Providence Place: Slow Death by Baking

Cookies......Cakes......Purses......WMTA (the kids upcoming music competition) are the latest obsessions in the Von Haden house these past few weeks.

Having two kids in 1440 Youth Group at church, fund-raising is frequently a topic of conversation when it comes to paying for youth camps and conventions. So, with General Youth Congress happening this year, I decided to step up the effort on my part to generate some income for 1440. Hmmm,....what...to....do....?

Reuben is trying his best to convince me to let him decorate a cookie.

Well, I have this thing for making and decorating "Roberta's Famous Cut-out Cookies" and it has even proven to be a source of relaxation after a long day of homeschooling, (Did I really just type that?) therefore I had this great idea to make and sell decorated Easter cookies. No big deal, just eggs and crosses. Keep it simple, right?

Most Awesome Cookie Poster!!!!

Knowing I would need some posters and fliers, I contacted the best graphic designer I knew, Sis Hilderbrand. Wow, she took the few photos I submitted to her and created the most incredible cookie posters ever!
In fact, one member of my family, living under our    very own roof, forked over $15.00 and pre-ordered
    2 dozen! I tried to reason with them telling them that
    we may end up with cookies that don't sell, but they
    stood firm and insisted on placing an order to insure
    their share. (I'm planing on placing the blame on the
    poster designer if this ordering gets out of control!)

The kids have gone out once so far to collect orders, and that has resulted in over 15 dozen so far. Jubal told one of our neighbours about the sale and they ordered 2 doz. without even seeing the "Most Awesome Cookie Poster"!

I've decided the best way to stay ahead on this, is to make and frost cookies every waking hour. Not really.

Marilla is a huge help by mixing up batches of cookies and frosting for me as I request them. She also has a love for baking and has put in late hours helping in the "Sprinkles Dept." as I frost them.

Last night we were up 'till 11:30 putting the finishing touches on about 80 crosses, drinking tea, and enjoying the opportunity to decorate cookies with out having to have a stand-off with most of the other family members. The one good thing that will come out of this, if nothing else, is that my kids will be so sick of licking frosting off of beaters and out of bowls, they'll never argue over this privilege again!

After last night, Marilla and I decided that something will have to be done as far as storage. We are running out of space in our freezers. What a great problem to have!

Seeing that this blog entry is just at the beginning of this "Great Cookie Adventure" its a little early to tell how it will all end. Hopefully, I will be posting a happy and successful ending to my first endeavor into fund raising at the end of the month.

So, in closing; if you need an incredible poster designer, talk to anyone who knows Sis Hilderbrand and her sweet skills; if you want to buy a cookie, give me a ring; and if you want to lick the beaters or the bowl, line up with the kids (Jubal might let you cut in line behind him).

P.S. I forgot the part about the cakes and purses, so here's a couple pic's of Andie's 7th Birthday cake from this past week and also the purse I made for one of Elsa's little friend's birthday party she'll be attending in a few days. Also, Simeon and Marilla's WMTA results will be in after they play on Saturday, so I'd recomend that you stay away from the house 'till then. Tension is running high.

In short: Creativity is good for the soul....and the psych ward.