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

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 19-25, 2026 post!

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

Before diving into this week, I had to share this fun hug from the end of the day last Saturday. Arrow had hung out with us all day and he was very excited to see Auggie after he work up from his nap!

Ok, now onto Sunday!

We ate our Breakfast Cookie Bars while getting ready for church. These are such a life saver – no brainer breakfast – as we get so many kids out the door!

Lunch that day was SO.MUCH.FUN.

There were 37 of us that gathered for a fun Mexican Themed Feast. We had smothered Shredded Beef Burritos, Layered Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice (<– new recipe!), Mexican Corn (<– new recipe!), Chips and Salsa or Pico, Oranges, Watermelon, and desserts.

And THEN it was time for the World Cup Final Game where we all gathered in the living room to experience this special time. None of us really cared who won. We just hoped for a good game and fun together. Hosting events like this are a dream come true for me. A good meal, coffee, desserts, friends, family, babies, laughter – it’s the best!

And speaking of babies…

We had turned a movie on for the kids downstairs so we grown-ups could enjoy the game. That meant that Phoebe could come out of her tucked-away-protected spot in Eva’s carrier and Lolli could have a turn loving on her. I liked watching the game. But I LOVED snuggling Phoebe!

Overall, it was an amazing day and we ended the night tired and grateful. Elias and Malorie headed to Kansas that evening to stay with family on their way back to Texas for a couple of weeks before they come back to Nebraska for the school year. We loved our week with them!

Monday morning, Emma came over to stay with kids. Auggie’s ABA therapist came, and we loaded up four kids to take to Day Camp. Acacia got right to work playing with Emma’s dog, Buddy.

Matt and I dropped off the camp kids, then we headed to Holmes Lake to enjoy our kid-free time! It was already getting hot, but we were able to fully enjoy a walk around the lake, then time in the shade on a bench to rest and visit.

We all stayed inside all afternoon at home because the heat was a bit on the dangerous side. Brayden had an early ABA therapy session that afternoon so that he could go to a fun laser tag event that night with Heartlands Youth Ministry. Josie fell asleep and Acacia and Auggie spent some time painting with some dot paints I had picked up last week.

Dinner that night was simple. I browned hamburger meat and stirred in Sunday’s leftover Spanish Rice. I also warmed up leftover corn on the cob and let the kids make cheesy tortillas.

This turned into a nice calming project as they cut tortillas however they liked, sprinkled cheese on top, then melted the cheese.

It was not a good day to bake! And yet, I did it anyway, because I needed to. :) I made a batch of Crustless Cheesecake and a Spinach Cake in an attempt to have more ready-to-grab foods available.

I made Whipped Cream to go on the cake, and Bonus Buddy declared with amazement that it tasted like “actual whipped cream!” Haha, that’s because it is actual whipped cream, my dude!

Tuesday morning, my dear friend, Amy, came to visit from Kansas! We haven’t seen each other in a few years (since before Auggie was born) so spending time catching up with her was incredible! After Auggie’s ABA therapy session, she went with me to take Acacia, Josie, and Auggie to the zoo for a couple of hours. See Acacia there behind that tall grass? No? Well, there she is, leading Amy to our zoo picnic spot.

Taking three kids to the zoo is super easy when you’re used to taking eight kids to the zoo. We had a lunch of Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip, Avocado Cups, Chips, Grapes, and Peanut Butter Brownies.

Then it was water play time! Amy and I were able to sit and visit while the kids played. I ran into my friend, Kimmie, while there, plus my friend, Nancy! What a great zoo trip with lots of bonus hugs from friends!

Before we left the zoo, we knew we had to show Amy our flamingos. Then it was time to head home and transition into our afternoon/evening of ABA therapy and Tuesday Food Distribution.

Brayden, Kiya, and Acacia went with me this time and they all did great!

After we’d handed out all the food, Acacia helped me drag all the rugs to the hallway where they are stored. This girl loves to be a hard worker!

Back at home, I had experimented with putting Cheese Tortellini into a crock pot with cooked ground sausage and sauce. I’d picked up the Tortellini on super clearance at Wal-Mart last week so this was a super cheap meal! We had green beans on the side and it was simple and delicious!

I captured this scene on our way up the stairs to get ready for bed that night. It’s a poor quality photo but I hope you can see the sweetness. Acacia got an ouchie and Auggie was comforting her and helping her up the stairs. This three year old baby brother has come so very far in the past year – in so many ways!

Wednesday morning, I baked an Egg and Hashbrown Casserole that I’d put together the night before. We’d run out of Smoothie, so I made a blender full!

Since the oven was already hot because of baking the casserole, I made a double batch of Bran Muffins to bake also.

Amy came over again that morning to hang out. Arrow was with us and the kids had such a fun time playing together!

He was all kinds of sweetness as I tucked him in upstairs for his afternoon nap at Lolli’s house.

It was rainy that afternoon, so we needed to find some ways to stay quiet and entertained for a few hours in the house. Amy had brought the kids some fun craft projects that I planned to save for a rainy day. Turns out, this very day was that rainy day. These were perfect!

I made a monster-sized batch of Mudballs that afternoon. We got all the kids home early from their Day Camp so we could start ABA therapy sessions by 3:30. Dinner was leftovers – whatever sounded good – as we had a fridge full of food to choose from.

Then we headed off for Popsicles in the Park with our Heartlands church family. It was a chilly evening so the crowd was very small that night. But we had a good visit with our friends and it was good for the kids to run around outside before bedtime.

On Thursday morning, I made some Eggs in a Nest for the kids who like those. Other kids ate Mudballs.

