

A random scene.

My nephew, Jake, acting like he's too cool for my pink party.

My sister, Carol, was my helper. She's a great encouragement and a lot of fun. I don't think it was raining that night. She just wanted to wear her pink rain boots because they matched the decor! Now, that's sisterly dedication.

This cake pedestal was one of Shawn's gifts to me.

This little cake was one of the "extras".

Me with Jennifer & Dalila
Is it just me, or do they look alike? Can you tell which is the girly girl and which is the tomboy? I've known these girls since they were 6 months old.

Me and my nephew, Ian
I love this little fellow!

The cake & present table. Someone took all my presents!!!
Or maybe they were on the floor.

A simple circle garland and balloons.

I found the idea for these paper berry branches here.

Buttercup Lagoon