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Big Family Food and Fun: June 14-20, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 14-20, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 14-20, 2026

Our week started with Breakfast Cookie Bars, of course. :)

We had a wonderful morning of worship, followed by a big gathering of 35 people at our house for lunch.

We feasted on Smoked Pork Loin, Beef Sausage, and Rotisserie Chicken along with a buffet of wonderful sides.

Friends brought a variety of cookies and desserts, and we ate them with Homemade Ice Cream.

Our Community Group wasn’t able to meet that afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, so we took our kids to a nearby park. After about an hour of playing there, much to our surprise, friends from church showed up to play too! We ended up staying and visiting for over three hours. It was so much fun!

We got home in time to bake some pizza then get to bed.

On Monday morning, Matt stayed home with Auggie for ABA therapy while I drove all the other kids to the first day of this week’s activities. Brayden got to go to an Archery Camp at Turpin Outdoor Education Center. He has been so brave this summer going to new places where he doesn’t know anyone yet. We are very proud of him!

I drove the other six kids to a VBS that they’d attended last year and loved. Finding everyone’s groups in a big room full of people? Phew. But with help from volunteers, we figured it out!

Sam’s and Wal-Mart were close by, so I used the time by myself to grocery shop. Every week as I fill our cart, I think that surely I won’t need to buy as much food next week. Silly me. I truly love that I get to feed so many people every day. :)

The kids had made bird feeders at VBS and Acacia hopped out of the van right away when we got home and found a tree so she could hang hers up. She was so proud!

We ate Meat and Cheese Burritos for lunch, then took the kids to Mahoney Park for about an hour before time to pick up Brayden from his camp.

I had packed applesauce for kids to snack on at the park, plus grabbed peanut butter and graham crackers to make little sandwiches. Had I just fed them lunch? Yes. Did they still need snacks? Yes. Hearty ones.

We made it home with everyone in time for four kids to have ABA therapy sessions all evening. We made two Sam’s sized boxes of Orange Chicken for dinner with Broccoli and Watermelon.

We were out of easy-to-grab protein snacks, so I made a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups to get us through the next few days.

Keith got to try something super fun that night! Knowing his love for our marine friend Sam – Christina had brought over two MREs for Keith to try so that he’d understand more about what Sam had eaten while he was at Boot Camp. Matt and Keith’s ABA therapy technician helped him read through the package and prepare some of the food. It was very sweet to watch him experience this! Notice that he had to put on the correct attire for this project.

On Tuesday morning, Matt took kids to camp and VBS. That left me at home with Auggie and his ABA therapist. So I took advantage of the couple hours of work time and baked 6-pounds of Bacon plus Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars and Banana Bread.

When we got all the kids home from VBS, we had leftovers for lunch. This photo shows that there was peaceful chaos in the kitchen during that time. The chaos is not always peaceful. But this moment was sweet while everyone filled their bellies.

We played outside for a while, then loaded up for an adventure.

We took the kids to a nearby school playground that was open for public play. This was fun and different than going to a “regular park” so the kids were very excited about this!

Keith and Bonus Buddy took advantage of time on the turf with a soccer ball.

We dropped everyone at home, then Kiya, Acacia, and I went to pick up Brayden from his Archery Camp. We headed directly over to our weekly Food Distribution to hand out food to the community and wash coolers as they emptied out. Acacia was so very happy to take a turn going with us! She took her job very seriously as clients came through the line.

Matt held down the fort at home with ABA therapy sessions and dinner (leftover Smoked Pork Loin from Sunday). We were outside most of the evening before bedtime. The boys have been smashing empty water bottles to put into their bike tires so that when they ride, it sounds like a motor. Auggie is now a big boy, so he needed to do it too. Big Brother Keith helped get Auggie’s water bottle situated for him. :)

Matt drove Brayden to Archery Camp and the other kids to VBS on Wednesday morning. Auggie started his ABA therapy session and I got some baking done to try and get ahead. But wait, you say. Didn’t you just bake Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars and Banana Bread the day before plus Crustless Cheesecakes and Spinach Cupcakes last week? Yes, indeed I did. And we’d eaten our way through much of it already. Therefore, we needed another round of baking done while I had time. :)

We needed a sack lunch for the kids that day, so after baking I worked on bagging up grapes, carrots, and cheese cubes and started to prep sacks. I put together a few Meat and Cheese Burritos to warm up just before heading out, and added meat sticks to bags of the kids who wouldn’t eat the burritos.

Then Arrow got dropped off and we went outside to play!

No matter how much he mows, that grass keeps growing.

At 11:40, we loaded up Auggie and Arrow and went to pick up six kids from VBS. They ate their sack lunches in the car as we drove across town to drop them off at Eva’s and Kelsey’s for the afternoon. We have the BEST daughters-in-law who are willing to give Matt and me a chance for respite. The kids all had such a fun time!

We picked up all the kids and headed home for four ABA therapy sessions, playtime, and dinner. We ate Smoked Sausages, Pineapple Fluff, Baked Beans, and Pickles – plus Spinach Cupcakes throughout the night when kids needed snacks.

On Thursday morning, we got kids settled in with camp, VBS, and ABA therapy – then I got to work in the kitchen again. I packed both lunch and dinner for a big day ahead.

We kept seven out of eight of the kids busy after VBS by going straight to a park to have a picnic lunch and play for the afternoon.

Lunch was simple: meat sticks, fruit cups, spinach cupcakes, avocado cups, and almonds.

Then we picked up Brayden from his final day at Archery Camp and drove to York for the evening. Everyone munched on their sack dinner on the way there: turkey sandwiches, chips, applesauce, and a variety of other things based on what each kid eats well.

We spent several hours at Soul Quest, a camp on the York University campus that we have enjoyed for years and years. Malachi had been there all week with his Sideline Media crew filming and editing videos to feature each night after worship. It was great to see him and give him big hugs – and we were so blessed to see so many people that we know and love!

We didn’t load up to head home until long after our kids’ normal bedtime. But staying long enough to watch Malachi’s video feature was worth it!

Friday morning was fun! I dropped six kids at their final morning of VBS. Then Brayden, Auggie and I went to Michaels for some craft supplies and to Trader Joes to pick up a special snack.

We had two and a half hours before we needed to be back for VBS pick up, so we took our time and enjoyed the outing.

We took our snack to Holmes Lake where we enjoyed walking, playing, and talking to the ducks. It was truly lovely.

Matt had lunch ready for all of us when we got home. Then we attempted to watch the USA vs. Australia World Cup game.

Dinner that night was Slider Burgers with Tator Tots and Cucumbers.

Daddy spent time outside that evening pitching balls to kids who took turns at bat.

We packed a big picnic plus snacks on Saturday morning before heading out.

Our first stop was Library Storytime. I was completely distracted the entire time we were there because a friend we met at this storytime over a year ago was there this time with her baby twins!! I had no choice but to snuggle one of them.

After this, we loaded up and went to Prairie Pines Nature Preserve for a special event. Friends had let us know about this great nature center and we will definitely go back sometime! We learned about plants and pollination, then we walked to various other areas to explore.

Besides the friends we met up with there, Asa, Arrow, Kelsey, and Hopelyn joined us!

A favorite area of the park was a ninja course that the kids all enjoyed!

We ate our picnic lunch of Tuna Salad or Cheese with Crackers plus lots of Fruit options – just in time to beat the rain that started to fall. After being there for about three hours, we headed home.

That afternoon, we watched some soccer, cleaned, ate leftovers, and gave everyone baths – AFTER giving everyone a thorough tick check after being at the nature center!

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 7-13, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 7-13, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 7-13, 2026

Our Sunday started out with lots of sweet kids rubbing their eyes and stumbling into the kitchen for Breakfast Cookie Bars. I finished prepping for Sunday Lunch by cutting a watermelon and baking two loaves of Stir and Pour Bread. I love how easy that bread recipe is to put together with almost no effort.

After church, 30 of us gathered at our house for lunch.

We all worked together to put together a beautiful and super tasty Salad Bar with Grilled Chicken, Greens, Cucumbers, Peppers, Cheese, Onions, Tomatoes, Bacon, and Boiled Eggs. The loaves of Stir and Pour Bread plus Cantaloupe and Watermelon were a perfect way to round out the meal, plus Rice Krispie Treats for dessert.

I ducked out a little bit early while everyone finished eating and visiting and headed over to Eva’s parent’s house for a sweet little Baby Sprinkle. Eva’s mom, Paula, and Eva’s sister-in-law, Ashlyn, put together a lovely gathering as we get ready to welcome Baby Girl next month!

We all got to color pages for a little Alphabet Book that Ashlyn plans to laminate and put together for Baby. What a sweet idea!

I headed home afterward for the last hour of our Community Group time. The rest of the evening was spent wrangling kids outside and eating leftovers for dinner.

On Monday morning, we started another big week of summer day camps for the kids! Kiya, Bonus Buddy, and Anna got an early start out the door for full day camps. Matt took Brayden and Keith to York with him to finish one final job on our rental house before we sold it!

That left Acacia, Josie, Auggie, and me to hang out at home for ABA therapy that morning. I got some work done in the kitchen, and Auggie joined me when he was on “work breaks.” He helped me make Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

I made a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups for the fridge.

Then Auggie discovered one lone Mudball on the counter and decided it would be a good snack.

Acacia and Josie decided that they wanted a picnic during their snack time. So they took a blanket outside with Bagels, Apples, and Blueberries. The ABA therapists joined the fun!