The day was pretty chill with a morning ABA therapy session for Brayden, me getting to have a little writing time at Panera after dropping four kids off at day camp, and the little girls having playtime at home. The weather had cooled off and was lovely! So that afternoon, Acacia and Auggie played with vehicles outside for a long time.

I’d asked kids to each scrub a few potatoes that morning, so for dinner that night we had Baked Potatoes in a Crock Pot with bacon bits, cheese, butter, and sour cream, plus Peas and Fried Zucchini.

During all the kids’ ABA therapy sessions that evening, I had time to make a double recipe of Breakfast Cookie Bars to get us through the next two Sundays.

One of our former neighbors stopped by to say hello and to see if there was any food available out in the Little Free Pantry on our corner. Our conversation helped us learn that he was pretty hungry, so Keith helped me make our friend two sandwiches and fill a sack with other food for him like fruit cups, applesauce, a granola bar, and some chips. I loved to see Keith’s eagerness to help our friend.

At bedtime that night, Auggie climbed up onto Kiya’s lap for a story. Did he need to wear his rainboots so that he could sleep better? Most definitely.

Friday was full and wonderful! It was drizzly outside so we decided to take the kids who weren’t at camp to the Children’s Museum to play. We picked up Arrow on our way so he could play too!

We went home and ate leftovers for lunch. Then we put Arrow down for a nap and I took four kids to Culver’s to meet up with some longtime dear friends. They live in Arkansas now and were on their way to York for a Choir reunion. It was incredible to see them and catch up for a while!

We made it back home just in time to open our front door for more dear friends who were also on their way to York. This Choir Reunion was big, and with all of our kids, I wasn’t able to go. But how wonderful that friends made time to come see us before their big weekend! We had years of life to catch up on, and we shared all we could in the two hours that we had. What a gift this afternoon was!

As our friends loaded up and made their way to York, I started baking pans of bacon for BLTs for our dinner. One of our neighbors had given us fresh tomatoes from their garden, so BLTs were a must!

We all ate our fill and I continued baking bacon until I had lots extra to freeze for future meals.

Saturday was a super full and great day. We started by going to our Sensory Storytime at the library.

From there, we went to Holmes Lake where Big Gumdrop Outdoors hosted a fishing event for families called Cops and Bobbers. There were police officers there to help as well as a lot of Big Gumdrop Outdoor folks. This would have not been possible for our family without so many amazing people out there helping. First, we all practiced using fishing poles in the grass with fake fish.

Then we headed to the water! All eight kids fished for well over an hour, and most of the kids caught at least one fish.

The officers helped untangle fishing lines, put worms on hooks, keep everyone safe, and take fish off hooks once they got caught. There were lots of families there and it was truly a most awesome event!

Lunch was provided, so we washed up and ate hotdogs and fruit cups (or lunch that I had packed for our kids who don’t eat hotdogs).

We loaded up hot, sweaty kids into the van and ate a snack with a cold Capri Sun while I ran into Aldi to grab a bunch of fresh produce plus a few other things for friends.

Back at home, I got to work in the kitchen with a couple of awesome helpers! Two families we love are going through some tough life situations so while prepping for Sunday Lunch the next day, we tripled our efforts to take dinner to them that night. Kiya and I got four loaves of Stir and Pour Bread started, then she took off with Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars on her own.

While she did that, I made Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins and a pan of Brownies.

While all this was baking, I was also making Smoked Chicken outside. Brayden helped make Spaghetti and Salad for dinner – and our house smelled amazing!

We made some trays of fresh fruit to deliver to our friends along with Smoked Chicken, Baked Beans, Homemade Bread, Brownies, Muffins, and Salad.

We fed the kids dinner, then loaded up all the kids and the food and delivered it to our friend along with hugs.

Back at home, we gave the kids baths, did a lot of dishes, and put all the extra prepped food into the fridge for Sunday Lunch the next day. And that was our week!

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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 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: May 24-30, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 24-30, 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!

May 23

Late afternoon, we headed out of town to our friend’s property. They had invited us to enjoy their cabin in the woods. This evening turned out to be amazing! We started with a tour of their place…

Everyone took turns sitting on the tractor.

Asa’s and Justus’ families met us out there, and Don and Rochelle fed us a perfect meal of Fried Chicken, Fruit, Carrots, and Chips.

The atmosphere was so incredibly peaceful that our kids all sat and ate. Therefore, I GOT TO SIT AND EAT. This is no small thing. I got to enjoy my food, sitting outdoors in my happy place. I was so grateful for this gift!

Mr. Don took everyone on a tractor ride!

Brayden was too big for a tractor ride – so he got to drive! He was so proud, and so were we!

Awww, look how sweeeeeeet!

We ended the night by making smores. Then we headed home for baths with some very happy, tired kids. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: May 24-30, 2026

We ate our way through a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars on Sunday morning.

Our favorite marine and his family were back at church that morning! It was such an emotion-filled moment to see them all. We’ve been praying for Sam all these weeks while he was away at Bootcamp. Worshiping with him was amazing. And his reunion with Keith afterward? Precious!

Because it is one of Sam’s favorites, I had made a huge roaster full of Smoked Chicken for lunch. We got to enjoy hearing about so many of his Bootcamp experiences, making us even more proud of him.

We had Cream Cheese Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, Carrots, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, and Macaroni Salad for lunch with our Smoked Chicken – plus desserts. Notice how Keith had changed into his “military” uniform to be like Sam.

There were 35 of us gathered that day. It was wonderful!

Mid-afternoon, we all hugged Elias and Malorie goodbye. They were heading to Kansas to see family on their way to Texas where they will be with Malorie’s family for most of the summer. We will miss them!! And we are so glad for the time they will have there enjoying Mal’s family.

We didn’t have Community Group that afternoon. But the Nabbs were back in town and we were blessed to sit and visit with them for a glorious hour.

