Dave's 34th birthday

It was fun to make a chocolate beetroot cake for Dave's birthday on Saturday. I wanted to continue with the challenge of making a cake with ingredients from the garden, and we don't have much left at the moment! Thankfully Dave said the cake was deliciously decadent.

You can taste the beetroot a little, so this cake is only for those who like beets. I reduced the amount of sugar in the cake to about 180g, and replaced corn oil with sunflower. 300g beetroot is about 3 of medium size.

The icing was simple. Just melt a 200g block of dark chocolate with 1 cup of cream and pour some over the cake just before serving. Use the extra as a sauce.

Dave's birthday was cold with lots of snow on the mountain. Thankfully the next day was glorious and we spent lots of time outside. Mercy enjoyed her first swing.

The season is beautiful with glorious bright orange leaves on the tree at the front of our home. I am enjoying the reduced intensity of vegetable gardening in late autumn. In the picture above you can see cauliflower plants, lettuce, some lonely last tomato plants with fruit slowly ripening, and some kale. We have enjoyed harvesting broccoli as well as silverbeet, beetroot, carrots and spring onions planted in summer.The gem squash and pumpkin we harvested in April have been great as some of Mercy's first solid foods! We also have tiny seedlings of broad beans, peas, turnips, silverbeet, spinach and broccoli. Our chooks are still laying although a reduced amount.

Birthdays are a great time to reflect on God's providence in a person's life. Dave and I face uncertainties in the next few months as Dave's work contract is coming to an end. It is faith building to think about what God has done in Dave's life so far and the way he has provided for us. 

Here are some things to be thankful for about Dave and his 34th year . . .

He is a loving and attentive Dad to a tiny boy who loves him and likes to "sit together" and "talk together"  - often about the moon and sky.

 

Dave has been delighted with his baby girl and her baby ways, and patient with disturbances to sleep and schedules. 

 He does things with the children that I wouldn't do, like getting out the jolly jumper . . .

and pushing an excited boy high into the sky!

Dave is always an encourager as I seek to help him through keeping our home, caring for the children, and more! He takes pleasure in all the growth in the garden and in our family culture. He has been faithful to continue to pursue spiritual growth even when he doesn't feel like it. His gentleness yet firm conviction is anther admirable trait. He is not one for online love letters, so I'll leave it there, praising God for Dave's life!