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Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

July 7, 2024 by Laura 1 Comment

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: June 30-July 6, 2024

We started our week with a special Family Worship morning at church. The kids had been working on a fun song to share for us on stage. Four of our littles felt brave enough that day to get up there with their buddies. :)

For lunch that day I had put the last of our $5 hams into our large roaster to “bake” during church. We came home to a delicious Ham Dinner with Buttered Peas and Corn, Watermelon, Rolls, and Pineapple Fluff. We had brought home a pan of Cinnamon Rolls my nieces made after our weekend trip so it was great to enjoy those for dessert!

You can always tell when Elias’ girlfriend, Malorie, is here visiting by looking at our little girls’ hair. I have time for ponytails and that’s about it. Malorie takes time to create all kinds of adorable hair styles for them!

Matt and I have started to meet with three other couples on Sunday afternoons for a time of Bible study and sharpening/encouraging. I can’t express how grateful I am for this time. AND how thankful we are that Elias has been willing to help with the kids so that we can do this. He and Malorie kept them downstairs for a movie then took them outside. One of the guys here for our Bible study captured this photo through our living room window of Elias with Keith and Josie. So sweet.

That afternoon, Brayden and Kiya entertained themselves for a long time making “crafts with nature.” We loved how this activity helped them to be calm and engaged.

One of the couples who had come over that afternoon handed us two FREE PIZZA coupons that were going to expire that day. He’d picked up a bunch at his work place and they’d used all they wanted so we got the final two. Perfect! I guess we’d just have to eat pizza that night!

We got to order whatever variety we wanted as the coupons were for any pizza on the menu. Elias and Malorie went to pick them up for us while we fed the kids fruit to hold them over.

Elias helped me get them baked, cut, and served. And that was dinner that night.

Monday morning it rained and rained and rained. This was good except for it seemed that all morning the kids took turns (or sometimes joined together) screaming for a variety of reasons. Matt wasn’t feeling great that day so between that and the rain, we decided against an outing. Oy, usually outings stop the screaming, so now what?

We headed to the kitchen to bake. Kids helped me measure and pour as we put together a double batch of Breakfast Cookies.

While the cookies baked, we made some Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. The kids were so excited about this!

The rain stopped so that the kids could play outside that afternoon. Dinner that night was Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot with Sunday’s Ham, Peas, and Corn on top or on the side.

Later that night I got this text and photo from my friend Tasha who was out at church camp where Malachi was serving for the week: “He’s like a celebrity. He’s doing a lovely job running evening activities.” Awww. I needed that.

Tuesday morning we prepped for a big day ahead, eating the Breakfast Cookies we’d made the day before. I packed up Peanut Butter/Honey Sandwiches, Guacamole and Chips, Carrots, Peach and Pear Cups, Applesauce, and a bag of Apples to take to the zoo where we were planning to meet up with friends. I watered down a bottle of juice and packed cups to give the kids a fun treat with lunch.

It ended up raining off and on during most of our zoo time, but we still had a lot of fun!

We watched the penguins eat their lunch, then stayed to let the zoo keepers share more about the penguins. There was even a baby penguin to enjoy!

All throughout the morning before lunch the kids munched on apples as they got hungry. I have learned to always grab a bag of apples or pears for the kids to eat when we are out like this. It helps prevent hangry meltdowns and as you can see from my once full bag that now contained only one half eaten apple – we needed these.

About the time we were going to set up a picnic to enjoy our lunch, the rain started to come down harder. So we went instead to the (very loud) indoor Spider Monkey play area to play and eat. There are no tables in there but we sat along a wall and I handed out food there.

After lunch, we loaded up and I dropped off Matt and five kids at home, then headed to drop off Acacia and Josie to have fun at Ms. Kathi’s. From there I went to hang out with Eva and Arrow (and bonus, Kelsey was there too!). I enjoyed an entire hour and a half of baby snuggles before heading back to pick up the girls. :)

Back at home, I dropped off the girls and picked up Brayden and Kiya to had out food at our weekly Food Distribution.

That morning, I had used some pre-cooked hamburger meat to make a pot of Sloppy Joes for Elias to warm up for dinner.

We spent the rest of the evening playing outside, going up and down our sidewalk on cars or pushing carts.

Wednesday morning we had Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches that had been tucked away in the freezer. The girls ate with their baby dolls. :)

We packed up a lunch and headed out to Walmart and to Tierra Park for the morning. I attempted making Chicken Sandwiches before we left and put them into an insulated bag to see if they’d still be hot two hours later at lunch time.

It worked pretty well!

On our outing, I first ran into Walmart while Matt stayed in the van with the kids so I could get some fresh fruit and veggies for the upcoming days. I found and grabbed a roast and a bunch of coconut water marked down!

I love a cart full of fruits and vegetables!

We love Tierra Park because there is a skate park area plus a fun route the kids can ride their bikes around. Matt had loaded up all of their bikes and Keith’s skateboard for this outing. Phew!

Keith is so proud of his skills. :)

At lunchtime, we enjoyed our Chicken Sandwiches with Popcorn, Applesauce, and Chocolate Milk (there was a lot of extra milk at Food Distribution the day before so they sent some home with us!).

Afterward, we headed home to drop off five kids, then I dropped Acacia and Josie off at Josalyn’s for two hours. Off I went to get some more Arrow snuggles during that time. I was thrilled that Eva was able to nap while I was there and of course, I LOVED my time with Arrow.

Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie had taken Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to a library-hosted Heavy Equipment Encounter so they could see and climb on lots of emergency and work vehicles. After that, they stopped at a fire works tent to pick up some kid-friendly items for us to enjoy the next day.

