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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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Big Family Food and Fun: January 18-24, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 18-24, 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 17

On Saturday afternoon, my Helper of the Day, Anna, helped me put together an Egg Casserole for our dinner that night.

We left a napping Auggie at home with Elias and Malorie, then we took our kids to the library for an afternoon Puppet Show. First, we found some animals in the “vet clinic” that the library had set up. :)

The Puppet Show was way cooler than we realized it would be, with a presenter from What If Puppets out of Kansas City. The kids laughed and laughed and we were so glad we’d gone to be a part of this.

The rest of the night was very stressful with some extreme behaviors. We baked our Egg Casserole and made Pancakes, gave baths and watched part of The Sound of Music with the kids. Brayden is learning Do Ray Me in choir so we wanted to show him that song’s origins! I went to bed very discouraged that night because as hard as we try to show these kids how loved they are, the push back is extreme. God is faithful. We hold on to this Truth.

Big Family Food and Fun: January 18-24, 2026

We ate a plate of Breakfast Cookies on Sunday morning, and the fighting with the kids continued. At church that morning, it felt so good to be loved by God and surrounded by his people. We could not do this without the love, support, and prayers from so many.

We loved, loved, loved our afternoon. It was Elias’ birthday, plus our friend Christina had a birthday the day before. So lunch was a big time of celebration!

Elias had requested Shrimp Tacos, so we had a big Taco Bar with Shrimp, Salsa Chicken, and Seasoned Beef.

I made a big pan of Brownies and some Hot Fudge for Brownie Fudge Sundaes per Elias’ request. Friends brought Cake and Tiramisu – what a feast!

There were people scattered all throughout our main floor eating, visiting, and sharing life.

There were 41 of us gathered that day. Matt and I went from so very discouraged to incredibly encouraged by our time with these dear people.

As the crowd cleared, we sent our kids downstairs to watch a movie while Matt and I enjoyed our Community Group. I baked Frozen Pizza for dinner and went to bed tired but refreshed from all God is doing in and for us.

Monday was a very full day with all the kids home from school, appointments, and company. Emma came over as normal, which was very helpful so I could run to Aldi and Walmart for grocery shopping.

I got home from shopping in time to make a quick lunch of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Raspberries. Then I took two kids to meet with a new therapist based on yet some new diagnoses that we’ve received. (I’ll share about the new needs we’ve discovered another time after we process this and work out more of the details.)

This appointment time might have been the most encouraging moment that has happened since the day we started taking in foster kids. We have had to go through everything else in order to lead up to this – no doubt. God’s timing is perfect, and meeting this team of professionals any time before Monday might not have served the purpose we needed before now. But now – the timing is right and we all felt God so perfectly in this.

Also? This Christian therapist and this special clinic is five minutes from our house. We’ve looked high and low and far and wide for some specific therapy help. This clinic is five minutes from us? Five.

I was sobbing as I told Matt more about it when I got home. What a good and faithful God we serve. It is worth noting that when I had a few minutes alone with the therapist – who is Spirit filled and listening to His direction – I was able to tell her more candidly what all we go through at our house due to the trauma our kids have endured. She immediately set me up with a regular appointment schedule with her because she recognized right away that no one can do what we are doing without professional support from someone who understands what it’s like to live with and care for so many traumatized kids.

Well anyway. What an afternoon.

We arrived home to find that Keith and Acacia were getting married. Already emotional, I fully delighted in this sweet scene.

That evening, we invited friends to come have dinner with us. We’d been missing them and wanted to connect, and thankfully we were all able to make this happen. We had a simple meal of Ham and Potato Soup with rolls, then spent time together catching up on life.

Tuesday morning, Little Sweetheart joined us for the day. Here’s a scene I like to call Laundry with Lolli. The poor dear. What must she think about all of Lolli’s laundry piles that seem to always be there?

Brayden was the only kiddo able to go with me to our weekly Food Distribution that day. We were short on volunteers, so Brayden needed to fill in at a different spot. He rocked it!

When we arrived back at home, we discovered that Anna, Josie, and Auggie had found a picnic table cloth and were making a fun plastic feast on the living room floor. Watching them play make-believe is a very big deal because that doesn’t come naturally to any of them. This was so sweet!! (…for five minutes, until they all started to scatter and throw all the plastic food, which is more like how they usually play, oy.)

