Happy 11th Birthday, Faith!

Somehow, someway, Faith hasn’t had a big birthday party in years.  This year, she wasn’t about to be skipped over and began throwing out ideas months in advance!  She narrowed down all her options and chose to have a Cupcake War.She planned, and we scheduled.  We made lists and signs, cookies and banners.  We filled our online shopping cart and collected baking goodies that could be used as toppings and decorations; we raided the craft bins to find supplies for decorating the perfect display.  The day of the party, we decorated and set up the tables and got ready for all her friends to enter into the greatest competition of the year!She had 7 friends come, and all the competitors were divided into three teams:  Pink, Blue, or Yellow.  Donning their aprons and chef’s hats, their creativity was revving up for some intense cupcakes.They mixed and stirred, adding secret ingredients that fit in with the Underwater theme Faith chose.  While they made messes, the lone man in the house washed dishes and prepped dinner and kept things at least kind of livable amidst the chaos.There were some gross interesting flavor combinations, and we won’t even talk about how many times I saw fingers in mouths and back into the batter.  I’m pretty sure licking the sprinkles container is a childhood rite of passage as well.  So, you’re welcome, Moms.  You can cross that one off the list.These kids took their task with the utmost of seriousness.  They discussed and compromised and gestured with inappropriate fingers.  Some of the creative, fly by the seats of their pants teams, had definite fails in execution and had to redo plans.  With the help of some of our adult friends who came to the party, things were set back to order in no time!

Some teams were definitely more methodical in nature with very detailed plans that were sketched out prior to beginning any work.  Those teams were clean and my favorite. 🙂The final creations were so different from one another!  They all fit into the theme beautifully and showcased personalities perfectly.  I think the thing that most surprised and warmed my heart was how the kiddos got along so well.  There weren’t any arguments or unkind words spoken.  Everyone was supportive of everyone else and were equally excited about the other teams creations as they were their own.  Then came the judging.  These dads had their jobs cut out for them.  With ingredients like sea weed, sea salt, and coconut, the cupcakes were bound to be interesting!We even had a guest judge from another city here to help out (not sure if he felt honored or abused!).  The kids were super proud of their work and did a great job explaining their flavors and what they did with their displays to the judges.

The Blue team had two flavors to choose from.  One was a vanilla batter with M&Ms mixed in, filled with marshmallow cream and topped with peanut butter chocolate frosting.  The other was the same batter with a peanut butter chocolate filling, topped with buttercream and seaweed.Something…salty?  We aren’t sure what it was exactly that prompted this face, but everyone in the room got a big belly laugh from it!

The Yellow team went with a coconut mint cupcake, filled with marshmallow cream, topped with buttercream frosting.  They went a little crazy with the mint extract, making for a very tingly, mouth freshening experience.  The Pink team chose to bake chocolate coconut cupcakes with almond flavor, topped with almond buttercream.  They topped that with beautiful fondant seashells and pearls.The judges had to confer, and they took their jobs very seriously!  With three awards to be given, it was no joking matter.The Supreme Creativity Award went to the Yellow Team (Faith’s team)!!

The Ultimate Flavor Award went to the Pink Team (Gracie’s team)!!

And the highest honor, the Epic Cupcake award, went to the BLUE TEAM (Ellie’s team)!!After all the judging, we got to sing to this cutie and watch her blow out her double candles on a cupcake of her choosing (she chose a Pink team cupcake in case you are curious!).This party was a long one, starting at 3, ending at 7.  We had pizza cupcakes and watched turned on an episode of Cupcake Wars for inspiration in the middle of the party.  Faith opened gifts and got warm fuzzy feelings when the paper fell away  to reveal treats from America, a fluffy pink tutu, a new handmade cross body bag, and a shiny new scooter from her friends. As I look back on this day, my heart overflows with the good things He has given to us.  Three years ago, when I was holding Faith as she cried because she had no friends to sit with at lunch, I never could have imagined the heart friends He would give her in such a short amount of time.  His blessings are without measure, and these friends of Faith’s are a priceless treasure!