Heavenly Homemakers

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Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024

Last Saturday evening, we pulled out our special candles (the battery operated kind that doesn’t involve actual fire) to kick off our Sabbath. We try to use our meal time to teach our kids more scripture and more about God’s love for them.

We ate Chicken Nuggets, Fries, and had special Coconut Cakes that a friend had made. Mealtime, in general, at our house is loud and hectic. Per their usual, the kids didn’t get the memo this week again that Sabbath is supposed to be restful and a time of delight. :/ BUT, we’re going to keep doing this anyway because it’s important to us to set aside this 24-hours to have a work-free mindset and to try and engage with our kids and our community in a different way.

Church on Sunday was wonderful and Spirit-filled. After worship, our kids got to participate in a ministry that was so good for them. A few weeks prior, we’d grabbed some Gift Tags that allowed us to purchase gifts for kids in Lincoln who may not otherwise have anything under their trees. Matt and I pulled enough tags for each of our kids to pick a toy for another child their age. We shopped with them individually online so they could pick their gift. Then this Sunday, they got to hand off their gift to the people facilitating this ministry.

The kids were so proud of the gift they’d chosen and loved handing it over. We have a lot of chaos and frustration with behaviors at our house. But THIS. Involving our kids in ways to serve like this shows that their hearts are loving and good. We will keep finding opportunities for them like this. It is a win.

There was a lunch meeting after church that day that most of our regular Sunday Lunch people were involved with. So we invited a different family that we had been looking forward to spending time with. Our meal was smaller and very simple: A pot of Chili with cheese, sour cream, and Fritos, Muffins, Carrots, and Grapes.

We set out the last of the Coconut Cakes from our friend and a plate of Christmas Spice Cookies for dessert.

There were 18 of us sharing our meal that day. It was lovely and peaceful.

The weather was unusually warm, so the kids played outside most of the afternoon.

Keith and Anna wanted to help me make Pizza that night for our dinner.

Keith was very proud to turn his pepperoni into a happy face.

I only had two crusts in the freezer, so I made a small dish of Crustless Pizza to go with the regular pizza. Brayden declared the crustless version to be the best pizza he’d ever eaten and begged me to please do this every time. :)

Monday was a catch-up day and also a get-ahead day. Our meals consisted entirely of leftovers as we pulled out and warmed up random items all day long as needed. Not cooking meals freed me to make a large Lasagna Casserole to eat Tuesday night before a music concert for Brayden and Kiya.

The girls helped me make a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Worth noting: Having all this “help” in my kitchen will be great some day. Meanwhile, this day it distracted me and I forgot to add the coconut oil I’d melted on the stove for these muffins. They still tasted ok, but were a bit crumbly. Meh.

That evening, since we just had leftover tidbits, Anna helped everyone choose a (low fat) muffin, ha, to round out our meal.

Malachi came over for a while that evening!

Every once in a while, Elias and Malorie take both Brayden and Kiya out on Mondays for some Big Bro Big Sis time. This is very good for them! A local restaurant offers half-price kids meals on Mondays so that was their destination. The restaurant was packed that night so they brought their food home to eat.

Tuesday mornings, I leave early to take Auggie to Speech Therapy. I scrambled 12 eggs before I left and the kids ate them with Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. Malorie helped Matt get the other kids to school.

The rest of the day was spent playing, caring for Little Sweetheart, and getting Brayden and Kiya ready for their school concert that night. I baked the Lasagna Casserole for a very early dinner and warmed up leftover green beans, two cans of corn, sliced pears, and made a salad.

We got everyone out the door to enjoy Brayden singing and playing his ukulele on stage.

Then, both Brayden and Kiya sang fun songs together with their friends. It was an awesome evening, with all of our older kids making the effort to be there and support. I wasn’t able to get a picture, but there 20 of us in the fan club. I’m so thankful for our Bigs and how they love the Littles.

Wednesday morning, we ate yogurt and granola for breakfast. I asked Kiya to help me get out the granola options, and as I shared last week, her personality was shining as she got everything set out just so. :)

After we got the elementary kids off to school, we loaded up the other four and headed to Walmart and Aldi for groceries.

Back at home, I made a double recipe of Breakfast Cookies into Bars. I really like having these in the freezer to pull out on Sunday mornings for an effortless breakfast.

Arrow spent the afternoon with us. This was Keith’s reaction when he got home from school and realized that Arrow was hanging out in the kitchen with us.

I got out raspberries to go with our dinner – and the girls discovered them as soon as they got off the school bus. At dinnertime, here’s what I had left to offer. :)

I made a big Taco Bar for dinner with Crusted Tilapia (from Costco) and Seasoned Beef. I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to help stretch the meal, plus we had shredded cheese, queso, salsa, cilantro, lettuce, black beans, tortillas, and chips.

After we all ate our fill, I took all the tidbits of leftovers and stirred them together into a Burrito Casserole for a future meal.

Thursday morning, we warmed up some bags of Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d made last week and frozen. This photo doesn’t look like much, just the tail end of some bags of Breakfast Sandwiches, plus oranges and the Salad Matt and I drink every day. :) Mornings are so fancy around here.

Throughout the day, I worked on putting together a triple batch of Spicy Ham and Potato Soup to rewarm for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. It has hard for me not to dip into it because this is my favorite soup. Or maybe this one is. Meh, I love both!

Brayden had another music concert that night – this time for band. We ate an early dinner again of two Rotisserie Chickens (that I’d picked up marked down to just $2.02 at Walmart the day before!) with Mashed Potatoes (instant from Azure Standard), Fried Zucchini, and Stuffing.

These kids just began learning instruments so we were proud of what they’ve learned so far.

Malorie and Elias helped us hold down a row full of restless kids throughout the concert. Thank goodness I’d packed snacks (for the kids, not for M and E). ;)

We got home and rewarded everyone (especially the adults who had survived the second concert of the week managing a row full of littles) with a piece of fudge before bed. Keith had helped me make it that morning and he was proud!

Friday morning the kids ate cold cereal for breakfast. I made a pan of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars to have on hand for easy snacks.

I’ve been needing to give this fella a hair cut but it’s hard to find the time (and honestly, the motivation). He has curls when we get his hair wet, but then it turns to this after playing and putting on hats to go outside. I attempted to take a “before” picture and he refused to smile for me, making for a perfect “please cut my hair because I am pitiful” photo. :)

While he sat at the kitchen counter, I cut off about an inch of hair. He is never impressed with hair cuts, and this time was no exception. But look how sweet!! And how grown up he looks.

I wrapped some presents that afternoon – one of my favorite parts of holiday prep!

For dinner that night, I boiled a pound of noodles and warmed up leftovers from Thursday’s rotisserie chicken. Typically I make homemade Alfredo Sauce but this time I just opened a jar of sauce from Aldi. We had all of this with Steamed Broccoli. Then we put on pajamas and headed to Heartlands church for a Christmas Movie Night for the kids.

The older kids watched the Muppets movie in one room.

And the younger kids watched The Grinch in another room. Everyone enjoyed popcorn and mix-ins. The kids loved this!

Saturday morning was pretty chill as we let the kids watch some Christmas shows while I got some work done in the kitchen. I mixed up a quadruple batch of Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies so that we could work on them together throughout the morning.

Reminder if you’re making cookies with kids: DO IT LIKE THIS. Unless you love Christmas cookie stress, of course.

I also made a big batch of Pancake Sausage Muffins to help us through the next week as we finish up getting ready for Christmas. We make lots of Breakfast Sandwiches to make early mornings easier for adults when they head to work. So I thought maybe Pancake Sausage Muffins would be a nice change of pace. Also, at this time, Kiya baked a cake for our Sunday lunch. She’d gotten the mix for her birthday and was excited to use it.

I have no idea what I did wrong on with the Pancake Sausage Muffins, but they did not rise. Did I forget the baking powder? We’ll never know. Either way, they taste fine and I packaged them up for easy breakfasts.

Then I brought the kids in a few at a time to roll and cut out Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies. First the girls.

Then the boys.

Phew! Got ’em done! (We’ll decorate another day.)

After the kitchen got cleaned up, we made some Christmas crafts at our living room table.

We cleaned out the fridge to eat leftovers for lunch. Then we spent the rest of the day watching a Christmas movie, picking up the house, and getting ready to move into our time of Sabbath rest.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 26-June 1, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 26-June 1, 2024 post!

Here are a couple of photos that I didn’t have ready to share yet last week. As we wrapped up our Saturday, I gave myself a night off and made Orange Chicken from Costco, Cilantro Rice, and Steamed Broccoli.

After dinner I surprised the kids with Ice Cream Cones. This was super fun for them and I loved that serving their ice cream in cones meant that I didn’t have extra spoons or bowls to wash. ;)

And now on to the new week…

Big Family Food and Fun: May 26-June 1, 2024

Keith had his final soccer game of the season after church, so once again, I packed a lunch for us to eat between church and soccer so we wouldn’t have to drive all the way home and then all the way back across town.

I packed Salami, Guacamole and Chips, Strawberries, Cheese and Crackers, Veggies, and Hidden-Spinach Cupcakes.

After church and lunch, we headed out to Keith’s final game of the season. Elias had gone to Texas to spend time with Malorie’s family, but thankfully Malachi was back in town (he travels a lot for his work) so he could coach the game.

Justus and Kelsey left for a trip that day and we were given the privilege of caring for their Little Sweetheart while they were gone. Lots of church friends had signed up to come help us since we’d have an extra baby for several days. So Sunday evening was a delight as we got to know our friend Hannah better. And just look at Beautiful Eva and her sweet baby bump. We’ll get to meet that little one soon! Also in this photo is Angela, one of our wonderful housemates. :)

For dinner that night, I stirred together and warmed up all the leftovers from Elias and Brayden’s Pasta Meal from last week. We ate it with salad (made by Kiya), corn, watermelon, and berries.

Monday morning, Asa and Eva came over for a while.

Late morning, we put together sub sandwiches for our lunch. Then we headed out to join church friends at Atlas where they had plans to hand out lunches and serve cold lemonade to people in the neighborhood. We were excited to check out this ministry!

Our crew arrived with wagon and stroller and got to learn how Atlas works. We are thankful to learn more about the opportunities to serve in our city.

Later that afternoon I put water in a pool and took a variety of measuring cups and containers outside. Brayden, Kiya, and I then enjoyed a lesson on measuring based on a fun activity detailed in our Summer School at Home Toolbox. What better way to learn about measuring on a warm day?!

Acacia came out and joined the fun too. :)

I had set out a container of cream cheese to soften so late afternoon I blended up this Easy Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip recipe to have in the fridge.

The Case Family came over to help us with all the kids and Little Sweetheart. Since it was Memorial Day we decided to enjoy a big meal together. Matt and I had tag-teamed on smoking a Pork Loin and I made Baked Beans, Mixed Veggies, Buttered Rolls, and cut up a Watermelon. The Cases brought a tasty Pasta Salad to go with our meal.

We are so thankful for dear friends!

Tuesday morning we warmed up Breakfast Sandwiches I’d premade and put into the freezer.

