Sharing the Gospel with special guest's from SALT LAKE CITY. . . .

 



 



I tell you that there is NOTHING to fear when getting acquainted with special men of God.  After you've met them your concerns about your cooking ability, your home decor, your room you've prepared for them to spend the nite, the noise level of your children all fly out the window.  They are such a blessing to share with your children.  They make them feel so special and of great worth.  When I come across more pictures and memories of this special time in our lives I will add them to this post.

ideas for SERVING OTHER'S as a FAMILY. . . .

I wish I could take credit for all of these ideas but I can't. Some I can and some we've done but I will list all I have gleaned from other's as well:


_____1.  Write notes of appreciation to:  Sunday School and Primary teachers, school teachers, home teachers, visiting teachers, relatives, neighbors or friends.  (This could be done once a month following FHE.) (We've done for other's and other's have done for us as recently as after we gave our talks in our Ward following coming back to the Ward we left before we served our Mission to Brasil.) 
_____2.  Offer to baby sit for someone free of charge, giving a specific time and day when you could do this.  Young parents going to the Temple really appreciate this.
_____3.  Buying plants or seeds?  Get a few extra and give to someone who doesn't have their own transportation.  Involve your family by offering to do some of the planting, too.
_____4.  Invite another family to dinner or to go on a picnic.



_____5.  Surprise someone by cuttng grass, trimming, or watering without them knowing who did it. (As a family we rented the necessary equipment & put in a sprinkler system without being asked.)
_____6.  Bake goodies together, put on someone's doorstep, ring bell and run!  (We've done this as a family usually during a holiday but it would probably be even more fun to do it just to be doing it.  As empty nesters we've done this for new families who've moved into our neighborhood's or newfamilies in our Ward's.)
_____7.  Someone moving?  Offer to help pack, babysit, or provide meals.  (I've done this in the past and it was so much fun.  I didn't even ask, I just showed up with boxes, tape and packing paper, a meatloaf for them to pop in the oven with some potatoes to bake, salad and TX Sheet Cake which made it all the more fun.) One family paid me back when we moved from 9202 by both her and her hubby coming over with boxes, paper ect.( but they showed me how they broke down their boxes after their move, straightened out their paper and bubble wrap and then placed it inside individual broken down boxes and tied it all together in bundles with string....already to take to some one elses to help them move) NEAT IDEA that I've used but we gave all our boxes away our last move to craigs list and neighbors and church member's moving so we had to start fresh all over again - bummer!
_____8.  Share your garden producer, fresh or canned.  (When I was RS President I'd let the women who had too much produce bring it to RS with plastic grocery bags and let the other Sister's take what they could use.)
_____ 9.  Use your talents to help others...car repairs, wall-papering, sewing, baking bread, home decorating. etc.  (I have friends who bake, bottle, dehydrate, can and they make big batches and trade off  with  other's who share the same talents so that all can have a variety.)
____10.  As a family, write to a missionary once a month.
____11.  Share a good book with someone.  Offer to take a friend with you to the library the next time you go. (I have friends that meet quarterly to celebrate birthday's that have happened since our last luncheon and we bring books we've read to exchange with each other. When we were raising children I've had friends exchange clothing that wasn't worn out that kids had outgrown.)
____12.  Get permission to plant flowers, weed or help take care of the church grounds.
____13.  Grandparents:  Rotate personal visits with your grandchildren.  Invite them one at a time to your home and really get to know each other.  (We have done this one for many of our "Grand's" and it is so much fun to read, play games, swim and cook together and just form a special bond one on one.)
____14.  Plan now so that you can serve later.  Save now for that mission for your children and for you and your spouse.  Serve others while serving the Lord.  (It was wonderful helping our children prepare to serve their Missions and we as a couple especially enjoyed serving a senion couples CES Mission to Brasil.  We worked with the youth 13-30 in Seminary, Institute and The Perpetual Education Fund programs.  Eternal Friends were made.)
____15.  Sign-up to help deliver food to shut-ins through local programs such as Meals on Wheels.
____16.  Be a Red Cross volunteer and help out the needy and the elderly who need transportation to the doctor.
____17.  Volunteer your time and talents to the schools, community, youth programs. ect.  (We've done this especially when we helped over 100 Scouts become Eagles - we as a family took an active role in many Eagle Projects.)
____18.  Going shopping?  Take a friend along or do errands for them if they can't go.
____19.  For a Missionary's birthdahy, send the following to him:  Cake mix, frosting mix, candles, party hats, balloons, noise makers, games (such as pin the tail), and prizes.  All he/she has to do is bake the cake and invite the Elders/Sisters to help him celebrate.
____20.  Sponsor a neighborhood potluck dinner at your home to build more friendly feelings.  (Many year's ago we closed off our cul-de-sac and wheeled out our barBQ and everybody brought side dishes and the meats they wanted and we sat on our lawn chairs and watched the kids play in the street on their trikes, bikes and play with balls.)
____21.  Share a special family home evening with another family.
____22.  Let your small children take flowers and a homemade card to their teacher.
____23.  Don't be afraid to offer condolences through word ( a written note that says you care) and deed (food and help in their home).
Perhaps during the Holidays:
____24.  As a family, put on a program for folks at a rest home. Use musical instruments, read poems, sing. ect.  (We have done this many many times over our 50 year's of marriage with our family. )
____25.  Prepare some Christmas carols or a skit for the elderly and shut-ins in your Ward.  Go around to their homes to put it on.
____26.  Invite a family to Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner, especially those who may not have any relatives nearby.  (We've done this for a large family who lost their mother just before the holidays and it was so enjoyable for all concerned.)
____27.  Make favors, placemats, decorations, ect. and take to the hospital.
____28.  Help your grandchildren make a gingerbread house, cookies, toys anonymously.
____29.  Adopt a needy family and give gifts of food, clothing, toys anonymously.  (This is a great project for several families to do together. ) (We've done this as an extended family many, many times just before Christmas and everybody young and old saw or felt true joy from afar.) 
____30.  Pledge to attend the Temple at least once a month during each year.  (Going thru with the whole family with our youth doing the baptisms for their own ancestors and then the adults doing the rest is a blessisng beyond
measure.)  

