Heavenly Homemakers

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 13-19, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 13-19, 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, April 12

Saturday evening was spent mostly outside enjoying the heat and sunshine.

I had put some frozen meatballs into a crock pot with bbq sauce that afternoon. So that night, we had a simple Sabbath meal of meatballs (or meatball subs) with leftover broccoli and applesauce cups. We soaked all the kids in the bathtub a long time to get all the dirt off from their day’s adventure before heading to bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: April 13-19, 2025

Sunday morning, we had our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

A wonderful crowd joined us for lunch that day. I had grilled 42 Brats and 28 Hotdogs in preparation for our lunch, and I simply rewarmed them in big pots before serving time. I had a small crock of Chili to go with these, plus friends brought Mac and Cheese, a bowl of delicious Veggie Salad, Chips, and Watermelon.

This was extra delicious since it was our first “grill out” meal of the season!

We had five additional families join us and the time together was rich. There were 39 of us, and I realized later that I didn’t go outside to take a picture of all the kids playing and eating together, boo.

For fun, I had brewed some fruity herbal tea: Mango Passionfruit and Strawberry Mint. They were nice and chilled by lunch time so we enjoyed fun Iced Teas with our Brats and Dogs. (Do not ask about the intense mess I made while trying to strain the tea bags out of the jars. Oy.)

The dessert section of our kitchen was very fun with Cookie/Brownies some friends brought plus Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, Sugar Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Anna was wearing a new outfit that day and it came with matching glasses. She was very proud of this.

The kids played and played all evening, enjoying sidewalk chalk they’d been given at church.

I gave Auggie a ride in a stroller, then he decided that he needed to give Josie a ride.

I baked five Frozen Pizzas for dinner. I love this Sunday night tradition. It’s a perfect meal after a great day filled with friends.

Monday morning, four of the kids ate Breakfast Sandwiches, and I made Chocolate Protein Mousse for the others. There were a few Banana Muffins and some Peanut Butter Honey Puffs to eat also.

Starting this week, Auggie was to begin receiving 30-hours a week of ABA therapy , split between three different RBTs (Registered Behavior Technicians) during a 3-hour morning slot and a 3-hour evening slot each weekday. This is intense, and adjusting to this is a lot for all of us. But we anticipate that in a couple of weeks we’ll be settled in to this new routine with new people in our home.

We kicked off his ABA that morning, with his BCBA (the therapist in charge of setting up his program) joining also. Matt and I are taking a crash course in all things Autism and ABA, phew!

Mondays I try to leave the house in the afternoon for a few hours to drink coffee at Panera, work without interruption, and do a little shopping as needed. This week though, I first went to see Malachi’s office space that he rents out for his Sideline Media business – which just so happens to be in the same building where Asa works for Back to the Bible. The three of us had just a few minutes together, and they were precious minutes!

From there I went to Panera for a while to sit by myself and work. I only had an hour, but it was a productive one, and the coffee was tasty! (Their Sip Club makes having a cup of coffee super cheap, by the way. Currently I pay $5/month and can get a coffee there whenever I want/can, which is pretty much only on Mondays, but still.)

Next, I went to Sam’s to get a few items we needed, then to Walmart before heading home.

For dinner that night, I had cooked Baked Potatoes in a Crock Pot all day. I warmed up leftover Chili from Sunday’s lunch to go on our potatoes, plus I steamed some peas and got out cheese and sour cream.

Tuesday morning, Josie was my Special Helper and she was very excited about the task of cleaning out the dishwasher for me.

I took Auggie to Speech Therapy. His AAC Device had arrived and his therapist walked me through more specifics of setting it up for him to use.

When we got home, Auggie moved straight into his ABA Therapy and the girls hung out with me while I made a dozen or so Breakfast Sandwiches. We go through a ton of these every week, and they are so helpful to have on hand!

I had some Salsa Chicken in the freezer leftover from a Sunday Lunch. So I had thawed that plus baked a pan of rice and turned it all into Inexpensive Burritos for our dinner later that day.

Malachi left mid-morning to go to Omaha for a video shoot with a real estate company. He grabbed two freshly made Breakfast Sandwiches for the road, but not before playing for a minute with Acacia while he texted his client. I love how she’s looking up to him here.

After school, I picked up Brayden, Kiya, and Keith and we headed over to hand out food and clean at our our weekly Food Distribution site. The boys cleaned coolers as they got emptied out, but they also joined Kiya and me at the distribution tables to help hand out food as clients came around.

When we arrived back at home at dinner time, things were a little more hectic than normal. Auggie’s newest behavior technician and his ABA therapist had arrived at 5:00 – so he was getting acclimated to them while Matt, Elias, and Malorie were getting the other kids fed. Matt had baked a pan of the Burritos I’d made earlier in the day and the grown ups were fixing plates for kids. There was general mayhem for a while during this time of transition, then everyone settled down and played outside.

I spent some time getting lots of dirty dishes under control after a full day. Then I put together two Egg and Hashbrown Casseroles to have on hand. At bedtime, the kids came inside and ate more burritos plus some bananas before we headed them upstairs for the night.

Wednesday morning, Matt stayed behind at home with Acacia, Josie, and Auggie so that Auggie could have his ABA therapy session. I took Anna with me to Aldi so that she and I could have some one-on-one time while picking up what we needed for our family.

We drove right by Hobby Lobby so it made sense that we stop and pick out some spring craft kits. The kids would be home for Easter break for a few days, and the weather was forecasted to be a little wet and chilly. So getting prepped for this with crafts was perfect. Anna wanted to buy everything in Hobby Lobby (don’t we all).

Arrow came and hung out that afternoon. :)

For dinner that night, we had breakfast: Egg and Hashbrown Casserole with a triple batch of Pancakes and Fruit. The kids gobbled this up – and so did the grown-ups.

Thursday morning, Kiya helped me bake a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for upcoming Sunday breakfasts. Later, I cut them and frozen them on two plates to last us for two Sundays.

After Keith was ready for school, he built a mighty structure with magnatiles. We knew it would get destroyed while he was gone for the day, so I took a picture of him with it so he could remember it forever. ;)

After ABA therapy that morning, Auggie had an appointment that morning with his GI specialist. Because he’s made such progress with eating, he got cleared and we didn’t have to schedule a follow-up visit with them – praise God!

I had marinated three big packages of chicken thighs and late afternoon, I put them on our smoker to prepare for a big dinner.

Kiya made two kits worth of Caesar salad.

The whole family came over and we had a feast to celebrate Kelsey’s birthday!

We ate Smoked Chicken Thighs, Mashed Potatoes, Caesar Salad, and Buttered Rolls.

It’s such a gift to have everyone together!

Kelsey’s birthday dessert request was Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Oh my goodness – this was perfect. We all loved treat this on a warm spring day!

The night was fantastic, with minimal kid behavior struggles and wonderful conversation. :)

Friday the kids were home from school. Acacia was my special helper and we made a great big batch of Mudballs for breakfast.

Acacia and Josie were playing some kind of special game on their kitchen stools and giggling – so sweet.

I baked several pans of bacon that morning to finish off a box in our fridge so we’d have cooked bacon on hand for upcoming meals.

Then we got dressed and ready to go to the indoor play area at the zoo for the morning. I made a loaf of bread worth of PBJs plus packed pears, bananas, and applesauce to snack on while we were there.

Auggie’s RBT joined us at the zoo to continue working with him during his morning session. It was quite a week of adjusting and building relationships with new people, so there was a lot of snuggle time with Mommy and Daddy to help with reassurance and consistency.

For almost two hours, the kids ran and played on the indoor play structure. They occasionally took breaks to watch the monkeys and to go into the small room off the side to see the birds, snakes, and iguana.

