Cookie Baking Night 11/20/17

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo.
Tonight was a special night in two ways. It was Emily's birthday choice, and it was Emily's Cookie Baking Night graduation. In a week, Emily will turn 17 years old. (This boggles my mind). She has moved from child to teenager and is moving into young adult. Cookie Baking Nights do not hold the same awe for her as they once did (and that is expected to happen for everyone). I suggested to her that we honor and celebrate the time she's spent here with a proper celebration. She agreed that would be a good idea. But one question bubbled to the surface (with a little bit of panic in the voice), "Does this mean I can't ever come to Cookie Baking Night again?" Nope. You're welcome anytime, kiddo.

For her "birthday choice" meal she chose: Lasagna (a vegetarian pan, please), garlic bread, peaches, and punch (punch because it is a graduation after all).
For her cookie she chose: Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

Now I ask you, what's a graduation without a hat and a couple picture boards? Oh, we had them!

("Do I really have to wear the hat?", she asked.  Yes. It's a graduation. Humor your aunt, please). 

What's an Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie you may ask? Exactly what it sounds like. Take an Oreo cookie, wrap some chocolate chip cookie dough around it, bake it, and voila!

The gang's all here

We read a lesson tonight from Leading Little One's to God and Emily read the Scripture for us one last official time. 

For Emily's game choice tonight, we dug out the air hockey table and played a few games. (They always loved that). 

Emily's graduation gift was the tied fleece blanket she made at Cookie Baking Night several years ago (she's asked many times when she can take that home with her). 

It was a fun night and a little bittersweet for the aunt. We all shared our favorite Cookie Baking Night memories about Emily. We will miss her as a regular attendee. 

Not "just another" Cookie Baking Night has come and gone. This one was a landmark in time, the start of a tradition, with other 17-year-old graduations to follow in the future. And, as usual, a fun time was had by all!

Caregiving-Serving With Joy (11/02/2017)

Not long into this caregiving journey, I made up my mind to carry out my tasks cheerfully. There are times when I don't want to do it. There are times when I'm tired. There are times when there is little cooperation in the process of getting the job done. Those things don't need to make a difference in whether I do the job cheerfully or not. It needs to be done. Being angry and frustrated about it accomplishes nothing productive, so I make the decision to be cheerful in the moment. It's just a few minutes. When the task is done, time marches on, and I can return to whatever task I felt to be important in that moment. I remind myself of this truth often: It is not just about a task. It is about loving another human being, and it's about doing it well. It's about accomplishing the purposes of God for that moment. It's about representing Him well.