Welcome back to Piece of Cake Life! While many people have dubbed 2016 “The Worst Year Ever”; I don’t. We dealt with many trials and loss last year, however; because we are rooted in our faith and sound in our home, we are not shaken. We might have walked through fire, but guess what?! We don’t smell like smoke!

Patrick is still loving his military career! His dedication and favor has allowed him to promote quickly up the step-ladder and will be earning  sergeant rank by year’s end! He spent nearly 20 extra hours each week studying to pass his computer certification and after 14 months, he did! This was such a victory because this test was rated at the highest difficulty and was a huge obstacle-it really was miraculous that he passed! He had the good fortune to do a temporary deployment on the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal last summer for 2 weeks. He brought me back wine, cheese and pastries- I think I’ll keep him!

Sadly, my grandma (mom’s mom) went to Heaven last summer. She raised my cousin who is now 22. My cousin became a single parent a few weeks after. Patrick was able to devote extra time to study because I was busy on the weekends care-taking for my cousin’s baby while she worked. Just this month my Uncle Junior (Basil, my mom’s brother) also went to be with Jesus. Although the last six months have been intense. I am able to look beyond the situations and garner lessons along the way. I’m intent on focusing on my business this year-I’m creating garments for kids with sensory aversions. You can keep up with me throughout the year on youtube at Piece of Cake Life.

Tatianna started middle school last fall! It’s shocking how fast she is growing. She sometimes catches me staring at her changing face. Tia is a brilliant artist, she delights in making comics. She is constantly making new story lines. Her goal this year she says is to “actually finish one!” Most of her friends are boys which is so nice because she doesn’t bring home a lot of “friendship drama”! She is our Rainbow Baby and spreads cheer wherever she goes!

Ethan is so cheeky! He is very funny and loves to joke with us. Apparently, at school he is a saint! I’m just grateful he knows where to act crazy and where not to! His main joy in life is Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon! Soccer is right up there too, we allow him to play in the house as long as our nerves can stand the sound!

This spring marks our 20th year together. We are so proud! We have had great joy and sorrow but have remained steadfast! We are so grateful for God’s grace and those that counseled and encouraged us along our path! Cheers to a purposeful 2017!

Yesterday, I was at The IKEA “Mecca”. It is located in Orange County, and  is huge! Instead of a food counter they have a full-on restaurant. We all ate for less than $20 and that included a full rack of yummy ribs. The only weird thing is that the cinnamon rolls my son loves are on a different level.

After lunch, while Hubby and the kids were in line for rolls, I wandered off to the side to check out the Swedish marketplace. I found myself in front of a “wall of glory”-at least it is for a kid. It was a floor to ceiling display of all this candy that I remember from my youth. I spent six years of my childhood in Germany. Europe holds for me idealic memories. The wall was called Lordagsgodis, this is Swedish for “Saturday Candy”. The idea is that Swedes would visit an old-fashioned candy store for a weekly treat.

I was entranced by the polychromatic bins eagerly seeking to find the favorites from my youth; gummy cherries and blue sharks were two of my faves that I did see. I didn’t see the little gummy bottles of Coke I remember-probably because these were technically Swedish picks;not German.

Suddenly, my eyes got misty. I started to think about how simple and sweet my life was as a kid holding a baggie of delight. At age six or seven I wasn’t worried about how the treats would affect my blood sugar or how many I could have in relation to the amount of sit-ups I was willing to do. My life was pretty divine then. On the whole, my current life is glorious in many ways, but there is something about that innocent time where you have so little to plan for, worry about, budget for, even pray for.

A worker asked me if I needed help with the rainbow-ed confections I told him “No, I ‘m just standing here crying over candy!” He laughed, and listened to my explanation, also sharing his beloved memories from a trip to Germany. He said “You should really get some!”

I told him “I would, but I have a temporary crown in my mouth and I can’t have sticky foods!”

Grown-up problems.