Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 13-19, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, July 12

Around 4:00, everyone was hungry and fiesty, so we made a bunch of chicken nuggets, got out fruit, and fed the kids a very early dinner.

Then, we loaded up and headed to a park with a great Skateboard area, which the older three enjoyed very much. The youngers all played in the playground. I wasn’t feeling great, so I tried to sit and watch without doing much more. Daddy is a rock star.

Big Family Food and Fun: July 13-19, 2025

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

We hosted a lovely crowd of friends for lunch, some who had never joined us before!

I had made a big roaster full of Pulled Pork and many who joined us brought sides or desserts to go with the meal.

There were 37 of us gathered that day to share our meal and time together.

After we ate, we divided into two groups and headed out to fill up our church’s two Little Free Pantries. Many from church had been contributing to this mission, providing lots of canned and boxed food items to put into the pantries. This was our scheduled day to fill the pantries as a church body!

One of our pantries is walking distance from our house, so one group of us headed out with a wagon full of food and made the trek together while visiting and wrangling kids.

It is precious to serve together.

Back at home, we’d earned ourselves a popsicle!

We rested during the afternoon, then made Frozen Pizza for dinner.

That night, Brayden and Kiya packed to leave for Royal Family Kids’ Camp the next morning!

I caught Auggie reading his Bible that night while we were getting the other kids ready for bed. :)

Later, I caught Daddy reading to six of the kids as he tucked them in. :)

Monday morning, we Breakfast Sandwiches and Smoothies before taking the kids to the camp drop-off site.

Matt stayed home with Auggie, who had ABA therapy that morning. I took the others with me to enjoy an outing while we got Brayden and Kiya sent off. They were both excited and nervous, but mostly excited!

There was a playground close-by that the kids spotted, so after we got Brayden and Kiya squared away, Keith, Anna, Acacia, Josie, and I headed over there to enjoy some play time.

Then, I did something slightly crazy before heading home.

Taking these four into Aldi by myself? Well, we needed a few groceries, what can I say? I motivated them by telling them that if they cooperated with Mama we could pick a treat to eat on the way home. They did mostly ok, relatively speaking when considering that they all struggle with impulse control and general defiance. We got apple juice and granola bars to eat after we buckled back into the van, phew.

I was rewarded for my efforts by a text with this sweet photo of Little Sweetheart eating Lolli’s Applesauce Cake.

Back at home, these girls dived into the cherries we’d picked up at Aldi. By the end of the day, there were four cherries left and some very stained little girls. Yum!

We were planning to celebrate Eva’s birthday together that night, so I made a round of Vanilla Ice Cream to serve. I love how easy this is!

Matt and I farmed out the kids that afternoon so that we could rest. Elias and Malorie took Keith to the pool, which he LOVED!!!

For Eva’s birthday dinner, we enjoyed BBQ Chicken Legs, Rolls, Salad, and Cream Cheese Corn.

We were missing Malachi, Brayden, and Kiya but otherwise had a wonderful family night together! (Malachi was on his way home from Mexico where he’d been filming a wedding.)

Dessert was Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberries!!

But the best treat of all was our kids and grandbabies hanging out together in the living room afterward.

Tuesday morning, I made a big batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs.

Acacia had a Speech Therapy session that morning.

Then we loaded everyone up and went to a park for the rest of the morning. I warmed up leftover pizza to take for lunch, plus applesauce and apples.

We played for an hour and a half and got nice and worn out.

After we rested that afternoon, Keith and I went to our weekly Food Distribution. We were short of volunteers that day, and I got to take over Brayden’s usual job of washing coolers. :)

I had two bags of Burritos in the freezer so Matt warmed those up for our dinner.

Wednesday morning, we loaded up the kids and headed to Omaha for an appointment. But first, we stopped to spend a couple hours at a super cool park!

The kids ran and climbed and rolled for the entire two hours we were there.

Eva/Arrow and Kelsey/Little Sweetheart drove up and met us there, making the day extra special!

