ignore search field if empty?

I have a search form with three fields that will search a MS SQL database. Two fields are text fields and one is a multiple select box. If no value is ever entered into a text field, I need to ignore it in the SQL query... The way it stands now, the query I am generating looks like this:

SELECT ItemID, Description, QuantityOnHand, ListPrice, Category FROM Merchandise WHERE ItemID = AND Description LIKE AND category IN(Bird,Cat)

because it is looking for a value for the two text fields ItemID and Description, which have not been entered...

Any solutions to this problem? THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Furthermore... how would I get the search to return ALL rows if no criteria were entered? Just check each one with a CFIF and then do a SELECT * FROM... ?

Something like:

SELECT ItemID, Description, QuantityOnHand, ListPrice, Category
FROM Merchandise
WHERE
category IN(Bird,Cat)
<cfif len( trim( form.myTextField ) )>
AND ItemID = #form.myTextField#
AND Description LIKE '#%form.myTextField%#'
</cfif>

great... thanks!!!