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

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

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

March 21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile, Keith and our neighbor friend were sharing outfits.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 8-14, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 8-14, 2026 post!

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

March 7

Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed lots of outdoor time in our yard. Keith became a Husker football player with Kiya and Acacia doing a few cheer routines during his time outs. :)

Anna asked if she could braid my hair. Then she took a picture to show me her work. Look at this! Our six-year-old can braid!

That night for dinner, I used leftover taco meat to make Quesadillas, which we ate with sliced oranges and carrots.

Several of the kids were struggling to stay emotionally regulated, so we got out our sensory socks to see if they would help. Keith wore his to mop the kitchen, which is tough to do with no hands, but somehow he made it work.

Inspired by some friends who had recently shared with us that they’d done a prayer walk through their house, we gathered our kids and did the same that night. We had to keep each prayer brief so the kids could stay somewhat focused and not scatter. But we prayed together for God’s light to shine through each room in our home and in our lives.

As much as we’d love for God to give our kids “instant healing,” we know that He is faithful even while we pray and have to turn right around and deal with another meltdown. Our prayer walk through the house was effective, though, in bringing relief and a smile to Matt and me. We needed this time of prayer with our kids and a reminder that we aren’t parenting alone but through the power of Jesus.

Big Family Food and Fun: March 8-14, 2026

On Sunday morning, I didn’t feel like I’d lost an hour of sleep thanks to Daylight Savings – but rather I lost an hour of being able to get everyone and everything ready for a big church day! We hurriedly ate a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars, prepped lunch, fixed little girls’ hair, etcetera, etcetera. Somehow we made it to church…early. It’s a miracle.

Kelsey snuck this photo of Hopelyn playing on my lap that morning during the sermon. I love this!!

A precious crowd of 25 gathered for lunch at our house that day.

I had made a roaster full of Smothered Pork Chops and a triple batch of Stick of Butter Rice. Christy brought a fun “Salad Bar” and Christina brought all kinds of fun veggies: Sweet Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and Broccoli. Those didn’t make it into the picture because I snapped it too soon before their family arrived.

We had a most lovely Community Group time that afternoon. Then we spent the late afternoon and evening outside playing. I made a quick dinner of Chicken Salad with crackers, grapes, mandarins, and pickles. We let the kids eat outside because when the weather is perfect, why would we sit in the dining room??

We had big plans to go to the Omaha Zoo on Monday to kick off our spring break. So I wrote names on seven bags and set out lots of fruit and snacks. The kids got to fill their “snack bag” for the zoo, which turned out to be the most exciting activity!

We made Tortilla Wraps for our zoo lunch, plus I gathered extras like peanut butter pretzels, fruit/veggie pouches, and apples. We’d be gone for the entire day and I’ve learned that I can never pack too much food.

On Monday morning, Kiya helped me make a loaf of bread worth of Uncrustables. We didn’t know how long we’d last in Omaha, but in case we were able to extend our time there into the evening, I’d have the Uncrustables on hand for dinner.

We arrived at the zoo right at opening time – along with half of the city of Omaha. Everyone was taking advantage of Spring Break and beautiful weather! Eva and Arrow plus some of the Case family joined us. Here’s our party of 14!

Our first stop was the jungle. I grabbed Arrow for some squeezes and to free up Eva’s arms. But, every time I tried to give Eva a baby-holding break, Auggie took advantage of the situation and wanted Eva to hold him. So basically she traded a lighter weight baby for a heavier one, ha. No complaints from Eva though!

The jungle had lots of cool waterfalls and birds. While I was holding Arrow, Josie needed a lift to see over the fence. Eva surprised me with this photo of me getting an arm workout. This is the best form of exercise. :)

We walked through the zoo’s amazing aquarium next. These girls had to get a picture with the jelly fish. What fascinating creatures!

Snacks were no longer doing the trick, so we had a lunch break after the aquarium.

There are so many cool animals at the Omaha zoo, though I didn’t personally feel like I’d seen many of them at that point. Chasing kids through a packed zoo and trying to keep everyone together is quite a feat. We are thankful friends were there to help wrangle everyone.

Here we are in the famous Desert Dome!

A favorite for all of us was our trek after the desert to see the Sea Lions. I got zero pictures of this because we were taking it all in. Watching them swim was so, so peaceful!

Once we’d gotten through all of the special featured buildings, we walked around outside to enjoy lions, tigers, zebras, and elephants. These spaces were less crowded and more enjoyable for me, though it was was a lot of walking for the kids.

The elephants were our last stop and they were so cool to watch!

We’d been at the zoo from 10am-5pm, phew! These kids were troopers!

Our ride home was full of adventure as it involved several meltdowns and a barf bag for a car sick kiddo. Poor thing. Back at home, two exhausted parents were so glad that Malachi was home and happy to see his siblings. Matt rested, I did dishes (which is surprisingly restful compared to wrangling kids through the Omaha Zoo), and Malachi played soccer in the living room with his sisters. It was the sweetest.

Malachi hung in there with the kids for us while we made it through the evening. He had them all belly laughing at a silly video he found. :) Everyone slept great that night!

Tuesday morning, we made Eggs in a Nest. Emma came over to help, and two of our kids had attachment therapy with Mom. Then I took advantage of Emma being here to run out and grab a few groceries.

At Aldi, I got lots of fruits and veggies – spring mix, Caesar salad kits, strawberries, grapes, bananas, cantaloupe, and pear cups. I got some special yogurts for the kids as we enjoy Spring Break, plus regular whole milk yogurt, milk, half and half, crackers, and cliff bars. I scanned the meat section for 50% off stickers and found some ground beef and chicken!

I didn’t need much at Wal-Mart but it’s very close to Aldi and I had time. So I went to look for yellow stickers on meat. I found some very good deals on beef!! Beef is quite a bit more expensive than chicken and pork, so even the markdowns are still typically on the higher side. But these were very good prices for what they are: cubed steak and chopped steak.

I went home and cooked/seasoned the chopped steak right away to freeze for Sunday Lunch. This will make the most delicious Chipotle-style Burrito Bar!

I dug out some Hair Chalk for the kids to enjoy that afternoon. This was a chaotic mess – but did they have fun? Yes they did. :)

I had meant to get some Salsa Chicken started in the crock pot that morning but never got around to it. So I threw the chicken on the stove with salsa around 1:00 to get it cooked faster. Then I made a huge batch of Chicken Burritos. I had them planned for our dinner that night plus a little 3rd grade friend from church had loved them when I took them to her family after her mom’s surgery. “When can I have more of Laura’s burritos?” she asked her mom. Well, girl. I’ll bring you some more. :)

As I was finishing all the Burritos, Eva and Arrow came to hang out. Eva immediately started to wash my sink full of dishes – so sweet. Arrow spotted the kids playing outside and kept pointing and saying their names. “Bayden! Bayden!”

I took Bayden – I mean Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution. Then we came home to many of the Chicken Burritos already gone – and we helped ourselves.

Keith and Auggie had ABA therapy all evening. All of our kids’ therapists/technicians are becoming a part of our family now. When Auggie had a question, Keith’s technician looked up the answer on his phone to show Auggie. It was so sweet.

Wednesday was a ridiculously full day! We had plans to get two of our rooms ready to host families who were traveling to this area for a Homeschool Speech Meet. And we had a big day planned with our Heartlands Youth Ministry to come for the afternoon to build a permanent Little Free Pantry. So we started off our day getting food ready (while sheets and blankets were working their way through the laundry to prep for guests).

Auggie helped me make Spinach Cupcakes.

While the Spinach Cupcakes were baking, I made Rice Krispie Treats for lunch dessert and Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars for guests who were coming who needed to eat gluten and dairy free.

At 8:30, Josie began ABA therapy with her new behavior technician.

I did not need this extra job that morning – but I’d picked up 9 packages of cube steak on sale the day before and I needed to get it taken care of and frozen. So, I made a huge mess and prepped 11-pounds of Chicken Fried Steak for the freezer. I haven’t made these for YEARS! But when you find cube steak marked down…

I had made a huge Lasagna the week before so it baked all morning to get ready for our youth group lunch. Kiya helped put Caesar Salad together.

Right on time, the youth group arrived and started through the lunch line: Lasagna, Salad, and Grapes plus lots of desserts!

After they ate, everyone headed outside with one group digging a deep hole and another putting together the pantry structure.

These youth worked hard!! Of course our kids were right in the middle of it all day, with Keith LOVING every part of digging and building!

It was a little bit chilly that day so the girls helped me make a big pot of Hot Cocoa to take outside for everyone during the afternoon.

Three and a half hours later, our sweet Little Free Pantry was finished! When we first set out our tote and refrigerator back in November, we weren’t sure how our neighborhood would respond. But wow has it been awesome to see the community come together! Lots of people walk or drive by to help themselves to food they need. Meanwhile others have stopped by regularly to fill the tote/fridge/cooler with food. It’s been incredible to watch and be a part of. Thus, the permanent pantry!

As we moved into the evening, I packaged up some Lasagna and Green Beans. Then Matt and two of our girls loaded up and drove it to a nearby hospital to deliver to York friends who were there with a loved one after a surgery. We are so thankful to live in Lincoln close to two hospitals so we can help friends who are here from out of town.

For dinner that night, I fried some of the Chicken Fried Steak I’d prepped earlier in the day, plus made Mashed Potatoes that the kids had helped me get into the crock pot that morning, and made Peas and Gravy.

Our guests arrived and we got them settled into their rooms. Here’s a sweet shot of Keith and Anna making themselves at home with our new friend from Colorado. She was gracious to sit patiently with Keith to show him how to work our rubix cube.

We had a much less full day on Thursday. Our Bonus Buddy got dropped off to spend a few days with us so that was very exciting! Kelsey and Hopelyn came over for a couple of hours that morning. Kelsey played Ticket to Ride Junior with the kids…

After Josie’s ABA therapy session and an early lunch, we took the kids to play in the indoor play area at the zoo. It’s pretty nice living five minutes from our local zoo and having a membership that allows us to go at any time!