The evening was so full that I almost forgot to take a picture of our dinner until we were putting it away. I’d used Sunday’s lunch leftovers to put together Chicken Burritos. These are simple and almost everyone in our household will eat these without argument.

Wednesday was a big day!

Arrow came to join us to play in the morning and we did a lot of baking. Auggie helped me make Spinach Cupcakes.

At the same time, we baked a bunch of mini Bran Muffins for snacks.

Last, we made Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Late morning, my dad and his wife, Tacy, arrived. We were pretty tickled to see that as we were warming up lunch, Dad and Tacy tried out our new air hockey table, hehe.

And then the BEST part of the day! We headed to the courthouse for the final adoption of Little Sweetheart!!!!

Justus and Kelsey have asked that I continue to put hearts over her sweet face for now. But I am so happy to introduce our precious and prayed for granddaughter: Hopelyn Coppinger!

Perhaps this is a good time to share additional grandbaby news? Arrow is excited to share that he’s going to have a baby sister this summer!! Lolli and Pop have hearts full of gratitude and joy!

We met up at the Castle for coffee and treats as we left the courthouse after Hopelyn’s adoption.

There was so much joy in this celebration!

We gathered around our living room to pray for Hopelyn and her parents.

The fellowship was sweet as we wrapped up our time together and moved into our evening.

We started our regular ABA therapy for the kids. At dinner time, we had a simple meals of Chili with Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Dad and Tacy left to head back to Kansas as we were getting kids off to school on Thursday morning. We got Auggie settled in with his ABA therapist and the little girls with Daddy, then I was able to sneak off and have a morning outing with Kelsey and her mom and sister from Montana. What a treat!

I had meatballs frozen and tucked away, so I thawed those for our dinner that night. We ate Sweet Sauce Meatballs, Tator Tots, and Green Beans. Then Matt and I left the kids behind with Elias, Malorie, and Malachi and we went to Panera to sit together and visit for a couple of hours.

When we got home, Malorie had the little girls in jammies and with teeth brushed. It was so nice to only have to tuck them in instead of doing the challenging night time routine. God bless our big kids!

Anna was very excited about how she had fixed her own hair and begged me to take her picture. (Note the wallpaper that has been ripped off the wall behind her. We had to give up on preventing this. Did you know that tearing paper helps calm kids who have autism and/or trauma? In this case, she’s been tearing the paper off the wall, slowly but surely. Meh, it’s just a wall and can be fixed later.)

Acacia needed her picture taken too…

The kids were all very excited because school was canceled on Friday due to extremely cold temps. Auggie and Anna helped me put together a big pot of Taco Soup for Sunday’s lunch.

We also made two huge Lasagnas for a party that night. I forgot to take a picture of the lasagnas until they were tucked away in our fridge. So here’s a non-exciting photo of how I was able to rearrange everything and stuff the lasagnas inside.

We were hoping to get a family photo during our party that evening, and the girls asked if I could curl their hair. I’ve never done all four girls’ hair like this before, but we had a little extra time since they were home from school. So we got it done. Wow, they are beautiful little girls!

Our friends, the Brocks, came from out of town to join us at the party that night. We spent a couple of hours playing games together!

Party time! Justus and Kelsey had organized a wonderful adoption celebration for Hopelyn!

We added my Lasagnas to the buffet, and Kelsey and her family had put together a most beautiful table of pastas, veggies, and fruit. Friends brought cookies and we all feasted together.

Phew, what a great week! Saturday was full in other ways, but I wasn’t able to get on my computer to share about it. So we’ll save that for next week!

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Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars

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You’re going to want to make these Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars right away!

Many sweet years ago, you may recall that I created this Raspberry Oat Bars recipe. That recipe was a staple at our house when our big boys were little boys and then teenage boys. Any time I baked them, I switched out the raspberry jam with apricot jam or whatever jam we had in the house at the time, and we had a delightful time eating these bars as we all learned to love coffee.

Yes. These bars with coffee? The best.

Now here we are with those boys all grown up being adulty, and we’ve got a second set of kids who pretend to like coffee (what??! when have they had it?) and don’t like seeds in their jam. Raspberry Oat Bars are a no-go for them at this point. But no worries. I figured out a way to expand our Breakfast Food List that Doesn’t Make People Scream and Throw Food on the Floor.