Our friend Jess came over to help us with the baby and our kids that morning. At one point I walked into the living room to find a bunch of them piled on her watching videos about foxes. :)

Late morning we all grabbed apples and headed out for a walk to Sunken Gardens.

We were hot and hungry when we got back so I got out the Easy Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip I’d made the day before and we ate it with veggies and chips.

That afternoon, the Cases came back over to help with kids while I took Brayden and Kiya to serve at Food Distribution. As I was leaving, Christina had the three little girls engaged in cutting veggies for dinner. :)

Our Food Distribution coordinator texted me last minute to see if any of our adult kids might be available to come help because they were short-handed. Malachi to the rescue! He worked alongside Brayden (or rather Brayden worked alongside Malachi) ;) to clean up coolers as food was handed out.

We arrived back home to a full Taco Dinner made and ready. Christina had put it all together while we were gone and had even fed three of the littles!

We had birthday cake outside after dinner to celebrate one of the Case kids.

Wednesday morning the Perez family came to help out with Little Sweetheart.

We went outside mid-morning and worked together on a project from the Summer School at Home Service Suggestions file. Only one flower pot broke, so I’d consider this a success. ;)

Kiya drew animal faces on most of the kids with her make-up. I took cheese and fruit out for a snack on the porch.

Then we gathered lots of non-perishable food from our pantry and loaded it into backpacks. We headed out for a walk together to distribute the food into some of the Little Free Pantry boxes around our neighborhood.

The kids LOVED unloading their groceries into these boxes as we talked to them about how people could come help themselves to the food as the needed to!

Back at home, we pulled out pasta leftovers from Sunday and Monday plus sandwich fixings.

That afternoon we set up a Twister Water Game in our yard and the kids had a great time running through it!

All this outdoor play and long walks are making our kids HUNGRY. For dinner, I made Sloppy Joes and took them outside on a tray for the kids to eat (my cheater way of avoiding dirty plates). The joes were almost all gone before I remembered to take a picture. I had to cut Brayden off at three Sloppy Joes because he’d been playing so hard and was so hungry!

To end our day, we walked to our nearest library to get our kids signed up for the Lincoln Library Summer Reading Program.

Thursday morning I made a quick batch of Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eaters and we ate every single one.

We had made plans to go to the zoo with the Perez family that morning, so I gathered lunch and snack items for us to eat there. I made Tuna Salad for us to eat with croissants or crackers plus packed applesauce, pears, peach cups, cucumbers and cookies.

All the kids were hungry the moment we arrived (at 10:35) so the bag of pears was gone before we made it through the gate!

I didn’t get many photos of our time at the zoo because we were too busy enjoying our friends. But I did get a few at the Butterfly Pavilion. It is only open between Memorial Day and Labor day so this was our first time in this season and we were EXCITED.

They have little q-tips with nectar that everyone can pick up to try and attract a butterfly to “hold.” This is so much fun for everyone!

As we headed back to our van after our visit, the peacock met us to say goodbye.

It rained that afternoon so we spent time reading so we could keep on learning this summer add links to our Summer Reading Book Worm. :)

Keith spent some time putting together his fire truck puzzle.

And it was a tough job, but I did a lot of baby snuggling all afternoon… :) :) :)

For dinner, Brayden helped me make four pizzas and Kiya made a salad.

Our friend Maggie and her daughter came over to lend a hand with the baby that evening so we had fun visiting and playing after dinner.

Friday morning Keith helped me make a bunch of Peanut Butter Honey Sandwiches to take to the park.

The Perez family joined us to help again so we played for a long time and ate at one of our favorite parks.

That evening we had “French Fry Friday” with a super fancy dinner of Chicken Nuggets, Sweet Potato Fries, and Fruit. Our friends Heather and Delaney came over to help with the baby, and I realized after they left that I didn’t get any photos of their time with us. :/

Saturday morning, our housemate Angela offered to make Pancakes for our family!

Our neighborhood was hosting yard sales so we walked around for several blocks to try and meet more of our neighbors.

Then we loaded up and went to a park to meet up with the Case family for a music festival.

I packed a snacky lunch so we could play at the park with friends longer: Chips and Guacamole, Cheese and Crackers, Applesauce, Pistachios, Juice, and Yogurt.

When we got home some of the kids were excited to help our neighbor, John, plant more flowers in his yard.

This is a photo John took a few weeks ago when we went over to “help.” He’s been so good to teach the kids about different kinds of flowers and plants.

We had leftovers for dinner, and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024

Our week started off with a precious time of worship with our Lincoln church family. For years now, I have had a difficult time getting through worship without tears. I feel so grateful and humbled by a Savior who knows our needs and cares enough to meet them. This Sunday was especially sweet as I held Justus and Kelsey’s foster babe and saw so many others loving on my babies.

How we all need each other. How we must all be in community. I’ve always known this but while constantly caring for so many special needs kids who struggle to understand their worth – seeing our village love them with us is so touching and precious to me. I was able to capture just a few moments throughout the morning. Acacia spotted her dear Kathi and stood with her to sing.

Josie claimed her spot with Malorie who was here from Texas to visit Elias (and the rest of us, ha!) for a few days.

Acacia made her way over to Elias and spent the rest of her auditorium time with him before she headed to the nursery for Toddler Time. Meanwhile, Brayden was getting loved up on by Kelsey (I wasn’t able to get a photo). I’m so thankful for our village. It is huge and needed. God is faithful.

After church, we headed to a park for a drizzly Picnic with Pals organized by Mandy, our Kids Minister.

Keith had a soccer game but this time we decided to send him off with Elias and Malorie while we took the other kids home for rest time. I had a migraine and went to rest myself. When I came downstairs, I found Matt playing a game at the table with Brayden, Kiya, and Keith. Very sweet!

One of our housemates helped prepare Tortelloni with sauce which we all ate very quickly so that we could head off to a graduation celebration with friends.

Just as we arrived at the party, we were greeted with thunder, lightening, and heavy rain. The party moved inside and the hostess pulled out a fabulous dollhouse for our kids to enjoy. We ended up staying much longer than anticipated because the kids settled in and had such a calm time of play. This meant that we adults got to enjoy a great visit – praise God!

Monday morning I pulled this Pork Roast from the fridge that I’d been thawing. Look at the crazy sale price I got on this! Such a blessing.

I discovered that apparently 8.4 pounds of pork roast is too big for the biggest of crock pots. So I transferred it to my electric roasting pan to slow cook all day. Then I had the kids take turns scrubbing potatoes to cook in a crock pot all day for mashed potatoes that night.

I had several bananas turning black so Anna and Kiya helped me turn them into Banana Bread.

Matt went to York to work for the day, Elias was at work (he’s a special ed para now) so Malorie was my side kick for the day. Is she Elias’ girlfriend? Is she my friend? Is she one of our little kids’ favorite person? The answer is yes. :)

Malorie hadn’t been to “our zoo” (we think we own the place) and we have a Plus One included in our membership. So we loaded up the five littlest kids and headed there, mainly so we could dig in the huge sandbox that morning.

On the way to the sand, we needed to see if our wingspan was as long as an eagle…

I’m not sure what the girls were doing here but wow am I glad I captured their silliness!

Ah. We made it to the sand.

I had grabbed yogurt squeezies, raisins, and graham crackers plus a jar of peanut butter to spread on. They got out of the sand and snacked before we headed back to the van so we’d make it home in time for the preschool bus.

We got some sweet rest that afternoon, then Acacia and Josie and I loaded up to walk to school to pick up Brayden and Kiya.

It was a hot one that day, so cold watermelon tasted extra good when we got home.

Keith was very happy to help me make salad to go with our dinner.

We had Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Caesar Salad, and Buttered Rolls.

Tuesday morning I used two loaves of Cinnamon Bread to make French Toast.

We were privileged to babysit Justus and Kelsey’s Little Sweetheart for a few hours. It had been raining a lot so while the kids wanted to play outside, we didn’t want them to get muddy. Once the rain let up, we loaded them up for a walk – four in our wagon/stroller and two in the double stroller. It worked great and we had a nice long walk through our neighborhood.

That afternoon, I made a double recipe of Creamy Bacon Spaghetti and put it into a crock pot on the “keep warm” setting for our dinner. I planned to pick Brayden and Kiya up from school and head straight over to hand out food to the community at our Food Distribution site. So my goal is to always have dinner ready for everyone before leaving at 3:30 on Tuesdays. I made a pot of green beans also, but didn’t get a photo.

There was an extra big crowd at Food Distribution that day (I wasn’t able to get photos) so we handed food out to well over 100 people. All of this food is donated by grocery stores and restaurants in an effort to avoid food waste. We love this!

Back at home, Elias, Malorie, and Matt had held down the fort. I had been dealing with some “special behaviors” with one of our kids who had gotten triggered by something at Food Distribution so Matt took over with that one. Then I turned right around and got to deal with some behaviors with the other one now that we were home. God is faithful and we continually ask for wisdom as we parent these kids.

Just before bed, I asked Anna and Acacia to help me put some cans of sparkling water into our living room mini fridge and they were very excited to help! (This fridge is usually off limits to them as we keep it full of drinks for guests and the grown-ups in the house. Every once in a while we let the littles pick something special to take to drink for an outing and it is the best thing ever.) :)

Wednesday morning Malorie and I took the five littlest kids to a Music and Movement Library Story Time. We always get excited when we get to dance to music with scarves!

Look who can stand up on his own now! He has been doing this for weeks now, but so far still hasn’t taken steps. He progresses slowly, but he does progress. He’s pretty proud of his standing skills, as he should be. :)

Josie was feeling shy around the big crowd of kids that morning so Malorie took her to the back of the room so she could still enjoy the music and fun.

We got home in time for a case worker visit. After that, we played outside for a while we waited for the bus to come. This kid was high up in a tree before I knew it. There’s never a dull moment with Keith.

It was Keith and Anna’s last day of preschool. The teachers had a water day planned so the kids got to wear their swim suits under their clothes. This was VERY exciting.

The kids’ bus drivers have grown pretty attached to the clan throughout this year. They came bearing gifts at pick up time today.

I had baked a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars the day before so when I had a free minute, I cut them, bagged them, and put them into the freezer to have on hand as needed during the next few weeks.

Keith brought home a gift from one of his bus drivers: a tiny wooden airplane kit with five thousand tiny parts. He was so excited to put it together. Notice Elias’ “you’ve got to be kidding me” face when he saw the impossible task before him. :) :) :) Needless to say, the plane never made it off the ground.

Back in the kitchen (my comfort zone, where I know how to put things together and there are no tiny parts with vague instructions) – Acacia put together a salad to go with our dinner. Josie helped by dumping bacon bits onto the floor under her stool.

With our salad, we had a big batch of Lazy Dogs with pickles and carrots.

We played outside most of the evening. At one point, Keith grabbed a sweet pepper from the counter and started eating it like an apple. Who was I to stop him?

Ms. Kathi had given us a bunch of “Hens and Chicks” from her garden for us to attempt to transplant into our yard. I told her that I keep kids alive, not plants. But she declared that we could give it a try and if they didn’t survive (the plants, not the kids) so be it. So the kids had fun planting them all over our yard.

