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

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 5-11, 2026 post!

July 3-4

Before I share about this week, I’ll back up and share a few from last weekend that I didn’t have time to include in my past post.

My dad’s side of the family has a tradition to meet together over a weekend close to the Fourth of July each year. We traveled to Wichita for this last Friday – a huge effort with our kids – but worth it so we could see so many loved ones!

We stayed in a hotel, which the kids loved so much that it was difficult for them to wind down and sleep. :) We played with cousins and shared special time with aunts and uncles. I loved this conversation between Anna and my Aunt Rosalee. Anna had a loose tooth and was very excited to show it off!

A highlight of this reunion is a homemade pinata for the kids to break open. Here, we are all gathered outside to let them take turns taking whacks at it, from youngest to oldest.

We traveled back home Saturday afternoon. The four driving hours felt extra long because guess what?! WE HAD A NEW GRANDBABY TO GET HOME TO!!!

Asa and Eva had their baby over the weekend and Lolli and Pop were very excited to meet her. We came up with a plan to drive directly to the hospital as we pulled into Lincoln. Matt dropped me off at the hospital to run upstairs and grab some sweet newborn baby snuggles while he took the kids to do a mobile pickup at McDonalds for dinner. Eighty nuggets and three large orders of fries kept the kids occupied for these extra car seat minutes. I came back down and hung with the kids in the parking lot while Matt took a turn meeting our sweetest new granddaughter. :)

Was the day over at that point? Oh no. It was the Fourth of July, after all. We had some fireworks to light up before we could go to bed.

PHEW!

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

On Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars and got tired kids ready for worship.

Big Brother Arrow had been spending the weekend at Eva’s parent’s house and at Justus and Kelsey’s house while his parents were at the hospital with Baby Sister. Now it was Lolli and Pop’s turn to spend some extra Arrow time! He went home with us after church that day, enjoying a fruit/veggie pouch as we drove.

We were joined by our friends, Don and Rochelle, for lunch that day and had a lovely time with just these two extras around our tables. I had smoked Chicken Thighs and Brats the week before and froze them in preparation for this meal. They warmed in the crock pot while we were at church and I made Green Beans and Cream Cheese Corn as sides. Rochelle brought delicious Mac and Cheese, which rounded out the meal perfectly!

Feeding Anna is a job that takes a village, and Rochelle was so sweet to take on the task that day. She was able to get Anna to eat a plateful of corn. This was a big win!

Lunch was quiet and sweet, though Don teased us when we commented on our small lunch crowd of “only” 17 people that day.

The best part of the day: Arrow’s Dada showed up to spend some time with him while Eva (hopefully) rested at the hospital. Their reunion was pretty precious.

We watched a soccer game, played outside, warmed up leftovers for dinner, and settled kids in to bed that night – but not before part of the ceiling in the boys room fell in just a bit and we had to put an emergency band aid on it it until Matt can get around to fixing it. We LOVE our big old house that God provided for our family!!!! But it comes with constant maintenance needs. I’m so thankful that Matt knows so much and is so handy.

On Monday morning, I knew I needed to get some baking done because I didn’t have anything quick/easy on hand to give kids to fill their bellies. So I asked Auggie to open some butter sticks for me. He was happy to do it…

Alrighty, bud. Eating the butter stick was not in the job description.

Eventually, I was able to get batches of Crustless Cheesecakes and Nutella Oat Bars made.

That morning, we dropped five kids off at day camps. Emma came over to stay with the youngest three, then Matt and I headed to Holmes Lake where we spent a lovely, quite morning walking and talking.

Just before we headed home, we asked Emma to help girls potty and get shoes on. Then we grabbed the kids up and headed to Costco. We completely filled two carts, getting lots and lots of fresh produce plus sale items and essentials.

It was quite a feat to get everything unloaded and put away. Then we got kids home from camps, started evening ABA therapy sessions, and made dinner: Rotisserie Chicken with Caesar Salad with Strawberry Parfaits. This was all SO GOOD! We ate our way through almost 6-pounds of strawberries that night!

I had picked up a few groceries for Asa and Eva’s family while at Costco, so I had the huge privilege of taking the goods to their house that evening and hanging with the littles and with them for a while. :)

On Tuesday morning, the kids ate Egg Casserole or Nutella Oat Bars while getting ready for camps and therapies for the day.

