Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 15-21, 2024 post!
Big Family Food and Fun: December 15-21, 2024
Saturday evening, as part of our Sabbath time of delight, we took the kids out to look at Christmas lights before bed.
Sunday morning, we ate a plate of Breakfast Cookies into Bars that I’d made a few days before.
Pop got to snuggle a sleepy Little Sweetheart during worship time that morning. Anna wasn’t feeling well, poor thing.
We had an amazing full house for lunch that day with 29 of us altogether. I had made a large roaster full of Spicy Ham and Potato Soup last Friday, and simply rewarmed it (with the help of Kelsey who got to the house after church before we did that day). Some friends who joined us brought food also and we had a feast with soup, salads, breads, chips, fruit, and cakes.
I love it when the dining room and the living room tables are full of dear ones.
We had an extra special “Pigmas Party” at Heartlands church that night! It was reverse of the Christmas in July idea with a…Barbecue in December! One church member smoked a bunch of pulled pork for all of us (it was amazing!). Everyone brought desserts. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.
There was an ugly sweater contest and I was definitely in the running with my hideous flamingo sweater with matching (um, clashing) earrings and hair bows!
The kids had fun trying on items from the photo booth.
The evening ended with Justus and two friends entertaining us with some fun Christmas music.
Monday morning, I scrambled a dozen eggs and warmed up bacon I’d baked last week. I got out a jar of Smoothie I’d made the day before for Matt and me.
While the kids were playing that morning, Auggie found Keith’s Husker helmet. It weighed him down, so he didn’t wear it for long. But he did wear it proudly. :)
I wrapped presents that afternoon while drinking cold coffee with cream to power me through. :)
I had to take Keith to an appointment after school, so I got dinner out before I left to make dinnertime easier for Matt, Elias, and Malorie. I had two Quiche (or is it quiches? nope, I looked it up. quiche.) in the freezer from a previous meal, so Matt warmed up individual pieces in our air fryer and it tasted great!
—> By the way, I’d intentionally made extra Quiche a few weeks ago, knowing I’d have leftovers to freeze. If I’m going to get out ingredients to make one meal, I might as well make double the food using the same amount of effort, right? Having pre-made food in the freezer like this saves me on busy nights! <—
With the Quiche, we had Spinach with salad dressing, Oranges, and Pears.
MONDAY NIGHT FUN:
As we were finishing dinner that night, Matt discovered (…wait for it…) a squirrel in our pantry.
We have no idea how it got into our house, though our neighbors had told us they had a similar thing happen a few weeks ago. WHAT?
Have you ever tried keeping seven trauma-kids calm while there’s a squirrel in the pantry? Well.
Malorie helped me keep the kids occupied in the kitchen, dining room, or living room while Elias and Matt did everything they could to trap the squirrel, then set it free outside. It was not an easy task, but there were enticing peanuts involved.
All that to say, getting everyone settled in for the night wasn’t easy (as if it ever is easy?!).
Oy. But there’s more.
Tuesday morning, I had to get Auggie to Speech Therapy in the midst of getting the other kids off to school, so we had a simple breakfast of Yogurt with Granola. I also set out the Pancake Sausage Muffins I’d made last week (that failed to rise) for any of the kids who wanted those. Meanwhile, Kiya made herself a ham sandwich with spinach for lunch and I drank my morning smoothie.
ALSO DURING BREAKFAST
Elias usually leaves for work around 7:20 but walked out and came right back into the house announcing that his car had locked him out somehow. Did I mention that his car was running?!
Our extra car isn’t running right now so I was no help because I needed to van for Auggie’s appointment. So he quickly grabbed Malorie’s keys and took her car (later Malorie took his car to work). He made it to work just in time.
Matt watched a YouTube video in an effort to learn how to break into a car (hahahaha). But he isn’t burglar enough, so it didn’t work. He finally gave in and called a locksmith who had it unlocked very quickly once he arrived. I texted this picture to Elias, letting him know that an hour and twenty minutes later, his car (that had been running that entire time) had most definitely defrosted and was nice and warm.
