How can it possibly be the middle of October already?  It’s gone so fast I’m having a hard time remembering what I’ve forgotten to journal about… um, did that make any sense at all?

I’ve made several cookie sets that were super fun and have a couple more sets I’m excited about before COOKIECON!  Yep, CookieCon is only 20 days away now and it’s all I can think about right now so forgive me if I seem a little scattered.

focus Liz… breathe, and focus.

So I thought I’d post some cookies I’ve done this month and try to get up do date.

First, I sent these cookies to my sweet friend Ashli who was throwing a baby shower.  Ashli herself is the AMAZING cookier behind The Little Flower Bakery, but she was unable to make them herself because of a recent surgery.  That girl will not slow down!  She still threw the baby shower.  Sweet pink and green for a sweet new baby girl Autumn Grace:

and I made this special one for Ashli to enjoy:

Then I made another set in the same color scheme but for a slightly older young lady who was celebrating her 71st birthday.  Peggy from Peggy Does Cake mom was having a birthday and several cookiers got together to make it extra special.  (the cookie roundup was a brainchild of the incredible Vicki of Sweet Tweets)  We all made Patty tea party inspired cookies and here was my contribution.

And now for a break from our pink and green program.  Next up was a completely non-girly set of cookies.  I am so used to doing girly cookies because… well, I don’t know if you’ve heard this rumor, but I AM a girl.  I tend to make girly cookies most of the time, so when my darling friend Laura {who is ALSO a fabulous cookier!  Check her out here} told me about her husband’s affinity for Alaska and asked if I could make him Alaskan cookies for his birthday, I was super excited.   I always love a good challenge!  So fun:

Meanwhile, my friend Jill {the insanely talented Jill FCS} “introduced” me and many other cookiers to an incredibly inspiring 13 year old boy named Bo who lives in her community.  This article tells his story better than I could and it touched me so much.  My kids came into my office while I was reading his story.  I was crying and imagining what it would be like at 13 years old to have a painful fight with a rare form of leukemia, after fighting and winning… to have that same monster of a disease come back, and then be told that you were going to die from it.  Then I imagined the only thing that might possibly be harder than that, was to be Bo’s mom and have to watch him go through that.  I gave my kids the biggest hug and told them all about Bo’s story.

The kids prayed for Bo every night, hoping that he would feel comforted, hoping that his family would be strong.  I did too.  Jill invited cookiers everywhere to make cookies for a bake sale that would raise money during a benefit for Bo.  So many cookiers jumped at the opportunity to do something for this boy who had touched all our lives with his spirit.

On the 28th of September, Bo passed away, but his message of paying it forward will go on forever.  Without ever meeting him, he has taught my family and I lessons we’ll never forget, he has inspired us to be appreciative, be aware, be grateful, be generous…  YOLO: you only live once so do it like you mean it.  Live like you should.  In the words of Bo:

 “Love each other, help each other, have your neighbor’s back. If you see someone in need — even a stranger — reach out and help. This world can be a better place if we care and help each other.”

I can’t wait to hear how the bake sale goes and I wish I could express to Bo’s mom {Annika} how her son’s life has touched mine and give her a big hug.  Thank you Jill for organizing all of us crazy cookiers; for volunteering so many hours, so many cookies, your LIVING ROOM! and for letting us be a small part of spreading Bo’s message.  Here is my Go Bo! set of cookies:

Go Bo! Foundation 
Have a great Friday and live like you mean it!