Mother’s Day Gifts: Childless Couples

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have infertility. We know too well the pain, longing and disappointment associated with it. Mother’s Day is an especially difficult day for those who are not voluntarily childless or for those who have lost a child. Since infertility affects 1 in 6 couples, you most likely know someone who is going through the various stages of infertility and its difficult processes. I encourage you to reach out to them on Mother’s Day.

Patricia Holland (wife of the apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland) is quoted as saying, “In a poignant exchange with God, Adam states that he will call the woman Eve. And why does he call her Eve? Because she is the mother of all living. Eve was given the identity of the mother of all living years, decades, perhaps centuries before she ever bore a child. It would appear that her motherhood preceded her maternity. I believe ‘mother’ is one of those very carefully chosen words, one of those rich words- with meaning after meaning. I believe with all my heart that it is first and foremost a statement about our nature, not a head count of our children.”

I was blessed to be surrounded by an excellent husband, incredible sisters and family members who let me hold their babies as long as I wanted, come to soccer games, dance recitals and involved me in school programs and let me just play with their kids in the back yard. They gave me opportunities to express my “mother heart” with their children and I love them for it.

For my gift idea to those who need some tender love and care on Mother’s Day I turned to one of my favorite desserts – Homemade Oreos. But I decided that I wanted to make them more appropriate for spring so I used strawberry cake mix instead and added fresh strawberry puree to the cream cheese frosting. They turned out DELISH!!

Here’s the recipe and directions:

Cookie Ingredients:

1 box Strawberry cake mix – not prepared

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Cookie Directions:

Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in a bowl. Roll dough into 1″ balls and bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

4 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1/4 c. Butter (room temperature)

2 – 2 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar

2-3 Tbsp. fresh strawberry puree

Frosting Directions:

Whip cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add strawberry puree (I just diced mine and then mashed them with a fork because I didn’t want to dirty my blender) and combine. Slowly add confectioners sugar and mix until well blended.

To make the cookies you simply spread a dollop of frosting on one cookie and top it with another. They really are so good that you’ll want to hide in a closet to eat them so you don’t have to share!

For the super cute gift tag, Amy from Shirley K Design used another of my most favorite quotes (and talks for that matter) from Julie B. Beck – former Relief Society General President. You can print your very own copy right here, just right click on the image, save it to your computer and print away! 

Amy is so talented and she even does custom design work! If you have a bridal or baby shower, need invitations, banners or cupcake toppers/wrappers for an upcoming birthday party she is great and super affordable! She also does frequent freebies to her facebook followers!

Day 1 Paper Goods, Day 2 Paper Flowers, Day 3 Childrens Gift