That afternoon, Brayden went to an afternoon Rec Center Camp and Keith went to a Tennis Camp. Acacia and Josie got to a camp called “Twinkles” which was at their school and taught by their preschool teachers. They were so excited to be big kids going to camp like their siblings had been doing! Then Matt and I sat together in the quiet for two hours while Auggie napped and the kids were all enjoying their events.

For dinner that night, I stirred leftover Taco Meat into Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole and cooked in in a Crock Pot. We had it with Peas and Oranges.

We were on the run early on Tuesday as we got Kiya off to camp. Keith and Bonus Buddy were excited to start their a Soccer Bible Camp that morning! Anna and I had a therapy session, Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy, and by the end of the morning, I felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the therapy and running around we were doing! The mental load of figuring out all the logistics and details of each day was pretty intense. Plus, ongoing therapy for our kids means that we are working hard closely with therapists so that we can best parent these kiddos. So…phew. Mama felt tired by the end of the morning, and it was only Tuesday.

We fed the kids leftovers for lunch, then got four more kids headed out the door for camps for the afternoon.

Keith got himself decked out in a sun hat for Tennis Camp.

Matt and I sat together for a short time during the afternoon with coffee and enjoyed relaxing and visiting. Our goal for this week was to enjoy every afternoon together since all of the kids had plans every single day. We are so thankful to have this work out for them and for us!

I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution that afternoon. Kiya was on “cooler duty.”

Brayden got to hand out food at a table station.

For dinner that night, we had a pan of Stick of Butter Rice with leftover Grilled Chicken and Salad.

That night, I put scoops of Lemon Yogurt onto a cookie sheet and froze it into Frozen Yogurt Bites for our breakfast the next day.

Wednesday, after dropping five kids off at various day camps, Brayden and I headed to Aldi. We needed fresh produce to get us through the next few days!

It was good for Brayden to shop with me as I was able to teach him a few lessons in good grocery shopping practices. We scored a couple of fun World Cup soccer balls in the “Aldi Aisle of Shame” – and I felt no shame. It’s World Cup season and our family can never have too many soccer balls.

Matt and I have a super cheap subscription to Panera sip club, so I surprised Brayden with a stop to pick up a Lemonade for him on our way home. He was very excited about this treat!

Back at home, Arrow had been dropped off and Pop had given him a snack.

All the kids were enjoying trampoline time and Arrow has declared himself to be one of the big kids, doing all the big kid activities.

At lunchtime, we ate Chicken Sandwiches and I baked a huge pan of Fudge Brownies for a birthday dinner that we were hosting for Asa that night.

Matt and I were able to get all the kids to their camps that afternoon, then sit together with coffee for a couple of hours. Then it was party time! Asa had turned 29 on Monday and this was the night we were all able to get together to celebrate. He invited his Heartlands Community Group to come join us, so altogether there were 27 of us gathered for a Nacho Bar and Brownies that night!

I set out a buffet with Chips, Taco Meat, and all the fixings and we had a feast!

Gatherings like this are my favorite. People everywhere, lots of chatting and laughing, kids running in and out…

This was a sweet scene in the living room with Justus, Hopelyn, and Josie.

After dinner, most everyone played outside. We were still having ABA therapy sessions that night, so we had four RBTs with us. We really appreciate how all of them go with the flow of our family life.

I loved how Hopelyn attached herself to Uncle Malachi’s hip. Here are Keith and Bonus Buddy attempting to kick our new soccer ball at the bricks of the house while avoiding windows. Oy.

Kelsey captured this precious scene with Acacia, Josie, Hopelyn, and Arrow on the steps. What precious babes!

Thursday morning was a great gift to us! Emma came and stayed home with kids and ABA therapists while Matt and I got kids to various camps (with Malachi’s help too as he ran two boys to a camp close to his work). Then, Matt and I went to Holmes Lake and just…sat. All the running and the therapy meetings and plans of the week were good, but also hard. Sitting and visiting while watching the water ripple provided much needed calm for my nervous system.

I smoked 24 BBQ Chicken Legs for dinner that night, made five boxes of Mac and Cheese, and made a big pan of Stir Fry Veggies. During ABA therapy sessions that night, Matt and I had a meeting with four of the kids’ BCBA, who is the main therapist in charge of their treatment plans. It’s intense, good, hard, and affirming to hear about the progress and big needs of our kids. We are so thankful for the diagnoses and resources God has provided and the care He continues to provide.

On Friday morning, I baked Crustless Cheesecakes and a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

Today was the kids’ final day of camps for the week. Josie had a dentist appointment in the midst of it all, so she and I had a one-on-one outing. After her appointment, we went to Hy-Vee for our WIC pick-up order.

After camps that day, there were several open houses that Matt and I tried to get to for the kids as they showcased all they’d been doing all week.

Back at home, I wrangled kids to shuck corn for dinner. Look how sweet these two minutes were, ha!

Acacia was my helper of the day and was excited to make a salad.

I warmed up leftover Roast Beef to serve with our Corn on the Cob, Salad, and Soccer-Shaped Pasta.

On Saturday morning, I made round one of Homemade Ice Cream for Sunday’s lunch the next day. (I made round two later that evening.)

I also baked a batch of Spinach Cupcakes.

Asa and Eva had planned a wonderful 2nd Birthday Party for Arrow at one of the coolest parks in town. But alas, it started to rain and threatened to storm all that morning. So they texted to ask about switching the party location to the Castle. Of course we were happy to do this! 34 people gathered in our home to celebrate Arrow, and we were so thankful for everyone’s flexibility with the plans!

Muffins rank very high on Arrow’s list of favorite foods. So Eva had organized a Muffin Brunch – and Arrow LOVED IT!

I love his delighted face here!

The party was a great success! The sun started to shine afterward, so we loaded our kids up for a big outing. First, we went to Chick fil a and Dairy Queen because we had free meal coupons. Then we took our food to a park for a special picnic lunch.

Keith and Bonus Buddy had brought tennis rackets and a ball, so naturally we played baseball after lunch. (No, that wasn’t a typo.) :) :) :)

It was actually a pretty fun park outing and we were able to stay and play for quite a while! Right next door was the Dairy Queen where we’d used the lunch coupons – and we just so happened to have Dilly Bar freebie coupons also. So we took eight hot, thirsty kids into DQ for eight waters and eight Dilly Bars. It was a great treat!

Back at home, we played outside, ate leftovers for dinner, got baths, and tucked everyone in for the night.

And that was our week!

 

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 31-June 6, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 31-June 6, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 31-June 6, 2026

Of course we started our Sunday with a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars. Routine and predictability is best for our kids. And it helps my brain, too, so I don’t have to think as hard about every single meal and detail of the day. :)

There were 27 of us gathered at lunchtime that day after church.

We set out a Burrito Bar with Salsa Chicken, Taco Meat, Stick of Butter Rice, Beans, Tomatoes, Spinach, Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa, Chips, and Fresh Fruit.

The food and fellowship was beautiful. And look at Eva’s wonderfully beautiful baby bump! :) :) :) Only a few more weeks before we get to meet that sweet baby girl!

Christina had brought a big bucket of sidewalk chalk and all the kids took full advantage after lunch.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. We had a Facetime call with Elias and Malorie that evening. It was so good to see their faces and catch up with them! I made two pans of Taquitos for dinner and we ate more fresh fruit. Then we hung out outside until bedtime.

Monday morning’s parenting challenges started very early when at 5:45 this dear one met me in the living room where I was trying to enjoy a few minutes of quiet Bible and prayer time. She had snuck gum the night before and learned the hard way what happens when we chew gum as we are falling asleep. Peanut butter to the rescue. :/

The rest of the day was full of VBS, camps, a new friend moving into our house, and ABA therapy – so I only got one more picture that day. I made a last minute, super quick dinner of Tuna Salad and set out spinach, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, blueberries, pickles, chips, and guacamole for people to choose from as they made their plate.

On Tuesday morning, we ate Sausage Links and Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars as we got ready to head out to VBS and Camps.

Everyone took turns scrubbing potatoes for dinner.

We put them in to slow cook all day to turn into Crock Pot Backed Potatoes.

I remembered to get a VBS picture that morning before I dropped off the girls!

It’s a great crew!

Back at home, I baked a batch of Crustless Cheesecakes for snacks.

Keith needed a camp break to calm his nervous system. So he stayed home that afternoon and helped me make Parfait for dinner.

We had a popsicle to cool off that afternoon.

For dinner that night, we had Crock Pot Backed Potatoes with leftover Taco Meat and toppings plus Strawberry Parfaits!

Wednesday morning, I made a blender full of this Smoothie. I make this several times each week, but every once in a while I feel like taking time to snap a picture of it. This right here is a great way to eat salad…

I scrambled a dozen eggs for the kids, which they ate with Nutella Oat Bars.

Arrow hung out with us all morning!

Kiya was supposed to go to a Volleyball Clinic this week, but at the last minute we learned that it had been cancelled. We were so disappointed! To provide something structured and fun for her, I opened up my Kids Cooking Camp for her to enjoy this week. On this particular day, I told her to look through all the listed recipe links to make both a snack and something for lunch for everyone. She LOVED this!

She chose to make Strawberry Cream Muffins for a snack and got right to work. She made these with almost no help from me. I loved watching her be independent and capable with a recipe!

While the muffins were baking, she chose to make Pizza Boats for lunch. We didn’t have any French or Italian bread, so she used hamburger buns instead.

She made 15 little Pizza Boats – and look how pretty her Strawberry Cream Muffins turned out!

When the other kids got home from VBS and camp, they all dug in to the boats, muffins, plus a package of grapes. They were a big hit!

