Heavenly Homemakers

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Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 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, January 3

For dinner on Saturday evening, I’d made a huge pot of Beef Stew with some stew meat I’d picked up marked down at Sam’s that week. The kids didn’t eat it very well, but we grown ups enjoyed it. :)

The evening was uneventful, filled with bath time and the normal mayhem. I did manage to finally cut and individually wrap the Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies that I’d baked the day before. Having these ready to pack in school lunches was my main goal for them.

Big Family Food and Fun: January 4-10, 2026

On Sunday morning after worship, Josie and Auggie helped Matt fill a tote of pantry items to bring home and fill our Little Free Pantry.

Our lunch gathering after church was a huge delight, as usual. Our friend Steve walked in a case of Root Beer to share – and it didn’t take much arm twisting at the mention of Root Beer Floats for him to run right out to the store to pick up ice cream so that we could add Floats to our dessert bar. He was back with “the goods” right as we were getting ready to serve lunch: Ham and Cheese Sliders, Tomato Soup, Fruit, and Potatoes.

I’d put together six foil 12-packs of Sliders to warm in the oven – so 72 Sliders altogether. At the end of our meal? Exactly one slider remained. I guess this meal was a hit!

There were 25 of us gathered that day, with so much joy in our conversation and fellowship.

Matt and I sent the kids downstairs to watch a movie with Elias, Malorie, and Malachi during the afternoon while we enjoyed time with three other couples during our Community Group. For dinner that night, I put a box of Taquitos into the oven, warmed up White Queso, and served up Grapes. Easy and fun!

In an effort to get ahead for our launch into a new school semester after a long break, I made a big batch of Breakfast Burritos.

On Monday morning, Emma came to help with the non-school kids, Auggie had ABA therapy, and guess what I got to do? I ducked out for the entire day for some time of Recovery. First stop: a massage. I’ve been holding onto this certificate from my sweet daughters since August.

My friend Terra is amazing if you happen to be in Lincoln and want a healing massage. I was so relaxed after this that I wasn’t sure it was safe for me to drive, ha. But, drive I did – all the way to Panera where I sipped (well, a ton of water at first to get the most out of my massage and then…) coffee. I had my laptop and spent two blissful hours writing.

I ended my time away from home with a run into Costco to get a couple of things. This is what “a couple of things” looks like for our household…

Back at home, Matt and I took Auggie in the stroller for a walk to pick up the school kids. Mayhem and meltdowns began immediately, then ABA therapy, then dinner. I’d thrown BBQ Sauce on Chicken in the crock pot early that morning, then I made Green Beans and Buttered Rolls to go with it.

As the kids were finishing their meal, I decided to make Cheesecake Parfait to go with the Strawberries I’d picked up at Costco. We went through one two-pound round of strawberries very quickly and I got my blender back out and made another batch of parfait. Four pounds of strawberries later, I’d say this was a huge hit with everyone that night!

On Tuesday morning, Little Sweetheart came over to spend the day. We did some hair styling then played in the container of hair ties – which are very, very fun to throw all over the place.

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. They all did well this week, and it was great to see over 100 people go through the food line.

Back at home, Matt finished the dinner I’d started: Leftover BBQ Chicken turned into Meat and Cheese Melts with leftover Veggies.

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

Arrow came and spent the morning, making a batch of his own muffins in our play kitchen.

Somewhere in there, Josie helped me make Party Potatoes to slow cook for our dinner that night.

It was gorgeous outside, so I grilled Steak and Pork Ribs out on our smoker. IN JANUARY. What a treat!

Before bed that night, Brayden and Auggie helped me put together a large Cheeseburger Casserole for our Thursday night dinner.

On Thursday morning, after we got the kids off to school and settled Auggie in with his ABA therapy, I made a new extra large batch of Granola Bars to have on hand.

All throughout the morning, I baked many pans of Bacon. I had plans to use it with our casserole that night for dinner, for a breakfast-for-dinner on Friday, and just to have bacon on hand for anyone who wanted bacon during the next few days. The grown-ups in our house like it when I have cooked bacon on hand. I also save the bacon grease to use when I make Green Beans.

On my last round of bacon, I put two pans of Spinach Cupcakes into the oven to bake for a snack that night. I felt very relieved after all of this time in the kitchen because now I had a lot of good food items made ahead for upcoming needs!

When Malachi got home from work, Auggie helped him warm up and make a cup of coffee. There’s no way Malachi could have done this without the help of his three-year-old brother.

We enjoyed our Cheeseburger Casserole that night with Bacon for those who wanted to add it, Buttered Corn, and Spinach Cupcakes.

Keith took a break from his ABA therapy that night to make rice with Elias. I love how our younger kids love to be a part of life with their older brothers. And I love how the older kids include their younger siblings in their tasks.

On Friday morning, Daddy took Acacia to Speech Therapy. But first, this Helper of the Day helped me make Banana Bread with all of the bananas I’d been holding onto in the freezer.

We quickly ate our way through one loaf of Banana Bread, but I froze the other two loaves for later.

Dinner that night was a HUGE hit with everyone. I made a mountain of French Toast, 20+ Sausage Patties, and warmed up a large amount of Bacon from what I’d baked the day before. We got out Applesauce and Blueberries and feasted on dinner for breakfast. Everyone ate so well that we ran out of food before all of the adults got home from work to eat. Wow.

On Saturday morning, we took the kids to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Storytime. There’d been a break from this during the holidays, so we were very excited to go back! The theme for the day was SNOW, so we got to enjoy snowflakes made of felt, books and songs about snow, and then…

…we got to have a snowball fight!

Ms. Diane is incredible at putting this weekly program together!

Matt helped me load up the kids in the library parking lot, then he left in a different vehicle to drive to Heartlands to support our friends during their mom’s funeral service. I was on my own at home with all seven kids for a couple of hours, which is rare! We planned that we would let them watch a movie to help me survive the time. It all went well, and everyone did ok overall!

Part way through the movie, our friend Paula showed up with a car full of groceries for us to put into our Little Free Pantry. Their church group has been awesome to take part in this ministry with us! We paused our movie so that all seven kids could help bring in food.

