“Bubba Smiley” and his John Deeres. :-)

I’ve mentioned Isaac before. I know so many of you remember him and his story, and I want to tell you just a bit more.

Isaac’s nickname around his home was “Bubba Smiley.” I believe his daddy coined the name, and I can understand why – Isaac was always smiling! Any time I ever ran into the family, Isaac was nothing but smiles and mischief. Truly, he reminded me so much of our own “Happy Jack,” only he was possibly even more smiley and happy.

Even while battling his cancer. He was just that kind of kid, you know?

One day, his teacher gave a writing assignment to the class. Each student was to tell the story of a “bad day.” Now, keep in mind that Isaac had been battling cancer for over 2.5 years at this point. Remember that he had received over a hundred blood transfusions, spent MONTHS in the hospital at a time, had bouts of chemo and radiation, and had even received a bone marrow transplant. Yet, he sat still at his desk, and he was not writing anything at all. After time passed, his teacher, concerned, asked him if he was having problems with some part of the assignment.

Isaac looked up at her and said, “Well, I’ve thought about it a lot, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad day!”

…

Think through that one just a bit, will you? For me, deep inside, I yearn to be “like Isaac” when I’m all grown up. Wow.

Do you know the etymology of Isaac? “Isaac” means ‘may God smile,’ or ‘He will laugh.’ Shortly, the name means “laughter.” And of course, it does – he is Bubba Smiley, after all!

At Isaac’s memorial service, we were all given a smiley face sticker to wear. Philip and I saved ours, putting them on a tin on our dresser to see every day when we dressed. In addition, we all wore green to the memorial – a special request from the family in keeping with Isaac’s love of all things John Deere.

And it was for him and his family that I set out to make these very special cookies:

The cookies are for a special event – the 5th Annual Isaac C. Hall Superhero Blood Drive. Even at such a young age, Isaac was always helping to better life for those around him. After having to wait a few times for his own blood transfusions, he decided that wasn’t good enough for all the sick kids of the world. He set up a blood drive so other kids would never have to wait like he had, and the blood drive surges forward now in his memory.

This time, after giving blood in honor of Isaac, donors will be able to snack on special treats that aim to help them know Isaac a little better – ones that will remind them to smile each and every day!

Bright, happy face cookies for “Bubba Smiley.”