Poor, poor boy
The first grandson, my “little man.” The Gavinators. He has had to endure much of this through his years.
Then: Easter 2007, he was ready to run and play with the sisters and cousin Hunter. But, wait! First, a kiss-kiss!
Now: Easter break 2013, hanging with the grands. This again?!? yes, this again.
Gavin was the very very very FIRST grandchild. He changed my world! He’ll be double-digits soon, but he will not escapes his Nonni’s kisses as long as she can catch him! ;)
Note to self: In retrospect, the bangs of 2007 really were a grave error, as almost all decisions made at midnight are.
Coconut Cake {to die for} from a mix
The Coconut Cake (actual, shredded coconut is optional, strangely enough). It is about the cake, people!
#1 Cake:
- 1 white cake mix (Duncan Hines is the better choice, always), mixed according to boxed instructions with 1 teaspoon coconut extract added
#2 Creamy coconut mixture for slathering:
- 1 can Eagle Brand sweetened, condensed milk
- 1 can Senor Lopez’s Coconut Creme (15 oz.), or any coconut cream found near the drink-mixing (pina colada) supplies
#3 Optional topping (but treat yourself and add it):
- Toasted shredded coconut sprinkled on top for people who really love their coconut (which leaves out most of my family, tsk).
#4 Rich, delicious icing
- See below! You’ll be so glad!
Here’s how
Bake the cake in a 9 x 13″ pan according to directions (don’t forget to add that teaspoon of coconut extract to the mix). While it is baking, stir together the Eagle Brand Milk and the Coconut Creme.
While the cake is still warm from the oven, poke {lots of} holes in it with a butter knife or potato peeler and pour/slather the mixture over the cake to saturate. Keep back a couple of tablespoons of the mixture to use in the icing (I just don’t scrape the bowl and it gives me enough for my needs).
Let the cake cool completely. Then use 1 batch of any cream cheese icing recipe with that little milk-creme mixture you reserved and spread over the cake (use the same bowl for the icing, for heaven’s sake).
Gavin liked it! :)
But wait – there’s MORE! Don’t you want the MOST AMAZING Cream Cheese Icing Recipe EVER, too???
Ok, then I will share it, as well. I got it off Pinterest. It is so ridiculously simple and easy you won’t believe it. It’s called Marshmallow-Cream Cheese Icing.
- 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese (give it a chance to come close to room temp, as the cake bakes)
- 1 (7 oz.) jar of marshmallow cream
- 1 tsp of vanilla. Or, as I did in this case, 1 teaspoon of, you guessed it – coconut extract!!!
That’s it! Three ingredients. It is luscious, delightful, creamy, airy, light and delish! It is not too sweet and whips up in 2 minutes flat. SO fast, so perfect!
Now, I also “toasted” about a cup of coconut and sliced almonds in a pat of {real} butter on the stovetop and anyone who wished could sprinkle it atop at serving time. If you want, though, you may just generously sprinkle the cake top with soft coconut from the bag. But my son Rocky liked the crunchiness over the uber-creamy, soft cake. True – it was wonderful.
Pop the iced cake in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Mmmmmmm. I don’t even really like cake. But I love this…it was breakfast!
Quick re-cap
Thank-you, Heather, for sharing your wonderful recipe. And Stef – I plan to make one for you to celebrate Wryder’s arrival! xxoo
The Saturday morning before Easter
There is a coconut cake* in the oven and the doors and windows are open wide to let the spring air flow freely. I hear something (?) in the neighborhood – is some one mowing already?
The washer and dryer are at their rumbly-sounds work and my dining room table is lined with colorful Easter bags, each designated for one amazing grandbebe or another, as I busily prepare for THE day, the day more important than all the rest of the days ever – the one celebrating what Jesus did. Easter. Resurrection – the complete and finished work. New life, the new birth, the fulfillment of all longing. I can’t help humming, singing, contemplating
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow
And we are rejoicing for we have a Savior and we are also waiting, longing for the new little bebe who will join us soon. Jovan and Rocky were “due” on Friday and so, as every woman who has ever gone past her due date will attest, the longing increases to almost unbearable heights for birth, for what has been carried, to see the baby who has been hidden, being knitted by the very hands of God, right here, right now in our arms, in our sights, please, Lord! From womb to waiting arms. From darkness to light. From will-this-ever-happen to the miraculous she is here! From waning, worn-out hope to bright-light joy!
Mommy and daddy are ready! Mommy is really really ready, doing the hardest of the work. :)
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Romans 8.22-25
We are enlarged in the waiting! Oh, my goodness, our expectancy is JOYFUL!
So we are remembering Jesus, all He did, what His suffering and death on the cross gave us – while we were still actually sinners {don’t give up on this evil world, my friends and family – what Jesus did was enough and is enough for even these troubled days, for all men, for all times}. Jesus is all.
And we are looking ahead with joyful expectancy for this new little girl, Baby-Girl Rhoades and we are blessed, so blessed.
So pray for Jovan if you think about it. Pray for that promised strength to deliver (Isaiah 66) and Have a blessed Easter.
Jesus died. But He conquered death and rose. And His blood washes white and His wounds brought us healing and what He has done means everything. So be blessed on Easter!
I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow”
Soon!
*About the coconut cake…Pure decadence. I have been delivered of the very luscious, yet too-many-steps-from-scratch recipe I used to make to Heather’s delightful use-a-mix-and-you’ll-never-go-back-deliciousness. It is a wonderful cake. Maybe I will share the recipe with you! Soon.