Thursday was Brayden and Kiya’s last day of school for the year!

Matt and I spent the morning with the five littlest stocking up on groceries to kick off the first part of our summer break. First Aldi…

Then Costco.

I captured this sweet photo of Acacia loving on BabyBoy#11 as we unloaded carts into the van. I can’t stop looking at it:

When we got home and started to unload groceries, Keith found a stick/weapon/tool – which definitely did not help him to be more efficient in carrying in food. But it sure was fun.

Late afternoon, Elias and Brayden spent their Bro Time making dinner together for our family. Matt and I loaded the other six kids in strollers or bikes and walked to a nearby garden/park to get out of their way.

When we got home, our neighbors Coleman and Sarah were out so we stopped to visit with them for a while. I love the relationship we are forming and how they love our kids. :)

Back and home, Elias and Brayden had made a feast! Pasta, three kinds of sauce, meatballs, salad, garlic toast, and cookies.

Friday morning we jumped right in to our Summer School at Home fun. After breakfast we started reading Little House in the Big Woods. The littlest didn’t last long on my lap for this book, but Brayden, Kiya, and Keith LOVED it. And oh, so did I. :) :) :)

After we finished a chapter, I spread out different books at their reading levels for them to choose from. I explained how we’d be building Book Worms as we read and challenged them to see how long our Book Worm might be by the end of summer! (Find the specifics for this idea in the Reading Nook folder in the Summer School at Home Toolbox.)

We finished prepping for a morning outing then by packing a picnic (the Surprise Picnic – as described in the Summer School Cooking Corner Picnic in a Hat book). The kids LOVED THIS!!! I had printed Zoo Scavenger Hunt pages from the Summer School Investigation Station folder and we loaded up for a big zoo day with friends!!

Two families joined us at the zoo as we celebrated our first day of summer break together!

Brayden carried the big kids’ scavenger hunt paper and Keith was in charge of the little kids’ version. They had so much fun with this!

Sometimes at the zoo we just hit one or two areas. Today we did just about everything, spending four hours and having a blast. We got to feed the alpacas…

We all sat together and ate the lunches we’d packed.

We saw lots and lots of animals. We played in the sand. We got wet in the splash area. We fed the giraffes.

And we ended our zoo day by taking a train ride. As you can see, no one was excited about this…

We came home tired and satisfied. Of course, the transition from zoo to home caused several kids to melt down. This is typical for us. We have lots of fun at our outings but then we try to sabotage our day by acting out afterward. God is faithful. He will heal. We pray continually for patience and wisdom.

Three kids’ behavior struggles later, we settled some for a nap/rest time then turned on a show for the others. Matt held down the fort while I was blessed with a much-needed-very-good time with my therapist. I haven’t been able to do that for myself for quite a while – focusing more on kids’ therapy appointments instead. I’m thankful God provided this for me!

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Side Note: I thought it was funny that as we were loading up for home one of our kids asked, “Can we finally start our Summer School at Home now??” Ha! They hadn’t even realized that the morning read-aloud, the books they’d read on their own, the zoo trip, the picnic they’d helped pack, and the scavenger hunt WERE part of Summer School at Home! I guess they thought we’d be sitting at the table for hours all summer practicing math facts. Nope. Learning looks different at home! Summer School at Home is a party, man. :)

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Saturday’s breakfast was simple: Bagels and Strawberry Parfaits.

While the kids ate, I declared it to be Operation Refrigerator Clean-Out Day. We try really hard not to waste food and try to save money by using up what we have before we make more food. I had veggies getting wilt-y in the fridge so I decided to make Stir-Fry for the adults to eat with their breakfast. (The kids were welcome to it too, but shockingly, there were no takers, ha.) Then I used the last of a container of spinach to bake Chocolate Cupcakes.

 

This gave us a great start on eating up items from the fridge before they went bad. The rest of the day we ate more leftovers, got the lawn mowed, caught up on laundry, did some cleaning, and got ready to start a new week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 28-May 4, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 28-May 4, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 28-May 4, 2024

I had put together an Easy Bread Pudding the day before when I was making a big batch of Uncrustables so I baked it for our Sunday morning breakfast!

I packed lunch for us to eat after church with other families who were staying for a fun Sundaes on Sunday event! I had two loaves of bread worth of Uncrustables, four cans worth of Tuna Salad, and a batch of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip. Plus I packed grapes, chips, bread/buns, and sweet peppers.

Keith was supposed to have a soccer game mid-afternoon also, so I packed oranges for us to eat during the game and juice for the kids to drink on the way home.

Keith was prepared to fight a fire that morning but we packed his soccer gear just in hopes that his Fire Chief duties allowed him to play in his game. :)

During church, we got the inevitable “Your child’s game is canceled due to wet field conditions.” I think he’s had more cancelations than actual games at this point. But that did mean that we could stay longer at our church fellowship event.

Our awesome children’s minister had Sundae supplies set up after lunch for everyone!

Those oranges I cut up for the kids to eat during Keith’s (canceled) game? Not to worry – those got eaten right on our kitchen floor when we got home. BabyBoy#11 even got in on the action – sucking out some juice while his sisters gobbled down the fruit.

For about an hour that afternoon, I got all the kids involved in doing some much-needed house cleaning. Were they excited and did they have good attitudes about this? Not really. But did they learn some life skills and life lessons about working as a family team? Yes.

Keith had the privilege of running our steam mop, so he actually LOVED his job. The kitchen floor looked much better after he was finished!

I warmed up leftover pancakes and sausage for dinner that night. Then, our friends, the Bakers, came over to watch the seven littles for us. We grown-ups all loaded up at met up at a nearby church for a…

Rend Collective Concert!!!

This was a Christmas gift we gave our adult kids and we finally got to enjoy it together!

The entire night was full of powerful worship! While the entire group is extremely talented, we were all especially impressed with the fiddler. And look! We found the fiddler and got a photo with him during intermission!! :)

Ah, but you might not have noticed the fiddler in the above photo because Kelsey is holding a tiny babe. :) Indeed. Justus and Kelsey have recently started to foster this sweetheart. She is beyond precious. :)

Monday morning, I packed the BBQ Pork/Cheese Sandwiches I’d put together the week before plus some bags of chips to send with Matt as he headed to York. Malachi and some friends were meeting up at our old house to clean it out one last time before the new owners started to move in.

Elias and Malorie helped me with the kids all day while Matt was gone. I decided it was a piggy-tail day.

A piggy-tail-BUBBLE day.

I had a big meeting with our Case Worker, Casa, and Foster Care Support Person that morning. BabyBoy#11’s adoption is coming up soon and we got more paperwork completed!

That evening, I smoked 14 Brats and 24 Hotdogs for dinner. I threw out Pickles, Fruit Cups, and Chips plus warmed up leftover Baked Beans. We ate as fast as we could then headed out for Brayden’s Ukulele Concert at school.

I could not stop smiling while he performed. Music brings out the best in him, 100%, and I was praising God the entire time for giving Brayden this area of success. I didn’t get any pictures of his fan club, but there were 14 of us sitting in the crowd cheering him on. :)

Tuesday morning Keith took on the task of washing some dishes. These dishes got very, very clean and also very wet.

Meanwhile, in the living room…

Just before taking them to school, I had Brayden and Kiya come in to the kitchen to scrub potatoes for our dinner that night. I’m working very hard to train the kids to serve our family in various ways.

The day before I had discovered a Lilac Bush in our yard that I didn’t know existed. It reminds me of the lane leading up to  grandparent’s house and the scent took me back to my childhood. I’m so excited we have this! I put some lilacs into a vase and took it into our kitchen for us to enjoy!

Late afternoon, Acacia and Josie snacked on grapes outside at their picnic table.

Dinner that evening was leftover BBQ Chicken from Saturday night plus Crock Pot Baked Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli. I also warmed up leftover Corn from the fridge. I needed to be out the door by 5:00 because Keith had Kindergarten Roundup. So dinner was ready by 4:30 and we started feeding kids in shifts.

In an effort to divide and conquer, Matt stayed home with four kids and I took Keith, Anna, and BabyBoy#11 with me to the elementary school. Keith was very excited and has declared that he is already a kindergartener. :)

We got to meet the kindergarten teachers and Keith made a hat in what might be his classroom next year. Anna made one too, because, why not? And BabyBoy#11 ate some magnatiles. :)

It was still early evening when we got home and everyone was hungry again because we’d had such an early dinner. The snack this tired mom decided to provide for her hungry children? Spoon after spoon of Peanut Butter. It was easy and it filled their bellies!

Matt attempted to mow part of our lawn while the kids played before bedtime. Everything went fine until it was time for me to transition everyone into the house to get ready for bed. That’s when kids started to put grass clippings in each other’s hair and then they all rubbed fresh grass onto their hands, creating grass-stained hands. Things can, and often do, go from calm to crazy in the span of five seconds. But hey, the lawn looks nice and we all survived.

Wednesday morning I baked a batch of Bran Muffins. Notice how I didn’t get the cinnamon stirred in well? That actually ended up being a pretty tasty mistake. :)

Keith had been asking for Breakfast Cookies so late morning, he helped me make a double batch. Having muffins and breakfast cookies in our freezer is so helpful!

In the afternoon I bagged up the Muffins and Cookies for the freezer. I also baked several pans of Bacon to have on hand and to share.

I had the little girls help me crack 2+ dozen eggs, then I made two Breakfast Casseroles in an attempt to get ahead.

For dinner that night, we made a simple meals of Boiled Elbow Noodles, Spaghetti Sauce with Meat, and Steamed Broccoli. Brayden helped make most of this meal, taking big pride in already knowing how to do most of it. :)

Most of the littles prefer their noodles without sauce but with butter and cheese.

With so many littles to chase, it is very rare for us all to actually SIT an enjoy a meal. But here we are, sitting. For two minutes. We attempted to practice some Bible verses with the kids, which is something we like to do at meal time if we can possibly get everyone seated and quiet.

Thursday morning, Matt headed back to York to work. Elias has started a new job as a Special Ed Para (such a great fit for him!) so he got out the door early. Malachi had video work to do so we called our dear friend Christina to come help us this morning!

I captured this photo of the girls enjoying a rare moment of quiet coloring as the adults were trying to get out the door.

Meanwhile, Keith had gotten out string, scissors, glue, paper, and a hole punch to make…a mask?

His creativity was flowing so next he made a light saber!

Christina is the best with our kids! She helped make our morning go very smoothly. :)

For dinner that night, we stirred together Wednesday night’s leftovers and Elias topped it with cheese to bake.

I decided to go with paper boats that night so that I didn’t add extra dishes to our needs of the day.

And we ate outside so that the mess would fall to the ground! After playing more, we ate some fruit cups to refresh us before bedtime.

We had refrigerated Wednesday’s Egg Casseroles so Friday morning, I cut them and warmed some up for our breakfast. Then I put the remaining pieces into baggies, and then into freezer bags for easy packed lunches (adults) and easy breakfasts (everyone).

We ran to Sam’s that morning where I grabbed milk, fruit, and veggies.

