Recipe: Almond Sheet Cake

If you love almond flavor, you will not be able to get enough of this cake. Actually, I can't make it very often because I will eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's SO good and SO easy!

Helpful Tip: My mom taught me that the secret to making a great cake is following the recipe exactly, adding each ingredient exactly in the order that the recipe calls for it. It will make your cake so much more moist and delicious!

Thanks to Sweet and Savory by Sarah for this recipe and photo!

To make the cake:

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small sauce pan, boil the water and butter, remove from heat.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour and sugar.
4. Pour the boiling mixture over the flour and sugar. Mix well.
5. Add baking soda, almond, sour cream, and eggs. Mix well.
6. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13" pan.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the middle is set.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding icing, about 2 hours.

To make the icing: 

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. almond extract

1. Boil the butter and milk in a small sauce pan, remove from heat.
2. Add the powdered sugar and almond to the mixture. Mix well.
3. Pour it over the cake, as evenly as possible.

Enjoy!

Easy Outdoor Centerpiece

We absolutely love spending family time outside when the weather is nice. Lately, the weather has been absolutely perfect! This means that my little family has been enjoying many meals outdoors. We even drag the high chair out onto the patio. It's the only way to keep Baby Boy still long enough to eat. :-)

To enjoy the patio even more, I put this little centerpiece together for the table and we love it! Just 3 little flower pots (still filled with soil), 3 pillar candles, and some clippings from the trees in our yard. Easy as can be!

It's just a slower pace of life. No clocks. No phones. No television.
We take our time enjoying each other and the gorgeous weather.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

Have a great day!

Peace in Suffering

I had an opportunity to hear a woman's story that touched my heart and put my own trials in perspective.

This woman suffered from disease as a child, living in hospitals for much of her childhood, endured three miscarriages, lost her precious two-month-old son, contracted a debilitating disease in adulthood, and recently lost her husband to another woman. Talk about suffering! Yet she still spoke with hope and love and peace. She knows that God is using her suffering for His glory. I was touched by her story, but even more touched by her love for our Savior and the obvious refuge that He offers her spirit.

She spoke about the son that she lost. He was born with a heart condition and had a successful surgery shortly after birth. He was recovering so well that is doctor mistakenly decided to take him off his medications. Tragically, he died shortly after. In the midst of her pain and suffering, her friend (a songwriter) wrote a song about her precious boy and the Living God who wrapped His arms around her soul. Take a moment to listen to it:

This song has been a blessing to so many people grieving over the years This mom thanks God for using her son's short life in such a meaningful way.  When you take comfort in the Lord because of this song, it's a blessing to the mommy who lost her sweet baby boy.

I can't begin to imagine the sadness that this woman has endured. Life has been unfair to her in so many ways. Her message was simple: God can use our suffering for good. He is doing it in her life, even as her story is still being written. .

In this life we will have trouble. We will suffer. It's not fair, but it's just the reality of living in a fallen world. I am so thankful that we have Jesus to cling to in times of such intense pain.

My prayer is that He uses whatever suffering I endure during my life for His glory, that His light will shine through me in a way that others cannot deny Him.

If you are suffering today, cling to Jesus. He will hold you.