And then I texted Elias that between the kids’ frequently challenging behavior/needs, the squirrel in our pantry last night, and the hubbub of the morning with the car situation – if we hadn’t scared Malorie off by now, ain’t nothing going to scare her off.
Malorie is a keeper.
All of that was before 8:25, in which I was also trying to get kids ready and off to school plus get Auggie ready to leave for Speech Therapy. Arriving at the clinic with Auggie felt like a vacation for me.
This is his third week, so he warmed up to his therapist much more quickly this morning and was ready to play!
After therapy, he got to pick a sticker. I kid you not, look at what Auggie innocently picked out:
I texted the above picture to Matt, Elias, and Malorie saying,
Of all the stickers Auggie could pick after therapy today, he chose this one. Too soon, buddy, too soon.
PHEW.
Back at home, we worked together to get the girls ready for school. Bubble braids for the win!
Anna still wasn’t feeling well and it had affected her appetite. Mac and Cheese sounded good to her so I made some for the kids’ lunch before the bus came. But, silly as it might sound, I cried when I made it.
Our Bonus Buddy moved out a few weeks ago and we miss him terribly. Mac and cheese is one of the few foods he likes, so I haven’t brought myself to make it since he left. Ugh. Silly mac and cheese. Salted with tears.
We got two out of three little girls on the bus and I tucked Anna and Auggie (and Little Sweetheart, who was hanging with us that morning) in for naps. I took a minute to breathe, then scrubbed potatoes and put them into a crock pot for dinner.
After school, I picked up the three elementary kids and we headed to our weekly Food Distribution site to hand out food and help clean up. At the very end of our time, Keith helped Mr. Jim scrub spots on the carpet.
When we got home, we enjoyed Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese, plus Caesar Salad.
As we finished feeding the kids, Kelsey texted to let us know that some Christmas Carolers might be stopping by. We got the kids ready to meet them outside, not knowing exactly who would be coming. It turned out to be Justus and Kelsey plus two friends we’ve been getting to know and love. Auggie immediately made himself a part of the group. :) I was only able to take a fuzzy picture through my tears. It was so beautiful and precious to be loved on by these four dear ones.
Wednesday, I spent the morning cleaning out two different rooms because when there are this many people living in a house, clutter is not welcome and makes me a little bit crazy. Somewhere during the morning, I found a few chap sticks. So Josie helped Auggie put some on.
Acacia and Josie got a present from their teacher at school that day, and the best place to unwrap it was in the doorway of the kitchen on the floor.
Josie, who apparently didn’t need to take her coat off all day, helped me make salad for dinner that night.
We ate our salad with all the random leftovers we pulled out of our fridge.
Then we loaded up our van with everyone who lives at our house to enjoy a Drive Through Christmas Show. With 12 people in a 12-passenger van that is 9′ tall, we maxed out the limits for who could drive through on one purchased vehicle ticket (12 people with a 10′ height limit, phew).
We got to drive through twice, making it a great outing!
Back at home and ready for bed, Daddy read one of the girls’ new books that their teacher had given them as a gift.
Thursday morning I baked 16 eggs and made 16 Breakfast Sandwiches. Keith helped me stir up the eggs.
We took the four youngest kids to Costco that morning to get stocked up on regular groceries plus everything we needed for Christmas. For a Thursday, we were shocked at how busy Costco was. If it’s that busy on a weekday six days before Christmas, we sure are glad we didn’t wait to go any closer to the 25th!
For dinner that night, we had a double batch of Hearty Bean Casserole with a peeled 3-pound bag of Clementines and Buttered Rolls. It was a super simple meal and everyone gobbled it up.
Friday was Malachi’s 20th birthday! A bunch of his friends came to the Castle Thursday night and they spent the night and day here. It was marvelous.
That morning, I put Chicken Thighs into a crock pot with Italian dressing to slow cook all day for our dinner that night.