 

We ate through the entire container of sandwiches and almost all of the fruit. It was a good morning outing!

We got home to put Auggie down for a nap, then I took Brayden and Kiya out by themselves to shop for something special to wear on Easter. This time with them was so good – letting them learn how to be big kids and having more grown up discussions.

We picked up a Hy-vee Pick-up order before heading home.

I was fighting a migraine so the rest of the evening was pretty chill as we played outside a while then had a simple dinner of Tacos.

Saturday morning, Anna was my special helper. She opened cream cheese boxes for me – with a pretend broken arm – ha.

I made two large Cheesecakes for Easter dessert. Plus I made a pot of Cream Cheese Corn to rewarm after church.

We got jackets and hats, then loaded up the kids to drive a few blocks toward our State Capitol building. There was an event close-by that we wanted to check out, but as we did, we realized it wasn’t very kid friendly. SO, instead we simply parked our van and let the kids walk a few blocks toward the capital building as our morning outing.

Along the way, we saw a blind man who appeared to be lost. So Matt went to find out what his need might be. We found out where he was headed, and it was just a bit past the capitol building, so he joined us on our walk and Matt got him to where he had planned to be. I loved our kids’ reactions to their daddy helping this man. What a gift for them to have Matt as an example of Jesus’ love.

At the capitol building, we climbed the stairs and explored for quite a while.

We had to potty, so we walked to find a bathroom, seeing lots of doors to senator’s offices – so exciting. :)  But truly, the kids were amazed that we got to walk inside the capitol building for five whole minutes!

Back at home, we warmed up a lot of leftovers for a lot of hungry kids. Then, Matt took Anna on a one-on-one outing as prescribed by our Family Therapist. They walked just a few blocks from our house to a free event inviting kids to come paint rocks. Anna loved it!

The rest of the day was spent cleaning and getting ready for Sabbath and Easter. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 6-12, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 6-12, 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, April 5

I always try to make something simple for our Sabbath Supper, and this time it was Chicken Strips, Tomato Soup, and Canned Pears.

I was able to capture this moment with all seven littles sitting and eating for a time, phew.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart had come over to eat with us that night because Justus was out of town. It was special to have them join us. :) One of our “treats” for Sabbath is that I open two cans of sparkling water and pour some into fancy plastic cups for the kids. They love this and look forward to it!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 6-12, 2025

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a plate of our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church. This Sunday morning went much more smoothly compared to last week, thankfully.

Before we left for church, I put Pulled Pork into two crock pots to warm up for lunch. I had prepared it and frozen it two weeks ago, so this made for a very easy meal for this day.

Many of our church family joined us for lunch – 35 of us altogether. I loved this scene as I went to the living room to let everyone know that lunch was ready.

And this shot was extra sweet: Kids at the living room table eating and coloring a special project that Ms. Megan had brought.

We feasted on Pulled Pork, Ham and Cheese Sliders, Cole Slaw and Chips (provided by the Adcocks), Potato Salad (provided by the Phillips), Cream Cheese Salsa Dip with Chips, Veggies, and Sauces for our Sandwiches.

We had set out lots of leftover desserts and brownies from our Friday night neighborhood gathering. Here’s what that looked like at the end of lunch:

All desserts gone.

We enjoyed our traditional Sunday evening meal of Frozen Pizza – a perfect dinner after a very full and wonderful day with our church family.

It was chilly but sunny, so the evening was spent outside playing with neighbors. I caught this scene with all of our girls painting their nails on the back steps plus several of the boys hanging out waiting for them to hurry up and be finished. ;)

I made Breakfast Sandwiches on Monday morning – some to eat right away…

…and some to put into the fridge and eat later.

I was blessed to go to Panera to put my feet up, drink coffee, and write at my computer for a while that afternoon. Costco is right next door, so I headed over to restock some essentials.

I picked up a Rotisserie Chicken at Costco for our dinner that night! Keith helped me make a Caesar Salad, plus I steamed Broccoli and toasted some Buttered Rolls to complete our meal. We had Family Therapy that night and it was a great session that provided hope. God is at work!

Auggie had Speech Therapy Tuesday morning. We got home just in time to begin his very first session of ABA Therapy. We are easing into it this week, then starting next week he will have many hours in therapy each day. This will take place at our home, and will give him very specific help in dealing with his extra needs that come with autism.

The following boring picture of my half eaten Breakfast Sandwich was taken to show you that for about six entire minutes while Auggie’s ABA therapist and Behavior Technician were working with him out in our yard, and all the girls were playing happily, I actually ate a sandwich and enjoyed a fizzy drink all by myself in the quiet. Was I holding Little Sweetheart? Sure. So was I really completely alone? No. But Little Sweetheart was gabbing happily and doesn’t talk back to me. So this was a pleasant 6-minutes of quiet, sandwich eating.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to hand out food and clean up at our weekly Food Distribution site.

Back at home, Elias and Matt had made Pulled Pork Sandwich Melts for dinner with Sunday’s leftover meat. I forgot to take a picture until the pan looked like this:

Throughout the evening, kids kept coming in for more to eat, so we kept doling out pickles, strawberries, and bananas. We had brought home a small loaf of Lemon Poppyseed Bread from Food Distribution, so I gave everyone a small slice.

Ope, after all that, the kids were still hungry before bed? Daddy sliced oranges to end our evening.

Wednesday morning, right after we got the elementary kids off to school, we loaded up the youngest four kids and headed to Aldi and Wal-Mart. I was hoping to score some meat markdowns by going as soon as Aldi opened.

Nope. No markdowns today. I did get boneless chicken thighs on sale though!

It’s been a while since we took the kids shopping. They were pretty excited about the entire outing.

Arrow came and hung out with us all afternoon! That evening, Brayden was my Special Helper of the Day, so he helped put together a salad to go with our dinner.

I had made a big Meatloaf, which really hit the spot that night. (Several of the kids had thirds!) I also boiled a pound of whole grain noodles, because all of our littles really like to eat noodles with butter, salt, and parmesan cheese. Whatever fills their bellies, I guess. Malorie had brought home some onions and peppers from a fruit/veggie giveaway at her work, so I chopped them up with some mushrooms and fried it all together. Matt and Brayden especially liked this!

After dinner, Brayden used two Sugar Cookie mixes I’d picked up on sale at Aldi that morning to make some cookies for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

The kids played outside most of the evening, then at bedtime came in and ate more of our dinnertime noodles plus half of this bag of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies I’d had in the freezer.

I made French Toast for breakfast on Thursday. I also baked eight pans of bacon – both to eat and to have extra in the fridge for sandwiches.

After they ate breakfast, Brayden and Kiya had time and were determined to make a special lunch for themselves to pack and take to school. They were super cooperative and sweet while doing this. Even so, I will not be able to let them cook a hot lunch to pack very often because the work it takes me to cook breakfast, make plates, clean spills, deal with preschooler/toddler needs AND help walk kids through the process of cooking on a school morning is a bit above my ability level. They sure were proud of their thermoses though. :)

Auggie had a full morning session of ABA therapy at our house. That freed Matt and me to spend time with the girls and get a few other things done. I “enjoyed” making phone calls for an hour and a half to try and deal with frustrating scheduling issues as we are getting referrals to get five more of our kids evaluated and diagnosed so that we can get them more of the therapy and help that they need. I also made a needed phone call to finalize getting Auggie’s AAC Device set up so the company could ship it out. Phew. Those are hard calls to make without distractions on a normal day – so having Auggie spend time with his Behavior Technician all morning was a fantastic help.

Acacia and Josie found themselves some dandelions and were so proud.

Before Malachi headed to his office, he invited Anna to “help” him make a Latte. It was very sweet to see bro and sis work together on this.

