Just recently, we were blessed with the same gesture - people bringing ready-made meals for the family - after having Chase. (Our children's school has a Sunshine Committee and they do special things for families...some families are experiencing tragedy while others are welcoming new additions.)
If you are looking for a different way to help a family, whether they are experiencing hardship, sickness or death or welcoming home a new baby, a home cooked meal will always be enjoyed. I can't tell you how much it helped us! Nights of no sleep with a new baby, getting the household back on track with a new little person (especially with 6 kids already!)...and trying to keep things as "normal" as possible...
My husband is wonderful enough to get the older kids up, ready and headed out for school, then I had to orchestrate breakfast for Dakoda and Dylan and keep them and Chase happy all morning...make lunch, more entertainment for the afternoon...the hurricane comes in when the 4 older children come home from school at 3, then it's signing papers and making sure everyone gets their homework done while keeping the 3 younger guys happy. By dinnertime...I'm about flat out tired! Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner.
Having night after night lined up of dinners was probably one of the best gifts I could have received. And, I WILL "pass it on" in the future, because it's such a heartfelt gesture when you cook a meal and deliver it to someone!
Here are some of the meals that we received, just to give you an idea of how easy you can put together a meal for someone:
A frozen lazagna, french bread, a quick salad
Meat loaf, salad, french bread, potatoes, corn
A broccoli, chicken and rice casserole with (you guessed it!) french bread and Halloween cupcakes
Of course, if you aren't big on cooking and would prefer to bring some pizza or KFC, I'm sure that it will be eaten! In our house, we would never turn down a home cooked meal...or fast food, for that matter!