Dinner was a very fancy pot full of five boxes of Mac and Cheese. We had ABA that night plus Matt and I needed to have a sit down visit with the kids’ therapist. This is part of the ABA process – having parent trainings so that we can all be on the same page and follow through with the programs in place for the kids’ therapies.

On Friday morning, I lost track of Keith and Bonus Buddy when we had a visit from these Twin Vaders. Keith and Bonus Buddy showed up again soon after I took this picture. :)

I started a crock pot of Salsa Chicken for our Sunday Lunch. Later in the day I shredded it and stored it away to reheat on Sunday.

Matt took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy that morning. Eva and Arrow came over to help me with the other seven kids. Anna, who absolutely hates having her hair brushed, asked Eva if she “knew how to fix hair.” Haha. Eva happily took Anna’s rat nest and turned it into piggy tails. Anna was so proud! And I’m going to need Eva to come over every day to do this child’s hair… ;)

The morning was nuts cooped up inside the house. Finally the sun came out and we were warm enough to head outside to get ants out of our pants. Arrow is surrounded by little mommies when he comes over….

Kiya and I were able to play a bit of volleyball. Keith and Bonus Buddy played frisbee golf. Auggie played some soccer. Brayden made a couple of swords with sticks. I panicked at one point, realizing I hadn’t seen Acacia for a while. (I’m constantly counting heads to keep track of so many kids.) Kiya reminded me that Acacia was with Dad at therapy. Hahaha, oh yeah. Let’s not even talk about how earlier3 I was holding Arrow while walking around and then got scared because I didn’t know where Arrow was. Good grief. Right there on my hip. :)

Brayden was excited to make his favorite lunch for us: Orange Chicken. I steamed some broccoli to go with it.

Dinner that night was Burgers and Fries.

Then the older two kids helped me make pies. We had big plans to host a Pie Party for neighbors the next day. Saturday was Pi Day, after all. March 14. Get it? Pi Day? 3.14.

I’d baked some frozen pie crusts earlier in the day. Kiya used one and made Chocolate Fudge Pie almost entirely by herself.

Then Brayden helped me make an Oreo Cheesecake Pie. We used this cheesecake recipe and blended oreos into it.

Pies complete! Bring on Pi Day!

Saturday morning, we took the kids to Sensory Friendly Storytime at the library. Afterward, we came home and ate leftovers for lunch then got the house set up for our Pie Party. I wasn’t able to work more that day, so I’ll share more about these adventures in next week’s post!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 2026

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

Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 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!

February 28

We’d gone to a Husker Women’s Basketball game Saturday afternoon, and came home hungry. We warmed up leftovers for dinner plus I sliced some oranges for everyone.

We did some cleaning to get ready for a new week. Daddy had to take apart the vacuum to clean out all the long hairs that had wrapped around it. How about that? We have a LOT of long hair in our house now. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: March 1-7, 2026

We ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church on Sunday morning. I had been feeling pretty worn out from several weeks of sickness traveling through the house plus all the new therapies we’d started. But we didn’t want to cancel Sunday Lunch because it’s such a fulfilling time for us. So we decided to take advantage of a pizza deal we found online. Families who joined us pitched in on the cost and we had a super chill, restful Sunday Lunch.

The girls set up a small table with a picnic in the hallway that afternoon. This is both very sweet and also slightly rebellious because they aren’t allowed to eat outside the dining room or kitchen. ;)

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. For dinner, we ate our way through a crock pot full of Ham and Potato Soup that I’d made that morning. It was so nice to be able to feed all of us that evening without doing any work! This soup is so easy!

The kids set up a stage in the living room and rehearsed a play and with some music. Here’s Brayden directing Jesus Loves Me while the three littlest kids magically cooperated. It was VERY SWEET.

As the kids played, I made a big batch of Chewy Granola Bars for the upcoming week.

On Monday morning, we finished last week’s Easy Chocolate Protein Mousse leftovers with our Eggs in a Nest breakfast.

Emma came that morning to help out, plus we had ABA therapists join the crew – all at 8:00. That’s a pretty crazy time of our day as we get school kids ready and out the door and other kids ready for therapies. I always feel a bit frazzled as we transition here, but everyone is so gracious. Who cares if I’m still in my pajamas when people show up to our house because there hasn’t been a moment yet to head upstairs to get myself ready for the day? Oy.

With four kids headed to school and the other three settled in with therapy and Emma, I (dressed myself, aren’t you proud? and) headed out for the day. My first stop was Aldi, and I got lots of tasty fruits and meats was on sale!

Eight pounds of strawberries? Yep, when they are that good and that good of a price!

After that, I spent a lovely couple of hours at Panera sipping coffee and writing. Then I went to Costco before heading home. My goal was to get some special foods for our Spring Break outings next week! Plus I also needed the basics: greens, milk, bananas, broccoli, sausage, and more fruit. :)

Knowing I’d be gone for several hours that day, I had thawed two packages of Ham and Cheese Sliders to bake for dinner. I warmed up Tomato Soup to go with them. And of course, we had to eat those strawberries I’d bought! I cut up 4-pounds of them plus made a double batch of Cheesecake Parfait. Everyone was excited about this and it all got eaten before bedtime. :)

Our Tuesday morning was extremely full with our regular ABA therapies starting at 8, plus attachment therapy we’re doing now for two of our kids starting at 9. At the same time, I had two IEP meetings to go to at the kids’ school and a 504 meeting to work toward. Malachi helped Matt juggle everything at home while I took care of all the school meetings.

Back at home finally at 11:15, we got the girls ready for the school bus at noon. Hopelyn was here for the day and she and Auggie enjoyed playing outside after the hubbub of the morning calmed down.

I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution.

We had a fridge full of food, so dinner that night was Leftovers. But I did cut up another big bowl of strawberries, this time for Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits!

Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Acacia, Josie, and Auggie helped me make Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Arrow came to hang out that morning. We found puzzles and made farm animal sounds. Auggie kept insisting that the horse was a giraffe, and while we could see how he would come to this conclusion, Arrow kept telling him that it was, in fact, a “hos.” Hearing their conversations is beyond sweet.

We’d brought home several bags of prepped chicken from Tuesday’s Food Distribution that we needed to use up. So we warmed it for dinner that night, finished off the Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits plus had Raspberries and Baked Beans.

Suddenly all of the kids are very into the game of Chess. Acacia begged for a game before bed and all the kids gathered ’round.

Hopelyn came over on Thursday morning. She spent a lot of the day shopping…

Auggie had a visit from a special education teacher from Early Development Network. He has made so much progress and it was so great to have so many positive things to report.

For dinner that night, I made Spaghetti with Broccoli. It was a simple meal because Matt and I were trying to sneak off for our weekly date. Several kids had major meltdowns before we left so it was difficult to get out the door. Malachi took over with the final fighting kiddo and we left, hoping for the best. (Everyone did fairly well while we were gone. Elias reported that truly everyone was pretty calm while we were gone, yet as soon as we walked back into the house, the screaming started up again. Ugh.)

Either way, we had some needed down time at Panera while we were gone. Silly as it was, we took Matt’s laptop so we could work on our taxes. This isn’t the most fun way to use our time alone, but this had to be done and there hasn’t been another moment to do it. So taxes by the fire sipping drinks…this was our date. :)

Friday morning, I made French Toast for the kids to grab and eat for breakfast. (No syrup needed because I used Cinnamon Bread, making this a grab and eat food!) I was in the middle of making these Smoothies that morning also.

During breakfast, I put together a huge Lasagna to freeze for an upcoming youth group event.

Acacia had an hour of Physical Therapy and an hour of Speech Therapy that morning. She’s meeting some of her goals which is very exciting!

Late morning, our friends, Paula and Randy, dropped off a huge load of pantry items for our Little Free Pantry. Auggie had a very good time helping me put everything away.

The little girls didn’t have preschool that afternoon, so they got to go with us to an assembly at the elementary school.

Keith was honored to receive the Responsible Award AND an award from the Music/PE/Art teachers. He was so proud – and so were we!

After the assembly, we got to have popcorn and take pictures in the hallway!

I made a very simple dinner that night of “Nacho Tots” with taco meat, cheese, salsa, and guac to put over tator tots.

That night, I made a huge roaster full of Smothered Pork Chops for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. I’m in the middle of writing this recipe to share with all of you soon!

We taught the kids to play Skipbo that night. I used to play this with our older boys a lot so playing this brought back great memories!

On Saturday mornings, we let the kids watch a couple of shows when they get up. So this allows me to get a little bit of kitchen work done in preparation for our weekend and upcoming week. This Saturday, I made a double recipe of Flourless Brownie Muffins, a batch of Crustless Cheesecake, and a double recipe of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We got ready after that and headed to the library for Sensory Storytime. Kelsey and Hopelyn met us there!

After that, we took the kids to a free event at the International Quilt Museum. Some of the kids handled this fine and some of them didn’t, which is par for the course. We went home and ate leftovers for lunch, did some cleaning, played outside, and gave haircuts to the boys. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 2026

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 2026 post!

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

Saturday, January 10

On Saturday afternoon after Auggie’s nap, we took the kids down the road to the Irving Rec Center to run around and play before dinner.

Brayden has been feeling awkward during P.E. class, so I worked on teaching him to shoot a basketball. Learning is hard for this guy, but he kept on trying and trying until a few things started to click. He was very proud to make several baskets before it was time to leave!

Before we left for the gym, I had made 24 hamburger patties, knowing that we’d be hungry when we got home. We rewarmed them, plus warmed up some bacon and got out burger fixing’s when we got home. As much as we’d hoped that getting some energy out at the gym would help our night go more smoothly, it was not to be. There were lots of fights that evening as we ate dinner, got baths, and went to bed. So much for a restful Sabbath evening. But at least we tried. :)

Big Family Food and Fun: January 11-17, 2026

Sunday was a fresh new day, and everyone woke up in a calmer state than they’d gone to bed. We had a plate of Breakfast Cookies ready to eat while we got ready for church.

There was a special Kid’s Event after worship, with a potluck meal and game time.