But the real reason we went to Sam’s is because I’d been researching the best Wagon/Stroller for our outings and they had a great one! We wanted to pick it up and get it ready for the season. Of course, putting it together was a BIG EVENT when we got home and Daddy could not have done it without all of this great help. :)

We loaded up and took it for a test drive all the way to the kids’ school where they were having a special Walkathon outside that day.

It’s going to be great to have, but it was a bit heavy for me once we put 100+ pounds of children inside. :) At the zoo, soccer games, parks, and other events, it will be fabulous!

To celebrate our kids’ school’s Walkathon that evening, our closest community library hosted a gathering for the students. They had a scavenger hunt, activities, crafts and PIZZA.

BabyBoy#11 was all in for this event. ;)

It felt extra special to eat pizza inside the library.

But the best part of the night was interacting with people from our community. Many are still new to us and this was a great gift to be with them in this way.

Saturday morning we ate odds and ends to finish off Breakfast Cookies and Muffins.

Meanwhile, I cut up the great big watermelon I’d gotten at Sam’s the day before. (I spent just under $8 on this. Read here to learn why I think this is a GREAT PRICE.)

We got to go to our favorite Sensory Friendly Library Storytime that morning.

We came home and warmed up leftovers for lunch. I used leftover baked potatoes and bacon to make a skillet full of something similar to what is described here. Wow was it good! Brayden and Kiya helped warm up veggies.

In preparation for our Sunday lunch, I dumped two kinds of sauces on chicken to marinate. Later that evening I smoked the chicken. I planned to rewarm it and put it into crock pots Sunday morning to take to church for lunch since once again, Keith had a soccer game right after lunch (if it doesn’t get canceled).

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing outside, moving a new housemate into our third floor, and getting ready for Sunday.

Our neighbor, John, was planting more flowers into his gorgeous flower garden. He has been so gracious to teach our kids and let them help. This is big for any kid – but for our kids – the time, energy, and love he is pouring in has been beyond big. Brayden was out having Bro Time with Elias, BabyBoy#11 was napping, and the other five kids and I went across the street to plant flowers with John.

He talked us through how he does things, why he does them, and he let the kids do all the work. It was amazing. When we got back to our yard, our kids used their new skills to plant fake flowers in our dirt while I smoked the chicken I had marinated earlier.

I also mixed up two loaves worth of Stir-and-Pour Bread to go with our Sunday lunch chicken. I haven’t made bread in a very long time, and my intent was to pull kids inside to make it with me. But they were playing so well outside and having so much fun I just let them be. They can make bread with me 100 other times or more. :)

I realized I only had whole wheat pastry flour, which doesn’t work for yeast breads. So I used unbleached white flour and the bread turned out great. Truly, anyone can make this bread. It’s so easy and requires no kneading!

The smell of smoked chicken and freshly baked bread teased us as I saved it for our Sunday lunch and instead pulled out leftovers for our Saturday dinner. This was the last of the leftovers in our fridge and it felt so good to get them all cleaned out! I turned the remaining leftover noodles into Mac and Cheese by making a white sauce. Keith grated cheese for this project and was so proud. Then I cut up the leftover hotdogs I’d smoked earlier in the week and stirred them in. We ate it with peas and the kids gobbled it up!

We put a lot of dirty, tired kids into the bathtub, and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 7-13, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 7-13, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 7-13, 2024

We planned to stay after church on Sunday to enjoy a Focus Group meeting as our church family prayerfully considers our mission and vision and how to grow faithfully in the direction God wants us to grow. After the meeting, Keith had a soccer game. So we needed to pack a lunch, snacks, soccer gear, jackets, and oh yeah, don’t forget to pack the kids. :)

The day before, I had put together a 10″x15″ casserole dish full of  Simple Egg Casserole so that I could easily slide it into the oven to bake before leaving for church.

Once it came out of the oven, I cut it into 20 pieces and put it into a crock pot so we could plug it in at church to stay hot for our lunch.

This plan worked great and after church we ate our Casserole with Banana Muffins, Applesauce, and a couple of Pound Cakes we’d been given at last week’s Food Distribution.

Childcare was provided for us during our Focus Group meeting and the kids played hard with their friends. And what about Keith’s soccer game? Ugh. It had been rained out…again. Maybe, maybe he’ll have his first soccer game by the time his third scheduled game rolls around?!

We drove by his soccer field to at least show him where he’d be playing, then we headed home. Some of us couldn’t keep our eyes open.

Later that afternoon, our friend Paula dropped off school lunches for the week and Acacia used all her muscles to drag them into the pantry for me. :)

I made a simple dinner of Chicken Strips and Popcorn Chicken with Fries and Buttered Peas.

When I was cleaning the kitchen that evening and writing tomorrow’s menu on our white board, Anna wanted to practice writing her name. Look at what a great job she is doing!!

We assigned some clean up chores to the kids before bed. Keith used his skateboard to help pick up toys and drive them to the playroom for the night. :)

Monday morning our friend Caitlyn came over to help me all day so that Matt and Elias could go to York and work on a house we’re trying to finish and put on the market. She was amazing and the kids and I loved spending the day with her.

It was beautiful outside that day so we spent a lot of time playing in the fresh air and sunshine.

For dinner that night, I made Spaghetti with Sauce, Meatballs, and Green Beans.

This meal is a huge hit with all the kids. Pasta is one of my least favorites, but I will be making it more often because all the kids eat it very well. I like it when the kids eat well. ;)

Monday we finished off the Banana Muffins along with Scrambled Cheesy Eggs and Apples.

We had almost no fresh fruit or veggies in the house, plus BabyBoy#11 was getting low on his special Pediasure drinks. So after we got Brayden and Kiya off to school, we loaded up the other five and headed to the store to get some WIC items. (Side note, speaking of BabyBoy#11! On Monday I was able to get him to eat five tiny bites of a peach – a huge break through!)

Matt dropped Anna, Acacia, and me off at Walmart, then he took the other three kids to Great Clips so Keith could get a hair cut.

This handsome boy greeted us when we met back up after hair cut and shopping!

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution to help hand out food to people in the community.

I had made a big bowl of Tuna Salad beforehand. When we got home, I cut up two pounds of strawberries and whipped some cream. It was a super simple meal, but we all loved it.

Malachi surprised us by stopping over and he took kids outside to skateboard for a while. :)

Wednesday morning we had big plans to get Brayden and Kiya off to school, and then Matt, Elias, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 off to York. So we just pulled out cereal and fruit for breakfast.

Acacia and Josie were so excited to spend the day at their beloved Emma’s house that when I told them to load up they RAN to the door!

That left just Anna, Keith, and me for the morning. We read some books then Keith had a therapy appointment.

Before the bus arrived, Keith wanted an apple and was excited to try cutting it himself with the special apple cutter.

I had three and a half glorious hours of quiet that afternoon while everyone was away. Thank you, God, for providing what we need!

Once Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Anna were all home from school we played outside while I grilled burgers for dinner. Brayden practiced his ukulele and everyone enjoyed the concert. :)

Friends were coming over for dinner that night so to go with our Burgers I made Baked Beans and Stir Fry.

When I brought the burgers in from the smoker, I put them into a crock pot to keep them warm.

I cut up 2-pounds of strawberries and whipped some cream to go with two pound cakes for dessert.

Thursday morning I used the leftover hamburger buns to make Breakfast Sandwiches. I cheated and cooked browned sausage right in the eggs and cheese. This worked great for the sandwiches!

I was hoping to get ahead a little bit that morning so I made a double batch of Bran Muffins, made Stick of Butter Rice, and browned three pounds of hamburger meat.

Some friends were coming with their homeschool group to the Lincoln Zoo for the day so we packed up some food to meet them there. I buttered some of the hot muffins to take and they were melty and good when it was time to each later!

With this many kids, I’ve decided that I no longer care if the baby’s socks match so long as he’s actually wearing socks. :)

Not only did we get to see several friends we don’t see very often, we got to enjoy watching the penguins get fed that day.

 

Afterward, our friends came over to hang out at our house. The kids played and played, then ate and ate. :) Malachi wanted to come say hi to everyone before they left so he stopped by.

That evening, Matt needed to exchange something at Menards and I wanted to pick up some items at Walmart and Sam’s. Hadn’t I just been to Walmart, you ask? Indeed I had. But BabyBoy#11 needs 18 6-packs of his Pediasure every month and each Walmart only carries 5-6 packs at a time. So all month long we hit up every Walmart in town to get what he needs. We’re thankful for the provision, even if it does mean we have to shop a little bit extra.

Before we loaded up to shop, I warmed up leftover spaghetti to feed everyone a fast dinner.

Spaghetti Hack: I’ve found that once it’s in bowls for the little ones to eat, I can easily cut the noodles with kitchen shears so that they can easily eat it with a spoon.

Shopping Hack: NEVER take the Coppinger children to the store in the evening after a full day of going to the zoo and/or school. Don’t do it. They can’t handle it. They’re already overstimulated and exhausted and they will not be able to hold themselves together at the store. The fits will be horrible and there will be many fits. You don’t need groceries that badly.

Oy.

So Walmart was a disaster. Kids back in the van, Matt went into Menards by himself to quickly make his exchange. Then I ran into Sam’s by myself while Matt fed the kids a cookie and apples. I really just went in for these few things but I saw a few other items I needed and this was the result:

Every time I shop I think we’ll be stocked up for a while. Hahaha. The groceries go fast at our house. :)

Friday morning I used the hamburger meat I’d browned on Thursday plus the Stick of Butter Rice to make a huge batch of Burritos. I plan to share them with some friends whose kids currently have some major health struggles.

Well. Sure I’d been to Walmart twice that week and Sam’s the day before. But there are certain items I also needed from Costco (diapers!!) so off we went on Friday morning. The shopping trip went much better than the evening before because the kids were rested and we only had five with us this time. ;)

I wasn’t planning to buy boneless chicken thighs, but wowza! They were on sale for $6.00 off per package, which made them only $2.65/pound. Now that we can grill more, you can bet I stocked up big time!

I also picked up some special treats for a picnic we were planning on Sunday. I almost never buy individual bags of chips, but they were highly discounted and will be very fun for the picnic!

Our friend Malorie was visiting, and Acacia sat still for quite a while letting Malorie braid her hair that afternoon. :)

We had a huge weekend planned with friends coming in from Texas and all of the grown-ups going to Kansas City to watch Messi play soccer.

Justus had been over all afternoon and was smoking two racks of ribs for us to enjoy for dinner when our TX friends arrived. I made hotdogs for the kids and Brayden made Caesar salad. For other sides, I simply washed two kinds of grapes and two pounds of strawberries, got out sweet peppers and tomatoes, and set out rolls with butter.

Dinner was going to be later than normal so we fed the kids at their regular time to avoid extra meltdowns.

All of our older kids were able to come over to join us for dinner, plus our friend Ricky and his son Cooper had arrived from TX. Gathering in our kitchen and dining room like this is my favorite.

Justus’ Barbecue Ribs turned out AMAZING.

 

 

Saturday morning I spent getting ready to go on our day trip and getting everything ready for our kids and their sitters while we were gone.