Justus had dropped off Little Sweetheart with us mid-morning. Then he came back and had lunch with Matt so they could talk about upcoming sermon needs at church. (Matt’s on the teaching team and Justus is the minister who organizes the sermon series’ and such.) Listening to these two talk through ministries and Biblical teachings over lunch makes my heart swell.

Kiya was my special helper of the day, so she prepped the salads for dinner.

I hadn’t had time to do any meal prep that day, so I threw a four-pound bag of fish sticks into the oven, which are always a hit with the kids. We ate them with salad and grapes – and some of the kids turned their sticks into Fish Sandwiches.

Friday, the kids ate Yogurt with Granola for breakfast. I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs so that we’d have them on hand for snacks.

Malachi biked the elementary kids to school that morning while I stayed back with our four littlest kids and Matt went to go pick up our Azure Standard order.

Once he got back, I spent some time separating/bagging up a 30-pound box of frozen hashbrown potatoes he’d picked up. Wow, that’s a lot of potatoes!

The weather was sunny and beautiful that day, so we spent most of the morning outside.

I was hoping to get ahead on snacks, so along with the Peanut Butter Honey Puffs I had made earlier that day, Acacia and Auggie helped me make a double batch of this recipe to make a bunch of Mini Banana Muffins.

Justus brought Little Sweetheart over so we could watch her while he went upstairs to work on homework. (He’s getting his masters while working full time – and rocking it! But it’s a lot to keep up with, for sure.) We’re so glad we live in the same town with our kids and grandbabies so we can help out as needed. And grandbaby time is THE BEST.

Auggie is a bit obsessed with making sure everyone has their correct water bottle. Look how much JOY he had when Little Sweetheart accepted her water bottle from him!

Somewhere during the morning, I had fired up our smoker and cooked 28 Brats to have ready to serve for our upcoming Sunday lunch. Once they cooled, I refrigerated them with plans to warm them in a crock pot to serve for our big meal.

On the way out the door to get on the preschool bus, Josie took a spill and had to go back in for a band aid. Doctor Daddy took good care of her and walked her to the bus.

I made a bowl of Tuna Salad for dinner to put together Wraps with tuna and spinach. We made Fries and sliced Oranges, then tried to get everyone fed so that we could load up in the van.

Our closest library was hosting an event for families at our kids’ school that evening. This is a pretty small library, and when we arrived, it seemed that all of Prescott Elementary had come to join the fun!

The kids participated in a scavenger hunt, read books, and played with toys. Then once the very long line went down, they got to pick an ice cream cup!

There was a special shelf of books that had been donated and every kid got to pick one to take home. Our kids loved this and read their book in their lap quietly all the way home (miraculous).

Saturday morning, I made a small crock pot of Chili to serve with Brats and Hotdogs the next day for lunch.

The kids ate cereal and muffins while I worked, and Kiya made a batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies for Sunday.

I had some fruit tea bags in my cabinet and decided to make them into fun drink options to go with our Sunday Lunch. The kitchen smelled really good!

Kiya’s cookies turned out great!

Matt took the kids outside to load sticks and branches into the back of our van. He took two trips to dispose of them at a free city-wide clean up location.

Then we loaded everyone up and went to a nearby park. There’s a soccer field there, so Elias, Malorie, and Malachi had made plans to go kick around. Matt and I decided to head over there also so that the kids could run around and play.

We came home and warmed up leftovers for lunch. Brayden and Kiya got to go to a birthday party that afternoon, and we spent the rest of day day preparing for a Sabbath rest and playing outside.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 30-April 5, 2025

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 30-April 5, 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 29

You might remember that last week I shared the beginning process of Matt hanging chalkboard paper in the playroom for the kids. The project took way too long and will likely not last long, ha. But the kids are enjoying it a lot for now!

For dinner that night, we had a very simple meal of the kids’ favorite: Mac and Cheese with Peas. I also set out a variety of leftover meat options in case any adults wanted something more substantial. Our friend, Christina, had taken Brayden on a special outing and let him pick out a treat plus fun Minions applesauce pouches – so that became a special part of our Sabbath evening meal.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 30-April 5, 2025

Sunday morning, I was disappointment that I didn’t have a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars in the freezer for our traditional Sunday morning breakfast. I was just sure there were some tucked away in there! But nope. :)

We moved on to Plan B for breakfast: Yogurt and Granola Bowls or Cereal. Some of the kids did not handle this change of plans very well, yikes. Routine is an extra big deal for many of us. (Mental note: Bake Breakfast Cookie Bars this week!)

The morning was extremely rough (rougher than normal) getting all the kids to cooperate and get out the door for church. I just hate how badly trauma has complicated these kids’ lives.

Weariness and frustration got me, and I cried all the way to church and halfway through the worship service. Crying most of the way through the church service? It’s safe and fine. Friends cried with me and spoke truth into me. We worshiped together, and the focus-turned-toward-Jesus was healing for me.

Brayden had a special role with his friend, Jack, that morning, leading the congregation in scripture reading. We are so proud of him for bravely picking up the microphone and doing this.

There was a prayer of blessing over our new Heartlands children that morning, a follow up to the special dedication celebration the day before.

Acacia had found her way to Ms. Kathi that morning and sat with her the entire time. Kathi’s love for children is so precious.

Lunch that day was a Chipotle-Style Burrito Bar with Salsa Chicken, Taco Meat, Carnitas (made by our friend Christina), and all the toppings from rice and beans (made by our friend Cindy) to cilantro and  salsa.

There were 28 of us gathered to enjoy the feast.

For dessert we enjoyed Homemade Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies, Apple Berry Pie, and Brownies.

Who needs dinner after all of that? Well, a few hours later, the kids did. :)

Our traditional Sunday night meal has become Frozen Pizza. But this week, I had some small-sized pizza crusts in the freezer and the kids were excited to build their own pizza creations with them.

Doing this in shifts was the right move – with Keith, Acacia, and Anna finishing theirs before the others came in to take their turn.

I put together some regular-sized pizzas for the grown ups, then spent some time getting the kitchen cleaned up after all of our feasting of the day.

Monday morning after we got the elementary-aged kids off to school, Anna helped me stir some of Sunday’s leftover burrito fixings together to make a bunch of Burritos.

A neighbor family we are just getting to know had a new baby born recently. So I made a pan of Burritos to deliver to them. Plus I made two pans for our family to eat for dinner on Tuesday.

I had some hamburger meat in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I browned it and put together two Lasagna Casseroles to give to friends.

That night, we had an early dinner of Noodles, Alfredo, and Leftover Turkey and Bacon stirred together, with Steamed Broccoli.

Keith was my Special Helper of the day. So after dinner, he helped me make a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

I had baked two loaves of Applesauce Bread earlier that afternoon, trying to get ahead for upcoming breakfasts.

Phew, now we have two weeks’ worth of Breakfast Cookie Bars in the freezer for upcoming Sundays.

Josie was our family’s Special Helper on Tuesday, so she proudly got to work that morning to help me load a dishwasher. (By the way, if you see this dress on Josie over and over and over, it’s because it’s her favorite and she takes off her regular clothes and puts this one on immediately after getting home from school/church. It’s filthy and stained, as every favorite dress should be.)

Auggie had Speech Therapy that morning. His therapist is working on paperwork to get him an AAC Device to help him with communication while he hopefully continues to learn more words verbally. So this particular therapy session, she pulled out a device that they had in the office to show me how it worked and to see how he initially responded to it.

Back at home, Malachi hung out with us for a little while before heading to his office.

Little Sweetheart had been at our house all morning too, and Auggie had fun trying to entertain her on the floor.

After school, Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to serve at our weekly Food Distribution site. We were short on adult volunteers that day, so Kiya got to run the bread table all by herself. She rocked it!