Acacia and Josie were very excited to have a turn at going to a camp this week! A friend had told us about a free Little but Fierce Shakespeare Summer Camp, so off they went to learn about acting. :)

Matt took Auggie to pick up Arrow and hang out at a park while the girls were at their camp. I was home having an attachment therapy session with one of our kids, then dropped that kid off at camp and headed to pick up these two.

Arrow came over for playtime, lunch, and nap. Acacia was very entertaining while Arrow enjoyed an Uncrustable.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and Anna went with me to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Anna usually has ABA therapy during this time and feels sad that she never gets to go with us to Food Net. With her ABA behavior technician on vacation, it freed her up to join us. She was thrilled and did a great job helping wash coolers!

Dinner was super good – Smothered Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans. Why yes, I did overfill the crock pot and it did leak out all over the countertop. :)

I was very blessed to spend a little over an hour that night at a fun Bunco night with ladies from Heartlands Church. There was a great turnout and lots of joy in that room!

On Wednesday, I made a batch of Moist Chocolate Muffins with Hidden Spinach for breakfast and to take to Arrow.

I also baked 24 eggs so we could put together a bunch of Breakfast Sandwiches. I took a few of them to Arrow’s parents so they could have something quick to warm up for breakfast the next few days.

After breakfast, I dropped six kids off to their camps then headed over to spend time at Asa and Eva’s. Arrow and I went outside to play in their back yard.

After he moved all the sand from one place to another, he watered his Mommy’s garden.

We got hot in the sun, so we went back inside to cool off. Arrow’s daddy read him some books while Lolli held Baby Sister! It was a glorious two hours!

Back at home, our friend Pasha came to hang out while his mom was at a meeting.

For dinner that night, we had Grilled Burgers, Fries, and Watermelon.

We had ABA sessions then went to Popsicles in the Park with our church family.

Somewhere in there, we all finally got the call from Elias we’d been waiting for!! Guess what had happened that afternoon?!?!?!

We are so joyful to officially add Malorie to our family!

Amazing – a new granddaughter and a new daughter-in-law all in the same week! It feels a little weird to go right back into talking about food again. However…

I had bananas that needed to be used up, so on Thursday morning I made a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins. I made them with gluten free oats, which meant that they were safe for our GF housemate to eat!

Both Hopelyn and Arrow came over for the day, so they enjoyed sweet cousin time! Did you know that if you pick up handfuls of tiny rocks and put them through the holes in this metal bench, it makes a very fun noise?!

We ate leftovers for lunch at the picnic table.

Then Pop stayed home with napping Hopelyn and Arrow while I took Acacia, Josie, and Auggie to the zoo for a little afternoon outing. They did a great job hanging with me!

Back at home, we snacked on some muffins while Acacia made the babies giggle.

The rest of the night was very full of ABA therapy for five kids. Having so many hours of therapy in our home is a HUGE gift and we see the long term rewards of this effort for the future. However, in the midst of it – phew! Matt and I fed the kids leftovers, and went from one kid/therapist to another helping execute treatment plans, putting out “fires,” finding kids who had escaped their therapist to avoid having to do a task – it’s an intense four hours. Truly, we are so thankful for the intervention God has provided and the goodness of all of our therapists!

On Friday morning, we ate a Low Sugar Peanut Butter Cake that I had made the night before to enjoy at breakfast time.

As we got the kids ready for camps that morning, I shredded Salsa Shredded Beef that had slow cooked all night. I packaged it up and tucked it away to have ready for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Matt stayed home with Auggie to help get Brayden off to his camp. I dropped off all the others then had about an hour and a half before needing to be back to Acacia and Josie’s camp for their Friday performance. Holmes Lake was just a few minutes away so I drove over and enjoyed a lovely walk around the lake. I am so very thankful for every chance I have to do something like this. It is healing for my body and soul.

I had a few extra minutes, so I went to Hy-Vee and took advantage of a 1-day sale they had on eggs – $0.77/dozen, no limit. I bought 12 dozen. But I forgot to get a picture because I was trying to hurry!

