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Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 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!

February 28

We’d gone to a Husker Women’s Basketball game Saturday afternoon, and came home hungry. We warmed up leftovers for dinner plus I sliced some oranges for everyone.

We did some cleaning to get ready for a new week. Daddy had to take apart the vacuum to clean out all the long hairs that had wrapped around it. How about that? We have a LOT of long hair in our house now. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 2026

We ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church on Sunday morning. I had been feeling pretty worn out from several weeks of sickness traveling through the house plus all the new therapies we’d started. But we didn’t want to cancel Sunday Lunch because it’s such a fulfilling time for us. So we decided to take advantage of a pizza deal we found online. Families who joined us pitched in on the cost and we had a super chill, restful Sunday Lunch.

The girls set up a small table with a picnic in the hallway that afternoon. This is both very sweet and also slightly rebellious because they aren’t allowed to eat outside the dining room or kitchen. ;)

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. For dinner, we ate our way through a crock pot full of Ham and Potato Soup that I’d made that morning. It was so nice to be able to feed all of us that evening without doing any work! This soup is so easy!

The kids set up a stage in the living room and rehearsed a play and with some music. Here’s Brayden directing Jesus Loves Me while the three littlest kids magically cooperated. It was VERY SWEET.

As the kids played, I made a big batch of Chewy Granola Bars for the upcoming week.

On Monday morning, we finished last week’s Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse leftovers with our Eggs in a Nest breakfast.

Emma came that morning to help out, plus we had ABA therapists join the crew – all at 8:00. That’s a pretty crazy time of our day as we get school kids ready and out the door and other kids ready for therapies. I always feel a bit frazzled as we transition here, but everyone is so gracious. Who cares if I’m still in my pajamas when people show up to our house because there hasn’t been a moment yet to head upstairs to get myself ready for the day? Oy.

With four kids headed to school and the other three settled in with therapy and Emma, I (dressed myself, aren’t you proud? and) headed out for the day. My first stop was Aldi, and I got lots of tasty fruits and meats was on sale!

Eight pounds of strawberries? Yep, when they are that good and that good of a price!

After that, I spent a lovely couple of hours at Panera sipping coffee and writing. Then I went to Costco before heading home. My goal was to get some special foods for our Spring Break outings next week! Plus I also needed the basics: greens, milk, bananas, broccoli, sausage, and more fruit. :)

Knowing I’d be gone for several hours that day, I had thawed two packages of Ham and Cheese Sliders to bake for dinner. I warmed up Tomato Soup to go with them. And of course, we had to eat those strawberries I’d bought! I cut up 4-pounds of them plus made a double batch of Cheesecake Parfait. Everyone was excited about this and it all got eaten before bedtime. :)

Our Tuesday morning was extremely full with our regular ABA therapies starting at 8, plus attachment therapy we’re doing now for two of our kids starting at 9. At the same time, I had two IEP meetings to go to at the kids’ school and a 504 meeting to work toward. Malachi helped Matt juggle everything at home while I took care of all the school meetings.

Back at home finally at 11:15, we got the girls ready for the school bus at noon. Hopelyn was here for the day and she and Auggie enjoyed playing outside after the hubbub of the morning calmed down.

I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution.

We had a fridge full of food, so dinner that night was Leftovers. But I did cut up another big bowl of strawberries, this time for Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits!

Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Acacia, Josie, and Auggie helped me make Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Arrow came to hang out that morning. We found puzzles and made farm animal sounds. Auggie kept insisting that the horse was a giraffe, and while we could see how he would come to this conclusion, Arrow kept telling him that it was, in fact, a “hos.” Hearing their conversations is beyond sweet.

We’d brought home several bags of prepped chicken from Tuesday’s Food Distribution that we needed to use up. So we warmed it for dinner that night, finished off the Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits plus had Raspberries and Baked Beans.

Suddenly all of the kids are very into the game of Chess. Acacia begged for a game before bed and all the kids gathered ’round.

Hopelyn came over on Thursday morning. She spent a lot of the day shopping…

Auggie had a visit from a special education teacher from Early Development Network. He has made so much progress and it was so great to have so many positive things to report.

For dinner that night, I made Spaghetti with Broccoli. It was a simple meal because Matt and I were trying to sneak off for our weekly date. Several kids had major meltdowns before we left so it was difficult to get out the door. Malachi took over with the final fighting kiddo and we left, hoping for the best. (Everyone did fairly well while we were gone. Elias reported that truly everyone was pretty calm while we were gone, yet as soon as we walked back into the house, the screaming started up again. Ugh.)

Either way, we had some needed down time at Panera while we were gone. Silly as it was, we took Matt’s laptop so we could work on our taxes. This isn’t the most fun way to use our time alone, but this had to be done and there hasn’t been another moment to do it. So taxes by the fire sipping drinks…this was our date. :)

Friday morning, I made French Toast for the kids to grab and eat for breakfast. (No syrup needed because I used Cinnamon Bread, making this a grab and eat food!) I was in the middle of making these Smoothies that morning also.

During breakfast, I put together a huge Lasagna to freeze for an upcoming youth group event.

Acacia had an hour of Physical Therapy and an hour of Speech Therapy that morning. She’s meeting some of her goals which is very exciting!

Late morning, our friends, Paula and Randy, dropped off a huge load of pantry items for our Little Free Pantry. Auggie had a very good time helping me put everything away.

The little girls didn’t have preschool that afternoon, so they got to go with us to an assembly at the elementary school.

Keith was honored to receive the Responsible Award AND an award from the Music/PE/Art teachers. He was so proud – and so were we!

After the assembly, we got to have popcorn and take pictures in the hallway!

I made a very simple dinner that night of “Nacho Tots” with taco meat, cheese, salsa, and guac to put over tator tots.

That night, I made a huge roaster full of Smothered Pork Chops for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. I’m in the middle of writing this recipe to share with all of you soon!

We taught the kids to play Skipbo that night. I used to play this with our older boys a lot so playing this brought back great memories!

On Saturday mornings, we let the kids watch a couple of shows when they get up. So this allows me to get a little bit of kitchen work done in preparation for our weekend and upcoming week. This Saturday, I made a double recipe of Flourless Brownie Muffins, a batch of Crustless Cheesecake, and a double recipe of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We got ready after that and headed to the library for Sensory Storytime. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there!

After that, we took the kids to a free event at the International Quilt Museum. Some of the kids handled this fine and some of them didn’t, which is par for the course. We went home and ate leftovers for lunch, did some cleaning, played outside, and gave haircuts to the boys. And that was our week!

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The Best Parts of Life that Help Me Feel Human

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The last post I wrote while sitting with an ugly cry right on the surface. This one? I’m writing with a smile. How great that God always provides joy in the midst of struggle! There are always, always good things happening when we are looking for God’s power at work.

So first, do I not always feel like a human?

Indeed, I do not. I definitely feel the struggles of the flesh that distract me from a life of peace. But mostly? I often feel like a very worn out caretaker.

But!! There are many moments of each day that pull me out of the heaviness to remind me who I am and that life is full of goodness! It felt sweet to think through all of these moments and to write about them here.

