Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 16-22, 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, March 15

It was a little bit chilly that afternoon and we needed to keep our kids active. So we put Auggie down for a nap and handed Elias and Malorie the baby monitor while we loaded the other kids up and went to the Children’s Museum for a couple of hours.

The sun was shining just right on the museum’s small outdoor area to create some warmth, so the kids made some music with the fun instruments.

Back at home later that afternoon, the kids ate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins to hold them over until dinner. Then we had a simple meal of Mac and Cheese with frozen peas stirred in.

I caught Acacia practicing writing her name. Sooooo sweet!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 16-22, 2025

Sunday morning, the kids ate Breakfast Cookie Bars while we got ready for church. I had done all the prep work for our big Sunday Lunch on the Friday before, so all I had to do that morning was set everything out. The dessert section featured the leftover muffins from Saturday plus Brownies and Gluten Free Cookies that Kiya had made from a mix. (One of our friends coming over that day is celiac so it was fun to have these for her!)

I had Smoked several pounds of Chicken and a Pork Loin on Friday, then put them into crock pots. That morning, I poured some chicken stock into both crock pots, then left them on warm to be ready to serve when we got home from church.

I got Rolls out of the freezer, put a pot of Baked Beans on to heat while we were gone, plus put a package of Hot Dogs into my final crock pot to cook for kids to eat. I also steamed some Green Beans and made a pot of Cream Cheese Corn to stretch our meal.

When we got home, everyone worked together to get all the food set out. Our friend Cindy brought a huge crock pot full of Potatoes, our friend Breck brought Fruit, and the Phillips family brought Salad and Veggies.

The spread was fantastic and the time together was even better.

There were 32 of us gathered that day, and the fellowship was sweet.

This was one of my favorite scenes after lunch when people were gathered in the kitchen working together to put food away and talking, talking, talking. I’m so thankful for this home God provided for us so that so many can gather together to be in community.

Matt and I enjoyed our Community Group time later while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. I put three Frozen Pizzas in the oven to bake for our dinner, we played outside, then called it a day!

Monday morning, a few of the kids struggled with our “this is how we get ready for school” routine. After all, Spring Break last week was awesome!

The sun came out mid-morning so we headed outside to soak it up. Our neighbors have a trampoline and are kind enough to let us use it. The giggles were pretty sweet that morning.

And speaking of giggles, can you hear this picture? Oh, these girlies.

As soon as the girls got on their preschool bus, Auggie headed inside with Matt for his nap and I headed out to do some shopping. I had gone through all of our spring/summer clothes and needed to start shopping for some of the kids’ needs. All the kids needed sandals and I hit the jackpot on those.

Then I headed a few stores over to pick up several items from Aldi.

We had a Family Therapy session at our house that night, so I made a very early dinner of Mini Hamburgers, Fries, Baked Beans, Fruit, and Pickles. The rest of the evening was spent working with our Christian therapy team.

Tuesday morning, we ate a plate full of Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies that I had in the freezer.

I had bought 8-pounds of strawberries at Aldi the day before, and we’d already eaten two pounds. But that morning, I cut up another pound and made Cheesecake Parfait with them. SO GOOD. Somewhere in there, I blended up smoothie for Matt and me.

Auggie had speech therapy that morning, then he and I headed to Walmart and Sam’s to pick up just a few necessities.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution site to hand out food to the community. Brayden and Keith helped clean coolers and mark canned goods.

Kiya helped sweep the kitchen afterward. :)

Back at home, I’d cut all of the Pork Loin leftovers from our Sunday Lunch and Matt had stirred in barbecue sauce to rewarm. He made a salad and we enjoyed a tasty and simple dinner.

One of our trees outside was blossoming and beautiful! But we’d been promised a big snow storm, so I took this picture, not knowing if the snow and cold would disturb the tree.

Sure enough, Wednesday we woke up to a storm and school was canceled for the day. We’ve lost track of how many snow days we’ve had this year. Brayden was eager to help me bake his favorite muffins: Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

We used our mini muffin pan to make these more fun.

We had a turkey in the freezer from Christmastime, and I’d been thawing it. This day was a perfect day to bake it, so I rubbed seasoning all over it and baked it all morning.