Afterward while I was vacuuming, Keith came and took over for me with a great big smile, giving me some insight into who he is at his core: sweet, caring, hardworking, and loving.

Back at home, Matt and Elias warmed up the Burritos that Anna and I had put together the day before. This was a perfect dinner for them to serve since I was gone at the beginning at dinnertime.

Wednesday, I had an IEP meeting at the school for one of our kids. Then we made a double batch of Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies.

I hadn’t made these Peanut Butter Cheesecake Balls for quite a while, but decided to put some in the fridge for an easy-to-grab snack option. I skipped adding the chocolate chips to these, and they taste just fine as they are!

Arrow came to hang out that afternoon, as did my friend Charlene from York. Charlene and I talked a mile and minute trying to play catch up, and Arrow added in his thoughts to our conversation too. :) When the kids got home from school, they surrounded their favorite nephew.

I had made a bowl full of Chicken Salad earlier in the day, which made for a very easy dinner that night. We’d brought home a container of Croissants from the Food Distribution on Tuesday, a rare and special bonus! Chicken Salad on Croissants?? So good. Chicken salad on FREE croissants? Extra, extra good.

Brayden was our special helper of the day, so after dinner, he helped me make a big pan full of Brownies for upcoming get-togethers we’d be hosting. Then he did a great job sweeping the kitchen floor.

Thursday morning we enjoyed Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies for breakfast. I got Brayden’s Brownies cut and put onto plates for upcoming events, then put them away so the kids wouldn’t drool over them (literally).

I didn’t get any pictures taken throughout the day – we just stayed home and enjoyed time with Little Sweetheart and the other kids all day. For dinner that night, we had Spaghetti, Spinach, and Corn.

Then, we left all the littles home with Elias, Malorie, and Kelsey while Matt and I took Brayden to his Middle School Orientation. Whoa!

Brayden is our fifth sixth grader (ehh??), so you’d think we’d we pros at this by now. But, in fact, we’ve never done public school middle school before (because we homeschooled our oldest four boys). So this was new for all of us and we are so glad we went to the orientation. We heard from the Principal during her presentation in the auditorium, then we got to walk all through the school to see the 6th grade floor, the music and band rooms, the library, the cafeteria. Best of all, Brayden got popcorn. :)

We were able to visit with the Special Ed Coordinator, which was a relief to me as I’ll be working with her directly to help meet Brayden’s academic needs. Back at home, we gave everyone a snack before heading up for bedtime.

Acacia was our Special Helper on Friday so she helped Daddy load the dishwasher that morning.

Auggie comes running whenever the vacuum is on, so he spent quite a while on one spot of the rug, making sure it was as clean as possible that morning.

We had invited a bunch of our neighbors to a Finger Food Friday dinner at our house that evening. So in preparation, I made a bowl full of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip.

I had a pan of Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips in the freezer, so I baked those to serve that night too. Plus I set out a plate of Brownies that Brayden and I had baked earlier in the week.

Everyone who came brought something tasty to share, and we had a true feast of Finger Foods!

I only got a few pictures at the beginning of our party, then got too busy visiting and didn’t take any more. So I missed getting shots of everyone who came – because the neighbors just kept coming and coming! Matt and I were so thrilled with the turnout, 23 neighborhood guests in all (making 35 of us gathered all together). We are so glad to be developing deeper relationships with these great people.

Some have lived here for many years – and we love hearing the history of this neighborhood and even a little bit about our house (which was built in 1914). Kids played outside, and kept coming in for cookies. ;) It was a wonderful, special night.

Saturday morning, we ate cereal for breakfast plus baked a double batch of Bran Muffins for upcoming snack needs.

If you ever need help baking, feel free to call any of our toddler/preschool helpers! See all those blotches of cinnamon? Someone, who really did mean well, sprinkled in a significantly large amount of cinnamon, and her mom dug out as much as she could and then gave up. Said cinnamon mixed together strangely with the coconut oil in the mixing bowl, so there were extra-special cinnamon clumps in the muffins. They taste just fine, and some kids are actually choosing their muffins based on the highest number of clumps they see.

Matt was blessed to go to a Mental Health Training session at church that morning. So Elias and Malorie helped me take kids to the Mall Play Place to get energy out on this 40-ish degree day.

We had the entire place to ourselves for the first few minutes before other kids showed up.

We got home in time to warm up leftovers for a late lunch, then moved into prepping for our time of Sabbath rest. I put several of the Bran Muffins we’d baked into snack-sized bags and then into a freezer bag to freeze and pull out to pack in lunches.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for March, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for March, 2025 post!

Big Family Grocery Spending for March, 2025

Curious how much we spent during the month of March and what groceries we bought? Here’s the breakdown!

1. Sam’s

On March 4, Auggie and I headed to Sam’s after his Speech Therapy appointment. We found a lot of meat marked down, which made our grand total a little more hefty, but it was worth it because of the good prices on meat. We also got grapes, cucumbers, carrots, apples, bananas, sweet peppers, broccoli, a salad kit, clementines, pears, spinach, spring mix, ketchup, meat sticks, pistachios, frozen french fries, 10-dozen eggs, coffee, cream, half and half, milk, shredded cheese, frozen pizza, olives, pickles, granola, whole milk Greek yogurt, and butter. Oh, and of course, a box of bacon.

How crazy is it that I was thrilled to find eggs for only $4.80/dozen!? They were “limit 2” so I was able to get two boxes with 5-dozen eggs. I’m thankful!

Total for food at Sam’s: $543

2. Chick-fil-a

One day over our kids’ spring break, Chick-fil-a offered free kids’ meals with purchase of an adult meal. We took advantage of the offer, and had a very fun (and crazy) outing that day!

Total out of pocket at Chick-fil-a: $22.25

3. Hy-Vee

Total out of pocket at Hy-Vee: $19.94

4. Aldi

On March 17, I picked up some of our Aldi essentials plus some sale items. Strawberries were on sale, so I got 8 pounds! I also got bananas, a pineapple, apples, salad kits, grapes, oranges, mandarins, pear cups, fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, whole milk yogurt, cake mixes, sausage, milk, granola, salsa, salami, instant oatmeal, sliced cheese, and gelato.

Total at Aldi: 175.86

5. Wal-Mart and Sam’s

On March 18, I ran into both Wal-Mart and Sam’s to check for meat markdowns. Meh, I didn’t find much of anything except for two nice boxes of Boneless Chicken Breast marked down to just $6.00 each. I also picked up two bags of frozen fruit for smoothies while I was there.

At Sam’s I didn’t find any meat markdown deals that worked for me, boo. But they did have eggs in stock for just $4.67/dozen, which is the best price I’ve seen anywhere for many weeks. I got two packs (limit 2) plus cream and avocado.

Total for groceries at Wal-Mart and Sam’s: $67.86

6. Amazon Subscribe and Save

We got a big box full of Go-Go Squeeze items plus Pizza Crust and Freeze Dried Apples this month.

Total from Amazon: $61.71

7. Costco

I had a big restock trip to Costco on March 24, getting a cart full of diapers, wipes, and clothes plus a few other non-perishable foods.

I checked out, loaded all that into the van, then went back in for the cold groceries. I got milk, cream, half and half, two kinds of shredded cheese, cottage cheese, guacamole, butter, strawberries, white queso, spinach, mixed greens, frozen fruit, frozen French fries, sliced Havarti cheese, three kinds of frozen pizza, chicken legs ($0.99/pound!), a huge pork butt ($1.99/pound!), brats, coffee, chips, ketchup, cream cheese, pepperoni, 100% juice freezies, mandarin orange cups, yoggies snacks, veggie/cheese crackers, chicken nuggets, and potatoes.

