Thankful Posts & Carrot Cake Recipe

I see that I'm a few days behind in my thankful posts - better catch up on that :)

Thankful Day 8 -  I am so incredibly thankful for God's healing. Not for me, not for my family, but for a friend.  I'm praying that through all of this there will be a sweet, loving relationship formed between my friend and God.

Thankful Day 9 - I am thankful for my health.  Thankful that the things that are wrong (bad knee, bad back) with me can be corrected or managed by how well I take care of myself.  Thankful that I have the resources to do it and a husband that encourages me to.

Thankful Day 10 - I am so thankful that my family has a home to live in.  A roof over their heads.  A safe place. A sanctuary.  I pray that God will always be present here, that he will guide my family, and be felt by our guests when they are here.

There is so much to be thankful for in our lives, isn't there?  I have to admit that I find it hard to pinpoint one thing to put on here.  Some things are private and I would rather not share them publicly, and others seems so little that when I think about posting them it all sounds so silly.  Like the sun.....I was so thankful for the sun earlier this week.  Just feeling the warmth on my face.  Seeing the brightness of the sun when I looked out my window.  The happy smiling faces as I walked down the sidewalk and hearing others talk about what a beautiful day it was since the sun was out.  Does anyone else have a hard time deciding what to write about?

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Ok, let's talk about food - that's an easy subject for me!!  I want to share the carrot cake recipe that I made for Carl for his birthday.  It was soooo yummy! 

Carrot Cake III

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.  In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.  To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake. 

Do you have any favorite recipes that you make for special occasions?  Please share - I would love to hear about them.