It overtook our pantry floor – a great problem to have! So many people will be blessed by this food!

I needed to turn off my computer at this point, so I’ll continue sharing about our Saturday next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 26-November 1, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 26-November 1, 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, October 25

Matt had rented a lift and had a few days left with it before needing to turn it back in. So he worked on Saturday afternoon while Auggie napped. As he came back down and was ready to move it (our neighbor has been using it also) – all of the kids ran out to take a ride!

I made a simple – but favorite – meal of Orange Chicken for dinner that night. All the kids will eat this chicken, some with the sauce and some without. So it’s a nice night off from food struggles. We go through two Sam’s-sized boxes of this convenience food, which costs a total of around $26. What a cheap way to enjoy “eating out” without eating out!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 26-November 1, 2025

Auggie has been our “up bright and early” kiddo lately – though it’s not exactly bright out when he gets up. He started on our plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars while I got plates and food ready for Sunday Lunch.

Matt is part of our Teaching Team at Heartlands, and it was his turn to speak at church that morning. How he pulled off working on the lift for a week and a half plus putting together a sermon was quite miraculous and going into this week, we were both pretty worn out. Sunday Lunch, though, revives us. Spending time in community like this is such a gift.

I had declared a Pie Theme for our lunch that day. Our friend Cindy brought Shepherd’s Pie, and I made Chicken Pot Pie and two Quiche.

Our friend, Ingrid, made a really good Cheese Pie, and I made a No Bake Cheesecake and an Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie. Pie Parties: Highly recommend.

Auggie loves to escape outside (an autistic trait called “eloping”) and our friend Pasha was incredibly sweet to volunteer to go outside with him and keep him safe. Auggie loved the one-on-one attention and I think Pasha loved his time with Auggie too.

Meanwhile, Pasha’s dad, Steve, was in the living room teaching Brayden and Keith to play Chess. How cool is that?!

Matt and I were blessed to spend time with our Community Group later that afternoon while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. I made three Frozen Pizzas for dinner in an effort to feed some very excited kiddos before we put on costumes and headed out for the night.

Brayden had a Heartlands Youth Ministry party that night, so he’d dressed up and headed out to enjoy Big Kid time. We managed to get the other six kids decked out in this year’s Star Wars themed costumes.

Kiya pulled off Rey amazingly well and she was so proud (as she should be!). Keith was Mandalorian, Anna: Darth Vader; Acacia: Princess Leia; Josie was Chewy and Auggie was our little Baby Yoda. The cuteness was ridiculous.

We loaded up and headed to Boo at the Zoo, which was a free and ENORMOUS event. It was well organized though, and all we had to do was wrangle kids and follow the clearly marked off path. We were very proud of how well the kids handled this (and yes there were meltdowns later, but that happens with or without outings like this).

Monday morning, Auggie started ABA therapy again with a new technician. It took a little while for him to warm up, but his therapist was here too and helped get him acclimated. I sort of hovered on the outskirts to be available if needed, but gave them space to settle Auggie in.

Also that morning, our friend Emma came for a few hours. She was one of our dear babysitters in York, and now she’s married and lives close to Lincoln! So we’ve hired her to come spend time with the girls on Monday mornings so that Matt and I have some time to catch our breath. This is such a gift!

We had a fridge full of leftovers so for dinner that night, I pulled them out along with fresh spinach, and that was our meal!

On Tuesday morning, I discovered Keith in the living room working on a big Word Search. He’s recently discovered these and is so proud when he finds a word in the puzzle!

Little Sweetheart was on her way over and our afternoon was full. So I made a crock pot full of The Easiest Chili for our dinner that night.

It was raining, so we all played in the house all morning until preschool and naptime.

Matt went to pick the kids up that afternoon and snapped this sweet picture. Keith has a special buddy who was picked up by his grandma that day. Grandma and Buddy were holding hands, then Keith joined the train.

I took Brayden and Kiya to serve at our weekly Food Distribution after school.

Matt had fed most of the kids Chili and fruit by the time we got home. Josie realized that it was her day to be Mom’s Special Helper so she eagerly loaded a few dishes into the dishwasher for me. (There are seven days in a week and we have seven little kids. Therefore, each of the kids has a “day” that belongs to them. They get to help me in the kitchen or with other chores, which somehow has turned into a privilege even though it’s work. They love the special time with us, and the fact that if it’s their special day, that means they get extra privileges, like getting to lick the spatula.)

On Wednesday, the kids discovered what Amazon had delivered the night before. A few weeks ago, our ABA therapist had suggested to us that Sensory Socks might be helpful as a calm-down tool for our kids. I forgot about them until Kelsey texted a picture of them this week and made the same suggestion. So I ordered three – one in each size – to give them a try.

Auggie put on the Brayden-sized one and wasn’t sure how he felt about it. :)

As it turned out, ordering three Sensory Socks when you have seven neurodivergent kids wasn’t going to work for us. Instead of calming them, they fought over them while I was trying to get breakfast made and get everyone out the door for school. Hoo-rah. (Later we did have some calming success with them, and also later – I ordered more so that everyone could have one at the same time.)

Meanwhile, we needed go-to snacks. I had made a huge batch of Chewy Granola Bars last week and our household had plowed through them already. So Wednesday morning, I made another huge batch. These are one of the only things Keith has been choosing to eat lately.

I also made a double batch of Banana Muffins for snacks.

I was planning French Toast and Bacon for dinner, so I got all the Bacon baked that morning to make the evening easier.

Auggie had ABA therapy that morning. Acacia and Josie found a game to play.

Arrow came over because he’d heard that Lolli had made more muffins. :)

That afternoon, I ran to Wal-Mart for a few needed items. Notice that “a few needed items” still fills an entire cart. But also!? The price of eggs is exciting now as the chicken flu situation is on the mend and eggs are not as short in supply. In celebration, I bought ten dozen. :)

When Kiya got home from school, Malachi talked her into making him a sandwich for him. They had a silly time together in the kitchen and it was fun to watch. :)

Dinner that night was French Toast, Bacon, Sausage, and Applesauce.