The Best Parts of Life that Help Me Feel Human

1. Our Grandbabies

These are top of the list. At our house, we are almost always knee deep in our own kids’ poop, snot, screams, and tantrums – and I often feel desperate for a kid break. But when a grandbaby shows up? GIMME. I don’t even care if they come with poop and snot.

I can’t explain this. There’s something different about loving on the grandbabies – quite possibly because I am not the one fully in charge of them like I am our own kids. I simply get to squeeze, kiss, play with, and delight in them. And such a delight they are!

We are “Lolli” and “Pop” and do you know the best thing in the world? Seeing those babies’ faces light up and hearing them say “Yah-yee!” (Lolli is hard to say) and “Pop!” (Pop is easy) as they run toward us. It’s the sweetest thing in the world – I believe made sweeter because we are so knee deep in tantrums at our house. Everything sweet is sweeter for us because the hard at our house is so hard. Grandbaby sweetness tops the list.

2. Family Gatherings

Praise God – at this time, all 11 of our kids and their families live in Lincoln. I don’t take this for granted but instead appreciate every moment we have as a family doing life together in the same city.

Our grown kids have beautiful schedules full of all kinds of awesome endeavors be it work, friends, ministries, or activities. So when the stars align and we are able to gather together for a meal and maybe even a couple hours of gaming? Oh man. It’s the best!

Extra special: Being a bystander as our four older boys share inside jokes as they relive their childhood, throw shade about the variety of different soccer teams they each claim to be the best, or laugh together because they are all super hilarious people. This is all such a treasure to me.

In general, seeing our first four kids all grown up gives me so much joy and hope for the future of our young ones. It’s HARD WORK raising kids. But I see my adult kids and recognize so many ways that God was at work in their training and how He is still at work in their lives. If I can hold on to this truth – the truth that it isn’t up to me to ensure that our kids grow up to be awesome but that I can surrender them to God’s work for their good? I know it will all be ok. Being with my older kids reminds me of this.

3. Hosting Sunday Lunches

It’s a bit challenging to explain how hosting a big gathering in our home for 25-50 people every Sunday after church is life-giving for us. Isn’t it a lot of work? Isn’t it draining? Doesn’t it make a mess? Well sure, I guess.

It does take work – but not much more than it takes to feed 14 of us every day anyway. The work it takes to make one huge casserole compared to the work it takes to make two huge casseroles? Not harder. It’s just a doubled (or quadrupled) recipe.

And having extras in our house to play with our kids, help fix our kids’ plates, support and love our kids as they form relationships with them? The best gift! Most of our friends have no idea how good they are to our kids, but here they are being great, Sunday after Sunday.

Meanwhile, Matt and I get our cups filled up with precious adult conversation. We actually get to sit and eat our food. We watch as relationships deepen and community grows through interaction and sharing life with so many people that show up to these lunches.

And I don’t know if you knew this about me or not, but…I love feeding people. Our seven younger kids are beyond picky with their struggling neurodivergent brains and the taste buds this has affected. But our guests? They go through the food buffet line and not one person yells at me or throws food. Instead, they fill their plates and delight in the dishes. This feels so satisfying to me and brings such joy.

4. Sundays in general

While Sunday Lunches are awesome, the before and after are just as sweet. Worship on Sunday mornings is always fulfilling. Sometimes I cry all the way through it, usually from relief and joy, because of how good God is. I love Sunday worship and the fellowship with our people at Heartlands.

And after worship and lunch? We send the kids downstairs to watch a movie (a special privilege they look forward to!) while Matt and I enjoy time with other couples for our weekly Community Group. This is so life-giving. With all of this, Sundays are incredibly full and rich.

5. Going to our weekly Food Distribution

This one is harder to explain, because I am still parenting while there, taking 2-3 kids with me to help teach them to serve. But I think I enjoy this so much for several reasons. One, there’s food involved, so this is another form of feeding people that makes me happy. Watching 100ish people walk through the food line being provided with free groceries each week is such a delight to me.

Two, serving here takes me outside my own head every week for two hours. I’m there for others, I’m not pulled in a million different directions during that time like I normally am at home, and I can serve in ways that match my giftedness. Even vacuuming to clean up at the end of the session is life-giving to me. I like to work hard and to feel productive about it.

Three, I’m becoming friends with people that we see there each week. Even if we don’t speak the same language, we share familiar smiles, kindness, and care. It’s beyond awesome.

And four? Well, being there reminds me of different ways we taught our four older boys to serve when they were growing up. This feels normal to me – like a real life way we can help our kids learn to care about and serve others. So much of what we do with our kids now is trauma-healing. Taking them to serve at Food Net is similar to things we did with our first set of kids. It feels really good and familiar. It gives me hope.

 

6. Spending alone time with Matt

This guy and I work very hard together, doing very hard things all day long. When we have a chance to get away just the two of us and talk about something besides the kids and appointments and ABA therapy and the latest meltdowns and parenting strategies – and can instead talk about finances, our future, ministries, people we want to connect with, goals – wow. I feel human again. To feel human alongside my favorite human is a super bonus.

We currently get to sneak out of the house one evening each week to have time together while the older kids who live at our house take care of the needs of our younger seven for two and a half hours. In addition, we block out Friday afternoons to spend time together at home during Auggie’s nap. No appointments, no meetings – only together time. On nice days, we sit in the sun and drink coffee and visit. On cold days we sit inside in our sun room and drink coffee and visit. These hours are precious and life-giving, and they remind me that indeed, we are human.

7. Mondays

As much as we can make it happen, on Mondays I sneak away to spend the morning grocery shopping and then WRITING for several hours at Panera. Our friend, Emma, comes to the house to help with the kids, which makes it easier for Matt back home and frees me to get necessary shopping done for our family.

Then the time spent writing while enjoying sweet down time? Oh, I can breathe! Writing is so therapeutic for me and I don’t have much opportunity to do this during the season of life we are in. So these hours of being alone, sitting by myself, and going into my “writing zone?” Man, I love it!

8. Sitting in the Sunshine

When it’s possible, I sit for a few minutes in the sunshine during Auggie’s afternoon nap time. My nervous system needs to reset, my body needs to breathe, and the sun shining on my face is a precious reminder that His face is shining down on me to bless me and keep me. Now that the kids are a little bit older, sometimes I can even sit outside with them while they play independently nearby. It’s rare, but it’s starting to be possible. Oh sunshine. I love it!

9. Morning time with God

This one is my very favorite. But the struggle comes with having kids that get up very early, which interrupts my ability to sit in the quiet and find refreshment in the Word, and through journaling and prayer. I hurt over this sometimes. I always want more quiet time with God than I usually get now, and never feel like I get enough. Sometimes I barely stumble into the living room with my coffee and Bible before I hear little pitter patters of feet and the needs of the day press in.

So, time in the Word with Jesus is life-giving. I just don’t get much right now. Sometimes it’s two precious minutes, though everyone once in a while the stars align and I get a nice chunk of time. I am always so grateful for God’s provision on those mornings. I’m clinging to the years in which I had “quiet God time” in bulk. Back when I consistently slept through the night and got up early to dig in with Jesus for an hour and a half before starting my day. Those years prepared me for our current season, and the Truths that became my lifeline are holding me up now. God is faithful.