Dinner that night was chopped Grilled Chicken, Caesar Salad, and Oranges. The chicken stirred into the salad was super good and a perfect summer evening meal!

On Thursday morning, I made French Toast and Sausage before we got three kids to VBS and three kids to two different camps.

I used the morning to stock up at Costco. I got lots of fresh produce, super cheap pork loin, frozen pizza, yogurt, cream, butter, tuna, bacon bits, 100% juice popsicles, kombucha, protein bars, cream cheese, and chips.

Matt was at home with Kiya and Auggie. This picture shows Kiya’s feet and her chalk drawing of Auggie. :)

That afternoon, five kids went to an Art Camp, Auggie napped, and Acacia and Josie got to go to Eva’s for the afternoon. This provided Matt and me a few hours to ourselves to rest and regroup! Eva later sent us these pictures sharing all the fun activities the girls enjoyed, including painting nails and using water squirters.

Look at Arrow enjoying all the fun with the big kids!

We had Hamburgers and Hotdogs for dinner that night with Berries, Cucumbers, and Carrots.

I made a Spinach Cake for a bedtime snack.

After we got six out of eight kids to VBS or camps on Friday morning, Kiya helped me make 20 Uncrustables for an outing on Saturday.

We had just finished when our friend Paula showed up with a trunk full of grocery items for us to put in our Little Free Pantry.

Kiya was a great helper taking food in with Paula while I took some directly to the outside pantry for our neighbors.

As soon as we got the groceries unloaded, Kiya and I headed to the finale of Brayden’s Choir Camp to enjoy their performance.

His friend, Clara, took part in this camp too and she and Brayden got to be in the same small group!

Next, we drove over to Anna, Acacia, and Josie’s VBS where we enjoyed their Friday program.

Do you see the little girls there on the left in the photo? Their mom didn’t get the memo that everyone was to wear their yellow VBS shirts. Honestly, their mom was just glad that they made it to VBS that day wearing…shirts. Any shirts. This alone was a win. ;)

That evening, I made Spaghetti with Green Beans, Corn, and Cantaloupe.

We had a very big day on Saturday and loaded up to leave for York at 7:30 in the morning. After an important meeting, we took advantage of being in York and met up with some of our kids’ extended biological family. We hung out together at one of the parks we used to love when we lived there. I had packed a picnic for all of us with the Uncrustables that Kiya had helped me make the day before plus grapes, apples, applesauce, oranges, popcorn, veggie straws, cheese, and cold drinks. We enjoyed our picnic and played more before heading home.

When we got back to Lincoln, we sent Brayden off to a pool party with Heartlands Youth Group. Then the rest of us changed and headed to the Splash Park.

Eva and Kelsey met us there with their babies. It’s pretty awesome to watch the two mommies teamwork together – Kelsey helping with  Arrow and Eva helping with Hopelyn. And both of them helping with our kids. :)

We came home to enjoy a Roast that I’d started in the slow cooker early in the morning before we started our big day. I warmed up Mashed Potatoes from Costco, Fried Zucchini and got out Fruit. It was a great meal to end our day!

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 26-May 2, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 26-May 2, 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!

April 25

I only took one picture of our Saturday afternoon and evening activities: Keith’s soccer game. When we got home afterward, we only had time for a dinner of leftovers, bath time, then the treat of watching an episode of The Chosen Adventures before bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: April 26-May 2, 2026

We ate our Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church. This routine saves so much thought and effort!

Sunday Lunch that day was two huge Lasagnas plus Salad, Green Beans, Fruit, and Garlic Bread.

Our dessert section had a tasty pan of Brookies plus Pound Cake with Fruit and Whipped Cream.

We had a sweet crowd of 30 people gathered around our tables.

Having a house full fills my heart and makes me ready to take on a new week!

Matt and I enjoyed a precious two hours with our Community Group that afternoon. Then we played outside with the kids all evening.

Anna and Auggie helped me “make” some Mini Pizzas for dinner that night – a great way to end our Sunday.

On Monday morning, Emma came to help with kids. She brought her puppy, which is a super big highlight for the kids!

I got kids sent off to school with Matt, other kids settled in with ABA therapists or Emma, and I took off for the day!

My first stop was Aldi. I got a lot of produce there: strawberries, peppers, zucchini, grapes, and Caesar salad kits. There were no meat markdowns that day, but I got some other essentials: sausage, pasta sauce, and cheese.

I went to Wal-Mart next, but forgot to take a picture! Mostly I scanned all the end caps and regular Clearance areas to see what deals I could find. It’s been fun recently to use my Monday mornings to casually walk around looking for super deals. I found bacon marked down plus some chips and bars that we can use for upcoming summer picnics!

My last shopping stop was Costco. I didn’t need a lot there and got away with only spending $151 – a record low for me at Costco! I got milk, bananas, peanuts, pepperoni, peanut butter pretzels, Body Armor, shredded cheese, mixed greens, spinach, frozen green beans, z-bars, and two kinds of apples. Then I headed to Panera to sit and work on a fun new project for a few hours!

For dinner that night, I experimented with making Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. They turned out super good with small bites of steak cooked with peppers, onions, and seasonings. We served it over buns with cheese or over Stick of Butter Rice. Plus we had big bowls full of Strawberry Parfait fixings to enjoy!

While kids had ABA therapy and other kids were in and out of the kitchen for the evening, I baked a pan of Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars for breakfast the next day.

We had a very full Tuesday! Two of the girls and I worked together with our Attachment Therapist, Hopelyn came over to play, and Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy. Right after attachment therapy, I had an online meeting with our ABA company to start the process of adding one more of our kiddos to the therapy process. Matt held down the fort with all the kids during this.

Meanwhile, a friend had dropped off a couple of fun outdoor toys her kids had outgrown. After all of my meetings, I joined the crew outside for fun with our new toys!

Kiya had an Orchestra Concert that evening, so she headed home right after school to get ready. I took Brayden and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Then we made it home in time for Keith to start ABA therapy and Brayden to eat a quick bite of dinner before Kiya’s concert.

Matt took Brayden, Acacia, and Josie to the school to support Kiya while I stayed behind with Keith, Anna, and Auggie who were all having ABA therapy sessions. We had warmed up leftover Lasagna for dinner and Anna helped herself to the final bites of Caesar Salad, eating it straight out of the bowl with the big tongs. Whatever gets that child to eat, we will take it!

We had a small bowl full of sweetened berries leftover from Sunday Lunch, so Anna and Auggie and I worked together to surprise Daddy with a Fruit Cobbler.

He was pleasantly surprised when he got home!

On Wednesday morning, Keith saw what I was working on at my computer (a project I’ll show you soon!). It inspired him and he ran into the kitchen and got right to work helping me make Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream.

Arrow came over for the morning. We got the biggest giggles from him when we rolled a ball down the slide over and over. :)

That and when Uncle Malachi threw him (safely) around the living room. :)

As we were waiting for the preschool bus, Auggie pushed Acacia in the new tricycle.

Brayden had a track meet that afternoon. Matt and Kiya went to support him!

Back at home, Keith, Anna, and Auggie all had ABA therapy. I had found a pan of Chicken Burrito filling in the freezer. So I thawed and baked it for people to use to build Burritos that night with cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, and salsa.

Keith was excited to dig into his Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream after dinner. He loved his first bowl. Then when he had seconds he decided he didn’t like it any more. :) Admittedly, while the flavor is good, the texture is different than what we are used to with “regular ice cream.” The rest of the kids liked it and we declared it to be a fun experiment and overall gave it a half-thumbs up. :)

Acacia and Josie had dentist appointments on Thursday morning.

Hopelyn came over for the day!

For dinner that night, I had slow cooked potatoes in the crock pot all day to make Mashed Potatoes. We’d been given a Turkey Breast so I warmed that in a separate crock pot, and made Green Beans to go with it all. Super good!

Acacia had Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy on Friday morning. Daddy got to go with her, and she happily packed some snacks to take along.

While she was gone and Josie and Auggie were hanging with their ABA therapists, I made three packages of Turkey and Cheese Sliders for upcoming Sunday lunch. I also made a batch of Homemade Ice Cream – but I forgot to take a picture!

Justus was out of town Friday, so we got some extra Hopelyn time! Auggie “taught” her how to draw with sidewalk chalk.

Acacia had another appointment that afternoon – a full day for her!

The timing was perfect in that as I dropped Acacia off at school after her appointment, I got to be a part of an assembly in which Anna was given an award. Her smile was HUGE when they called her name and when she saw me afterward. :)

After school, Keith had the privilege of mowing with Daddy for the first time.

Then Brayden took a nice long turn!

For dinner that night, I grilled some Steaks and Sausages. I made Cheesy Potatoes to go with the meal plus prepped plates of fruits and veggies for people to pick from.

With Justus out of town, we got to have a sleepover with Kelsey and Hopelyn and it was the most fun!

I made another batch of Homemade Ice Cream that evening, and forgot to take a picture again, ha!

Saturday I made a third batch of ice cream and remembered to take a picture! I added strawberries to this batch.

We loaded up and enjoyed our favorite Sensory Storytime at the library.

Afterward, we gave everyone apples to eat in the car and we headed to Pizza in the Park with our Heartlands Kids Ministry friends.

 

Even Arrow joined in the kick ball game!

We made it home in time for Auggie’s nap, playtime outside, then Keith’s soccer game. I’ll share more next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 19-25, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 19-25, 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!

April 18

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon, one in which we almost got blown away by cold wind. We love that one of the Case boys is on Keith’s team so we get to enjoy this soccer season with their family.