We watched shows during the afternoon to pass the time indoors, Matt played games with the kids, and Malachi made his famous Hot Cocoa to celebrate the snow.

The turkey was cool enough by mid-afternoon to get all the meat off the bones. I poured broth all over it that had naturally cooked out of the turkey, and I put it away for our upcoming Sunday lunch.

Kiya made dinner that night almost all by herself (and I didn’t get any pictures of her doing it, boo). We had Orange Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Rice, and Buttered Rolls.

Thursday morning, Josie insisted on putting an apron on at breakfast time. My aunt had given me this apron after her granddaughter outgrew it. So I had to send her a picture to prove that it was still being put to good use. :)

Throughout the day, I turned yesterday’s turkey bones into Broth. Our friend, Terra, came over to play with the littles while Matt and I met with Auggie’s new ABA therapist as we get a program set up for him.

Then we were blessed to have both grandbabies here all afternoon. They are at such a fun age to sit side-by-side to “play together.” That have sweet little babble conversations and Lolli and Pop just get to enjoy them. So much of our day is filled with therapy needs for our kids – and THIS is therapy for us. It was a delightful afternoon.

The kitchen was hopping that afternoon when everyone got home from school. Why have an afternoon snack when you can just move right into dinner at 4:45? Everyone is starving at this point in the day, so I cut up the $5 ham I’d cooked in a roaster all afternoon. Brayden made salad, Kiya buttered rolls, and we got out a fresh pineapple that I’d cut earlier. Acacia decided she couldn’t wait, so she started to eat the countertop.

Kelsey had come to pick up Little Sweetheart, and she blessed us by staying to eat with us. (Justus had worship team rehearsal that night.) Magically, all seven kids sat at the table gobbling up food at the same time.

Afterward, Matt took kids outside to pick up branches that had fallen during Wednesday’s snow storm. Kiya did her part, then helped me use leftover ham to make Egg Casserole.

Matt told all the kids that if they worked really hard to get the branches picked up, we’d have a special treat. A neighbor had told us that DQ was giving away free ice cream cones that night. So we loaded up and headed out to enjoy this. Amazingly – I think because they’d had such a full day at school, then a good dinner, then worked hard in the fresh air picking up branches – they all sat still and were so sweet enjoying their ice cream cones on this special outing!

Friday morning, I baked the Egg Casserole that Kiya and I had put together the night before. We ate it with the rest of the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins Brayden had helped me make earlier in the week.

I baked eight pans worth of bacon for our upcoming Sunday lunch. I had planned to set out fixings for people to make Turkey Bacon Sandwiches or Salads.

Little Sweetheart came to join us for the morning, and we all went outside to enjoy the sunshine.

We had a full evening with Auggie’s therapist coming again to spend the evening assessing his needs as she works out an ABA therapy plan for him. Our friends, the Case family, wanted to give us a break and brought over a huge Chinese food dinner for all of us to share together that night. What a blessing. :)

Their daughter enjoyed a nail salon with our girlies after dinner.

Saturday morning, I made a quadruple batch of No-Bake Granola Bar Bites to have on hand.

We had planned on going to our favorite library story time, then to a park. But Keith woke up not feeling great, so instead, Matt stayed home with Keith, Kiya, and Brayden while I ventured out to the library on my own with the youngest four kids.

I appreciate pictures like this one, with the three little girls holding hands so sweetly as they walked into the library. The reality is that I’d been screamed at and had battled with at least five of the seven kids for most of the morning before arriving at the library at 9:15. Their poor broken hearts often choose to sabotage any kind of calm we try to encourage and provide in our home. (And Auggie is a screamer because of his disabilities.) Outings are exhausting to make happen, but very worth it. Because this —>

And also this.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart met us there (the only reason I felt like I could tackle taking the four littlest out on my own). Little Sweetheart was precious as she took it all in.

Back at home, we decided to leave Keith behind to hang out with Elias. Then the rest of us packed a picnic and headed to a park to play and eat. Today’s lunch was simple: guacamole with chips or crackers, peanut butter on graham crackers, cheese sticks, hard salami, and applesauce.

After we played until way past Auggie’s naptime, we headed home, got him down, then had the kids play outside all afternoon. I made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies – and look! They actually look pretty. ;) For some reason, I’ve had a difficult time figuring out the oven in this house, and my cookies never turn out pretty. This time, they did what they were supposed to do!