After everyone ate together, the games were brought out.

Our friend, Christina, got this super fun shot of Brayden and Clara featuring their sweet friendship during a game they were playing together.

We came home and enjoyed our Community Group. Then it was Birthday Dinner time! Anna turned six and her meal request was Mac and Cheese. I made Chicken Nuggets and got out some leftover sliced Apples to round out the meal.

Here’s our birthday girl!

Anna opened a fluffy, twirly dress and a princess puzzle during present time.

Then our sweet neighbor brought over a pretty flower and card for her. My favorite part of this is how Leisa spoke Jesus’ truth into Anna as she delivered this birthday gift.

Anna was anxious to put her new puzzle together, so Daddy got the other kids’ teeth brushed while Mommy got to help with the puzzle. It was a sweet time together, so we documented it with a six-year-old selfie.

On Monday morning, Emma came to hang out with the girls and Auggie had ABA therapy. So I left as soon as Matt took the other kids to school so that I could have several hours of respite. I grocery shopped for the first two hours. My first stop was at Aldi, and I walked in with my new found FREEDOM in not keeping track and calculating my purchases. Wow, it felt good!

Check out my huge pile of 50% off chicken breasts and thighs!! I love the red stickers. :) The markdowns gave us this meat for $1.75/pound – amazing!! I also got yogurt, oranges, bananas, Caesar salad kits, spring mix, cake mix, sausage patties, ground sausage, grapes, cherries, fruit/veggie pouches, chips, spaghetti sauce, taco shells, and I can’t remember what else because guess what? I did what I said I would do and I threw away the receipt. :)

My next stop was Wal-Mart. There were no meat markdowns that day, but I got ingredients to make some huge lasagnas plus sour cream, milk, spinach, flax seed, shredded coconut, eggs, and some cracker packs to fill up our picky eaters. I grabbed some of the cheap Valentine card kits for our kids to hand out at school next month. It felt good to have those purchased and ready to fill out when we have time.

It was a beautiful day so next, I decided to drive to a shopping center I rarely venture to. I walked around Trader Joe’s with no agenda, enjoying the slow pace and fun food. I picked up a bag of Josie’s Mandarins – because how could I not?? (Bonus: mandarins are our Josie’s favorite fruit!) The yogurt cups looked good and Brayden loves these hashbrowns. So that was my Trader Joe’s “splurge.”

I wandered over to Old Navy next and found some great sweaters on clearance. I loved how this fit, so I went back and found two more in different colors! It felt soooo good to shop slowly with a restful spirit.

I headed to Panera after that and took advantage of my Sip Club membership and their wifi. I wrote for two hours before heading home as a “new woman.” (Matt told me he didn’t want a new woman, but he was glad I rested and felt refreshed when I got home, ha.)

Earlier that morning before I left for the day, I had put Salsa Chicken into a crock pot to cook for dinner. When I got home, just before we left to pick up kids from school, I threw together a pan of Stick of Butter Rice and baked it. At dinnertime, we enjoyed a full Chicken Taco Buffet with chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, cheese, sour cream, corn, spinach, avocado, chips, tortillas, and cilantro. This meal works great for our family because everyone can eat whichever part of the buffet they like – even if it’s just a tortilla with cheese.

That night, I put another round of Salsa Chicken into a crock pot. On Tuesday morning, I shredded it and bagged to to freeze for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Auggie had a great ABA therapy session that morning. Daddy spent some time playing a game with Acacia and Josie.

Little Sweetheart spent the day with us. She loves helping get the girls’ coats and backpacks ready for bus time.

After school that afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to at our weekly Food Distribution. There was a huge long line of people served that day!

We were sent home that day with a full box of small packets of sliced apples. (There had been four cases to give away, and clients were given all they could take, and that still left us with an entire box!) The apples were frozen, but the kids still had fun munching on them. I told them they could eat as many as they wanted!

At bedtime that night, the little girls all “needed” their robes. They looked like mini mommies (not that I ever wear a robe, but still).

On Wednesday morning, I baked a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. Wait. Didn’t I just bake a batch of these last week? Yes. We fly through these muffins so we already needed more!

We’d brought home several varieties of breads and buns home from Tuesday’s food distribution. So I used some to make a few Breakfast Sandwiches to have on hand.

Arrow came to spend the morning with us. He toddled around wherever we were, and he helped Lolli reorganize her pantry.

All those frozen apple slices from Tuesday night had turned to mush in our fridge on Wednesday. I did what I could to salvage as many of them as possible. I made a big Apple Pie and three loaves of Apple Bread.

For dinner that night, we enjoyed several bags of Chicken that we’d brought home from food distribution the day before. Matt made a salad, I buttered and toasted some buns, and we set out fruit.

Then, Matt and I ducked out for a DATE!

As part of my need for a time of Recovery, I’ve prayed about ways Matt and I could have some regular down time together. We’ve now worked out a plan (that is a work in progress) with Elias, Malorie, and Malachi to give us Wednesday evenings off. We got the kids fed and the ABA therapy kiddos settled in with their RBTs. Then the grown-up kids took over with the little kids while we headed out!

We have a Panera Sip Club membership, so we used our two and a half hours of down time sitting with a Lime Bubbly, having FULL CONVERSATIONS. It was so awesome, and as of right now, we get to do it again next week and the week after that. Here’s a little shot of our time together in which we were finally watching a podcast episode we were in at Asa’s work at Back to the Bible. These were recorded in November, aired in December, and we never had found time to actually watch them mid-January!

On Thursday morning, Josie helped me with a Nutella Oat Breakfast Bar experiment.

The results? Oh so good. Watch for a recipe soon!

We also threw a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars into the oven for the next two Sunday breakfasts.

Mid-morning, I put all the needed ingredients for Taco Soup into a crock pot for our dinner that night.

Charlene, my great friend from York, came for the afternoon and we talked non-stop until time to go pick up kids from school. Matt walked all the kids home by himself while I stayed at the school so that I could attend three parent-teacher conferences. Kelsey showed up at our house to pick up Little Sweetheart and stayed a nice long while helping with kids until I got home.

On Friday morning, Acacia was my Helper of the Day and was excited to do any task I would assign her. She helped me put together two pans full of Crunchy Ranch Chicken for our dinner that night.

Matt stayed home that morning with Josie and Auggie to navigate Auggie’s ABA therapy plus a visit with our Early Childhood Network team that checks in on Auggie’s needs frequently. Meanwhile, I took Acacia to Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We baked our Crunchy Ranch Chicken for dinner that evening plus had Steamed Broccoli, Sliced Oranges, and Buttered Rolls.

Brayden had been asking for several days to make his “banana whip thing” that apparently he’d made with me back when we lived in York. I only had a vague recollection of his “recipe” but on Friday evening, we were finally able to spend some time experimenting. He put five overripe bananas into our blender and measured some cream. We added just a bit of sugar, then he blended it.

The result was a rich Banana Shake that he was so proud to share with his siblings!

On Saturday morning, I made a big pan of Fudge Brownies for Elias’ birthday the next day. I put a bunch of hotdogs into a crock pot to cook for our lunch, then we loaded everyone up and headed out for the morning.

First we went to the Sensory Friendly Story Time. I love that we are making lots of friends there. Most of the parents we meet with each week are also there with their special needs kids. So we are able to visit with each other with a kind understanding of what our kids are going through.

After the library, we went to the Children’s Museum. Asa and Eva met us there with Arrow and Kelsey came with Little Sweetheart. This Lolli LOVED the sweetness of this time together!

All of the features of the Children’s Museum are great. But seeing our kids in aprons and hats pretending to work at Runza is THE CUTEST!!!

I ran out of time to share more about our day at this point, so I’ll finish telling you about our Saturday fun next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 14-20, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 14-20, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, September 13

Keith had a soccer game Saturday afternoon, and when we got home, the kids piled into the living room and tackled Malachi. Can you hear this picture?

Kelsey sent me this photo of the Raspberry Oatmeal Bars she’d baked that day with some leftover fruit from her freezer. I haven’t made these bars in a while but they are going on my list!

Saturday’s dinner was a “clean out the fridge” night. I warmed up the last of our Cheeseburger Casserole. Then I cut up the few leftover Baked Potatoes we had and stirred in Taco Meat. I love this combo! I had exactly three tortillas, so I made a quesadilla and a half to cut into small triangles for the kids. We had a little bit of leftover fruit – and this was dinner.

Our meal was a tiny bit calmer than it is sometimes, and I was able to capture this short moment when everyone was seated and eating all at the same time.

Big Family Food and Fun: September 14-20, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars. Some of us have this with milk. The rest of us have these with coffee. :)

Thirty-six people gathered in our home for lunch after church that day. Babies, friends, teens, young adults, new friends, old friends – these days are my favorite.

I had made two huge Lasagnas and a friend made Chicken Alfredo. Other friends brought Sides, Desserts and a Salad. Someone even brought Homemade Applesauce.

I set out the container of Chocolate Chip Cookies that I’d made the day before, and our friend Christina had made Lemon Loaf and Brownies. I think we went through three pots of coffee with our desserts.

I’m not sure if you can see the leftovers in this picture that I took while Arrow was crawling around and some of us were hanging out in the kitchen. We went through almost two entire large pans of Lasagna, and what was left happily went into containers for young adult lunches for this week.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. Then Josie and Auggie helped me make Pizza for dinner.

Monday morning, after we got kids off to school, Auggie started his ABA therapy session and I made a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. These are all the kids’ favorite, and they go over the best when I make mini-sized muffins.

Fresh out of the oven, these three had a Muffin Picnic during one of Auggie’s work breaks.

That afternoon, just before time to pick up kids from school, Matt and Malachi worked on some car issues. Auggie was happy to help, and I had to tear him away from this fun to put him in a stroller to walk with me to school to pick up kids.

When we got home, Auggie went right back to helping Malachi, and Keith joined in. They were working on a different car by then – airing up tires to get it ready to head to the shop the next day. Keith had been on a field trip that day and had the privilege of wearing a hat to school. This hat had been Malachi’s “back in the day” so it was extra sweet to see Keith wearing it.