Maybe.

Someone is still likely to throw these on the floor. But not because of raspberry seeds.

Anyway. Nutella. Spread a jar of nutella in the middle of these bars and the entire pan will be eaten very quickly. I still like these with coffee. Our little kids highly recommend them with milk.

Nutella Oat Breakfast BarsYum

Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars
 
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Serves: 24 bars
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups melted butter (4 sticks)
  • 12-ounce container of Nutella
Instructions
  1. Mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Stir in melted butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
  3. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  4. Spread nutella over the top.
  5. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top of the nutella layer, pressing down lightly to cover.
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

First layer down…

Nutella over the top.

Second oat layer sprinkled on…

Baked to perfection.

Tip 1: The Aldi Nutella knock-off is perfect in this recipe.

Tip 2: Use more or less Nutella as desired.

Tip 3: We already talked about the milk and the coffee. Grab a cup.

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Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 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 10

On Saturday afternoon after Auggie’s nap, we took the kids down the road to the Irving Rec Center to run around and play before dinner.

Brayden has been feeling awkward during P.E. class, so I worked on teaching him to shoot a basketball. Learning is hard for this guy, but he kept on trying and trying until a few things started to click. He was very proud to make several baskets before it was time to leave!

Before we left for the gym, I had made 24 hamburger patties, knowing that we’d be hungry when we got home. We rewarmed them, plus warmed up some bacon and got out burger fixing’s when we got home. As much as we’d hoped that getting some energy out at the gym would help our night go more smoothly, it was not to be. There were lots of fights that evening as we ate dinner, got baths, and went to bed. So much for a restful Sabbath evening. But at least we tried. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 2026

Sunday was a fresh new day, and everyone woke up in a calmer state than they’d gone to bed. We had a plate of Breakfast Cookies ready to eat while we got ready for church.

There was a special Kid’s Event after worship, with a potluck meal and game time.

After everyone ate together, the games were brought out.

Our friend, Christina, got this super fun shot of Brayden and Clara featuring their sweet friendship during a game they were playing together.

We came home and enjoyed our Community Group. Then it was Birthday Dinner time! Anna turned six and her meal request was Mac and Cheese. I made Chicken Nuggets and got out some leftover sliced Apples to round out the meal.

Here’s our birthday girl!

Anna opened a fluffy, twirly dress and a princess puzzle during present time.

Then our sweet neighbor brought over a pretty flower and card for her. My favorite part of this is how Leisa spoke Jesus’ truth into Anna as she delivered this birthday gift.

Anna was anxious to put her new puzzle together, so Daddy got the other kids’ teeth brushed while Mommy got to help with the puzzle. It was a sweet time together, so we documented it with a six-year-old selfie.

On Monday morning, Emma came to hang out with the girls and Auggie had ABA therapy. So I left as soon as Matt took the other kids to school so that I could have several hours of respite. I grocery shopped for the first two hours. My first stop was at Aldi, and I walked in with my new found FREEDOM in not keeping track and calculating my purchases. Wow, it felt good!

Check out my huge pile of 50% off chicken breasts and thighs!! I love the red stickers. :) The markdowns gave us this meat for $1.75/pound – amazing!! I also got yogurt, oranges, bananas, Caesar salad kits, spring mix, cake mix, sausage patties, ground sausage, grapes, cherries, fruit/veggie pouches, chips, spaghetti sauce, taco shells, and I can’t remember what else because guess what? I did what I said I would do and I threw away the receipt. :)

My next stop was Wal-Mart. There were no meat markdowns that day, but I got ingredients to make some huge lasagnas plus sour cream, milk, spinach, flax seed, shredded coconut, eggs, and some cracker packs to fill up our picky eaters. I grabbed some of the cheap Valentine card kits for our kids to hand out at school next month. It felt good to have those purchased and ready to fill out when we have time.

It was a beautiful day so next, I decided to drive to a shopping center I rarely venture to. I walked around Trader Joe’s with no agenda, enjoying the slow pace and fun food. I picked up a bag of Josie’s Mandarins – because how could I not?? (Bonus: mandarins are our Josie’s favorite fruit!) The yogurt cups looked good and Brayden loves these hashbrowns. So that was my Trader Joe’s “splurge.”

I wandered over to Old Navy next and found some great sweaters on clearance. I loved how this fit, so I went back and found two more in different colors! It felt soooo good to shop slowly with a restful spirit.