Acacia and Josie had a little program to showcase what they’d been learning at their Little But Fierce Shakespeare Camp. They were both pretty hesitant to join in, but they did finally join the circle here to participate.

We ate leftovers for lunch, then Matt and I took the three youngest to a park to play before all of our evening activities. They played in the sand before we headed home, with landed them all in the tub at home for a good soak and scrub.

Brayden had been enjoying a Performing Arts Camp all week, so the four girls and I went to his performance late that afternoon while Matt stayed home with the other boys and their ABA therapy sessions. Brayden sang a lot of songs with the entire group, did some special drumming, plus acted in a skit they had worked on all week.

I got home much later than expected. Matt had gotten dinner going and I helped finish up: Sausage Cheese Eggs, Sweet Peppers, Mandarins, and Cinnamon Toast.

We finished out our evening of ABA therapy, then the kids enjoyed a very fun Writing Skills kit that Matt’s mom had ordered and sent to the kids. They were all very proud of their work!

On Saturday, we took the kids to Sensory Storytime at the Library. Asa brought Arrow to hand off to us there, then went home so he and Eva could rest with Baby. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there and enjoyed story time. It is so sweet to see Arrow and Hopelyn join along with all of the songs and activities now!

From there, we went to UNL East Campus for a Discovery Day. This is such a cool event with many booths set up with learning activities for the kids to do. Arrow truly thought he was one of the big kids on this outing as he led the way.

We listened to live music, blew bubbles, painted with Kool-Aid paint, made fancy magnets, learned about bacteria and fungi, and even made soybean oil by pouring soybeans into a machine. The stations available for learning are so cool!

Somewhere in there, we found a shady spot and ate a picnic lunch. This was the best/only picture I got from my spot on the ground – and I missed capturing the fancy cheese I’d splurged on to enjoy this summer. But this. This is the cheese we ate with sliced apples and it was SO GOOD. If you’re ever at Whole Foods (or Hy-Vee if you live in the Nebraska/Iowa area), grab yourself some of this cheese in the gourmet cheese aisle. It makes your healthy snack taste like you’re eating Caramel Apples! We also enjoyed little Turkey Sandwiches on rolls and Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Sandwiches.

After packing up our lunch and enjoying a few more of the Discover Stations, we headed home to get the littlest ones down for naps. Kids ate popsicles and played in the sprinkler. I made a pan of No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars for our Sunday Lunch dessert.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 28-July 4, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 28-July 4, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 28-July 4, 2026

On Sunday morning, we needed to be an hour early to worship. Thank goodness the kids get up around 6:00 no matter how tired they are, haha. :) We ate Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready and we made it on time!

Lunch that day was a perfect summer meal with Bacon, Turkey, Cheese, Spinach, and Tomatoes with Buns to build Subs. Friends brought chips and fruit and everyone raved about this spread!

There were 24 of us gathered that day and the fellowship was sweet.

As soon as we finished eating, we cleared the table and worked together to make 75 PB&Js as Heartlands was handing out lunches to friends in the Atlas community the next day.

Matt and I were blessed to enjoy Community Group with three other couples that afternoon. Then we spent the evening playing with water outside. I baked four Frozen Pizzas for dinner and we ate in the yard. Somewhere in there, the kids had popsicles.

Our night ended with one last water fight in the yard with one of our housemates who was willing to let all the kids chase him and spray him. It was perfect.

On Monday morning, we took Brayden and Kiya to a day camp and left the other kids home with Emma. Auggie had his ABA therapy session, and Emma’s dog, Buddy, helped babysit. :) Matt and I spent some time away at a nearby park to walk and talk.

It was a very hot day, so that afternoon we took the kids to the mall to play in the indoor play area. They ran and jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped.

Back at home, four of the kids had ABA therapy all evening. I had asked Malachi to pick up some fun fireworks from our friends’ tent while he was in York the day before. The kids were very excited to see what he had picked up for us!

While dinner was cooking, I stirred together a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups. With this many active kids at home all summer, we are flying through all of the protein snacks I keep making in bulk. I love it!