I made Crunchy Ranch Chicken and Steamed Broccoli for lunch, then sitters came and we got out the door. I’ll share photos of our Messi experience next week!!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 31-April 6, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 31-April 6, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 31-April 6, 2024

Easter Sunday was a perfect way to start a new week, being surrounded by our church family all morning and then continuing our celebration all afternoon at our house. If you recall, last week the kids had made cookies and we packaged them up to hand out on Sunday morning before worship. Here’s Keith handing a cookie to some men at church. :)

The time of worship, celebrating Jesus’ victory over death, was powerful that morning. It was such a gift to be all together that day! And yes, Eva IS the cutest pregnant mama ever.

Back at the Castle, 21 of us gathered in the kitchen and dining room to fellowship and feast.

We had Ham, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, One Hour Yeast Rolls, Fresh Pineapple, and Cheesecake.

Our friend, Caitlyn, was planning to come and she’d put together gifts for all the kids. But she wasn’t feeling well so she just dropped off her goodies and headed home. The kids were thrilled with the baskets and Matt and I were so grateful for her kindness. :)

After we ate our meal, we headed outside for our traditional Easter egg hunt. First the guys headed outside and hid eggs for the gals (hiding hard ones for the adults and easy ones for the kids).

Then the girls got revenge by hiding eggs for the guys. Truth: I will never not love seeing grown men holding Easter baskets. :) :) :)

Our time together was wonderful, and I’m so thankful!

Monday we got our weekly routine started back up. I made Eggs in a Nest for breakfast and the kids chose between canned peaches or canned pears.

I walked Brayden and Kiya to school, then Eva came to help Matt while Keith and I went to the Food Distribution site to set up for Tuesday’s giveaway.

I had baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice early in the morning so after Keith and I got home, I used the rice, along with meat I’d cooked on Saturday, to put together a big Tator Tot Casserole for our dinner.

Late afternoon, our Foster Care Agency sent someone to our house to work on our Adoption Home Study for BabyBoy#11!! We’re getting closer to adoption day!

For dinner that night we enjoyed our Tator Tot Casserole with leftover Pineapple and Cream Cheese Corn from Sunday. Plus I experimented with our night’s veggie by serving the kids Shredded Carrots. I’d picked them up wondering if eating little tiny sticks of carrots would be a fun change of pace for them. Overall, I’d say the experiment was a success. The kids had fun and most of them ate their carrots (with Keith going back for thirds!).

Tuesday morning, I took Anna to an appointment. She got a “star wand” for being so good there. I was grateful for the one-on-one time with her.

After we got home, we had some time before the preschool bus came for Keith and Anna so we loaded everyone up and went to the indoor play area at the Zoo. Of course Keith was excited to see a “worker truck!” on our way into the zoo.

The Spider Monkeys are fascinating to watch. :)

I had quickly grabbed cheese, meat, and crackers to take with us to the zoo – plus applesauce and juice.

The kids took a play break to enjoy their snack/lunch.

Before leaving, we went to say hi to some Lizards, Snakes, and Cockatoos.

I picked Brayden and Kiya up from school and headed over to the Food Distribution where we helped hand out food to 100ish people.

We were blessed to come home with a huge variety of breads and buns.

Plus we got a nice assortment of other items like fresh spinach, oranges, tuna, sparking water, and biscuits.

For dinner, I had used Sunday’s leftover ham to make a crock pot full of Ham and Potato Soup.

Wednesday was full with an Occupational Therapy appointment for BabyBoy#11 in the morning, Azure Standard pick up in the afternoon, and all the kid/work needs in between. According to the OT, BabyBoy#11 is making progress in his eating skills. We’re thankful for progress, even if it’s slow in coming. :)

Our Azure Standard order this time included a case of yogurt, a case of frozen hashbrowns, 25-pounds of whole wheat flour, a case of tortillas, a bag of whole dry milk, a bag of tapioca pearls, and three boxes of lightly sweetened cookies that are a perfect treat on the go.

For dinner that night, I boiled two pounds of Penne Pasta and warmed up White Sauce, Chicken, and Bacon. We stirred it together into Pasta Bowls and enjoyed it with a side of Spinach.

There are still so many littles around here, but as they get older they are becoming more capable so we are trying to train them all in helping and cleaning. So we spent some time after dinner involving everyone in picking up the house and sweeping some floors.

Then we got teeth brushed and settled everyone in the living room to watch a little bit of Ms. Patty Cake. This is a fun throw-back to when our first set of kids was little. We used to get Ms. Patty Cake videos at the library to watch at home!

Thursday morning, Matt and Malachi headed to York to work and Elias helped me with the kids all day. Keith found a book on our shelves about Native Americans and everyone gathered around on the floor to let me read it. I was amazed at how engaged they were. :)

At lunchtime I pulled out the leftover ham from Sunday and put together Ham/Cheese/Honey Mustard Sandwiches on Rolls. My goal is to always use up what we have in the fridge and it never hurts to get ahead. So I followed this basic idea for these sandwiches, and since I had 24 rolls, I made 24 mini-sandwiches. We ate a few for lunch and I packaged the rest for easy grab-and-go lunches during the next few days.

Keith was determined to mop the kitchen before his bus came, and who was I to stop him?

That afternoon, when Keith and Anna got dropped off by the school bus, Anna made it exactly as far as our front steps before she just couldn’t make it any longer. :) This photo is a pretty accurate description of how our kids handle school and home. They hold it all together beautifully at school, exhibiting kind, sweet, and cooperative behaviors there. Then they get home and immediately let down and let it all go – all they’ve been holding in.

So between 4pm and 8pm, we deal with quite a few meltdowns and behavior struggles. Some days are better than others. And some days, some of us just need to lay down on the cement steps because facing what’s next (the terrible chore of hanging up a coat and backpack) is just.too.much.

Dinner was leftovers!

Then Elias engaged several kids in making a tiny treat. He’d received a Skookie (skillet cookie kit) as a white elephant gift at Christmas time that he needed to use. The kids helped him mix it up and get it into the oven. The littles didn’t understand that it was going to take 17-20 minutes to bake so they sat down to watch (until it got too boring, because you know what they say about a watched oven…).

See? I told you it was tiny. :) :) :) Everyone got one bite of Skookie, and they were thrilled!

Friday morning, Brayden had Ukulele class before school so Matt ran him up there early. I walked Kiya at the regular start time. Then I got back just in time to take BabyBoy#11 to his 15-month well-check. While he’s pretty behind developmentally (though making progress!), the doctor was very pleased with how he looked physically.

When I picked Brayden and Kiya up from school, Brayden announced that he was bringing his ukulele home. His teacher asked him to practice extra for his upcoming concert. When we got home, he showed everyone his skills. :)

It had been such a full week that Elias and Brayden hadn’t had their second Bro Time afternoon, so Elias had made plans for he and Brayden to make dinner together that night. The rest of us played outside (and broke a window, but whatever, heh).

They made some cookies for our dessert…

And they made four fancy pizzas for us that included a variety of meats and cheeses.

Elias had to run off to a youth event at church that he was helping with, so he explained each kind of pizza then headed out.

Then pizza was SOOO good. And having the night off from cooking was pretty great for me (you know so that we could instead deal with a broken window).

Saturday morning I made a fresh pot of coffee, courtesy of my friend Molly. If you live in the St. Louis area, this coffee is a must for you. :) It is goooooood.

Josie was my kitchen helper that morning, cracking eggs so we could make Simple Egg Casserole to eat for lunch on Sunday.

We also made a double batch of Banana Muffins to eat with Sunday’s casserole.

Then we got ready to take the kids to our favorite Library Story Time. We were excited to go because we’d missed so many Saturdays in a row, plus this was the final session for a few weeks. I grabbed some easy food to pack for a picnic to eat at a park afterward. I had Apple Bread in the freezer that I’d set out the night before so I sliced it and packed it with carrots, cheese, salami, fruit, chips, and dip.

Story time was great and we enjoyed playing with all the fun sensory toys afterward.

Then we spent over an hour in the main library area, enjoying some books and learning toys. Last month, they had a Post Office in this area. This time, a Pizza Parlor!

Everyone was hungry when we loaded up to head out, but Matt and I changed our picnic plan because it was too windy and chilly outside to go to a park. Instead, we headed home and had a “picnic” at our dining room table.

After naptime, we decided to go to the park we had planned to go to earlier. It was still windy, but the temps were warm. I made popcorn to take with us, putting it into the last of the popcorn sacks I’d bought for Asa’s high school graduation many years ago.

I had a little bit of cooked hamburger and some leftover pasta from earlier in the week, so for dinner I turned those into Spicy Mac and Cheese. SO GOOD.

We filled our night with bath time and showers and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024

Keith has been counting down the days for his very first soccer game! Sunday afternoon was the big day, and he had his cleats and shin guards ready. :)

The game location is closer to church than home, so we decided to pack lunch to eat at the church building and then go to the game from there. I made a crock pot full of Pasta with Red Sauce, a crock pot full of Smoked Sausage cut into pieces, a small crock pot filled with Costco Meatballs, a container of Carrots and Cucumbers, 4-Pounds of Cut Strawberries along with a dish of Cheesecake Parfait, and a container of Rice Krispie Treats. I also got out a few items to hand out as snacks to the remaining kids during Keith’s game.

As church began, Matt got a text that rain had canceled Keith’s game. Poor Keith. He took the news like a champ as we had prepared him for the possibility of a cancellation. Since we already had all the food at the church building, we decided to go ahead and eat there before heading home.

We were blessed to grab a few extra friends to join us. I loved this kitchen scene which included some of our boys with a bunch of their friends. (All the plates on the floor were left there by our little ones as I had fixed their plates and parked them there to eat before the big guys came in.)

While the adults ate, Brayden led the other littles in worship in the auditorium. Notice our littlest, standing by the stage in his diaper after peeing through his outfit. Hey, Jesus wants us to come as we are, yes?

We came home through the rain (that had canceled Keith’s game) so our afternoon was spent watching a show and then playing games with Daddy.

Our friend Paula dropped off Brayden and Kiya’s school lunches for the week and I put them into a fridge. She and Randy have been doing this since October and it has been incredibly helpful on school mornings!

I pulled out leftovers for dinner and got out a bag of pears to go with them.

Everyone ate a pear before having a random plate of whatever sounded good from our leftover stash. :)

Monday morning I made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins. These were a hit, though once the little girls discovered the chocolate chips on top they only wanted to eat the tops of the muffins and ignore the rest. ;)

We had a rough behavior morning for three of our kids. :( So I changed our plans for the morning, hoping that the change of routine might give us a reboot. Eva came over to help as she does every Monday, which was a huge and needed blessing. We left BabyBoy#11 home to nap with Daddy while Eva and I took the other four out to shop for Easter clothes.

Sure enough, while it isn’t always easy to shop with little ones, the change of pace distracted everyone and behaviors settled (mostly). Keep praying for these kids’ healing. We are seeking answers from professionals and trying to figure out where to turn to help meet all their needs.

Fun side note: One of our neighbors has a tree service business and Keith LOVES watching him work and organize tools in his garage. Coleman has been such a gift to Keith as he allows him to ask thirty-eleven questions and chatter and look at his tools and basically, Keith wants to be like Coleman when he grows up.