Our night was filled with ABA therapy, homework, and general hubbub. Acacia and Josie helped me make Salad to go with dinner.

Dinner was simple that night – Smoked Sausage, Noodles, Alfredo Sauce, and Salad. A lot of our kids really like noodles with butter, salt, and parmesan. I’ve given up on making this make sense because it fills their bellies and avoids food fights. Most of them ate their noodles with salad and some ate the meat.

On Tuesday morning, our dearest Emma came for a few hours. She is a friend from York and was one of our kids’ babysitters when we lived there. We’ve all missed each other! She arrived just in time to walk to school with us for drop-off.

We played outside quite a bit that morning, and Emma read lots of books to the girls. :)

Little Sweetheart was hanging with us all morning also. I caught her here waving and saying “bye! bye!” with her sweet little voice that she’s learning to use.

Mid-morning, we put chicken into a crock pot with bbq sauce to slow cook for dinner. I also made a crock pot full of Party Potatoes. Just before time to pick up kids from school, I prepped Green Beans for Matt to steam at dinnertime.

Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I spent two hours that afternoon/evening at our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Matt had finished up dinner and we dug in as soon as we got home.

I was barely holding it together all evening because some of the kids’ behaviors were rough while we had been out. One of the hardest parts of life right now is figuring out how to parent children whose brains work so differently than a neurotypical brain. Autistic meltdowns are extreme and there’s not much that can be done to calm a child once they are shutting down.

Anyway, somehow we got through the night with dinner, homework, and ABA therapies.

 

Wednesday morning, we were blessed to have Arrow with us. He joined us for school drop-off and Uncle Keith was excited to push him to the first grade line.

I had discovered this Shake a Leg! book that morning and what I thought was a treasure upon discovery turned out to be even more precious. You see, this is a book we’ve had since Asa was Arrow’s age. How we still have it and it is in one piece, I have no idea. :)  But how wonderful! I decided I had to read it to Arrow…

And THEN, when I opened it to read, I discovered that this book had been a gift to Asa on his first birthday. And who gave him this gift? KELSEY’S family. Before Kelsey was born.

I’ve probably mentioned here that Matt and I go way back with Kelsey’s parents as we went to college together and became friends. We had our first babies together in the same town before they moved 12 hours away to settle in Montana where Kelsey grew up. Now here we are with our kids, Justus and Kelsey, all grown up, meeting at college, and getting married. This sweet little book has a rich history and is a great treasure.

And here I thought I was “only” going to read Arrow a book that I’d read years ago to his daddy…

In much less sweet or fun news, went grocery shopping at Costco that afternoon. :)

The evening was full of Zoom telehealth therapies, ABA therapy, and general chaos. Acacia helped me make a salad to go with dinner that afternoon.

I had brought home a $4.98 Rotisserie Chicken from Costco and put it on “warm” in the crock pot for dinner. Rotisserie chickens are a beautiful thing. We ate ours with Salad, Rolls, Raspberries, Pickles, and a little bit of leftover Pineapple Fluff.

Thursday morning, I baked multiple pans of Bacon and a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars. The bacon was for Sunday’s lunch and the cookies bars were for the next two Sunday’s breakfasts.

Little Sweetheart hung out with us all day. She and Auggie took a stroller ride with me while Acacia and Josie took care of their babies outside.

That afternoon, I put together a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole for Sunday’s lunch.

Justus hung out for a while, which was a great bonus to our day!

For dinner that night, I made Creamy Bacon Spaghetti with Peas and Grapes. There were no leftovers after this meal. :)

During ABA therapy time, I was able to make a big batch of Mudballs for our weekend snacking needs. I also made a double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies to wrap up for packing lunches.

Friday morning, Acacia and I spent two hours at her Speech and Physical Therapy appointments.

While she worked hard, I had the chance to text and get caught up with a few loved ones.

I had baked a double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies, and that afternoon, I wrapped them for easy grab-and-go lunchbox options for our household.

It was French Fry Friday, so we had Nuggets and Fries for dinner. This was a lovely, easy Mom’s Night Off From Cooking.

We haven’t seen our Bonus Buddy since July, but guess who came to visit us this weekend? It was raining when he arrived, but that didn’t stop everyone from going out and getting wet as we overwhelmed him with our Welcome Committee!

Saturday morning, we ate Cereal then headed to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Story Time at the library. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart met us there, which made it extra special. Then some darling college girls came over for the afternoon and evening. We had a dinner of Smoked Chicken and I made an Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole to bake for Sunday lunch.

In short, we had so much fun I didn’t have time to finish this post, ha! So I’ll catch up next week on all of our Saturday shenanigans. :)

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 7-13, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 7-13, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, September 6

I only took one picture on Saturday evening, and it was this one. I’d picked up super inexpensive ribs that day and smoked them for our dinner that night. They tasted great as a Sabbath meal, though they weren’t super kid friendly for our crew. At least the weary parents got to enjoy ribs. ;)

Big Family Food and Fun: September 7-13, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate our traditional plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars. They were dry this time…what did I do wrong? I have no idea. We ate them anyway (and swept up a lot of crumbs later).

Our Sunday Lunch crowd got to enjoy musical entertainment! Kiya has just started to play Viola, so she got out her instrument to show our friend Clara, who plays Violin. Before we knew it, Clara was playing a song for us to enjoy. It was so sweet!

For our lunch that day, we enjoyed a Buffet of Dips! I had asked everyone to bring their favorite chip, fruit, or veggie dip to share. I made Cream Cheese Salsa Dip, Caramel Apple Dip, and Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip. Friends brought Bean Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Hummus and Pitas, a variety of Fruit – it was such a fun spread!

There were 27 of us gathered that day – with some new friends joining us to make our time extra special.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie downstairs. Afterward, there was lots of happy hubbub in our kitchen! Elias and Malorie were making their work lunches for the week. Elizabeth (our friend and housemate) was showing Malachi how to use her Espresso Machine. Kids were running in and out so I went outside with them and asked Malachi to take over making 5-boxes of Mac and Cheese for an easy dinner.

One of the new friends that we’d met on Sunday had brought over 18 fresh eggs when he came for lunch!! I mean, everyone is welcome to show up empty handed and simply enjoy the meal with us. But to bring a dozen and a half beautiful brown chicken eggs sure was a fun gift. We enjoyed them (yes, all of them) for breakfast on Monday morning.

We had a meeting that morning with our kids’ ABA therapist and the rest of the day went by in a blur. Brayden helped me make dinner that night because he was very excited to make hashbrowns.

We had bits of this and that for dinner, putting together enough to feed everyone: Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot, Brayden’s Hashbrowns, Leftover Ribs that I’d slow cooked to make more tender, Leftover Strawberry Parfaits, Zucchini from our neighbors, Green Beans, and Watermelon.

Tuesday morning, we got the kids off to school and then I took Josie to a clinic for a morning full of evaluations. If you recall, we’ve been seeking answers and more resources for each of our kids and have finally been finding doctors and therapists to help. Today was Josie’s turn and she was very excited to have her “pointment.” By the end of the very long morning, she was OVER IT. But she hung in there and enjoyed the prize box as we headed out. We didn’t finish with all her assessments yet, so we’ll head back in a couple of weeks for more. Thankfully, this team of professionals is in Lincoln, so we don’t have to go far!

Back at home, Matt and Malachi had been holding down the fort with Acacia, Auggie, and Little Sweetheart. We got the girls on the bus for preschool, put the babies down for naps, and I caught Matt up on Josie’s evals. Then I made a large Cheeseburger Casserole for Matt to bake for dinner. I slid it into the oven so that all he’d have to do is turn on the oven at 4:00.

Auggie and Little Sweetheart snacked on cereal while I did a little more kitchen work.

Then we picked up kids and headed to hand out food at our weekly Food Distribution. The kids focused and got into work-mode this week. I was very proud of them! (I’m proud of Kiya too, I just didn’t get a picture of her there this time!)

Whelp. At 4:00, Matt turned on what he thought was the oven. But, in fact, he turned on our stove top griddle. So, for one entire hour, our griddle was nice and hot and our Cheeseburger Casserole did not bake. Not even a little bit. At dinnertime, Matt realized his mistake, put the casserole into the fridge for another day, and warmed up Burritos that he found in the freezer. Thank goodness for these burritos! And thank goodness for a smart husband who can quickly figure out how to save dinner. :)

Those Burritos were quickly gone and we continued to warm up all sorts of random items from the freezer and fridge until we were all full. It ended up being rather fun, and once again, I got to delight in a kitchen full of cool adults hanging out together in my favorite room. Little kids ran in and out, and ABA therapy was happening all over the house or yard. While so much of our days/nights are hard, I will look back on these moments as a treasure. While it might look like craziness, full kitchen hubbub like this is actually the most sweet and peaceful part of our life right now.

Wednesday morning, I had yet another meeting. This time it was an IEP meeting for one of our kids. Matt stayed back with the three littlest kids while I got the others to school and then just stayed until meeting time. Once I made it back home, Matt had everyone eating a snack (again) and while all was calm, he informed me that everyone had been pretty high maintenance all morning. Ugh.

What saved the day? Eva sent us a super sweet video of Arrow and the kids wanted to watch it over and over (and over).

During Auggie’s naptime that afternoon, I ran to Aldi for our week’s grocery needs.

That evening we had an extra special dinner. Why? Well. Back in January when it was Elias’ birthday, none of his friends or our family that lives outside of our house were able to come over for his birthday dinner. We’d been fighting illnesses at our house, it was crazy cold, and while I did make him a special dinner, it was kind of a bummer birthday.

Sooooo, since September is the only month of the year that we don’t have any actual birthdays to celebrate, we decided to have a January 18 Birthday Dinner Redo for Elias on September 10. See? It all makes sense. :)

He invited a couple of friends and everyone in our household was here, plus Asa and Arrow were able to come. The banter and conversation in the kitchen was amazing as I finished dinner prep.

