Time Well Spent

My kitchen was in shambles. I should have taken a picture to record it, but couldn't bring myself to upload it for all of Blogworld to see. I took on the task yesterday of preparing meals for some friends of mine who are pregnant and to say the least...overwhelmed.

"H" is pregnant with her third and is sick as a dog. Her husband has been a huge blessing to have taken on much of the home tasks as well as all the cooking. Poor girl- I truly feel for her in this early trimester time. They have two little girls and I'm hoping for a boy for them! Her doctor has placed her due date on her oldest daughter's birthday- wouldn't that be exciting?!

"M" is pregnant with her fourth and due in about 18 weeks. At the time of baby #4's birth...she will have four under the age of 3!! So far...all boys. We'll have to wait and see about the newest arrival! She has been blessed to have had home births with all three. I was able to be there for the last baby's delivery and am looking forward to this one as well!

So, back to my 'kitchen in shambles'. The boys and I went grocery shopping yesterday morning and came back with arm loads of food. The goal was to make items that they could freeze and bring down at convenience; casseroles, muffins, baked fruit, pancakes, homemade loaves of bread, etc. After I put the boys down for rest, I spent about four hours slicing, chopping, mixing, baking and arranging! Exhaustion, dear friends, exhaustion! It was, however, time well spent for my preggo-girls! If I can encourage them or their husbands by a gift to warm the spirit, then the Lord be praised!

A pot of mums and an inspirational devotional to make the basket complete!

Ziploc freezer bags with embossed gift tags give all the menu ingredients, bake time and helpful serving preparations!

After all was said and done I had made the following to spice up their freezers:

Italian Penne Mozzarella Bake
Chicken Rice Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
Ham & Potato Cheese Bake
Sweet n' Sticky Baked Apples

Loaves Fresh Baked Bread
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Raisin Bran Apple Muffins
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Carob Chip Coconut Cookies
Fresh Avocado Slices