On Thursday I didn’t take many pictures. I had a meeting for Auggie, Little Sweetheart came over to spend the day, and in general, we just kept plugging away to get work done and needs taken care of.

For dinner that night, I had slow cooked Salsa Chicken then made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice. Everyone built a Chicken Taco Bowl based on their preferences with all kinds of topping options.

The weather wasn’t too cold, so we made sure the kids played outside all evening. When it got dark, Matt decided to treat the kids to a few minutes around the fire pit. He fired it up and the kids had a grand time. No marshmallows, only silliness!

It’s hard to see this picture, but I hope you can hear this picture. The kids were giggling and singing Happy Birthday to no one, then blowing out the flame. :)

Friday morning, I stirred together all the Chicken Taco Bowl leftovers and turned them into Burritos for our freezer. I used our favorite Tortillas from Azure Standard. I buy them by the case and freeze them to pull out and use as needed. Eva has been making her own tortillas lately for their family and it reminds me of my tortilla-making days! Someday, I’ll hopefully make tortillas again! Until then, these.

I ended up with 16 Burritos.

And then Anna, who has a lot of food trauma plus Autism, which presents its own level of food issues, grabbed one of the burritos, unwrapped it, and ate the entire contents. Cold. For breakfast. What?? If I would have offered her this, it would have been a no-go, for sure. But there she was, gobbling this right up. Matt and I just smiled, shook our heads, and praised God that she was actually eating.

After we got the other kids off to school, these three kiddos helped me make Lasagna for Sunday Lunch.

Lasagna is a favorite for sure!

Acacia only had Speech Therapy that morning without her normal Physical Therapy that typically follows. She focused and did well, and it was nice to get home and have some time before the bus came.

Malachi texted from his office that afternoon to inform us that Sonic was offering $0.50 Corn Dogs that day. With a full evening ahead, we scrapped our original menu plan and asked him to please pick up 20 of those cheap corndogs on his way home. Hahaha, we never do this kind of thing, but I’m so glad we did. That deal was hard to beat and have you ever tried getting seven special needs kids into costumes and out the door? Corndogs for the win! (Matt air fried some French fries from our freezer to go with our dogs.)

Thanks for dinner, Malachi!

We managed to get everyone ready to go!

Our neighbor friend and his mom joined us for the evening. Brayden (I mean, Darth Vader) elected to skip trick or treating to stay on our porch and hand out candy. I feared that he would regret this and feel like he missed out. But we ended up having a million trick or treaters and he LOVED handing out candy to everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday morning was a rough one after being out and getting hyped up with trick or treating excitement. We managed to get everyone fed, dressed, and to the library for Story Time. Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart came too.

It was sweet to watch Justus play with his brothers afterward.

We spent some time inside the main library area after Story Time. Keith discovered a fun Word Search on the wall!

Back at home, Josie made a salad to go with lunch.

I put together a Spinach Cake and baked it for Sunday Lunch.

I filled a crock pot with Ham and Potato Soup to slow cook for our dinner.

Then we ate Chicken Nuggets and Salad for lunch.

The weather was chilly but sunny, so we bundled up the kids to play outside during Auggie’s naptime. Then we moved into our time of Sabbath and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 28-October 4, 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 28-October 4, 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 27

Keith had a soccer game Saturday afternoon. He is such a go-getter out on the field and really focuses in. It’s precious to watch.

On the sidelines that day, we had an All-You-Can-Eat Clementine Feast.

Back at home, we took care of some much needed hair cuts. Auggie was first, then Brayden. Once I put on the cape, Auggie went into “the zone.” I set up my phone against a rock to prop it up and he was privileged to watch Ms. Rachel during his hair cut.

He did awesome and we got the job done! I still couldn’t get him to smile for me though. :)

I don’t have any pictures of this, but I wanted to mention that Kiya has been very into Volleyball lately. She’d been bumping a ball around during hair cut time, and Matt and Keith joined her. Then, after I was finished with haircuts, Matt hung out with Auggie while I got to bump the ball for a while with Kiya and Keith. Much to our delight, Brayden jumped into our circle. We all had a lot of fun – and I share this because I’m so thankful that God gave us those minutes to play. There’s so much “fight” in our kids that there’s often not a lot of “fun.” God provided that volleyball time to bond us together in a new way, and it was soooo great. I often pray that Matt and I can truly enjoy our kids. We so badly want to enjoy our kids. Those moments with the volleyball were very enjoyable. Thank you, God.

Dinner was a little bit late that night because I had chosen to play. Worth.It. We quickly threw together Meat and Cheese Melts, Salad, and Green Beans.

Big Family Food and Fun: September 28-October 4, 2025

Here’s Auggie, bright and early on Sunday morning, enjoying Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We had an extra fun Sunday Lunch that day, honoring our friend Christina, who loves potatoes. I decided that we’d have a Potato Party and asked guests to bring their favorite potato dishes. :)

I made Tator Tot Casserole and Spicy Ham and Potato Soup. Christina made Sweet Potato Potato Enchiladas and a Spanish Tortilla. Cindy brought Funeral Potatoes. Was it a carb overload? Sure. But it was fun and on Sabbath, we feast!

Christina brought Pies and I made Spinach Cake for dessert. So see? We had veggies with our meal. ;)

There were 28 of us gathered for lunch that day.

Matt and I enjoyed our Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. Then Acacia helped me put Frozen Pizzas in the oven.

On Monday, when we got the kids to school, this is what “hurry and lock up your bikes and let’s get you into your class lines” looked like. I always wonder why I ever even tell the kids to “hurry” because it is 0% ineffective.

After school that day, Brayden made it home a few minutes before the others. While I was out picking up the elementary kids with Auggie, Matt took advantage of his short one-on-one time with Brayden to play some Catan Junior.

Dinner that night was simple: Chicken Salad with Crackers or Bread options, Spinach, Pickles, and Boiled Eggs.

On Tuesday morning, Little Sweetheart came over for the day. We spent a lot of time outside watering trees and grass, playing…and ruining our clothes.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution. Keith stayed home with Matt this time because his nervous system has been struggling more and going from school to Food Distribution to ABA therapy has led to extra melt downs. So we gave him some time off this week.

