Happy New Year and an Update on the Pregnancy Prayer List!

Happy New Year Everyone! I pray that 2011 will be a Blessed Year for each of you! I know that many have had some great trials during 2010 and I pray the 2011 will be a year of healing and Blessings!

I need to update the Pregnancy Prayer List. Both of the ladies listed for January have had their babies.

First, Congratulations to Jessica on the Birth of her Rainbow baby, Potter Joseph. He was born on 12/19/2010 at 12:32 pm and weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long. Potter Joseph is also welcomed by Daddy Kevin, 3 older brothers, and his older sister who is in Heaven. You can visit Jessica here and Congratulate her!

Congratulations Jessica and Kevin and Family!

Congratulations also goes to Whitney on the birth of her son, Aiden Lee. Aiden was born on 12/28/2010 at 3:37 pm and weighed 6lbs 7oz and was 19 inches long. He is also welcomed by Daddy Charles and big brother Austin.

Congratulations Whitney and Charles and Austin!

Please remember to keep the rest of the ladies on the list in Prayer.  It means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to them!

If you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant and would like to be added to the list, please send me an email or leave a comment. My email address is listed at the end of the Pregnancy Prayer List, up on the right sidebar.

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

O Holy Night!

I had intended on doing a few more posts about my favorite Christmas Carols, but the time just got away from me. I Love most Christmas songs, but their are a few that are my favorites. It is probably a tie between Silent Night and O Holy Night as my absolute favorites. It is so touching to my Heart to think of that night so long ago when our Savior was born. It truly was a Holy Night!

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,

 It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

 Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

 Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

 A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

 Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

 O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

 O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

I pray you have a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the Birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus!

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Sharing a Birthday Cake Recipe ~ # 4

Here is the fourth and final recipe from this Birthday Post.

We call it  Better Than Anything Cake, but it has been called a variety of names.  You can do a google search and find hundreds of different recipes for this cake. This is a very easy cake to make and pretty yummy too, However, I am not sure it lives up to its name!

 Here is the recipe I used. You can also find it here.

Better Than Anything Cake

Ingredients:

1 German chocolate cake mix ( I used a Dark Chocolate Cake Mix)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
caramel topping
12 ounces Cool Whip
3 heath bars, crushed ( I buy a bag of Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee bits that are located in the baking aisle near where they sell chocolate chips, not all stores carry these)


Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 9 x 13 inch pan. Prepare cake mix as directed on package; pour into prepared pan. After 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Continue baking until cake is done.

While cake is still hot, poke holes in it with handle of wooden spoon. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cake; let cool. Top with caramel sauce, then whipped topping. Sprinkle with candy bars.

Here is Josh with the Better Than Anything Cake. I doubled the recipe and baked in a larger pan.

Now on to prepare for Jesus' Birthday!

 

Sharing a Birthday Cake Recipe ~ # 3

The next recipe that I will share from this Birthday Post, is the Chocolate Mint Layer Cake. I originally made this cake back a few years ago for Josh's Birthday. The Recipe for the mint filling calls for green food coloring. I told Josh he could pick any color he wanted. Back then his favorite color was orange, so we had orange mint filling!  (A little strange I know!)

I cannot find a picture of Josh's cake, but here is Sammy's. Yellow is Sammy's favorite color, so I decorated his cake with yellow M&M's and the filling is what else .......  Yellow!  Sorry, I did not take a picture after cutting it, so you cannot see the filling. I cheated this time while making this cake, Instead of following the recipe for the cake part, I used a chocolate fudge boxed cake mix and then continued with the rest of the recipe. It turned out great!

Sammy

Chocolate Mint Layer Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt



FILLING

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
3 to 4 drops green food coloring, optional (or color of your choice!)


ICING

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Line two greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease and flour the paper; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in chocolate and vanilla. Combine milk and water. combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat the cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and extract; beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in food coloring if desired. Place one cake layer on a serving plate; spread with filling. top with second cake.

For icing, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt chips and butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Beat in evaporated milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Frost and decorate cake. Chill 2 hours before slicing. Yield: 12 servings
 
I found this recipe from Taste of Home and can be found here.
 
 
Here is their picture:

Picture Credit

 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Plus

Equals

Yes, I slid into the mailbox! At least it was ours!

But No One Getting Hurt!

Equals