Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 2025

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 2025 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, September 20

I have a lot to share from last Saturday!

We went to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Storytime that morning. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart met us there. That baby big girl sat in one of the big kid chairs just like she is one of the big kids. It was soooo sweet.

Auggie has come such a long way and is really growing in confidence. This story time has very specific songs and routines each time, and Auggie knows them all now. By the end of the session, he’d made his way up to stand next to Ms. Diane and helped her lead the Goodbye Song.

We got home and fed the kids leftovers for lunch. Then we loaded up our wagon with canned and boxed food, got on bikes, and headed to fill up our closest Little Free Pantry. This was an extra special adventure because we let everyone, including the littlest kids, ride a bike. They did amazing!

So many times when we are at the pantry putting in food, a community member stops by. This happened again on this day, and we loved handing him a bag and telling him to take what he needed before we even put it into the pantry box.

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon.

The rest of the day was spent with our new friends Liz and Trinity. They are students at York University and we have family and friend connections with them that go way back. In August when we heard that they were at York, we sent them a message to come visit us in Lincoln sometime if they ever needed a little college break/getaway. They took us up on this offer and we are so glad they did!

I had asked what they were hungry for and what they wanted to do. Their reply? “Is it ok with we have a baking day??” Oh girls. You have come to the right place!

While we were at soccer, they worked on their laundry and got started on their baking. We came home to the smell of Pumpkin Muffins and Oatmeal Cookies.

I Smoked Chicken for our dinner that night plus Steamed Green Beans and sliced Nectarines.

Our time with Liz and Trinity was lovely, and of course our kids loved the extra love and attention.

Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church. Our morning with the kids was incredibly rough, so being with church family all day long was so very good and needed. We are so thankful for all the care and support we receive from so many dear ones.

Lunch was lovely, with 38 of us gathered for a Brunch-Themed lunch. I had made a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, several pounds of Bacon, and a large pan of Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole. Friends brought Fruit, Blueberry Coffee Cake, and Bagels and Lox. This was such a fun feast!

In fact, this meal went over so well that we ran out of Egg Casserole, Bacon, and French Toast – so I quickly scrambled a skillet full of Cheesy Eggs and heated up Sausage Patties so that Elias, Malachi, Malorie, and I could eat, ha! I love seeing food disappear while friends are gathered.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie in the basement. Then, it was Block Party time! We’d worked together with a few neighbors to organize this, and our kid were very much looking forward to it! The street got blocked off, we set up tables, and many people gathered to enjoy a potluck feast. Our kids loved riding their bikes in the street – something we don’t let them do on the regular. We got to know neighbors better and met new friends. It was wonderful!

When I checked my phone after the party, I had texts and pictures from both Eva and Kelsey. Kelsey had made a pot of Turkey Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth.

And Eva had made Pizza with Stir and Pour Pizza Crust. She makes the crust ahead and stores them in the freezer for their Sunday dinners. This time she made a Buffalo Cream Cheese Chicken Pizza. Aren’t my daughters-in-law amazing?!

On Monday morning, I looked through all my Pumpkin Recipes for something fun and fall-ish for breakfast. I decided to make Pumpkin Waffles – and they were a hit!

I decided that afternoon to give myself some rest. Sunday had been very full – very good, but very full. Our days are hard. I was feeling emotional and drained. So Monday afternoon I rested. I even fell asleep! This was life-giving.

There’s a nursing home on our route home from school. Every few months, they bring out some of the residents to hand out treats to school kids as they are walking/biking home. This is such a precious thing they do, and today they were handing out cups of lemonade. Our kids enjoyed sipping on their cup while I engaged with some of the men and women who were providing the fun for our kids.

Dinner that night was a little bit more involved than usual. I had picked up a lot of Hamburger Patties on sale after Labor Day, so I turned some of them into Hamburger Steaks (using this recipe/method). I had made Mashed Potatoes in my Crock Pot, and I even made Gravy (similar to this recipe). I also made Steamed Peas, which aren’t pictured here because this meal took too many steps and by the time I took a picture, I’d already fed half of us and the peas were gone. :) Was this meal worth the effort? YES. Will I do it again soon? Ha. Nope. Too many kids and too much ABA therapy happening during dinner time, etc, etc.

Worth noting: I made 36 small Hamburger Steaks. There were three left at the end of the evening.

Tuesday morning, I made 48 Mini Pumpkin Muffins.