Before I left for the afternoon, I had put together a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole and got Banana Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from the freezer to thaw. Matt baked the casserole while we were gone, and our household gobbled this up.

On Wednesday morning, Acacia and Auggie helped me wash potatoes and carrots to put into the crockpot for dinner.

Arrow came to spend the morning with us. I have yet to find anything cuter than a toddler in overalls.

For dinner, we had Pork Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes made in the Crock Pot. We adults loved this! The kids were half and half on feeling like this was edible, so I made some PB and Honey Sandwiches for those who refused to eat this or who only ate a little and didn’t get full.

Thursday morning, Keith rolled out of bed looking like this. The night before, he’d discovered a duffle bag full of Soccer Referee gear that had been used by Matt and our four older boys back in York. This is now Keith’s chosen career path.

That morning, I baked a double batch of Pumpkin Bars and a recipe of Bran Muffins baked into Mini-Sized Muffins.

We had Apple Crisp and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream planned for our Sunday Lunch dessert. So I got started on the first of several rounds of ice cream.

Kiya had requested Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars. So I made those too!

Little Sweetheart came to spend the day with us again. Josie had taken a basket full of random items outside, and Sweetheart helped her sort through them.

After the girls left for school and the babies were napping, I cut the Pumpkin Bars and separated them onto two plates – one to freeze and one to serve for breakfast the next day.

Dinner that night was super simple since I’d been baking to get ahead in other ways. I’d picked up a big bag of Teriyaki Chicken at Sam’s so I thawed it and heated it. I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to go with it plus steamed some Broccoli.

On Friday morning, I baked four pans of Bacon to get ahead and to have for dinner that night.

Acacia had Speech Therapy.

Then we moved into a Physical Therapy session. These are both challenging for Acacia, and she’s pretty worn out after back-t0-back therapies. But she’s making good progress, and we’re proud of her hard work.

Our entire household had been passing around a cold but it hasn’t been too bad. Josie, though, got knocked down a little bit harder with hers. She ended up missing two days of school this week. She fell asleep during the afternoon on Friday, and I captured this beautiful, sweet picture of her.

That afternoon/evening, I attempted to get ahead for Sunday’s needs. It was a little bit hectic, but then again, it always is. :) Keith and Auggie had ABA therapy. (Anna has been taking a very long ABA break as we wait for a new technician to come on board for her therapy needs.) I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for upcoming Sunday breakfasts.

Anna sat in the kitchen with me while I worked and did her “homework.”

Earlier in the afternoon, I’d put Marinated Chicken and a Pork Loin on the smoker to cook for Sunday’s lunch.

With our smoker already full of meat, I baked Hamburgers for our dinner. Some people built Bacon Cheeseburgers with the bacon I’d prepped earlier in the day. I air fried some French fries and got out pickles to go with our burgers.

It was at that point Elias saw that our smoker had run out of pellets and the Pork Loin was no longer cooking. Boo. Thankfully, it was done enough, so I pulled it off, knowing I’d cook it a little bit more on Sunday morning before lunch.

After dinner, Matt took Anna and Acacia to a birthday party. Those of us who stayed back home finished therapy and kitchen clean up.

During one of Auggie’s therapy-work breaks, he helped me make one more batch of Ice Cream for Sunday. It was a very full day and bedtime felt good that night!

Saturday morning, I put together a Apple Berry Crisp to bake the next morning for Sunday’s Lunch dessert. Here’s the pan before I added the oat crumble topping:

We’d discovered a free Pumpkin Patch nearby, so we loaded up to check it out. This spot was perfect for our family!

It was a small space with a jump pad, goats and chickens to enjoy, and a field full of pumpkins we could stroll through.

This Pumpkin Patch is the opposite of many that we have looked into for our kids – not overstimulating, not scary, no chance of losing kids in the crowd. The weather was beautiful, the other families who were there were roaming around calmly and sharing their goat food with us…it was a lovely morning.

Did we still have some screaming episodes and kiddo neediness? Yes. That comes with the territory for us. But overall, this was a wonderful setting for us to enjoy time with our kids and it provided a “Pumpkin Patch” experience for them that was just right.

Did I mention that it was FREE? We just paid for some goat food and the pumpkins that we choose. We bought several pumpkins to bring home because were happy to support the people that provided such a low key and fun outing for us!

I had packed some snacky lunch foods and distributed them to the kids once they were buckled into the van and had washed their hands with wet wipes, ha. We ate salami, cheese, applesauce, bananas, chips, and buttered bagels.

Back at home, Auggie napped while we transitioned toward getting ready for Keith’s final soccer game for the season, then started our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2025

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

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

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

Big Family Grocery Spending for September, 2025

1. Costco

On September 3, I filled up a cart at Costco! I got four bags of apples, a watermelon, 4-pounds of strawberries, 2 containers of raspberries, sweet peppers, oranges, bananas, spinach, cream, half and half, sour cream, butter, shredded cheese, three boxes of frozen pizza, crusted tilapia, laughing cow cheese for lunches, beef hotdogs, bacon cheddar brats on clearance, coffee, chips, barbecue sauce, cocoa powder, pancake mix, pepperoni, and sliced cheese.

Total for Groceries at Costco: $377.99

2. Aldi

I went to Aldi that same day, hoping my chance to score some meat markdowns. I didn’t find any, but the prices on several items were great per pound so I grabbed boneless chicken thighs ($2.49/pound) and grass-fed hamburger patties ($5.49/pound). We use Aldi’s sausage patties for breakfast sandwiches so I got two more bags of those and five gallons of milk.

Total at Aldi: $88.74

3. Sam’s

On September 6, I ran into Sam’s on our way home from a church event because it’s right on the path. I needed Peanut Butter and Bacon, and as you can see, I very much stocked up on Peanut Butter! This is our favorite kind and Sam’s is the only place I can find it. As I always do, I checked for mark-downs on meat. I scored BIG on hamburger patties and even BIGGER on racks of ribs. The ribs were marked down plus each package was an additional $5 off. And they were double packs. So I got two packages each of two racks of ribs for around $13 each. AMAZING.

