Heavenly Homemakers

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Big Family Food and Fun: December 28-January 3, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 28-January 3, 2026 post!

We enjoy a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening through Sunday evening – so I turn off my computer on Saturday afternoons and miss posting some of these pictures. I’ll catch up on our last Saturday activities before launching into our new week!

Saturday, December 27

Saturday afternoon, Asa, Eva, and Arrow came over to hang out. Eva brought her camera and was amazing to spend time taking an photo of each of the younger kids so that we can update our picture wall. It was almost comical how complicated it was to get Josie to stand still and look at the camera. Her autistic traits showed up during this shoot, for sure. She was very sweet about it though, and Eva was very patient. :)

I made a simple dinner of Mac and Cheese and Peas that night. We warmed up leftover Taco Meat to stir into the Mac and Cheese for those who wanted some.

We were out of muffins, so I solved that near tragedy by baking a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. After Asa’s family headed home and we’d given the kids baths, we loaded up in our jammies to drive around and look at more Christmas lights.

Big Family Food and Fun: December 28-January 3, 2026

Sunday morning, we ate through half of a large pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

It started to blizzard as church was letting out. Whoa. Several friends were still able to make their way to our house for lunch, and we were so grateful for all who gathered.

I made a full crock pot of White Chicken Chili. Friends brought bread and fruit. Then for dessert, we ate through some Christmas treats others had gifted us. It was a simple and delicious feast.

Even with the blizzard, 24 of us were able to gather and enjoy time together that day.

We introduced our friends to our “new” Air Hockey Table. This is one of the reasons we bought this table – to enjoy it with friends who came over.

The kids broke out their new puzzles and worked together on those.

Here’s what the crock pot looked like at the end of our time together. Empty food containers make me happy. They tell me that everyone was well fed and that our fellowship was sweet.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. Then the girls helped me bake some cookies from mixes they received for Christmas.

For dinner, I baked some Mini Pizzas that I’d picked up on sale at Costco.

Then we loaded up most of the kids and headed out to look at more Christmas lights. Kiya stayed home with Malachi because she was sick. And another kid had had a major fighting meltdown and lost the privilege of going out with us. :( Malachi was so good to help us with the follow-through on this. All kids were calm by the time we made it home.

On Monday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and everyone else played.

It was Brayden’s and Auggie’s birthday that day! Keith was my special helper of the day, so he helped me make an Ice Cream Cake.

After lunch, we took down our Christmas tree to pack it away until next year.

That afternoon, I made a big batch of Granola Bars. It’s pretty important that I keep something like this on hand for Keith because when he needs to eat, HE NEEDS TO EAT.

Elias and Malorie and Justus’ family were all out of state visiting family, but Asa’s crew and Malachi were able to join us in celebrating birthdays that night.

Brayden wanted Orange Chicken for birthday dinner and he even requested Stir Fried Veggies to go with it! I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to stretch the meal.

This is the first year Auggie has understood what a birthday is, and it was very sweet to enjoy this with him. Here’s his face when Malachi asked him to “smile with your teeth!”

I’d put twelve candles on the cake – then lit three of them for Auggie. After we sang to him and he blew out his candles, I lit all twelve and we sang for Brayden!

Present time was fun – and did I mention that ABA therapy was going on for two of the kids (including our 3-year old birthday boy) throughout this whole night? The therapists were sweet to work their programming around our birthday fun.

Brayden was excited to receive a digital clock that has weather and temperature features! One of his special interests is ALL THINGS WEATHER. So he was very excited about his gift!

On Tuesday, we took the kids to the mall to get some energy out in the play area there.

We had a pile of free Subway kids’ meal coupons that expired at the end of December, so we enjoyed the treat of eating in the mall food court!

That afternoon, I took Brayden and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. There was a ton of food to give away that day, and a lot of people came through the line to be blessed by this! Brayden’s job is to clean all the coolers as they get emptied out. Every single cooler got used so his work load was bigger. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of him doing this job. But I sure was proud of his hard work that day. Keith mostly helped me hand out chicken at my table.

I’d made a large Tator Tot Casserole and a pot of Green Beans before leaving that afternoon, and Matt got everyone fed before we got home.

On Wednesday, we loaded up mid-morning to go to a gym nearby to watch Asa and some of his buddies play basketball. We weren’t sure how this would turn out because we didn’t know how much space around the gym there would be. Well. We were in for a great surprise!

First though, look at these sweet sisters admiring their biggest brother playing ball!

What we learned about this Rec Center: IT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC. We had no idea! The gal at the desk told us that we could come within certain hours of the day to use the gym, the game room, and their collection of games and balls. Wow. This is a gold mine for us – and it’s only a mile from our house! We assumed it was like the YMCA in which people have to pay monthly fees for a membership. Nope. Free to the public. Well, we will see you again very soon Rec Center!

We ate leftovers for lunch at home, then I baked two Pumpkin Pies for a special New Year’s Day breakfast.

We still had plenty of leftovers, so we warmed up more at dinner time as kids got hungry. I had brought home several packages of Hawaiian Rolls on Tuesday’s Food Distribution because one of our local stores had donated several cases. This was a fun score, and I spent some time Wednesday afternoon putting together six foil wrapped Ham and Cheese Slider Sandwiches for the freezer with plans to warm them for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

I’d been sorting through some of our older puzzles in an effort to get re-organized for the new year. I discovered a set of three wooden puzzles all a mess. So we had Puzzle Challenge at the table to sort the pieces and put the puzzles together. Even Auggie had fun with this!

On Thursday morning, we ate Pumpkin Pie for breakfast, then made a batch of Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eaters to take for a snack on an outing.

We loaded up the kids and went to Scheels, hoping to entertain them with the aquarium and play area. Unfortunately, they started scattering after two seconds of looking at fish. So we had to move on right away.

We headed to the second floor and found some cool new features (or maybe they aren’t new but we just haven’t been there for a while to discover them?!). We hit some golf balls in the putting area.

Then we took a boat ride in a pond. Ha. I wish. I actually had no idea that taking a picture there would give us that background. We were just sitting for a minute. :)

After that, we fought over who would bowl first paid two dollars and let our kids take turns bowling. What a great, cheap activity!

Then six of us went on the Ferris Wheel while Daddy hung out with the remaining crying kids. Ultimately, this was a great but hard outing as we tried to have fun with kids who often sabotage the fun we try to have. Crazy though – I think they will have good memories from this, and we only had to spend a whopping $8.00.

For dinner that night, I made two Quiche with Caesar Salad and Tator Tots.

After dinner, the kids and I did some baking. First we made some Crustless Cheesecake to have on hand for a high protein snack option.

Then we made a double recipe of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies, also for a high protein snack option, and also for school lunches next week.

On Friday morning, I cut and individually wrapped the Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies and put them into the fridge. I made a batch of Tapioca Pudding because Brayden has been requesting it! Keith really wanted to do the stirring. So I put him in a safe spot and that kid stuck with the whisk for twenty entire minutes – amazing!

Acacia had Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy that morning. Matt held down the fort at home with Auggie and his ABA Therapy and the other five kids hanging out.

We had Spaghetti with leftover veggies for lunch, then Meatloaf, Peas, Strawberries, and Buttered Croissants for dinner. The night was filled with more ABA Therapy for Keith and Anna – then bedtime!

On Saturday, we loaded up and headed to the Children’s Museum. We spent over two hours there with friends, and we enjoyed several of the new exhibits!

That afternoon, we did some baking and cleaning to get ready for Sunday. Then we transitioned into our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 21-27, 2025 post!

We enjoy a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening through Sunday evening – so I turn off my computer on Saturday afternoons and miss posting some of these pictures. I’ll catch up on our last Saturday activities before launching into our new week!