We enjoyed visiting with Christina’s dad who was at the game watching his grandson play. Would you believe he invited us to go out to dinner after the game…his treat? We asked if he knew what he was getting himself into – and he assured us that he did. Wow!

And so, after the game, we all loaded up and went to LNK Grill. Having the Case family there to help with all of our kids was the only way this outing worked as smoothly as it did. We divided everyone up into two large booths and spent almost two hours enjoying the meal. Between the cost of eating out with our family and the general chaos we can usually expect with our crew, we almost never go to restaurants. But our kids LOVED this experience and made a great memory. We enjoyed spending time with Mr. Tony and connecting with him. He was incredibly generous to not only take care of the entire bill but ordered appetizers and made sure everyone got whatever they wanted to eat. Amazing!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 19-25, 2026

We ate through a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church on Sunday morning.

There was a meeting for our Heartlands Youth Ministry parents so Christina and I worked together to organize a meal for our families to share before the meeting. I made Pulled Pork and everyone else brought great sides and desserts to go with it.

Matt and I didn’t have Community Group that afternoon, so we spent all afternoon outside with the kids. We had bought new outdoor lights to string up between the pillars that were a part of the property when we bought it. This was a good day to get rid of the old broken lights and replace them with the new ones. The kids were very excited about this!

As we played outside, I warmed up leftovers and took them out for kids to eat for dinner. Feeding Anna has been a major challenge from the moment she moved in with us as a little tiny girl. She’s still a little tiny girl, but now she’s a six-year-old little tiny girl. We work very hard to get food into her and that evening, I was able to talk her in to trying a Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cup. She licked it, which made it very messy, but that made it more fun to eat, right? She made her way through 2/3 of it, which is a huge win as it’s full of good fat and protein.

On Monday, I spent the entire morning grocery shopping. My first stop was Aldi where I got grapes, sausage, fruit/veggie pouches, asparagus, half and half, freeze dried fruit, organic pasta sauce, and pasta. I also picked up some items for our Little Free Pantry – rice and potato packages, cheese, baked beans, and pasta.

Next I went to Wal-Mart where I got more items for our Little Free Pantry plus frozen fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, sour cream, and canned pineapple for our family. I found some great meat markdowns for our freezer!

Last, I went to Costco. I got chips, frozen pizza, taquitos, z-bars, mashed potatoes, coffee, cream cheese, cream, spring mix, spinach, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, broccoli, tomatoes, fruit bars, mayonnaise, ranch, and ketchup.

Instead of going to Panera to write like I usually do on Mondays, I headed home to put groceries away since it was too hot to leave the food in the car. Matt and I worked together to unload and put away the haul. Then I sat down for two hours to work at my computer!

Dinner that night was a Taco Bar!

The kids had therapy and outdoor play all evening. Auggie’s therapist wasn’t able to be there so he got extra play time!

Tuesday was a super full day. Josie and I left early to see her eye specialist. Check out the cool 3-D glasses she got to wear! She did great during her exam and we don’t have to go back for six more months.

I got home in time to have a phone appointment with one of our therapists that works on attachment with us and our girls. Hopelyn hung out with us plus Auggie and Josie had ABA therapy. At 10:30, five ladies arrived from Lincoln Public Schools to have a meeting to work through Auggie’s IFSP, which will transition to an IEP when he starts preschool in the fall. After that, we got the girls ready for the bus. Phew!

Hopelyn loves, loves, loves back packs so she helped Josie get hers to the bus today.

The evening was also going to be very full. So that afternoon, I made a bowl full of Tuna Salad for Matt to feed everyone for dinner. There were pears, strawberries, and tomatoes to go with the meal, plus crackers or buns for the tuna. I made Kiya and myself a “to go” container of dinner so we could eat in the van later.

Brayden had a Choir Concert that night at his school. So he headed home after school to get ready and only Kiya and I went to our weekly Food Distribution, She did great washing all the coolers by herself that day – and there were a lot!

Kiya and I ate our dinner in the van as we headed home afterward in time to pick up Acacia and Josie who went with us to Brayden’s concert. Matt stayed home with Keith, Anna, and Auggie as they had their ABA therapy sessions.

On Wednesday morning, Brayden had to be out the door by 6:35. So he ate a Breakfast Sandwich and headed out. Auggie helped me make a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins to start off our day. While he was licking the blender lid, I put chicken thighs into a bag to marinate in Italian dressing all day for dinner.

Our muffins turned out perfect and were super nice to have on hand all day for snacking.

Arrow came over to play that morning. He and Acacia got silly and shook hands over and over while they shared a snack.

Dinner that night was Smoked Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, two kinds of Salad, and Grapes. SO GOOD. We got plates fixed and kids settled in with Elias and Malorie and all the ABA therapists. Then Matt and I headed out for our Wednesday evening date.

On Thursday, after getting kids to school, Matt went to York to work on our rental property. Justus came to drop off Hopelyn for the day, and he stuck around for a while. It was so great to hang out with him!

We had the help of our ABA technicians for Josie and Auggie, so the morning went smoothly. Acacia helped me put food into our Little Free Pantry.

I was a little bit nervous about being on my own with the four little ones after the RBTs left. But silly me. Of course the four-year-old and five-year-old were going to be great help with the two-year-old!

We warmed up some chicken to eat at the picnic table before the preschool bus came.

After the bus picked up the “big girls,” Auggie and Hopelyn helped me put some fruit into the outside fridge. We usually just put out a little bit of food at a time because lots of people stop by throughout the day and we want to be sure everyone who has a need finds something.

It poured rain during the afternoon. So after school there were some wonderful puddles to play in. I said “yes” to this because…why not?

Ah. Here’s why not…

Anna went a bit overboard, caking rocky mud into her hair. It was all fun and games until bath time. I tried hosing her off outside but of course that was cold and awful. The rest of the grime came off after many, many minutes in the bathtub.

Thankfully, during naptime that day I had made Burgers and put them into a crock pot to stay warm to serve at dinnertime. They were ready to go and we made Fries and got out Grapes, Bacon, Cheese, and Pickles to go with our meal.

On Friday morning, I baked a batch of Spinach Cupcakes and some Crustless Cheesecakes.

I also put together two huge Lasagnas for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Matt stayed home with Josie, Auggie, and their ABA therapists that morning while Acacia and I went to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

That afternoon was the MOST FUN! Some friends from York came over to get ready for Homeschool Prom. They were in Lincoln for a music event that day and their prom was also in Lincoln. So in between music and prom, they brought their dresses, makeup, and curling irons to our house. We all loved this so much – catching up with friends, watching the excitement of prom prep – it was all so great!

They girls looked fabulous, and they were so sweet to let our girls (minus Acacia, who was being surprisingly shy) take a picture with them before they headed out.

Dinner that night was two pounds of Spaghetti Noodles with choices of Red Sauce with Hamburger or White Sauce with Chicken and Bacon, plus Broccoli.

As I was fixing plates, Anna helped herself to SIX Spinach Cupcakes. And we let her, because the girl needs to eat. She was proud of how much spinach she ate, and so were we. :)

Saturday morning, I made a double recipe of Breakfast Cookie Bars to get us through the next two Sunday mornings. Please appreciate my big thumb print in the bars as I pulled them out of the oven. ;)

Mid-morning, we ate a fun brunch of French Toast, Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, and Oranges.

Then we loaded up and headed to Adventure Golf to play 18 holes of mini golf! A friend had given us some free tickets to enjoy and none of the kids had ever played putt-putt before. Elias and Malorie were able to join us and overall, we all had a fun time!

We are so grateful for gifts like this to give our kids great experiences and memories!

Keith had soccer that afternoon, and I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 12-18, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 12-18, 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!

April 11

Eva was out of state visiting a friend, so Asa and Arrow spent a good part of Saturday with us! This was a rare delight, and we loved it. While Arrow napped that afternoon, the guys set up frisbee golf in our yard.

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon. It had rained a lot so everyone got very muddy – soccer players and siblings alike. :)

Sam’s is close to our game location, so Matt dropped me off at the store while he drove to get gas. I only needed salad kits for Sunday Lunch, but I couldn’t not check for meat markdowns. Ground beef discounts for the win!

Remember the BBQ Chicken legs I’d made last week? After that meal, in order to make the leftovers easier, I had pulled all the meat off the bones. Before we left for Keith’s soccer game on Saturday, I had put that chicken into a crock pot to warm up for our dinner when we got home. We had lots of leftover odds and ends – potatoes, green beans, corn, and baked beans. So we rewarmed those plus I buttered and toasted some rolls. We all got full and we had a cleaned out fridge after this meal!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 12-18, 2026

On Sunday, we had planned for several families to join us for lunch after church. But a few of them had big needs come up so they had to cancel coming over. We missed them and prayed for them while enjoying lunch with the Laws family who were still able to come be with us that day.

I had made two huge pans of pasta – one of Cheesy Spaghetti Bake and one of Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Pasta. Even with just 21 of us compared to the 35ish I was planning for, we made pretty big dents in the pans!

I’m so thankful for these friendships and time spent together. After lunch, Matt and I got to enjoy Community Group time spent in life-sharing and prayer.

That evening, I baked four Frozen Pizzas and we ate/played outside.

We visited with neighbors throughout the evening, then took a short walk to end our night before getting ready for bed.

On Monday morning, Emma came over to help with kids. I headed out to grocery shop. My first stop was Sam’s, and I filled the cart!