10. Being outside

I’ve learned that being outside is so life-giving to me! I love fresh air, sunshine (as mentioned above), walking trails, nature, getting exercise in a natural way – I love it all! Any nice-weather day, we take advantage of. It makes everyone feel better when we can be outside, and I definitely notice that I feel more alive and like myself when I can be out enjoying fresh air.

I’d love to hear from you!

What are your favorite parts of your days and weeks? What fills you? What makes you feel your best?

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Sometimes I Forget My “WHY”

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In the midst of our daily struggles, I realized that sometimes I forget my “WHY.”

Why are we doing this? How did we get here? What is even happening right now?

God was so present in the WHY. He made it so obvious that He was in this, that He was leading us to this, that He had brought us to this. And He’s still in it all now, without a doubt. It’s just different – and harder – now. Therefore, I often question what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

  • When the Egg Casserole gets smeared across the table and floor in defiance, followed by an angry cup of milk that gets thrown across the room
  • When someone strips back down to a fully naked state – right after I’ve bent over backwards to make all the accommodations to help them choose their clothes and dress for the day – because the sleeve didn’t feel right
  • When there are so many appointments to schedule and juggle that I haven’t had time to shower all week
  • When I dare to say “no” to a child’s unreasonable request and it takes 45-minutes to settle them down from their meltdown
  • When I open the yogurt “wrong” and get told “I HATE YOU!” as a result
  • When all of this happens before 8am.

That’s when I forget my “why.”

What is the WHY?

Why do we have a houseful of kids? Why is there not much quiet to be found? Why aren’t we empty-nesting? Why are we faced with so many big needs all day, every day? Why are we doing this?

I’ll tell you (and remind myself) why.

Because 10ish years ago, we asked God to show us what it means to live more fully through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we asked Him to help us understand what it really means to love our neighbor. So He did.

He showed us our neighbors that were struggling with addictions and He walked us through loving them. Then, in a special and unexpected turn of events – He asked us to raise some of their children.

We didn’t know that this is what “loving our neighbor” would look like in our context. But now our house is full, and we have to seek the Spirit’s guidance constantly.

Sweet Memories of Preparation

Back in those days so many years ago as we were digging in with God to understand how He guides His people through the power of the Holy Spirit to more fully love our neighbors, we were in our final years of homeschooling our older four boys. Elias and Malachi and I spend hours and hours reading Janet and Geoff Benge’s Christian Heroes books. In this incredible series, we read many that told about Christians who started orphanages all over the world. People who took in children to raise as their own, to protect and provide for, to care for and to love.

We loved these books – and we were so challenged and inspired by them. But we had no idea that God was using them to prepare us to essentially have an orphanage of sorts in our home some day.

Wow. George Muller. Lillian Thrasher. Amy Carmichael. So many others. These heroes launched us into our WHY and helped us learn what an open home for hurting children could look like.

And then there was Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa, as most of us know her. Reading about her taught us so much more about what it can look like to love the least of these. She shared that when she looked into the eyes of the hurting, suffering, and dying – she saw the eyes of Jesus. She made us ask: How could we do this? What would that look like for us? Who were the least of these around us that could show us who Jesus is?

As it turns out, our home is now filled with three brown-eyed and four blue-eyed sweet souls who hold a lot of hurt. These are the eyes we look into to meet Jesus every day.

It’s powerful. It’s holy. It’s humbling.

This is our WHY.

I can forget all of this in the midst of a meltdown and the weariness that follows. And selfishly, I want to do life the easier way – without having to struggle so much, work so hard, and feel inadequate so often.

As if any of us are adequate. As if we can do anything in life without the help of Jesus. As if anything worth doing for the Kingdom and because of the call of Jesus is a simple matter that doesn’t truly make us die to ourselves.

As if.

So I remember my WHY. I lean into my WHY. I go all in to keep in step with the Spirit who has led us here, walks with us here, and carries us through each day.

Remembering my WHY reminds me of my WHAT: Loving these children enough to lay my life down to serve and care for them every day. And in the name of Jesus, healing will come.

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 22-28, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 22-28, 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!

February 21

Brayden was blessed to join some of our Heartlands youth on Saturday morning, along with several other youth groups from Lincoln for a Day of Love. They worked as groups all over the city to serve and care for people. He LOVED this day.

Meanwhile, back at home, our older kids all joined together at our house (minus Malachi who was flying home from California that day). This was our rescheduled day to celebrate Justus’ birthday since we’d had to cancel last Sunday due to sickness at our house.

We rewarmed the Italian Cream Cheese Chicken I’d made and frozen plus boiled two pounds of noodles. We had sides of greens, blueberries, and of course, muffins since the grandbabies were there. Dessert was Butterscotch Bars, which is always Justus’ birthday choice. No one argues with this.

 

After lunch, the babies napped and the kids watched a movie while the grown-ups played Cards Christians Like then The Game of Things. I LOVE times like these when we can enjoy our adult kids.

Big Family Food and Fun: February 22-28, 2026

Sunday morning, we ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

Brayden was on worship team with Justus that morning. I love this!

A lovely crowd gathered for lunch at our house after worship. Look at Acacia and Josie sitting together and taking it all in…

I captured this sweet moment of our friend Mark sitting on the floor getting to know Auggie.

We had a Brunch themed Lunch that day with Egg Casseroles, French Toast Casserole, Coffee Cake, Nutella Oat Bars, Fruit, and Potato Soup. Oh look! Malachi is back from California and Arrow found him!

There were 26 of us gathered that day.

For dinner that night, we ate more of our lunch casseroles as we reset the kitchen and started prepping for a new school week.

On Monday morning, Emma came over to hang with the girls. I snuck out for the day and started my grocery shopping at Aldi. I was able to get some great meat markdowns! Pork chops and chicken leg quarters at half off! I also got ground beef, french fries, coffee creamer, sugar, crackers, pasta sauce, yogurt, sausage, mandarins, salad kits, sweet peppers, lasagna noodles, fruit/veggie pouches, and dried strawberries, plus some pancake mix to put into our Little Free Pantry.

Next stop was Wal-Mart, where I found more meat mark downs – chicken breast and hamburger meat. I grabbed oatmeal and eggs, then decided to check the clearance aisle. I got some gloves, and my big score? Valentine cards for the kids next year. They were 90% off, so all the boxes were just $0.35.

I might have gotten a lifetime supply. But actually though, this may only last us a couple of years because it’s shocking how many of these we go through as we prep for Valentine parties!

I spent the next two and a half hours sitting and writing at Panera – my favorite down time! Then I went next door and filled a cart at Costco: milk, spinach, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, potatoes, butter, z-bars, cream, half and half, granola, ranch, barbecue sauce, avocado mash, kombucha, white queso, chicken stock, and chips. I picked up two cases of canned chicken soup that were on clearance so we can put them out in our Little Free Pantry.

Keith was my helper of the day, so he put together two bags of Caesar salad for our dinner.

I had picked up a Rotisserie Chicken at Costco, which we had for dinner that night with Keith’s Salad and two containers of Raspberries.

I made a batch of Spinach Cupcakes to help fill bellies that night and to get some extra greens into the kids.