Total at Sam’s: $196.45

4. Aldi

On September 10, I went to Aldi for our weekly milk plus a few other needed items. I do crack up at the fact that this is what my shopping trip looks like when I just need to “run into Aldi for a couple of things.” :) I got five gallons of milk, Caesar salad kits, cilantro, spaghetti sauce, cantaloupe, granola, lots of yogurt, chips, crackers, cumin, raisins, bananas, limes, frozen fries and tots, shrimp, lasagna noodles, fruit/veggie pouches, sliced pineapple, meat sticks, hamburger meat, and salami.

Total at Aldi: $147.32

5. Hy-Vee Pick-Up

On September 13, we got most of our WIC items for the month through Hy-Vee Pick-up. Acacia aged out of WIC last month, so we get fewer items now. Still, we are so blessed to get several boxes of cereal, some cheese, whole grain pasta, beans, eggs, and produce through Josie and Auggie’s benefits. I forgot to take a picture until most of our groceries were put away…

Total at Hy-Vee: $0 out of pocket

6. Costco

On September 17, I went to Costco and got shredded cheese, rolled oats, milk, sweet peppers, spinach, pears, strawberries, raspberries, meat sticks, graham crackers, potatoes, frozen meatballs, white queso, nectarines, sour cream, butter, chips, bananas, mandarins, chocolate chips, canned pumpkin, pickles, sliced ham, broccoli, and a Rotisserie Chicken.

Total for Groceries at Costco: $217.91

7. Sam’s

On September 24, I stocked up at Sam’s and found meat markdowns while I was there too! I bought 20-pounds of ground beef, three packages of chicken breast tenderloins marked down, plus spinach, spring mix, baby carrots, cream, half and half, oatmeal packets, butter, bacon, brown sugar, pickles, French fries, bananas, raspberries, apples, 10-dozen eggs, avocado cups, sliced cheese, chocolate chips, rotel, canned corn, sausage links, yogurt, honey, maple syrup, spaghetti sauce, egg noodles, minced onion, veggie straws, and some packaged snacks for lunches and soccer games (like granola bars).

Total for Groceries at Sam’s: $490.69

8. Wal-Mart

After I left Sam’s that day, I went next door to Wal-Mart. I forgot to take a picture, but I bought four gallons of milk, seven bags of frozen veggies, a big bag of frozen hashbrowns, three cans of pineapple tidbits, two packages of shredded coconut, two packages of cubed ham, and a pork roast marked down to less than $2/pound.

Total for Groceries at Wal-Mart: $52.63

9. Amazon

Also not pictured is three boxes of Go-Go Squeeze applesauce or yogurts that came in our subscribe-and-save order this month.

Total at Amazon: $31.42

Total for groceries September, 2025: $1,603

Our WIC benefits provide our littles with around $120 worth of groceries each month. You can read here to learn our 2025 Grocery Budget plus look over ways I’m able to keep our budget at this level.

Running Totals for 2025

January spending: $679
February spending: $1,459
March spending: $1,346
April spending: $1,364
May spending: $1374
June spending: $1,127
July spending: $633
August spending: $1,501
September spending: $1,603

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

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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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Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 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, August 30

It was rainy that Saturday afternoon, so we had to find indoor activities to keep the kids occupied. Brayden and Kiya asked to see our wedding photos. So we all enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane, seeing so many family members’ pictures from 31 years ago, seeing Mommy in her pretty white dress, seeing Daddy looking like our now adult sons… :)

I pulled out a craft kit to enjoy at the living room table.

Elias and Malorie have a tradition of taking each birthday kid out for a “Special Adventure” to celebrate their birthday. That Saturday afternoon was a good opportunity for them to take Acacia out. They walked around the mall, then got her a special lemonade. She loved every minute of this special time!

Josie helped me make Baked Beans for our Sunday Lunch as we wrapped up our day and headed into our Sabbath evening.

For dinner that night, I used the last of some BBQ Pulled Pork I had in the fridge to make Sandwich Melts.

Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 2025

On Sunday morning, we dug into a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We needed to be an hour early to church that day because Brayden had the honor of being on the Worship Team and they needed to do a run-through of the morning’s songs. Justus had arranged for a mother-daughter combo and a father-daughter combo to be on the team that day along with Brayden/Justus/Kelsey as a brother-brother-sister combo. I was glad we got there an hour early so I get get my happy tears out as I watched them worship. While Brayden struggles mightily with academics and social skills, THIS is a place where Brayden shines so confidently.

Back at home after church, we had 39 people gather for lunch. It was Acacia’s birthday and it was so much fun to have a houseful to celebrate with her!

We enjoyed Acacia’s lunch menu choices: Hotdogs and Cheddar Brats, Chips, Pickles, Grapes, and Carrots. For dessert we had Brownies and several batches of Homemade Ice Cream.

I tried to walk around to take pictures of groups gathered throughout the house, but I missed capturing everyone.

I love watching people enjoy a meal and fellowship. I am so thankful for this home God provided for us!

Because it was a three-day holiday weekend, Kelsey took full advantage of her time at home to get ahead in her kitchen. It was so fun to get texts and pictures from her throughout the weekend, sharing her tasty progress. Sunday evening: Stir-and-Pour Bread!

Meanwhile, I was tapped out and made Aldi Take-and-Bake Pizzas for Acacia’s birthday dinner.

We hadn’t had a chance yet that day to sing and blow out birthday candles or open gifts. So we gathered in the dining room after Pizza to enjoy this time with her.

Note that the boots Acacia was so excited to receive had been purchased on clearance at the end of last winter for an entire $1.00 and stashed away for such a time as this. Five-year-olds are easy to please and don’t need expensive presents. She LOVES these new sparkly boots!

Monday morning was rainy and dreary. We decided to take the kids to the Mall indoor play area to get some energy out since a park or the zoo was out of the question that day. I packed sandwiches, grapes, chips, almonds, and apples to get us through our outing.

The kids played until hunger took over, and we headed to the food court area to find a table.

And who did we discover along the way? Our friends, the Cases, and they had more friends, the Adcock girls, with them. Christina snapped this picture for us to send to the Adcock Mama to hopefully brighten her day.