some recalled GAMES we've used for our family olympic's and game nite's. . . .

Board Game's

  

We'd select teams for each game such as Chess, Chicken-Foot, Janae, Checkers, Table tennis ect. and make up charts until the final winner of the game (the one who'd played all the sets because he'd won each set).  For example:

Two of the team play against each other.  The Winner of that set plays another, the winner of that set plays another, then the winner of that set plays another until only one winner left standing.  Each looser plays another team member who's lost a round and the winner of that looser member plays the next looser until the final looser set is left standing.  Then they play each other to see who really is the winner!

Set up several game tables so that everybody is involved, when the timer goes off the #1 chair person stays put and the rest of the team moves on to another table: Then the #1 chair person explains the game to the next group moving to his table ect. (then the #2 chair stays, then #3 chair stays, then #4 chair stays ect. until the last numbered chair stays and that's our winner) so no one ever sits back down at the same table or game they've played before unless they need to stay because they are in the selected chair for that round.

Set up tables with a puzzel to put together at each table when all seated ring the starter and everybody helps put the puzzle together when the puzzle is finished the captain runs over and rings the bell and the winning team is added to the roster for that game.

Outdoors Olympic Game's 

  Family Flags were made.

"Frisbee Golf". You make targets up out of paper plates and have everybody with a frisbee. The first person who has hit the target at every tree is the winner.

"Water Balloon Toss".  Ahead of time fill buckets full of water balloons full of water.  You set up three hula hoops each one further out than the next.  The person stands in the first hoop and throws the water balloon to the person standing in the 2nd hoop if the person in the 2nd hoop catches the balloon without it breaking they step back into the 3rd hoop and the 1st hoop person throws another water balloon to the person in the 3rd hoop and if the 3rd hoop person catches it without it breaking they step into a 4th hoop ect. until the #1 hoop person throws a balloon and it breaks when the person catches it.  Put that persons name into the winners bracket.

"Ping-Pong Ball Spoon Race".  Line up the group in teams with the first person in each line holding a spoon with a ball in it.  Let the race begin and the first person to drop his ball into the bucket at the other end and then get's back to tag the next in line until all in line have taken part the last ones race to the finish when nobody left to tag after all his team mates have done the same.  Add that team # to the winners bracket ect. ect.

"Tug of War Over Water".  Two teams line up each holding their end of the long rope over a childs plastic pool filled with water.  The team that can pull the other team into the water wins.  Add their team # to the winner's bracket.

"Horse Shoes". Two teams first team to win adds team # to the winner's bracket of that game.

A moving "MOTHER'S DAY" dinner.