We did a little bit of cleaning as we prepared for our time of Sabbath rest. Friends came over who had been without power and water since Wednesday, the poor dears. They borrowed our showers and washing machine, and I hope were encouraged after their days of living out Little House on the Prairie life. :)

And that was our week!

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 9-15, 2025 post!

First, the tail end of last week…

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!

We were prepping for an extra fun Sunday Lunch time in which we were having a breakfast themed meal! Brayden, Kiya, and Anna were excited to help me bake on Saturday afternoon. We got out cake mixes and cans of pumpkin to make this super simple recipe. Are they cupcakes or are they muffins? The answer is yes. They are a treat and perfect to go with a brunch!

They turned out fun and made a nice display!

We also made a batch of these Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins, and made them in our mini muffin pan.

Dinner that night was a simple meal of Spaghetti with Corn and Spinach. Then we spent the evening having special prayer time as we reflected on our week.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 9-15, 2025

While Sunday Lunches are BIG, you may notice that our Sunday breakfast and dinner have become routine – the exact same every single week. This has been a perfect way for me to streamline and save brain energy (and more fully enjoy Sunday Lunches). Plus the kids love our breakfast and dinner choice, so that’s helpful too (no food fights during these meals, yay!). Because we are trying to Sabbath during this time, having Breakfast Cookie Bars made ahead and in the freezer for Sunday mornings is perfect and easy.

Note that Sabbath for us doesn’t mean curl up in a blanket and do nothing for hours. This isn’t possible during this season of our lives. For us, Sabbath has become a full day’s break from routine work. We use paper plates, I make food ahead of time, I don’t do laundry, and I don’t think about upcoming needs. We choose to be in the moment during this 24-hour period of time.

We enjoy community – the best part of our Sabbath rest. We worship together at church and visit all morning, connecting with our church family and meeting visitors. Our older kids and many friends come to enjoy lunch with us at our house. Then at 2:00, Matt and I send the kids downstairs to watch a movie with a big brother while we have Community Group in the afternoon – a group of four couples loving on each other and sharpening each other in the Word.

By the end of Sunday, I’m both tired and so, so refreshed by the goodness God has brought through delighting in community. This has been an amazing practice that we hope to continue forever.

Sunday Lunch

So back to Sunday. I had in mind that we’d all enjoy a breakfast-themed meal. I made Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Egg and Hashbrown Casserole and lots of Muffins. Friends brought Grapes and Berries, Coffeecake, Pastry, and “Baby Jesus in a Blanket” (you might know them as pigs-in-a-blanket but my friend taught me their real name because that’s what they have at Christmastime and I’ll never call them anything else from here on out).

It was an incredible feast! This meal far surpassed my vision for what it could be, and we were all delighted as we enjoyed eating together. We’ve learned that DELIGHT is a big part of Sabbath – fully enjoying every bite of food, savoring a sweet treat with coffee, enjoying wonderful conversation.

I didn’t get great pictures of everyone around our tables (as in, I did get some pictures but I caught some people with mouths open and they wouldn’t appreciate me posting them here, ha). But both our dining and living room tables were full and precious – with 28 of us gathered and sharing life.

Dinner that night was our regularly scheduled Sunday night Frozen Pizza.

We ate and played outside all that evening as the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Matt, Keith, and Malachi were kicking a ball in the yard. Then Keith ran off to play with a neighbor while Auggie got in on the action.

Josie was so excited to discover day lilies poking up out of the ground! Fresh green growth after a long, cold winter – We are all excited for this!

To end our day, we loaded up four bags of food and headed for a walk to fill one of our neighborhood Little Free Pantry boxes.

Monday morning we ate Yogurt with Granola then dug out some short sleeved shirts and shorts because the temps were supposed to be warm! We packed a picnic (tortillas, meat, cheese, and spinach for wraps plus apples, clementines, applesauce and Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. Then we loaded up and headed to the zoo.

Eva and Arrow met us there – Arrow’s first zoo experience!

We watched a special Cheetah run and listened and learned more about Cheetahs.

