We have had a big day. Cleaning, baking, rearranging furniture, getting out towels and sheets…
Tonight, our church was honored to host a high school choir from out of state who is touring over the next few days. We signed up to keep ten boys at our house. Why ten? Well…why not? :) (The real answer is that we have a big house, and filling it with boys is fun for us!)
I had so much fun baking and getting food ready for this crowd. I knew they’d be hungry after the concert, so I made a pan of Fudge Brownies, a pan of Butterscotch Bars and a triple batch of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip for them to eat when they got here. They did not disappoint. Apparently, singing makes teenage boys hungry. ;)
Take a look at who is singing with the choir there on the bottom right!
The director invited any young children from the audience to join them for one song.
Justus was the only one of ours brave enough to go up there.
I took a few pics during the day while I was preparing some of the other food for their visit. I decided to make several batches of muffins for breakfast since we need to get them up and out the door fairly early tomorrow morning. I’ve got (hopefully) plenty of fruit to go with the muffins.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Banana Muffins,
Blueberry Muffins, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
I packed lunches for 16 boys (the ten we hosted plus six more), and found that an assembly line with help from a great friend was a great way to whip out 36 sandwiches.
Once we finished the sandwiches, we kept with the assembly line theme and loaded up big sacks. The boys will take these on the road with them tomorrow. (Sandwiches, chips, crackers, applesauce, homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies, a cereal bar, and a bottle of water.)
We’re so thankful for the blessing of hosting these boys. Oh, and did I mention that I found out this morning that two of them are my cousin’s boys?! I had no idea they were touring with the group. What an added blessing!
Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.
If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
Just linked up. Reading your posts each Gratituesday always shifts my focus back to where it belongs as I raise my brood of boys. Thank you. Thank you. Gratefully, Wen
Oh, wow. If there is one thing you do for me, it’s give me perspective! When I need to feed 7 extra people for a few meals, I can reduce my stress down to nill when I think of you :) I’m certain those boys were blessed from their visit. Thank you for touching their lives for Him!
Seven extras for a few meals IS a lot – good job!
Awww I finally got to hop over and participate! YAY been admiring your blog for a long time! Thanks for link up and GratiTuesday!
Blessings!
Oops I should have read your guidelines..my feelings won’t be hurt if you delete me..PROMISE :) I should have read first! LOL
Blessings!
Thanks for understanding. :) Would love for you to link up if you do happen to write a post that fits the theme though!
Hi Laura..totally understand I do actually have lots of gratitude post’s! :) I’ll have to come back and repost either tomorrow or next week..You Rock and no worries :)
You might not realize it but those boys will remeber you for a lifetime. My high school church choir toured every summer and we too had mostly homestays. I was JUST talking to my bestie about our fun and sometimes wacky homestays. 20 years later and I still remember the families like yours who were so loving and welcoming. My very first scone was with a family in Seattle. I don’t remember their names but I’ve been a big scone fan ever since! :)
KK
Posted one from a few weeks back. Trusting God and grateful for the blessings he has given us!
Which cousin?
My cousin Wendy on my mom’s side. :)
Entertaining cousins unaware… :-)
I figured it was probably on that side – I couldn’t think of any cousins that we have in Searcy, but it’s always possible that there’s one I don’t know… There are a lot of cousins, after all!
SINCEREST APOLOGIES, Laura! I happened to see the comment from Shari above and I feel like a complete dork! I am so sorry! I just read your March 22 post on the Gratituesday Guidelines and I feel just TERRIBLE!!
How many times have I posted on your beautiful Gratituesday link-up just what you said … recipes, not about gratitude to God!
Oh goodness! I just saw other recipes listed and blindly followed suit. I’m so sorry, Laura!
Now that I know, I promise to stay within the theme of being grateful to God! Please accept my apologies, I should have taken time to read the guidelines a long time ago!
Blessings, Kelly
Please don’t feel bad!! :)
Thank you for your forgiveness! You are such a blessing! :) Kelly
LOL Glad I’m not the only one :) I’m posting a Thankful one this time :) I’m just glad I’m not the only Dork LOL :)
Thanks for making me feel better – LOL!
But I think I am queen dork because I’ve been posting recipes for like a year now with NO CLUE! Ugh!
So glad you left that comment. Apologies again, Laura!
No worries, I promise!!
Grateful for your perspective! If I had had to pack that many lunches and fix that many treats, I know my own perspective would not have left me feeling blessed, but burdened. Thank you for sharing this lesson!
As for my own gratitude, I’m linking up my post on “What I’ve Learned From the Amish”, b/c they help me remember to just slow down and be present.
Wow- what a houseful!
Wow, it’s so cool that you and your husband opened up your home like that. That’s the type of married couple my husband and I would like to be.
This is my first time linking up and I’m looking forward to reading all the others.
You are one amazing woman. I pray that God will pour blessings on your head and into your cup until they overflow.
Thank you friend. God has blessed us so much. We’re thankful to serve during this season in our lives.
You are one amazing Proverb 31 Woman…wow!
Blessings and shalom,
Gail
So many boys! What a wonderful memory you and your husband made for them.
May God continue to bless you, so that you may bless others…
That’s a lot of teenage boys – looks like fun!
Just want to add that, as a new-ish reader of your blog, I am so thankful for you! I’ve been *slowly* making changes around our kitchen, and this blog has been a great resource. Thank you so much!
it looks like the deal on the Muscovado Sugar is back on amazon if I read it correctly.
I remember touring with my college many times and enjoying home cooked meals and lunches! Truly a blessing for singers on the road! Where was the choir from? I went to a Church of Christ college in Portland, OR so I’m very familiar with York College…which I believe your husband coaches at?? (terrible grammar!!)
Such fun memories of choir tour. Glad you were a blessing to so many wonderful boys!!
P.S. We love boys in our house, too…we have been blessed with 3…and one princess :)
God bless, Pamela
Pamela – I’m pretty sure that the group was from Harding Academy (a K-12 school on the campus of Harding University) in Searcy, AR. I recognize their director from Laura’s picture above.
Thank you so much for hosting!! I Love this link up!!
You do realize this is a gift, right??? I stand in awe Luv. Glory to God in how He’s equipped you to bless others and blessings upon YOU for choosing to use your gifts to His glory in such sweet ways.
Yes, definitely realize that doing things like this is a gift. I’d never be able to do these kinds of things if God didn’t give me the love and ability. So thankful!
Thanks so much for sharing this blessing of hosting the boys, and for the link-up!
God bless,
Laurie
I hope the post I linked fits – it isn’t long but talks about enjoying God’s creation. If you delete it, I won’t be offended. And I’ll be back! :) Thanks for Gratituesday!
Our church is hosting the Harding Choir tonight and tomorrow night. We only have a couple boys here since I have limited space in our van for extras.
Their concert was lovely, wasn’t it.
That’s super fun that you hosted them too! Hope you had fun. YES, their concert was wonderful!