Dinner was DELICIOUS and a crowd favorite! I had marinated chicken thighs in Italian dressing, then smoked it. Wow the flavor! We ate it with Green Beans, Cream Cheese Corn, Buttered Rolls, and canned Pineapple.

On Tuesday morning, I scrambled eggs and got out sausage patties, cheese, and buns for everyone to build Breakfast Sandwiches. We got started with morning therapies and day camps, then mid-morning I took Acacia and Josie with me to run errands. First we went to Whole Foods to drop off some Amazon returns. The girls were so happy to hold the merchandise and help me with the process.

Then they got to go to Aldi with me. Overall they did very well, even if, by the time we were finished loading the cart, I was reminded why I prefer to shop without kids in tow.

It was an extra large cart full that day as we got stocked up on milk, granola, and lots of fruits and veggies.

Back at home, Matt had finished off ABA therapy with Auggie and started getting the four kids at home changed into swim clothes. We put away groceries, threw together a picnic, and headed to the zoo for an outing.

It was lunchtime so our first zoo event was a picnic of meat, cheese, crackers, fruit, and a Danimals treat. I had picked up zoo plates at Wal-mart several weeks ago so that was a fun surprise for the kids to enjoy!

We went to visit the giraffes after we ate.

Then we headed over to the water, which was our ultimate plan for the day. It was a HOT one so we expected that lots of other kids would be there too. As it turns out, we had the place almost to ourselves. This meant that everyone played and stayed calm for a good solid hour – a miracle! What a gift.

What happens after kids play in water? They get hungry again. Before heading home, we got all the food back out and had round 2 of lunch.

 

Matt picked kids up from camps while I quickly threw together dinner. Then Kiya, Acacia, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution.

At dinnertime, Matt finished putting together a Naco Bar with Taco Meat and all the fixings.

I had prepped Strawberry Parfaits so that tasted great right before bed!

Josie had dental surgery bright and early Wednesday morning. Matt was a rock star at home with the other seven kids, with Eva helping get Brayden to his camp when she dropped off Arrow that morning. Josie was very brave as the nursing staff made her feel comfortable. Her wake up and recovery afterward was rough, but we made it home by mid-morning so she could rest.

When we got home, Acacia and Arrow were playing Connect-4 and it was the CUTEST.

Later in the kitchen, Keith and Buddy played catch with Arrow, which produced big smiles and laughs!

Keith helped me take a load of food out to our Little Free Pantry. He loves to move constantly and work hard, so we are always trying to channel this energy for good.

Our friend, Christina, picked up four of the kids to hang out for the afternoon so Josie could continue to rest and recover from her morning. This provided some down time for Matt and me plus quiet time for Josie and Auggie, praise God!

For dinner that night, I made two large skillets full of Simple Skillet Taco Pasta – one regular and one gluten free. I also made a small pot of plain noodles for the kids who only like buttered noodles, plus Salad, Corn, and Fruit options.

We were in full ABA therapy mode by that point with five kids in sessions with their five therapists. Kiya wasn’t feeling well :( poor thing. I took the other two to join with Heartlands at a Popsicles in the Park event held at the Splash Park. Taking only two kids on an outing?? SO EASY.

On Thursday morning, all the kids were home and we decided to take them to a school playground for our outing of the day. Before we left, I packed Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Sandwiches and Banana Parfaits. (Only six because one kid hates bananas and another kid hates the cream.)

At the playground, Keith and Buddy set up soccer drills to warm up, then played a big game (which included fouls and red cards because have we been watching the World Cup at our house? Yes.).

The others ran around at the playground equipment. Matt and I attempted to take a walk together around the field and only had fourteen interuptions.

Snack time!

Back at home, I had put together Meat and Cheese Burritos with the last of the leftover Taco Meat from earlier in the week. We warmed them up for lunch before moving into ABA sessions and prepping for a trip we were taking over the weekend.

For dinner that night, I boiled eggs and made a bowl of Chicken Salad. Everyone could choose to eat their chicken on rolls, bread, or with crackers. I actually chose to eat mine on slices of cucumber. This meal was so refreshing and good! These peaches were incredible!