These three girls decided to change into matching dresses that afternoon. This was sweet (and also made more laundry for Mom, but oh well). :)

We ate Frozen Pizza for dinner and played ball until bedtime.

I baked a triple batch of Whole Wheat Banana Muffins on Monday morning. I guess it’s been a while since I made these, plus we all have “play in the sunshine and fresh air appetites” right now. After two rounds of baking we turned out 33 of these regular-sized muffins. By the end of the day, we had only one left. WOW.

I made Strawberry Banana Smoothies for the kids to eat with their Muffins that morning. They liked the idea of eating outside for a breakfast picnic.

Everyone was pretty antsy because we had plans to go to the Splash Park that afternoon – but at 9:30 it was STILL NOT the afternoon. Rude. SO, we tried to calm everyone down by telling them to log some reading minutes so they could earn prizes through the Library Summer Reading Program. This worked pretty well, thankfully, for at least a few minutes.

Our friends, Matt and Terra, came over mid-morning so that we could do meal prep for a Memorial Day lunch Heartlands was serving to our friends at the Atlas community a few blocks from our house. We cut up lots of veggies and watermelon in preparation.

We ate a quick lunch of Chicken Salad with crackers and cantaloupe before dropping some of the food at Atlas. Then finally we could go to the Splash Park. It was opening day, we all had new swim suits, and we were EXCITED!

We got there only to learn that the water wasn’t on yet. This is not what we read online as it was supposed to open on Memorial Day. BOO. Our kids were disappointed but very good sports about it. Matt and I quickly came up with a Plan B.

We were already equipped with swim suits, snacks, and water bottles, so we took our kids to the Zoo to play in the water area there. They loved this idea, and we were very proud of how they were all flexible with our change in plans.

The kids played in the water for over an hour.

At 2:00, we discovered that there was a fun and educational Tortoise Exhibit. So we dried off and sat with individual bags of chips while we learned about Betty the Tortoise. It was perfect.

We went back to the water for another half hour, then to the big Elephant playground for another hour or so. It was here that we finished off most of the muffins I’d made that morning, plus about 10 applesauce pouches and a bunch of meat sticks. These kids were hungry!

At 4:00, we headed home tired and satisfied with a fun day out. I made Hamburgers and Hotdogs for dinner with Baked Beans.

We thought we’d take a walk that evening. But instead, we ended up taking turns hitting balls that Daddy pitched to everyone. We did this until it was bedtime, then tucked eight tired kids (and two tired parents) into bed.

On Tuesday morning, Kiya, Keith, Bonus Buddy, and Anna got to go to their very first day camp! We have to keep these kids very busy to help their nervous systems stay calm. So this spring I researched and applied for scholarships and got kids signed up for multiple camp opportunities, sport clinics, and VBS events.

Matt stayed home with the other four kids to prep for ABA therapy. I dropped off camp kids then drove two minutes to the nearest Panera to get caught up on some work. Then I ran to Aldi to get caught up on some grocery needs.

We were getting pretty low on fresh produce and dairy products so I loaded up at Aldi: bananas, salad kits, zucchini, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, spring mix, cilantro, mandarins, yogurt, and cheese plus granola, sausage, pork loin, canned pineapple, and some lunch box items for our camp kids. It felt good to be stocked up again!

That afternoon, Josie had the privilege of going to our weekly Food Distribution with Brayden and me. She was a terrific helper and felt so grown up. :)

After we handed out all the food, Josie asked if she could take a picture of me vacuuming.

Back at home, Matt had warmed up Sloppy Joe meat that I’d pulled out of the freezer. He made a Caesar Salad, washed Blueberries, and air fried some French Fries to go with the meal.

Just before bedtime, Josie helped me make a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups for our breakfast the next day.

After I dropped the Camp Kids off on Wednesday morning, I went to Sam’s to stock up on what we needed there. I found loads of meat markdowns from chicken to hamburger to roast!

Brayden has been very serious about getting lots of reading minutes in toward the Library Summer Reading Challenge. And he’s making sure his little sisters get their minutes too. It’s been very sweet, not to mention great for his reading growth needs!

That evening, we were blessed to have friends from Texas come for a few hours. We hadn’t seen them in eight years so we had a lot of catching up to do!

We had a Nacho Bar for dinner with Taco Meat, Stick of Butter Rice, Beans, Cilantro, Spinach, Olives, Salsa, Cheese, White Queso, and Sour Cream.

We ended our meal with Gelato from Aldi, highly recommended!

Then we took a walk to Sunken Gardens together. It was very sweet to see Auggie make friends with Ms. Heather. :)

Our time with them wasn’t long enough. But we were so thankful to have the hours we did have.

Thursday morning after we dropped off camp kids and settled in Auggie and Josie with ABA therapy, I stirred together leftover nacho bar ingredients and made twenty Burritos for our dinner that night.

Acacia asked me to braid her hair, then show her a picture. :)

Thursday was a catch-up day, so the only other picture I got that day was of a couple Burritos warmed in the air fryer at dinner time, plus our plate of fruit. After that, Kelsey and Hopelyn came over to help Matt with kids while Brayden and I rushed out the door to join Justus at Heartlands for Worship Rehearsal.

Friday was a rainy day! We got four tired kids to camp for their final day of the session. Josie and Auggie started their ABA therapy sessions. Then I got out a pile of Highlights magazines that our friend Terra had handed off to us. It was a perfect rainy day activity.

Kelsey was taking Hopelyn to the Children’s Museum for the morning, so she came and picked up Brayden and Acacia to go too. This provided me with an hour and a half of kid-free time. What happens when you give mom some free time?