I grabbed a few things at Wal-Mart, then headed to Aldi. I didn’t find many exciting meat markdowns or deals there that day. But I did get some food for our Little Free Pantry along with the granola, milk, greens, sausage, and fruit/veggie pouches we needed.

Dinner that night was a big skillet full of Taco Rice Dinner. Throughout the night, I cut up 6-pounds of strawberries and made four batches of Strawberry Parfait. We all love this stuff and get pretty excited when strawberries are on sale!

We spent the evening outside playing, even though it was actually quite hot outside.

Kiya experimented with making “lotion” with coconut oil mixed with the inside of some pods that fell from our tree. They smelled good to her, and Matt helped her look it up on his phone to see if they were good for skin. Turns out, there were instructions for what do to, so she and I got to work on her lotion idea! We’ll see what happens. :)

The highlight of the evening – Malachi got home in his “new” car! We were all so excited to check it out!

Tuesday we had ABA therapy all morning, attachment therapy, plus Hopelyn came over. The weather was beautiful so we were outside as much as possible.

I was able to take Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution that day. Keith helped Brayden wash coolers and did great!

Back at home, I had slow cooked Beef Stew Meat all day. It tasted amazing along with Mashed Potatoes and Salad. The adults in our house took this meal up a notch by stirring together their meat and potatoes with bacon bits, cheese, and sour cream.

I had also slow cooked The Easiest Pulled Pork all day to prepare for a youth group family meal on Sunday. It felt good to get that done and in the freezer.

On Wednesday, I took Josie to an appointment (after canceling her ABA therapy) – only to arrive and learn that they’d sent a letter informing me that they’d rescheduled. Say what?! We were bummed, but drove back home and enjoyed more time with Arrow who had stayed behind with Pop, Acacia, and Auggie.

Dinner that night was Cheddar Jalapeno Sausages and Beef Hotdogs made on the smoker plus Veggies and Fruit. We fixed everyone’s plates then Matt and I left the kids with therapists and Elias and Malorie while we headed out for our Wednesday night date!

Hopelyn joined us Thursday, and as we’d been doing all week, we spent as much time as possible outside.

A highlight of our morning was when Acacia and Josie’s preschool teachers came to visit. They do quarterly home visits and this will be their final one as the girls head into kindergarten next year. Ms. Kristine and Ms. Rachel have been a wonderful part of these girl’s growth the past two years!

Everyone was hot, so the kids enjoyed a 100% juice pop before the preschool bus came.

After naptime, Malachi came home from his office to pack for a video job he had in Oklahoma over the weekend. Hopelyn usually prefers Lolli and Pop when she comes to our house, but Malachi has been determined to win her over. He pretended to eat her snack, made her giggle, and then…

As I walked away, she walked right into Malachi’s arms. It was soooo sweet, and a huge win for Malachi!

For dinner that night, I had made a big crock pot full of Baked Potatoes. We ate them with Bacon Bits, Peas, Cheese, Sour Cream, Butter, Salt, Salsa, and Avocado.

After we ate an early dinner, we all walked with our ABA therapists to the kids’ elementary school for a fun event!

Kiya loves animals, so I wasn’t surprised that she was eager to touch all that came out on display. But Keith and Josie are very shy around animals. When then both chose to touch the Tortoise, I was very pleasantly surprised!

On Friday morning, Matt took Acacia to her Physical Therapy and Speech sessions. Auggie and Josie were spending time at home with their ABA therapists. This freed me up to get a few things done, including making Breakfast Sandwiches for the freezer.

Some of our kids prefer a simple sausage patty on a roll, so I made a batch of these for the freezer also.

Auggie takes a couple of ten minute “work breaks” during his three hour therapy sessions. During this break, he was very grown up and helped me put some food into our Little Free Pantry. We have up to a dozen people stop by this pantry every day either helping themselves to the food they need or putting food into the pantry and fridge. It has been incredible to watch God use this space to bring our community together and meet needs. I love that our kids get to be a part of this!

After ABA therapy ended, I decided to take advantage of having only two kids at home. While Josie played in the sink “washing dishes,” I give Auggie a much needed haircut. He did great!

So handsome! (And itchy!)

Dinner that night was a mix of several odds and ends. I had one package of Ham and Cheese Sliders in the freezer that I baked. We had a few Fries and one pan worth of Chicken Strips. I made some Tomato Soup and cut up a bunch of Kiwi. And that was dinner!

My Helper of the Day, Acacia, helped me make a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups. I used to make and eat these ALL THE TIME. But I don’t think this set of kids has had them before. I think they’ll love them – but if not – I will. :)

On Saturday morning, I ate two of the Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups with my early morning coffee and they kept me full until lunch! And guess where I was all morning? Brayden had been invited to join the Unified Track team at his school and he happily accepted. We are incredibly proud of him for this!! His first track meet was Saturday morning and he participated in shot put, long jump, and the 100 meter dash. He was nervous going in and all smiles going out. This is amazing for him!

The weather was cold and windy that morning, so during the track meet, Matt stayed home with the other six kids. What a guy!

Brayden and I ran to Buresh Meats after his track meet because the store was very close to the high school where we were. We got some AMAZING deals – eggs for $0.75/dozen and grass fed hamburger meat for $4.50/pound! Yes, I bought 30 dozen eggs. I couldn’t help it. I’ll share with Eva and Kelsey plus I’ll put some out in our Little Free Pantry fridge to share with our community.

Back at home, we ate leftovers for lunch, then met the Case family at Scheels for a fun Star Wars Lego Event. Everyone got to put together a little Grogu.

Listen friends, I’m proud of this. I have had Lego-loving kids my entire mom life, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually put a set together by myself. Acacia needed help, and I was her person. I’m admittedly much more comfortable in the kitchen!! But lookie – I made Grogo!

Back at home, we got ready to leave again for Keith’s soccer game. I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 5-11, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 5-11, 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!

April 4

We had a super full and fun day on Saturday! We started off by going to the library for Sensory Storytime.

Then we left directly from the library to drive to Omaha for an outing. We’d packed lots of food so the kids ate their way through their bags of snacks all the way there. We were excited to check out the Kiewit Luminarium!

We didn’t know what to expect, but we’d heard great things about this museum. Turns out, it’s a super cool science museum, filled with hands-on learning experiences.

The museum kept us entertained for three entire hours!

The kids ate their way through the remains of their food bags all the way home. Matt had packed our blue tooth speaker and we played worship music as we drove, which was a sweet experience with kids who had played hard and were ready to sit calmly on our drive.

Matt and the kids worked together to clean up our yard when we got home while I made a simple dinner of Crusted Tilapia, Mac and Cheese, Cucumbers, and Peas.

I made two loaves of Stir and Pour Bread for our Easter meal. Then it was bath and bedtime.

Big Family Food and Fun: April 5-11, 2026

On Sunday morning, we ate  Breakfast Cookie Bars while we got dressed in new outfits for a fun Easter celebration. Worship that morning was so meaningful and special.

After church, 30 people gathered in our home for a big Easter feast. We had Ham, Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes, Cream Cheese Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans, Broccoli, Rolls, Homemade Bread, and Fruit Salad.

The dessert section was super fun with Cheesecake, Kringle, Brownies, Ice Cream, and Cookies.

Some watched the end of a big soccer game while eating. Then I sent some of the guys outside to hide eggs for the kids.

Ready with their buckets, the kids headed out!

While it had been windy, chilly, and rainy the past few days, Easter was sunny and beautiful!

The Case and Tabor families stuck around and played a game that afternoon.

That evening, I simply pulled out leftovers and then more leftovers to feed kids outside until they were full.

Matt began a huge project of building new bunk beds for our girls’ room. Keith LOVES projects like this.

Auggie wanted to help too. Matt is so patient to talk them through the process of building.

At the end of the night, our kids had joined some neighbor kids to set up a “Husker Basketball Game.”

The kids were out of school on Monday. Emma came over to help with the kids and she brought her new little puppy. The kids enjoyed this so much!!

We ate leftovers for lunch, then left Auggie home napping while Malachi worked from home instead of at his office. This freed both Matt and me to take the other six kids to a library for a special Create and Construct event. They got to build with all kinds of cool items that had been set out for them.

The girls discovered a flower scavenger hunt, so they took their clip boards and dry erase markers and worked very hard walking through the library until they found all the “hidden” flowers.

Keith found some vehicles and that kept him entertained for a long time.

Anna went to work at the post office while Brayden and Kiya settled in with some of their favorite books. It was a great outing!

Back at home, I grilled burgers for dinner as we launched into ABA therapy for the evening.

Our plans for Tuesday got completely nixed right away in the morning. We got a call from Brayden’s school at 8:05 saying that he had been hit by a car on his bike on his way there that morning. YOWZA.

Thankfully, Justus was at our house to drop off Hopelyn so he stayed a bit longer to help us get all of our other kids squared away. I went to go pick up Brayden and talk to the school nurse and to the police officer who works at the school. Then I took him to the doctor, and then to the ER for X-rays. It was all very intense and pretty scary!

Several hours of talking to doctors and answering questions later, Brayden had calmed down enough to more fully process the details of the accident. A car was backing out of their driveway and didn’t see Brayden. Meanwhile, Brayden got distracted and didn’t see the car. He turned back in time to smack right into the side of the car. So, a car didn’t hit him actually, it just seemed like it at the time before he could fully process what had happened.

Thankfully, he was sore and a bit bruised but there were no broken bones or other injuries. By the end of the day, we were all pretty worn out! I was very thankful that I had Burritos in the freezer to warm up for dinner.

Sleep felt extra good that night, and Wednesday got off to a much better start!

