A Tribute

When one of my teacher friends from my past asked me to make cookies for her husband's farewell party.... I couldn't have been more excited....  and it couldn't have been for a better cause.   Her husband will be leaving for military obligations for an entire year in a few short weeks.   I know there are thousands of families who have loved ones making these same sacrifices for our country each and every day....and I hope that we can all take a few moments each day to remember and pray for them.

I knew exactly which cookies I would make for this special friend as soon as she asked me.... These cookies were some of the FIRST cookies I ever saw by my "hero" baker.  These cookies "wowed" me from the moment I saw them...as do most of the cookies I see on this amazing woman's blog.  I knew the cookies would be a challenge...but I was up for it!  I must admit... I did have fun with the detailing!!!

So here is my version of the cookies and a few more originals...

Besides cookie baking....we've been getting ready for the end of the school year.  As I sat in the car line waiting to pick up Sophia today... I couldn't help but think about how I only have a few more days of picking her up from KINDERGARDEN.  I can't believe her kindergarden days are already almost behind her.  It makes me sad to think about how fast the year went and how next year she will be in school ALL day.  I remember like it was yesterday...the first few weeks of school when she needed me to walk her in to her classroom.  I remember the first day... she did it by herself.  I have loved watching her skip into school and wave to her classmates each day since then.  I have loved watching her come running out of school with a smile on her face.  I loved watching her skip out today waving her field day ribbon in the air so I could see it.  I am SOOOOOOO thrilled that she loved her first year of school.  No parent could ask for more.  I pray that she has this same anticipation and excitement in the years to come.

Saturday was her last soccer game....I was sad to miss it...but J's allergies were bad and I didn't think a missed nap at that point would be a good idea.  Thanks daddy for capturing this GREAT memory for me!!!

At least I was able to get one of my own when my soccer super star got home!!!

And I can't leave out my other little buddy in this post... Mr. J has been pretty excited about the nice weather lately.  He absolutely loves going to the park....playing outside....helping me water the plants ( or water himself or me), swinging and just being all boy.  Occasionally he is too curious and touches the thorns of rose bushes or tries to ride scooters that are too big for him...so of course..injuries are bound to happen.  Nothing serious yet.... but the other day he was being his crazy self and fell on his chin... a minor, minor red mark resulted.  But this little guy cried like he'd broken a leg.....When he finally recovered...he quickly went to the boo-boo box...unwrapped the biggest "boo-daid" he could find and placed it directly on his chin.  He wore it for the rest of the day and was pretty unhappy when daddy removed it before his bath.  

My next project... I have been working on learning to make 3-d eyes for my cookies using royal icing.  This involves making a template, placing wax paper over it and "drawing" eyes with icing and then letting them dry until they are ready to be placed on a decorated cookie.  A little harder than I thought.  I actually bought some "already made" frosting eyes...which of course made me think I NEEDED to learn to make them on my own.  Everything is better from scratch...right?