Total for groceries: 410.72

8. Sam’s/Walmart

On Saturday, March 29, Elias and Malorie picked up a few items for me from Sam’s and Walmart while they were out. We needed lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro (not pictured) to go with a Burrito Bar we were having for Sunday Lunch, so they got those at Walmart. Plus they got these necessities for me at Sam’s.

Total from Sam’s and Walmart: $19.87

9. Costco

On the last day of March, I was close to Costco and ran in to grab milk, bananas, and veggies to get us through for a few days before I needed to do a big grocery shopping trip again.

Total at Costco: $23.86

Total for groceries in March, 2025: $1,346

NOTE: Our WIC benefits provide our littles with around $180 worth of groceries each month. You can read here to learn our 2025 Grocery Budget plus look over ways I’m able to keep our budget at this level.

Running Totals for 2025

January spending: $679
February spending: $1,459
March spending: $1,346

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 23-29, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 23-29, 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 22

We typically spend some time on Saturday afternoons cleaning floors as we prepare to move into a time of rest. Anna was excited to help me vacuum (until she wasn’t).

Acacia wanted a turn. Then Auggie was indignant that anyone would dare to use HIS vacuum.

We were blessed with some time with some friends who came over that afternoon. Our kids have so much fun together, and the trampoline was their play place of choice that day.

At dinnertime, the girls finished off the last of a pineapple, using toothpicks to poke and eat it.

I had been cooking a pot of Ham and Potato Soup all afternoon, so at dinnertime, all we had to do was scoop and eat. (I used broth from a turkey I’d baked earlier in the week, which made this soup extra rich and good!)

We gave all the littles their baths and spent time brushing and braiding hair before bed. As we were getting ready to head upstairs for the night, we got to greet a group of college guys who had made plans to spend the night with us. Our long-time friend York Andrew (in the red hoodie) had coordinated with Malachi, who had coordinated with me to make these plans. And here they all were! This is the best.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 23-29, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars before church. When we got home at lunchtime, we set out a huge buffet of buns/tortillas, meats, cheeses, veggies, and dressings for a Sandwich and Salad Bar. This turned out to be fantastic (especially since it included five of those college guys who had stuck around)!

I’d baked a turkey a few days prior in preparation for this meal, plus I’d baked lots of sheet pans worth of bacon. We had some leftover ham that also got chopped up. Elias and Malorie had picked up four kinds of sliced cheese for people to pick from. The Long family brought perfect salad fixings.

People built a sandwich or wrap however they wanted, then many of them used our Air Fryer to toast it to perfection.

We had huge trays of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Rice Krispie Bars for dessert.

The Perez family supplied lots of fruit to round out our meal.

It was a great feast, with 31 of us gathered together spread throughout the kitchen, dining room, and living room.

For dinner that evening, we got out leftovers – and I forgot to take any pictures because I guess it wasn’t very exciting. :)

Monday morning, we ate Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d made ahead and frozen. We got the first round of kids off to school, played all morning with the others, then I went to Costco during the afternoon. I got stocked back up on diapers and wipes, plus took advantage of sales on clothing as I get everyone all set up for spring and summer. (This was just cart#1. I went back in for cart#2, which I filled with groceries!)

We had planned for Family Therapy that night, but our therapist needed to reschedule. So Matt and I decided to go with Plan B that evening. I quickly threw together a picnic dinner (Chicken Nuggets, spinach, dressings/dips, grapes, and Granola Bar Bites). We loaded up and headed to Pioneers Park, looking forward to a fun picnic in the sunshine, then a walk on the fun trails to the Nature Center.

Whelp.

Everyone screamed all the way to the van (not quite everyone – Matt and I sort of held it together). I handed out apples to curb the hanger on the way there. When we arrived, the sun went behind clouds and the wind was as it always is during March in Nebraska. So it became chilly and our dinner threatened to blow away. One of our kids refused to eat and just screamed during the entire meal. So yay, a family picnic. :/

Oh! And the trails we love and looked forward to were gated off and locked because the Nature Center wasn’t open yet for the season. Ha, ya just have to laugh.

With food in everyone’s bellies (except for the one who refused to eat), we loaded back up in the van and drove to the potties. Then we went to the playground for the rest of the evening. Everything went better at that point, praise God.

We played for almost an hour, getting back home in time to get ready for bed, eat a little bit more, then get settled in for the night. (The one who refused to eat at the park happily ate their fill at this point.)

Tuesday morning, Justus texted this photo with, “Tell me you’ve been spending a lot of time with Lolli, without telling me you’ve been spending a lot of time with Lolli…”

Yeah, girl!!
Some grandmas give their grandbabies cookies and candy. I teach them to love butter.

Auggie had speech therapy that morning, then Anna helped me make Spinach Cupcakes to use up some spinach in the fridge that was expiring.

Hmmm. Did I let her lick the spatula? Yes, I did.

Eva texted this photo of a loaf of Honey Oat Bread that she made that afternoon, along with a precious video of Arrow gobbling in up. :)

That afternoon, I put together two Quiche for Matt to bake for dinner. Then Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to our our weekly Food Distribution site to hand out food to the community and clean up afterward.

Back at home, we enjoyed our Quiche with fruit and spinach.

I had been slow cooking two large Pork Butts all day like this. (I had picked them up at Costco the day before.) They shredded easily, so I finished them up and put them into two gallon-sized freezer bags to use for an upcoming Sunday Lunch.

The kids had been playing outside, and came in hungry before bedtime. They had strawberries and bananas, then grabbed one of the cupcake-muffins I’d baked earlier and headed back outside to play more.

Then they came back again and finished off the last three pieces of Quiche. No leftovers tonight! I am always shocked by Spring appetites! Playing, jumping, and running outside in the fresh air always makes kids extra hungry. I love it!

Wednesday, we met with Auggie’s ABA Therapist to finalize a draft detailing his upcoming therapy program. Malorie was awesome during that two hour meeting to keep track of Auggie and the little girls for us – no easy task.

Arrow came to hang out that afternoon! He enjoyed chewing on plastic broccoli for quite some time. Before I knew it, I was singing the Veggie Tale theme song. I guess we can call this “Silly Songs with Lolli.”

Two families joined us for dinner that night! We’d been wanting to connect because we knew of each other back in both of our early York days many years ago. I didn’t get any pictures of all of us, but I did get this shot of our buffet: Smoked Chicken Legs, Party Potatoes, Salad, Green Beans, and Rolls. I had picked up Gelato at Aldi a couple weeks ago and we enjoyed that treat for dessert.

Very Worth Noting: Our friends, the Case family, heard that we’d be getting together with these friends, and they know how difficult it can be for us to visit while chasing kids at the same time. So some of their family came over to stay with Auggie outside and to monitor the others so that Matt and I could have adult visit and catch up time. What a gift!

Thursday morning, I made a loaf of bread worth of French Toast. It had been a while since I’d made this, and the kids were pretty happy! These two were very excited to help me crack eggs.

Mid-morning, Acacia and Josie had a dentist appointment. They did great!

Thursday after school, I moved immediately into a therapy session with one of our kids. So Matt and Elias held down the fort, plus Kelsey joined the helping crew when she came to pick up Little Sweetheart!

It was dinnertime after that, and Matt warmed up leftover meat and Party Potatoes from the fridge. Kiya put together a couple of salad kits and we all filled plates and ate.

Kiya helped me make a triple batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies. We turned most of them into mini-muffins and made a few regular-sized muffins for our Friday breakfast.

Brownies for breakfast? Yes. When they are made like this!

Special Helpers

Per our Family Therapy homework/instructions, we have been working now on creating a very structured chore system for the kids. Instead of assigning each kid specific chores for each day, Matt and I have decided to experiment with the idea of assigning a kid to a day of the week as a Special Helper. There are seven kids and seven days of the week, so why not try this!?

