To A Sweet Little Lady ~ On Her Birthday

Today a very special little lady in our family celebrates her ninth birthday...

Miss Gabrielle is now a precious nine year old who can bring sunshine to so many through her beautiful, captivating smile!

Her heart is small and true, and she has a precious, sincere faith in the Lord.  

It was Gabrielle who particularly shed many tears each time another baby was miscarried, and it was she who faithfully prayed for the baby brother we are about to meet...  God answered the earnest prayer of this little girl, and her trust in Him has deepened...

Ever since Gabrielle began reading a few years ago, her free time has been spent with her nose buried in a book.  Books are wonderful friends to her, and she takes great pleasure in adding useful facts to her store knowledge...

Apart from her love of learning and literature, she has an incredible aptitude with babies and small children.  Her sole delight is in entertaining little children and making them smile - isn't this glorious in such a wee girl?

She is ''mommy'' to her dolls and takes particular care of their every need or want...her dolls are her children!

Although her interests may change as she grows up, she has expressed a desire to study midwifery when she is a bit older, and loves asking questions to do with babies...  Pregnancy and the gift of life fascinates her.  I believe this is a God-given gift, and if this is indeed her calling, the Lord will keep her inspired and motivated as she matures...

I could write much more about my Gabrielle...I say ''mine'' as she was the baby that at the tender age of ten, I carried around in a sling whenever I could, and devoted hours to.  She was my real love doll - a cheerful baby with gorgeous golden curly hair and big blue eyes and dimples that were too adorable for words...

I can still picture the day I met this little sister for the first time, and how much I enjoyed being able to cradle her in my arms after watching her grow within my mother's womb for nine months - something that seemed like an eternity to me.

Gabrielle and I have always been close, although over the last two years or so, we have drifted somewhat as I have become so busy with my little business and other interests.  

Little girls become little ladies in such a short space of time, and Gabrielle has grown up in the blink of an eye!

My desire is to draw nearer to this sweet little lady and discover her beautiful heart.  Oh, I love this sister of mine!  The girly girl...the ballerina...the blue-eyed princess...the entertainer of the family...the giggling little miss who will often drive me to my wits end...  But she is a treasure, and today is her birthday...her ninth birthday...

Please would you join me in wishing this sweet nine year old a wonderful birthday?

...And now for some pictures of Gabrielle through the years that I have shared on my blog, in no particular order...

 ^ April, 2016 ~ Gabrielle and Rebekah

 ^ Christmas, 2013

^ October, 2015

 ^ November, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and I dressed up for tea...

 ^ February 2016, Gabrielle and Rebekah

^ April, 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014

^ 2014, Gabrielle and Beth

^ 2009, Gabrielle and Beth

^ 2009, Gabrielle and Beth

^ May, 2008 ~ Beth, Mom and Gabrielle

^  April, 2007 ~ Two year old Beth holding baby Gabrielle

^ January, 2015

^ January, 2015

^ June, 2015

^ November, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and Beth

^ June, 2015 ~ Gabrielle and I

^ February, 2016

^ February, 2016

Wishing...

Picture taken on our little road trip, October 2015, when Mom had just found out she was expecting another precious little one...exciting times lie ahead with our baby brother due in April this year...

...My dearest mother a wonderfully happy and blessed birthday!  

~

Dear Mom...oh, how I love and admire you!  I am so grateful for your beautiful example of Godly womanhood, motherhood, and for your constant guidance, love and support in my life...

Thank you for inspiring me to use my God~given gifts to glorify Him, and for encouraging me to walk the path the Lord has seen fit to give me...

May the Lord bless you abundantly in this next year of your life and may you continue to grow you in grace and wisdom...you are special to many, including me, and I do pray this day - your birthday - will be rich in in joy and love!

~ Your loving daughter...Kelly-Anne

...Her children arise up, and call her blessed..."

~ Proverbs 31:28

Birthday Blessings...

Oh, are these not the most charming floral sewing tins...?

Perfect for storing sewing goodies in and oh!  So beautiful and decorative in the sewing room...

My mom and dad sweetly gifted me with these lovelies for my nineteenth birthday last Sunday...I am hoping to do my sewing corner up a little bit this coming year, and these will be a delightful addition!

My dear sister, Nancy, made me these two adorable crocheted baskets which I will use to store my buttons, bobbins and other little sewing things in!

It is my hope to finally purchase my own sewing machine at the end of this month, my friends...I simply cannot wait to share the exciting news with you when it occurs...{{smiles}}

Until then, I am enjoying picking up some sewing work again and filling my market stall which is somewhat empty at this time of year!

~

And dear friends...I was truly touched by all your sweet, heartfelt birthday emails and comments you sent me...thank you ever so much...they put a big smile on my face!

~

Praying you have a truly blessed week...may it be creative too!

"Every good gift and every perfcet gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow or turning."

~ James 1:17, KJV

A Sweet Sixteenth High Tea Celebration

 For many months we have been dreaming of Nancy's sixteenth birthday tea...if there is one thing we love in this family, it is celebrating any occasion with a beautiful, feminine tea party, and the more lace, ribbon, flowers and tea, the merrier!

It feels like just the other day I celebrated my sixteenth...and that was almost three years ago...

Nancy found some wonderful new recipes to try, and also asked for our favourite baked cheesecake...oh, such a delicious treat!