Friday morning, we loaded up and headed out of town. I planned to share about our adventures – but I ran out of time on Saturday night. So I’ll tag all that on next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 21-27, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 21-27, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 21-27, 2026

Sunday morning started early with a tiny tea party. Our neighbor had gifted us a tea set and the girls were excited to roll right out of bed and play with it at 6:15. I captured this grainy but sweet picture of them playing nicely together – just minutes before I had to take it and hide it because it started causing fights. Logic and reason is hard for our kids’ brains, so understanding the concepts of sharing and taking turns takes much more training.

We moved on to our Breakfast Cookie Bars and prepped for church and lunch.

We didn’t host our normal Sunday Lunch but instead celebrated all the dads in our family! I asked Matt, Asa, and Justus what they wanted to eat, and they all settled on Breakfast Food. We had a great feast of Waffles, French Toast, Bacon, Sausage, Eggs, Strawberries, Peaches, Whipped Cream, and Tator Tots.

We were only missing Elias and Malorie since they are in Texas for the summer with Mal’s family. We are very happy they get to do this, but we sure do miss them!!

How perfect for our guys was the timing of the World Cup to land on Father’s Day? We watched a game all afternoon, which was an absolute delight.

We played outside all evening and ate our way through four Frozen Pizzas.

First thing Monday morning, Auggie started ABA therapy with Matt staying behind with him. I dropped all seven of the other kids to a VBS that they’ve enjoyed the past few years. Brayden was able to be a helper at one of the stations here!

After dropping off the kids, I went to Holmes Lake to take a healing walk in the peaceful beauty. THIS is what I needed. I prayed, cried, and rejoiced my way around the lake for almost an hour. It felt good in every way.

I was able to be unhurried all morning, so I meandered my way through Aldi to get what we needed there: milk, fruits, veggies, and eggs. Then I took my time walking around Hy-vee. Someone had given us a gift card and I took my time finding sales and items for an upcoming trip.

That afternoon, Emma came over to help with the kids. She brought her dog, Buddy, a treat the kids all look forward to!

I went to Panera and worked at my computer with a cup of coffee for a little over an hour. Then I went next door to Costco and filled a cart with all we needed there: peanuts, frozen pizza, coffee, meat sticks, z-bars, organic greens, watermelon, broccoli, apples, cherries, guacamole, cream cheese, butter, cream, ketchup, mayo, applesauce, yogurt, and kombucha.

By the time I got home, four of the kids had started their evening ABA therapy sessions. We all worked together to carry in the Costco haul – which left the kitchen looking very chaotic as we put away food and finished making dinner.

Thankfully, I’d thrown a bunch of potatoes into a crock pot before leaving that morning. So without much effort, we had a very simple and good meal of Baked Potatoes with Bacon, Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole, Spinach, and Peas.

I spent the evening putting away food and cleaning the kitchen while therapy was in session and Matt pitched balls to kids who wanted to bat.

Josie was snacking on cherries. We couldn’t tell, though.

On Tuesday morning, Hopelyn came over for the day (yay!) because Kelsey was sick (boo!).

After VBS and lunch, Matt took kids to camp, Malachi to the airport, and some kids along for the ride. Keith chose to stay back with napping Hopelyn and me. He hadn’t wanted the hotdogs I made for lunch, so he had a Peanut Butter Cup then ate his way through an entire pint of blueberries.

Brayden and Acacia went with me to serve at our weekly Food Distribution.

Matt scrambled 15 eggs and warmed up leftover sausage for dinner. He also made a salad and got out chips and guac, plus we had fruit.

We were running low on protein snacks again, so I made a monster-sized recipe of Mudballs before starting the bedtime routine.

Wednesday morning, I got “ahead” (<– is that actually a real thing?) by making a double recipe of Banana Muffins and a batch of Crustless Cheesecakes.

In case you were wondering – yes I did get ahead on the cheesecakes because those sit in the fridge for a few days and I eat one every morning with my coffee. The remaining ones are doled out to kids who like them when they need a protein snack. So they last about a week. The 24 muffins I’d made that morning though? We were down to just three by that night and those three got eaten the next morning. But hey, thank you, Muffins, for being there for all of us who need you.

I dropped the kids off at VBS that morning and went back to Holmes Lake for another walk. I didn’t want to waste one minute of kid-free time this week and taking care of me during these hours became a big priority. Praise God for fresh air, exercise, alone time, and His beautiful creation.