Saturday, December 20

This particular Saturday, we farmed out the younger kids so that all of the adults in our family could spend the day together. It was Malachi’s birthday and the last Saturday before Christmas travels took some of the kids out of Lincoln. So thanks to many from our church family, we were able to have some much needed respite and hours of laughter with our grown up kids!

Brayden, Kiya, and Keith went to one friend’s house, Auggie and Little Sweetheart stayed at our house with a sweet couple who came to care for them, Arrow hung out at his other grandparent’s house, and the three little girls went to the Adcock’s. They all had a blast!

My nephews drove up from Kansas to celebrate Malachi’s birthday, which was extra amazing! That evening, we all gathered back at the Castle for a birthday pizza dinner.

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

Sunday morning, we worked our way through a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We had a fun buffet of Meatball Sub fixings for lunch that day. I had one crock pot filled with meatballs covered in marinara sauce and another crock pot filled with meatballs covered in barbecue sauce. We had a variety of cheese slices, pickles, and condiments for people to work with as they built their sandwiches. Friends brought chips and fruit to complete the buffet.

It was an amazing spread!

I’d made a large pan of Frosted Brownies for dessert. Friends brought a fun tray of cakes from Sam’s to share (that I missed getting a picture of).

There were 35 of us gathered that day! But the only good picture I got of friends was this one. :) I was too busy chatting and hosting such a fun gathering.

That afternoon, Malachi helped us out by picking up my Azure Standard order. I was out of my favorite flour, and am so relieved to have two bags in our pantry now. (I also got a case of our favorite tortillas.)

We ate leftover Burritos and Chili for dinner that night. Then we did a craft at our living room table before settling in the kids to watch a Christmas movie after dark.

On Monday morning, Emma came and helped Matt with kids. I finished grocery shopping for our holiday needs. Then during the afternoon, we took the kids to a park because it was beautiful outside!

I surprised Brayden by hopping onto the teeter totter with him. He couldn’t stop laughing. :)

Neither could these girlies on the slide. Daddy had them giggling and they had so much fun! Almost every outing with the kids is hard. But this one was actually FUN. We were so thankful! The kids were sweet and cooperative as they let the time at the park meet their needs.

Back at home, ABA therapy started for Keith and Auggie. I immediately started dinner because the kids had played so hard at the park. I baked several trays of bacon and cooked 18 slider-sized hamburger patties. We had Bacon Cheeseburgers, Fries, and Carrots – which was a big hit with everyone.

Keith and I had watched a reel that morning featuring a fun and “easy” Wreath Craft so we gathered around the table after dark to attempt it. It wasn’t as easy as it looked and Keith quickly lost interest. Pictured here is Matt finishing Acacia’s and Kiya finishing hers without problem. Not pictured: a couple of girls melting down on the floor. ;)

On Tuesday morning, we got the kids ready for a brand new outing. We had them each draw a name amongst the seven of them. Then we took them Christmas shopping for a gift for the person they drew.

Was this a crazy idea? Yes. But are we also trying to teach our kids to think beyond themselves and to care for others? Yes. Elias, Malorie, and Malachi teamed up with us for this adventure, and we all headed into Five Below to select a gift.

This turned out to be THE SWEETEST. The kids took their jobs very seriously, as evidenced by this girl and her shopping cart. Somehow, we were able to get everyone through checkout and keep the gifts hidden from one another. It was a Christmas miracle.

Since we were already on the crazy train, we took everyone to Freddy’s for lunch. We had a bunch of free kids meal coupons to enjoy. This was fun…ish. By the time we got home, I was pretty overdone by the neediness of the morning. But we made a special memory for the kids, so it was worth it!

Meanwhile, I’d been texting with a friend about putting together a meal for a family whose mom is on hospice. So as soon as we got home, I made a quick batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, cut some Oranges, and got out items for Sandwiches. My friend Cindy made two kinds of Soup and she picked up my food to deliver to our dear ones.

Matt and I worked together to make a big bowl of Tuna Salad for our own dinner that night. Then I took Brayden and Kiya to hand out food and clean at our weekly Food Distribution.

The schools had donated thousands of small cartons of milk to be handed out at the Food Distribution. We gave away all that people could take, and guess who got to bring home the rest? :) We probably brought home 400+ cartons of milk. Here’s just one of our fridge spaces that we filled with milk. Imagine many, many more.

So what did we do? We put a bunch of little milks into our Little Free Pantry, then loaded up the wagon and took a walk around the neighborhood giving away milk to families we knew who had kids. It wasn’t our typical Merry Christmas delivery of goodies – and I was really wishing I could deliver cookies with our milk – because how perfect would that have been?! Either way, we were able to share lots of milk with our neighbors and it was a fun outing for the evening!

Bedtime was extra special that night. Elias, Malachi, and Malorie planned a special “sleepover” event for Brayden, Kiya, and Keith. The younger four got put to bed as normal. Then these buddies got to bake, drink hot cocoa, and watch a show before bed that night.

Wednesday morning – Christmas Eve! I made a double batch of Poppyseed Bread with Orange Glaze and turned it into tiny loaves for our family and to share with neighbors.

I also made a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream to go with our Christmas Eve treats. And I made a super huge Egg Casserole for Christmas morning.

I took the kids upstairs one at a time to wrap their gifts that they’d purchased the day before for their sibling.

We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Eve service with our church family.

Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart came over that evening for dinner (Nachos) and gifts. They were flying out to Montana to visit Kelsey’s family on Christmas morning, so we snuck in some time with them before they left.

On Christmas morning, I baked the huge Egg Casserole I’d put together the day before.

Asa, Eva, and Arrow came over and we had a wonderful, crazy day of fun.

Our traditional Christmas lunch for the past three years has become a knock-off of our kids’ favorite Raising Cane’s meal. I pick up a large container of Cane’s sauce a few days before Christmas, then make a bag of chicken with Texas toast (buttered on both sides). Kiya put together a bowl of salad, and our meal was great (and super easy)!

Eva captured this sweet moment with Auggie and Arrow…

Our family’s favorite gift was our big surprise of an Air Hockey Table. Matt and I had found this for super cheap on Facebook Marketplace – a huge score!

Every one of us had a blast with this – and some of us played while holding a heavy child on her hip.

 

Another gift highlight this year was that we set up a special Sensory Space in our basement for our kids to retreat to as needed. We rolled out some carpet pieces that were here when we bought the house – and they fit this space perfectly. There’s now a hammock, two punch bags, a compression seat, and a spinning chair in this area for our kids to use when they need to find calm for their bodies.

The weather was incredible on Friday – and we had more free kid meal coupons we needed to use up before the end of the year. So we went to Goodcents and let the kids order their meal (such a good experience for them!). Then we took our food to the park to eat.

We played for over two hours that day – amazing in Nebraska on December 26!

Kiya and Keith got new watches for Christmas, and they were very excited to use their stopwatch feature the entire time we were at the park. They timed EVERYTHING, and let us know how long everything took. “Mama, it took me 19 seconds to run from there to the water fountain…” :)

We ate leftovers for dinner. Then we loaded up into the van for a fun adventure (after over an hour of fighting with kids who were struggling to obey, phew). We drove just out of town for an incredible light show set to music. Apparently, this family has set this up for 30 years and this was their final year. We all loved this!!

On Saturday morning, I baked a double recipe of Breakfast Cookie Bars. The past two batches I’ve made have not turned out well (this – after baking them for decades?!). I blame it on the fact that I had run out of my favorite Azure Standard flour and nothing else works quite the same for me. BUT, I finally ordered and got 50 pounds of Azure Standard’s Soft Wheat Pastry Flour. This makes all the difference and my bars for Sunday turned out perfect!