On Tuesday morning, these girlies sat down with Wikki Sticks. I thought it was very sweet – and then they told me that they were making “rainbow poop.” Well, as long as they’re being creative…

Hopelyn came over that day. She picked up one of Keith’s rockets and turned it into a microphone, complete with dance moves.

I had picked up pork chops on sale the day before. So I experimented to make Smothered Pork Chops in the crock pot. WOW. I will definitely be writing this recipe for all of us here because it was a winner!

That afternoon, Auggie had an appointment at Children’s with his neurologist. Or should I say: his former neurologist. He has made such amazing progress that he graduated and will now only have to go in “as needed.” It’s been amazing the positive changes in him in a year’s time!

Immediately after his appointment, I dropped him off and home and grabbed Brayden and Kiya to take them to our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Matt baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice I’d prepped, steamed some veggies, and served the pork chops. This meal was a huge hit!

On Wednesday morning, I made a salad for Matt and me. Wow we get a lot of greens this way. I actually make this every other day, all year long. But this particular day, I remembered to take a picture to document it. How exciting.

I almost always come home with lots of breads and buns after Food Distribution on Tuesday. This was the case this week, so Josie helped me make three packages of Ham and Cheese Sliders for the freezer.

I also baked 24 eggs and put together 24 Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand.

Arrow came to hang out that morning. Here he was showing me an owl that said, “hoot” and a bunny that went, “jump, jump, jump!”

That night for dinner, I made a huge Cheeseburger Casserole with sliced peppers and pickles.

Acacia and Josie were up sick all night long into Thursday morning. UGH. Matt took the first long shift with them, then I took over around 3:30 am so he could get some sleep. The laundry mountain was large the next morning as we tried to get their room back in order. They laid around all day as they recovered. Matt and I were in a bit of a haze.

But life must go on. Auggie had his first dentist appointment…

Matt and I tried to rest that afternoon. Then we proceeded with our regularly scheduled date night. I told all the adults in the house to fend for themselves for dinner. Then I set out piles of food options for the kids to eat while we were gone. Acacia and Josie hadn’t eaten much all day, so here were there choices:

Anna’s pile looked like this. It works very well for her therapist to get her to eat in the evenings if I present a pile of foods I know she likes that she can choose from. This gives her a sense of control, which makes her feel safe.

Keith, on the other hand, likes it when things are new and exciting. So I created a “surprise plate” for him to enjoy with his therapist while we were gone. He was especially excited later to tell me about how he got to cut his own apple with the slicer.

Matt and I started our date that night at Brayden’s middle school for Parent Teacher Conferences. Nothing is more romantic than that. :)

On Friday morning, I used a container of cottage cheese to make Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse for breakfast. This was a fun treat for the kids (and the parents)!

Josie got started with ABA therapy at 8:00 – something we’ve been working toward for a very long time. The morning started out hectic as we got some kids out the door for school and a new therapist oriented to our home. But all of the people we work with are easy-going and here to help. So it went as smoothly as possible as we all settled in.

The weather was absolutely beautiful all day long, so we moved therapy outside as the morning warmed up. Auggie enjoyed driving around the train that Anna had built the day before.

The girls were so sweet to want a picnic, which they created all by themselves. They spread a blanket and brought out apples and clementines. Auggie parked his train and joined them.

With our days being so full of appointments, therapies, meetings, and other needs – plus sickness thrown in for good measure – Matt and I can get pretty worn out. Today was a GREAT day to rest. The kids played calmly most of the morning, so I sat calmly in the sunshine watching them. It was so, so nice. I’d already planned to not cook dinner, which meant that I didn’t need to do any work in the kitchen that day, so I could fully take time off. Hallelujah, sunshine!

That evening, I made Chicken Nuggets and Fries, and the kids ate outside while they continued to play. It was a great day!

On Saturday, we got to do something extra special! I had discovered super cheap tickets to our final Women’s Husker Basketball home game. We decided that for such low ticket prices we could attempt to make a super fun memory for our kids. Malachi was the only adult in our crew that was available, and we were so glad he could join us!

We dug out all the red we owned as we headed out, and even found a good parking spot just a few blocks from the arena. Acacia and Josie love holding hands as they walk!

We took up an entire row at the game and the kids did INCREDIBLE! The novelty of this outing along with the fun entertainment during time-outs helped. :)

We knew it might be tough for Auggie to miss his regular afternoon nap. He solved that problem during the second half of the game.

We sent Malachi to the concession stand with our credit card to buy two big bags of popcorn to get everyone happily through the second half. It was a worthy investment.

We were so thankful that we could all enjoy this outing! On our walk back to the van, we enjoyed an old train.

Back at home, we did some cleaning and playing and had bath time. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 15-21, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 15-21, 2026 post!

Last week, I ended up getting sick before I could finish our weekly post. And I couldn’t get out of bed again until Monday morning. Matt was amazing to take on so much without me.

Saturday, February 14

Before I started to feel sick, I made a double batch of Butterscotch Bars for Justus’ birthday lunch the following day.

Matt stayed home with kiddos who had been sick while I took Keith, Acacia, and Josie to the library. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there. I was absolutely fine until it was time to load up to head home. Then suddenly I felt achy and sooooo tired. It was to be expected. I’d been coughed on by lots of sick kids all week. I took my temp when I got home (102) and went to bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: February 15-21, 2026

Sunday, Matt and our adult kids got the seven young ones off to church. I watched online and felt very thankful to have that option. I attempted to get out of bed on Monday but only made it until around 7:00am when I had to go back and lay down. Thankfully, Emma came that morning to help Matt survive. The weather was beautiful so the kids (who were all home from school) played outside a good part of the day.

Matt warmed up leftovers for lunch and we took advantage of Valentino’s gift cards I’d picked up discounted at Costco a few weeks ago to order pizza for dinner.

On Tuesday, I attempted again to get up – and this time I made it! The kids were home again that day, and somehow this guy showed up in our entryway.

And then this princess appeared in the living room.

Praise God that the weather was amazing all during these days of sickness and breaks from school. The kids were outside again most of Tuesday, and we had an adventure with a run away dog. We called the number on his collar and a few minutes later, we had a chance to meet one of our neighbors that we hadn’t met yet! The kids were all so excited about solving this “crisis.”

We continued to finish off some leftovers at lunch time. Josie enjoyed the last of Malachi’s Cream Cheese Salsa Dip. I sent him this picture to give him a taste of home. He was in California spending the week visiting Matt’s side of the family. What a gift that he got to do this!

That afternoon, we put Auggie (and Mommy) down for a nap while Matt bravely took all six of the other kids to a park to play. Matt reported that a ton of kids were out that day. So many of us took advantage of this lovely weather and the days off of school to play!

For dinner, I’d grabbed a bunch of Chicken Legs from the freezer to thaw and then did my infamous “dump sauce on chicken” trick. For being that ridiculously easy, this meal sure is delicious. Or maybe I just finally had an appetite again? According to all the kids who had been running and playing in the fresh air and sunshine for days, their appetites were extra large too. We ate a lot of chicken legs, oranges, and broccoli that night.

Those who ate well (six out of seven kids) were rewarded with Homemade Chocolate Milk! We had some milk that had reached its expiration date, so I didn’t have a choice. I had to make Chocolate Milk so we could quickly finish it off.