As is our zoo tradition, I packed a bag of apples because the minute we walk into the zoo, everyone is somehow starving. Several kids chomped on an apple while we sat at the Cheetah presentation – even Auggie!

We continued on, seeing the animals along the chosen path of the day. Then we stopped to feel some animal furs. Arrow wasn’t sure what to think, but he reached out and gave it a try too. (His hat though!!)

The zoo was pretty packed that day, but at lunchtime we found a picnic table right by the Dino Dig – the best sandbox ever.

The kids played and played, getting soaked in sand and sunshine. Bath night after days like this are the best. Bring on the bathtub sludge!

We went home to get Auggie a nap and the rest of the kids continued to play outside all afternoon. Eva had told us that Chick-fil-a was offering free kids meals that day with purchase of an adult meal. Matt and I went back and forth and couldn’t decide if the free meal was really worth the effort, ha. There’s a reason we don’t take our kids to restaurants. Well, many reasons, but managing this many at an eating establishment is something special.

In case you’re wondering, we decided to go for it. It was spring break after all, and we wanted the kids to make fun memories.

They actually did very well and even got to enjoy the play area for a little while. How many trips did I take to the potty with little girls? I lost track. Also, how many napkins did we go through? Eh.

Everyone slept well that night!!! Tuesday morning, I made a big pan of Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Bars for breakfast.

Six kids stayed behind with Matt while I took Auggie to his Tuesday Speech Therapy appointment. He surprised us both by saying “bubble!” It was a good session. :)

When I got home, everyone was trying to play outside but it was still too chilly. So several of the kids joined me to make two loaves of Apple Bread with some bruised apples.

At lunchtime, I seasoned some hamburger meat I had in the fridge to feed everyone Tacos. Then the temps were warm enough that everyone could play outside all afternoon.

Before I left to take kids to  our weekly Food Distribution site, I fired up our smoker for the first time this season! I made our favorite marinated Smoked Chicken and put it in a crock pot to stay warm until dinner time.

Anna was privileged to go with us to Food Distribution this time. (Matt was going to be home without help, so we decided that if I took Anna and he was at home with the youngest three kids, it would be manageable.) She did great and the big kids were eager to teach her how to do the volunteer work.

Back at home, we devoured our Smoked Chicken with Steamed Broccoli, then the kids played outside again until bedtime. This is one of my favorite times of the year – when the weather gets nicer and the kids want to be outside for hours. Why did I not get any pictures of this fun? I guess because we were all enjoying the fun and I wasn’t in picture mode. :)

Wednesday morning, I put a Roast in the crock pot at 6:00am so it could slow cook all day. Later, I put potatoes in another crock pot for Mashed Potatoes. And I made a blender full of “salad” for Matt and me.

After breakfast, we loaded up all the kids and met Eva and Arrow at Morrill Hall, a museum on the UNL campus. Brayden and Kiya had been before, but this was a new outing for the rest of us.

It wasn’t super easy wrangling three preschoolers and a toddler through the museum, but we managed to find some fun play areas that kids of all ages could enjoy.

I spy two Coppinger astronauts.

Arrow and I were pretty fascinated by this cool water shaping table.

Back at home later, we ate leftovers for lunch, then played outside all afternoon with a brief run to Hy-Vee to grab our WIC pick up order.

Elias and Malorie had gone to Texas to visit her family for a few days. We excitedly welcomed them back and the kids helped unload Malorie’s car.

Meanwhile, Auggie has been having the time of his life outside in this nice weather. His two favorite things to do are ride this little bike and push a little stroller. He goes back and forth from bike to stroller. Now that we have a diagnosis for him, it has been very interesting to watch his behaviors with a more clear understanding about they way his brain processes. We still have much to learn.

And who is this?? Malorie brought some Star Wars costumes for the kids that her brother was happy to pass down. I truly wasn’t sure which little girl this was coming around the corner!

Aha! It’s Sissy (Acacia). :)

I finished up dinner by shredding the Roast in the crock pot and mashing the potatoes. We were expecting guests to arrive at this point in the evening, so I got out extra plates. A mom and two teenage sons had arranged to stay with us for a few days while they were in the area for a Homeschool Speech/Debate Tournament. We were so glad to meet and host them – such a delightful family. We ate together, got to know each other, then got everyone settled in for the night.