Malachi and his friend Allan were the first ones up Friday morning, so they went out to get birthday donuts for the crew. (I vowed to take pictures of all the guys later and got exactly none. Boo.)
Mid-morning, Matt and I took the youngest four kids to the WIC clinic for an appointment.
For the first time ever, Josie and Acacia confidently allowed the nurse to weigh and measure them.
Acacia is barely on the charts for her height (2nd percentile). We call this high spirited girl Tiny-but-Mighty. That’s our Acacia.
Back at home, Justus had dropped Little Sweetheart off with Malorie.
Then Eva dropped off Arrow a few minutes later.
Acacia took over their care until the preschool bus came. :)
That evening, everyone gathered to celebrate Malachi’s birthday. He had requested Chicken Alfredo. I shredded the chicken that had been slow cooking all day, boiled two pounds of noodles, steamed broccoli, made salad, and warmed up a jar of red sauce for those who didn’t want Alfredo. I also set out some fruit to stretch the meal.
Malachi’s birthday dessert request was Butterscotch Bars – a family favorite. With the extreme busyness of the week, I was so thankful I had some baked, cut, and already in the freezer! We passed the plate of bars around the table, but first, Malachi blew out his birthday candle.
After dinner the mamas and daddies took their babies home for bed and I put on a Christmas movie for the kids. The rest of the grown ups (and Brayden!) worked upstairs to move and set up furniture. Matt has been working during every free moment of the past few months to redo the boys’ room ceiling. It’s been a major project and the boys have been displaced in the meantime. We are so thankful they can move back into their room! Here the guys are, rebuilding the bunk bed.
Saturday, we spent time cleaning and regrouping after the bedroom transition the night before. The girls also helped me get some baking done so we can deliver goodies to our neighbors!
I loved that all the little girls wanted to help me sweep. Ugh, check out the window blinds that are broken (and there are more not pictured in this photo). This is the room the boys lived in while Matt was repairing theirs. Wayyyyy too many of the blinds got messed up thanks to ADHD and whatever else has yet to be diagnosed. :)
Here’s the final product of our morning baking adventures. We made five loaves of Apple Bread and five loaves of Eggnog Bread. (In case you click over to get this fun recipe, you should know that I cheated and used store-bought eggnog.) We plan to put these loaves in a clear bag and tie them with ribbon, then walk through our neighborhood handing them out.
The rest of the day was spent doing more cleaning, giving baths, getting haircuts, and getting ready for our Sabbath rest. And that was our week!
Many already know there is a war on american’s favorite holiday which is commonly called “christmas” or rather christ-MASS, what most don’t care about is the fact that it is paganism repackaged as a “christian” holyday when the fact is you cannot take a pagan celebration and make it anything but pagan.
To start off most people quote Jeremiah 10, well that sounds alot like a xmas tree but fact is Jeremiah was talking about all idols in general not just the xmas tree or baal bush as I prefer to call them. xmas is a heathen way and in this article I aim to prove such, many will call this a “war on christmas”, well yes, there is always a war with the devil and his devices.
Jeremiah 10:2 “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
After all, shouldn’t the roots of our worship be in the scriptures, rather than paganism? and that the people that do those things must need be born, meaning they have yet to be reborn, and that’s a scary thing. He goes on to say that the Gentiles were dismayed at the signs of heaven. History tells us that when the sun began to go further away from the earth and the days grew shorter in the winter, the sun worshipping Gentiles were “dismayed”, and feared that the sun would not return. So they held certain festivals just after the time of the Winter Solstice when it did begin to return. This return of the sun is why December 25th is the birthday of so many solar deities/gods. Jesus commanded us to remember his death and resurrection, and never instructed us to remember, keep, or celebrate his birthday. Now, remember; pagans, witches, seculars, and Satanist all celebrate Christmas. Why would they celebrate someone who they completely oppose? That’s a good question, here’s the truth: The Original celebration is called “Saturnalia” in which they create a feast to Sam Hein (the god of the dead). But the new name of “Christmas” sits real well with them too, because the undiscerning Christian does not know the roots & history of Christmas, or the true meaning of what the word means. The term “Mass” is derived from the Late Latin word missa (dismissal), a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin: “Ite, missa est“ (“Go; it is the dismissal”) What they in fact are celebrating is the dismissal of Christ, in other words, (his death).