While shopping for an Easter shirt, Keith came across this toy chain saw. “I need to get this so I can help Coleman cut down trees!!!” The word “no” isn’t Keith’s favorite, but I was able to help him settle with the promise that while we weren’t going to buy the chain saw, I’d be sure and show this picture to Coleman the next time we see him. :)

The afternoon went smoothly and for dinner I decided to make Pancakes and Bacon. Lots and lots of bacon.

Tuesday morning both of our dishwashers were full and clean from the day before (we run them both at least once each day). Acacia got right to work and cleaned out one dishwasher all by herself (except for the knives and mugs that I grabbed before she got started). She loves doing this job – and watching her reminds me of her capabilities. She’s a very tiny 3.5-year-old. She struggles with speech, so much of what she says doesn’t come out clearly. She delayed in other ways that make learning harder for her. She was born with a club foot, which affects her gate and growth. But she knows nothing about this. She’s a big girl who can clean out the dishwasher for her mommy, while chattering confidently even if I can’t understand most of her words. I love her heart and how she goes all in with everything she does. :)

It was cold and windy that day so we kept the little ones in all day instead of having an outing. To help them get some wiggles out, Matt found some interactive YouTube videos that we all danced and jumped and did jumping jacks with.

Late morning I got out ingredients to make White Chicken Chili, including Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix.

I discovered the three little girls sitting in the pantry singing “The Wheels on the Bus” together.

We didn’t have any leftovers so I baked two frozen pizzas for lunch. Have you tried the Cauliflower Crust Pizzas from Costco? They are pretty tasty! I added some pepperoni to ours since it was a veggie-only pizza.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution. We were placed in charge of some “extras” that day so we handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Easter items to over 100 people who went through the line.

Matt and Elias had served all the kids the White Chicken Chili from the crock pot. Then Brayden, Kiya, and I dug in when we got home.

Wednesday morning we had Bagels and Fruit. Kiya is enjoying her newly found freedom in toasting her own bagel in the air fryer.

I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs to have on hand for snacks.

Keith, who is always (always, always, always) rigging something up, taking something apart, or creating some sort of something, had hung a rope with a hook around our second floor banister. He then attached our ball pump to it and used the rope as a pulley to move the pump up and down. Why? Well, why not?

Elias and Brayden had picked up groceries to make a meal for us during their Bro Time on Monday. So Wednesday night, they made a Taco Feast for us with beef, chicken, and shrimp options plus all the taco fixings.

To top off their meal, they made Cinnamon Rolls for dessert.

Thursday morning we loaded up all five littles for a shopping trip to Aldi. Outings like this are both great and hard – but they offer a fun experience for our kids and we get the shopping done that we need so it’s worth the craziness.

Two carts are a must.

This particular trip I bought 5 gallons of milk, 12 jars of spaghetti sauce, 12 cups of yogurt, and 12 jars of salsa -plus all kinds of other needed items I like to get at Aldi. The gal at checkout was like, “Wow, that’s a lot of spaghetti sauce.” and then when she saw our five littles “Wow, that’s a lot of kids.” Should I have told her this wasn’t even half of our kids? Naw. :)

We got home in time to put Keith and Anna on the bus for preschool. Then I blended up a batch of Mini Crustless Cheesecakes to put into the oven.

I also mixed up a big batch of Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies so the kids could have fun making Easter cookies on Friday.

Acacia was playing dress-up but stopped to help once she saw her opportunity to help me scoop and pour. :)

After school that day, I finally got around to cutting Kiya’s hair. I took off a few inches to get all the dead ends removed so she’ll be fresh and ready for spring!

Meanwhile, I had dumped some barbecue sauce on to a package of chicken legs, so those were on the smoker making us all very hungry. Back in the kitchen, Elias helped Acacia and Josie make Caesar Salad and Chipotle Cheddar Salad to go with our chicken.

I had peeked outside to see that our neighbor Coleman and his wife Sarah were chatting with Matt and the kids so I hollered out to see if they wanted to eat Bbq chicken with us. Elias and I finished putting the meal together, and we had a feast with our neighbors. :)

We had BBQ Chicken Legs, Mac and Cheese (that I’d picked up at Aldi that day), Fried Zucchini, and Salad.

Friday morning, I made a big batch of French Toast for breakfast.

Matt and Elias left to work on our rental house in York so Kelsey came to spend the day with the kids and me. There was no school that day so we had lots of fun plans. I started to roll out the Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies that I’d mixed up the day before and the kids took turns cutting out cookies to bake. (Ever made cut-out cookies with a bunch of eager children? Oy. This is how I do it and stay sane-ish.)

Mission accomplished.

Then we moved into the dining room to dye Easter Eggs. I’ll admit that this is not one of my favorite activities, but the kids love it so it’s worth it. The best part is seeing the kids’ reaction when I add vinegar to the little dye tablet in a cup. :)

The weather was beautiful so we packed a picnic and walked several blocks to a big park to eat and play.

Justus met us there, which was just the boost we needed after such a full morning with the kids at home.

We played and ate and ate and played, staying at the park for over two hours.

Our lunch was cheese, meat, crackers, artichoke dip, sweet potato chips, pear cups, avocado cups, and some mini-cookies that we’d baked that morning.

Keith is sooooo interested in all things construction so before I knew it he was way across the park visiting with “the workers” and trying to learn about what they were doing.

We were hot, hungry, and thirsty when we got home so I made a blender full of these Smoothies to cool everyone off and to give us nourishment.

Everyone continued to play outside the rest of the day, and look who found the big bottle of bubbles? Eh, they needed a bath anyway.

I cooked 28 hotdogs on our smoker that night, made a small pan of Baked Beans, and got out pickles for dinner. Justus, Kelsey, and I were all pretty tired by the end of this full day so we were all very happy to see Matt and Elias get back home!

Saturday morning Anna and Acacia helped me finish a project for Sunday morning.

The girls put stickers on baggies (I’d picked them up at a sidewalk sale that Delight Design was having last summer and decided that this was a great way to use them!). I put a decorated Easter cookie into each bag and the kids can hand them out at church tomorrow. :)

Our church was planning to walk around to homes in the neighborhood surrounding our building that morning so that we could invite people to join us for Easter. Our family decided to take part in this, hoping it would work with so many kids in tow. Before leaving, we had a simple Cereal and Fruit breakfast then I made Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches to take along since I didn’t know how long we’d be gone.

It was a chilly morning but it worked out pretty well for us to take this on. Our littlest four were in strollers and our friend Caitlyn was helping us. The kids took turns putting invitation cards on people’s porches as we walked from house to house.

Back at home, we finished our sandwiches and applesauce then had some Easter fun.

The rest of the evening was spent getting ready for Easter Sunday. I somehow managed to make a double batch of No Knead Yeast Rolls for Sunday’s Easter Dinner.

I browned several pounds of ground beef, saving half of it for another meal and turning the rest of it into Sloppy Joes for our dinner that evening.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 17-23, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 17-23, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 17-23, 2024

We had been gone all day the day before, so this Sunday started off with an easy breakfast of Breakfast Cookies from the freezer.

We were finally able to meet for church back in our own building after many weeks of being displaced due to a frozen pipe bursting situation. It was so good to be there! Sam’s is right on the way home so we grabbed two Rotisserie Chickens for lunch to share. (And I picked up hamburger meat while I was at it.)

I’d made sides in the morning before church so we warmed them up to eat with our Rotisserie Chicken: Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, Baked Beans, plus Pineapple Fluff.

Our friends Kermit and Caitlyn joined us plus Justus and Kelsey and Asa and Eva came. There were 15 of us altogether. :)

Justus had picked up a turkey super cheap ($0.58/pound!!!!!) but they didn’t have freezer space so it had landed in our freezer. I had been thawing it and decided to get it baked that afternoon.

I do it this way – boring but good. :)

We had leftovers for dinner, random bits of whatever we could find in the fridge. So this freed my time to work on the turkey plus the kids helped me use over-ripe bananas to make a Banana Cake for Monday’s breakfast.

They turkey finished baking and Matt turned on an audio book to listen to while he took all the meat off the bones after the kids went to bed. My hero. :)

Meanwhile the Banana Cake had cooled and I had made a simple Cream Cheese Frosting for it and covered it to have Monday morning.

Monday morning we enjoyed pieces of Banana Cake with bacon. I made quadruple the amount of bacon we would need for that morning so that we would have extra ready for future meals that week.

Matt had saved the turkey bones for me, so I got out our huge stock pot and started a big batch of broth.

Eva arrived to help Matt so Keith and I headed off to help set up food for Tuesday’s Food Distribution. It’s always a bit hard for me to keep him focused on our work, but if I say, “Keith, will you help me take this apart?” he is ON IT.

Monday afternoon I spent some time making some Turkey Bacon Cheese Sandwiches for easy grab and warm up meals.

Elias had taken Brayden out for Bro Time and Kiya wanted to help me in the kitchen. So she put cheese on all of the sandwiches after I assembled them.

We packaged them up for the fridge or freezer, feeling great about having 25 ready-made sandwiches plus 5 wraps!

I used more of our cooked turkey plus the broth that had cooked all morning to make Turkey Noodle Soup for dinner. Oh, this is good stuff! So good that I was excited to eat it and almost forgot to take a picture until we’d already filled our bowls and worked on seconds. (By the way, I shared turkey sandwiches and cooked turkey with Justus and Kelsey since it was their bird, after all.)

Tuesday we stayed home all morning because we had a case worker visit for BabyBoy#11. (We’re working toward adoption!!!!!)

After getting Keith and Anna on the bus for their afternoon preschool, Matt stayed home to put the baby down for his nap and I took Acacia and Josie to Walmart to pick up a lot of our WIC items for the month. This gave Matt an hour and a half of quiet time to get some work done and it gave the girls and I a little outing plus restocked our fruit and veggie supply. :)

We got home in time to put groceries away. Then I left to pick up Brayden and Kiya from school so that we could head over to our Food Distribution to hand out food to the community. We came home with some too:

Remember the van door debacle from last week? The parts came in and Matt was able to get us all fixed up with a working door again. PHEW. That is a relief and now no children are allowed to touch the new door handle. ;) Isn’t she beautiful?

I had put Baked Potatoes into the crock pot to cook all day so we had them for dinner with leftover Rotisserie Chicken from Sunday and cheese dip.

A friend of ours is the principal at Lincoln High School and Matt had been talking to him about trying to watch at least one of their home soccer games. The weather was just right for this so after we fed the kids we loaded everyone up and headed over. We found a perfect spot on the “non-fan” side where we could climb all over the bleachers and not drive everyone crazy.

I sent this photo of the game field to Malachi who had played both teams last year during his senior year of high school soccer. :)

We got home just in time to brush teeth and tuck everyone into bed so Wednesday morning we had a simple breakfast of cereal so that we had more time to clean up and get ready for school.

After Brayden and Kiya got off, we got the other five ready and went to the indoor play area at the Zoo.

The snacks I packed turned into the kids’ lunch because they just kept eating and eating. We had cheese and crackers, applesauce, fruit/veggie pouches, and juice.