Arrow spent the morning with us. Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy. We played outside in the sunshine (and wind!) all morning.

Auggie had asked for the wagon to be attached to his bike so he rode his “train” around and around that morning.

These three had a Bran Muffin while waiting for the bus to pick up the girls for preschool.

That night for dinner, I smoked a big package Brats and served them with Pickles, leftover Cheesy Potatoes, and Baked Beans.

On Thursday morning, I got out two packages of chicken that had been thawing in the fridge. Check out how cheap this meal is! Chicken legs are already one of the least expensive meats I can find, and I got two of these marked down to just $0.89/pound!

Josie helped me dump barbecue sauce into two bags of chicken to marinate for our dinner that night.

It was chilly that morning, but we played outside as much as we could anyway. Josie and Auggie were riding in the wagon, and when I put Hopelyn in to join them, they all belly laughed for a very long time. Belly laughs are the best!

It was sprinkling outside at dinner time so I baked our BBQ Chicken Legs instead of smoking them like I had planned. I warmed up leftover Cream Cheese Corn and Greens Beans, plus I made Texas Toast on our griddle.

On Friday morning, the girls helped me open four sticks of butter as we got ready to bake.

We got a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars ready for the next two Sundays.

I took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

She worked extra hard and did some evaluations this time in Speech to see how much progress she’d been making during the past few months. I remember how she answered a lot of these questions the first time around, so I appreciated seeing her growth!

Dinner on Friday night was extra simple: Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, and Caesar Salad.

While making this “elaborate dinner” I also put together two huge pasta dishes for Sunday Lunch: Cheesy Spaghetti Bake and Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Pasta.

On Saturday morning, we went to Sensory Storytime. Auggie helped Ms. Diane bring out the light machine to play with after story time.

After the library, we loaded up and went to the Children’s Museum. Most of our younger kids went straight for the firetruck.

Asa (with a fresh new hair cut!) and Arrow met us there to play.

Keith loved being an astronaut during the visit!

There was a very cool Music at the Museum event and the kids got to try out a variety of instruments.

Kiya used her newly learned 4th grade viola skills to play Mary Had a Little Lamb. The lady helping her was thrilled!

Auggie enjoyed trying the string instruments so much that he had a hard time giving them up so that other kids could have a turn.

Knowing we’d get home right at lunch time, I’d put several pounds of Taco Meat into a small crock pot to be warm when we got home. I didn’t have lots of topping choices (it’s time to go to the store!) – but we enjoyed lots of meat and cheese tacos or quesadillas.

The rest of the day was spent playing, going to Keith’s soccer game, and getting ready for Sunday!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 29-April 4, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 29-April 4, 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!

March 28

We had an extremely full day on Saturday and were on the go from morning until evening. After a full morning out and a quick lunch of leftovers at home, we headed to Heartlands so that Brayden could rehearse with the Worship Team. I love that he got to be a part of this with two of his brothers. Matt was setting up tables and chairs for a special worship service the next day, and I sat in the van with Auggie who was taking a nap. The little girls took part in worship rehearsal too…

We left from there to go to Keith’s soccer game. The wind almost blew us off the field, but we managed to survive, eating snacks to weigh us down.

We’d been running so much that day that we decided to have Pizza Hut that night. I ordered on my phone during Auggie’s van nap and Malachi picked it up so we could eat right away when we got home.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 29-April 4, 2026

Sunday morning, we ate a dish full of Breakfast Cookie Bars while we got ready for church.

Our worship time together looked a little bit different that morning – with everyone sitting around tables and chairs. Matt led us in a Seder Service to help us learn more about the Passover as we head into our Easter celebration.

Afterwards, lots of people helped put away tables and chairs, then we swept and mopped before putting all the chairs back in place. I grabbed a picture of the awesome mopping crew!

Keith is usually hard at play, but I caught him here, hard at work. I’m not sure who talked him into doing this sweeping job, but it sure was good to see him doing it. Notice that he hasn’t taken off his helmet for a good solid week, even at church. ;)

Thirty-one people gathered at our home for lunch that day. We had a fun buffet of BLT fixings with Bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, roast beef, and turkey and lots of bread/bun options. I’d made a big bowl of Pineapple Fluff and friends brought potatoes and chips. It was a delicious, fun meal together!

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time after lunch. Then we loaded up our kids and went to a park. We played for about an hour, then presented them with a bag full of picnic food options to choose from (cheese/crackers, pepperoni, fruit cups, clementines, apples, applesauce, avocado mash and chips, and protein balls).

We packed up the food, then Matt led everyone on an “adventure” through the trees at the back of the park. Our goal was to have fun and wear the kids out so they’d sleep well that night. It was, unfortunately, mostly not fun because so many of our kids struggle with impulse control and have no concept of safety when they see something they want to do. There were a few ledges that we discovered on our walk that could easily turn into kids falling down into the water – so our adventure turned into “keep all the kids from slipping off the ledge into the water and breaking a bone.” Meanwhile, another of our kids decided to defy everything I said in order to sabotage the outing. So this was all very…special.

They did all sleep well that night, so that was a plus. ;)

Monday morning, after we got the kids all settled in with therapy and school, I took off for the day. I had heard about a new discount store in town: Buresh Meats, and I wanted to go check it out. It was quite the drive from our house, so I won’t likely go very often. However, it was a neat store to experience. They had a lot of meat options I was interested in – but most of it was sold-out because I went the day after a weekend. So I learned to go later in the week, Thursday or Friday before the weekend rush.

Beyond meat, they had random items that had damaged boxes, which were highly discounted. I got some fun hydration drinks for the grown-ups in our house, some super cheap orange juice, graham crackers, and peanut butter crackers. There was a case of Corn Chex for ridiculously cheap, so I got some to put out in our Little Free Pantry. Then I got a 10-pound tube of hamburger meat for a pretty good price. It was a fun experience!

I drove to Panera, used my sip club subscription to get an iced herbal tea, and sat outside to work for a while.

Then I went across the street to shop and Sam’s. I found some great sales that day! Strawberries were just $2.97 for a two-pound container, so I got four!

After we got all of our groceries unloaded and put away at home, I made Strawberry Parfaits to go with our dinner before we picked up the kids from school. I had a container of Smothered Pork Chops in the freezer that I’d thawed all day while I was gone. It rewarmed quickly, plus I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice and a pan of Green Beans. This meal was a 14 out of 14 and all bellies were full and happy that night. (I needed this encouragement because many of our meals are met with fights and turned-up noses. It was nice to have a more simple dinner time that night.)

Everyone spent a lot of time outside that evening. The grown-ups set up trash cans and challenged each other to throw a football into a basket onto a can. It was very entertaining.

Tuesday morning, I baked Spinach Cupcakes and Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins to have on hand for snacks.

We had therapy all morning and Hopelyn came for the day. Acacia spent some time “reading” to her in the playroom.

I asked the girls to help me put drinks in our living room’s mini-fridge. They got the cart and took the job very seriously.

Auggie took the trash to recycling after the girls did their part…

That afternoon, I made Chicken Fried Steak that I’d prepped ahead and frozen a few weeks ago. I left it for Matt to finish up dinner and feed kids while Brayden, Kiya, and I were at our weekly Food Distribution.

On Wednesday mornings, Brayden has to get out the door by 6:35 for a 7:00 Choir practice. I usually warm up a Breakfast Sandwich for him to eat before he heads out. By then, Auggie is hanging with me and we start doing some baking since we have extra kitchen time. That morning, I made a batch of Crustless Cheesecakes so I would have a high protein option to go with my morning coffee for the next few mornings. Elias and Malorie had picked up some flowers at Trader Joes and put them in the kitchen for everyone to enjoy!

With the oven on, I also baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to go with our dinner that night. I had some black bananas and some squishy apples, so I made a batch of Apple Bread and Banana Bread. It felt good to fill the oven and make good use of its heat.

Matt went to York for the day to work on our rental property while I stayed back with the littles. Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy all morning. Acacia hung with them quite a bit and Arrow came for the morning. Before Malachi left for his office, he said yes to some book reading time. Arrow LOVES books.

For dinner that night, I used the rice I’d baked earlier in the day plus some hamburger meat I’d cooked and frozen a few weeks ago and put together a huge Tator Tot Casserole. I made another big batch of Strawberry Parfaits to go with it plus Green Beans and Corn. Matt and I got everyone fed, then we left the kids and their therapists with Elias, Malachi, and Malorie while we headed out for our date night.

I took exactly two picture on Thursday! I guess there wasn’t much out of the ordinary to highlight. :)

After his morning therapy, Auggie had a lively conversation with Hopelyn while they had bowls of granola. This was very sweet and he must have been doing stand up comedy because he had her belly laughing at times.

For dinner that night, we had a big breakfast buffet: French Toast, Sausage, Bacon, Hashbrowns, and Fruit.

The kids were out of school on Friday. We had reserved a free family pass offered by Autism Family Network so that we could go to the Bee Me Sensory Gym for the day. In preparation, I gathered food: apples, bananas, applesauce, grapes, muffins, and protein bars.

Our friend Christina had dropped off two pizzas leftover after an event the night before. So I cut the slices into very small pieces and warmed them up in the oven for our lunch later. I put them into insulated bags in hopes that they would still be warm in three hours.

Auggie and Josie still had ABA therapy that morning, and their behavior technicians were able to meet us at the gym. Asa, Eva, and Arrow met us there too, which was extra fun!

We ended up spending over four hours there in total. Around noon, we sat in our van to eat pizza (which wasn’t warm any more but oh well, I tried and the kids were too hungry to care).