This is why they are so merry and exchange gifts with one another.
Notice an interesting parallel found in the Book of Revelation 11:7-10 as the two witnesses from God, get killed. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” As we can see, this is Satan’s way of celebrating the death of something he considers an obstacle. You may say, yes but I celebrate the birth of Jesus regardless of what they celebrate.
I say to you, did Jesus ask us to keep and celebrate his birthday? And if still decide to celebrate his birthday; does it have to be in the company of a group of people who hate the God you love? To conclude, by participating, you are participating in the commercialization of this wicked helliday. We know as Christians that Satan is in control of this earth, and uses his people to accomplish his evil deeds and desires. Whether it would be through direct satanic pacts, sinful behavior, or plain ignorance. A person, who is not under the blood covenant of Christ, will fall under Satan’s lies, confusions, and ultimately his control. No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?
The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.
In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the god of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.
In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun god, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun god grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.
Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.” The following is a quote from the 2000 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 11 ; page 390.
“During the later periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led to what has been called a ‘solar monotheism.’ Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of Solar qualities, and both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar deities. The feast of Sol and Victus (open unconquered Sun) on December 25th was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ.”
Notice how it says “both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar deities?” Pardon me, but do any alarm bells go off here? The Christmas celebration as we know it today, is clearly pagan in origin, that is it has Satan’s prints all over it. When researching it anyone can see it is clearly not a Christian holiday. What bothers me is so many preachers know what it is and still do nothing about it. They stand in the pulpit year after year and do not tell the “flock”, that it is one of the pagans most sacred days. Why is this? Do these men of gawd not know about it? The reason is the “flock” would not accept it and would run the preacher off!! They will let the “flock” drown in sin at risk of loosing their pay check and position. It boils down to no GUTS!! I get mail daily from pagans and once in awhile they will slip in the fact that the church celebrates their holiday, and they are correct!!! Its time for God’s people to get some backbone and stop the non-sense. We best do something or God will. But to make things even worse, there are even more OBVIOUS lies… Such as that fat bastard old santa clause Santa Claus
All over the world, Santa Claus is god to the children of the world (move the n to the end of Santa). Others say ‘Father Christmas’.
Parents purposely and deliberately lie to their children and tell them that they should fear Santa Claus because “he knows if you’ve been bad or good”. These same parents also lie to their children about the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. Then they wonder why their children become liars and don’t believe the Messiah is real later on in life.
This is clearly a total abomination to God. You don’t have to look very far in the word of God to find out how much he loathes idolatry and lies. God is the only true Mighty One!
Our children look to us and believe every word we say. Do they not deserve the truth? How abominable it is for a believer to teach their children to fear Santa Claus and in so doing creep an idol into the conscience of a child! Parents that teach their child to pray to this little fake god should be beyond ashamed, but if they have failed to repent come judgment time woe to them….. In a generation of TV watching however, lies have became so much more popular than truth. Another thing is if you go and buy your children presents why in the world would you give some fictitious person credit for it, that is just a little silly if you ask me!
You do you and believe what you want. And also, don’t come on someone else’s page and spew these thoughts to a family that shows God’s love so profoundly to all. They don’t deserve to be scolded by some stranger on the internet. This family is helping out in the real world, spreading joy and kindness. Embodying Jesus. Your remarks are completely unwarranted here, way off the mark and show that instead of you also helping people with joy and kindness, you’d rather lecture and scold and muddy the true meaning of being a Christian. I am sad for you that you have so much hate in your heart and chose to rail against such a lovely family.