Heavenly Homemakers

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 17-23, 2026 post!

We enjoy a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening through Sunday evening – so I turn off my computer on Saturday afternoons and miss posting some of these pictures. I’ll catch up on our last Saturday activities before launching into our new week!

May 16

Keith got to be involved in a Track Meet on Saturday! He did a softball throw, then 50-meter dash, then felt too intimidated to do the final race he’d signed up for, the 200-meter dash. We were proud that he was willing to do any of it at all as events like this stretch him quite a bit. Plus, as a 7-year-old with a birthday that fell weird, he was competing with 8-9 year-olds. That, along with the heat made for a boy who was not able to keep pushing after the first race.

Either way, it was a pretty fun family outing that day. We had a tasty packed lunch of cheese, meat, crackers, frozen go-gurt, applesauce, muffins, and juice pouches.

And it was fun to watch the races and cheer while we ate!

We went from a meeeet to….Buresh Meats. It’s a super cool store that’s far from our house – but close to the high school where the track meet was held. So of course, we headed over so I could run through as fast as I could to look for the best deals. Man, this place is awesome! Organic grass-fed hamburger meat for $4.50/pound, boneless chicken thighs and tenderloins for $2.20/pound when bought in bulk, and eggs for just $0.85/dozen!

Back at home, I made a second round of Crunchy Ranch Chicken for our Sunday lunch (I’d made round one a few days prior).

Then I practiced 20-pounds worth of my “Just Dump Sauce on Some Chicken” trick. The thighs I had bought that day made their way into the freezer, all marinated and ready to go!

Earlier in the day, knowing I’d probably pick up more eggs at Buresh Meats, I had boiled 17 eggs to make Angeled Eggs. The kids were amazed by cracking hard boiled eggs and not getting messy yolk everywhere! They were actually very helpful in taking shells off all the eggs as we moved forward with our project.

Anna stuck with me for the whole process, smashing the yolks for me before I filled the whites. We were very proud of our results!

After I put away the eggs and cleaned the kitchen, I warmed up leftovers to feed us quickly for dinner. Then we headed to a graduation party where we were treated to a cupcake!

Back at home, we had bath time and watched a show before bed. Phew – big day!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 17-23, 2026

On Sunday after church, a fabulous crowd of 37 people gathered in our home to share lunch. I had made around 11-pounds of Crunchy Ranch Chicken and 17 eggs worth of Angeled Eggs. Friends brought chips, dips, salad, corn on the cob, and fruit. I made a quick blender full of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip to contribute to the chip/dip section of our buffet.

I’d made the chicken ahead of time and had a bit of a hard time getting it re-warmed fast enough to get us all fed. So I air fried some of it to get kids going through the line. Then, I was finally able to pull out two huge pans of it to serve to everyone (70-ish chicken strips). The meal was a big hit, with only a few Chicken Strips left over afterward!

The best part of Sunday Lunch is seeing so many dear ones crowded around our tables, visiting and sharing life.

We had a birthday girl among us, so we got to end our meal with a huge Ice Cream Cake!

On Monday morning, I felt super tired. For three days in a row, kids had gotten up reallllllly early (like 4:00 early) and the short nights and lack of down time in the morning was catching up to me. Emma came that morning, and I went and wondered around several stores: Trader Joes, Target, Walmart, and Costco. Then I went home and napped all afternoon!

Bonus Buddy helped unload groceries when I got home.

After a nap, I felt better and grateful to have had the down time. Refreshed, I got a few extra food items put together for us to eat. Dinner was a weird casserole that included leftover taco meat and hamburgers chopped up, the leftover dips from Sunday Lunch, and frozen hashbrowns. We adults liked it just fine. The kids mostly ate a dinner of Strawberry Parfait.

Josie was eager to be a helper that evening!

We made a batch of Angela’s Egg Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies…

…and a pan of Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars. It felt good to have prepared a fresh batch of quick-to-eat breakfast items to get us through the next couple of days!

We had to stay in the house all evening because it was raining. The rain was so very needed and we were grateful, even if the evening did feel a bit long since we were cooped up in the house. Anna’s ABA therapist played chess with her (an activity that always cracks me up because of all things to play, this little girl wants to place chess?? It’s awesome). Naturally, Acacia, who doesn’t understand the game at all, wanted to set up a board and teach Bonus Buddy how it worked. Ha!

For a bedtime snack that night, Keith and Josie at an entire package of raspberries – just the two of them.

On Tuesday morning, I made two packages of Meat and Cheese Sliders for Matt to warm up for dinner that night. We had a full day/evening ahead of us!

Hopelyn and Arrow both spent the day with us. We don’t know for sure what this Cousin Conversation was about, but we are guessing it had something to do with Muffins or Blueberries.

Bonus Buddy led everyone in a sweet game of The Floor is Lava.

After school that day, Kiya went with me to our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Matt got everyone fed and ready for an evening outing. Our kids’ elementary school had secured a grant that offered the entire school and their families to have a Zoo Night!

Our kids’ ABA therapists met us at the zoo, which was super helpful as we navigated eight VERY EXCITED KIDS through the zoo with their classmates and teachers.