Running into friends was a HUGE perk to our day and changed some grumpy attitudes around. We are so thankful for these friends!

Somehow we got everyone fed, then to the potty, then to the play area again before heading home for Auggie’s nap.

The Nabb family came over all afternoon so that Cindy and I could work on some paperwork together. The kids played school in the living room (it was still raining outside!), then we talked the Nabbs into staying for dinner! I made an Egg Casserole, Pancakes (from a box, ha – actually two boxes), Sausage Patties, and Fruit.

This was the best. We hadn’t made any Labor Day plans so I loved that this impromptu gathering happened.

Meanwhile, Kelsey had sent me pictures of a big Turkey she’d baked, Broth she made with the bones, and these Snickerdoodle Bites. You go, girl!

Tuesday morning, the teachers had a work day so the kids were home from school again. Somehow, most of the kids slept in and Anna was the only kiddo who joined me downstairs before 7:30. While we don’t get hours of one-on-one time with each of our kids, I find that God does provide small windows of opportunity to give undivided attention to them like this. During our time together, Anna helped me get Breakfast Cookie Bars, Spinach Cake, and Stick of Butter Rice into the oven.

It felt good to get ahead and to make good use of oven heat. (As in, since I had turned the oven on to bake a cake, I wanted to add more to the oven while it was hot to save energy.)

The kids have been very into sitting on skateboards and riding them down the driveway. The rain had stopped so we spent the entire morning outside, much of it on skateboards.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the day, and she proved herself to be one of the big kids outside walking around and riding the little scooter.

Mid-morning, Keith helped me make Cream Cheese Frosting for our cake.

I browned two pounds of hamburger meat and stirred it into the rice I’d baked earlier to make Taco Rice Dinner. I kept the corn and beans separate to accommodate pickiness. Then I covered it and put it into the fridge for Matt to rewarm at dinnertime.

At lunchtime, we used Sunday’s leftover hotdogs to make Beanie Weanies. Mealtimes seem to somehow turn our kids into screamers, phew. Several of our kids have food-related trauma, so it’s par for the course. Still, it makes me sad. How I long to simply make food, serve food, enjoy food, and then clean up after us. Instead, there’s yelling, fighting, food refusal, arguing, and a lot of “I hate this” even if they ate thirds of the same food last time. Anyway, this lunch time was especially challenging and loud. Parenting this time around is so different!

Note: My intent with sharing some of the challenges in our family isn’t to whine or complain. But I do feel that it’s important that I share the reality of our situation. Matt and I are constantly trying to figure out how to successfully train, discipline, and teach these babes. Mostly, we want them to know that they are loved and that they can trust us. Trust is tricky with kids who have lost so much. We’ll keep loving and being trustworthy, praying and supporting.

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution.

Matt had warmed the Taco Rice Dinner that I’d made earlier in the day and fed some of the littler ones. ABA therapy was in full force when we got home so the rest of us ate in shifts as the evening went on. Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie did some cooking to pre-make some work lunches to grab and take as they headed out early the rest of this week. Malachi was hanging/working/working out with his friend, Graham, and they ate dinner too. It was a full kitchen all evening long – my favorite!

Wednesday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and Arrow came to hang out. Grandbaby time is incredibly precious to us.

After we got the girls on their preschool bus around noon, Matt got Auggie down for a nap and I headed out to grocery shop. This might last us for a short while?

I had put a bag of frozen meatballs into our crock pot with barbecue sauce for Meatball Subs for dinner. We had them with Raspberries and Salad.

As we were getting all seven kids down for the night, Keith and Auggie parked themselves in our “Reading Room” with the big bear. I couldn’t believe how long Auggie sat there looking at books. This is a big break-through for a little guy who has had to be taught how to play, sit, and focus. By the way, our “Reading Room” is a sun room just off of our girls’ bedroom. This room has evolved from an extra bedroom to a Lego Room to what is now our Reading Room. There’s a shelf behind the door that you can’t see if this photo, and that’s where the kids can grab their books to calm down with at night in their beds. This great big bear has been a perfect addition to this room (thanks, Burham family, for handing this off to us!).

Wednesday evening, I made yet another double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies because apparently we are obsessed with these now. They have become a very helpful go-to for snacks and lunches so I will keep making them until we get tired of them. I also made another big batch of Chewy Granola Bars for the same reason. We are eating through them very quickly and they provide a fast protein fix all throughout the day. On Thursday morning, I got them cut and packaged for easy grab-and-go options for everyone.

Kiya is always excited to help with projects like this.

Anna helped me scramble eggs to make French Toast.

We’d brought home a fun loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Food Distribution on Tuesday, and this makes the best French Toast! When I make it like this, I don’t serve it to the kids with maple syrup. It is sweet enough just as it is and I tell them that they can eat it like cookies. :)

Josie’s teacher sent me this fun photo that afternoon, stating that Josie had declared them to be twins that day with their flower dresses, messy buns, and sandals. :) :) :) She sure does love Ms. Kristine!

Little Sweetheart spent the day with us, and the kids are always so excited when she or Arrow join us for school drop off or pick up!

Dinner that night was the best. I had marinated and Smoked Chicken plus I had cut up 4-pounds of berries for Strawberry Parfaits. I steamed Green Beans, Sautéed Peppers and Onions, and Buttered/Toasted some Buns. We devoured this.

YOU GUYS. All of Auggie’s life we have tried to read books to him. But he would never let us, which was so sad both for snuggles and for his developmental needs. This day was the very first day he sat down and let me read a book to him. AMAZING. Brayden took a picture to document the milestone event. I made it through about a third of Bears on Wheels before Auggie was ready to move on. But wow did it feel good knowing the progress this baby boy has made!

Friday morning is a big morning for Acacia now. After we get Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Anna off to school, we settle Auggie in with ABA therapy in our living room, and Josie gets one-on-one with Daddy while Acacia and I head off to Children’s Rehab for therapy. She starts with an hour of Speech Therapy.

Then we take a potty break and head in for an hour of Physical Therapy. This week we got home just as the preschool bus was arriving to take her and Josie to school. Phew!

