The James Family
A smile happens in a flash...but its memory can last a lifetime.
Have I mentioned before I have fabulously talented friends? My friend Cassia took some pictures of my babies and I thought they turned out great. I am often intrigued by family photos. They are what I refer to as a "Red Carpet Moment". You know, everyone is dressed nice, and matching. Everyone seems happy and problems are few and far between. Sometimes I wonder what family pictures would look like if they captured a glimpse of everyday life for us. The kids dressed in the outfit they insisted on wearing. The kitchen strewn with cake stuff and fondant....me looking tired and rocking out my favorite apron while chasing around Raegan who is now into everything. That probably wouldn't match my living room furniture, so instead we got all dressed up and for an hour....pretended that we always match and have our hair fixed. But either way, my kids and my family keep me going to continue to do my best...even I may not always look my best. : ) Love you guys. You are Mommy's sweeties.
I have been thinking a lot lately on priorities and the price that you pay for wanting to (forgive the phrase...) have your cake and eat it, too. Most of my days I often catch myself saying that there aren't enough hours in the day. Especially this past year, sleep has taken a back burner in my life. I've been up all hours of the night with a baby and making cakes for virtually no pay at all. So what's the pay-off for all of this? Love. Love of my children. Love of what I like to do and want to be. I have wrestled with this internal struggle of wanting a career in the cake industry. Would I be doing my children a dis-service? Would I be gone from them? What sacrifices would our family have to make. When Tatum was little I "just wanted to be a mom. Nothing else". But as I've grown a little bit within motherhood, I've realized what a mother is. A mother is a nurturer. A mother cares. A mother loves. A mother teaches by example. What kind of an example would I be to my children if I preached all day to follow their dreams and reach for the stars. And then do nothing for myself? What kind of a teacher would I be to tell my kids they can be whatever they want...but then the minute you have kids...it's over. Children aren't little forever. This is a time to savor thier innocense. But it's also a time to prepare. The stay at home mom thing for me is fulfilling, but I know in my heart that I want to not just teach my kids balance...but SHOW them. So I will continue to press forward. I will continue to love being a mommy and love cake design. I always thought I had to choose. But I'm slowly realizing that I can be 3 people. A wife, a mother, and myself. As long as the 3 compliment each other, it's a nice balance. I may not be able to have or do it all. But I can do what I can...and do it well. I hope that my kids are proud of me. I hope they realize that I value myself and that I'm important, too. To demonstrate otherwise would be really sad, because afterall...I was once taught that I can reach for the stars, too.
This was my first topsy turvy cake. I thought it was cute. I had a harder time being whimsical with this one. I love whimsey, don't get me wrong. But like with the green pearls and made them all different sizes where my style is more clean lines, and even. But either way, I thought it was cute.
Lame as it was, we didn't really do anything for the 4th of July....but we had a great afternoon hanging out. Here are some pics of the kiddos. This first picture is a birthday cake I made for a missionary in our ward whose birthday is the 5th. He asked if I would make him a cake...I thought it would be a fun idea to do a shirt cake. 