On any day of the week, all of the kids will have jobs to do – that’s how our family rolls! But on each kids’ Special Helper day, they will be pulled in extra times to do whatever Mom or Dad need. (They might also get extra privileges on their special day – no more fighting over who gets to lick the spatula, right?)

We think the best part of this, besides being able to teach the kids more about life skills, is that they all very much need one-on-one time and very rarely get it. So this will hopefully be an extra benefit for them to meet some emotional needs for positive, healthy attention.

All that to say, Friday was Acacia’s day and she took her job very seriously and worked very eagerly.

We had two appointments that morning for Auggie, first meeting with the Special Ed teacher assigned to him through EDN (early development network). Then after that, we had a meeting with his EDN coordinator. He was pretty tuckered out by the end of the morning!

Later that afternoon, I made a batch of Homemade Ice Cream to tuck away for our upcoming Sunday lunch.

Earlier, I’d browned and seasoned five pounds of Taco Meat for our Chipotle-Style Burrito Bar on Sunday. A few days prior, I slow cooked and shredded Salsa Chicken for another meat choice for Sunday. Both will be warmed and served in crock pots that day!

As the kids were arriving home from school, I put 15 burgers on the grill for dinner and I made a blender full of Smoothie to hold everyone over and cool everyone off since it was a very warm day. This was our fruit and veggie for the night, enjoyed before dinner instead of on the side. :)

Some of our neighbors were out enjoying the sunny weather, so our girls drank their smoothies with Ms. Ashley and Ms. Sarah.

When dinner was ready, we enjoyed Burgers and Fries with Pickles.

Then we gathered everyone (which took forever because we were missing a lot of shoes, ugh) and headed out to walk around the neighborhood. Neighbor Ashley and her son joined us for the walk.

We stopped at several houses to say hello and to drop off invitations to a Neighborhood Party we were planning in our yard for next Friday evening. Even Auggie was excited to go onto people’s porches and participate in this!

Saturday morning, I made another batch of Homemade Ice Cream for Sunday.

Anna was my Special Helper for the day and she helped me load the dishwasher.

Matt and I were blessed to go to a Baby Dedication Celebration for Arrow and Little Sweetheart that morning while Elias and Malorie stayed back with all of our kids. Before leaving, I made a bowl full of Chicken Salad to serve for lunch when we got back.

The morning was incredibly powerful and emotional as we prayed over the babes and dedicated their lives to Christ. What a special morning!

Matt and I arrived home in time for almost all the kids to melt down when we walked in the door, ha. I got out the Chicken Salad and other lunch fixings, and we got them fed.

Since Anna was my Special Helper for the day, she got to help me make Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies for Sunday’s Lunch dessert.

Matt had picked up some Chalkboard Paper for super cheap so the kids “helped” him get it up on the Play Room wall. Of course, it didn’t stick, so the project took all afternoon. Keith was in his happy place, helping Matt use his tools.

We moved into our time of Sabbath rest that evening, so I’ll share the final results and more details about our Saturday next week!

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

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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!

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

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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!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 2-8, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 2-8, 2025 post!

Before I launch into this week’s food and fun, I’ll back up and share the tail end of our Saturday, March 1. :)

Anna was very proud of how she spelled her name with veggie straws during snack time that afternoon!

I had trimmed Acacia and Josie’s hair after their baths that day. Now no one will be able to tell Anna and Josie apart – not even us. Just kidding. Maybe.

Malachi had several friends over for the weekend, so we made lots of extra food at dinnertime that evening. I prepped turkey, ham, and bacon to make a variety of Quesadillas.

We warmed up Tomato Soup to go with the meal, plus got out Chips, Guacamole, Salsa, and Spinach.

Malachi and I had booked tickets to go see a Homeschool Melodrama (which featured many of our friends), so we left his friends behind at the Castle to hang out with Matt, Elias, Malorie, and the kids while we headed out for the evening. Having this one-on-one time with Malachi was precious to me.

Also precious was watching his friends be so sweet to the little ones.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 2-8, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate a plateful of Breakfast Cookie Bars that had been made ahead and frozen.

Our Sunday lunch that day filled me with joy as our house was bursting with people. I had made lots of Lasagna a few days prior and baked it that morning while we were at church. I made Corn and Green Beans to stretch our meal. Friends brought Salad, Fruit, and Rolls to share.

And our friend Christy made incredible desserts.

I tried to capture the kitchen scene where we all gathered to fix our plates, but it was hard to get everyone.

Eva, Kelsey, and Malorie are always so sweet to help fix kids’ plates. If I counted right, there were 37 of us gathered. Was Keith attempting to skate through this crowd of people? Of course. :/

We filled the dining room…

And spilled over into the Living Room table…

Plus filled the couches. We almost completely finished every last bit of food – but there was plenty for everyone. These times together fill my cup in ways that are hard to explain. I’m so glad people say yes to the invitation to come. Fellowship like this is rich.

Later that afternoon, Matt and I sent the kids to the basement to watch a movie with Elias and Malorie while we gathered with three other couples to be sharpened by our Community Group.

By the end of the day, I am filled with joy – and also tapped out when it comes to cooking. So it’s becoming a tradition to bake Frozen Pizzas to enjoy for dinner on Sunday nights.

That evening, I walked into the living room to catch these scene. It is extra sweet because Brayden has always struggled with reading. Here he is, slowly working his way through a book, as three of his siblings sit quietly listening. I was so encouraged to hear him reading, recognizing how far he’s come. :)

Monday morning we ate Oatmeal for breakfast and I got a head start on dinner for that night. Anna was very excited to help. So she added the ketchup to our Cheeseburger Casserole.

We had our second session of Family Therapy that night with a Christian therapy team coming into our home to help us as we set goals and work out strategies to calm our chaos. This process is so needed and good – and also so exhausting. I’m both encouraged and discouraged, if that makes any sense. The road ahead of us is long. And God is faithful.

We ate our early dinner of Cheeseburger Casserole, Peas, Corn, and Rolls before they came, then moved right into bedtime after they left.

For breakfast on Tuesday morning, I tried making an Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse idea I’d seen floating around. The ingredients were all very breakfast-friendly, so it felt like were eating a fun treat!

Some of us broke the rules and sat on the floor of the kitchen to eat. They were all being so sweet though…

Auggie had a Speech Therapy appointment that morning. Then, we went up the road for our monthly Sam’s stock up trip. He was not at all happy about Speech Therapy that morning. But at Sam’s, he was happy and singing!

I had picked up hamburger meat marked down at Sam’s, so when I got home and we got all the groceries put away, I browned five pounds to try and get ahead.

I refrigerated some of it and put the rest into a crock pot filled with Taco Soup for our dinner that night. After school, I picked up Brayden, Kiya, and Keith and we headed to our our weekly Food Distribution site.

We were able to hand out extra food that day to those who came through the line because the number of clients of very small due to the weather.

Blizzard-like conditions started heading our way, keeping people at home. We wrapped up early, then volunteers cleaned as fast as we could so we could get to our homes.

We ate our pot of Taco Soup for dinner along with Grapes (from Sam’s) and Strawberries (from Food Distribution that were about to go bad).

The kids packed their lunches for Wednesday before bed that night. Kiya made Tuna Salad for her lunch, and was very proud that she did it all almost entirely on her own. :)

Wednesday morning, we woke up to the news that school was canceled for that day. Kiya helped me make a pot of Warm Vanilla Soother to go with our breakfast.

We’d brought home buns and prepared eggs from Food Distribution the day before, so we put together two big bags full of Breakfast Sandwiches, freezing some and eating some that morning.

Brayden helped me fill a crock pot with The Easiest Chili for our dinner that night.

Then Kiya and Anna helped me make a large pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars for upcoming Sunday breakfasts.

