And the winner is....

...the Balmforth Family!  Didn't you just win Ellen's last blog contest?!  You guys are good!!!  We hope you enjoy your $100 cheesecake.  Wanna eat it at our house?  :):)

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!

Gotta love Grace!

Does this sound familiar?

My sister just sent this to me, and I can relate a little too well.  How 'bout you?

Mom

My mom died 16 years ago.  There's so much I love and miss about her, and yet I do feel her loving presence in my life time and time again.  One of the last things she told me was that she would be at the crossroads of my life and those have been definite dates with her for me....my wedding, births, baby blessings, and baptisms.  There have also been many times on average days when I have felt her grace my life with her presence and love.  It's true that our family is eternal.

A friend of mine, Beth B. once gave a talk in church about joy.  I felt the Comforter when she read John 16: 20-22, and have relied on those words Jesus spoke to get me through life without my mom's physical presence.  I love how Christ understands the pain of loss of a loved one.  The hole in my heart I've had since my mom's death 16 years ago will be healed at our reunion because of our Saviour.  This I know.

A few thoughts on my mom, for posterity....

I've said this many times...I'm amazed how my mom, with 10 children, could connect, truly know, and deeply love each of us.  She saw each of us through the Lord's eyes.  When I received my patriarchal blessing I remember her loving words, "I knew that."  When we made bad choices, she pleaded with the Lord on our behalf, she spoke plainly with us, and did all she could to help us.  She was our biggest cheerleader when we achieved good things.  I love this picture of my mom at my older sister's temple wedding.  I love that she was candidly caught basking in the joy of that celebration.  I remember her being on cloud 9 that day.  After years of sacrifice and dedication, she was quick to recognize the Lord's mercy and love that day.  

I marvel at my mom's efforts to mother each and every one of us.  I'm sure it was exhausting work.  When I came home from my mission for a weekend to visit my mom while she was in advanced stages of bone cancer, she and I were looking at her worn and wrinkly hands.  She was embarrassed about the wrinkles, but I said, "You earned every one of them."  In fact those wrinkles and the bags under her eyes came from years of service and sacrifice for each one of her children.  Cancer wreaked havoc on my dear mother physically, but she was truly beautiful, inside and out, in the real sense of the word. 

  

The Sampler with love for the one...

When I was pregnant with Christina, I thought of a sampler my mom made me when I was a little girl, and I wondered how I could duplicate it.  I looked and looked and couldn't seem to find an alphabet pattern quite as beautiful as the one my mom stitched for me.  Soon after Christina was born, my mom's sister, Karen sent me a package.  She said my mom told her to send it to me at some point, and Karen felt like with the birth of our first girl, I would know what to do with it....my sampler.
 I sat there marveling at the detail in the sampler, something I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate as a child.  I chuckled at the dated colors.  The sampler was more gorgeous than I remembered it being.  I saw the date, "1978," did some quick math, and realized that at that time my mom had 8 children in the house.  How amazing that with all of these children to love and care for, she took the time, months, maybe years, to make this beautiful needlework just for me.   She was a mother of 10 with love and devotion for each one; something I always think of when I see this sampler hanging in Christina's room.

Another treasure...

The Christmas before my mom died, she and my dad gave each of us a journal with their testimonies in the form of letters making up the first few pages of the journal.  What a blessing it is for me to read how my mom felt when she found out she was pregnant with me, her observations of me as a baby, her expressions of love, her testimony....

"...I don't know what the Lord does have in store for me in these next several months, but this I do know, that he lives, that he loves each one of you , my children, and he in his perfect love and wisdom will bless us all.  I may have to wait for you awhile in Heaven, but I will always be your mother and never far from you.  I will enjoy  with you all those things mothers love to share with their daughters--choosing an eternal mate, bringing each of your own children into the world, enjoying their first words, their baptism, graduations, and on and on and on.  I'll be there by you." 

With all my heart, thank you, mom.

Love you more.

How the Beantown Menzies began + a whole lot more; a 23 question tag

This is a tag from a blast from the past, Colorado Julie.

Preface: Here's my twist on a famous quote..."It's not the mountains ahead that are most difficult, but the grains of sand in my shoes." Being a mom of 5 kiddos from ages 1-11, it's easy to let the nitty gritty glamour-less pebbles of whining, diapers, scuffs on walls, never-ending laundry and clean-up, refereeing, and chore managing be all consuming. Some days it literally feels all consuming. Some days when Wayne comes home I feel like taking a long winter's nap. Knowing I chose these mommy pebbles, I've learned to find joy in little things each day...dandelion bouquets from Caroline, head-to-head touches from Wesley, Christina's helping hand, "You're the best!" from Thomas, beautiful artwork from Grace, a moment of cooperation, a kind conversation, sibling support! Finding joy is a sanity saver...like a moment of sheer gratitude. I don't want my 30 year wedding anniversary to come around and look back at years of being so all-consumed with mommy pebbles only to find that I missed out on joy with the man I fell in love with in the winter of '93. I am thankful for the support and love I have felt from Wayne over the years which has helped me recognize blessings in my roles as mother and wife, despite the craziness:) So, cue "Wayne's World," and read on if you're curious how our circus began...

1. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE? The first time I met Wayne was after he gave a report of his mission in church. I especially loved his stories of service and could tell that he served an honorable mission. I went up to him and told him I could tell he was a great missionary. Life was easy and smooth sailing at the time. I wasn't looking for Mr. Right. I didn't even introduce myself.

2. WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR FIRST DATE? The day of our first date, we went with a group of friends up a canyon in Provo to go sledding. It was January '93. The road was barely safe for 2 lanes with the snow built up on the sides. As I was riding with Wayne in his old silver Jetta, an Explorer was passing a car in the opposite lane and came right for us. Wayne moved to the shoulder as much as possible, but the snow was covering the edge of the road, so we couldn't see the drop off. We started sliding down the bank of the Provo River, the Jetta turned over on it's hood in the river bed, the windshield cracked, and water started to come in. We hustled out of the car with the help of a good Samaritan, and got up to the road. The Jetta was towed to Wayne's grandparent's condo. Wayne dried out the wet parts, and the car was good to go. That night was our official first date. We took my car. All I remember was sitting on park bench with Wayne thinking I could see myself in the same spot with Wayne as an old couple.

3. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER? You didn't say this involved math! Fine. 14+ years.

4. WHO EATS MORE? More? Wayne. Faster? That would have been me in our early years.

5. WHO SAID "I LOVE YOU" FIRST? I was hoping Wayne would say it first and he came through. We were both essentially off the market after that point.

6. WHO'S TALLER? Waynerd.

7. WHO SINGS BETTER? I'm going to take this one. I am not a great singer and it makes me laugh to think of my sisters and I "performing" in church many times. I think there is something to be said for sibling voices blending well.

8. WHO IS SMARTER? Factually, Waynerd. If either of us had a penny for every time someone has asked, "Is there anything you [Wayne] doesn't know?" we'd be gazillionaires. Wayne also is smart enough to say "I don't know" and find answers when needed. He also is quick to fact check. I love that about him.

9. WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY? MOI. I really love my front loaders, but they haven't made me love laundry. My cousin's wife was visiting (our Spanish Christmas Yankee Swap party is a story for another day) and when she saw all of the laundry baskets full, she said, "You have too many clothes!" A light bulb went on in my head...less clothes=less laundry. I also thought, "She obviously hasn't been shopping for little girly clothes lately." Seriously though, since she made that comment, I've thought twice and three times before bringing yet another darling outfit into my laundry cycle. I haven't loathed laundry enough to have my older kids do their own laundry, but I'm sure that day will come.

10. WHO DOES THE DISHES? If you asked Wayne he'd say we have 4 dishwashers...Christina, Thomas, Grace & Caroline. True, they help to a degree, but I oversee and truth be told am THE dishwasher.

11. WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? Wayne with his CPAP. Probably annoying for him, but it beats snoring and sleepless nights.

12. WHO PAYS THE BILLS? Moi. Dad, stop laughing!!!!

13. WHO MOWS THE LAWN? Waynerd. I love my garden, but haven't touched the mower. I'm sure I don't know the fun I'm missing out on.

14. WHO COOKS DINNER? Moi.  I love to cook. But Wayne is comfortable in the kitchen... he's the chef type of cook; very exact and precise, and very good at making brilliant dishes. I'm a family cook; throwing together this and that, tweaking recipes, and every now and then resorting to Kraft Mac & Cheese (like the time I used purple cabbage to make roasted Corned Beef with veggies- the purple bled and we ended up with blackish purple potatoes and "I am NOT eating this!" comments).

15. WHO DRIVES WHEN YOU ARE TOGETHER? Waynerd. When I was 16 my parents let me drive our family to church. When I started to leave the house, my very concerned little sister said, "Becky's driving? We're going to DIE!!!" I had the nickname "Sister Andretti" on my mission. I like to think my driving has improved since leaving the CA freeways, but driving in MA is a matter of survival as well, so I'm actually happy to close my eyes in the passenger seat while Wayne deals with the crazies.

16. WHO IS MORE STUBBORN? I wouldn't describe either of us as stubborn, although I know there is a stubborn gene in my family. So, maybe this would be me.....maybe not.

17. WHO IS THE FIRST TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG? This isn't a big deal for either of us, and I'm sure we've gotten better about this over time. After the high of the temple wedding and honeymoon, it's humbling that first year to realize you married imperfection and your imperfections are exposed as well. Now that we know we can be happily married as an imperfect perfect match, it's not so hard to fess up and work out the kinks (ok, the latter still isn't easy, but the fessing up part is much easier after 14+ years).

18. WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? I'm certain Wayne kissed me first.

19. WHO PROPOSED? Wayne did such a good job. We went out to dinner (a real treat during starving student days) at Nino's in SLC. Wayne was being very strange, in a giddy, goofy, trying to make this the best date ever kind of way. I knew he was up to something. We left the restaurant and went to Temple Square Visitor's Center. The grounds were beautiful with red tulips and purple hyacinth. He got down on one knee in front of the Cristus (hands down one of the most beautiful places in the world & Wayne knew it meant a lot to me) and proposed.

20. WHO IS MORE SENSITIVE? Me. Wayne is a softy, but I'll take the cake in this dept.

21. WHO HAS MORE FRIENDS? I honestly don't know. We both are quite popular....oops, was I too sarcastic there? Truly, we both are happy with the good friends we have and are always happy to add another.

22. WHO HAS MORE SIBLINGS? Me: 9. Wayne has 5.

23. WHO WEARS THE PANTS? We both do. I'm happy to turn over the reigns when he gets home, but it's truly a joint effort. It has to be for our family.

Julie, will you send some Ibuprofen my way b/c my neck hurts after being a good friend and passing along this LONG tag!! :)  You can all correct my spelling and grammar.

This tag goes on to whoever read through question 23, hasn't already answered this tag, and is feeling all gushy in love and grateful for the love of their life.