Meanwhile, we had about 8 bananas sitting on the counter that had turned black while I’d been sick in bed. So I turned them into three loaves of Banana Bread that evening. It was a perfect bedtime snack (and breakfast the next morning).

The weather was gorgeous on Wednesday so we played outside as much as we could. Arrow was hanging out with us that morning!

I had baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice that morning, then turned it into Tator Tot Casserole for dinner that night.

On Thursday morning, I made a pan of Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars for breakfast.

Throughout the morning, I baked several pans of bacon so I could finish off the box to clear out space in our fridge. The kids munched on bacon for their morning snack, and I got ahead for upcoming bacon-based meals.

Hopelyn hung out with us Thursday.

When the grandbabies are here, there is no shortage of caretakers. I’m often having to tell our little girls, “Give them some space!”

Dinner that night was a FEAST. I’d taken all the meat off the bones of our leftover BBQ Chicken Legs from Tuesday night. There was Bacon. There was White Queso. We had BBQ Chicken Bacon Ranch Nachos for dinner and it was delicious. All of us were home that night because snow had hit and was coming in fast, so we were hunkering down for the night.

Anna’s ABA behavior tech has been teaching her to play Chess – can you believe it? She is somehow loving this and figuring it out! As a result, she set up this game all by herself, and then started attempting to teach me how to play. It was very sweet.

Friday was a Snow Day! This called for a breakfast of Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Sausage.

We barely made it through breakfast before very eager children dug out all the boots and snowsuits and headed outside. As expected, this was a cold experience and didn’t last as long as they had originally intended.

Brayden had requested Warm Vanilla Soother, which really hit the spot along with the sausage links that hadn’t been finished up during breakfast.

Even Keith’s sloth got to enjoy this special snack.

We pulled out a craft project that afternoon. Those little beads are more complicated than one would hope.

However, Anna locked in and did not stop until her snowman was completed. This was a very big deal!

After that, Acacia and Kiya helped me put together a big Egg Hashbrown Casserole for Sunday’s Lunch.

For dinner that night, we had Sausage Gravy, Mashed Potatoes in the Crock Pot, and Peas.

On Saturday morning, I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars and a pan of Nutella Oat Bars.

We made plans to have Justus’ birthday lunch redo since I’d been sick and unable to host Sunday lunch earlier this week. Elias and Malorie had frozen this Italian Cream Cheese Chicken sauce that I’d prepped ahead, so we thawed half of it for Saturday’s lunch.

This is as far as I got on this post before all the kids came over for birthday lunch. I’ll share more about our time together in next week’s post!

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 8-14, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 8-14, 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!

Saturday, February 7

We went to Storytime at the library on Saturday morning. Hopelyn and Arrow (and their mommies) met us there. How happy was this Lolli to have both of her grandbabies there?!

Keith and Acacia were excited to put on a puppet show during play time after the story time.

From the library, we headed over to Morrill Hall for a special Dinosaurs and Disasters event they were hosting. The Case family met us there to enjoy this.

We got home and ate a late lunch of Hotdogs that I’d cooked in the crock pot while we were gone. Then, two college girls from York came to spend the afternoon and evening. This was such a special time! Liz asked if she could bake Cinnamon Rolls – and who were we to argue?

Our friend, Simeon, from York had come to hang out with Malachi so that made the day even better!

I had planned to make Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, Sausage Patties, and Pancakes for dinner. But with Liz making Cinnamon Rolls, I scrapped the pancake idea and she doubled her roll recipe. Perfect!

DELICIOUS!

Big Family Food and Fun: February 8-14, 2026

Sunday was a super huge day for us. This was the final Sunday for the Nabb family – who have become dear friends to us in Lincoln and have been a major part of Heartlands since its beginnings – to be at church before they move to Texas. Their “going away party” request was to have Sunday Lunch at the Coppinger Castle, and we were all in for this. Our Community Group helped make this happen, and the entire church was invited to come send these dear ones off with all the love that we could.

Almost 100 people came for lunch after church that day, which was absolutely fantastic! Pockets of people were everywhere, kids were playing, and adults were visiting. We are so thankful for this house God gave us!

The weather was beautiful so the kids mostly played and ate outside. But this might have been one of my favorite scenes in which many of the young adult men were circled up in the yard throwing a football around.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen…

I had made two huge roasts into Pulled Pork. Trent and Robin were in charge of Rotisserie Chickens plus buns and sandwich fixings. Derrick and Stacey brought a big crock pot full of Baked Beans. Matt and Terra brought drinks. Everyone else from church was asked to bring sides and desserts. People went through the line, and kept coming, and kept coming. I forgot to take a picture of the counter that held all the buns and meat. But look at all these tasty sides!

And desserts. :)

I tried to take as many pictures as I could to capture all the faces of people who love the Nabbs so much.

The day was incredible and we praise God for it.

By Super Bowl time? I was a little bit tired and simply threw out snacks for the kids and called it dinner. :) Malachi, however, made himself a bowl of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip to take to the gathering he was going to. Cutie.

On Monday morning, I baked a pan of Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars.

We had two sick little girlies plus Emma, who usually comes and helps us with kids on Mondays, was sick too. So Matt stayed with the three preschool kids while I ran to Costco for our weekly groceries, but then I came home instead of working on my computer at Panera like I usually do.

A friend of ours had been in a serious motorcycle accident. I reached out to his mom that morning to see how we could help. We discovered that he was in the hospital just five minutes from our house. I would have driven across town for them, but how wonderful that we live so close and can therefore be more helpful! I packed up food and took it over for the family to eat while they sat at the hospital: Rotisserie chicken that I’d picked up at Costco and taken off the bone, raspberries, mandarins, rolls with butter, plus a basket of snacks. I also took over some Breakfast Sandwiches, Ham and Cheese Sliders, and Breakfast Burritos that I had in the freezer for anyone to heat up as needed. I had a most wonderful visit with our injured friend’s mom – our good friend from York. We laughed, we cried, God is good and faithful.

For dinner that night, I made a big skillet full of Last Minute Bacon Spaghetti with Steamed Broccoli.

On Tuesday morning, Anna was in a very helpful mood which we praised her for big time. She found all the clean towels and wash rags and folded them for me. :)

Kiya has been asking me to teach her to sew. We finally had a moment during our attachment therapy session together to work on mending some holes in a stuffed animal. It was a very sweet time.

Our kids had been fighting illnesses all week. Here’s Acacia, Josie, and Auggie all snuggled up with fevers watching a show.

I took Brayden and Kiya to serve at our weekly Food Distribution after school.

Matt baked Pizza Chicken Bake while we were gone and warmed up leftover Green Beans for dinner.

That night, our friend Tori texted us this sweet memory from her phone: Anna and Acacia when they were little piggy tailed babies!

On Wednesday morning, the three little sickies felt better enough to prep their Valentines for school.

Arrow came over for the morning. While he snacked, finished putting together a big batch of Breakfast Sandwiches.

The girls found our thermometer and put it in the stuffed animal’s armpit to take its temp. Thankfully, the dinosaur was fever-free.