There were some cool slides, but Josie needed a little bit of help feeling comfortable with them. Mom to the rescue! Thanks, Eva, for the photo!

We had all packed lunch items to share and feasted together before loading up our kids to head to the appointment.

Keith had picked up a 2-pack of Baguettes at Food Distribution the day before and was determined to eat one of them entirely on his own. He was happy to share the other one. ;)

He did great at his appointment, and we were given more resources to help meet his needs.

Meanwhile, Matt and the other kids were enjoying time in a play area of the medical clinic that was super awesome – full of sensory structures and swings.

When Keith and I met them down there, he immediately climbed the rock wall over and over. We need a room  like this in our house. :)

We gave everyone juice and a snack on the way home and three out of five kids fell asleep. Back at home, we wondered why we’d driven all the way to Omaha for the kids to climb and play when all we needed to do was let them play in our own yard on this fallen tree. :) This had happened during the night, and while we wait for the city to come clean it up, we plan to take full advantage of this mess.

I made a blender full of Smoothie for the kids as I finished making dinner.

Then I warmed up Monday’s leftover chicken to go with Party Potatoes I’d put into the crock pot earlier in the day.

We got the kids changed into swim suits and headed to our church’s Popsicles in the Park night at the splash park. The temps had cooled, so the water felt chilly. But it was fun to be with friends for the evening!

Thursday morning we had no plans and no therapies. It was so nice to take it easy and just let the kids play and the grown-ups get caught up on some house needs.

Malorie had given us the tip that McAlister’s was having Free Tea Day, so we all got the app. Late in the morning, we loaded up the kids, and went on a drive to pick up free, fun tea. Here’s how I learned a few years ago to make some knock-off McAlister’s Tea. But the actual McAlister’s tea is good too. ;)

That afternoon before our evening ABA therapy sessions, Acacia, Josie, and Auggie helped me make a double recipe of Low Sugar Banana Cake for our Friday breakfast. Auggie thought he was one of the big kids and was so thrilled to have flour on his face after helping Mama.

We smoked Hamburgers for dinner, air-fried some Tator Tots, cut some Strawberries, and got out Pickles.

Remember that tree that had fallen down in the front yard? The city still hadn’t come to pick it up so the kids continued playing on and under it. They asked Daddy to put a picnic table inside for dinner that night. Such a clever new “treehouse” don’t you think?

Josie helped me make Vanilla Ice Cream just before we headed up to bed. This recipe is so easy and fast, and I like having it on hand to put into my coffee on summer afternoons. :)

Friday morning, we all enjoyed the Low Sugar Banana Cake we’d made the evening before.

Auggie had ABA therapy that morning, and we all stayed home working and playing. The tree in our front yard got cut and hauled away that morning, and some of the kids were very sad about this. :(

That afternoon, the little girls went to Ms. Kathi’s and Keith spent the afternoon with Elias. Kathi sent me this sweet picture of the girls taking their babies for a walk. Look at these sweet little mommies…

We’d arranged for Elias to make dinner that night. Brayden and Kiya were coming home from camp that evening, and Matt and I knew that we’d need to be fully available to them through the evening as they transitioned home. So that afternoon, Elias and Keith prepped the food and prepped the smoker for dinner.

Here they are – the weary, happy, emotional campers – full of fun stories of  playing hard and being loved on all week!

Elias’ Smoked Queso was a hit, and we ate in shifts as we were available between Keith, Anna, and Auggie’s ABA therapy and all the unpacking. :)

Saturday, we stayed home all day in an attempt to provide some rest for our two camp kids (and to their mama who has been sick all week but just pushing through anyway). We ate cereal for breakfast and leftovers for lunch. I picked up a Hy-Vee grocery order after lunch, and remembered to take a picture after most of the food was put away.

I made Pineapple Fluff to serve with Sunday Lunch the next day.

Then I turned off my computer to move into our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!