I made Crusted Tilapia (frozen from Costco) and Seasoned Shrimp (frozen from Aldi) plus three pounds of Taco Meat. We set all the fixings for Fish Tacos, or Regular Tacos and we feasted!

Thursday, both grandbabies were here for the morning!

Auggie had an ABA therapy session most of the morning. During one of his breaks, he walked into the playroom to check on both of the babies. :)

During another break while we were all outside, these three sat on a step and enjoyed the special treat of a yogurt cup.

During naptime that afternoon, I made two huge Lasagnas for our upcoming Sunday lunch. I put them into our pantry fridge to pull out and bake Sunday morning.

That evening, we tried again to bake this Cheeseburger Casserole. SUCCESS! We set out some simple sides as we enjoyed our casserole during an absolutely crazy evening full of intense meltdowns, Zoom telehealth therapy sessions, ABA therapy, and more meltdowns…but at least the casserole was delicious.

Friday morning, I made a quadruple batch of Chewy Granola Bars to eat for breakfast and to have on hand for snacks. Some of the kids had Bagels instead and Brayden had a Breakfast Sandwich.

Acacia and I spent the morning at Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy. Matt stayed home with Auggie, who had ABA therapy, and Josie, who got some special Daddy time.

We had a meeting at school for one of the kids that afternoon while a friend stayed back home with a napping Auggie. This was the last of our many meetings and appointments this week and it was a productive one. We have learned that we have to advocate intensely for our kids in many ways. It is a full time job – one we are grateful to do and one for which we are constantly praying for God’s wisdom and strength as we seek to do it well.

Dinner that night was Burgers and Fries with Cantaloupe and Pickles.

Saturday morning, I baked several pans of Bacon  and made a bowl full of Pineapple Fluff Salad.

I also made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies for Sunday.

Then we loaded everyone up and headed to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Story Time. This is a highlight of our week!

On our way home, we picked up a Hy-Vee order with our WIC items. Did I forget to take a picture until almost everything was put away? I sure did. Here are the last few items on the counter while we finished putting the food away.

Lunch was pretty awesome – Turkey Bacon Club Sandwiches with Cantaloupe and Pineapple Fluff Salad.

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon, and it was HOT. He played his heart out and scored two goals.

We got a bunch of hot, grumpy kids back to the van and home again. The rest of the day was spent cleaning then heading into our time of Sabbath. And that was our week!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 17-23, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 17-23, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, August 16

In last week’s post, I shared a little bit about swimming at our friends’ house last Saturday afternoon. We all loved this so much! Here’s a shot Justus got of all of us in the pool. Our kids came home tired and hungry that day!

Keith had played his first soccer game of the season that morning, and he was excited to help me made a batch of Gatorade that afternoon. It turned out pretty tasty, and he was so proud!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 17-23, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate our way through a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

Brayden is a 6th grader now, which means he has joined Heartland’s Youth Ministry! There was an HYM parent meeting right after worship that morning, so we didn’t get to host lunch at our house. Instead, I packed Tuna Salad, Cheese, Crackers, Boiled Eggs, and Fruit Cups for all of us to eat at the church building during the meeting. :)

We got home in time for the kids to go downstairs and watch a movie with Elias and Malorie. Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time – one of our favorite parts of the week. Afterward, I baked three frozen pizzas for dinner, and we spent the evening getting ourselves reset for a new school week!

Monday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and I had a meeting at the school for Keith. Getting everyone to school was a little bit hairy because of this, but our neighbor came to the rescue to help us be in three places at once!

It was a pretty chill morning after that, and we played outside until it was time to watch for the preschool bus.

These girls love heading off to preschool at noontime!

That afternoon, Brayden and Keith had their first homework assignments after school. Keith’s ABA tech helped with his and Matt sat with Brayden. I helped Kiya work on her homework in the kitchen and we all got done before dinner. Phew!

For dinner that night, I’d cooked Black Bean Chicken Nachos in the slow cooker all day. We enjoyed it with all the fixin’s on chips or in tortillas.

Auggie was excited to vacuum with Elias’ small hand-held Bissel. He’s getting so big!

Brayden played a game with his little sisters just before bedtime.

Tuesday morning, I made Chewy Granola Barsx4 plus a Smoothie for Matt and me.

Little Sweetheart came to spend the day with us, plus a friend came to visit that morning.

We were almost out of fresh produce (again!) so I’d put in a Hy-Vee order for our WIC items for the month. Matt picked it up that afternoon while Auggie and Little Sweetheart were napping.

After school, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution. Here’s the view from our station where we handed out bags of donated chicken or seasoned beef.

Keith was having a very hard time with his emotions while we were there. Adjusting to a new school year has been pretty rough for him. I hoped food might help, so I finally gave him a loaf of bread that we’d picked up on a donation table. He laid down on the kitchen floor to rest and fill his belly while we cleaned up before heading home. Poor guy.

Our friend, Paula, had been given these goodies by her neighbor and she brought them over that evening to share with our family. What a score! I thawed the drumsticks to marinate and smoke the next day for dinner.

Meanwhile, Matt had finished making a Spaghetti dinner for everyone.

Later when I had time to check email, I discovered that Acacia and Josie’s teacher had sent this gem from their reading time at school that day!

Wednesday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and I played catch-up after a full afternoon/evening the day before! Matt and I had a lengthy meeting with our kids’ ABA therapist to go over progress made, needs each kid has, and future goals.

We’d brought home overripe bananas from Food Distribution, so I made a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins for breakfast and snacks.

I had made a couple of boxes of mac and cheese for the school kids to take in their lunches that day. These three were excited to finish off the leftovers before the bus came.

I went to Sam’s that afternoon to restock a lot of essentials and to get more fresh produce. Our freezer was pretty low on meat, so I was very excited to find several meat markdowns that day to help restock the freezer!

The lighting in the following picture isn’t great. But here’s a look at the counter in our dining room where I keep all of our fresh fruit. After all the latest shopping trips plus with the peaches Paula dropped off, our counter was overflowing with oranges, clementines, apples, bananas, and peaches – ready for everyone in the household to grab and enjoy as needed. This brings me a lot of joy, and a lot of comfort knowing that I don’t have to work hard/think hard to figure out snacks or side dishes for the next few days.

For dinner on Wednesday night, I used zucchini and summer squash that Paula had brought over plus okra from our neighbor and carrots from the store to make Stir-Fried Veggies. I smoked the 10 large marinated Drumsticks from the night before plus threw on 12 Steaks I’d picked up marked down at Sam’s that day. Plus I set out Grapes, steamed Corn, offered the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins, and thawed some Rolls from the freezer.

At the last minute, to make sure this meal would stretch far enough for all of us, I got out and made some Instant Mashed Potatoes that I’ve had on hand from Azure Standard (much better quality than store-bought and sooo nice to have in a pinch).

Malachi had arrived back home after working several days in York. His friend Jordan, a York University student, was with him and joined us for dinner. Our friend, Elizabeth, had finished moving into our house this week and everyone was home to eat that night. So we fed nine adults and seven kids that night – and now you know why I made those last minute potatoes. :)

People were in and out of the kitchen all evening, fixing their plates and hanging out to visit. THIS IS THE BEST. I love being a part of conversations like this with our kids, our friends, and anyone who will fill their plate in our home and spend time being a part of life with us.

The next morning, we warmed up Breakfast Sandwiches to eat before school. Mornings are hectic around here as we try to get so many kids out of the door, yikes. I’ve found that so far this school year, I don’t much ability to do anything but warm up pre-made food or serve a bar or muffin made ahead of time. Therefore, any time I have a minute at another time of the day, I’m trying to prep easy breakfast food!

Arrow came to spend the morning with us! He got to join us as we dropped off the elementary school kids. I’d packed the last of the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins for the littles to eat while we got everyone situated in their class lines before the bell rang.

Back at home, I turned the last of Monday night’s Chicken Nacho fixings into a bag of Burritos to put into the freezer for another meal.

Elizabeth (our lovely new housemate) had set up her coffee grinder and espresso machine so she showed Acacia and Josie how to make a Latte. They loved this!

I had picked up a 10-pound tube of hamburger meat marked down at the store the day before, so late morning, I turned it all into patties for dinner and for the freezer.

Dinner that night was Burgers with Caesar Salad, Pickles, and a variety of Fruit options.

On Friday morning, Anna helped me shake together a jar full of Ranch Dressing Mix.

Acacia had Speech Therapy that morning and showed some real signs of improvement in putting together complete sentences.

We’ve been on a wait list for Physical Therapy for her, and today was the day we finally got to start. Not only that, the therapists at the rehab clinic where we go had communicated with one another and found slots side-by-side so that we could go to the clinic once for both appointments instead of driving there twice each week.

Acacia was born with a club foot. After intensive treatments for the first six months of her life, she has continued to sleep in a leg brace every night. She will finally graduate from her brace in a few weeks! Meanwhile, we need to work on her balance and leg strength because her right foot/leg are much smaller than her left.

Back at home, we made it just in time for Acacia to get on the preschool bus with Josie. I then spent time getting ready for our upcoming Sunday lunch, baking pans of Bacon. I made my way through an entire 10-pound box!

Acacia was my “helper of the day” so she got to make the salad to go with dinner that evening.

I used some of the bacon I’d made earlier to make Potato and Bacon Foil Packs for the Grill. I realized as I was prepping dinner that afternoon that instead of making lots of small packets as the recipe says, I should just make one huge foil container. This was a great move! I can’t say enough good about this recipe. It is sooooo good! We enjoyed it with Acacia’s Salad plus Oranges and Slice Peaches.

After dinner while kids had ABA therapy, Kiya and Acacia helped me get some baking done. We’ve gone through two double batches of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies in the past two weeks. So we made another double batch to get ahead for next week’s breakfasts and lunches. While I was putting those together, Kiya and Acacia worked on a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for our next two Sunday breakfasts.

We baked them in our large oven at the same time. Then I worked on all the dishes before bed!

Saturday morning, I cut the Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies into 18 pieces, individually wrapped them, then put them into our pantry fridge for an easy grab-and-go option for the upcoming week.