Costco is right across the street from the gym, so before heading home, I left the kids in the van with Matt and some snacks so I could “just run in for a few final things for Easter.” Oh boy. Good Friday is a terrible day to go to Costco…

I’m not sure if you can see this line, but I’ve never seen it quite like this before. It stretched all the way from the front of the store to the back. Whoa. Everyone needed “a few last minute items for Easter” apparently. ;) Thankfully, the line moved pretty quickly and the kids had played so hard that they sat in the van eating and chilling with Matt. Phew!

Back at home, our evening ABA therapy started and I made a simple meal of Bacon Cheese Eggs with Banana Bread and Strawberries.

We had big plans to go to Omaha the next day. So I wrote everyone’s name on a bag and set out lots of snacks for them to choose from as they filled their bags. They also made a sandwich for their to-go lunch and we got those into the fridge to have ready for our trip.

Before the day ended, I made a big Cheesecake for our Easter dessert. It felt good to check that off my to-do list!

Saturday morning, I made two loaves of Stir-and-Pour Bread and a pan of Party Potatoes to have ready for Easter. We gathered all of our snack bags and sandwiches, water bottles, and a few extra snacks, diapers, and extra clothes. Then we headed out for the day! I’ll share more about our adventures next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 22-28, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 22-28, 2026

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!

March 21

Saturday was extremely full! We started by taking the kids to Sensory Storytime that morning.

We set out turkey and ham sandwich fixings for lunch. Funny how we don’t have sandwiches very often, so when we do, it feels a bit like a treat.

After lunch, we picked up a friend then headed to Heartlands for a Kids Ministry event. Families gathered for instructions, then we all headed to Walmart in teams with grocery lists so that we could all purchase items to fill four Free Little Pantries in town.

Was it nuts in Wal-Mart with that many kids? Sure. But did they all love it and did they take ownership in picking out food from the list to share with others? Yes. So that makes it all worth it.

The event culminated in a trip to Zestos for ice cream!

Our family had just enough time to run home and reset, then load back up for Keith’s first soccer game of the season.

Elias, Malorie, and Malachi were able to hop in with us to cheer him on.

Back at home, we put hot sweaty kids into the bathtub, then had a refreshing dinner of Tuna Salad, Boiled Eggs, and chilled Fruit Cups. Phew, what a day!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 22-28, 2026

Before bed on Saturday night, I realized I didn’t have any Breakfast Cookie Bars made. Yikes. Thankfully, I found a loaf of Banana Bread and a loaf of Apple Bread in the freezer. So I pulled those out to thaw overnight for Sunday morning. The change was welcome for some of the kids and very unwelcome for others who really like routine. But we all survived and “choked down” our homemade sweet breads. :)

We didn’t host lunch that Sunday, and instead stayed after church where lunch was provided. I forgot to get a picture of the food spread, but it was beautiful and perfect for our crew: Sandwich fixings with a lovely variety of fruit and veggie options plus chips. All the kids ate pretty well! Then, everyone divided into groups and headed out to meet people in the neighborhoods close to Heartlands as we prepare for Easter.

That afternoon, we did some meal prep for the week. This was a sweet time with Malachi, Brayden, and Kiya as we were all working together on different projects. Malachi was experimenting with making his own White Chocolate Mocha – his favorite coffee shop drink. I got to try a sip when he was finished and it was DELICIOUS. Brayden and I were made a Egg and Hashbrown Casserole. Kiya helped me make a big batch of Breakfast Sandwiches.

Meanwhile, Keith and our neighbor friend were sharing outfits.

For dinner, I baked a bag full of Fish Sticks and served them with Sweet Peppers and Fruit.

On Monday morning, we baked Brayden’s Egg and Hashbrown Casserole for breakfast before school and therapy. I put a beef roast into the crock pot to cook for the day. Emma arrived, two ABA therapists arrived, four kids got out the door for school – then I took off for the day!

My first stop was Aldi were I got lots of apples, asparagus, salad kits, zucchini, brown sugar, sliced cheese, fries, and tator tots. I picked up some graham crackers for Keith’s classroom, plus a couple items for our Little Free Pantry.

I ran over to Marshall’s which was close by to see what I could find for Easter. Then I went to Wal-Mart to get some of our WIC items plus a box of eggs. I found some great markdowns on steak!

My last grocery stop was Costco where I got berries, bananas, milk, cheese/cracker packs, protein balls, cantaloupe, kiwi, 100% juice popsicles, and milk. I’ve been drinking Body Armor every day to help me stay hydrated and it seems to be helping me have fewer headaches. Finally done with shopping – I went to Panera to settle in with coffee and my computer so that I could write for a while! I had way too much fun finishing up this Proverbs 31 post. ;)

Back at home, the roast I’d started in the morning smelled super good. Matt and I got the groceries unloaded and put away, kids picked up from school, ABA therapy started for the night, and dinner prep finished. This kind of meal is one of my favorites: Roast with Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, and Strawberry Parfaits. This was a hit with everyone and there were very few leftovers after this meal!

Oh, and that Egg and Hashbrown Casserole I’d baked for breakfast? Two kids ate it while everyone else decided that they wanted oatmeal. I can never predict what they will eat. SO. That evening, I individually wrapped all the pieces of casserole, put them into a freezer bag, and we’ll put them out as needed for kids who want it for a quick breakfast on other days.

On Tuesday morning, I finally got around to making a big pan of Homemade Granola Bars. Having food like this on hand is a must for our kids!

I was on a roll, so I also made Nutella Oat Bars. By the time I got to these though, we had a lot of ABA therapy adults in our kitchen working with Josie and Auggie and talking to me about their needs. Therefore, I was less focused. So I ended up doubling part of this recipe and not doubling the other part. I really don’t know what I did. BUT, they still taste good so all is well.

Kiya and I are making a sewing project together as part of some in-home therapy we do. She and I sat by the window in our dining room so we could work by the natural light while the therapist worked in the same room with another kiddo.

Later in the morning, these two played a very lively round of air hockey. Ever seen a three-year-old and a five-year-old play air hockey? It’s very, very cute.

Hopelyn came for the day. She played peek-a-boo with Lolli behind the pantry curtain. :)

That afternoon, I took Brayden and Kiya to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. When we got home, we dug into the crock pot full of Chili I’d made that morning. Then Matt took them to Brayden’s band event while I stayed home with the other five and their ABA therapists.

At bedtime, these two brothers found my chair (the chair I’ve had since I was pregnant with Asa, rocked all our babies in, and can’t get rid of even though it’s broken).

I had a pretty early morning with kids on Wednesday, so I decided to take advantage of the early hour to start making several pans of bacon to get ready for Sunday Lunch.

We ate scrambled eggs that morning with strawberries – but I didn’t remember to take pictures of that. :) Instead, while the kids ate, I cut veggies (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, and asparagus) for Stir Fry that night.

I had picked up a wagon that was ridiculously cheap at Costco on Monday. Keith discovered it Wednesday morning and got ready for school super fast so he could pull it out of the box and put it together.

We spent most of the morning outside because it was sunny and beautiful that day. Arrow came over to join our fun!

We snacked on Apple Bread and fruit at the picnic table.

Acacia brought out a container of leftover Poptarts to munch on. Josie has been on a Bagel kick for several days in a row.

I put several packages of Chicken Thighs in a bag to marinate so I could smoke them for dinner. But did I smoke them for dinner? In fact, I started visiting with Malachi that afternoon and forgot all about the chicken. Maybe I was just getting ahead for Thursday? :)

With no chicken on the smoker, as Auggie and I walked to the school to pick up kids, my brain went into planning mode to figure out a Plan B for dinner. As soon as we got the kids home from school, I grabbed a package of tiny cut steak from the freezer and attempted to quickly thaw it in hot water to cook it in with our Stir Fry. It worked and this meal was delicious! I made a package of noodles and opened a jar of Alfredo Sauce, cut several Kiwi – and everyone found something from this meal that they liked. We adults and Brayden reallllllly loved the Steak Stir Fry!

Matt and I left the kids with the grown up kids that night and we headed out for our weekly date night, phew!

We usually try to spend our time away together just sitting or taking a walk and visiting. But this time, we decided to go to Costco to look for a new TV for our living room. The one we had was pretty small, which didn’t matter to us much. But now that we have a very large living room with ability to host people to come over and watch soccer or basketball games – we decided to invest in a bigger TV that would work better for gatherings like this.

So we spent most of our evening comparing TVs and deciding what to buy. We got it home and let Elias and Malachi take over unloading it and setting it up while we got kids to bed. But right out of the box they realized…it was cracked. UGH.

Matt and Malachi took it back and got a replacement on Thursday morning. There was a big Husker game to happen that evening and all the kids were coming over. The TV had to be in place. ;) Acacia loved watching Malachi make his special coffee that morning before he and Matt went back to Costco…

While Matt and Malachi were working on the TV, I was outside with the kids, including Hopelyn, who has a lovely time pushing toys down our long sidewalk.

Down the block, Auggie had discovered some construction workers demolishing a cement porch. Obviously, we all had to go cheer them on.

Meanwhile, TV #2 was not cracked and the guys worked to get it all set up so we could watch the game that night!

Did I forget that I had a meeting at noon? Indeed I did. But no matter. We were home and pretended we knew that our friends from Early Development Network had planned to come. ;) They did some assessments for Auggie as they rework his program now that he is a big three-year-old.

That afternoon, I smoked the chicken I’d marinated and had planned to smoke the day before. We had lots of fresh fruit plus a salad. I had chips and dip and some bbq smokies in crock pots to go with our game time, also.