Kiya had a volleyball game that afternoon. Brayden, Keith, and I went to go cheer her on!

For dinner that night, I stirred leftover Pulled Pork into a crock pot full of Party Potatoes. It was an amazing dinner with Steamed Peas.

On Thursday, Hopelyn came to spend a few hours with us.

I slow cooked two crock pots full of Chicken Taco Soup for dinner that night. Our Community Group came for what we called The Last Supper. The Nabbs would be pulling out of Lincoln early Saturday morning, and we all wanted to enjoy one last meal together.

The goodbyes after dinner were hard. Ugh, Sam and Keith…

And, Brayden and Luna. Those two bonded in a special way being the same age and with lots of common pieces of their past. And I can’t even talk about my goodbye with Cindy, a friend with whom I’ve connected deeply since we moved to Lincoln. We praise God for the time we’ve had with this family.

On to Friday…Anna had gotten sick and missed school and her class Valentine party. Her teacher was sweet to send her valentines home with me when I picked the other kids up from school.

I got ready for Sunday Lunch that day, making a huge roaster full of Italian Cream Cheese Chicken for Pasta to celebrate Justus’ birthday.

We had a very simple dinner of Chicken Bites, Mac and Cheese, and Peas.

Matt stayed home with the sick kids and I took the other five to church for a special Dance Your Heart Out evening. It was so sweet and fun!

Saturday, I baked a double batch of Butterscotch Bars for Sunday Lunch dessert – Justus’ birthday dessert request.

Anna and Auggie still needed to stay home that day, and Brayden and Kiya opted to stay home too. So I took Keith, Acacia, and Josie to the library.

I planned to share about that, but I barely made it home from the library before realizing that it was my turn to get sick. I truly went from fine to not fine in about five minutes. Fever of 102 sent me to bed and I slept for hours. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 1-7, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 1-7, 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!

Saturday, January 31

Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to the 402 Creamery to use some free ice cream scoop coupons we had that were about to expire. The ice cream was good, but the outing was not. Things like this (the combo of a sit down place and sugar) just don’t go well for our crew. Maybe someday.

Back at home, we gave everyone a bath or shower before having a late dinner. I melted at this scene in which Matt was blow drying Acacia’s hair. She was cold after her bath so Daddy found a solution. :) I sure never thought I’d see my husband blow drying his daughter’s hair. And now we have four daughters along with our seven sons. In the midst of chaos, God always provides joy.

We made a very simple and well-liked dinner of Orange Chicken with Caesar Salad. Then, before bed, we watched a few more minutes of The Sound of Music as we try to introduce this classic to our kids!

Big Family Food and Fun: February 1-7, 2026

Here’s our plate of Sunday morning Breakfast Cookie Bars. These save our Sunday mornings.

After worship, all families with kids in the youth group gathered to eat lunch together and have a meeting about upcoming needs and events. We circled up for prayer before eating.

Families had worked together to put together a great meal! We contributed several packages of Ham and Cheese Sliders that I’d warmed in a roaster during worship time.

We got home just in time to host Community Group. You guysssssss. Our friends, the Nabbs, are moving so this was our last full group time together before their big send off next week. This was bitter sweet, gathering in our kitchen and dining room to enjoy God and our families together. Elias captured this photo for us. Being a part of this group has been incredibly needed – for all of us.

The partying continued as we loaded up our kids later that night and headed to the Nabbs’ favorite family restaurant. They had invited many, many people from Lincoln, and it was incredible to see so many people gather to celebrate this family.

When the Nabbs move, so does their son, Sam, as he heads off to bootcamp. Keith latched on to Sam right away after we moved to Lincoln and they became the best of buddies. We’ve all cried a lot of tears as we prepare to say “see you later” to these friends, and it’ll be difficult to help Keith navigate this.

The evening was fantastic as we all ate and ran around and played. Arrow has so many Aunties who love to take care of him – so he has to run pretty fast to get himself some space. :)

On Monday morning, I headed out for the day for grocery shopping, to get an oil change, to shop for a new laptop, and to try and write while drinking coffee at Panera. Writing didn’t happen, though, because my laptop had decided to stop working consistently. Boo. We all knew it was time for me to get a new one and I tested several out while I was shopping that day. I ended up ordering one while sitting at Panera. And Malachi loaned me a keyboard to use in the meantime since mine kept deleting everything I wrote. Good times.

Anyway, here’s what I bought at Wal-Mart while I was waiting for our van to get an oil change. This, plus ten dozen eggs and three gallons of milk that I added in after the picture.

For dinner that night, I had slow cooked Chicken Thighs with barbecue sauce all day while I was gone. I steamed carrots when I got home – though the truth is that I BURNED carrots when I got home. When the kids get home from school I struggle to remember things like carrots cooking on the stove. Oops. So I got out leftover peas for the kids and Matt still ate burned carrots because he’s not picky and doesn’t like food to go to waste. I buttered and toasted some buns to complete our simple meal.

Josie helped me make a crock pot full of Ham and Potato Soup on Tuesday morning.

I baked many pans of Bacon to get ahead on all of our bacon needs.

Hopelyn spent the day with us. She loves helping the preschool girls get ready for the bus. Backpacks and shoes? She is on it.

After school, I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution. Brayden was in charge of washing coolers that day, and Kiya helped hand out chicken and sandwiches.

We came home and enjoyed a perfect pot of Ham and Potato Soup.

Anna has to work hard during her ABA therapy sessions. At the end, if she has earned enough “smiley faces” she gets to watch ten minutes of a show. This is a reward to everyone, as is evidenced here by our entire crew crowding around Anna’s RBT to watch. These therapists that come over every day are a part of our family now and we are so grateful for them!

On Wednesday morning, our blender got a workout! First I made a smoothie for Matt and me. Yep, we’re still drinking our salads every day. Next, I made a batch of Flourless Banana Chocolate Blender Muffins for Brayden to take to a youth group meeting that night.

Last, I used the blender to make a huge Cheesecake for a birthday dinner that night.

Finished in the kitchen after all of that, we enjoyed a morning with Arrow!

Kiya is on a volleyball team through her school, and her first game was that afternoon. I stayed home with five kids while Matt, Elias, Malorie, and Malachi took Brayden to go support her. Next week, I’ll get to go!

Back and home, Keith and Anna had ABA therapy while the other kids and I finished putting together a big birthday dinner for our friend and housemate, Kermit. His Heartlands Community Group met at our house that night to celebrate him!

His meal request was Bacon Cheeseburgers and Cheesecake. I made Fries and Salad to round out the meal and it was a pretty delicious feast. There were 26 of us gathered, plus 3 ABA therapists in the house just to add to the craziness. It was pretty awesome.

On Thursday, the weather was warm and sunny so the snow melted into puddles. Did we all splash in puddles and get wet and muddy? Of course we did. That’s what washing machines are for.

With my computer not working well, I didn’t document much more of the day except for our dinner that night. Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup and leftover Ham and Potato Soup. We got the kids fed then Matt and I headed out for our weekly date night at Panera while Elias, Malorie, and Malachi hung with the kids and their therapists.

I made heart-shaped Eggs in a Nest for breakfast before school on Friday morning.

Friends showed up with a huge load of food donations for our Little Free Pantry.