We packed up the crew and headed out to Keith’s soccer game. The weather was perfect, and the kids ran and played in a big field while Keith warmed up for his game.

There were no subs that day, so Keith and his teammates happily played the entire game without sitting out.

I packed Ham and Turkey Sandwiches, Clementines, and Cashew Clusters (from Costco) for everyone to eat on a blanket for lunch during the game.

We came home in time for Auggie’s nap. The kids played outside, Matt mowed the lawn, we did some cleaning, and we moved into our Sabbath time of rest. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: July 27-August 2, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 27-August 2, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, July 26

A certain FBI agent was interested in helping me make Pancakes on Saturday evening for our dinner. Keith is more of a run, jump, climb, create, take apart, and flip kind of a guy. So for him to pull up a stool and ask to help me cook was a rare and sweet moment. We made this pancake recipe x3.

I warmed some Ham to go with our Pancakes, plus we had Applesauce. It was simple and fun! We attempted to make our Sabbath Supper a time of reflection on God’s goodness from our week, asking the kids to share their favorite parts of the past few days. This is a tough ask, but it is training them to be reflective and they will get better at this as they grow.

Big Family Food and Fun: July 27-August 2, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars – and some of us had milk. (The rest of us had coffee. Thank you.)

After worship, our church family worked together to put together 75 sack lunches for our friends in the Atlas community. Brayden had decided to dress up that day with nice pants, shirt, and vest. What a handsome guy!

We got all of our kids involved in building sack lunches and Auggie was determined to do his own – twice! He is a man of few words, but he is always observing and taking in all that is going on around him. As he gets older, he’s starting to imitate what he is taking in. He’s a smarty, this one!

Back at home, I had made two huge Lasagnas for lunch. I buttered and warmed French Bread, and friends brought Salad, Watermelon, and Dessert.

There were 31 of us gathered for lunch that day.

This scene was a favorite of the afternoon – friends gathered after lunch, eating dessert, drinking cold coffee, and laughing out loud.

Matt and I got to enjoy our Community Group after that, and it was lovely to be together after several weeks of hit-and-miss meet-ups due to summer events and travel.

That evening, we were invited to our friends, the Phelps, for dinner. It is a brave thing to do to invite our family over! Other friends were there too, and it was a wonderful evening. Ms. Becky had worked very hard to set up fun for the kids all over her house and yard. Meanwhile, Mr. Kim grilled everyone hotdogs.

Everyone was excited to eat the fun food – but then again – there were fun toys to be played with!! They sat to eat for a total of two minutes because playing seemed more exciting than eating.

Water balloon fight time!!

And then Banana Pudding. :)

The leftovers were sent home with us, and in the ten minutes it took to drive from their house to ours, we ate almost all of the hotdogs and an entire container of watermelon. Ah, now they were hungry!

Monday morning, we ate Yogurt with Granola for breakfast. Kiya helped me make 10 Uncrustables for a to-go lunch. Then I made Tuna Salad to have ready for dinner.

Anna is heading to Kindergarten this year, and her school offers three Jump Start days to help get these little ones get used to their classroom and teachers before school starts. We needed to get her there by 9. Auggie was having ABA therapy, so Matt stayed home with him while I loaded Acacia and Josie into a stroller and Anna and Kiya got on their bikes. Keith decided to jog alongside us and away we went to school!

She was nervous but ready!


Back at home, our friends Terra and Matt had arrived and started to help assemble 75 Smoked Chicken Wraps to finish up the sack lunches we’d made at church the day before. Brayden and Kiya were excited to get involved and were a great help!

Then, Keith and Acacia helped load everything into Terra’s car.

At 11:00, Brayden and I went to pick up Anna from school then we all loaded up in our van to head over to Atlas. So many Heartlands church members were there to help hand out lunches. We filled up wagons with sacks full of food and cold water bottles, then spread out through the neighborhood giving lunches to anyone we came across.

Making things like this happen is an incredible amount of work with our crew. Is it worth it?? A million times worth it. We weren’t just giving away lunches. We were having conversations with people on the street who were so very appreciative of what we gave them. One man even told me, “I was hungry and you fed me – you know who said that? Jesus. You’re like Jesus.” Amazing. Keith was with me for that conversation and he said later, “Mom, this makes me happy.” :)

Here’s Josie, helping her beloved Josalyn pull the lunch wagon.

After this rich morning, we loaded back up and dropped kids off to spend the afternoon either with Kelsey or with Ms. Kathi. I headed to the store because we were low on many groceries!

That evening, Keith, Anna, and Auggie all had ABA therapy. Therapist, technicians, and kids are all over our house and yard during these sessions. It’s both insane and awesome, phew. Meanwhile, somehow, we ate dinner. I pulled out the Tuna Salad I’d made earlier in the day plus Spinach, Tomatoes, Hard Boiled Eggs, and Raspberries. See that empty container in the upper left corner? Acacia and Josie took care of all those raspberries all by themselves. They wanted to dig into the second container but I cut them off. :)

On Tuesday morning, Matt walked all the kids to school to drop off Anna while I took Acacia to speech therapy.

We got home in time to pack a picnic lunch, then loaded everyone to pick up Anna then head to the zoo! First stop, WATER PLAY. It was so hot that day, so we spent a good while getting nice and wet.

The cheetahs were napping, so we got to see them right up close.

Next, we went on a “Levi Hunt.” He’s our friend from church, and we knew he was working at the snack shop that day. So we had to find him and take a selfie!

We went to go have a visit with the giraffes…

Then we found a shady spot to eat our lunch: Salami, Strawberries, Applesauce, Pickles, Almonds, and Peanut Butter Graham Crackers.

We headed home to put Auggie down for a nap. Then Matt took the other six kids to the airport to pick up Malachi who had been working in Florida!

They got back just in time for me to take Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution.

Afterward, we came home to three ABA therapy sessions. We ate leftovers for dinner and I made a batch of Peach Ice Cream. I had no choice. I’d brought home some very squishy peaches from Food Distribution and I had to use them right away. ;)

Wednesday morning I made a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream because I wanted to have several varieties in the freezer for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Arrow came to spend the morning with us, and he walked with Anna and me as I took her to her final Kindergarten Jumpstart morning at school.

Brayden and Acacia scrubbed 5-pounds of potatoes and we put them into a crock pot to cook for our dinner. At lunchtime, we warmed up Chicken Strips and I made Smoothies.

We’d brought home quite a bit of spinach from Food Distribution the day before and it needed to be used asap. Thus the smoothies for lunch. Plus I made a Spinach Cake with this Cream Cheese Frosting. I used a about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar in the frosting recipe and it was perfectly sweet. This was a great treat for an afternoon snack!

At dinnertime, we enjoyed our Crock Pot Baked Potatoes with a variety of topping choices: Ham, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Butter, Peas, Salsa, and Chili.

After dinner, we headed to our church’s final Popsicles in the Park event. The crowd was smaller that evening because the weather was cooler. Still, we were able to interact with people and hand out popsicles.

I loved seeing Acacia and Josie walk around with Daddy, offering a popsicle to anyone they came across.

Our neighbor had given us two big zucchini from her garden. So on Thursday morning, my early morning helpers helped me make a great big batch of Zucchini Carrot Muffins.

They turned out hearty and tasty!

Acacia helped me bag them individually to put into the freezer to pull out for upcoming snacking needs. We can also put them into school lunchboxes once school starts. (I’m doing what I can right now to get ahead for the transition into the first weeks of school.)

We were cleaning up after lunch when suddenly there was a lot of crying and a lot of blood – thanks to Keith’s head having an unfortunate meeting with the end table in the living room. I’ll spare you the gory pictures, and just show you this one. But this poor guy got to have his first Urgent Care stitches experience. The doctor felt like he needed eight stitches, but she made it work with just two, then lots of glue and sutures. Phew, never a dull moment. Poor guy. Keith was very brave!

Now back to that which is much more fun to talk about!

Eva sent me this photo of the Breakfast Cookies that she’d made for her neighbor’s birthday! He’s diabetic so this was a perfect birthday treat for him. I love that our adult kids love their neighbors so well.

Earlier in the week, Kelsey had sent me this photo of Little Sweetheart enjoying the same recipe. Yep, these Breakfast Cookies/Bars are pretty awesome.

So let’s see. While our Thursday afternoon was interrupted by a trip to Urgent Care for stitches thankfully, Keith and I made it home in time for Matt and some of the kids to load up and go pick up our Azure Standard order. I was out of all of our favorite Azure staples, so the timing of this was perfect. I had just that morning used the last drop of our whole wheat pastry flour. Phew, a new 25-pound bag has arrived – just in time!

We got our Azure groceries put away, then Kiya and I made dinner. In the midst of the afternoon chaos, Elias, Malorie, and Malachi had all made it back from their travels!! So we were looking forward to a fun evening meal together!

We made two loaves of bread worth of French Toast, Bacon, and Sausage plus cut up Strawberries and got out Applesauce. Kiya is turning in to a very capable helper!

I continued to warm up more and more Sausage on the stove as that was a big hit during this meal. We went through 22 patties and almost every slice of French Toast.

That night, we had ABA therapy for two of the kids. Then Matt took Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Auggie to a Salt Dogs Baseball game! We had some free tickets that needed to be used before school started. That left me at home with just three little girls to put to bed – easy peasy!

Friday morning, Anna had her Kindergarten check-up.

We played at home that morning and had an early lunch. Then we loaded everyone up to take them out for a treat. Through the Lincoln Library Summer Reading Challenge, the kids had earned a page full of coupons for working so hard to read all summer long! One of the coupons was a free ice cream cone at Runza.

We handed each of the kids their coupon and told them to place their order themselves. “Chocolate, please. “Twist, please.” They did great with this task, and the lady helping us was very gracious.

We found a fun table that was big enough for us, and the kids all did great sitting to enjoy their ice cream cones! From there, we dropped two girls with Eva, two girls with Ms. Kathi, and took two boys home to hand over to Elias. Then Matt and I had down time for the afternoon!

