Busy busy busy

There have been some major posting delays...sorry! It has been a very busy week. I feel like I have hardly had a chance to catch my breath. It seems like there's been something going on all the time. Saturday was my sister, Mara's baby shower. She is having her 2nd baby & is due the end March. So, I helped throw that party here. I decided I would try out my new found cake skills & make her a cool cake. Well it took me almost the entire day...longer than expected. (Sorry, Hayley & Kate!) Also, this week was my last cake class. We had to do this big tiered cake with fondant roses all over it. The roses took me 3 days to make...I'm not kidding at all. Any spare moment I had was spent on making those roses. Fondant is the stuff they cover wedding cakes with. It is edible, but not too tasty. You mold it kinda like clay. The roses turned out beautifully & it made me feel like I am ALMOST an artist. All the work seemed like a little too much by the end of it. Tonight is enrichment & I am taking my big cake to it since I don't really feel like eating another cake for at least 6 months. I was considering for a few days that it might be fun to start doing cakes professionally, with a little more practice of course. But I can easily say that I now know why wedding cakes cost SO much. They are lots of work! Here are a few pics of those cakes.

On to another fun subject...My best friend from Florida growing up is a Baptist. As kids, we mostly left religion alone because her parents did not approve of her learning about my church. Now, we sometimes get into religious discussions and it is really fun. This week we have gotten into some major stuff. I asked her why other religions do not consider us to be Christians...well, the talk has been going on for days. I gotta say I have LOVED it. It has forced me to really study & search for answers to defend my religion. I love the scriptures & the answers you can find there. The problem I have come across, though, is that the Bible is really lacking in so much of the fulness of the gospel. There are so many things that cannot be answered through the Bible. It has made me increasingly grateful for the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants & Pearl of Great Price. I am also so incredibly grateful to be born into a family that has taught me these things. The more I learn about her beliefs, the more amazed I am at how little she really knows & understands. It is sad to me, really. I can honestly say that it has only made me stronger in my faith & understanding of the importance of modern-day revelation, of the added translations to the Bible and of the scriptures. I never had a chance to serve a mission & it is something I kinda always wanted to do. When I have the opportunities I really get excited. I guess the most important thing I have gained & deepened my understanding on is that a testimony of Christ is central to both of our religions. We both believe, without a doubt in the truthfulness of Jesus Christ being our Savior. That is more important than anything else. We can pick at each others doctrines until our faces turn blue, but we both believe in the same central point. Though I wish the other Christian churches would get it, I am certain they will know Christ when He comes and that is what matters more than anything else.