Our Bonus Buddy got dropped off to spend a few days of his Christmas break with us. We loaded up and headed to the zoo for the morning because the weather had remained beautiful!

We enjoyed seeing some of the animals we hadn’t seen for several weeks due to the cold weather. We think they had missed seeing us too.

I had packed a simple snacky lunch of hard salami, cheese sticks, pirate’s booty, applesauce, apples, almonds, cashew clusters, and milk. Almost everything I packed got eaten. These kids get hungry running around at the zoo!

Back at home, Auggie took a nap while the other kids played outside. We had a fun afternoon and evening planned – and I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: December 14-20, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 14-20, 2025 post!

We enjoy a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening through Sunday evening – so I turn off my computer on Saturday afternoons and miss posting some of these pictures. I’ll catch up on our last Saturday activities before launching into our new week!

Saturday, December 13

Saturday morning, I was blessed to sneak away to Heartlands Ladies’ Christmas Brunch. Justus and Asa and their babies came to our house to help Matt with our kids and I hopped in with Kelsey to enjoy the morning.

Asa and Arrow hung out a while in the afternoon, watching a little soccer and playing.

The little girls needed an activity to do during Auggie’s nap, so I got out Christmas paper, scissors, and glue. They cut and cut and cut, then glued it all together. This made a big mess but kept them occupied for a nice fifteen minute stretch. Look at Acacia’s hair, courtesy of Malorie!

We had our Sabbath dessert before dinner that day, mostly because I needed another activity to fill our afternoon. We had made Christmas cookies a few days prior, so today they got to frost, sprinkle, and eat one!

It was a big day for Auggie as he got to help Daddy take apart his crib. He’d been transitioning to a mattress on the floor, had mastered sleeping there, so today was crib graduation day.

For dinner, I made a million Quesadillas – some with leftover Salsa Chicken and some with just cheese. This is all that was left at the end of the evening.

Big Family Food and Fun: December 14-20, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars – but they were very dry. I’d run out of my Azure Standard whole wheat pastry flour that I love so much and had used regular whole wheat flour from the store. This did not offer the same baking results. Thankfully, I have more Azure flour ordered and on its way!

We were so glad to host Sunday Lunch after church since we’d had to cancel last week!

I made a huge pot of Cheeseburger Potato Soup, which was this recipe with hamburger instead of ham.

For dessert, I set out Peppernut Cookies (made into actual cookies instead of tiny bites) and Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies.

There were 29 of us gathered that day.

This was one of my favorite scenes of the afternoon: Sam (age 18, bless his heart) joining Keith and Bonus Buddy in some football tackles in the living room. Sam is SO GOOD to love on Keith in this way.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. Afterward, we realized that the Huskers were playing volleyball and the game was tight. So we managed to pull it up on our TV to watch the intense ending.

Brayden had a youth group Christmas party that night, and the rest of us made Frozen Pizzas for dinner. I loved this sweet scene in which we were handing out pizza slices while Elias and Malorie worked on cooking and prepping lunches for their upcoming work week.

After dinner, I gathered the kids to help make goodie bags to add to our Little Free Pantry. We added a microwavable popcorn, a package of cookies, and a chocolate to each bag.

Monday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and Emma came to hang out with Acacia and Josie. I took advantage of this break to head out and grocery shop!

I was blessed to spend several hours out of the house that day. I filled one cart at Costco with non-perishables. Then I went across the street to Panera and sat with my laptop and a cup of coffee. I wrote for two entire hours at my favorite spot by the fireplace. It was so lifegiving!!

Then I went back across the street to Costco again to get all the cold food we needed. I filled this cart also, plus got a Rotisserie Chicken for our dinner that night!

As the kids got home from school, they dove into the fresh fruit I’d bought. Acacia and Josie love cherries and put on their aprons to keep their dresses from getting cherry stains.

Keith was my “helper of the day” so he made two bags of Caesar salad to go with our dinner.

We enjoyed an easy meal of Rotisserie Chicken, Salad, Rolls, and Cherries that evening.

I’d picked up three 8-packs of high quality festive kitchen towels at Costco on clearance for $8.00 each – score! That evening, Brayden and Kiya helped me roll them and tie on a ribbon as we put together simple little Teacher Gifts, then we stuck in a candy cane. This isn’t much, but it’s practical and pretty and will allow all of our kids to give their teachers a little something as we head into winter break.

Tuesday morning, the little girls helped me make a pan of Stick of Butter Rice. My goal was to make a big batch of Burritos. The rice is the only thing that got done, but at least I became one step closer!

While Auggie had ABA therapy and Acacia and Josie played, Little Sweetheart helped me finish wrapping presents upstairs. She promised not to tell anyone what was inside their packages.

It was a beautiful day, so we played outside in the sunshine during the late morning until the school bus came.

That afternoon, I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Anna and Keith had ABA therapy.

After this, we transitioned quickly to get Brayden to his band concert. It was a full evening, for sure!

Wednesday morning, I baked a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Since I had the oven on, I decided to quickly put 18 eggs on a cookie sheet and bake them to make Breakfast Sandwiches in an attempt to get ahead.

Keith’s teacher sent me the SWEETEST picture that afternoon. Keith knew that Acacia loves Frozen and all that is associated with Frozen. Olaf had visited his classroom, and he told his teacher, “My sister loves Olaf!” So Ms. Urbanovsky was amazing and asked Acacia and Josie’s teacher if the girls could come have a little Olaf visit. All three kids were overjoyed to have this experience together. Wow, do these kids have great teachers who go above and beyond for them!

For dinner that night, I used leftover chicken to make Chicken and Cheese Melts with Croissants. I made some with honey mustard, some with ranch, and some with barbecue. We had them with grapes, cherries, and pickles. Auggie started evening ABA therapy again that evening with a new RBT (registered behavior technician). So I needed dinner to be simple so that we could help with this transition.

Everything went extremely well that night for Auggie and his new RBT. So that freed me up to finally finish  making the Burritos I’d started making Tuesday morning.

On Thursday morning, both grandbabies were over! Of all the things we did and played together, this one was the best. The kids had turned two boxes into a train and Matt was giving Auggie a ride. Arrow and Little Sweetheart were following it around with complete delight!

I had a tub of Chili in the freezer and simply warmed it up for an easy dinner that night.

I made a quick batch of Christmas Spice Cookies to have in the freezer for the upcoming days.

Then we gathered at our living room table to put together fun and practical Sock Gifts to put into our Little Free Pantry tote. We filled them with toiletry items, candy, a pen, and an orange.

As great as all these activities were, intermixed with all of it was an extreme amount of fighting and meltdowns that left me completely exhausted and discouraged. God is faithful, we know He is in this. But I hate how hard it is so much of the time.

I was encouraged as I went to bed that night with this tasty photo of the Stir and Pour Bread Kelsey made. Isn’t it beautiful!

Friday morning, Kiya requested Eggs in a Nest. We used a snowflake cookie cutter to cut holes in our bread.

Of course, they liked eating the snowflake toast the best. :)

During the quiet of our afternoon, Matt and I brought down the wrapped presents I’d stashed away so that the kids would be excited and surprised when they got home from school.

This was the last day of school before break, so there had been holiday parties and everyone came home so happy.

Anna was so happy with her new scarf that her teachers gave her!

We loaded everyone up and headed to a high school graduation party for one of our dearest Sam. He was graduating at semester because his family is moving (sniff). We went to go celebrate him!

There was a super fun room attached to the party room and the kids had a blast the entire time we were there.

Ms. Christina tried to teach Acacia how to hold a pool stick.

All of our adult kids and grandbabies came throughout the evening too (minus Eva, who was sick, boo).

It was a great night, and took us right into bedtime!

