As I sit down to type this post, Sarah is blowing up my phone with texts filled with pictures of our moms. Old shots from when they were young and we were babies. All the world made sense. Life was simple and easy and innocent.
How cute were they?!?!
I smiled at each ding of my phone as these photos popped up, but if I’m being honest, the smiles quickly turned to sadness. I miss them both so much. I miss the giant important things like their hugs and their voices and that perfect warm comfortable feeling I had simply as a result of their existence. I also miss the little things…although nothing seems small enough to be labeled little…crafts and meals and trips and shopping… I miss it all.
During the holidays, those empty holes in the pits of our stomachs and on the surfaces of our hearts, are especially heavy. But my friends, we rally! We rally for ourselves and our siblings, our dads, and most of all for our kids. We want them to connect special memories not just to us, but also to the grandmothers they never had the privilege to know. So we talk about them, we tell them the things we used to do with them, and then we do all of those things so that the traditions live on and the sadness I feel when I look at these pictures melts into laughter and joy and brand new memories are made.
When we were given the opportunity to work with Michelle from This Moment Photography, it was easy to choose the celebratory event we wanted to share with her and with you! Our sugar cookie tradition not only bridges our holidays together, it is one of the strongest connections I have in my memory to Sarah’s mom. Y’all…she made the most perfect sugar cookie. When we arrived at her house at Christmastime, she would have multiple tupperware boxes filled with them and even more plain ones ready for us to decorate. So now, we bake mom’s sugar cookies starting at Thanksgiving, straight through Chanukah, and go out with a bang at Christmas. Our kids light up when they know it’s a cookie day.
I love putting together the same ingredients that Anne did. Making the same dough that she put her hands on and sharing it with my girls, and Owen and Maggie and Jack…connecting the generations as if there is not a missing link at all.
Our baking day was the first weekend of winter break, complete with a cookie giveaway in our front yard when all was said and done. 5 super excited cousins, bursting with holiday goodness and baking stamina that surprised us all. They participated and contributed through every step and the video Michelle put together shows this off in the best way! We’ve each watched the entire 4:01 on repeat since it showed up in our inboxes less than ONE WEEK after she captured the footage.
And as a note to Michelle… We love you so much for this treasure. Truly. There are miles plastered on our faces and no room for sadness. Thank you for capturing this special time that we all hold so dear.
Mom's Sugar Cookies from Michelle Roycroft on Vimeo.
To connect with Michelle and see more of her beautiful work…
This Moment Photography
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Please Note :: As we wrap up this post, we have to give This Moment Photography a great, big thank you for graciously sponsoring this series and capturing all of our special celebrations as part of it. We are so grateful to partner together with her on this project and encourage you to contact her too!
I had such a wonderful time with your families. I was honored to have been there!