Matt and I spend Friday afternoons together – not working but just being together. If we don’t block out time like this, we’d never have full conversations. :)

Dinner that night was Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup. Plus I cut up a huge Watermelon that we munched on all evening long.

Saturday morning, I made Cream Cheese Salsa Dip and Caramel Apple Dip in preparation for a big Chip/Veggie/Fruit Dip Buffet for Sunday’s lunch.

We loaded up snacks for the morning as we headed out to start with our first outing of the day. Our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Story Time was starting back up for the fall!

This special library event is such a gift for our family and for several others who we see each time we go. Most of the guests are on the autism spectrum or have other disabilities – and it is such a safe, friendly environment. No one expects the kids to sit perfectly still. Ms. Diane offers lots of opportunities for the kids to move around, to participate or not participate in the simple songs and actions to go with songs/books, to be seen, to be cared for. There are special chairs and special weighted stuffed animals. It’s the most beautiful time and we are so thankful to be a part of this.

Malachi hopped in with us and played with the kids during the sensory toy time after story hour.

Then we loaded back up (ate snacks) and headed to Heartlands for a Color Run with our church’s Kids Ministry. Here’s a shot of everyone running the path getting sprayed with colorful chalk, while Matt and I stayed back with hesitant littles.

By the end, Josie had finally allowed herself to get a little bit “chalked” while Anna had decided to go all in and Kiya and Keith were very well covered. It was such a well-attended event and so much fun!

We went home and ate leftovers for lunch, then loaded back up to go to Keith’s soccer game. Did I pack more snacks, even though we’d snacked all day and just eaten lunch? Yes, snacks are a must. The kids ate their way through 2-pounds of strawberries and a bunch of animal crackers while Keith ran his heart out and even scored a goal.

Late afternoon was spent playing outside, cleaning, then moving into our time of Sabbath. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 20-26, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 20-26, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, April 12

Saturday afternoon, I took some fruit outside for kids to snack on after they played.

Brayden and Kiya had been across the street helping our neighbor pull weeds and plant flowers. He walked the kids back over to our house and enjoyed some of the fruit with our kids.

For dinner that night, I made Spaghetti with Caesar Salad and Canned Pears.

We try to spend our Saturday evening meal focusing with our kids on how God was at work during the week. And we practice some of our Bible verses we are working to help our kids get these truths into their hearts.

Big Family Food and Fun: April 20-26, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars before getting ready for church.

We tried to gather our entire family together for an Easter photo. Ever tried to herd 7 cats??

Ah, there we go. Malachi was in Kansas City spending time with friends. Otherwise, we were all together and dressed in our finest. See how easy that was to get 18 people in one beautiful photo? Oy.

The Nabb family joined us for Easter Dinner that day, plus a couple of extra friends.

I had baked one of our $5 post-Christmas hams. The Nabbs brought Cheesy Potatoes and Roasted Vegies. I made Cream Cheese Corn, plus we both provided rolls.

The dessert section was beyond amazing with a great big No-Bake Cheesecake that I’d made the day before and delicious cookies that the Nabbs made and brought. After church, we’d been sent home with a dozen leftover donuts from the Welcome Center – just in case we didn’t have enough sugar to eat already. ;)

Between the Coppingers, the Nabbs, and extra friends there were 28 of us gathered for our Easter feast.

It was extra fun because the Nabb adult kids have long been friends with the Coppinger adult kids – so gathering all of them together was great! They also have younger kids to play with our younger kids, so being together with this family is an absolute delight. :)

Keith ate his few bites of food (he’d rather play instead of eat) and found himself on the floor entertaining Arrow for a few minutes.

After we ate together, all the adults hid Easter eggs throughout our house for all of the kids to find. We usually do this outside, but thanks to very cool temps and rain all day, we needed to settle for indoor fun this year.

Here they go, with buckets ready to fill!

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with our friends, and it truly was glorious. I made four Frozen Pizzas for dinner that night, which is always a perfect way to end our Sabbath time and Easter celebration.

Monday morning, our kids were home from school so we gathered everyone up and took a walk to fill up our church’s Little Free Pantry. Auggie’s ABA technician joined us on our outing.

Before heading back home, we detoured so that we could play at a tiny park in our neighborhood.

Back at home, we made the last of a bag of Chicken Nuggets and a Salad for lunch, plus warmed up leftover Smoked Chicken and Mashed Potatoes.

Keith was my Special Helper of the day and he helped me put together a pan of Pizza Chicken Bake for dinner.

We ate our Pizza Chicken Bake that evening with Pasta and Green Beans.

Auggie’s evening ABA technician and therapist came for three hours, plus we had our Family Therapy team at our house working with us. While this is all GOOD, it’s also a bit hectic trying to keep up with it all. At one point, I had to take one of the girls in to potty, and caught this scene when I came back outside – kids and therapists with Matt while they talk through needs and challenges. As you can see, the therapy team works with us right where we are, and that night, we were outside climbing trees.

Elias and Malorie were playing catch outside, and Auggie (with his technician) went over to join. Brayden made his way over also. It was very sweet.

I sliced a loaf of Apple Bread for a snack before bed that night. I wish I could say that we all slept well that night after such a big day. But the truth is that after our big Family Therapy meetings on Mondays, I often struggle to settle in at night. My mind is going in too many directions, something to get ahead of with prayer, for sure.

Tuesday morning, I took Auggie to Speech Therapy. He had a great morning, cooperating and showing off new speech skills.

Little Sweetheart had arrived at our house by the time we got home and Auggie was happy to greet her!

Arrow came that afternoon, so it was a delightful day full of grandbabies!!

I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution site after school. Brayden was wearing a brand new shirt and I’d cautioned him about getting bleach/cleaner on it when scrubbing out coolers. He wisely found a solution: put on an apron. Good job, buddy! Ah, and then Keith needed one too. :)

With such a full week (and it was only Tuesday!) I had made a simple dinner for that night of Frozen Meatballs in the crock pot with barbecue sauce. Matt steamed Broccoli and that was our meal.

We put all the littles to bed at 8, but we’ve been letting Brayden, Kiya, and Keith stay up just a bit later to read, do art, or play Legos quietly in the boys’ room. Malachi joins them for Legos when he’s available, and it is the sweetest. The kids love it when he plays with them!