In addition to lots and lots of canned and boxed non-perishables, they brought milk, cheese, butter, and meat since we are able to also offer cold items in our pantry. It has been so fun to watch people in our neighborhood stop to pick up food, to share food, and to work together to meet people’s needs. We love every aspect of having this in our yard and we love all the people teaming with us to make it happen.

Acacia had a dentist appointment after that.

Then she headed off to preschool while Josie had to stay home because she was sick with a fever. Poor babe.

After school, my Helper of the Day helped put together a big Egg and Hashbrown Casserole for us to eat on Saturday.

I made Spaghetti with Green Beans and Corn for dinner that night.

Saturday was full, and I didn’t have time to write about it. So I’ll add in those details in next week’s post!

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Big Family Food and Fun: January 25-31, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 25-31, 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!

Saturday, January 24

Kiya and I both have pink sweaters, so she asked if we could wear matching outfits on Saturday. Absolutely, girl!

Bonus Buddy was visiting for the weekend and I caught this super cute scene of him and Acacia playing Air Hockey.

Matt and I got to go to a Trauma Training at Heartlands Church that morning. It is a huge gift that our Lincoln church family sees the value in supporting people who are healing from trauma. They love our family and others so well. It is humbling and offers so much hope.

Our ability to go was only possible because of the Case family who kept all eight of the younger kids that morning. Amazing!

Back at home later, I made a monster-sized batch of Mudballs as a way to provide Keith and Bonus Buddy with some protein.

We had the most wonderful evening as we celebrated the birthday of one of our friends/housemates. All of our adult kids were able to join us, plus some of Kelsey’s extended family who were still here after celebrating Hopelyn’s adoption.

He’d requested Burgers and Ice Cream for dinner, which is easy and always a crowd pleaser.

After dinner, we turned on a show for the kids and we adults gathered in the dining room to play Cards Christians Like. Oh my goodness, I now have a new favorite game. We laughed so hard!

Big Family Food and Fun: January 25-31, 2026

Sunday morning, we ate our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

Justus preached at church that day, which isn’t anything new, but is always a delight. He has a gift, and it is so beautiful to see God at work through Him in teaching and sharing Truth.

We had a wonderful crowd at our house for lunch that day. I had made a huge pot of Taco Soup and friends who joined us brought veggies, fruit, cornbread, Fritos, and desserts.

There were 36 of us gathered that day. Bliss.

Matt and I got to enjoy our Community Group time that afternoon. Then we sent Brayden off to a youth group activity, warmed up leftovers, and reset our house to start a new school week.

I made Eggs in a Nest for breakfast on Monday morning and finally remembered to take pictures so I could create a tutorial post about them.

Anna was excited that it was “fancy day” at school as a way to celebrate 100 days of school. Not only did she get to wear a dress-up dress, as she was eating a banana for breakfast, her tooth came out. So it was a big morning for Anna.

Brayden got out the door at 7:35, Emma came at 8:00 to help with kids all morning, Auggie started ABA therapy at 8:30, and Matt left with Kiya, Keith, and Anna at 8:40 to get them to school. Phew. Then I headed out for my “day off” which is still full of work, but truly a time of refreshment because I get to be out all on my own. My first stop was Aldi.

Then Wal-Mart.

Then I went to Panera for two and a half hours to write and rest.

At one point, I looked up and there were our York friends, Stewart and Dawn!! I was so happy to see them that I forgot I was in a public place and might have made a scene. Dawn has recently been given a cancer diagnosis and I’ve been praying so much for their family. To look up and see them was such a gift. This was, for sure, the best part of my day.

At 1:00, I wrapped up my computer work and went next door to Costco. We were low on a lot of paper products and food, so it took two carts to manage our big needs this week. I filled the first one with non-perishables, checked out, and loaded the van. Then I went back in and filled cart number two.

At home, Matt took a million trips in and out to unload the van while I put groceries away. I’d bought a Rotisserie Chicken at Costco for our dinner and put it into the crock pot to stay warm. Then I boiled noodles and warmed up Alfredo sauce that I’d bought on sale. I’ve not found an Alfredo sauce that I feel is comparable to this homemade version, but either I was really, really hungry or the Costco Alfredo sauce is actually amazing. The convenience of sauce in a jar is working for us during this season in life, plus Salad kits are winners. I cut up strawberries I’d picked up, and we all ate very well that night.

As we cleaned out back packs that evening, we found this gem. Keith celebrated 100 days of school by filling this out on his own. We couldn’t read everything he attempted to write, but at 100 years of age, he plans to be living in the North Pole without any children. He hopes to pet a sloth sometime in his life, and his favorite thing to do will be to ride a bike. But the best part is that his favorite person will be Jesus and he will always remember “be cinde” which translates to “be kind.” Yes, my buddy. If your favorite person is Jesus, you will always remember to be kind. :)

Tuesday morning, these two helpers were eager to scrub potatoes to put into the crock pot for dinner. Auggie took a turn too, working it into his ABA therapy time.

In an attempt to get ahead, I made a pan of Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars and a batch of Spinach Cupcakes. I often try to bake two things at once if possible. That way I’m making the most of the two racks in our oven.

Hopelyn spent the day with us, toddling around and playing. See that little speaker on the table in front of her? Matt had turned on some “Jesus music” and the kids were all jamming. Hopelyn loves music. She can’t help it. Justus is her dad.

That afternoon, I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution. Lots of food was handed out that day too 100+ clients. Then while I vacuumed, the kids helped scrub spots out of the carpet.

Back at home, Matt had steamed Peas and Broccoli plus warmed up leftover Chili for our Baked Potatoes.

We had brought home a lot of expired milk from Food Distribution. In an effort to use it quickly, Keith helped me make Warm Vanilla Soother in special snowman cups.

Our men’s Husker basketball team was playing a big game against Michigan that we all wanted to watch so one of the boys got it pulled up on our TV. Between dishes and ABA therapy, we watched the first half. Then it got intense and we gathered in the living room to watch the ending. I love doing this with our big boys!

I put two huge Pork Roasts into our roaster to slow cook overnight so that I could shred, cool, and freeze them the next day for an upcoming event.

Wednesday mornings I often find myself working a little bit extra in the kitchen. This is because on Tuesday, we usually bring home some random food items from Food Distribution that are about to expire and need to be taken care of quickly. I find this to be a fun challenge – to see how I can use up this food so we can keep it from going to waste!

I’d made Warm Vanilla Soother the night before with all the extra milk we brought home, and I made another batch Wednesday morning. The kids were thrilled with this! I’d also brought home lots and lots of different kinds of breads and buns, so I baked 24 eggs to make Breakfast Sandwiches.

Later I was able to put together all of these Breakfast Sandwiches for our fridge and freezer. We love having these on hand!

With all of the slider rolls we brought home from Food Distribution, Josie helped me make four packages of Ham and Cheese Sliders for our freezer.

Arrow came over to play all morning! He had a special conversation with Uncle Malachi about all the food Lolli had been making in the kitchen. His vocabulary is exploding! (Arrow’s, not Malachi’s. Though we are also proud of all the words Malachi knows.)