 Although the weather looked somewhat suspect and there were a few raindrops that morning, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful day...overcast, yet just warm enough for setting up out of doors...  

We put up our little pavillion and set the tea table underneath....just in case it did rain a little...

The little girls enjoyed a mini tea party with Mom inside...{{smiles}}

Pretty handmade invitations...

Invitations were sent out a few weeks before, and we were so excited to have some sweet young ladies to celebrate Nancy's special day with us...friends are a true blessing!

 

  

The sweet birthday girl...all beautifully dressed up for tea time!

The treats...

 

Salted Caramel Shortbread Squares 

Shortbread ~

225g {415ml} cake flour

25ml cornflour

65g {125ml}icing sugar

180g {195ml} butter

Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Rub in the cold butter and press together to form a dough.  Press into a 23 x23cm baking tin and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is almost cooked and starting to turn golden.

Caramel ~

1 tin condensed milk

125g {135ml} butter

150g {175ml} brown sugar

100ml milk

pinch Himalayan salt crystals

Put the ingredients into a saucepan.  Warm over a low heat until melted.  Increase the heat slightly and simmer while stirring constantly until the caramel thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pot.  When it is ready, it should form a firm ball when you drop a little of the mixture into a bowl of cold water.  Pour the caramel over the biscuit base.  Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.  Leave to cool.

Topping ~

200g white chocolate

60ml melted butter

Himalayan salt crystals

Melt the chocolate with the butter and pour over the cold caramel topping.  Spread evenly.  Once it has almost set, sprinkle with a few Himalayan salt crystals.  Refrigerate until completely set.  Cut into squares with a hot knife.  Store in an airtight container.

 

Overberg Baked Cheesecake with a Strawberry Coulis...recipe coming soon!

Cottage Cheese and Tuna Canapes with Rocket and Cherry Tomatoes

  

Oh, we had such a delightful time hanging little glass jars and tea cups up with lace, ribbons and Baker's twine...

We filled each jar with flowers from the garden including California poppies, wild carnations and dianthus...

Nancy and I...

We haven't always been the best of friends, but I find that as we have gotten older, we have drawn closer to one another...we have completely opposite personalities which makes life pretty interesting, and oh my!  Nancy has the most creative and lovely ideas...I feel very blessed to have the love of my sister, and I pray we will continue to be close sisters and dear friends... 

Beth pleaded with us to include her in the tea party...even though she isn't quite a 'big girl', she proved to us that she could do all her tasks with a happy heart, so we thought it would be lovely to reward her by having her join us...{{smiles}}  I think she enjoyed it!

Nancy and Beth...  

 

Pretty tea cards to thank our lovely guests for joining us...

~

...And so ended a beautiful tea party...certainly one to be treasured forever!

{To a beautiful sister, both inside and out...you are very special to me and to everyone in your family!  Thank you for your kind, giving heart and love for the Lord...I couldn't imagine life without you!

Here is to many more wonderful tea parties and fun times, dear sister!}

~

Thank you very much for visiting today, sweet friends!

Oh, your cheerful comments always bring a smile to my face! 

Wishing you a happy week!

  ~

  This post may be shared with...

~ The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Roses of Inspiration, Wise Woman Link-Up, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Cooking and Crafting with J and J and Modest Monday

A Little Cowgirl Turns Four...

 

This precious little girl celebrated her fourth birthday on Sunday...

Gabrielle, Rebekah and Sofia...

Sofia loves horses and just about anything to do with cowboys, and has been talking for months about riding... 

Thus, we thought taking her for a ride on a miniature horse would be the perfcet way to treat her for her birthday...

Of course all us girls wanted to go along to see our sweet little sister ride a horse for the first time, and I wanted pictures and videos of the special event!

 

I was quite surprised at how relaxed and comfortable Sofia was astride her horse...she had no fear and knew exactly what do as if it came naturally to her...  Her position was wonderful too...I think we may have another horse lover in the family...

Nancy and I had hoped to create a special horse themed cake for Sofia...we thought of a ''grassy'' field with horses and little fences dotted around, but sadly we couldn't find any mini plastic horses, and we weren't going to try a horse's head again after the last episode!

In the end, we decided to go with a simple rainbow cake which Beth and I baked and Nancy, Sindy and I decorated...

 

It turned out perfectly and Sofia was thrilled with the different colours.

 

I think little Sofia will always remember her fourth birthday...

In the evening we looked through all her baby pictures and videos and oh my!  You should have heard the giggling that came from our living room!  

 

Ah, such delightful memories and I hold them ever so dearly...  Sofia was the second baby I blogged about, and these past four years have gone by incredibly swiftly...Sofia is a wonderful addition to our family, and she is very loving towards all of us.

Seven sisters...oh, what JOY!

~ From oldest to youngest...Kelly-Anne {18}, Sindy {17}, Nancy {16}, Beth {11}, Gabrielle {8}, Rebekah {6} and Sofia {4} ~

I couldn't imagine a single day without her, and praise Jesus for giving us the privilege of welcoming her into our family four years ago.

Dearest little sister Sofia...oh, we love you so very much!  Happy birthday, little one!

P.S.  In case you are wondering, Sindy is a recent member to our little family...we feel so blessed to and humbled to have another sister to love, and I will be introducing you to her sometime this week...{{smiles}}

~

A blessed Tuesday to you, dearest readers!