On Saturday, we farmed out all the kids to three different wonderful families. Then all of us grown-ups met at Justus and Kelsey’s for a gift exchange and game day. As a bonus, it was Malachi’s birthday, so we celebrated him! AND, two of our nephews drove up from Kansas and joined us.

It was an amazing day, and I’ll share more about it next week!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

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

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

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

We enjoy a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening through Sunday evening – so I turn off my computer on Saturday afternoons and miss posting some of these pictures. I’ll catch up on our last Saturday activities before launching into our new week!

Saturday, September 20

I have a lot to share from last Saturday!

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

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

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

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

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday morning, I made 48 Mini Pumpkin Muffins.

Little Sweetheart came for the day.

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

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

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

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

Arrow spent the morning with us on Wednesday!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Easy Crock Pot Meals and Desserts

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Need Easy Crock Pot Meals and Desserts ideas?

I’ve found that lately, I’ve needed more crock pot meal ideas so that I can have our lunch or dinner ready when we plan to be out for the morning or afternoon.

Outings with these kids? They are a must. We’ve found that if we don’t keep our kids’ days very structured, the behaviors are a bigger struggle. Loading everyone up to use their energy in a productive way makes our days much better. It’s trickier in the cold weather months, but we find ways to still get out if possible.

We love the zoo, parks, children’s museum, and the library. We take walks, find ways to serve, and have lots of appointments.

I always pack snacks so that we don’t have as many hanger meltdowns while we are out. But always after any of these outings, we need lunch or dinner ready as soon as possible when we get home so we can sit right down and eat.

Easy Crock Pot Meals and DessertsYum

With all of this in mind, I needed an updated list of all of our crock pot meal, snack, and dessert ideas. I thought you might appreciate it too! So many meals can be made in the crock pot so that all we have to do is wash hands and eat when we get home from being out.

Keep this list handy. These meals are so helpful for so many reasons!

Also, fun fact: with our family becoming the large size that it is, I’ve found that often I have to move from a crock pot to our huge roaster! This is especially true when on Sundays when our adult kids come for lunch plus lots of guests!

And now the lists!

Main Dishes in the Crock Pot

  1. Simple Crock Pot Chicken Soup with a Kick
  2. Simple Creamy Chicken Stew in the Crock Pot
  3. Simple Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
  4. Simple Crock Pot BBQ Spareribs
  5. Simple Overnight Saucy Crock Pot Chicken
  6. Simple Overnight Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast
  7. Simple 3-Cheese Crock Pot Pasta
  8. Simple Crock Pot Shredded Ranch Chicken (for salad or tacos)
  9. Simple Crock Pot Pizza Casserole
  10. Simple Barbecue Beef Roast
  11. Simple Crock Pot Taco Pasta
  12. Simple Hawaiian Beef Roast
  13. Simple Hashbrown Casserole
  14. Simple Lasagna Casserole
  15. The Simplest White Chicken Chili
  16. Simple Crock Pot Applesauce BBQ Chicken
  17. Simple Three Cheese Spaghetti
  18. Simple Crock Pot Salsa Shredded Beef
  19. Easiest Beef Roast in the Instant Pot
  20. Simple One-Dish Chicken Florentine
  21. Simple Creamy Layered Enchiladas
  22. Simple Creamy Chicken Soup
  23. Simple Cheesy Salsa Chicken
  24. Simple Cheeseburger Noodle Crock Pot Dinner
  25. Simple Creamy Layered Enchiladas (Crock Pot or Oven)
  26. Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken
  27. Simple Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
  28. Simple Chili Mac
  29. Simple Crock Pot Creamy Stew Meat
  30. Simple 5-Minute Cheesy Hamburger and Potatoes
  31. Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken
  32. Breakfast Crock Pot Casserole
  33. Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot
  34. Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
  35. Crock Pot Beef Stew
  36. Fiesta Chicken
  37. Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
  38. Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
  39. Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew
  40. 5-Minute Crock Pot Pasta
  41. Bacon in a Crock Pot
  42. Spicy Pasta Dinner
  43. The Easiest Pulled Pork
  44. Easy Ham and Potato Soup with a Kick
  45. Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin or Pork Roast
  46. 5-Minute Crock Pot Chicken
  47. Taco Soup for a Crowd
  48. Make 5 Meals with 1 Pork Roast


Snacks and Side Dishes in the Crock Pot

  1. Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
  2. Calico Beans
  3. Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
  4. Crock Pot Beans
  5. Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip
  6. Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip
  7. Apple Butter


I don’t often use these recipes in the winter, but in the summer, baking in a crock pot is fun!

Desserts in the Crock Pot

  1. Simple Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake
  2. Crock Pot Cheesecake
  3. Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake
  4. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake
  5. How to Bake a Cake in a Crock Pot
  6. Strawberry Shortcake in a Crock Pot

What are your favorite crock pot recipes?

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 22-28, 2024

Sunday morning was extra sweet as we woke up to our first day of fall weather. Thankfully, I’d spent some time on Saturday digging out the kids’ jackets and long pants so that we were prepared. These two were so proud of their matching outfits that I’d found on clearance at the end of last winter. I love how grown up Auggie looks now.

Elias hopped in with us on the way to church and Acacia insisted on holding his hand a good part of the way. He was sweet to oblige.

And if those photos aren’t sweet enough, this conversation between Auggie and Little Sweetheart happened at church.

Then Brayden, who isn’t always interested in holding babies, asked for a turn with Little Sweetheart. It was precious.

Yes, we were also focused on worshiping Jesus during all of this. But if these aren’t pictures of Jesus at work, I’m not sure what is. :)

Back at home, we had just a couple friends join us as many of our usual Sunday Lunch crowd had other plans for the day. I had made Pulled Pork, Baked Potatoes, Baked Beans, Watermelon, Rolls, plus Chips and Guac.

For dessert we had No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars. These are tasty (and messy, ha).

Keith had soccer that afternoon, so I packed sliced oranges, cheese sticks, and the last of these muffins from Saturday for the kids to snack on during his game.

It was a bit breezy and we were grateful for our jackets out there.

The oranges hit the spot – but more importantly, we could make silly faces while eating them.

Back at home, I pulled out broth that had been in the freezer all summer and thawed it in hot water. Then I used spaghetti noodles and canned chicken to make this Simple Noodle Soup. It hit the spot! I sliced a loaf of Applesauce Bread to go with it, plus got out a can of Pineapple and cans of Mandarin Oranges.

Monday morning I made Ham and Cheese Quesadillas for breakfast.

Matt’s dad was flying in from California that day so we had big plans for all of our kids to come for dinner to spend time with him. I decided to make Breakfast for Dinner and I started working on the food that morning after we got our elementary kids off to school and I’d taken Auggie to the chiropractor.

Anna helped me crack 30 eggs into a big casserole dish.

We turned the eggs into a large Egg and Hashbrown Casserole to bake at dinner time.

Meanwhile, I cooked some frozen berries to make Berry Syrup to go with pancakes.

We got the girls changed into school clothes, fixed their hair, and put on shoes – an ordeal that takes at least an hour. They waited for the bus like this, which was rare sweetness Matt was able to capture on his phone.

When Grandpa arrived, he was exhausted from flight delays and a very long day. Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart were the first to arrive and read books to the kids while I finished making pancakes.

 

We were all excited about this huge breakfast spread: Pancakes, Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, Bacon, Sausage, Berry Syrup, and Homemade Applesauce.

Malachi arrived and he and Grandpa looked together at photos on Malachi’s phone. They share a love of photography, which is a sweet part of their relationship.

Grandpa had met Little Sweetheart in July when Kelsey and I had gone to California for a few days and taken her. But he hadn’t met Arrow yet. It was fun to capture this moment when Asa and Eva arrived with Arrow.