When Matt got home from picking up the girls later, he pulled the van into the back parking area so that he could put some air in tires. This was a big event for the kids. ;)

Acacia was amazed by the whole process and never left Daddy’s side – helping him the entire time, even with dragging out the air compressor. Matt is so patient to let simple jobs like these take twice as long because of all his “help.”

Meanwhile, Kiya and Anna were putting their treasures away in their room. At Eva’s, they had made suncatchers, so they proudly hung those in their window. They had also made playdough creations a week or so ago, and this was a great place for the display.

For dinner, I made Sloppy Joes with French fries and offered Pickles, Sweet Peppers, and Spinach as veggie options.

Keith was very interested in helping me make another round of Ice Cream for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. So we did that together after dinner.

Saturday morning, we headed to a newly redone park that we were excited to check out. Asa, Eva, Arrow, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart met us there to play! Malachi went also, but had lots of work to do so he found a table and started editing video.

There was a great water play area that the kids enjoyed.

Lots of places to climb and spin and slide…

And some really cool swings. The Case family came and met us there too, and we ended up staying for three and a half hours!

We enjoyed a fun lunch together, building Sub Sandwiches with Chips and Fruit Cups.

Christina threw me into the picture, which is so sweet since I’m usually on the camera side of every photo I share!

After our long play time at the park, we headed home for nap, cleanup, and an early bath time and dinner so that we could all go to a baseball game (we had lots of free tickets!). I’ll share more about this next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 15-21, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 15-21, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, June 14

Saturday afternoon, we filled up our pool and let the kids play for a few hours.

I had made a bowl full of Pineapple Fluff and took it outside for the kids to eat for a snack when they got hungry.

For dinner that night, we finished off leftover Smoked Chicken plus ate Green Beans and Noodles. It was a slightly boring meal, but seven out of eight kids like to eat noodles with butter and salt (some with parmesan) – so it’s an easy thing to make to fill their bellies.

While Matt and I gave the other six kids a bath that evening, Brayden and Kiya were amazing and cleaned the kitchen all by themselves. This is so encouraging to us because it shows that while their needs are great, they ARE learning and growing in incredible ways.

Here’s a look at a very relaxing post-bath reading time with Daddy, haha…

Big Family Food and Fun: June 15-21, 2025

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

We didn’t invite extras for lunch that day since it was Father’s Day. Instead, we celebrated Matt, Asa, and Justus on their special day. We had Whole Grain Waffles (<–this recipe x5), Crock Pot Egg Casserole, and Bacon with Strawberries, Blueberries, and Whipped Cream.

 

My favorite part of this day’s celebration is that all the kids were able to stick around and hang out for several hours in the afternoon. This is so rare and so much fun! Big kids, little kids, grandbabies, and lots of laughs.

Oh, and a special performance highlighting of the the kids’ favorite songs from VBS the week before. :)

Late in the afternoon, our friends, the Adcock family, arrived to hang out for the evening. We’ve been trying to connect and finally found a window of opportunity!

I had put a Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast and Carrots into the crock pot early that morning. The Adcocks brought Mashed Potatoes and we warmed up Corn and Rolls. I also warmed up some Sliced Ham for kids who didn’t want Roast.

After our feast, we enjoyed Homemade Ice Cream and Brownies. Mr. Ryan made the kids all giggle with his silly antics.

Monday morning, the kids got to start a week of a sweet VBS that they went to last year. It was fun for them to see familiar faces. And this week’s focus is about loving God’s people all over the world.

I spent time that morning cleaning out some of our storage rooms. My goal this week was to get rid of extra items we don’t need any more so that our home can be more functional. With this many people living in a house, we certainly don’t need excess stuff!

We delivered a big pile of donations to drop off on our way to pick up the kids from VBS. Then we ate leftover Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip for lunch.

During the afternoon while Auggie napped, the other kids enjoyed special time with others so that Matt and I could have some time to rest. Elias and Malachi played football with the boys.

Acacia and Josie went to Ms. Kathi’s. And Kiya and Anna learned to sew at Kelsey’s!

Dinner that night was Sloppy Joes with Nectarines and Carrots.

Later in the evening, we ate some Pumpkin Muffins that I found tucked away in the freezer.

Tuesday morning, we loaded all eight kids up to head out the door at the same time (phew). I dropped seven of them off at VBS, then headed to Speech Therapy with Auggie.

Afterward, Auggie and I spent the morning shopping. We picked up some needed items for an upcoming ministry at church. Then we got our WIC items at Walmart.

We picked up the kids from VBS, then headed home for a very loud and crazy lunch of Fish Sticks and Strawberries.

The girls helped me make an Applesauce Cake that afternoon!

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

Then we all headed over to Asa and Eva’s for Arrow’s 1st birthday party!! They had their yard set up so nice for a fun evening. The weather was lovely and we were able to have such a good time visiting.

Asa grilled Hot Dogs for everyone.

 

We feasted on Hot Dogs, Chips, Potato Salad, Watermelon, Strawberries, and Lemonade. It was perfect!

Arrow wasn’t sure what to think about the candle in his piece of cake. :) I love this sweet 3-generation shot of Eva with her mom and son.

Did Arrow like his birthday Applesauce Cake? He liked it very much. Asa and Eva haven’t given him much (or maybe any?) sugar yet, so this cake was a great option for his first cake experience.

Wednesday morning, I made a monster-sized batch of Mudballs.

I also made 24 Breakfast Sandwiches – some to eat that morning, some to put into the fridge, and some for the freezer.

Acacia got to take a turn with Auggie’s Speech Therapist that afternoon. Our plan is to give Auggie a break since he’s getting so much ABA therapy and because his language is suddenly exploding. He still has a long way to go but he met his initial goals. Meanwhile, the Developmental Pediatrics specialist recommended several therapies for Acacia, and speech is one of them. So on Wednesday, she worked hard at her evaluation so that the therapist can set goals for her as we get started.

Back at home, Daddy set up a fun bubble machine for the kids.

Dinner that night was leftover Sloppy Joe meat with 5 boxes of Mac and Cheese and Peas.

At bedtime, I found this scene when I went in to call the kids in for the night. Brayden lugged them all to the back of the house to park. :)

Thursday morning, I dropped six kids off at VBS then headed with Anna and Auggie to Aldi. Anna had come home sick from VBS the day before so we decided to keep her with us on Thursday.

After we got home, I kept working on cleaning out our storage room to get rid of stuff that is taking up space that we don’t need. This pile kept growing and we dropped it off to donate on our way to pick up the kids.

For lunch that day, Kiya had helped me make Tuna Salad and Chicken Salad. We ate it with Spinach on bread or with crackers plus had Grapes on the side.

Did I have to fix a Snack Plate immediately after serving them lunch? Yes, I did. Is this all I do all day – feed kids? Yes, it is. We had filled the pool with water to play in, so Cheese, Grapes, and Crackers by the pool was needed.

Later we had Simply Go-Gurt or 100% Juice Pops.

Late in the morning, we had thrown together a last-minute dinner gathering for a couple families in our neighborhood. Sometimes impromptu get-togethers are the best kind!

I made Smoked BBQ Chicken Legs, Corn on the Cob, Party Potatoes, Green Beans, and Rolls.

Our neighbor, Ashley, made a delicious Fruit Pizza for dessert. SO GOOD.

Friday morning, the kids had their final morning of VBS and Auggie had ABA therapy. Matt and I took advantage of the free time to get needed paperwork done.

The church who hosted VBS fed the kids Pizza for lunch, then they had a Foam Party. We’d never seen anything like this, and it was super fun! Extreme bubbles blew out of their machine and everyone played and played!

We farmed out the kids for the afternoon so that Matt and I could have time together. The boys played Uno with Elias. Then Brayden helped Malachi with some work in his room. Acacia and Josie played with water at Ms. Kathi’s. Kiya and Anna made a fun Cookie Experiment at Eva’s!

Then we spent the entire evening with the kids in the backyard. It was very hot outside, but in the water and in the shade, it wasn’t so bad.

Keith and Auggie helped me put fresh water in our little pool. They had juice pops during the process.

Throughout the evening, I brought out leftovers for the kids to eat for dinner. Corn on the Cob, Cheesy Potatoes, Tuna/Chicken Salad…

We cleaned off last year’s Slip and Slide, which provided a lot of fun to keep everyone cool.

We’d finished off all the leftovers, so for round two of dinner I made some Chicken Sandwiches to take outside. Just before bed, we ate about a dozen Mudballs. Then everyone went to sleep pretty easily after all the food and fun!

Saturday morning, I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for our upcoming Sunday breakfasts.

I also made a small crock with Chili for a Baked Potato Bar for the next day’s Sunday Lunch.

The rest of the days’ activities were a bit emotional, but we made it through with prayer and popsicles.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 8-14, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 8-14, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, June 7

At the end of last week’s post, I shared that we’d spent a good part of Saturday at a Donut Festival at at orchard in Nebraska City. Elias and Malorie went with us, plus Eva, Arrow, and Eva’s mom, Paula, met us there! It was rainy at first, but then the sun came out and it turned out to be a lovely day. We started off our time there by buying and eating a dozen Apple Cider Donuts. It was, after all, a Donut Festival.

Matt and Acacia took advantage of the photo booth to create this awesome keepsake.

There were lots of games and an obstacle course, along with a really cool playground. The little girls ran the obstacle course too, even if their little legs could hardly get through the donut tires.

A highlight of the day was a hayrack ride through the large orchard.

Paula was so sweet to take a picture of Matt and me, stating that it’s rare to get a photo of just the parents without the kids. How right she is!

We bought a pound of freshly picked strawberries from the orchard’s marketplace to enjoy with our lunch. I had packed lots of food to get us through our day – salami, cheese, crackers, chips, salsa, apples, clementines, cucumbers, granola bars, yogurt, applesauce, and some other snacks. But the freshly picked strawberries were the best part of our lunch by far.