She bakes! Well, at least that’s what I wanted to do with this slot of free time. We didn’t have any easy snacks and breakfast foods on hand, so I spend the entire time in the kitchen whipping up a bunch of recipes while listening to praise music. It was glorious!

I made: Breakfast Cookie Bars, Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars, Mudballs, and Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars. I used three pounds of butter and two huge tubs of peanut butter, dirtied up a lot of dishes, and felt like I’d had a lovely Jesus-filled therapy session by the time I was finished. Baking and Praising are good for me. :)

That afternoon while Auggie napped, Brayden, Acacia, and Josie spent a fun afternoon at Asa and Eva’s house! Matt and I won’t be able to have our regular Wednesday evening dates much this summer with Elias and Malorie gone. So we’re trying to work out other chunks of time to have quiet couple time together. With four kids at camp, three kids at Eva’s, and Auggie napping, we had a lovely, restful afternoon.

Our friends, the Nabbs, came for one final dinner together before they head back to Texas. I didn’t get a picture of our meal, but I smoked four small marinated pork loins that I’d picked up at Aldi, steamed green beans, and made several boxes of mac and cheese for the kids. The meal was simple and we relished our last moments of time together.

The Nabbs had brought ice cream bars to share with us. We noticed Sam and Keith sharing their treat together so I captured the memory.

The goodbye was special and tear-filled. We treasure our time with these dear friends.

Keith and Bonus Buddy had been counting down the days until the Soccer Clinic I’d signed them up for. Finally, Saturday was the day! We dropped them off with cleats and shin guards and eager energy!

The rest of us headed to Sensory Friendly Story Time where Kelsey and Hopelyn met us!

Afterward, we made a Pancake, Sausage, and Bacon lunch for a bunch of hungry kids.

That afternoon, we played for a few hours at a park.

We weren’t too far from Costco, so just before we left the park, I ordered three large pizzas to take home for an easy dinner before bath time.

This sweetheart absolutely hates having her hair brushed. It’s been such a huge battle, and I finally decided that it wasn’t worth the screaming. She agreed to a hair cut and it turned out super cute! (But don’t look too close. Mama is no professional.)

And with that – our week ended!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 17-23, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 17-23, 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!

May 16

Keith got to be involved in a Track Meet on Saturday! He did a softball throw, then 50-meter dash, then felt too intimidated to do the final race he’d signed up for, the 200-meter dash. We were proud that he was willing to do any of it at all as events like this stretch him quite a bit. Plus, as a 7-year-old with a birthday that fell weird, he was competing with 8-9 year-olds. That, along with the heat made for a boy who was not able to keep pushing after the first race.

Either way, it was a pretty fun family outing that day. We had a tasty packed lunch of cheese, meat, crackers, frozen go-gurt, applesauce, muffins, and juice pouches.

And it was fun to watch the races and cheer while we ate!

We went from a meeeet to….Buresh Meats. It’s a super cool store that’s far from our house – but close to the high school where the track meet was held. So of course, we headed over so I could run through as fast as I could to look for the best deals. Man, this place is awesome! Organic grass-fed hamburger meat for $4.50/pound, boneless chicken thighs and tenderloins for $2.20/pound when bought in bulk, and eggs for just $0.85/dozen!

Back at home, I made a second round of Crunchy Ranch Chicken for our Sunday lunch (I’d made round one a few days prior).

Then I practiced 20-pounds worth of my “Just Dump Sauce on Some Chicken” trick. The thighs I had bought that day made their way into the freezer, all marinated and ready to go!

Earlier in the day, knowing I’d probably pick up more eggs at Buresh Meats, I had boiled 17 eggs to make Angeled Eggs. The kids were amazed by cracking hard boiled eggs and not getting messy yolk everywhere! They were actually very helpful in taking shells off all the eggs as we moved forward with our project.

Anna stuck with me for the whole process, smashing the yolks for me before I filled the whites. We were very proud of our results!

After I put away the eggs and cleaned the kitchen, I warmed up leftovers to feed us quickly for dinner. Then we headed to a graduation party where we were treated to a cupcake!

Back at home, we had bath time and watched a show before bed. Phew – big day!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 17-23, 2026

On Sunday after church, a fabulous crowd of 37 people gathered in our home to share lunch. I had made around 11-pounds of Crunchy Ranch Chicken and 17 eggs worth of Angeled Eggs. Friends brought chips, dips, salad, corn on the cob, and fruit. I made a quick blender full of Cream Cheese Salsa Dip to contribute to the chip/dip section of our buffet.

I’d made the chicken ahead of time and had a bit of a hard time getting it re-warmed fast enough to get us all fed. So I air fried some of it to get kids going through the line. Then, I was finally able to pull out two huge pans of it to serve to everyone (70-ish chicken strips). The meal was a big hit, with only a few Chicken Strips left over afterward!

The best part of Sunday Lunch is seeing so many dear ones crowded around our tables, visiting and sharing life.

We had a birthday girl among us, so we got to end our meal with a huge Ice Cream Cake!

On Monday morning, I felt super tired. For three days in a row, kids had gotten up reallllllly early (like 4:00 early) and the short nights and lack of down time in the morning was catching up to me. Emma came that morning, and I went and wondered around several stores: Trader Joes, Target, Walmart, and Costco. Then I went home and napped all afternoon!

Bonus Buddy helped unload groceries when I got home.

After a nap, I felt better and grateful to have had the down time. Refreshed, I got a few extra food items put together for us to eat. Dinner was a weird casserole that included leftover taco meat and hamburgers chopped up, the leftover dips from Sunday Lunch, and frozen hashbrowns. We adults liked it just fine. The kids mostly ate a dinner of Strawberry Parfait.

Josie was eager to be a helper that evening!