Tuesday morning our friend Christina came over for a few hours to hang out. She brought some hand-me-downs from her daughter so immediately the box of clothes got dumped out and a fashion show began.

Tuesday afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to help at our weekly Food Distribution. Kiya and Keith started out sitting with me, handing out food.

Then Keith went to help Brayden and Mr. Jim clean coolers.

Brayden really shines here.

For dinner that night, I had pulled out a package of prepared Teriyaki Chicken I’d gotten on sale at Sam’s a few weeks ago. I put them in a crock pot and they were ready at dinner time.

Before leaving for Food Distribution, I’d also put a pan of Stick of Butter Rice into the oven to bake and gotten Broccoli ready to steam. Matt and Elias finished the meal and started serving it before I got home with the other kids.

Wednesday when we dropped the elementary kids off at school, I captured this hug. Acacia has insisted on giving Keith and Bonus Buddy a squeeze before they head in for the day. Keith only had time for a quick side-hug today. He had to go be a big kindergartener.

We loaded everyone up at home so that we could take Grandpa to see Sunken Gardens. We knew he’d love it and that he’s want to take some photos. Josie took his hand to lead him to the van – so sweet.

We only had four kids with us and we weren’t in a rush, so we were able to really enjoy the garden that day.

We stopped and had a snack with the fish to hold us over until lunchtime.

Arrow came to hang out for the afternoon and got to know his great-grandpa better.

Then, Malachi came over to visit with Grandpa too.

I went to pick the kids up from school, taking Applesauce Bread for them to snack on before we headed home.

Most of the older kids were coming over for dinner that night to spend more time with Grandpa since he was leaving the next day. I made a big pot of Spaghetti Sauce with two different kinds of Pasta, Salad, leftover Green Beans, and Clementines. I also used our griddle to make Texas Toast.

We all played outside for a while and visited before the kids loaded up to leave.

This scene was a favorite:

Thursday Little Sweetheart came over. She and I assessed the situation in our play room in which someone had (once again) dumped out one of our toy boxes. I decided to throw out and give away most of its contents because if all we’re going to do is dump out toys and not actually play with them, what even is the point? Little Sweetheart signed off on this and we spent some time cleaning it all out/up before the kids came home.

Auggie and Little Sweetheart walked with me to pick kids up from school. We left just as Malachi arrived to take Grandpa to the airport to head home.

Keith cleaned out his backpack at home to reveal a sailor hat he’d made during center time at school. I asked him how he’d put it together and he proudly said, “I used a cantaloupe!” Oh baby. He’d used an envelope. We can all see how he’d get those words mixed up. Cutest thing I’d heard all month.

For dinner that evening, I used the leftover Pulled Pork from Sunday to make Meat and Cheese Melts.

I also made two plates full of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and four cans of Tomato Soup.

Friday morning, Acacia had an appointment with her Orthopedic Specialist to check in about her club foot. She got fitted for new braces (she’s slept in braces since she was a newborn – well, after a series of casts and a surgery and…). The doctor felt good about how her leg is doing and told us to keep doing what we’re doing.

We came home and made a triple batch of Banana Muffins for snacks.

After we got the girls on the preschool bus and Auggie down for a nap, I ran out to grocery shop. I scored some incredible deals on meat mark-downs at Walmart!

Then I went to Aldi to get restocked on milk, yogurt, fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, and other needed items that I buy there.

For dinner Friday night, I went all out and made several rounds of Chicken Nuggets and Tator Tots in our air fryer. The kids ate bananas also, and the entire evening was spent playing outside with neighbor friends.

Saturday was super full as:

  1. We met friends from York at the zoo for the morning.
  2. Our church Community Group met at our house during the afternoon for fellowship and Bible study.
  3. My brother and his family were in town and stayed with us to visit my nephew.

Therefore, I was so busy enjoying people that I didn’t get a lot of pictures to share. This is what I packed for our lunch and snacks at the zoo:

Here are a couple photos from the zoo with all the kids:

All my brother’s family joined us for dinner that night plus Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart. I’d put a Pork Loin on the smoker all afternoon then Matt sliced it and put it in a crock pot to stay warm until we ate together. I’d also made Baked Potatoes in the crock pot, Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, Buttered Rolls, and Rice Krispie Treats.

It was a full week and a great one!

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

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

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

Sunday was my favorite as we had plans for family to come eat after church, plus we grabbed several others to join too. I didn’t get great photos of the food because I was too excited to capture the people. There were 25 of us gathered in our kitchen and dining room. Lots of babies and kids. Lots of noise. Lots of awesomeness.

We ate Overnight Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Cream Cheese Corn, Caramelized Sweet Peppers/Onion, Caesar Salad, and Rolls.

For dessert we had Brownies and Homemade Ice Cream. Ever since our friend gave us a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, we’ve found that making ice cream is SO EASY. What a treat! (I’ll share details soon about how I make it so easily.)

For dinner that night I simply warmed up Mac and Cheese Leftovers from last week and tossed peas on top.

Later while the kids played outside, I took out three chilled cans of fruit – two of pineapple slices and one of peaches – and handed them out on plastic forks as a snack before bed.

Monday morning I used up some tortillas to make Quesadillas for breakfast. That’s not something we normally eat in the morning, but we’ve ceased to be normal. :)

We were completely out of fresh produce (again) and if you can believe it, we were out of bacon, ha. So we headed to Sam’s with all the kids, armed with shopping snacks and water bottles.

We picked up a delightful $4.98 Rotisserie Chicken and ate it at home as soon as we got the cold groceries put away. As you can see, we also dove right into our newly purchased grapes and blackberries.

I had a migraine and tried to rest that afternoon. Then for dinner we pulled out random bits of meat from the fridge to use up in a Nacho Bar.

We’d splurged on some Fudgesicles a Costco last month and this night was a great night to enjoy them outside after dinner. Pretty much all six fudgesicle eaters had faces like this one after the treat.

Tuesday morning I took BabyBoy#11 to his pediatric neurologist and was soooo encouraged by her expertise and care for him. We are in good hands, praise God.

We got home just in time to enjoy a wonderful visit with my cousins who were visiting from Kansas! I set out a big spread of Sandwich makings so we could put together BLTs or turkey and cheese or any combination we wanted. Plus we had a cucumber from our neighbor’s garden and lots of fresh fruit.

After lunch, we all walked together to “our” Sunken Gardens.

Late afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution. For the past few weeks, Brayden has been put in charge of picking up coolers as they are emptied out, cleaning them, then lining them up in the hallway to dry. This has been excellent for him and without knowing it, all the other volunteers are pouring such encouragement into him as they offer him praise and appreciation for  his work. He is glowing by the end of our time there each week.

Back at home, I had told Elias to throw Costco Fish Sticks into the air fryer for dinner, which we ate with fruit and salad. I only managed to get a photo of the last plate of fish sticks we made, but…

…it is worth noting and probably chuckling over the fact that we ate THE ENTIRE BAG of 60 fish sticks in this one meal. That’s how we roll, I guess. :) And yes, I did take a moment to snap this photo of the empty fish stick bag in our trash as I was looking to see how many the bag contained at the beginning of the evening.

While I was doing dishes that night, I caught these three having a meeting of the minds. I love that BabyBoy#11 tries to join in with the fun when he can. :)

Wednesday morning I made French Toast, Hashbrowns, and Honey Dew Melon for breakfast.

Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Anna had dentist appointments that morning so the three littlest stayed home with Daddy and the others headed to the clinic with me.

Wearing sunglasses in the dentist chair is the best!

We made it home after only one major meltdown as the appointments ended, then played outside until lunchtime.

