Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026 post!
Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026
On Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready to go to church.
I had made two huge Lasagnas for Sunday Lunch. Everyone (who eats lasagna) was excited about this because I hadn’t made these throughout the summer. Now that it’s fall? LASAGNA.
There were 21 of us gathered around our tables that day. :)
Matt and I enjoyed time with our Community Group that afternoon while the kids watched a movie. Then I threw together eight sack suppers (meat and cheese sticks, dried fruit, applesauce, yogurt) for the kids as we headed out for a last-minute drive and outing for the evening.
The kids were allowed to trade for what they didn’t want in their sacks, but they weren’t allowed to fight. Overall, this was a “special” enough event that they all handled it very well. We delivered leftover lasagna to two different homes, then met the Case family at a park we hadn’t discovered yet!
On Monday, I baked Chocolate Pumpkin Cheater Muffins for breakfast.
Emma came that morning so Matt and I could have time off. We had free coffee coupons for The Mill, so instead of walking at Holmes Lake, we walked from our house to the coffee shop. It was so restful and fun!
After school, we started ABA therapies for the evening. Bonus Buddy entertained himself with cardboard and tape, making himself “armor.” He was very proud!
For dinner we ate an entire extra large Egg Casserole with Hashbrowns. I found Banana Muffins in the freezer to go with our meal, plus we had fruit leftover from Sunday Lunch.
Our housemate was doing laundry and Keith was determined to help him transfer everything from washer to dryer.
At bedtime, Auggie sat with Acacia, “fixing” her hair. He’d never done this before and it was incredibly sweet!
It was Pajama Day at school on Tuesday! We also had extra appointments – but it’s ok to wear pajamas to appointments when you’re a cute little kid. :) Matt headed one direction that morning, Malachi and Lexi handled the home front, and I took the remaining kids to school. It is extremely rare that Anna and Acacia would hold hands on the way. But here they are, jammies and tights and jean jacket and lunch bag – buddies on the trail to school.
Three kids joined me at Tuesday Food Distribution – and yep, some of them were wearing pajamas. :)
We had three bags of clothes to donate to the clothing room there, and all three of my helpers grabbed a bag to take in.
Back at home, I had put together a crock pot full of Cheeseburger Soup – this recipe with hamburger meat instead of ham. It was hot and ready when we got home, though the picture doesn’t do the flavor justice.
Before bed that night, I made a triple recipe of Granola Bars for snacks.
On Wednesday, I got some baking done! I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Snack Bars for school lunches.
And I made a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars to freeze for our next two Sunday breakfasts.
Later in the day, I cut the Peanut Butter Bars and individually packaged them and froze them to pull out for lunch bags.
After school, Bonus Buddy had a routine eye doctor appointment. To his absolute disappointment, he did NOT need glasses. :) Acacia and Josie went with us for this appointment so that Matt wasn’t left home alone with quite as many kiddos. The girls were fascinated by the machines.
For dinner, I used a pan of Stick of Butter Rice along with some cooked, shredded chicken from the freezer to make Cheesy Chicken and Rice (this recipe but with chicken instead of beef).
On Thursday morning, Keith was excited to carry a big box of supplies to the basement for me. Was the box bigger than him? Yes.
Hopelyn and Arrow came to spend the morning with us!
This next photo may just look like our dirty mudroom. But in fact, it is a picture of our granddaughter singing and twirling and dancing for Lolli as we got ready to go outside.
Auggie and Arrow were working together with Auggie’s ABA behavior tech to build a very high tower with magnatiles. It was almost as tall as Auggie!
That afternoon, I baked a batch of Crustless Cheesecake to have on hand.
I made a French Toast Casserole with Sausage and Fruit for dinner that night.
At the end of Anna’s ABA therapy session that night, she had earned 5-minutes of time to watch a show. Seven out of eight kids enjoyed this reward. How much do our kids love this therapist??! He works with both Anna and Auggie, so he’s at our house a lot and practically a part of our family now. So sweet.
Meanwhile on the other side of the living room, the grown ups were watching our Husker ladies grab another volleyball win!
On Friday morning after we got the kids to school, I headed out to get a hair cut and to take advantage of weekend grocery sales. Aldi wasn’t on my list of places to shop, but I was right by Aldi, so I went in to grab a few items to get us through the weekend.
Back at home, Auggie had finished his ABA therapy session and was eager to help carry in groceries before his bus came to pick him up.
There had been a Mega Meat Sale at a store where I don’t often shop – but these prices made an extra stop worth it! I bought 30-pounds of hamburger meat and browned them right away to make future meals easier.
I had already started slow cooking Salsa Chicken that morning, so later in the afternoon, I had 10 bags of cooked hamburger meat for the freezer plus cooked chicken for Sunday’s Chicken Taco Soup. This was a huge mess but a huge accomplishment (after I got the big pots washed)!
I put together a few Chicken Burritos for the freezer that afternoon also.
Our dear friends, the Nabbs, are in town!! We had planned to see them Sunday, but they surprised us with a ten-minute pop in that afternoon!!! It was amazing!
For dinner that night, we had Marinated Pork Loin (that I’d also picked up at the Mega Meat Sale), Fries, Salad, Corn, Buttered Rolls, and Grapes.
As we wrapped up our night, I put together three packages of Meat and Cheese Sliders to go with Soup for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. Then I worked on cleaning the kitchen!
We ate cereal for breakfast on Saturday then went to Sensory Storytime at the library. Matt and I decided after this that we needed to take a break from going for a while. It is SUCH a good program, but our kids are too comfortable there and many of them act out a good part of the time. It’s disruptive for the other kids. :( We’ll try it again in a few weeks.
We did have some sweet moments of play after the regular program.
Back at home, we played outside and I was able to get all four boys hair cuts taken care of! They were much needed so that felt like a big accomplishment!
I had made Tuna Salad and Boiled Eggs before leaving for the library that morning. Matt made Mac and Cheese for the kids who don’t like tuna – and that was lunch!
Keith and Bonus Buddy had a soccer game that afternoon.
We came home and had bath time, dinner time (two boxes of Orange Chicken from Costco), some special Sabbath time around our table (or at least we attempted it), then a show before bed. And that was our week!
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