I headed to Panera after that and took advantage of my Sip Club membership and their wifi. I wrote for two hours before heading home as a “new woman.” (Matt told me he didn’t want a new woman, but he was glad I rested and felt refreshed when I got home, ha.)

Earlier that morning before I left for the day, I had put Salsa Chicken into a crock pot to cook for dinner. When I got home, just before we left to pick up kids from school, I threw together a pan of Stick of Butter Rice and baked it. At dinnertime, we enjoyed a full Chicken Taco Buffet with chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, cheese, sour cream, corn, spinach, avocado, chips, tortillas, and cilantro. This meal works great for our family because everyone can eat whichever part of the buffet they like – even if it’s just a tortilla with cheese.

That night, I put another round of Salsa Chicken into a crock pot. On Tuesday morning, I shredded it and bagged to to freeze for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Auggie had a great ABA therapy session that morning. Daddy spent some time playing a game with Acacia and Josie.

Little Sweetheart spent the day with us. She loves helping get the girls’ coats and backpacks ready for bus time.

After school that afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to at our weekly Food Distribution. There was a huge long line of people served that day!

We were sent home that day with a full box of small packets of sliced apples. (There had been four cases to give away, and clients were given all they could take, and that still left us with an entire box!) The apples were frozen, but the kids still had fun munching on them. I told them they could eat as many as they wanted!

At bedtime that night, the little girls all “needed” their robes. They looked like mini mommies (not that I ever wear a robe, but still).

On Wednesday morning, I baked a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. Wait. Didn’t I just bake a batch of these last week? Yes. We fly through these muffins so we already needed more!

We’d brought home several varieties of breads and buns home from Tuesday’s food distribution. So I used some to make a few Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand.

Arrow came to spend the morning with us. He toddled around wherever we were, and he helped Lolli reorganize her pantry.

All those frozen apple slices from Tuesday night had turned to mush in our fridge on Wednesday. I did what I could to salvage as many of them as possible. I made a big Apple Pie and three loaves of Apple Bread.

For dinner that night, we enjoyed several bags of Chicken that we’d brought home from food distribution the day before. Matt made a salad, I buttered and toasted some buns, and we set out fruit.

Then, Matt and I ducked out for a DATE!

As part of my need for a time of Recovery, I’ve prayed about ways Matt and I could have some regular down time together. We’ve now worked out a plan (that is a work in progress) with Elias, Malorie, and Malachi to give us Wednesday evenings off. We got the kids fed and the ABA therapy kiddos settled in with their RBTs. Then the grown-up kids took over with the little kids while we headed out!

We have a Panera Sip Club membership, so we used our two and a half hours of down time sitting with a Lime Bubbly, having FULL CONVERSATIONS. It was so awesome, and as of right now, we get to do it again next week and the week after that. Here’s a little shot of our time together in which we were finally watching a podcast episode we were in at Asa’s work at Back to the Bible. These were recorded in November, aired in December, and we never had found time to actually watch them mid-January!

On Thursday morning, Josie helped me with a Nutella Oat Breakfast Bar experiment.

The results? Oh so good. Watch for a recipe soon!

We also threw a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars into the oven for the next two Sunday breakfasts.

Mid-morning, I put all the needed ingredients for Taco Soup into a crock pot for our dinner that night.

Charlene, my great friend from York, came for the afternoon and we talked non-stop until time to go pick up kids from school. Matt walked all the kids home by himself while I stayed at the school so that I could attend three parent-teacher conferences. Kelsey showed up at our house to pick up Little Sweetheart and stayed a nice long while helping with kids until I got home.

On Friday morning, Acacia was my Helper of the Day and was excited to do any task I would assign her. She helped me put together two pans full of Crunchy Ranch Chicken for our dinner that night.

Matt stayed home that morning with Josie and Auggie to navigate Auggie’s ABA therapy plus a visit with our Early Childhood Network team that checks in on Auggie’s needs frequently. Meanwhile, I took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We baked our Crunchy Ranch Chicken for dinner that evening plus had Steamed Broccoli, Sliced Oranges, and Buttered Rolls.

Brayden had been asking for several days to make his “banana whip thing” that apparently he’d made with me back when we lived in York. I only had a vague recollection of his “recipe” but on Friday evening, we were finally able to spend some time experimenting. He put five overripe bananas into our blender and measured some cream. We added just a bit of sugar, then he blended it.