We made a batch of Angela’s Egg Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies…

…and a pan of Nutella Oat Breakfast Bars. It felt good to have prepared a fresh batch of quick-to-eat breakfast items to get us through the next couple of days!

We had to stay in the house all evening because it was raining. The rain was so very needed and we were grateful, even if the evening did feel a bit long since we were cooped up in the house. Anna’s ABA therapist played chess with her (an activity that always cracks me up because of all things to play, this little girl wants to place chess?? It’s awesome). Naturally, Acacia, who doesn’t understand the game at all, wanted to set up a board and teach Bonus Buddy how it worked. Ha!

For a bedtime snack that night, Keith and Josie at an entire package of raspberries – just the two of them.

On Tuesday morning, I made two packages of Meat and Cheese Sliders for Matt to warm up for dinner that night. We had a full day/evening ahead of us!

Hopelyn and Arrow both spent the day with us. We don’t know for sure what this Cousin Conversation was about, but we are guessing it had something to do with Muffins or Blueberries.

Bonus Buddy led everyone in a sweet game of The Floor is Lava.

After school that day, Kiya went with me to our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Matt got everyone fed and ready for an evening outing. Our kids’ elementary school had secured a grant that offered the entire school and their families to have a Zoo Night!

Our kids’ ABA therapists met us at the zoo, which was super helpful as we navigated eight VERY EXCITED KIDS through the zoo with their classmates and teachers.

Everything was free that night, including train rides and feeding the giraffes! Josie doesn’t like the train (everyone screams too loud while going through the tunnel), so she and I stayed back and waved as the train went by. :)

As it turns out, Brayden speaks “giraffe.”

We got completely overstimulated and dysregulated over the entire event. Was it worth it? Yes. But bedtime was a relief that night.

We had a regular and fairly calm morning on Wednesday, with ABA therapy for Josie and Auggie and with Acacia and Bonus Buddy playing outside. Our friends who help us clean once a week came over late in the morning and Auggie was excited to use the spray bottle while Ms. Rebecca wiped down the door. :)

That afternoon, Anna had kindergarten graduation! Kiya is in Student Council at the elementary school, so she got to help check in families when they arrived. She did a great job!

We started in the auditorium where the Kinders sang us some fun songs they’d been working on.

Then we went to the cafeteria where each child’s name was called and they received their diploma. :)

Last, we got to have a bag of popcorn. Here’s how Anna felt about looking at me and smiling for a picture. :)

Back at home, a friend of Malachi’s had arrived and moved in for part of the summer. I had slow cooked a Beef Roast with Carrots all day, which we ate with Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, and Strawberries.

Brayden and Buddy had a contest while they ate their dinner to see who could eat the most sour blueberry.

Thursday was our last day of school. I didn’t get “last day” pictures of our kids before they left. Why? Because we had ABA therapy as normal and a house full of autism and trauma and Mama is tired. :/ I did give everyone an extra squeeze as they headed out for the day. :)

Kiya helped me make a Spinach Cake before she left. She loved being mostly independent with this!

I baked several pans of Bacon that morning.

This was a fun scene in our living room at the end of our ABA sessions that morning. Lots were gathered, including Justus and Hopelyn.

Acacia and Hopelyn took a ride around the block.

Ah! Some of the Coppingers were able to take a “Last Day of School” picture! This bro-and-sis-in-law shot was pretty sweet to receive. These two work hard at the same elementary school in the special ed department. We are very proud of them for how they help their students!

I did get a shot of these girlies as they headed out for their final day of Pre-K. Next year: Kindergarten!

While we waited for their bus, we watched “the mowers” across the street get their job done.

I took this picture of Bonus Buddy’s lunch that day. He has a pretty slim list of foods he’ll eat (like many of our kids), but he ate all of these happily, and enjoyed that his container looked like a Lunchable.

For dinner that night, I made Turkey Bacon Cheese Croissants with Watermelon.

We enjoyed Kiya’s Spinach Cake that evening. I had made Cream Cheese Frosting for the top – this recipe but with a tiny bit of sugar instead of stevia so the kids would eat it.

Friday morning started out rough. We knew that it might as we transitioned into a new routine with Summer Break. Nobody wanted the breakfast I offered. Nobody wanted to do what we suggested. And it was raining so we weren’t able to go outside and run out their aggression.

Eventually we were able to talk kids into eating apples with peanut butter and cinnamon. Then Matt stayed home with seven kids plus two ABA therapists while I took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We’d been talking to Acacia’s therapists about taking a break now that it’s summer time. This was a tough decision because while she has made a lot of progress, she has a long way to go. But we all decided to take a break, which we think will be good for her for now. This way she can spend her summer playing outside, going to VBS, and enjoying our family outings. Her therapists have been so good to us!

Back at home, Matt air-fried an entire bag of Chicken Bites and sliced a loaf of Apple Bread that had tucked away in the freezer. We served it with baby carrots, then got everyone loaded into the van.

We headed to the Children’s Museum and spent two hours having fun there!

We started in the basement where kids put on costumes and performed on the stage.

On the main floor, I ate my weight in plastic Runza burgers, fries, and chicken strips.

Auggie wants to live in this fire truck and has a hard time when, if you can believe it, other children at the museum also want to play in there so he has to share.

We had a pile of free Dairy Queen ice cream coupons so we went to a location close to our house to treat the kids. They waited on these cool swings – only to find out that this particular DQ doesn’t accept coupons like this.

So we loaded up for home where I saved the day by making the kids ice cream cones.

Evening ABA therapy started soon after this, and I grilled Steak for dinner with Fries and Salad.