After my walk, I drove to Justus and Kelsey’s to pick up Hopelyn so Kelsey could rest and continue to recover. Arrow was already at our house, so they got to have cousin time!

When we went to pick kids up from VBS, Auggie confidently marched himself right up to the front of the auditorium to find his siblings.

We had a special Birthday Picnic Lunch to celebrate Josie turning 5!

Then we had rainbow popsicles (Jonny Pops – a healthier variety – highly recommend!) as requested by the birthday girl.

Three kids went to an afternoon camp and the other five got to spend time at Antelope Park before evening ABA sessions started.

Asa, Eva, Arrow, Justus, and Hopelyn came over for Josie’s birthday dinner that night! (Kelsey was recovering from illness. Elias, Malorie, and Malachi were all in Texas.) Josie chose Dino Nuggets and Mac and Cheese for her special meal. Mom made Broccoli and Fruit to go with.

 

Our new 5-year-old doesn’t like all attention on her, so gathering everyone for dinner, singing the birthday song, and blowing out candles is a SOLID NO for her. We just all quietly wished her a happy birthday, enjoyed our meal and present time, Facetimed with Elias and Malorie, and played outside (along with having ABA therapy in the mix).

 

 

I hardly got any pictures on Thursday. We ate leftovers all day in an effort to clean out the fridge. I gave two boys hair cuts between VBS and camp. Josie had a doctor appointment in which she showed lots of bravery while she held my hand and clutched her piggy.

That night, all eight kids got to enjoy Heartlands Kids Experience! Matt and I took a lovely walk in a neighborhood nearby while the kids were all learning more about Jesus.

Auggie was so proud to finally have his turn at staying for a VBS. He got right into the mix and loved his time!

On Friday morning, I was thrilled with the rare and extremely delightful few minutes in which all the kids were emotionally regulated and cooperative. Kiya was put in charge of cracking 15 eggs for a casserole, and Acacia and Auggie helped her. Brayden was working independently to warm himself up a Breakfast Sandwich. Josie was eating calmly. Three other kids were playing outside. I’m so thankful for times like this that give us hope for a healthy future for our kids.

Because of their help and cooperation, we were able to bake a big Egg Casserole and a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We dropped seven kids off at their final morning of VBS. Auggie didn’t have ABA therapy that morning, so Matt and I walked with him to Sunken Gardens to enjoy flowers and fish.

There was a special presentation at the kids’ morning VBS where we enjoyed hearing the songs the kids had been learning all week. Then everyone got a cupcake!

For lunch that day, we enjoyed chips with Simple Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip. I hadn’t made it for a long time and it was a hit!

That afternoon, I cut the Egg Casserole into 24 pieces and individually bagged them. I froze half and put the other half into the fridge for easy-to-grab breakfast options.

That afternoon, we all enjoyed touring through Brayden, Kiya, and Anna’s camps that they had enjoyed during the afternoons this week. They showed off all their projects, sharing what they had learned and created.

For dinner that night, we ate Meatloaf, Party Potatoes, Fried Zucchini, Salad, and Watermelon.

We took the kids to night #2 of Heartlands Kids Experience. Matt and I had the evening to ourselves and we took full advantage by walking around Holmes Lake together. That is becoming one of my favorite places!

We took some very tired, overstimulated, and joyful kids home that night well past their bedtime. The adults who put so much time and energy into this are soooo very appreciated!

Saturday morning, the kids enjoyed one last morning at Heartlands Kids’ Experience. And Matt and I enjoyed one last walk around Holmes Lake. We enjoyed a pizza lunch with everyone at Heartlands before heading home to regroup for the afternoon and evening.

Paula and Randy, Eva’s parents, came over that afternoon to deliver their house church’s monthly grocery haul to help fill the Little Free Pantry in our yard. They always bring a wonderful amount of food to share and we were able to get most of the kids to rally and help carry it all into our house.

The last photo I took this week was one of Keith – if in fact that is Keith?? He played in the dirt so much we didn’t recognize him. Good thing it was bath night.

We ate leftovers for dinner and scrubbed many layers of dirt and grime off some very tired children. And that was our week!

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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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