This "Mother's Day" Sunday Dinner was like no other!  So fun and so impromptu.  This was the only picture taken as it was our Wade's 44th birthday as well.  We no sooner got setteled into our recliners after church than the doorbell rang.  Jim opened it to all our Arizona families coming down the sidewalk with food of all sorts in their hands, wonderful smiles and a big "Happy Mother's Day Momma/Grammy".  Matthu and Tricia had called everybody and said potluck dinner at Dad & Mom's for Sunday Dinner.  They said they didn't tell us because they knew if they had I would be trying to make room for all to be comfortable in the midst of our mess of packing up to move.  As it was it was so fun to see our kids sitting on upside down trash can's, filled non-breakable items moving boxes and chairs with stuff packed up against them with no leg room so they just stretched out their legs over top.  All were eating on the odds & ends of dishes with silverware not yet packed away, whatever they could find.  No pressure on anybody just there to enjoy each other eating and visiting.  Some of the little ones were off playing in boxes already assembled but not filled yet.  They told me they were playing "fort's".  After a couple of hours they all packed up their dirty pots, serving dishes and were off for their homes.  I discovered after they all left that someone even ate out of a flower pot left out to pack (don't know how clean that was but I guess it looked clean)!  I am truly blessed with a wonderful, fun loving family.

MOVING HINTS: some involve cooking for the wonderful helpers!

    

We are "down-sizing" AGAIN and I just have to post this.  I am a "contractor's daughter" so I really know about moving a lot.  Daddy would find new ideas to put into his custom homes, build it out and then move us in and put a FOR SALE sign out front.  (A story in and of it's self.)

BUT on this move two of our son's were coming over straight from work to help with a truck load of furniture one of them was taking up to Utah with him the next day for distribution to two of our families up there.  I wanted to serve them a good dinner before they (my Danny & Timmy) had to do all the heavy lifting for us.

Sooooo, since my hubby and I are empty nesters and I don't seem to be able to cut back on my cooking I've, in the past few months, started to do things that have really come in handy.

I make a mean meat loaf, if I do say so myself (but don't ask my brother-in-law Dan E) so rather than just make it for two I always double the recipe I used when we had 7 children at home.  Divide the batch into four meat loafs, put in bread pans and freeze individually.  The next day I empty out of my bread pans, place individual loafs into individual freezer bags and write directions on the freezer bags and put back in the freezer.

Long story short I took out a couple to defrost, cooked them up along with baked potatoes and veggies and had a hardy dinner for  our helpers and kids without having to stop in the middle of packing and getting our things ready to move out.

I also had yummy cookies I recently learned how to make from my "roomies" daughter on Modern Honey blog,  to serve for dessert because of my recently added habit of freezing extra cookie dough into my mini muffin tins and then dumping out the cookie dough balls into a freezer bag to cook up what I needed quickly.

I've shared this before but not here on my blog.  I've made (out of old cloth place mats the kind of Home Depot aprons so I can carry my packing tape, perminent wide marking pen, tape measure, note cards, pen and small sissors, plus my phone on vibrate when needed.  This way I am not always looking for items I need when boxing up for a move.  BarB-Q aprons with their big pockets work well also.  This way I don't get my clothing dirty when I have to take off to go get more tape or boxes or just to get out for awhile.

Another tip is on the month before your move start collecting in a note book (put in an easy place to access that someone won't accidently pick up and pack away).  Every address for bills you pay each month need to be entered so that you'll have them to call for address change notice for the FINAL pay on all bills. (EXAMPLES:  Homeowners Ins., Life Ins., Individual Ins., Gas, Water, Trash, House Payment, Internet, Banking, Savings, ect. Accounts

Another tip is to pack in mostly small and medium boxes.  Most of us can't heft big, heavy, arkward boxes.  (BOOKS should NEVER be packed in anything bigger than SMALL boxes.)
MARK all boxes as to content and room to be placed in when you are going to unpack the box.

Two types of "dollies" should be available as well as moving blankets to protect furniture.  Also keep handy any old pillows, blankets, rugs, sheets ect. that the movers can use to help as props to keep furniture safe while in a moving van.  Also wratchet straps come in handy to hold blankets on furniture or heavy wide tape over the blankets (NEVER on the furniture its self).

I highly recommend reading "Clutter's Last Stand" BEFORE you organize a move.  It's funny and very informative and helpful to get one organized and get moving forward for the upcoming move.