Then Anna, who was being very sweet and grown up that morning, took out the clementine she had packed. She peeled it all by herself and enjoyed her dessert.

Subjects not covered and photos not taken to share with you here: One major preschooler fit as we were trying to get out the door to go to the zoo, one baby puking on the zoo indoor play place floor, and one major toddler fit all the out of the zoo and all the way back home. BUT, these outings are super fun and super worth all the effort to get there and get back home. Truly. :)

Back at home, we got Keith and Anna on the bus for preschool then Acacia and Josie went outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Acacia: “I a Mommy!!”

Josie: “I digging! I outside! I not inside. I outside.” :)

Malachi stopped by that afternoon to pick up some of his mail and Acacia promptly put on his shades. :) Note the little sleeping blob on the bean bag beside Acacia. That’s Josie. She “doesn’t need a nap anymore.” Okedokee.

When Brayden and Kiya got home from school, Elias took Brayden out for some Bro Time. (They go out twice each week so Elias can pour into him.) Kiya and Acacia helped me in the kitchen, cleaning out a dishwasher all by themselves. :)

Meanwhile, Josie was making BabyBoy#11 belly laugh with her games.

For dinner that evening, we pulled out leftovers to eat so that nothing went to waste in our fridge. Kiya made a package of Caesar salad to go with our meal.

We finished off the Taco Rice Dinner that I’d made last week – eating it as a dip with chips. Plus we had Kiya’s salad and leftover green beans.

The next morning we got out pre-made Breakfast Sandwiches and Pancake Sausage Muffins for everyone to warm up in the air fryer.

This particular day turned out to be quite amazing for me. We had made arrangements with a dear friend/babysitter in York for Matt to drop off our three youngest with her while he worked on one of our properties for a few hours. That left me at home with only four kids – and part of the day they were all in school. So I had three and a half hours of COMPLETE QUIET TIME in our house that afternoon. Oh, it was life giving and wonderful! And our little ones loved their time with their precious Emma!

I decided to grill burgers for dinner that night because the weather was lovely and because as meal-prep time, I didn’t have any littles underfoot. We had our Burgers with Tator Tots, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Pickles.

We decided to go to Costco on Friday morning to grab diapers and ended up turning it into a big stock-up trip. I’d been trying to focus on using up what we had in the pantry and freezers but getting restocked on all of our basics brought a lot of relief to me that day so that meal planning and prep will be easier.

I’d had a first breakfast around 5:30am and a second breakfast around 7:30 but those were small “meals” so by the time we loaded up at 10:00 I was ready for my first lunch, ha. I grabbed the one leftover burger from the night before, chopped it up, and warmed it up with leftover corn to eat on the way to the store. Weird? Sure maybe. But it hit the spot and kept me going!

Matt ended up with four of the five kids in and on his cart on the way in. Anna hung with me until we redistributed kids in our two carts for the actual shopping time.

We got a variety of random items from crackers to berries to applesauce to chicken and hamburger. We got avocado cups, cream, half and half, coffee, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, pistachios, chicken nuggets, and several items we use that were on sale. I love watching the end caps of each aisle to see what is featured at a big discount! (Matt’s cart was full of two more kids, diapers, water bottles, and chips.

We got to enjoy some free samples, the likes of which made a sweet chocolate mess all over Acacia’s face.

We made it home in time to get Keith and Anna on the preschool bus then Elias and Matt brought in all the groceries with Acacia and Josie trying to help them bring in huge, heavy boxes. :)

I dropped off Acacia and Josie to spend time with a friend from church who watches them for two hours each week. They love going there and always have fun adventures. :)

Matt picked them up and brought them home. Again we see evidence that Josie doesn’t need a nap anymore. ;)

For dinner that night we had Orange Chicken with Rice and Spinach. This is one of our favorite splurge meals from Sam’s. We go through two boxes in one meal, which costs $25.96 – much more than our typical homemade meals. But this fed 5 adults and 6 kids on Friday night, which breaks down to $2.36 per person. MUCH cheaper than ordering take-out!

We were able to find the Husker men’s basketball game and watched it, sort of, between chasing kids and changing poop diapers. ;)

Saturday morning I made 15 Scrambled Eggs and cut up leftover Baked Potatoes from Tuesday night. I fried the potatoes in butter with salt and pulled apart several Clementines for us to eat.

After breakfast we loaded up to go to York just like we did last Saturday. We had been invited to a birthday party so we worked out details for Asa and Eva to help us spend the day there (they were already in York for a photo shoot).

I packed up a big bag full of extra “just-in-case” clothes, diapers, wipes, and snacks.

Matt and Asa spent four hours at our rental house working on repairs while Eva hung with the kids and me, first at a Carnival and then at a Birthday Party. We saw so many York friends that day!!

We got home in time to make Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup for dinner.

Then we got all seven kids through bath time.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 10-16, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 10-16, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 10-16, 2024

Our friends, the Brock family, had been staying at our house all weekend for a Homeschool Speech and Debate Tournament and we got to enjoy Sunday morning with them before they headed back home. They were exhausted from their very full weekend so we didn’t rush around but instead sat and enjoyed downtime together. (Well, as much downtime as we could have with our seven littles and their six kids, ha.)

I made pan after pan of Sam’s bacon for breakfast plus cut up 4-pounds of strawberries, whipped cream, and got pound cake out of the freezer for Strawberry Shortcake.

Their little girls had a sweet time with our little girls. :) :) :)

We gathered in the living room late morning for a time of worship together. Then had lunch before they took off for home and we headed out for afternoon church service.

Brayden made two bags of Caesar salad with help from our little guest.

I smoked some Chicken, rewarmed last week’s leftover Smoked Pork Loin, and made Corn, Green Beans, and Baked Beans to go with Brayden’s salad. The Brocks had brought back French Bread leftovers from their tournament so I cut, buttered, and toasted it to serve.

Justus and Kelsey had joined us so that they could say hello to the Brocks but Justus had to leave our house early to get to church. So Kelsey stuck around and helped us get out the door with our kids. This was the view in front of me as Matt, Kelsey, and the little girls made their way from the van into the church building.

And this was the view behind me, with Elias and Keith bringing up the rear. Our days are so full and the needs so great. These photos show a glimpse of how our Bigs help make this possible, and we are so grateful.

We stuck around home that evening and played in our yard. I did not feel like cooking, but for some reason, everyone felt like eating. ;)

I made a fruit tray and threw on the leftover pieces of buttered bread from lunch to take outside for the kids to munch on.

Then I boiled a package of Tortelloni that I found in our freezer.

The kids still had room in their bellies after all of this, so some of them had Banana with Peanut Butter, some leftover popcorn, and whatever other random food lurked about the kitchen.

Monday morning warmed several packages of Pancake Sausage Muffins in our air fryer for breakfast. The kids loved them!

Then we spent the morning getting ready for a big outing at the zoo. Since we have a membership, often we just go for an hour or two. But today we planned to take one of Brayden’s friends from school and make a day of it!

I put together a big assortment of food for lunch and snacks to get us through the day. For lunch, we would make our own “lunchables” with crackers, croissants, meat, and cheese. Plus I packed mandarins, applesauce, juice, cereal bars, and fruit snacks for an extra special treat.

We picked up our friend and headed to the zoo, which was packed that day due to the lovely weather and spring break.

Everyone stood on a square – and even Mom got to be in a picture!

Now that the weather is getting nicer, more of the animals that had been “away for the winter” are making an appearance. SO exciting!! Here we are admiring the llamas.

We were nice and hungry by lunchtime and found our favorite sunny table by the flamingos.

The peacocks were back and seemed to really enjoy exploring their territory so we saw them all over the zoo that day. This one wanted to join us for lunch, which most of us loved and some of us didn’t. Josie was not happy that Peacock walked by during her rock climbing expedition.

We walked, we played, we explored, we played some more – and every thirty minutes the kids asked to eat more meat or cheese. We were working up big appetites today! The applesauce tasted real good about 2:00. :)

Meanwhile, Matt and I were starting to drag and I remembered that I had stowed THESE in the bag! Yup. This was a perfect parent pick-me-up as we enjoyed eight kids at the zoo for almost four hours. :)

The kids were mad that we didn’t share with them. Nope, sorry kids. These are only for the parents.

Back at home I hadn’t even thought about dinner so we just pulled leftovers from the fridge to fill our bellies and clean out the fridge. Oh, and I made Kid Smoothies to refresh them after their big day and to give them some greens. (Matt and I already drank ours earlier in the day.)

Tuesday morning, Matt and I turned our crew over to our adult kids and some church friends. We’d made arrangements to have a two day, one night getaway so that we could rest and find refreshment!

Eva came to spend the day with the kids plus we had help throughout Tuesday from Elias, Malachi, and three friends. We knew the kids would be well cared for – we just hoped our caregivers would have the help and energy needed to take this on! We are so thankful for them!

Matt and I headed toward Omaha and enjoyed lunch at Cheesecake Factory thanks to a gift card someone had given us for Valentine’s Day.

I was too “busy” enjoying the rest so I didn’t get any pictures at our retreat center but guess what? We “accidentally” booked a room at Sonlit Retreats, a Christian-based acreage set up to provide rest and refreshment.

We weren’t searching for this, we truly just happened upon it. Matt had done an Airbnb search for something about an hour away, and this came up. It looked good to us so he booked it. BUT WOW. It was so much more than a place to stay. It turned out to be just what we needed – a place to walk around the lake and by the Platte River, a place to sit and talk and reflect, a place to be still and silent, a place to find connection with each other and with God.

We spent all of Tuesday afternoon, evening, and night there and didn’t leave Wednesday until the very last minute before check-out. I’d packed snacks and I was so glad I did because we didn’t want to leave Tuesday to find dinner. We just pulled out our snacks and ate in the quiet. I’m so thankful God led us here.

We had a great night of sleep and I woke up early (because sleeping in isn’t something I can do apparently). I took my Bible, journal, and my leftover cheesecake – because I was there without kids to question my breakfast, ha! – and sat with coffee and Jesus for almost two hours on Wednesday morning.

Matt and I walked around the property enjoying the water and trails for about an hour and a half before heading out for our second day together. We split an Omelet and Hashbrowns for lunch at Good Evans. Super tasty!

Then we went to Nebraska Crossing Outlet Malls for the afternoon. We had so much fun shopping for ourselves and for our kids. Our time away ended at Culvers before heading home to relieve our caregivers. (Asa and Eva had spent Tuesday night at the Castle then Kelsey came to relieve them Wednesday morning with Elias, Malachi, Justus, and church friends coming and going as scheduled.)

We strategically came home just after the kids had been put to bed so that we wouldn’t end our rest time with the hubbub of bedtime. Then we were back to the grind, refreshed and grateful.

Thursday morning Josie and BabyBoy#11 had a visit from our kids’ speech pathologist.

It was rainy that morning so we pulled out playdough and cookie cutters to enjoy for a while.

The kids and I had talked about having a special Costco lunch some time during their spring break. This rainy day seemed like the right time to do it! So we called ahead and ordered a pizza, then picked up a few hotdogs there too for a special lunch out. Elias came, one of our housemates joined us, and we picked up some extra pizza for Malachi and our nephew Troy. $21.65 fed 12 people – thank you Costco!