Even to your old age…
So, this is kind of an amazing word of encouragement!
Spring-sound
Once the bird’s song dissipates in the afternoon sun, which I presume means they are napping or resting their voices for tomorrow’s bright chorus, soft quiet rides through the open windows on golden sunbeams, with only an occasional variation.
A little girl on her hot pink Big Wheel pedals down the sidewalk, which is still slightly gritty from sand and salt leftover from a snow, before all signs of winter are finally, fully past.
There is a sound to the spring sidewalk, pedal-pedal-pedal, the hot pink Big Wheel moves steadily. A small Wire-haired Terrier follows brightly behind, with the grandma and grandpa straggling as they pull baby sister along in a Little Tykes wagon. Their family Easter parade takes up nearly half a city block and is delightful to behold, leaving a trail of sweet. gritty noise behind them.
Fair Warning
Ye olde tip of the day:
Whilst one quick-dries home-tended and harvested rosemary between 2 paper towels in the microwave for future use, one willst be overcome with an immediate and strong urge for fresh-baked foccachia.
You may count on this.
Amelie Belle is three times the fun!
Happy Birthday, Belle-Baby, our little chin-dimpled Amelie-girl with the curly locks and impish smile! You are 3 today!
Teeny-tiny little girl ~ you are bringing more joy each day you live. You are sweet and funny and ornery and fast! You are cunning and charming, too smart for your tiny britches, and can get into uproar faster than any of us can shake a stick, but o-my-goodness, when you pause to show your love, the earth melts away for the hugeness of it.
Until Baby Malakai came along, you were the family baby for such a long time. And so-tiny you remained, it has been easy to forget how quickly you are growing up. But when Kai-Kai came along, you became, overnight, a big girl, the sweet cousin to *kiss-kiss baby’s head and bring diapers and whisper sweet nothings to him. Just think what a wonderful big sister you are about to be.
Amelie Belle ~ When I think of you, I think about how fast you are, how decided you are, how well you share your feelings and opinions in spite of being such a tiny thing, what a leader you are and how much you love singing {just like your Nonna did at your age!} and I also think about how long and sweet and intense your hugs are.
I will never forget when you came to kiss me goodbye the other night and you, without any coaxing from your momma or daddy said, “Thank-you for my cake, Nonna” in your ever-so-slightly sandy-voice, and you hugged me so tight and I never wanted to let go and if I hadn’t, I think you would have stayed. It is what I love most about you – you are full-in, dedicated, committed and wholehearted in every single thing you do, including your love and affection. I can’t always catch you, but when I can, it is wondrous. I LOVE that about you!
THREE wishes for my Amelie on her 3rd Birthday:
1// That the song of the Lord will grow in your heart and you’ll sing with angel-choirs when no one else knows and it will cause you to ever and always want to press in and worship the Lord and pursue His Presence.
2// I wish for your hugs to bring healing and peace to people whose hearts are broken. I am hoping for your lovely love to bless people and give them strength when they need it so. Just like it has for me.
3// MIddle-child wonderfulness: may you have it in abundance. You are the filling in the sugar-and-spice sandwich now, and I know you are spicy and delicious enough to be seen! You be a wonderful little sister and a splendid big sister and you will bless your mommy and daddy and please God, too. OK?
I love you, Belle-Baby, my big-girl, now. Nonna loves you and all your color and texture and wild beauty! I love you! xxxooo
The Waltz of Amelie~
Dance, sweet girl, for your 3 sweet years!
And hey, Amelie- remember this???
A little blast from Amelie’s past. :)
The whole, ugly truth
There are people, very-very few of them, mind you, in this life, to whom you may reveal your worst, most awful, darkest, most terrifying faults and flaws; those to whom you can admit your defeats, defects, and deficiencies with total abandon.
They know how the enemy comes after your heart and your mind. They study his tactic and assignment against you and start clearing a path.
They can know you are not only not perfect, but perfectly imperfect and even downright horrible. They are aware that you have offended, embraced offense, struggled {absolutely warred} to be both whole and holy and have accidentally and even on purpose screwed. it. up. time and again. They know.
Yet they pray you up, bind your wounds, cheer you on and actually believe the best of you. By the time you get to heaven, they will deserve a greater reward for making sure you got there and did not miss the great grace of God towards you.
They are not just friends. They are sisters,: grace-filled covenant women who will go to the altar for mercy on your behalf.
If you’ve got them – you are blessed. I am. Undeserving. But blessed.
Thank-you, Father, for the ones you have sent me…{they know who they are}.
Call the Midwife!
FAV new TV show!
Set in the 1950s (fabulous already, yes?), young nurse/midwives working with a houseful of old nuns on the east end of London. You may catch season one episodes on Netflix or at this site: http://www.pbs.org/call-the-midwife/home/
Dave won’t be watching it with me. I won’t say it has anything to do with being squeamish. I just won’t say anything. But I LOVE it!
Season 2 starts on Easter Sunday night on PBS. Glory be! :)
Watch Season 2 Preview on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.
Call the Midwife, written by Heidi Thomas and based on the best-selling memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth, returns for a second season. Nonnatus House opens its doors to warmly welcome the audience back into 1950s East End London and continues to follow Poplar’s community of exceptional midwives and nursing nuns.
Season 2 stays true to the show’s roots — viewers can expect to see more births, babies and bicycling, plus blossoming romance from an unexpected quarter.
Watch an episode and tell me what you think! :)