Food is a huge challenge for several of our kids, but extra, extra hard for one of them. I took this picture of what often happens at mealtime, even with all our effort to provide accommodations to avoid the fights, the food throwing, and the mess. But still something went “wrong” and food flew off the plate…again. Paper got torn too, which is also normal around here. Notice the book sitting beside the mess: Put Me in the Zoo. Yep, that sounds about right. Our ABA therapists were available to work through this situation with us, which is incredibly helpful!

All throughout the evening, I smoked several rounds of Chicken Thighs for Sunday Lunch.

Matt did some yard work with the help of Acacia and Auggie.

On Saturday morning, we got to go to a birthday party! It started out with donuts and playground…

Then we all went fishing! Most of our kids haven’t had a chance to do this, and it was a hit!

Keith caught not one, but two fish. The rest of us just had fun trying. What a great morning!

We had leftovers for lunch at home, then loaded up for another big outing that afternoon. I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 10-16, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 10-16, 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!

May 9

On Saturday, Matt, Asa, and Justus took the kids to Library Storytime and a Train Show all morning. I stayed home and hosted a Bridal Shower for our friend Olivia. Eva came early to help, and all of these lovely ladies pitched in to prepare a sweet feast of muffins, fruit, and cheese/meat/cracker trays.

We filled our living room with Olivia’s friends and family. It was a beautiful morning.

We rested and played outside all afternoon, then went to Keith’s final soccer game of the season.

Before leaving for soccer, I had made some Taco Meat. As soon as we arrived back home, we made simple Nacho Boats before bath and bedtime.

Getting everyone’s teeth brushed is a huge nightly endeavor. Elias happened upon the scene and Josie asked him to brush hers. It was very sweet. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: May 10-16, 2026

I’d been feeling under the weather on Saturday, but pushed through to enjoy the day. Then on Sunday morning, Mother’s Day, I woke up feeling much worse. I was super sad and tried to get ready to go to church with the family but finally gave in to illness and went back to bed. :(

Not only were all of our kids going to come for Sunday lunch to celebrate Mother’s Day, but the Nabb family was in town – our dear friends who had moved from Lincoln to Texas a few months ago. So we were supposed to celebrate with them also. I texted everyone to assure them that I was sick but not contagious (my lungs are very susceptible to infection due to mold exposure in college, and I’d gotten into some dust a few days prior). So everyone still came to lunch, and I was so, so grateful! I sat while everyone else pulled out and prepped the food for us to all enjoy!

This was a great, simple meal. Last week I’d purchased three Rotisserie Chickens from Sam’s and Matt had taken it all off the bone and frozen it. We had it thawed and ready on Sunday to make Chicken Wraps with tortillas, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, guacamole, and a variety of dressings. The Nabbs brought fruit and angel food cake for dessert and we had a wonderful feast!

That night, Kelsey suggested we meet at Mahoney park and Eva suggested we pick up pizza on the way. It was a PERFECT plan to finish off our Mother’s Day together. Friends met us there too, which made it extra special.

On Monday, I was feeling a bit better but very low on energy. Emma came as usual, so I took advantage of her being here and I rested upstairs all morning and part of the afternoon.

Matt was watering our lawn that afternoon and we let the kids run through the sprinkler when they got home from school.

Matt used the leftover Chicken Wrap ingredients from Sunday to make super tasty Quesadillas for dinner that night.

On Tuesday morning, I felt much better. Josie helped me make a batch of Nutella Oat Bars.

I took advantage of the oven being hot and baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice at the same time that we baked our bars.

Josie and Auggie had ABA therapy that morning, so they stayed home with Matt while Acacia and I ran some errands. I got my hair trimmed, then we went to Aldi. I almost never take kids to the store with me any more so this was a big privilege for Acacia.

She was excited to show everyone her Great Clips balloon when we got home. :)

After we got the girls off on the preschool bus that noontime, Auggie and Hopelyn played in the quiet backyard for a while before their naps. Ope, I mean before Hopelyn’s nap. Auggie decided not to nap that day. He’s getting older and we’re starting to see the beginning of nap transition for him. I have mixed feelings about this. :/

Kiya and Brayden were both able to go to our weekly Food Distribution this week. We’ve had school music concerts for three weeks in a row, so we’d had to juggle those into our schedule the past several Tuesdays. It was good to get back to our normal routine with Food Distribution this week!

Back at home, Matt made two boxes of Orange Chicken from Sam’s for dinner. We ate it with Salad and the Stick of Butter Rice I’d made earlier in the day.

Before bed, I made a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins to enjoy the next day.

The kids discovered all of the sun hats that had been stored away and the girls have been looking so cute in them!

Matt and Acacia watered part of the lawn area by our Little Free Pantry on Wednesday morning. Our neighbor stopped for food and a chat.

Arrow spent the entire day with us which was a fun treat! He got to go to school pick up with us that day!

I grilled Hamburgers for dinner that night with sides of Fries and Pickles. It was date night for Matt and me, so dinner needed to be simple!

After we got the kids settled with their dinner, their ABA therapists, and Elias, Malorie, and Malachi – Matt and I headed out. We ran into Costco for diapers and gift cards for some high school graduates. Well, gift cards for the graduates. Diapers for our kids. Was that not clear?

Then we grabbed Panera drinks with our subscriptions and took them to a park where we took a long walk together before heading home to get kids to bed.

On Thursday morning, our 7-year-old Bonus Buddy got dropped off at our house. He plans to be here throughout the entire summer and we are all very excited about this!

Josie and Auggie were hard at work with their ABA therapists, so Bonus Buddy and Acacia spent the morning playing together.

In an effort to get ahead for Sunday Lunch, I made a big batch of Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips.

Late morning, Auggie had a meeting with his special ed teacher from Early Development Network.

Hopelyn had gotten dropped off and was hanging with the big kids watching for the preschool bus.

After they left, Auggie found our neighbor kid’s super cool helmet and came over to show Hopelyn.