While some finished eating, I ran through the store with Acacia and Josie to get a few items we needed. We were delighted to run into a dear friend from York while we were there too!

That evening for dinner Brayden made a Caesar salad and we rewarmed some spaghetti leftovers that Eva had made when Matt and I were gone.

Eating leftovers that night freed me to get some extra cooking/baking done! Keith helped me make a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

They turned out beautiful!

While the muffins were baking, I browned two pounds of sausage and scrambled them with 28 eggs. I added cheese and put together six Breakfast Sandwiches and 22 Breakfast Burritos.

We are now set for grab-and-go breakfast options for a while!

Friday morning the kids ate some of the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins I’d made the night before plus some leftover Pancake Sausage Muffins from the fridge.

I got a batch of Stick of Butter Rice cooking in the oven.

And I browned four pounds of hamburger meat.

Then Anna helped me make a double batch of Taco Rice Dinner.

Acacia helped me use the rest of the cooked hamburger to make a pot of Chili. We packaged some of both dishes up to deliver to a friend the next day. Then we saved some for our lunch that day.

Late morning, we loaded everyone up and went to the Children’s Museum. Matt let us all out at the door then he went to go park the van.

I had managed to get all seven littles situated for playing when GUESS WHAT?? Matt came in from parking the van to show me that the handle of the van’s sliding door had busted off. Nooooooooo.

Ok then. There’s always something, right?

But outside, the van door was wide open and wouldn’t close without the handle to release it. And I was inside with all seven kids by myself in a huge play place. Matt called Elias to bring over special tools he needed. I called Malachi to please drop everything and come help me keep track of all the kids. What would we do without our amazing grown kids?!

Elias got the tools to Matt and he started taking the entire door apart. Wow. What a rock star! Malachi arrived and helped me keep track of everyone.

An hour and a half later, Matt (the rock star) had the door at least functioning until we could order the parts needed to fix it. Malachi (also a rock star) helped us load everyone in the van to go home. The kids were starving so I handed out apples that I’d thankfully grabbed from home to take along “just in case.”

We got home in time to eat a late lunch of the Taco Rice Dinner that I’d made that morning.

It was after 2:00 before we had everyone down for naps or rest time. Matt went back out to take the door apart again, mainly to see what parts he needed to order. Keith loves anything that involves taking things apart, so of course he was right there with Daddy.

Late afternoon I spent some time getting ready for our family to be in York all day Saturday. I made our Saturday lunch and dinner to grab and take with us when we left the next day.

First, I made a loaf of bread worth of Peanut Butter Honey Sandwiches.

Then I made 6 cans worth of Tuna Salad to eat with crackers. I gathered everything I could find to make our day away easier and to keep our kids’ bellies full.

Since I was focused on prepping for Saturday, Friday night’s dinner was three Frozen Pizzas and Spinach.

Saturday morning we loaded up at 8:45 to be in York for the day. I was going to a funeral that morning while Matt took the kids to play at our friends’ house. Then after the funeral, I took over with the kids so that he could go work for the afternoon at the rental house we are getting ready to sell.

The friends’ house where we hung out that day? We got to be with our Tuesday People. Oh how we miss our regular weekly time with them. Having the day with them was so encouraging and good.

The kids had been playing hard all day so mid-afternoon we turned on a movie for them to watch. The sun was glaring onto the TV so Aaron gave them all one of his hats to put on. It was the cutest. :)

At 5:00, Matt came back from working and we loaded up. I handed everyone some Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches, applesauce, and juice and we headed back to Lincoln.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 3-9, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 3-9, 2024 post for this week…

Big Family Food and Fun: March 3-9, 2024

Our church building has been having major repairs done following a frozen pipe incident in January. Therefore, we’ve been meeting in a different location in the afternoons on Sundays. We’ve adjusted to this different Sunday schedule, grateful simply to still be able to meet together! Just a couple more weeks until we can meet back at our church building, so that’s exciting.

Meanwhile, Matt and I have been spending Sunday mornings at a slower pace getting kids ready for church. Instead of trudging through Saturday evening baths, Sunday morning bath time can be drawn out to two hours, letting the kids splash and play longer in the tub. The love this.

This sweet babe’s curls after a bath are nothing short of amazing…

This Sunday we cleaned out the fridge of leftovers for lunch after baths.

We had invited a few families to join us at a park after church for play time and potluck picnic. So that morning, between baths, I tinkered around putting some easy food together to pack and take. We had Cinnamon Swirl Bagels so I spread cream cheese on them and cut them into fourths to take with us.

I also made several Ham and Cheese Quesadillas. Then I just grabbed food off the shelves in our pantry like Peanut Butter Pretzels, Sweet Potato Crackers, Applesauce, and Clementines. I had some Chocolate Chip Cookies in the freezer so I grabbed those too.

At church, Josie grabbed Malachi’s sunglasses and Kelsey snapped this sweet photo. :)

The park was amazing and the fellowship was what we all needed.

Friends brought Tuna Salad and Chicken Salad on Croissants and a wonderful assortment of other goodies. We feasted together before the temps started to get a little bit chilly. :)

We let the kids play a little bit more before loading up. They were playing so hard that they didn’t notice the cold as much as we grown ups. :)

Monday morning we had a random assortment of leftover breakfast food as I had a little bit of this and a little bit of that: Apple Bread, a few slices of French Toast, and what was left of the Bagel Triangles from the picnic. I made some sausage links to go with these and everyone got enough to eat.

Eva came by at 9 and Keith and I headed to set up food for Tuesday’s Food Distribution.

For dinner that night, Elias and Brayden used their Bro Time to make dinner for all of us! Biscuits and sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and orange juice.

Hey Brayden, look at me and say, “Elias and I made dinner!”

The best part of the day was that our dear friend Charlene came to visit from York. Her daughter has dance class in Lincoln on Mondays so we get to hang out during that time. Anna loves how Char pours love into her. We love it too. :)

Tuesday morning after breakfast (I don’t remember what we ate that day!) I made a batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs to have on hand.

Our little ones’ Speech Pathologist came to work with Acacia and all five kids gathered ’round for the lesson. :)

At lunchtime I seasoned the big pork loin I’d gotten for cheap last week and got it cooking on the smoker for the afternoon.

Matt got BabyBoy#11 down for a nap and I took Acacia and Josie to Sam’s to pick up a few items we needed.

Brayden, Kiya, and I went to give out food at the Food Distribution after school while Elias helped Matt at home with the littlest five kids. At dinnertime, Elias baked the Cheesy Potatoes I’d made ahead, pulled the Pork Loin off the smoker, and made Caesar Salad that I’d picked up at Sam’s.

We got home from Food Distribution with a container of berries which the little girls dug into right away. :)

Justus and Kelsey joined us for dinner so that Justus could give Brayden his weekly piano lesson. Let me just say again how much I love living close to our older kids!!

Mid-morning on Wednesday we took the five littlest to Costco so that we could pick up diapers. We grabbed peanuts and fresh fruit while we were there.

Since we had so few items, we attempted self-check out. This went especially well since we had so many little helpers. Oy.

That afternoon we prepped to fill up the Castle with guests for the weekend. Our friends, the Brock family, were hosting a Homeschool Speech and Debate tournament close to Lincoln and we had their family plus one other family staying with us. Asa/Eva and Justus/Kelsey hosted some families also. We’ve all been so excited about this weekend!

For the most part, we were just needed to provide beds and showers. But Wednesday night we got to spend several hours with the Brocks before the tournament started the next day. There are eight of them so I thawed 14 Brats and 28 Hotdogs for dinner.

When they arrived, several of us hung out in the kitchen making a pile of 20 Breakfast Sandwiches that they could grab and take to the tournament the next morning. We wrapped them in foil to make them easier to warm and go.

Their two little girls and our three little girls played and played and played all afternoon and evening. Never have we had so many hours in our house without someone throwing a fit. It was glorious.


Meanwhile, several gathered around our living room table to play a game. :)

Matt smoked the brats and hotdogs while I prepped the rest of dinner.

It was a simple meal with the Brats and Hot Dogs plus Baked Beans, Grapes, Carrots, Olives, Pickles, Sweet Pepper, and Chips.

I sliced an Angel Food Cake we’d brought home from Food Distribution on Tuesday and I pulled Brownies from the freezer that I’d baked another time.

Truly, the night was magical. After visiting and playing, we all worked together to get mattresses set up for the kids all over the house. The other family that stayed with us showed up after bedtime and Matt helped them get settled in. We are so thankful for this house God provided for us so that we could comfortably add 12 extra people for five days!

Here’s a peek at our little boys’ room where we set up mattresses. Was it a mess? Sure. But six boys slept comfortably while we had girls in a different room and parents in their own rooms.

Thursday morning Brayden helped me put 13 of the Breakfast Sandwiches into the oven to warm up. Our guests needed to be out the door around 7:45 to get to their tournament and they’d be gone all day.

We set out fruit, bagels, and yogurt plus made a pot of coffee. Our guests all got out the door and we got Brayden and Kiya to school. Then Matt left for York to work. Malachi had to be in York for video work so they met up there and Elias stayed home to help me with kids.

During the baby’s nap, the other four helped me crack eggs to make Breakfast Burritos. Only one egg smashed onto the floor, so I’d say this project went pretty well. ;)

I cooked two pounds of sausage, then we made 20 Breakfast Burritos and a batch of Pancake Sausage Muffins for grab-and-go breakfast options during the next two days.

I was somehow on an egg and sausage kick, so for dinner that night we had Quiche with Spinach and Oranges.

On Friday I decided our meals would not involve eggs or sausage. Well, except for the breakfast options we’d already made. :)

For dinner that night we had a cheat meal of Chicken Nuggets and Tator Tots with Grapes. Bliss.

Breakfast on Saturday was more of the same as our guests headed out for one final day of their Speech and Debate Tournament.

Our former foster son was visiting this weekend so we had eight littles. It made sense, then, that we would take them all to Walmart. ;) What can I say? We were out of greens and apples, plus we needed an outing. Daddy had a cart of boys and and I had a cart of girls. (Sorry, Kiya. I tried to snag a quick photo but I didn’t capture your best facial expression.)

We got our needed WIC items, checked out, then a few kids had to potty before getting back into the van. Those of us waiting by the bathroom had an apple to help the wait time go faster. :)

From there, we headed to Aldi. Matt kept all the kids in the van with a snack while I ran through the store as fast as I could. I grabbed lots of fruit/veggie pouches for the baby and littlest kids, salad kits, granola, milk, yogurt, berries, mandarins, and pear cups. Plus I grabbed crackers and meat for a picnic next week.

It was lunch time by then so I texted Elias and asked if he would get Mac and Cheese started for us so we wouldn’t have any hunger meltdowns.

We had lunch and naptime, then headed to the zoo for a couple of hours.

I had popped some popcorn to take with us so the kids sat on a bench and snacked on it before playing more and heading home.

The rest of the evening was full of bath time and leftovers for dinner. And that was our week!

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