Wednesday morning was a great big day in which Malachi and I took Keith and Anna to Omaha for behavior evaluations. We had to get out the door early, so I just set out Mudballs and Bagels for the kids to grab for breakfast.

Keith’s appointment was first, and Anna sat in the waiting room hanging out with Malachi and a big basket of books and crafts the entire morning. Keith and I spent time with a doctor who observed him and asked us a bazillion questions.

Two and a half hours later, we found a park close-by so that kids who had been cooped up in small rooms for the entire morning could run out some energy. This turned out to be a skate park, and the kids had the BEST time running and running for 45 minutes. Did Keith completely ruin his pants by sliding down cement over and over? Yes, he did. But did his mom care? Naw. She wasn’t even surprised. She was just glad to see Keith doing his thing. ;)

Malachi and I visited and ate but the kids decided that playing was more fun than eating. (They ate their food later when we were back at the clinic.)

All afternoon, Keith hung out with Malachi in the waiting room while Anna spent time with the doctor and me for her evaluation.

By 3:30, my brain was completely overwhelmed from answering literally hundreds of questions all day and then from taking in a lot of new information. But we got answers we needed and have been praying for – praise God. These babies need all the resources they can get and our doctor was incredibly thorough and thoughtful about their diagnoses so she could feel good about where to point us.

Before heading home, we stopped and splurged on a special coffee drink. Malachi was an absolute rock star to make this day happen with/for us, so I wanted to treat him. And also, I wanted a treat after my big day too, ha.

Back at home, Matt was helping with homework, warming up leftovers, and handling Auggie’s ABA therapy needs for the evening. I didn’t get any pictures that day after our time in Omaha because I was too preoccupied with processing everything from our appointments and spending time with the kids I hadn’t been with all day.

Thursday I was so tired I could hardly put together a sentence. That afternoon, I went to Aldi to get milk and a few other items, and driving home I realized that being behind the wheel wasn’t really wise because of the state I was in. Back at home, I sat and rested for an hour before the kids came home from school.

For dinner, I simply made five boxes of Mac and Cheese to go with the last bit of leftover Ham from Sunday. The kids eat their mac and cheese with frozen peas.

Cooking this week was a low priority because of everything else going on. Were the kids fed and cared for though? Yes.

Brayden had his Spring Band Concert that evening. Auggie wasn’t feeling great so he stayed home with Malorie. We didn’t love that he was sick, but we were glad he wasn’t with us for that hour. As it turns out, trying to keep neurodivergent 6, 5, 4, and 3-year-olds sitting still and watching an elementary band concert is not super easy. Having a 2-year old with us might have put us over the edge. Bless. We survived the night. And what really mattered was that Brayden loved performing and was thrilled to have been a part of this. We are thrilled for him. :)

Friday morning I woke up feeling more refreshed. Matt and I had been able to process Keith’s and Anna’s evaluation appointments. We chose not to make any decisions yet about their therapy needs. There were too many decisions to be made and we needed time to settle in with all the information we’d been given.

I thawed and marinated several packages of Chicken Thighs so I could smoke them for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. Check out all those half-price stickers. I am so thankful to have found so many packages of chicken marked down. All of this cost less than $20! What a great way to feed so many people!

While the kids ate breakfast, I baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice that morning, then turned it into Cheesy Beef and Rice for our dinner that night.

I had brought home some M&Ms from Food Distribution that week, so I used them to make Monster Cookies for Sunday Lunch dessert.

That evening, we enjoyed our Cheesy Beef and Rice with leftover broccoli or sliced cucumbers. I hadn’t made this casserole in a long time but 6-out-of-7 kids loved it so I need to add it to our rotation more often!

We’ve made arrangements for our neighbor to park her motorcycle in our back parking area. She’s so sweet with the kids and they get so excited when she pulls in to park. Today, she let all the kids take a turn trying on her helmet.

Keith is a tough one when it comes to food and eating. (Several of our kids are actually – just in different ways.) I was finally able to talk him into eating a carrot, which he did while examining the hole he had been digging. He determined that since he was eating a carrot by his hole, he was a farmer. :)

All that afternoon and evening, I smoked all the chicken I had thawed and then marinated to get it ready for Sunday so that all I had to do is rewarm it in crock pots.

Matt had a great idea to light up the fire pit. This is a rare treat, but the weather was perfect for it and the kids were very excited!

After a while, Auggie had enough of just sitting so he took off to ride his bike. Big Brother Brayden offered to go ride bikes with him – so sweet. :)

Saturday was a very full day:

  1. I was blessed to go to a Ladies’ Brunch at church. (Justus and Asa came over to our house with their babies to help Matt with our kids.)
  2. Elias and Malorie went to York for YU graduation.
  3. Malachi had a video shoot at UNL that morning, then went to York to hang with some of the YU graduates.
  4. Kelsey took me out for lunch – an incredibly rare treat!
  5. We had a bonus Family Therapy Session so that we could work on some of the specific needs for the kids we’d been discussing.
  6. We got ready for Sabbath and for hosting Sunday Lunch and Community Group.

I’ll share photos and details in my next post as I was too busy enjoying all of the above to document it this week!

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

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 6-12, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, April 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All desserts gone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kiya’s cookies turned out great!

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

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

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

And that was our week!

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Big Family Grocery Spending for March, 2025

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

Big Family Grocery Spending for March, 2025

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

1. Sam’s

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

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

Total for food at Sam’s: $543

2. Chick-fil-a

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

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

3. Hy-Vee

Total out of pocket at Hy-Vee: $19.94

4. Aldi

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

Total at Aldi: 175.86

5. Wal-Mart and Sam’s

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

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

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

6. Amazon Subscribe and Save

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

Total from Amazon: $61.71

7. Costco

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

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

Total for groceries: 410.72

8. Sam’s/Walmart

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

Total from Sam’s and Walmart: $19.87

9. Costco

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

Total at Costco: $23.86

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

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

Running Totals for 2025

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

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

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 23-29, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, March 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whelp.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Special Helpers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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