Helping Hands, a recipe, & A CONTEST!!!!

Today was such a jam packed day, and I am so thankful for the helping hands I had along the way. I woke up with a pinched nerve in my neck and thought, "I really don't have time for this!" I took some Ibu, said my prayers, and got to work....

First off, green thumbed Caroline helped me in the garden. We potted petunias for centerpieces for an upcoming teachers' luncheon, and planted flowers and herbs in our garden. Caroline loves the garden. Ours is pretty experimental this year, but with food costs rising, we're more motivated to grow what we can on our own. This year we graduated from potted salsa and herb gardens to a small garden bed + potted herbs & a hanging tomato plant. We've got 3 different tomatoes, sweet onions, leeks, cukes, green peppers, red peppers, romaine, arugula, carrots, beets, zucchini, and plenty of herbs. I'm really hoping they grow and do well. I'm still just learning this gardening business!

Christina was helpful as always with Wesley. He adores her. "Problem" is she has spoiled him and he fusses when she puts him down. At 26+ pounds, Christina gets a daily workout just holding him! She adores our chunky monkey as much as he adores her. I was very thankful for her help today. Thomas was more than happy to help with Wesley too.

Grace and Caroline helped me with dinner. We made Easy Cheesy Baked Ziti and brownies.... one dish/batch for us, and one for a sister from church who is recovering from a car accident.

EASY CHEESY BAKED ZITI (makes 2 dinners)

1 box ziti pasta, cooked

1.5 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cooked

2- 28 oz. jars pasta sauce

4 Cups mozzarella, shredded

fresh basil, chopped, to taste

fresh parsley, chopped, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cooked pasta, sauce, basil, sausage, and 2 1/2 cups mozzarella. Pour into two casserole dishes. Cooking directions for each: Cover with dish and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and a sprinkling of parsley. Bake for a few minutes more, until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

After our dinner delivery, we went to the church for the primary quarterly activity, "An Evening with the Friend." It's baseball/soccer/softball season, so we ended up with about 1/2 of our primary in attendance. Still, it was a nice activity worth recording for future reference. We started off with each family eating pizza dinner on blankets picnic-style. We said a prayer and sang a song like the beginning of FHE, and taught the children through this activity how to use the Friend magazine to create an effective FHE lesson. The stations were:

Our Creative Friends- On one wall of the cultural hall, we displayed artwork drawn by the kids during sharing time last Sunday.

Fun Stuff- We showed the kids a game in the Friend and showed the kids how to play it for FHE.

Family Home Evening- The kids colored flannel board visual aids, and put them along with the story in their FHE folder. We made copies of 4 different stories, so families with several kids didn't end up with 4 copies of the same story. Our family covered all 4 stories:)

Kitchen Krafts- The kids made dirt cups....OH MY, this was the biggest hit, and ran so quickly and smoothly. The kids started with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in their cup. The were given a baggy of 3 Oreo's and broke them down with a glass. They dumped the "dirt" crumbs on their ice cream and then picked a flower to put on their dirt. They picked a couple of gummy worms to add to the dirt as well. Without being asked, Christina helped the little kids get their desserts. She and her friends were so helpful with Wesley. He was happy to take their pizza and be toted around:)

I loved that this was worthwhile and that the families were given tools in the form of an FHE lesson to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel. The kids were empowered to actively participate in the lesson as well. Mom and dad won't have to do it all, and mutual participation usually means more interest and attention.

As I was driving home from the activity, I had to rely on my most capable set of helping hands, Wayne's. I turned a corner and heard a pop and then a grinding noise. Not good. Wayne came to the rescue. He tied something under the right wheelbase together with rope, and drove the van home while I drove his car home. Can you guess what he'll be fixing on the car tomorrow? If you're local (Boston/our neck of the woods) and guess it right, Wayne will make you a cheesecake w/ topping of your choice. If you're not local, you'll get an alternative sweet care package. Leave your guess in the comment, and the first one to guess right wins. YES! It's the first Beantown Menzie Contest! Good luck!

Back to our day....Needless to say by 10pm, we were all glad to be home and the kids went straight to bed....except Thomas & Wayne who watched the Celtics finish off the Pistons.

Long day. Lots of good things to record. Lots to be thankful for, esp. ALL of my helping hands!