the 'crazy' neighbor DINNER DELIVERERED! ( pics of food!!!)

[miss_jayne]

c'mon, Deb! my two girls have already eaten and the meat was falling off the bones!
even the breast meat was super moist.

i turn the chicken upside down for the last 10 minutes of cooking and then let it 'rest' like that. it allows all the juices to run into the breast meat. so gooooood.

the pie recipe was unique. it used melted ice cream instead of condensed milk. let's just say, there wont be any left by the time you get here!

 

[MissPrissy]

What lucky neighbors! Why don't any of you people live next door to me???

 

[miss_jayne]

thanks! i hope they enjoy it.

now, MissPrissy, we would all be at YOUR home every night for supper!

now, if the neighbors would get home, we could take it over. tried once, no one there.

 

[QuailHollow]

.

 

[miss_jayne]

well..the dinner was delivered.

my heart is broken. just broken. the dad was showering, so he couldn't come to the door. he had the kids let me bring it in. (i've never been in the house, just in the yard. the yard is a disaster.)

the house is falling apart. the whole place was coated with dirt and junk. the kids had been eating some canned ravioli and mac-n-cheese. they had moved things out of the way to put their plates down. it smelled pretty bad.

it was awful. just awful. my heart is so sad for this family. i knew they had poor skills in parenting and family type issues, but this was over the top disheartening inside.

i just want to sit and cry. i am so grateful for my little humble, ranch home and my three crazy kids and my husband who works all the time to provide a safe, loving environment in every sense for us. God has richly blessed me.

 

[cjeanean]

Our house was like that. Not so much nasty messy, like garbage in all the rooms, but boy oh boy was it cluttered! The kitchen was always full of garbage, though, cause my mom was trying to cook for all 8 of us (6 kids, 2 adults) and there were only a handful of times during my life where I actually saw her eat. It was crazy. We were always fighting, screaming, beating each other up. The name calling wasn't an issue, though, except for when my dad got into the mix. Our yard resembled the surface of the moon, and we had a bicycle graveyard in the back corner. We were always into stuff, building, wrecking (most of the time), salvaging, whatever.

My parents weren't perfect, and in this case most of it boiled down to my dad. He worked and provided for us, and we lived paycheck to paycheck, going without birthdays and a few times even Christmas, thanksgiving, and 4th of July. But he was never there for us in any other way. My mom did everything she could but it was never enough, and she could never get on top of the mess. We just didn't care, and didn't mind the house the way it looked.

Thank you for taking the time to make them dinner, God bless you for that. And for caring out them, no matter how uptight or easily angered they may seem. I give no excuse for the name calling (although I must admit I can be pretty colorful when I get mad), but keep in mind that things aren't always as they seem. I grew up in a trashed house, and I also didn't lift a finger to help. I don't know how old these kids are, and I'm not saying it's their responsibility, but when you reach a certain age kids are perfectly capable of picking things up here and there. We certainly were, and my sister did without even being told. I, on the other hand, didn't care. Parenting skills are something not everyone has, and these people apparently suck at it. I'm not too much better myself after growing up like I did.

I'm not attacking you or belittling in ANY way what you did, because the compassion in your heart and in your words touch me as I read them, from all the way over here. Just please keep in mind that you are blessed AND these people are too, just in a different way and probably in ways they don't even see yet. Keep praying, everything will be fine, and try to make sure there is no judging involved. We aren't any better than they are, we just have Jesus. They wear their dirt where it can be seen, and we wear ours in our hearts (and in my case where it can be seen, sometimes...LOL!).

Thank you for caring. That means more than anything else. Pray, and please make sure something gets done if those kids are ever in danger!

Christina

P.S. It kinda makes me feel a little better knowing I'm not the only kid who grew up in a junky house....that sounds horrible, I know....but I always felt like an outcast because of it....

 

[Poppycock]

You never know what your kind gesture and good example will do for that family. It may not be evident right away, but it may have planted a seed that will grow and blossom in the future. They are lucky to have you as a neighbor. You should be commended for not shutting them out but trying to show them a better way. Hugs for you

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I have an upright roaster that let's all the juice collect at the bottom of the breast. I pierce it and use that for gravy.

 

[Buckaroo]

Quote:
Well said!!!! Most people need to be taught kindness.

 

[MissPrissy]

We grew up just the opposite. We didn't have much but what we had was clean and in tidy order. My mother and my grandmother kept everything spotlessly clean. You didn't muss a bedspread before bedtime and you didn't touch a thing on the tables. Everything had a place and everything was in its place at all times.

With that said, my grandparents were generous when it cqame to those in need, especially food.

The neighborhood bad boys (I mean bad, fighters, theifs, drug addicts, living with very little parental supervision and just as poor as we were) knew they could come to our house for a meal or if they needed something. I can't tell you how mnay times my grandmother gave a boy a haircut, made him take a bath before school and sat him down for a hot breakfast when he showed up at 7am hungry in filthy clothes before school.

Those boys loved and respected my grandmother. No one touched a thing that belong to her. No one dared take anything out of her yard. Until the day she died those same boys stopped in to check on her and make sure she wasn't in need.

Good people touch lives in many ways, Jayne. Bless you that you are like my grandmother and hold them up in prayer and see the need.