The result was a rich Banana Shake that he was so proud to share with his siblings!

On Saturday morning, I made a big pan of Fudge Brownies for Elias’ birthday the next day. I put a bunch of hotdogs into a crock pot to cook for our lunch, then we loaded everyone up and headed out for the morning.

First we went to the Sensory Friendly Story Time. I love that we are making lots of friends there. Most of the parents we meet with each week are also there with their special needs kids. So we are able to visit with each other with a kind understanding of what our kids are going through.

After the library, we went to the Children’s Museum. Asa and Eva met us there with Arrow and Kelsey came with Little Sweetheart. This Lolli LOVED the sweetness of this time together!

All of the features of the Children’s Museum are great. But seeing our kids in aprons and hats pretending to work at Runza is THE CUTEST!!!

I ran out of time to share more about our day at this point, so I’ll finish telling you about our Saturday fun next week!

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Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

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I’ve shared a version of this Easy Cheeseburger Casserole here. But this is an even easier variety I’ve started to make, and I encourage you to give this a try!

This casserole is as easy as browning meat, then stirring in the other ingredients. Make it the night before, then bake it at dinnertime when you need it.

Two of my boys helped me make this recently, and took such pride in everyone loving their creation!

A little tip: Instead of topping my casseroles with cheese, I have learned to stir the shredded cheese right into the casserole with all the other ingredients. This makes the entire casserole cheesy, plus it prevents the cheese from sticking to the foil.

Easy Cheeseburger CasseroleYum

Easy Cheeseburger Casserole
 
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Author:
Serves: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 6 cups frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 2 Tablespoons mustard
  • 2 cups French fried onions
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (I use Colby jack)
  • Sea salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Brown hamburger meat until no longer pink.
  2. Stir cooked meat and remaining ingredients together in a large casserole dish.
  3. Cover dish with foil.
  4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.

Another tip: I like to set out some Bacon Bits for people to stir in if they want to. Then it becomes Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole – even better!!

Tip number three: Aldi carries a variety of Organic French Fried Onions that are inexpensive and super tasty!

Do I double this recipe and make a giant sized Cheeseburger Casserole for our family? Of course I do. The leftovers (if there are any) are great!

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Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 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 3

For dinner on Saturday evening, I’d made a huge pot of Beef Stew with some stew meat I’d picked up marked down at Sam’s that week. The kids didn’t eat it very well, but we grown ups enjoyed it. :)

The evening was uneventful, filled with bath time and the normal mayhem. I did manage to finally cut and individually wrap the Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies that I’d baked the day before. Having these ready to pack in school lunches was my main goal for them.

Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 2026

On Sunday morning after worship, Josie and Auggie helped Matt fill a tote of pantry items to bring home and fill our Little Free Pantry.

Our lunch gathering after church was a huge delight, as usual. Our friend Steve walked in a case of Root Beer to share – and it didn’t take much arm twisting at the mention of Root Beer Floats for him to run right out to the store to pick up ice cream so that we could add Floats to our dessert bar. He was back with “the goods” right as we were getting ready to serve lunch: Ham and Cheese Sliders, Tomato Soup, Fruit, and Potatoes.

I’d put together six foil 12-packs of Sliders to warm in the oven – so 72 Sliders altogether. At the end of our meal? Exactly one slider remained. I guess this meal was a hit!

There were 25 of us gathered that day, with so much joy in our conversation and fellowship.

Matt and I sent the kids downstairs to watch a movie with Elias, Malorie, and Malachi during the afternoon while we enjoyed time with three other couples during our Community Group. For dinner that night, I put a box of Taquitos into the oven, warmed up White Queso, and served up Grapes. Easy and fun!

In an effort to get ahead for our launch into a new school semester after a long break, I made a big batch of Breakfast Burritos.

On Monday morning, Emma came to help with the non-school kids, Auggie had ABA therapy, and guess what I got to do? I ducked out for the entire day for some time of Recovery. First stop: a massage. I’ve been holding onto this certificate from my sweet daughters since August.

My friend Terra is amazing if you happen to be in Lincoln and want a healing massage. I was so relaxed after this that I wasn’t sure it was safe for me to drive, ha. But, drive I did – all the way to Panera where I sipped (well, a ton of water at first to get the most out of my massage and then…) coffee. I had my laptop and spent two blissful hours writing.

