Time Flies

There is seriously no time to blog anymore!  I don't know where the time has gone.  So, if anyone reads this anymore this is just a glimpse of what has been going on around here. 

Last November Zachary was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  It was a whirlwind of emotions, trials and worry but we trust God is in control.  As a result we went on a strict elimination diet from our naturopath which I personally hoped (and believed) would clear it up immensely.  The truth is the swelling in his wrist actually got worse so we ended up having a cortisone shot in his wrist.  Thank the Lord it made a HUGE difference.  We continue to pray for full healing and while we wait we have him on a medication that seems to be helping the remaining small amounts of pain.

In other news the Cake business is growing to a healthy level and I find I enjoy it more and more with each order.

In other other news - BRYAN !  Bryan Adams will be playing in Victoria on June 15th and Yes, of course I got tickets (Duh!).  This will be my 4th time seeing him in concert; he never disappoints.

The kids are nearing the end of 2 weeks Spring Break and although we couldn't go anywhere tropical, we did manage to sneak away to Tigh-na-mara in Parksville for a couple of days with some friends of ours, the Moores.

This one was taken by Eden, age 2 !!

New Year.....New Hopes

Well here we are ....... 2012 ....... who'd have thunk it!  I hope you all had blessed Christmas' spent with family and loved ones.  I hope you had small moments of wonderful luxury, and moments of unending thankfulness.

We had a great Christmas and surprised my sister's family on Boxing Day by catching the 7am ferry and driving straight to Kelowna to hang out with the fam.  Good times!

Then New Year's we spent at our friend's "wigs and stache's" party.  I had a hot fuschia wig, Darrell wore a paper moustache.  Yep, this is how we roll.

No New Year's resolutions at my end, but my eating habits have changed dramatically for another reason I'll go into on another post.  So I anticipate getting healthier via food changes and if there's weight loss involved as a by-product then I can handle it ;)

Concert!

Saturday night, Dec. 17th.
Prince concert.
2 1/2 hours solid stellar funk awesomeness.
Nuff said!

Cake Pops!

The kids and I had a great fun baking party last night together.  Both of them had Classroom Christmas parties today and needed to take something in to share.  Zachary decided he wanted to make a chocolate cake - completely from scratch he made the cake, made the icing and decorated the whole thing.  Then Brooklyn and I were wanting for a while to try some Cake Pops from the Bakerella Cake Pops book.  They were Santa hats and although not as smooth and perfect as the originals, we thought they turned out pretty good!

Hospitals - Done!

I am done with hospitals.  For the year.  Seriously.

In fact, I don't think I have ever before been so looking forward to a New Year's Eve, simply because it will signal the start of a new year in which I hope to never see the inside of a hospital.  In May I was back and forth to the hospital in Saanichton to visit my sick Grandad who passed away that month.  At the beginning of the Fall I was in and out visiting my Grandma with her broken hip.  We have now charted 4 ER visits with Zachary still without complete diagnosis.  They think arthritis but we're praying against that.  And then at 1:15pm this morning the ambulance arrived to take my husband to the hospital for back pain so intense he could not get up off of the floor.

So, I think I've filled my quota.  Really.  And if anyone argues with me about this I think I will refer you to the ER admission clerk or the lady at Tim Horton's who just yell out "Hi Rachel!" now when I walk through the front door.

Still, there is always a positive side to my life and in mine it's the fact that the Christmas season is here!  For all who know me they know that I l-o-o-o-o-v-e Christmas!  All of our decorations are up minus the tree because we always get a real one.  I've got a cookie exchange next Monday and the school Christmas concert later that week.  AND for the first time in ages I am well on my way through the Christmas shopping!  9 presents done as well as some stocking stuffers.  aaaaghhhhh..... big sigh of relief........

AND TO BOOT - I got the best smoking deal of the Black Friday weekend; a Cake Cricut machine on sale from $450 for FIFTY BUCKS !!!!!!!  That's right you heard me ..... $50 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prepare for some sweet cake experimentation to come........

http://www.cricut.com/cake/Home.aspx

Life thus far.......

So it seems that blog posts have been few and far between lately.  That's for a couple of reasons really.  Time has not been my friend the last few months..... My Grandma broke her left hip and as I'm the only family member on the island there have been lots of days spent in the hospital or driving Grandma from here to there, talking with her nurses etc.  Coupled with this, Zachary has had a few stints in the ER with weird inflammation. The bottom line right now is we have an appointment with the Rheumatoid Specialist to see if he has arthritis.  Hard to believe about a 12 year old, but we'll see how it goes.  Prayers are valued and not refused!

Other than that I've spent a bit of time ramping up the cake business.  I decided it was time to invest a bit more time into it; not the kind of time that involves opening a bakery but definitely being more proactive with advertising, marketing etc.  I've done a couple of trade shows and bridal fairs and the feedback has been great!  (Click "Like" on the Rachel~Cakes facebook page and be entered to win a dozen cupcakes!)

And as for Christmas prep, the decorations are already a-plenty.  I've been decorating a bit here and there for the last week and a half, and it should all be wrapped up by next week.  Doing it all at once is just too exhausting!

My 4 Year Old Nephew has rhythm!

Check out my nephew Jack!

This guy has serious rhythm !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2-GJ5Xrbx4&feature=email