For dinner that night, I’d slow cooked Party Potatoes all day. I baked two pre-seasoned Pork Loin that I’d picked up at Aldi earlier in the week, and I steamed Green Beans. This meal was so delicious!

I fixed plates for all the kids, then Matt and I left for our regularly scheduled evening out while Malachi, Elias, and Malorie held down the fort. We praise God for this time!

Thursday morning, Kiya helped me make another big round of Ham and Cheese Sliders. We plan to use several packs of these for Sunday Lunch. Here’s a look at one of our freezers when I realized that our efforts this week had completely  filled this one – with Sliders and Breakfast Sandwiches.

Justus dropped off Hopelyn that morning but had a few minutes to hang out before he left. Acacia and Josie loved this and kept taking over their art work to show him!

When Anna got home from school that day, she chased Hopelyn around and made her giggle like no one else can.

We all ate leftovers for dinner that night in an effort to clean out the fridge of all the odds and ends. That evening, Keith was excited to help me make a big pot of Tapioca Pudding for our Friday breakfast. His ABA technician was standing by, which allowed Keith to be at the stove stirring the pudding for twenty minutes!

On Friday morning, Acacia had Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

Most of the day was pretty uneventful. I made a big batch of Sloppy Joe meat to eat for dinner that night and to freeze for another meal. We had leftover baked potatoes in the fridge, so I peeled and cut them to fry in butter. This paired with Sloppy Joes was super good! We had leftover Green Beans and Peas in the fridge, so everyone got to choose which of those they wanted for dinner, plus we had grapes.

As I headed to bed that night, Kelsey sent me this photo, sharing about the Raspberry Oatmeal Bars they had made. I hope those tasted great with their coffee the next morning!

Saturday morning, I baked a batch of Crustless Cheesecake plus a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We went to the library for Sensory Storytime. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there!

Here’s a great picture of Anna, Acacia, and Keith! Oh wait. You can only see Acacia’s legs…and Keith? Well, he’s in that red tube somewhere.

We drove straight from the library to the Bee Me Sensory Gym. We get to go there once per month for free thanks to a family pass offered by Autism Family Network.

Before we headed home, I texted to ask Malachi to put pizza in the oven for lunch because we had a big bunch of hungry kids! (Mom might have been hungry too.)

Earlier that morning, I’d mixed up a double recipe of Cream Cheese Cookie Cut-Outs. That afternoon, we rolled and cut them into heart-shaped cookies. I used these fabulous tips for making cookies with kids. Still, it was a mad house. :/

The rest of our afternoon and evening was full, and I’ll share more about it next week!

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Make-Ahead Slider Sandwiches

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Make-Ahead Slider Sandwiches are freezable!

This has been such a sweet (well, savory, actually) discovery. Sliders are easy to make anyway, but to make them ahead and freeze them to bake and serve conveniently as needed? So great!

The most basic SlidersYum

I realize that there are super cool recipes out there for fancy sliders with really awesome ingredients that make people pass out in delight.

My sliders? Bread. Meat. Cheese.

That’s it. I’m feeding the masses every day (9-15 of us daily) and the multitudes on Sundays (25-45 for Sunday Lunches). My daily people are pretty picky, so simple ingredients are best. And when feeding lots of people on Sundays, I try to stay pretty basic when putting together food. Then people an embellish as they wish.

Speaking of embellishments

While I make my sliders with just meat and cheese, it’s very fun to set out all kinds of add-in or dip choices. Or favorites are:

  • Pepperoncini
  • Dill pickle slices
  • Honey Mustard
  • Ranch
  • Chipotle sauce

But with our without these add-ons, I can’t tell you how many compliments I get on my sliders. It’s literally just a bun with warm lunch meat and melted cheese. And they are a hit every time. One recent Sunday Lunch, there were 25 people gathered at our house and we ate our way through 72 meat and cheese sliders.

Which leads me to the “make-ahead” part of my post.

For that particular Sunday Lunch, I took just a few minutes the Wednesday before to make six 12-packs of sliders. When making them assembly-line style, and when filling them with simple meats and cheeses, it’s super easy and fast to make a lot at once.

Then I wrapped and froze them to thaw Saturday and bake on Sunday. What’s extra great is that I wrapped them in foil to freeze them, and baked them directly on the oven rack in their foil. There’s nothing easier.

Then the cheese melts and the meat heats and the buns toast – these are delicious.

Make-Ahead Slider Sandwiches

Step One: Slice a package of rolls open and place the bottom half onto a large sheet of foil.

Any rolls will work for these. Hawaiian rolls tend to be a favorite – but they can also be more expensive. I use whatever rolls I have. (We have the lovely perk of frequently bringing home free rolls from the Food Distribution site where some of the kids and I volunteer each week. I’m not picky, nor can I be because I’m not in charge of what gets donated to the site. So from this, I’ve learned that any and all rolls can be turned into Sliders.)

Step Two: Top the bottom half of the rolls with lunch meat, 2-3 slices deep. Our favorite is ham, with turkey coming in as a close second.

Step Three: Add sliced cheese. It’s fun to create a variety of Slider options, but our favorites are Colby jack and pepper jack cheese.

Step Four: Put the tops of the rolls in place, then wrap up the Slider Pack.

See how easy it is to do this “assembly-line” style?

Step Five: To freeze, put the prepared packs into gallon-sized freezer bags and label.

What if?

What if you took this simple idea and prepped several bags of these sliders for the freezer? Then, they will be available for a quick meal as needed. Just thaw, put into a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted, cut into 12 squares, and serve.

I’ve served these sliders with canned Tomato Soup, plus homemade Chili, and Taco Soup. They’d also be great as a “main dish” with a side of fruit and a veggie tray. So easy. So good. So fun.

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How to Make Eggs in a Nest

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You probably already know this little trick. But if not, here’s how to make eggs in a nest!

I go in phases of making these, mostly because I forget about them. So I figured I would post about this idea here as a reminder to all of us that this is a great and easy breakfast, lunch, snack, or supper!

Eggs in a Nest are fun because you can use a cute cookie cutter to remove the center of the bread. I’m told by experts (my children) that a cute center makes these taste even better. And here I thought it was the melted, browned butter that took them up a notch.

How to Make Eggs in a NestYum

This isn’t as much of a recipe as a little tutorial on “how I make this food.” Ingredients needed?

  • Bread
  • Eggs
  • Butter
  • Sea Salt

Step One: Cut out the center of a slice of bread with a small cookie cutter.

Step Two: Melt butter in a skillet or on a griddle. Put prepared bread onto the melted butter.

Step Three: Crack an egg into each hole.

Step Four: Sprinkle salt over each egg. Poke the yolk if you don’t like your eggs runny.

Step Five: Allow the eggs to cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip the bread/egg to cook the second side to finish cooking.

And that’s it! One of my tiny, very picky girls likes these so much she will eat three of them for breakfast!

Some of my other tiny picky children skip the Eggs in a Nest and go right for the center pieces. After I cook the above mentioned breakfast, I use the inside cut outs to make buttered toast on my griddle. These get gobbled up so fast that I’ve learned to cut an entire loaf of bread into small shapes and toast them on the griddle for our kids to enjoy.

Do you make Eggs in a Nest? Do you call them something different?

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