Everything was free that night, including train rides and feeding the giraffes! Josie doesn’t like the train (everyone screams too loud while going through the tunnel), so she and I stayed back and waved as the train went by. :)

As it turns out, Brayden speaks “giraffe.”

We got completely overstimulated and dysregulated over the entire event. Was it worth it? Yes. But bedtime was a relief that night.

We had a regular and fairly calm morning on Wednesday, with ABA therapy for Josie and Auggie and with Acacia and Bonus Buddy playing outside. Our friends who help us clean once a week came over late in the morning and Auggie was excited to use the spray bottle while Ms. Rebecca wiped down the door. :)

That afternoon, Anna had kindergarten graduation! Kiya is in Student Council at the elementary school, so she got to help check in families when they arrived. She did a great job!

We started in the auditorium where the Kinders sang us some fun songs they’d been working on.

Then we went to the cafeteria where each child’s name was called and they received their diploma. :)

Last, we got to have a bag of popcorn. Here’s how Anna felt about looking at me and smiling for a picture. :)

Back at home, a friend of Malachi’s had arrived and moved in for part of the summer. I had slow cooked a Beef Roast with Carrots all day, which we ate with Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, and Strawberries.

Brayden and Buddy had a contest while they ate their dinner to see who could eat the most sour blueberry.

Thursday was our last day of school. I didn’t get “last day” pictures of our kids before they left. Why? Because we had ABA therapy as normal and a house full of autism and trauma and Mama is tired. :/ I did give everyone an extra squeeze as they headed out for the day. :)

Kiya helped me make a Spinach Cake before she left. She loved being mostly independent with this!

I baked several pans of Bacon that morning.

This was a fun scene in our living room at the end of our ABA sessions that morning. Lots were gathered, including Justus and Hopelyn.

Acacia and Hopelyn took a ride around the block.

Ah! Some of the Coppingers were able to take a “Last Day of School” picture! This bro-and-sis-in-law shot was pretty sweet to receive. These two work hard at the same elementary school in the special ed department. We are very proud of them for how they help their students!

I did get a shot of these girlies as they headed out for their final day of Pre-K. Next year: Kindergarten!

While we waited for their bus, we watched “the mowers” across the street get their job done.

I took this picture of Bonus Buddy’s lunch that day. He has a pretty slim list of foods he’ll eat (like many of our kids), but he ate all of these happily, and enjoyed that his container looked like a Lunchable.

For dinner that night, I made Turkey Bacon Cheese Croissants with Watermelon.

We enjoyed Kiya’s Spinach Cake that evening. I had made Cream Cheese Frosting for the top – this recipe but with a tiny bit of sugar instead of stevia so the kids would eat it.

Friday morning started out rough. We knew that it might as we transitioned into a new routine with Summer Break. Nobody wanted the breakfast I offered. Nobody wanted to do what we suggested. And it was raining so we weren’t able to go outside and run out their aggression.

Eventually we were able to talk kids into eating apples with peanut butter and cinnamon. Then Matt stayed home with seven kids plus two ABA therapists while I took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We’d been talking to Acacia’s therapists about taking a break now that it’s summer time. This was a tough decision because while she has made a lot of progress, she has a long way to go. But we all decided to take a break, which we think will be good for her for now. This way she can spend her summer playing outside, going to VBS, and enjoying our family outings. Her therapists have been so good to us!

Back at home, Matt air-fried an entire bag of Chicken Bites and sliced a loaf of Apple Bread that had tucked away in the freezer. We served it with baby carrots, then got everyone loaded into the van.

We headed to the Children’s Museum and spent two hours having fun there!

We started in the basement where kids put on costumes and performed on the stage.

On the main floor, I ate my weight in plastic Runza burgers, fries, and chicken strips.

Auggie wants to live in this fire truck and has a hard time when, if you can believe it, other children at the museum also want to play in there so he has to share.

We had a pile of free Dairy Queen ice cream coupons so we went to a location close to our house to treat the kids. They waited on these cool swings – only to find out that this particular DQ doesn’t accept coupons like this.

So we loaded up for home where I saved the day by making the kids ice cream cones.

Evening ABA therapy started soon after this, and I grilled Steak for dinner with Fries and Salad.

Food is a huge challenge for several of our kids, but extra, extra hard for one of them. I took this picture of what often happens at mealtime, even with all our effort to provide accommodations to avoid the fights, the food throwing, and the mess. But still something went “wrong” and food flew off the plate…again. Paper got torn too, which is also normal around here. Notice the book sitting beside the mess: Put Me in the Zoo. Yep, that sounds about right. Our ABA therapists were available to work through this situation with us, which is incredibly helpful!

All throughout the evening, I smoked several rounds of Chicken Thighs for Sunday Lunch.

Matt did some yard work with the help of Acacia and Auggie.

On Saturday morning, we got to go to a birthday party! It started out with donuts and playground…

Then we all went fishing! Most of our kids haven’t had a chance to do this, and it was a hit!

Keith caught not one, but two fish. The rest of us just had fun trying. What a great morning!

We had leftovers for lunch at home, then loaded up for another big outing that afternoon. I’ll share more about that next week!