She was very impressed, of course.

So impressed, in fact, that she needed a turn with it. :)

With the pending arrival of Bonus Buddy, we’d ordered a new set of bunk beds for the boys’ room. Matt had been working on building it all morning. When it was Auggie’s naptime, he decided he’d rather help Daddy build the bed than go to sleep.

Bonus Buddy had been counting down the hours until his favorite side-kick, Keith, got out of school. Finally, finally…it was school pick-up time! There were lots of smiles at their reunion.

For dinner that night, I made Smoked Chicken Legs, Mac and Cheese, and Green Beans.

Brayden was incredibly helpful as he and Matt finished assembling the bunk beds that evening.

Friday morning, I made a big effort to get caught up and ahead in the kitchen. After spending about an hour cleaning and washing yesterday’s dishes, I did a lot of baking. Auggie was very happy to help me.

We made a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars, Crustless Cheesecakes, a Spinach Cake, and two boxed mixes of Blueberry Muffins. It felt incredible to get so much done that morning!

Matt took Acacia to Speech and Physical Therapy before preschool. Then he set up new sprinklers in an effort to help our grass look a little bit better. Here are two little boys trying to decide if they are brave enough to walk through the cold water.

That afternoon, Auggie helped me teach Bonus Buddy about our Little Free Pantry. It was so sweet to watch Buddy get excited later in the day when neighbors stopped by to take some food!

After school, Keith and Bonus Buddy got drenched riding their bikes through the backyard sprinkler.

Out of time and energy, I did nothing but bake three frozen pizzas for dinner that night.

Saturday was a full day with Library Storytime and a Track Meet for Keith. Eva and Kelsey met me at the library, which was super helpful because Matt had taken Keith to do his field event at track. We all met up back at home, then all of us headed to watch Keith compete in his running events.

I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 3-9, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 3-9, 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!

May 2

That afternoon while Auggie took his nap, Matt took our washing machine apart to try to get to the bottom of why it wasn’t spinning out. I’m so very thankful for how handy and knowledgeable he is. It takes a lot of house and appliance to run life with 14 of us. And yikes, we need a working washing machine! (We have two, but neither were working great this week.)

The rest of us hung out outside. Brayden was eager to mow the lawn some more. Here’s hoping he doesn’t lose that enthusiasm! Elias and Malachi played some frisbie golf in the yard.

We enjoyed a popsicle while we watched them play.

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon. Then we came home and ate leftovers before having bath time and getting to bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: May 3-9, 2026

Sunday morning we ate  Breakfast Cookie Bars before heading out for church. We had a smaller crowd for lunch that day because, well, May is a busy month! There were still 20 of us gathered though, and the smaller crowd allowed us to visit more with people.

I made three packages of Turkey/Cheese Slider Sandwiches and asked guests to bring sides. We had Salad, Strawberries, Pickles, Olives, Chips, and Pasta Salad. It was a great spring lunch! I’d made three batches of Homemade Ice Cream, which finished our meal off perfectly.

We enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon after lunch. I captured this sweet moment from the corner of our kitchen with Malachi and our friend, Nathan, visiting and two of our Community Group friends grabbing coffee before we sat down together. Scenes like this bring me a lot of joy with people enjoying time together, making themselves at home, and helping themselves to coffee and dessert in our kitchen.

Late in the afternoon, we loaded up food and kids and headed to the best park in Lincoln – Mahoney Park. It has recently been renovated and has incredible features.

We spent two and a half hours there that evening – playing and eating. The weather was absolutely perfect!

Before we’d left home, I had baked a Sam’s-sized box of Taquitos and packed them in an insulated bag to stay warm. The kids ate in shifts as they got hungry, enjoying their Taquitos with Carrots and Strawberries then going back to play.

Emma came on Monday morning and the girls had a lot of fun with her dog, Buddy. This is a big deal for Josie who has always been afraid of animals!

After getting school kids out the door, ABA kids settled with therapists, and everyone settled with Emma – I headed out for the morning. I didn’t have as much shopping to do that day, so I just went to Sam’s and Wal-mart. As I was finishing up at Sam’s, I heard a very sweet, familiar voice. I rounded the corner and guess who I found?

Arrow and his mommy, Eva! Arrow was very confused about seeing Lolli at Sam’s and kept asking me, “Brayden?” Kiya?” “Auggie?” It was hard for him to recognize me in a warehouse and without any other kids with me, ha!

He and I walked around while Eva finished shopping. Man, that made my day!

Back at home, Matt was amazing and pulled chicken off of three rotisserie chickens for our upcoming Mother’s Day lunch. I had not been able to figure out what I wanted to do for the special meal with moms: Eva, Kelsey, our friend Cindy whose family was joining us, and me. I needed our meal to be kid friendly, easy to set out after church so that no one had to do much work, and delicious. Stumped, when I was out shopping I decided to let Sam’s tell me what we were having for our meal that day. And suddenly the idea came: Chicken Wraps – with lots of fun toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, guacamole, peppers, dressing, and cheese. Everyone would be able to make their wrap however they wanted and it would be a win! Thus the three rotisserie chickens Matt needed to prep. What a guy! The chicken went into the freezer and the work of putting this meal together was basically finished six days in advance.

The kids were all very excited to see that I’d bought our first watermelon of the season! They ate it while I cut it for dinner. Then I used the leftover turkey from a meal last week to make Turkey/Cheese/Spinach Quesadillas. I put diced tomatoes on some of them and they turned out delicious!

The weather was gorgeous so we spent the evening outside walking and having therapies.

Our neighbors were watering their lawn and at the end of the night, the little girls and Auggie decided to run through their sprinkler. This was the sweetest! And good timing because we could transition straight into jammies.