We had brought home a container of croissants from Food Distribution the day before so we used them to make Turkey Bacon Cheese Melts for lunch.

That afternoon, I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice for our dinner casserole.

I browned meat and turned the rice and beef into Tator Tot Casserole for dinner that night.

Our church had a Popsicles at the Park event that evening so we put on our swim suits and headed out to join the fun. Of all things, the clouds rolled in and gave us a nice downpour while we were there.

Once the rain stopped, the kids all headed back to the water to splash around. Matt and I snuggled with Little Sweetheart and Arrow while Justus hung out with BabyBoy#11.

I had to get a photo of Acacia wearing her match-y hat with her suit. It was a bonus to get a sweet shot of Elias and Malorie in this one too. :)

Thursday morning after breakfast, Malachi called. He’d been serving at church camp the week before and this week was filming/editing video at York University for a special program they had going on. We’d been missing him and guess what? Today he happened to be in Lincoln touring the Capitol Building with the crew he was working with. Would we be able to bring him some coffee, plus some for Bruce, Kenzie, and Chris?

Our Littles demand so much and our Bigs ask so little. So it is my pleasure to drop everything and try to make things like this happen.

We already had plans to load up bikes and kids and go to the park. So I made four coffees too and away we went to the park, detouring to the Capitol.

We were all so excited to squeeze Malachi for a minute before we all headed our separate directions.

At the park, we all spent a good deal of time fighting over who got to ride which bike, even though everyone had chosen one specifically before we left home, oy.

This guy had requested that he also bring his “new” wagon so he could haul it with his bike on the trail. Daddy was extra amazing and said yes.

Later, it turned into this sweetness…

We work up big appetites and while we had plans to eat leftovers for lunch at home, we still had apples, popcorn, and apple sauce for a snack.

I was blessed to go have some Arrow time that afternoon. Oh and guess what? Before I headed over, Asa texted, “If you were able to bring over some tasty coffee when you come, it would be enjoyed…” Hahaha, yep. Seems it was a big coffee-request day for all. Your wish is my command. (Just hand over the baby.)

I had divided last night’s Tator Tot Casserole into meal-sized packages like this for Asa and Eva to eat or freeze as needed.

After I left their house and had an hour to myself to pick up some groceries. I scored chicken thighs marked down!

Back at home, I walked into this scene in which Malorie was helping Keith make salads for dinner and Acacia was helping Matt warm up Hearty Bean Casserole that I’d put together that morning for a quick dinner.

The entire pot of Hearty Bean Casserole and all the salad was gone at the end of our meal. Tasty!

Our treat/snack that night was the Costco Fudgesicles again. This girlie tried to convince me that she hadn’t had one yet and wanted me to go get her one. Good try.

Friday morning we had plans to meet friends at the zoo. They had to cancel, but our family still loaded up a picnic and wagon and headed over!

The day was HOT, so we spent most of our zoo time playing in the water area.

Of course, we had to go say hello to the flamingos. Plus we enjoyed a crocodile, fish, eagle, and turtles along the way.

It was lunch time so we found a shady table area and pulled out all of our food. We were starting to all melt after that, so we headed home to cool off and rest.

I took three of our girls to Ms. Kathi’s for a couple of hours and headed over to snuggle Arrow while they were there.

Back at home, we made a very simple meals of Frozen Pizza with Spinach for dinner.

BabyBoy#11’s hair was getting out of control and down in his eyes so I decided that this evening was a good time to give it a trim outside. Before:

And after:

He didn’t love sitting still while I cut his hair, but he was pretty proud afterward. And yay, now he can see again!

The heat was pretty intense that night so we needed to go inside. But everyone was going a bit nuts inside without some sort of structure. So I got out some fancy paper for the kids to “make quilt squares” like we had seen in the Quilt Museum last week. Mostly they just “made a mess” but at least they stayed busy and calm for a while.

My brother Kevin and his wife Michele came that night to stay for the weekend! Saturday morning I made Sausage Cheese Eggs and served them with Bagels, Yogurt, and Fruit.

I used some of the eggs to put together some Breakfast Sandwiches for the freezer. Then the rest of the eggs all got eaten!

It was precious to see Uncle Kevin and Aunt Michele loving on the littles.

I put our Ice Cream Maker to work again to make a double batch of Oreo Ice Cream for our lunch dessert.

Asa, Eva, and Arrow joined us. Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart came. My nephew, Austin, came. There were 21 of us altogether and it was awesome.

We Smoked Chicken and ate it with Rolls, Corn on the Cob, Caesar Salad, and Fruit.

Then we enjoyed three varieties of Homemade Ice Cream.

The rest of the day was spent resting then getting ready for Sunday. That was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

We started our week with a special Family Worship morning at church. The kids had been working on a fun song to share for us on stage. Four of our littles felt brave enough that day to get up there with their buddies. :)

For lunch that day I had put the last of our $5 hams into our large roaster to “bake” during church. We came home to a delicious Ham Dinner with Buttered Peas and Corn, Watermelon, Rolls, and Pineapple Fluff. We had brought home a pan of Cinnamon Rolls my nieces made after our weekend trip so it was great to enjoy those for dessert!

You can always tell when Elias’ girlfriend, Malorie, is here visiting by looking at our little girls’ hair. I have time for ponytails and that’s about it. Malorie takes time to create all kinds of adorable hair styles for them!

Matt and I have started to meet with three other couples on Sunday afternoons for a time of Bible study and sharpening/encouraging. I can’t express how grateful I am for this time. AND how thankful we are that Elias has been willing to help with the kids so that we can do this. He and Malorie kept them downstairs for a movie then took them outside. One of the guys here for our Bible study captured this photo through our living room window of Elias with Keith and Josie. So sweet.

That afternoon, Brayden and Kiya entertained themselves for a long time making “crafts with nature.” We loved how this activity helped them to be calm and engaged.

One of the couples who had come over that afternoon handed us two FREE PIZZA coupons that were going to expire that day. He’d picked up a bunch at his work place and they’d used all they wanted so we got the final two. Perfect! I guess we’d just have to eat pizza that night!

We got to order whatever variety we wanted as the coupons were for any pizza on the menu. Elias and Malorie went to pick them up for us while we fed the kids fruit to hold them over.

Elias helped me get them baked, cut, and served. And that was dinner that night.

Monday morning it rained and rained and rained. This was good except for it seemed that all morning the kids took turns (or sometimes joined together) screaming for a variety of reasons. Matt wasn’t feeling great that day so between that and the rain, we decided against an outing. Oy, usually outings stop the screaming, so now what?

We headed to the kitchen to bake. Kids helped me measure and pour as we put together a double batch of Breakfast Cookies.

While the cookies baked, we made some Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. The kids were so excited about this!

The rain stopped so that the kids could play outside that afternoon. Dinner that night was Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot with Sunday’s Ham, Peas, and Corn on top or on the side.

Later that night I got this text and photo from my friend Tasha who was out at church camp where Malachi was serving for the week: “He’s like a celebrity. He’s doing a lovely job running evening activities.” Awww. I needed that.

Tuesday morning we prepped for a big day ahead, eating the Breakfast Cookies we’d made the day before. I packed up Peanut Butter/Honey Sandwiches, Guacamole and Chips, Carrots, Peach and Pear Cups, Applesauce, and a bag of Apples to take to the zoo where we were planning to meet up with friends. I watered down a bottle of juice and packed cups to give the kids a fun treat with lunch.

It ended up raining off and on during most of our zoo time, but we still had a lot of fun!

We watched the penguins eat their lunch, then stayed to let the zoo keepers share more about the penguins. There was even a baby penguin to enjoy!