Ah, the moment we’d all been waiting for! It was super fun to have almost all of our family and a few friends together that night (plus four ABA therapists who are used to our craziness by now).

We ended up losing the game, but it sure was great to be together! See that huge TV box behind Malachi? That box is the thing of Keith’s dreams (and the cause of a lot of fights between siblings). :)

Auggie had a dentist appointment on Friday morning after his ABA therapy. Poor kiddo has a lot stacked against him which gives him quite a bit of dental work that needs to be done. But he’s completely unaware, and here he is, eagerly running in to “my ‘pointment!”

Matt and I spent the afternoon together resting and visiting. I’m so thankful we have these moments built into our week so that we can stay connected beyond kid appointments and needs!

Dinner that night was very simple – Popcorn Chicken, Spinach or Carrots, and Macaroni Salad.

The girls were all eager to “help me” with some kitchen projects that evening. See? I told you I had “female servants.”

Among other things, we got a pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars made for the next two Sundays.

Saturday was a huge, full day! We went to Sensory Storytime at the library. Then we drove a couple of miles so I could run into my friend’s house to wish her a Happy Birthday.

THEN, we drove across town for a cool Easter Event that we’d heard about through Autism Family Network. This event was perfect for our family because it was geared specifically for kids with special needs. There were no flashing lights, no music, no bounce houses – just a calm environment with a few simple games. Each booth handed out calming toys and fidgets. We met other parents who have similar needs in their home. It was very encouraging!

My favorite part was that our friend Aubrey, who works with autistic kids, was there doing face paint. It was so perfect to see her there and our kids loved this!

My other favorite part is that there was a coffee truck, The Bean Box, and every kid got a free smoothie and every parent got a free coffee. This is a HUGE treat for us as we all enjoyed fancy drinks!! Shout out to Baxter Toyota for sponsoring this wonderful event!

We ran home after this to warm up leftovers for lunch, then we hopped back into the van to enjoy the rest of our day – which I will share next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 15-21, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 15-21, 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!

March 14

We had a very full day on Saturday, starting with Sensory Storytime at the library. Justus, Kelsey, and Hopelyn met us there!

When we got home, Keith helped me make some Monster Cookies with some M&Ms someone had given us. I planned to serve these for Sunday Lunch the next day.

We ate leftovers for an early lunch, then we got our house ready to host a Pie Party because it was Pi Day (March 14, 3.14…Pi Day.)

We had invited neighbors and everyone brought a pie to share!

We filled our dining room with people who live close by and have become our friends. This was a wonderful time of visiting, and no one minded eating pie!

Later that afternoon, we loaded up the kids to run around and get more energy out. Overall, our Spring Break had held some very positive pieces. But we had also had some pretty intense behavior needs to deal with because of the lack of normal routine and some trauma triggers for the kids. Matt and I were feeling pretty weary from parenting difficulties at this point in the week, and this outing seemed to be the right solution. Keith had been begging to go to a “real football field” and Matt found one online that promised to be “open to the public.”

When we arrived, the real football field was not, in fact, open to the public. All the gates were locked – BUT – right across the street was some open grass area and a baseball field. We took advantage of this and Keith decided it was good enough. Phew. Some of the other kids decided to throw fits again because they didn’t want to be there. I’d had enough and chose not to give them the negative attention they were asking for. I simply started to take a long (needed) walk around the outside of the field. Soon, the three little girls joined me, and soon after that, all the kids started to play happily.

Matt had brought our Frisbee Golf gear that we had stashed in our storage room, which was extra fun for Keith and Bonus Buddy.

We made it home in time for dinner, which was Hotdogs that had been cooking in a small crock pot plus Cantaloupe and Chips. Then it was bath and bedtime!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 15-21, 2026

Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

Hopelyn had turned two a few days prior and we took a little gift to her at church that morning.

We hosted a sweet crew of 29 of us for lunch at our house that day.

We enjoyed a delicious Chipotle-Style Burrito Bar with Salsa Chicken, Seasoned Chopped Steak, Stick of Butter Rice, Queso, Beans, Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, and Avocado. Friends brought Fruit and Broccoli Bacon Salad to round out the meal.

We had Frozen Pizza for dinner as we reset our kitchen and home for the beginning of a new week.

Kiya has been wanting to learn to sew and I had ordered a simple embroidery kit for us to do together. Behaviors had settled a bit, so we were able to sit down and learn to “back stitch.” She did great!

I had prepped an Egg, Sausage, and Hashbrown Casserole on Sunday evening. I baked it while I had my early morning God time on Monday morning.

While the kids were eating, I made a Smoothie and baked a batch of Crustless Cheesecakes.

We got the kids settled in with ABA therapy or school – then I headed out for the day. My first stop was Aldi, where I got a lot of good deals but forgot to take a picture. Then I went to Walmart, where I didn’t find a lot of good deals, but I did score BIG on Corned Beef Briskets that were being marked down just as I was walking by! They went from $6.28/pound to just $1.99/pound! So I grabbed a cart full of briskets for around $5 each. :)

My last shopping stop was Costco where I got lots of fresh produce, chicken broth, milk, cream, chocolate chips, frozen pizza, snacks, and look at this huge pile of kids’ clothes! Those were all clearanced out at $3.00 per set. Amazing!

I spent the next two hours sitting at Panera writing with a cup of coffee. It was glorious.

Back at home, we unloaded and put away all the groceries – a huge job! Then it was go-time again with kids and therapies. I had used the last of our Chipotle Steak from Sunday’s lunch to make a Steak and Cheesy Potato Casserole, which cooked in the crock pot all day. We had a couple of salad kits that had expired, so I used the packets of add-ins from each kit and some fresh spinach to make salads to go with our casserole.

Tuesday morning was ROUGH with some kids super dysregulated as we tried to get ready for school and therapies. I was in tears by the time our Christian therapist showed up to work with us, which actually was very good timing so that she could see more of the reality that goes on at our house. She took over with the struggling kiddo while I took Anna to do our attachment work. We shared a sparkling water (two straws, hehe) and put a puzzle together. Is this little girl beautiful or what?

Meanwhile, in the living room…

Josie is still getting to know her behavior technician for ABA so they were reading books with Acacia looking on too. Matt had Auggie and Hopelyn engaged in building mega blocks and my body had finally calmed down after the tough morning. With so many kids to help stay regulated, guess who else gets dysregulated? This mama. Phew.

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

We arrived back home to this scene – a slinky stretched between Matt and one of our ABA techs, the kids jumping over it without getting caught by the “snake” and don’t look now, but I think there was another kid under that big box.

Dinner was as simple as can be. I had slow cooked one of the Beef Briskets that I’d picked up marked down the day before. It was so tender that it cut like butter and all the kids enjoyed it! We ate it with green beans and toasted hoagies.

On Wednesday morning, I baked batches of Flourless Banana Chocolate Blender Muffins and Spinach Cupcakes.

Arrow came for the day and Matt went to York for the day to do some work on our rental property. Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy all morning so Acacia got to spend special time with Arrow. The two of them grocery shopped in our pantry – so cute!

We spent several hours outside because it was sunny and beautiful!

It was definitely picnic weather!

For dinner that night, I baked a Meatloaf that I’d found in the freezer. I had picked up several boxes of Scalloped Potatoes at Aldi that had been marked down super cheap so I made those with our Meatloaf. They were only so-so and definitely tasted processed. What did I expect? Ha. We had steamed peas and grapes to make up for it. :)

It was our date night, so we left our younger kids behind with therapists and older kids. Matt and I took advantage the beautiful weather and spent our time walking around Holmes Lake.

Hopelyn joined us Thursday morning. We were able to be outside almost all day, enjoying wonderful sunshine!

When Kelsey came to pick her up that afternoon, she stuck around for a while helping with kids and helping me make a big batch of Poptarts. Instead of making dough from scratch, I used some pie crust I had in the freezer. This made this come together pretty quickly!

I took advantage of the great weather and smoked Chicken Legs for dinner. Kiya made Caesar Salad to go with our chicken, plus I set out the rest of yesterday’s Spinach Cupcakes for people to grab to round out their meal. This chicken tastes so incredibly good and is very inexpensive!

Kelsey and Hopelyn stayed and had dinner with us while Justus was at worship rehearsal. We had three ABA sessions going on and a major meltdown that lasted four hours. Bed felt good that night.

We ate our Poptarts with milk on Friday morning before school and ABA therapy. Matt and I were triple booked that morning with meetings and appointments. So Malachi was sweet to take Acacia to her Speech and Physical Therapies. Acacia was incredibly excited to get to ride in Malachi’s car and to introduce him to her therapists. Matt stayed home with the ABA kiddos while I headed to school for an important meeting for one of our kids.

Just after lunch and sending Acacia and Josie off on the preschool bus, we loaded up Auggie and went to Asa and Eva’s new house!! They’d had an incredibly full few weeks packing and selling their former house and closing on their new house. We are so excited for them! Justus met us there with Hopelyn so I could take her back to our house for a nap while he helped unload the truck. Matt stayed behind to help also, with Malachi bringing him back home later.

The timing worked out for Auggie and Hopelyn to simply fall asleep on the way home for naptime. Here’s how that went…

They did eventually take naps at the house, and their belly laughs on the way there were priceless.

Dinner that night was a very easy meal of Chicken, Fries, Oranges, and Pickles.

When the adults of our home gather in the kitchen to chat, it’s my favorite.

Saturday was a super full day, so I’ll add those pictures to next week’s post!

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