On Tuesday, while Auggie and Josie had ABA therapy, I worked with the therapist who comes into our home to work with two of our kids to help with ARFID and attachment. Anna and I drew pictures together as a way to connect.

Hopelyn had been dropped off and was hanging out with Pop. I took a turn playing with her outside and captured this picture of her fancy hair style. How cute is this?

While the little ones snacked later in the morning, I put together a big Cheeseburger Casserole for dinner that night.

We were in desperate need for easy snacks, so I made a double batch of Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cups.

Brayden and Keith went with me to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Junior volunteers get to pick two foods from the giveaway tables as a “thank you” for helping. Keith chose a full loaf of Italian bread, ha! And then he dug right in.

We ran home right away after giving away food and cleaning up, just in time to grab a quick bite, turn Keith over to his ABA therapist, and go to Kiya’s Ukulele and Choir concert.

Brayden had to leave half-way through to get to his school for his Band Concert. Spring is a busy time filled with concerts and programs!

As we were wrapping up our evening and heading to bed, Auggie joined Malorie in making some cookies.

Wednesday was a very big day for Auggie. It started at 6:15 that morning when he and I climbed into the car to go to the surgery center. He needed some major dental work done and it required that he be put to sleep. So while Matt stayed home to get all six of the other kids squared away for the day, Auggie and I spent the morning being brave. The nurses and doctor were amazing with him!

He handled all of this like a rock star and I was amazed at the peace I felt the entire time. Everything went very well and they wheeled a very sleepy Auggie back to me by 8:30.

When we got home, we stayed as calm as possible so Auggie could continue to recover, then he had a good afternoon nap. By the end of the school day, Auggie was back to normal! He jumped right in to “help” with Keith’s latest project – nailing and drilling random pieces of wood together to build…something.

We weren’t sure that Auggie would be up for ABA therapy that night or if Matt and I would be able to have our Wednesday night date. But all was well, so we fed everyone Cheddar Brats and Beef Hot Dogs with Cucumbers, Carrots, and Grapes. Then we left Elias, Malorie, and Malachi in charge while we headed out for a couple of hours!

After the busyness of Wednesday, Thursday felt restful. We got the kids off to school and Josie and Auggie settled in with their ABA technicians. Auggie spent time with his battery-operated “drill” continuing to work on Keith’s project from the night before.

Arrow and Hopelyn were both with us that morning so they got to have cousin time! When they needed a snack, we had a Peaches Picnic.

Dinner that night was fresh and delicious! We’d been given a cabbage, which isn’t something I buy or cook with much. But I turned it into a bowl of Cole Slaw and it really hit the spot! I made Smoked BBQ Chicken Legs, Stir Fried Veggies, Mac and Cheese, and Strawberry Parfaits. So there was something for every person in our house to enjoy – and some of us enjoyed all of it.

The weather was sunny and gorgeous, so we were outside the entire evening. Malachi was so sweet to spend some time playing volleyball with his brother. Brayden has been taking a special PE class this semester that is more on his level of ability – and watching him play that night showed me that he has really grown in confidence and ability!

On Friday morning, Keith and Auggie were excited to help me make a big pan of Granola Bars.

Did we wait until they set up before we dug into them? Of course we did not. :)

Acacia, Josie, and Auggie helped me make four batches of muffins for an upcoming bridal shower I was hosting on Saturday.

At 8:30, I captured this scene in our living room, which shares what mornings look like as we get ABA therapy started for the day. Acacia claimed Auggie’s RBT as soon as he walked in. He works with Auggie for three hours in the morning and with Anna for three hours in the evening. So he’s practically a part of our family now. :) Josie’s RBT was getting logged into her phone app so she could start recording data during her session. The guy there with the computer is the BCBA for Auggie, Anna, and Keith, so he comes several times a week both in the morning and in the evening. Josie’s BCBA showed up soon after I took this picture, so we had all kinds of awesome professionals working with our kiddos from 8:30-11:30. Notice Anna…not putting her shoes on so she could leave for school on time. This, too, is a regular part of our morning routine. :/

Matt got Keith and Anna to school soon after this once we finally were able to get Anna to somewhat cooperate. Brayden gets himself to school by 8:00 and Kiya had left earlier to get to a student council meeting. Justus dropped Hopelyn off with us so he could get some course work done (he’s working on his masters) – so we got a bonus Hopelyn morning! At 9:40, Acacia and I went to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We got back just in time for the preschool bus. Look how much these two have grown since they started preschool two years ago!

That afternoon, Brayden got to have a special Walk/Run to Zestos outing with his middle school track team. He has been so blessed to be a part of the Unified Track group this season and we are so thankful for the teachers and coaches who pulled him in. Zestos is a fun ice cream shop about a mile from the school. So it is a tradition for the team to end their season there.

Brayden enjoyed a big hot fudge sundae!

Back at home, I started making Pancakes, Sausage, Eggs, and Hashbrowns. Breakfast for dinner is always a hit for everyone!

After we finished getting everyone fed, while the kids were all outside with our three evening RBTs, Matt and I sat down with our BCBA to discuss progress and programming plans for Keith and Anna. This is so helpful so that we can all make sure we are on the same page as we help our kids learn better calming, social, and adapting skills.

After that, Eva’s parents, Randy and Paula, arrived with a car load of food for our Little Free Pantry. Their church group has been incredible to gather groceries once each month to support this ministry. They brought in load after load of food!

I ended the night by making little Pancake/Sausage Sandwiches for kids to eat for future breakfasts.

Saturday morning, Matt took the kids on an outing – with Asa and Justus meeting them with their babies. I hosted a bridal shower at our house, and I wasn’t able to post more that day. So I’ll share all about it 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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