Summer Bake Sale

 

210 cookies. . .

15 designs. . .

10 colors . . .

 

70 bags tied with ribbon. . . 

 

for Leann's youth group bake sale. 

All Sports for Elliot's 7th Birthday

Great-nephew, Elliot, requested "all sports except soccer and volleyball," for cookies to share with his friends at his birthday party.  I was surprised that soccer wasn't included because he enjoys playing the game.  I'd like to think that we have a special connection and he just KNEW that soccer and volleyballs are two of my least favorite cookies to create.  However, I think the decision was probably due to a conversation that went something like this:
Mom: "What cookies would you like for your birthday this year?"
Elliot:  "Sports."
Mom:  "What sport?"
Elliot:  "All of them."
Mom:  "Nooooo way!  That's way too many cookies."

Elliot probably smiled, pondered (he does that), and eventually eliminated two sports.

I decided that the treat bags would have seven cookies for Elliot's seventh birthday.

Mini footballs, basketballs, baseballs, and tennis balls. . .

Hockey because it is one of Elliot's favorite sports . . .

Bowling in honor of Great-Uncle Matt . . .

and golf.

 Since it is Elliot's special day, I even added a few soccer and volleyball cookies as a surprise just for him in a package that he will have at home with his family.

Happy Birthday, Elliot! On the field or on the ice, you are an all-star in our hearts!

Celebrating a Life Well Lived

Dad would have been 88 today, but we had to say good-bye to him a few weeks ago.   I was lucky to have this gentle, caring, hard working man as my Dad.  His was a life well-lived.

From pro baseball to family man . . .  smiling at his surprise 80th birthday party . . .  wearing his Cub hat in the hospital . . .  Dad was surrounded by children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends until the very end.

Since Mom has vision loss, Dad always wore a Cub hat with a white front, so she could see him when they were out shopping.

Over the past several years, star cookies have become a special bond between my "Sugar Sister," Donna, and me.  This time I was on the receiving end of the stars, with a special Cub hat included in the collection.

Diane,
Both of us would like to go back to baby shower onesies

 and cute little animal cookies. 

 Instead, we are gazing at stars . . .

Perhaps they are not stars in the sky,
but rather openings where our loved ones
shine down to let us know they are happy.

May you find peace as you look upward,
 knowing that your father is waiting at the gate wearing his white Cubs hat, 
so all of you can find him!
My prayers embrace you and all your family.
--Donna

 

Thanks, Dad, for teaching me the meaning of unconditional love.

You will always be in my heart, and in the stars shining down on me.

Logan's 16th Birthday

  "A few of my favorite things" was the theme I chose for the cookies I made for my great-nephew's sixteenth birthday.  Musical notes, a piano, basketballs, baseballs. . .

A big thank you to Harry Potter for providing Logan with the joy of reading at a young age
and a nod to Game of Thrones, a current favorite book series.

A few math problems for the math team member.  Of course I needed a little help from my friend, Joan , a former math teacher, to create the math problems for me.

 

Logan is a big fan of video games and I know nothing about them!  I created a template for the designs and used my imagination for the placement of the buttons.

Since AP European History is Logan's current favorite class, I had to include something "really old."  I opted for the Roman Colosseum because he will be visiting Rome in a few weeks on a trip provided by the Make a Wish Foundation.  This cookie is proof to all of my friends that cookie decorating does not mean that I have any hidden artistic talent.  Hopefully, it will help Logan truly appreciate all the magnificent works of art that he will see during his trip.




Finally, some very special cookies that were wrapped separately for Logan to open privately.  His party invitation asked guests to write a recollection of a special memory of Logan.  I opted to write about heroes because the strength, courage and humor that Logan displayed during his battle with cancer has made him one of my special heroes.

 


Happy Birthday to a very special guy!

May your future be filled with good health, happiness, love, success and adventures as exciting as the ones in your books.