Little Sweetheart came for the day.

I baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice, then turned it into a big skillet full of Taco Rice Dinner for our evening meal.

I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution. This week went much better than last week, thankfully.

On Tuesday afternoon, I’d mixed up a double batch of Low Sugar Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies. I didn’t have a chance to roll and bake them until Wednesday morning. If you have a chance – make these cookies. They are only lightly sweetened and taste so amazing with coffee or tea in the fall!

Wednesday morning, I also put together 14 Breakfast Sandwiches with buns and cooked eggs that I’d brought home from Food Distribution the day before.

Arrow spent the morning with us on Wednesday!

That afternoon, I went to Sam’s and Wal-Mart for more groceries. Every time I fill a cart to overflowing I think, “well, that should last us a while.” Hahaha, oh Laura. Stop saying that.

That night for dinner, I made 30 Bacon Cheddar Brats. We ate them with Baked Beans, Pickles, and Raspberries.

On Thursday, Little Sweetheart was here for the day again. We played outside for a long time and had a snack of Carrot Zucchini Muffins that I’d thawed from the freezer.

For dinner, I made two pans of Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips, plus Steamed Broccoli. I also used our griddle to toast a loaf of Buttered Brioche Bread.

Friday morning, we played in our back parking space after we got home from dropping kids off from school. Matt pitched some balls to the girls who attempted to swing the bat. Acacia found our neighbor’s baseball helmet to wear, for ultimate baseball safely, of course.

Later in the morning, Josie and Auggie stayed behind with Matt while I took Acacia to Physical Therapy. She normally has Speech Therapy first, but that session was canceled for the morning, so she got to use all of her energy at PT instead.

Back at home, Josie posed for Matt by our neighbor’s flowers for a sweet picture. (Our neighbors are all awesome – we basically share yards/porches/driveways/everything. We are so thankful!)

I had baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice, plus steamed a pan of Green Beans.

That afternoon, I turned the rice and green beans into the beginnings of Tator Tot Casserole for our upcoming Sunday lunch.

Friday evening was a bit hectic. We’d taken our small car to the shop and it needed to be picked up. Keith and Auggie were in the middle of their evening ABA sessions and Elias was here to be the “responsible adult present.” Brayden was having some Bro Time with Malachi. So Matt and I loaded up the four girls to go pick up the car.

Alas, the repair attempt was unsuccessful and the car overheated for Matt on the way home. Meanwhile, I’d made it home with the girls and started feeding them a lukewarm dinner that I’d started before leaving. Everyone was very hungry so they didn’t care about the less-than-ideal food temp. So-so Nuggets, Fries, and Rings for the win.

Keith had big plans for the evening! You might remember that I’ve mentioned his special relationship to a teenage church friend, Sam. Sam is a senior and that night was his final home football game. Matt moved a few mountains to be able to take Keith to the football game that night. At the very end of his ABA therapy session before leaving for the game, Keith’s ABA technician helped him make a flag to take to the game for cheering. This is a Lincoln East Spartan, but you already knew that…

The rest of us stayed back and played outside while Auggie finished his ABA therapy session. Our neighbor, John, came over and the kids showed him the flowers he’d helped them plant earlier in the summer. Anna broke her flower pot showing him her plant, so John helped her transplant it. It was all very sweet, until John left and some of our kids’ behaviors shifted. This is a sad norm for us. Our kids love getting special attention from people (and Matt and I appreciate the love people pour into the kids!). But the minute we have to transition back to normal life, our kids’ emotions struggle to know what to do and the meltdowns start. Oy. Getting emotional kids into bed that night was a loud event…and Matt was gone. Thankfully, Elias, Malorie, and Malachi were there to help me. :)

On Saturday, we ate cereal for breakfast, then loaded up to go to Library Storytime. Anna and Acacia were proud to be matching that morning and asked for a picture.

After Story Time, the librarian brought out fun sensory toys to enjoy!

Then, we went to a fun Touch-a-Truck event where lots of rescue vehicles, road construction vehicles, and a very cool motorcycle were available for kids to climb on and play in. It was a very well-attended event – I think half of Lincoln was there. Wow. Somehow we managed not to lose any of our seven littles.

Back at home, we warmed up leftovers for lunch, played for a while, then headed to Keith’s soccer game. We got home, did some cleaning, then moved into our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!