There Are Days.....

There are days when my heart aches with knowing my daughter will not be able to do many things. Sometimes I allow myself to go into a deep dark place and I can't pull myself out. But there are also many days where my heart aches with joy. Today was one of those days. Every year Brian and I bake with the kids. Or should I say; "kid." Cortney usually lasts all of about 5 minutes and then she starts to crab and whine and has no desire to be in the kitchen with us. This year was different. She "wanted" to help. She stayed in the kitchen with us for nearly 2 hours! She helped us bake, and belted out her singing voice to sing along with the Christmas carols playing in the background. She stirred..........

.....She helped Daddy put the Hershey Kisses in the bowl while waiting for the cookies to bake.....

....She helped put the rolled up dough into the sugar.......

....So she can shake the bowl! She needed a wee bit of help to ensure the sugar didn't go flying everywhere....... ; )

Our first batch.......Cranberry, white chocolate oatmeal cookies! YUM!

The second batch were these Peanut Butter Blossoms. Which, by the way, Cortney LOVED! The chocolate all over her face was proof of that!

My son is going to be 15 soon, and I am so glad that he isn't too "cool" to bake with us. He loves to cook and such and is actually pretty good at it! Someday when he is all grown up, he will be a self-sufficient bachelor! ; )

.....Never trust a man with an orange spatula! ; )

Today is my last day of school! I am so excited to have two weeks off! I love not having a rigorous schedule to follow, and spending a bit more time as a family, instead of heading off into 25 directions, like we normally do! : D

Have a great day!!!!