This was actually a pretty hectic two hours, and that’s when I realized that it was only 9:03 am, ha. We still had an entire day to fill with a houseful of stir-crazy kids. We played music, we put together puzzles, and Kiya put make-up on everyone. By lunchtime, the wind had stopped blowing crazy and the sun came out. So we went outside and trampled on snow for a while.

Kelsey and Justus swung by and grabbed Brayden and Kiya for a Costco outing with them. That was a huge blessing for all! The rest of us put together a snowman craft at the table.

Eva dropped off Arrow and Josie was excited to have him all to herself for a while. :)

When Brayden and Kiya got home, they joined the others to make snowmen.

Keith had been talking about what he’d been learning in Unit Studies. So I found a couple of short videos on YouTube for him to share with his siblings so that they could learn too. ;) Then I kicked them all back outside because the temperatures kept going up and we needed to get our energy out.

I decided that this was a great day to teach Brayden and Kiya how to use the washer and dryer. They were so thrilled with this and took their jobs very seriously, completing one load each from start to finish.

For dinner, we enjoyed the Chili Brayden had made that morning, plus Fruit and Mini Corn Dogs.

I had a lot of milk on hand, so I made a large pot of Hot Cocoa to enjoy that evening.

We gathered in the living room to work on some of our Family Therapy homework, then made our way into the dining room for Hot Cocoa and prayer time before bed.

Little Sweetheart got to spend most of the day with us on Thursday. She was my afternoon kitchen helper and we got quite a bit done while she munched on Kix.

My goals were to prep ahead for our upcoming Sunday Lunch, plus use up extra milk we’d been given at Food Distribution that week. I had reached its expiration date and needed to be used. I made a pot of Warm Chocolate Soother for the kids to drink when they got home from school.

Sunday’s lunch was to be breakfast themed, so I made a huge pot of Sausage Gravy. I had this planned before I brought home the extra milk, so this worked out perfectly.

To use eggs or not to use eggs? That was my mental debate. I’d gotten them in bulk at Sam’s that week for just $4.80/dozen, which is a very low price compared to buying them anywhere else I’d seen. I decided to go ahead and make a big Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, but with some adjustments. I tripled this recipe, but only used 15 eggs and added some cottage cheese and extra cream. It looked great and I think it will work perfectly for our Sunday Lunch/Brunch.

Later for dinner, I made 18 Mini Hamburgers. I’d gotten the patties pre-made and marked down at Sam’s. The kids were excited about this, and Kiya made a Salad to go with our meal.

Friday morning, we got out Breakfast Sandwiches and  Peanut Butter Honey Puffs (different kids prefer one or the other). I also made another pot of Warm Chocolate Soother because the kids had loved it so much the day before.

Dinner that night was a Friday Night Finger Food meal. I’d been working all afternoon to get through some intense paperwork for evaluation and therapy needs for our kids – and I was emotionally drained.

Saturday mornings the kids get to watch a little bit of TV and eat cereal (not at the same time). This frees me to get a little bit of extra work done! I made a huge batch of Biscuits for our Sunday lunch, a double batch of Bran Muffins for a friend who loves these and has a surgery on Monday, plus a batch of Smoothie for Matt and me.

I didn’t measure the biscuit ingredients, I just went for a lot. 62 biscuits should be enough, I think?

Some friends had told us about a Glow Party at a church across town, specifically for special needs kids and their families. We met our friends there and had a great time all morning!

Kiya had in mind to make a Snack Tray for lunch, and today was the day. She made Tuna Salad for the tray, plus added crackers, pears, apples, cucumbers, and carrots. We had leftover Quesadillas in the fridge so we warmed those up to add also.

Justus and Kelsey came over after lunch and traded Little Sweetheart for Brayden, Kiya, and Keith – plus our big van so they could pick up furniture. We played, we cleaned, and we got ready for our Sabbath rest.

And that was our week!

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Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse

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Wait until you try this Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse!

All it takes to make this Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse is four ingredients and a blender. Plus maybe five minutes of your time.

I decided that this is a perfect breakfast for our family, and none of my kids are arguing about it. When the ingredients consist of cottage cheese, honey, cocoa, and vanilla – why wouldn’t we declare it to be a great breakfast?!

Easy Chocolate Protein MousseYum

Chocolate Protein Mousse
 
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Author:
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 3 cups 4% milk fat cottage cheese
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
  1. Blend ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Serve!

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025 post!

Before I launch into this week’s Food and Fun, I’ll backtrack to share the tail end of last week. :)

Our family all gathered on Saturday evening to celebrate Justus’ birthday (a week late, thanks to illnesses). Justus requested Italian Cream Cheese Chicken and Butterscotch Bars and we were all excited about this meal!

There were 19 of us, and the meal was simple and good.

Being altogether was the best.

And that was our Saturday evening!

Big Family Food and Fun: February 23-March 1, 2025

We enjoyed our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars on Sunday morning before church.

Last week, I had made a big pan full of Taco Rice Skillet, so I rewarmed it at a low oven temp for our Sunday Lunch gathering. I also warmed White Queso in my smallest crock pot, cooked Corn on the stove, plus got out tortillas, chips, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Friends who joined us that day brought Shredded Pork and Fresh Fruit. It was such a delicious feast!

HAVE I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE SUNDAY LUNCHES?? (I love Sunday Lunches.)

There were 29 of us gathered to share our meal and share life together.

After such frigid days, we were all so invigorated by sunshine and warmer temps. All of our kids played outside (and got muddy but we didn’t care). It was so sweet to see the kids enjoying their time together. Meanwhile, we grown-ups got to encourage and support each other as we visited inside.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time later that afternoon (a small group of us who meet regularly to focus on what scripture says about Jesus’ life and how we can be more like Him). Elias and Malorie watched a movie with our kids during that time so that we could have uninterrupted adult sharpening time.

I baked four Frozen Pizzas for dinner that night for an easy way to end our full day.

Malorie came into the kitchen that evening to conduct some experiments for her online college classes. A small crowd gathered to participate.

Oh wait. A large crowd gathered. I’m not sure what Malorie would have done had she not had all this help to collect her data.

Monday was a very big day for our family. I had to get out the door early with Auggie, so I served a simple breakfast of Yogurt, Granola, and Berries for Parfaits before school.

An Auggie Update

Auggie and I drove to Omaha that morning for a follow-up visit to Children’s Developmental Pediatrics. This boy has gone to specialist after specialist during his two years of life as we seek answers and help to better meet his extra needs. Children’s Hospital has been everything wonderful for us, referring us to every doctor we’ve needed and never giving up or brushing off our concerns.

They’ve given him Feeding Therapy so that he could learn to eat. They’re giving him Speech Therapy so that he can learn to talk. And on this day, after yet another very thorough appointment, the Developmental Pediatrics team finally landed on a diagnosis for him: Autism Spectrum Disorder with Global Developmental Delay.

Yes, I cried when the doctor said the words. But they were tears of relief to finally have answers. We need this so that we can move forward to get more of the help he needs!

What a big, big morning for this precious little boy.

The day wasn’t over yet.

Matt and I spend the afternoon processing Auggie’s appointment and diagnosis and talking through next steps. We also worked on preparing for our evening. God had led us to a Christian Therapy Team – an answer to SO MANY PRAYERS as we’ve sought help for our kids. Monday night they were to come into our home for the first time to meet everyone and as we launch into participating in their Family Mending program.

To make this happen, I had dinner ready at 4:30 that afternoon: Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans. We tried to get everyone fed and into the living room by therapy time at 5:45.

Emotions were running HIGH for our kids that night – and they all either acted super squirrely or super naughty during our meeting. We actually appreciated that the therapy team could see some of their behaviors – because so often, our kids mask their true needs/struggles around others.