All throughout the morning before lunch the kids munched on apples as they got hungry. I have learned to always grab a bag of apples or pears for the kids to eat when we are out like this. It helps prevent hangry meltdowns and as you can see from my once full bag that now contained only one half eaten apple – we needed these.

About the time we were going to set up a picnic to enjoy our lunch, the rain started to come down harder. So we went instead to the (very loud) indoor Spider Monkey play area to play and eat. There are no tables in there but we sat along a wall and I handed out food there.

After lunch, we loaded up and I dropped off Matt and five kids at home, then headed to drop off Acacia and Josie to have fun at Ms. Kathi’s. From there I went to hang out with Eva and Arrow (and bonus, Kelsey was there too!). I enjoyed an entire hour and a half of baby snuggles before heading back to pick up the girls. :)

Back at home, I dropped off the girls and picked up Brayden and Kiya to had out food at our weekly Food Distribution.

That morning, I had used some pre-cooked hamburger meat to make a pot of Sloppy Joes for Elias to warm up for dinner.

We spent the rest of the evening playing outside, going up and down our sidewalk on cars or pushing carts.

Wednesday morning we had Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches that had been tucked away in the freezer. The girls ate with their baby dolls. :)

We packed up a lunch and headed out to Walmart and to Tierra Park for the morning. I attempted making Chicken Sandwiches before we left and put them into an insulated bag to see if they’d still be hot two hours later at lunch time.

It worked pretty well!

On our outing, I first ran into Walmart while Matt stayed in the van with the kids so I could get some fresh fruit and veggies for the upcoming days. I found and grabbed a roast and a bunch of coconut water marked down!

I love a cart full of fruits and vegetables!

We love Tierra Park because there is a skate park area plus a fun route the kids can ride their bikes around. Matt had loaded up all of their bikes and Keith’s skateboard for this outing. Phew!

Keith is so proud of his skills. :)

At lunchtime, we enjoyed our Chicken Sandwiches with Popcorn, Applesauce, and Chocolate Milk (there was a lot of extra milk at Food Distribution the day before so they sent some home with us!).

Afterward, we headed home to drop off five kids, then I dropped Acacia and Josie off at Josalyn’s for two hours. Off I went to get some more Arrow snuggles during that time. I was thrilled that Eva was able to nap while I was there and of course, I LOVED my time with Arrow.

Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie had taken Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to a library-hosted Heavy Equipment Encounter so they could see and climb on lots of emergency and work vehicles. After that, they stopped at a fire works tent to pick up some kid-friendly items for us to enjoy the next day.

We couldn’t wait for the 4th for all of them so we enjoyed a few that afternoon too.

We had plans to go to a dinner party that didn’t begin until 6:00 and I knew our kids couldn’t wait that long to eat. So I made them two plates of Corn Dog Bites, sliced a pound of Cheese, and got out the Watermelon. They ate and ate and ate (and were still hungry at the party later).

The party was hosted by a couple of young men that grew up with our kids. It’s so fun to see everyone in their adult world! Asa, Eva, and Arrow were there too so I got a few extra baby snuggles. :)

There was an amazing spread of food and we got to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in years!

The morning of the fourth, I made a skillet full of Scrambled Cheesy Eggs and Sausage Gravy to go with Biscuits we’d brought back home with us after our family reunion last weekend.

Malorie fixed Acacia, Josie, and Kiya’s hair SO CUTE for the holiday!

I was preparing a big family lunch but I also felt like cleaning out the fridge. So I used the rest of Sunday’s ham to make two Breakfast Casseroles and two Ham and Hashbrown Casseroles for the freezer.

Our kids were all coming over for lunch (except for Malachi who was serving out at church camp all week). I had planned to make Smoked Chicken Legs, Corn on the Cob, Watermelon, Caesar Salad, and Homemade Ice Cream.

HOWEVER, for some reason our smoker would not heat up for me. After messing with it for way too long, I ran out of time to cook the chicken. So I quickly switched gears and cooked Brats and Hotdogs (which I had thawed to make that night). Brats and dogs on the stove saved the day and I quickly made Baked Beans to go with our meal.

Asa, Eva, and Arrow arrived plus Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart. Our friend Ascha came too, plus one of our housemates, so we had a great crowd of 19! Just before time to eat, I found this crew in our living room watching some of our big boys’ old videos they’d made as kids. :)

Auntie Josie got her first turn at holding Baby Arrow. So sweet.

We enjoyed our feast of Brats, Hotdogs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Pickles, Watermelon, and Homemade Ice Cream. Elias and Malorie also made a pitcher of sweet tea for everyone.

After lunch, we headed outside to do just a few fireworks with the kids.

While BabyBoy#11 napped, Anna, Acacia, and I made Strawberry Shortcake Muffins for dinner.

After they were finished baking, Anna “gave me permission” to cut her hair. She does NOT like having her hair brushed and it causes a lot of fights that ain’t nobody got time for. :/ She was excited about it and it turned out very cute!!!

But don’t look too close. I don’t know what I’m doing, ha.

We got the smoker working so we could have our lunch chicken legs at dinnertime!

We had our BBQ Chicken Legs with Caesar Salad, Green Beans, and Rolls.

Then we followed our meal with Strawberry Shortcake!

We headed out to enjoy sparklers and simple fireworks with the kids. Our friend Dallas came over to enjoy the evening with us and he was so sweet with the little ones.

At bedtime, we put Anna, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 to bed but the others had rested in the afternoon so that they could stay up late. They were so excited about this privilege!

Friday morning the weather was beautiful so we took a walk to Sunken Gardens.

When we got home I made six boxes of Mac and Cheese, cut up leftover Hotdogs from the day before and warmed up leftover Peas for lunch.

Late afternoon I made a big plate of Chicken Strips to hold everyone over because there was an outing opportunity we were excited to experience. Back story: Brayden had a chance to go to Lincoln’s Quilt Museum for a field trip during last school year and he really wanted all of us to go sometime. I had found a FREE event hosted this night at the Quilt Museum with a Storytime, Craft, and Cookie – so off we all went.

Oy, the kids were a challenge the entire time. The event itself was great and well put together. But most of our kids had a very hard time being calm, listening, or obeying while we were there. Hey, but here are some photos in which you can’t tell that anything is amiss.

Storytime:

Craft time:

Cookie time:

Ah, and after we looked at some of the amazing quilts through the museum (there was a scavenger hunt that we tried to enjoy with the kids), we discovered a children’s room! At least it was ok to touch stuff in here…

Truly, the Quilt Museum is very cool, just tough when you have seven high-needs kids to manage. We made it home and fed them loads of strawberries and cheese before bed. Phew.

Saturday morning the kids ate cereal while I baked a double batch of Bran Muffins to try and get ahead.

Then I drank my daily smoothie while I made a huge batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs for easy snacks.

We loaded up and went to our favorite Sensory Friendly Storytime. This was a MUCH BETTER outing compared to the night before. The kids know what to expect here and it is geared toward kids who need a calm environment. Even our timid Josie happily gets involved!

On our way home, we made a planned trip to Antelope park where we ate some buttered muffins, bananas, and milk before playing for about an hour.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart were at our house when we got home so she helped me make pizzas for our lunch. We decided to cook the pizzas on our smoker, which caught on fire – not a great week for us and our smoker, ha. So Matt took care of the smoker while I baked the pizzas in the house in the boring ol’ oven,

We got the kids settled in for some rest that afternoon, then Lolli got to do this while finishing this post, so that was pretty much awesome:

We ate leftovers for dinner 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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Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024 post…

Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024

Before sharing all about this week, I’ll back track to Saturday afternoon, Feb 24 as I spent a little bit of time getting ahead in the kitchen but didn’t have time to add these photos to this post.

While the baby was napping I made:

I had some really good help making the muffins. :)

There were a few Uncrustables leftover from our Saturday picnic so I baggied them up individually to grab and go as needed.