Thursday morning, we headed to the Children’s Museum for a morning outing. Eva and Arrow met us there, then Kelsey and Little Sweetheart plus Kelsey’s mom, Nicole came too. SO MUCH FUN!

Nicole and I have been friends since college so it’s always extra fun to see her when she visits!

Kelsey and Eva took their babies to the “Ages 3 and Under” room so that Arrow and Little Sweetheart could talk about their plans for the day. I love doing life with our kids in Lincoln!!

We ate apples and pears on our way home, then warmed up chicken and ate spinach for lunch.

Auggie napped, everyone else played outside, and I baked some Crustless Cheesecakes to have on hand for snacks.

We were taking full advantage of the gorgeous weather that day, so Matt loaded up everyone’s bikes into our van and I loaded up a picnic. We all, including Elias and Malorie, headed over to our favorite park that has running/walking/baking trails, a skateboard area, basketball court, playground, and disc golf. Our kids love this park!

Kids played, Elias took a jog, Malorie walked, kids biked and ran – we all soaked up Vitamin D. This kind of outing is my favorite! OH! And a long time reader, Suzy, was at the park that day too. She recognized us from our photos so we got to meet and chat!

I’d packed Mini Corn Dogs, Carrots, Peppers, Apples, Clementines, and Chips for dinner so kids ate as they got hungry.

Then we drove over to Freddy’s to finally use some free ice cream coupons we’d been given back in October during a Zoo event. This was a perfect Spring Break treat to enjoy after playing hard all day!

We took the ice cream home to enjoy because taking all the kids back into a restaurant like we’d done a few days prior did not sound like a wise choice. Plus, the ice cream cups were huge and we wanted to portion it out better at home. Nobody needed to eat THAT MUCH ICE CREAM in one sitting. :)

Friday morning, I let the kids eat cereal for breakfast so that I could focus my kitchen attention on prepping for our upcoming Sunday lunch. I had also reconnected with a friend from York who had also moved to Lincoln – and she had a baby this week. We arranged for us to take a meal to her family that night.

Some of the kids helped me make a quadruple batch of Brownies.

I got some chicken marinating for the smoker later. And I made two pots of Baked beans – one for our Sunday lunch, and the other to take to our friend that night. Last but not least, we got some mini Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins out of the freezer to take the the park.

We loaded up the kids and headed to a park to meet up with family for a fun birthday celebration for Little Sweetheart. Justus and Kelsey brought two Rotisserie Chickens for lunch, Eva brought Strawberries, and we contributed the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. What a sweet celebration for such a sweet girl.

Back at home, I had been smoking a Pork Loin for Sunday lunch, and added the marinated chicken to the smoker. Once this round was finished, more chicken went onto the smoker to cook. My plan was to take some of the chicken to our friends for their night’s dinner and to save the rest to be rewarmed for Sunday lunch.

Late afternoon, I packed up Smoked Chicken, Party Potatoes, Baked Beans, Green Beans, Rolls, and Brownies and headed out to deliver them to my friend. I got to hold/feed her newborn – oh so sweet!

Meanwhile, Elias had asked to make dinner that night. He started out on the smoker (yes, our smoker got a workout that day!) with a big pan full of Smoked Queso that he’d put together. Around 4:00, a storm rolled in and we decided we better move everything inside. So he transferred his dip into a glass dish and finished it off in the oven. He and Malorie and Matt had started to feed the kids while I was delivering dinner to our friends, and they were chowing down. This was such a good, fun Friday evening meal!

I was hosting an Adoptive Moms Support Group that evening, so as my friends were arriving, Elias and Malorie helped Matt get kids to bed. Bonus Buddy was here visiting for the weekend and to say that everyone was WOUND UP would be an understatement.

Saturday morning we got ready and headed to our favorite Sensory Library Storytime.

We played in the main library area for a while after story time. They had a new Construction Zone set up, which of course was Keith’s favorite!

We came home and ate leftovers for lunch, plus made Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins to have on hand for snacks.

We put Auggie down for a nap, then handed Elias and Malorie the baby monitor to listen for him while we took the other kids to the Children’s Museum for a couple of hours.

Back at home, we cleaned a little and moved forward into our Sabbath. And that was our week!