I ended my time away from home with a run into Costco to get a couple of things. This is what “a couple of things” looks like for our household…

Back at home, Matt and I took Auggie in the stroller for a walk to pick up the school kids. Mayhem and meltdowns began immediately, then ABA therapy, then dinner. I’d thrown BBQ Sauce on Chicken in the crock pot early that morning, then I made Green Beans and Buttered Rolls to go with it.

As the kids were finishing their meal, I decided to make Cheesecake Parfait to go with the Strawberries I’d picked up at Costco. We went through one two-pound round of strawberries very quickly and I got my blender back out and made another batch of parfait. Four pounds of strawberries later, I’d say this was a huge hit with everyone that night!

On Tuesday morning, Little Sweetheart came over to spend the day. We did some hair styling then played in the container of hair ties – which are very, very fun to throw all over the place.

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. They all did well this week, and it was great to see over 100 people go through the food line.

Back at home, Matt finished the dinner I’d started: Leftover BBQ Chicken turned into Meat and Cheese Melts with leftover Veggies.

On Wednesday morning, I baked a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Arrow came and spent the morning, making a batch of his own muffins in our play kitchen.

Somewhere in there, Josie helped me make Party Potatoes to slow cook for our dinner that night.

It was gorgeous outside, so I grilled Steak and Pork Ribs out on our smoker. IN JANUARY. What a treat!

Before bed that night, Brayden and Auggie helped me put together a large Cheeseburger Casserole for our Thursday night dinner.

On Thursday morning, after we got the kids off to school and settled Auggie in with his ABA therapy, I made a new extra large batch of Granola Bars to have on hand.

All throughout the morning, I baked many pans of Bacon. I had plans to use it with our casserole that night for dinner, for a breakfast-for-dinner on Friday, and just to have bacon on hand for anyone who wanted bacon during the next few days. The grown-ups in our house like it when I have cooked bacon on hand. I also save the bacon grease to use when I make Green Beans.

On my last round of bacon, I put two pans of Spinach Cupcakes into the oven to bake for a snack that night. I felt very relieved after all of this time in the kitchen because now I had a lot of good food items made ahead for upcoming needs!

When Malachi got home from work, Auggie helped him warm up and make a cup of coffee. There’s no way Malachi could have done this without the help of his three-year-old brother.

We enjoyed our Cheeseburger Casserole that night with Bacon for those who wanted to add it, Buttered Corn, and Spinach Cupcakes.

Keith took a break from his ABA therapy that night to make rice with Elias. I love how our younger kids love to be a part of life with their older brothers. And I love how the older kids include their younger siblings in their tasks.

On Friday morning, Daddy took Acacia to Speech Therapy. But first, this Helper of the Day helped me make Banana Bread with all of the bananas I’d been holding onto in the freezer.

We quickly ate our way through one loaf of Banana Bread, but I froze the other two loaves for later.

Dinner that night was a HUGE hit with everyone. I made a mountain of French Toast, 20+ Sausage Patties, and warmed up a large amount of Bacon from what I’d baked the day before. We got out Applesauce and Blueberries and feasted on dinner for breakfast. Everyone ate so well that we ran out of food before all of the adults got home from work to eat. Wow.

On Saturday morning, we took the kids to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Storytime. There’d been a break from this during the holidays, so we were very excited to go back! The theme for the day was SNOW, so we got to enjoy snowflakes made of felt, books and songs about snow, and then…

…we got to have a snowball fight!

Ms. Diane is incredible at putting this weekly program together!

Matt helped me load up the kids in the library parking lot, then he left in a different vehicle to drive to Heartlands to support our friends during their mom’s funeral service. I was on my own at home with all seven kids for a couple of hours, which is rare! We planned that we would let them watch a movie to help me survive the time. It all went well, and everyone did ok overall!

Part way through the movie, our friend Paula showed up with a car full of groceries for us to put into our Little Free Pantry. Their church group has been awesome to take part in this ministry with us! We paused our movie so that all seven kids could help bring in food.

It overtook our pantry floor – a great problem to have! So many people will be blessed by this food!

I needed to turn off my computer at this point, so I’ll continue sharing about our Saturday next week!

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