For lunch on Sunday, I baked one pan of the Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips I’d made the day before. We ate them with steamed broccoli and sweet potato crackers. :)

Meanwhile I’d been working to pack a bunch of picnic food for us to eat at a park after church that afternoon. (Just a few more weeks until we should be able to meet again in the mornings back at our repaired church building!)

This along with quite a few drinks (juice and sparkling water) that I packed filled three bags!

It was a piggy tail day for our four girls. :)

There were 24 of us that met at the park that day after church. It was so great that I want to do it every single Sunday that the weather allows. Post-church-potluck-picnics for the win!

Together we enjoyed turkey/ham/tuna sandwich options, oranges and apples, avocado and salsa, chips, drinks, and rice krispie bars.

Monday morning I cut our Simple Bran Muffins open, buttered them, then melted them in our air fryer. They are SO GOOD this way! We had them with yogurt and bananas.

Eva came over to help Matt, and Keith and I went to the Food Distribution site to help set up for the next day. Keith got to use a sharpie to make marks on all the UPC codes. Phew, if you give a kid a sharpie…

We came home and played outside with everyone before the preschool bus came for Anna and Keith. Eva snapped this photo of the little girlies. Yep, I had just redone yesterday’s pigtails for today…

It was so gorgeous that I carried plates of Corndog Bites (from Costco, a great find!), apples, and olives to the picnic table for the kids.

For dinner that night I made 2-pounds of whole wheat elbow noodles with 2-pounds of hamburger meat spaghetti sauce and served it with corn and spinach. I’ve found that elbow noodles are so much easier for our little ones to eat (compared to spaghetti noodles) and when I make them, they eat a ton (with butter and salt).

We ate outside and some of us ate with ear protection. ;)

Elias and Brayden had been out for their Bro Time and everyone was excited to see them when they pulled up!

Later that evening, the neighbors who had hosted a 50th Anniversary party Saturday stopped by with leftover fresh fruit and veggies that needed to get eaten quickly. They guessed we could probably help them out and they guessed correctly! (They also gave us a lovely package of ground sausage that she’d ordered by accident. Yep, we’ll eat that too.) So sweet that they thought of us!

For breakfast Tuesday morning I set out the pretty tray of fruit with sausage links and cottage cheese.

Brayden, Kiya, and I went to hand out food at the Food Distribution that afternoon so Elias and Matt warmed up Burritos from the freezer plus some Burrito Filling to eat with chips.

They sliced some avocado to go with it. This girl LOVES her avocado.

Matt had hung a hammock in our basement for the kids because we wanted to see if it would help with their sensory needs. So far so good, now that the initial excitement is over and we are no longer fighting over it. :/

Wednesday morning I scrambled 15 eggs and warmed up bacon I’d baked last week. Mid morning, I put what was left of the eggs plus two pieces of bacon into a sandwich for my “third breakfast” and it was SO GOOD. (My “first breakfast” was a Peanut Butter Honey Puff with coffee at 4:30 during my quiet time with God before all the hubbub of the day began. Around 7:00 I had a glass of Smoothie for my “second breakfast.” And by 10:00 I needed bacon, apparently.)

We got out a few hidden containers of toys this morning which was fun and engaging. It’s worth a mention that our days can be so long and challenging with this many littles who struggle to regulate (read: there’s a lot of screaming and tough behavior in our house every day). So when I upload these photos and look back at our days, I see a lot of goodness too. It’s hard to remember the good when we’re working so hard against the struggles. Thank you, God, for these sweet moments captured.

If you see anyone pouting in this photo, it’s because I insisted that she put on shoes to wear to school. Sometimes I can be entirely unreasonable. ;)

Brayden and Kiya had discovered the Tie Quilt Kits they’d gotten for Christmas last year and were excited to work on them after school.

For dinner that night, I made 5 cans worth of Tuna Salad and spread it onto 19 rolls. Brayden topped them with cheese and we put them into the oven to create Tuna Melts.

We had our Tuna Melts with Mixed Veggies, Tomato Soup, Strawberries with Chocolate Cream, and Chips with dip.

Justus joined us for dinner so he could give Brayden a piano lesson. Plus our friend Bruce was in town and joined us.

Thursday morning we were sending Matt and Malachi off to York to work on our properties for the day. So I declared it a cereal morning, plus I cut some apples to eat with peanut butter.

Since Malachi went to York (he had other business to take care of there so it made sense for him to work with Matt this time), Elias stayed behind to help me with the little ones. We stayed home all day (because Matt had our van in York), and I took advantage of the time to get caught up on three loads of laundry.

Keith had been asking to make Breakfast Cookies and this morning was a good time to make it happen. We doubled the recipe so we could freeze some.

He was having a very calm behavior day and I was able to keep him engaged in the kitchen with me for quite a while. He took pride in refilling my Oatmeal Container for me from our bulk package.

Then he helped me make a Chocolate Cake because I had spinach that needed to be used up.

Our Breakfast Cookies turned out great, though some of them crumbled because I didn’t have time to let them cool properly on the pan before transferring them. I needed my pans so I could make our pizzas for lunch!

We finished our baking projects and baked some pizzas in time to eat before the school bus came for Keith and Anna.

Once the Breakfast Cookies cooled I put half of them into our covered dish to serve for tomorrow’s breakfast. Then I put the other half into the freezer for another time.

After school that day, Kiya and Anna helped me turn our Spinach Cake into what was supposed to be a layered pudding cake.

Ah well. My idea didn’t go so well and it all fell apart. Somehow we still ate it though. ;)

Dinner before cake was Monday’s leftover spaghetti meal turned into a Casserole topped with cheese plus Steamed Broccoli.

Friday morning we followed a tip by reader Julie and went to a store here called Super Saver to check out the Mega Meat Sale they were advertising. Woot! We got some amazing prices on meat!

We discovered Popcorn Chicken and French Fries on sale there too. So Friday night that’s what we had for dinner for a “Mom’s Night Off.” I sliced some nectarines and pears to go with our two pans of chicken and three plates of fries (with meals like this we just keep making more in our air fryer until we’re all full). :)

Malachi had told me he would run over for dinner after the game he was filming. But I forgot, ha. So when he showed up it was a fun surprise!

Saturday morning I scrambled 15 eggs for breakfast and served them with fruit and Apple Bread that I’d pulled out of the freezer the night before. While I was at it, I put together the smoothie Matt and I drink every day so that we get enough greens without having to take time to eat salad. ;)

Justus and Kelsey came over and took six kids to Sensory Storytime at the library – joined by a friend of ours who had come to spend the weekend – while Matt and I took BabyBoy#11 to church for a special Child Dedication Brunch for the newest little ones.

Asa and Eva met us there to pray with us for our little guy. It was a beautiful, rich morning. And it was super relaxing because we only had one kiddo with us – wow. How great was it for us to share a table with our youngest and our oldest (and with the sweet mama with our grandbaby on the way). Sure, I cried. Most of the morning, actually. :)

Back at home, Justus, Kelsey, and our friend Kermit had fed the kids Sloppy Joes, Mac and Cheese, and Peas. Matt and I got home in time for me to turn right around and head out to watch some dear friends in a Homeschool Melodrama. Malachi had been a part of this during his last years in high school and oh how we’ve missed it! I got to enjoy the entire afternoon by myself, which was very much needed. Plus I got to see all kinds of wonderful friends and grab lots of hugs. Praise God for this!

I didn’t get any pictures yesterday, but here’s a flashback of “old man Malachi” in last year’s Melodrama.

Elias and Matt held down the fort while I was gone, played outside with the kids, and made frozen pizza for dinner.

And that was our week!

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