This night was just the beginning of many hours of therapy, homework, and guidance from the Therapy Team. I’ll share more as I learn more. It’s all a lot to process, but we welcome it so that we can help our family be all that God has planned for us to be.

Bedtime Snack

Somewhere in the afternoon, I’d taken several bruised apples (thanks to a kid who dropped an entire bag of them) and turned them into Applesauce Bread. We sliced a loaf to eat after the therapist team left, and tried to get all the hyped up kids calmed down for sleep that night. Phew, what a day.

Tuesday morning, I sliced the remaining loaf of Applesauce Bread for breakfast, plus got out Bagels for those who wanted that instead. I scrambled a dozen eggs and rationed them so everyone could have some.

Meanwhile, Anna was propping clementines into the small space between the countertop and the cabinet. ;)

Auggie and I headed off to Speech Therapy that morning. He was less cooperative than he typically is – likely because he was wary after his big Developmental Pediatric appointment the day before? By the end of the session, he’d finally warmed back up to spending time with Miss Marissa.

Little Sweetheart had joined the crew at home with Matt so when Auggie and I got home, I grabbed her up. She enjoyed many little bites of Lolli’s Applesauce Bread. :)

If Auggie could vacuum all day (and turn the switch on and off over and over), he’d be pretty pleased.

My niece was driving through Lincoln that afternoon on her way home from visiting family. She stopped by so we could meet her sweet new baby.

Eva and Arrow stopped by to say hi also. We got some cousin pictures, but my favorite, by far, is this one in which Arrow decided to try and take a bite out of his cousin to see if he was as sweet as he appeared to be.

Aww, here’s Pop having some Arrow playtime.

After school, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution site. There was a lot of food to hand out that day and a huge crowd that went through the line. The kids did great!

Back at home, Matt had fed the kids an entire pan of Burritos that I’d made with Sunday’s leftovers. He was working on this second pan of remaining pan of rice/meat mixture as we continued to put burritos together to feed kids. This meal was a hit, for sure!

We’d brought home several packages of buns from Tuesday’s Food Distribution, plus a very big and exciting bonus: EGGS. At the end of the evening after we’d handed out food to over 100 families, no one had taken a bag of pre-cooked eggs that had been donated by a restaurant. (Items are set on tables and clients can choose from a variety that we set out. The cooked/frozen eggs didn’t look very appetizing, I guess?)

We were blessed to bring them home, so on Wednesday morning, I set out the buns with the eggs along with sausage patties, ham, and cheese so everyone could build a Breakfast Sandwich.

Then, I used what was leftover to put together more Breakfast Sandwiches for the fridge and freezer for grab-and-go breakfasts. I was so shocked by how many eggs were in that bag! I got 22 sandwiches prepped for our freezer!

My friend, Charlene, came to visit that afternoon and we had a wonderful time catching up! That evening after homework, Brayden wanted to help make dinner. He cooked hamburger meat and added sauce. Then he put together two bags of salad.

I boiled noodles and warmed up leftover corn. Then we enjoyed a Spaghetti Dinner.

We all headed out for a short walk around the neighborhood so that we could take advantage of the nice weather before it got dark. Afterward, we came in and worked on our Family Therapy Homework. Our assignment/goal this week is to work together to establish Family Expectations (rules) so that everyone is on the same page and very clear on what behaviors are accepted. We are couching all of it in scripture so that we can emphasize that all we do is a reflection of Jesus’ love for us.

Thursday morning, I put a Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast with Carrots into the crock pot to slow cook all day.

I had a lot of fresh greens in the fridge, so I made a batch of Chocolate Cupcakes with Spinach, using 1/3 pound of spinach – which is a lot. Can you see how these are tinted green before they are baked?

But after they are baked, they look like regular chocolate cupcakes!

Mid-morning, we took the four littlest kids to a Sensory Storytime at a bookstore.

Eva and Arrow met us there, and Auggie went straight over for a hug.

The rest of the kids followed him to gather around one of their dear sisters-in-law and their favorite nephew. :)

When we got home, I made a double batch of Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies for our breakfast the next morning.

That afternoon, I spent time with Little Sweetheart while putting together an activity to help us continue to work through our Family Therapy Homework. Matt and I decided that a theme verse for the basis of the “Family Expectations” page that our therapist team asked us to put together is 1 John 3:16. If we can all recognize how much our Father loves us, we will move forward in love for others. I created this simple poster plus wrote the word LOVED on cards for the kids to put together as we met together that night.

Then, I cut the poster into puzzle pieces so that even the littlest kids could participate in our discussion time.

When the kids got home from school and finished homework, we enjoyed our Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast and Carrots. I buttered and toasted some rolls to help fill the kids’ bellies.

Later, we sat in the living room, talking through our L-O-V-E-D cards, which had scriptures to go with each letter. This was a loud event, not one that was calm and precious like one would hope. But it went as well as it could go, I think, with this many high need kids of such young ages. Brayden, Kiya, and Keith are at least catching on to what we are trying to teach.

Friday morning, we finally got to eat the Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies I’d made. The kids were so glad to finally dig into them!

After the elementary kids headed off to school, I spent time in the kitchen prepping ahead. I made a huge Lasagna plus a regular-sized one for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Meanwhile, I baked 14 pans worth of bacon to finish off a box I had in the fridge. Now we have lots of prepped bacon in the fridge for breakfasts or sandwiches.

Matt had taken most of the littles outside for a walk while I finished my work in the kitchen. Then Anna and I (plus Little Sweetheart, who had been dropped off somewhere in there) headed out to join them.

I took the girls inside to fix their hair before the preschool bus came for them. I asked Acacia to watch Little Sweetheart and keep her safe while I fixed Josie’s hair. Acacia took her job very seriously.

That afternoon, I headed out and got a haircut – which felt like a lovely treat. Then I went to Panera to have some quiet, alone work time. See those wrappers on the table? Yes, indeed, I had packed a couple of special chocolates in my computer bag to enjoy with my coffee.

Eva texted that day to share that she needed to use up some potatoes and cream, so she’d made a pot of this Potato Soup. YUM. I’ve been making this version of Ham and Potato Soup all winter, and kind of forgot about my original Potato Soup recipe. Now I’m hungry for the original and need to make it before the weather gets too warm…

I’m so thankful the moments of quiet I was able to snag that afternoon, because as soon as 4:00 hit, it was incredibly intense for Matt and me as we managed the evening. Two of our kids had appointments with their therapist right after school (this was good, but also a lot for them as they processed some hard memories throughout the rest of the night). Meanwhile, everyone was hungry at 4:30. Auggie had a very scream-y day/evening and we couldn’t figure out why. The three little girls were exhausted from their week and couldn’t regulate their emotions. Dinner, simple as it was, felt chaotic. (We made Orange Chicken with Sliced Pears and a Salad.)

To end our evening, we attempted to continue with our Family Therapy Homework. We reviewed our L-O-V-E-D cards, reminding them about how much God loves them and delights in them. Then we worked together to put together the scripture puzzle I’d created the day before. We practiced learning 1 John 3:16, reminding them that because they are so loved, they can live confidently in that love and therefore, love others – in our home and out of our home.

Saturday morning we ate Cereal for breakfast, plus I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs.

We took the kids to Library Sensory Storytime where they got to listen, play, sing, and dance.

We got back home to enjoy a crowd of Malachi’s friends who were gathering to spend the weekend together. These buys have been friends since they were all little boys. :)

Thanks, Allan, for being such a good sport and reading a book to Malachi’s little sister. :)

Lunch that day was an assortment of random leftovers. But I also made a big package of hotdogs to stretch our meal since we had several extra guys joining us.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning, giving kids their baths, and getting our home ready for our time of Sabbath rest. I’ll share more about our Saturday next week!

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