That evening back at home was spent regulating a lot of emotions (outings are good, but transitions are hard). We ate leftovers, got baths, and got everyone to bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: June 8-14, 2025

Sunday was a BIG DAY for us, and of course, we started it out with our weekly Breakfast Cookie Bars.

Our church had a “Gather and Scatter” event planned after worship that morning. Everyone was invited to come to our house for lunch (yes, everyone). Then after eating, we planned to walk or drive together to the two Little Free Pantries that our church had built.

In preparation for the event, I had smoked 65 Chicken Thighs. Sunday morning before leaving for church, I put them into our large roaster along with some chicken broth to warm up and be ready for lunch when we got home. I also put 48 hotdogs into a crock pot.

Everyone who joined us at our house was invited to bring a side dish to go with the meat. Our kitchen island filled up with salads, breads, fruit, and veggies. Others brought desserts, and we had a feast!

This meal doubled as Asa’s 28th birthday meal. He was so sweet to share his day with so many others.

Keith’s favorite friend, Sam, joined us and I was able to sneak this picture of him looking up during their sweet conversation.

After lunch some of our group drove to the Little Free Pantry that was not within walking distance from us. The rest of us loaded food into our wagon and we all paraded six blocks to fill the pantry close to our neighborhood. Did it rain on us while we walked? Yes, it did. Was it worth the “slight discomfort?” More than worth it.

We unloaded two totes worth of food into the pantry, stocking it full!

Afterward, we walked back home (in the rain), and got everyone sent on their way back to their own homes. (I had planned to serve cold coffee and popsicles after our walk, but none of this sounded great because we were all wet and chilly!)

We let the kids watch a movie that afternoon because Matt and I were a bit tired. ;)

Then, we went to a nearby park for dinner. Food Net, the organization that we serve with each week when we go to our our weekly Food Distribution was hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. When we got there, we realized that our kids would need to stand with us in a very long line to wait to get food. But they were able to handle themselves. Then we found a bench in the park to eat the hotdogs and polish dogs, chips, salad, and cookies they’d provided.

After we ate, we finished off our evening by playing at the playground.

Monday morning, I made Eggs and Sausage before we loaded up seven kids to go to VBS. Auggie had ABA therapy that morning at our house, so while all the kids were occupied with these events, Matt and I got to relax and enjoy conversation with friends who had been visiting Lincoln while attending a wedding. We sent them on their way mid-morning, then got to hang out with Elias and Malorie for a while before picking the kids up from VBS.

Lunch was leftover Chicken from Sunday’s lunch, plus Watermelon, Pickles, and Cheese Cubes. I didn’t get any pictures of any of this because I was in “rest mode” and not “work mode.”

Two weeks prior to this one had been quite difficult emotionally at our house and I decided that this week with kids going to VBS in the mornings, I needed to spend time resting and recovering. My nervous system can feel pretty worn out after working so hard to help our kids regulate their emotions. Declaring time for recovery was THE RIGHT THING.

Monday and Friday afternoons this summer, we have made arrangements for all of our kids to hang out with other people during Auggie’s naptime so that Matt and I have some built-in breaks. So that afternoon, Elias and Malorie took Brayden, Keith, and Bonus Buddy to Scheels and Trader Joe’s. Acacia and Josie went to Ms. Kathi’s. And Kiya and Anna went to Eva’s.

They all LOVED their time with their special people. I sat in the sun with a cup of coffee and read a book (bliss!). Matt worked on fixing a leaking faucet (boo!). Eva sent these fun pictures after their time together:

They made Breakfast Cookies:

They went to the park:

And they read some books. Arrow loves to be read to!

I used Sunday’s leftover hotdogs to make Beanie Weanies for dinner. I had tucked away some of the Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins that I’d baked last week, so those became a side dish. Plus I let the kids choose from canned Pineapple, Pears, or Mandarin Oranges to finish off the meal.

We took a leisurely walk that evening before heading to bed.

Tuesday morning, I was started to feel more rested (but still determined to rest as much as I could throughout the week).

We warmed up Breakfast Sandwiches before VBS.

Matt dropped seven kids off at VBS and I took Auggie to Speech Therapy. He was very interested in learning to somersault that day.

Back at home, Matt was working on more small house projects. Auggie and I worked in the kitchen together to make a big batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs.

We also made three loaves of Banana Bread. As it turns out, prepping food with just one kid is quite relaxing. Plus having snacks like this on hand puts my brain at ease because I’m assured that I have options for filling kids’ bellies all day as needed.

Before we left to pick up the kids from VBS, I made three Pizzas for lunch with crusts I had in the freezer.

We played outside all afternoon, which meant that we definitely needed a popsicle.

I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to help at our weekly Food Distribution that afternoon. There was an extra large crowd that came through the line that day, which is always great to see because it means that many community needs are being met. After tables were emptied and the room was put back in order, Kiya helped Mr. Jim scrub spots on the carpet – her favorite job. :)

Back at home, Elias had made Smoked Queso for dinner. It was awesome to know that I didn’t have to think about meal prep that day. Plus it was fun to hang out with him in the kitchen earlier that morning while I was baking and he was getting this all put together.

Wednesday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy while the other seven kids went to VBS. This allowed Matt and me to get some work done in the quiet! I made phone calls, did paperwork, and set up appointments. These kinds of things hang over my head, just waiting for me to have a moment to get them done. Having a chunk of time to do all these things was so nice!

We ate leftovers for lunch, Arrow came to hang out with us, then Matt took the boys to get haircuts. (I didn’t get any good pictures!) Late in the afternoon, we loaded up and headed to the Splash Park to cool off.

Auggie’s evening ABA technician met us and worked with him there. This picture shows how far Josie has come compared to last year. She was so hesitant and nervous to leave our side and play in the water in the past. Look at that smile as she came over to tell us about the water spraying on her!

I had packed a “snacky dinner” to eat when needed while we were there. The kids ate whichever part of the spread that they liked, choosing from Almonds, Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Banana Bread, Cheese Sticks, Applesauce, and Apples.

Then it was time to play in the water again! This spinner is a popular item for our kids to play on at this park. Auggie wasn’t so sure though. :)

As soon as we got home, the kids saw that our neighbors, Coleman and Sarah, were outside by their garage. They ran right over and Coleman challenged them to try and get a drink from his cooler while he sprayed the water down at them.

The girls got into the back of their truck and gave us all a concert for about thirty minutes while I had a lovely chance to catch up with Sarah. It was a great evening with great neighbors. :)

Thursday morning, all the kids paraded into VBS with a canned or boxed food item to donate.

After we dropped off the kids, Matt, Auggie, and I headed to Menards, Sam’s, and Walmart.

We finished shopping in time to go home and unload/put away groceries, then ran to pick kids up from VBS. We ate leftovers for lunch, then friends came over to hang out for a few hours in the afternoon.

At 4:00, I made Quesadillas for everyone to eat on the road. We had plans to drive to York for the evening to visit Soul Quest, an event that takes place on the YU campus each year. We have many, many friends that we see there every year. Plus Justus/Kelsey/Little Sweetheart were teaching a class there all week and Malachi was the videographer for the week.

So, Quesadillas on the go. Also, people often ask where I buy Tortillas because so many of the tortillas at the store have unhealthy ingredients. Our favorites are from Azure Standard, and I buy a case at a time whenever I can. They freeze well and taste great!

I had prepped bags of Grapes to go with the Quesadillas plus lots of snacks to get us to York and back.

This is our beloved old stomping grounds, and it was a joy to see so many people all night long.

It was precious to watch Keith and Acacia plop themselves right down in the middle of the floor to take in the dynamic worship.

I took a couple shots of Malachi and his buddy Graham hard at work.

Josie was excited to discover Justus!

Our friend’s little girl made friends with Josie and Little Sweetheart as they crawled around and played.

As we gathered everyone to head home (way past our bedtime), the girls were playing a game with Kelsey on their way to the van.

Friday morning after we dropped kids off at VBS, I made a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for the next two Sunday mornings.

Matt and I had a zoom meeting that morning to finalize plans as we set up ABA therapy for Keith and Anna. We are so thankful for the resources provided for them so that they can get the help they need.

We got to enjoy a special closing session at the kids’ VBS where the director shared everything the kids had been learning throughout the week. All the different age groups got to take turns being on stage to sing the songs they’d learned. It was such a sweet program!

I had made a bowl of Simple Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip earlier and we pulled that out to eat for lunch as soon as we got home. Then we farmed out the kids for the afternoon so that Matt and I could spend time together visiting and resting.

That evening, we made Sub Sandwiches, Steamed Broccoli, Tator Tots, and Pickles for dinner.

Acacia and Josie were excited to make their own sandwiches.

Auggie was having his last ABA session for the week, and the other kids were playing outside. So I spent some time prepping food for Father’s Day. I buy bacon like this and had quite a few sheets of bacon that needed to be used up. I usually bake it directly from the box on the parchment paper provided, and it’s so easy that way! But I didn’t want to heat up the oven, so I thought I’d “cheat” and throw it all into a pot and my big skillet.

Was this “cheating?” No, it actually made the work harder and messier, ha. But did I avoid turning on the oven. Well, yes, I did do that. ;) Either way, at the end of the night, I had a lot of bacon prepped to serve on Father’s Day for our Brunch/Lunch.

Meanwhile, I also made a batch of Peanut Butter Ice Cream for Father’s Day evening. This is Matt’s favorite! (This recipe, with a cup of peanut butter blended into the liquid mixture before freezing.)

Saturday morning, we ate cereal for breakfast, then took the kids to our favorite Sensory Friendly Story Time. After the program, Ms. Diane got out awesome sensory toys and activities for the kids. She surprised everyone with the bubble machine, which was a great hit!

For lunch, I made Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Grapes and Carrots or Sweet Peppers.

Malachi made it back home after being in York for Soul Quest all week. We were quite a welcome home committee!

I put together a batch of Pineapple Fluff for an afternoon snack.

Plus I made Vanilla Ice Cream to go with the Peanut Butter Ice Cream I’d made the day before.

We transitioned into afternoon play, then our time of Sabbath rest. I’ll share more about that next week!

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