We couldn’t wait for the 4th for all of them so we enjoyed a few that afternoon too.

We had plans to go to a dinner party that didn’t begin until 6:00 and I knew our kids couldn’t wait that long to eat. So I made them two plates of Corn Dog Bites, sliced a pound of Cheese, and got out the Watermelon. They ate and ate and ate (and were still hungry at the party later).

The party was hosted by a couple of young men that grew up with our kids. It’s so fun to see everyone in their adult world! Asa, Eva, and Arrow were there too so I got a few extra baby snuggles. :)

There was an amazing spread of food and we got to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in years!

The morning of the fourth, I made a skillet full of Scrambled Cheesy Eggs and Sausage Gravy to go with Biscuits we’d brought back home with us after our family reunion last weekend.

Malorie fixed Acacia, Josie, and Kiya’s hair SO CUTE for the holiday!

I was preparing a big family lunch but I also felt like cleaning out the fridge. So I used the rest of Sunday’s ham to make two Breakfast Casseroles and two Ham and Hashbrown Casseroles for the freezer.

Our kids were all coming over for lunch (except for Malachi who was serving out at church camp all week). I had planned to make Smoked Chicken Legs, Corn on the Cob, Watermelon, Caesar Salad, and Homemade Ice Cream.

HOWEVER, for some reason our smoker would not heat up for me. After messing with it for way too long, I ran out of time to cook the chicken. So I quickly switched gears and cooked Brats and Hotdogs (which I had thawed to make that night). Brats and dogs on the stove saved the day and I quickly made Baked Beans to go with our meal.

Asa, Eva, and Arrow arrived plus Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart. Our friend Ascha came too, plus one of our housemates, so we had a great crowd of 19! Just before time to eat, I found this crew in our living room watching some of our big boys’ old videos they’d made as kids. :)

Auntie Josie got her first turn at holding Baby Arrow. So sweet.

We enjoyed our feast of Brats, Hotdogs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Pickles, Watermelon, and Homemade Ice Cream. Elias and Malorie also made a pitcher of sweet tea for everyone.

After lunch, we headed outside to do just a few fireworks with the kids.

While BabyBoy#11 napped, Anna, Acacia, and I made Strawberry Shortcake Muffins for dinner.

After they were finished baking, Anna “gave me permission” to cut her hair. She does NOT like having her hair brushed and it causes a lot of fights that ain’t nobody got time for. :/ She was excited about it and it turned out very cute!!!

But don’t look too close. I don’t know what I’m doing, ha.

We got the smoker working so we could have our lunch chicken legs at dinnertime!

We had our BBQ Chicken Legs with Caesar Salad, Green Beans, and Rolls.

Then we followed our meal with Strawberry Shortcake!

We headed out to enjoy sparklers and simple fireworks with the kids. Our friend Dallas came over to enjoy the evening with us and he was so sweet with the little ones.

At bedtime, we put Anna, Acacia, Josie, and BabyBoy#11 to bed but the others had rested in the afternoon so that they could stay up late. They were so excited about this privilege!

Friday morning the weather was beautiful so we took a walk to Sunken Gardens.

When we got home I made six boxes of Mac and Cheese, cut up leftover Hotdogs from the day before and warmed up leftover Peas for lunch.

Late afternoon I made a big plate of Chicken Strips to hold everyone over because there was an outing opportunity we were excited to experience. Back story: Brayden had a chance to go to Lincoln’s Quilt Museum for a field trip during last school year and he really wanted all of us to go sometime. I had found a FREE event hosted this night at the Quilt Museum with a Storytime, Craft, and Cookie – so off we all went.

Oy, the kids were a challenge the entire time. The event itself was great and well put together. But most of our kids had a very hard time being calm, listening, or obeying while we were there. Hey, but here are some photos in which you can’t tell that anything is amiss.

Storytime:

Craft time:

Cookie time:

Ah, and after we looked at some of the amazing quilts through the museum (there was a scavenger hunt that we tried to enjoy with the kids), we discovered a children’s room! At least it was ok to touch stuff in here…

Truly, the Quilt Museum is very cool, just tough when you have seven high-needs kids to manage. We made it home and fed them loads of strawberries and cheese before bed. Phew.

Saturday morning the kids ate cereal while I baked a double batch of Bran Muffins to try and get ahead.

Then I drank my daily smoothie while I made a huge batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs for easy snacks.

We loaded up and went to our favorite Sensory Friendly Storytime. This was a MUCH BETTER outing compared to the night before. The kids know what to expect here and it is geared toward kids who need a calm environment. Even our timid Josie happily gets involved!

On our way home, we made a planned trip to Antelope park where we ate some buttered muffins, bananas, and milk before playing for about an hour.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart were at our house when we got home so she helped me make pizzas for our lunch. We decided to cook the pizzas on our smoker, which caught on fire – not a great week for us and our smoker, ha. So Matt took care of the smoker while I baked the pizzas in the house in the boring ol’ oven,

We got the kids settled in for some rest that afternoon, then Lolli got to do this while finishing this post, so that was pretty much awesome:

We ate leftovers for dinner and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024

May 26, 2024 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 19-25, 2024

Our week started off with a precious time of worship with our Lincoln church family. For years now, I have had a difficult time getting through worship without tears. I feel so grateful and humbled by a Savior who knows our needs and cares enough to meet them. This Sunday was especially sweet as I held Justus and Kelsey’s foster babe and saw so many others loving on my babies.

How we all need each other. How we must all be in community. I’ve always known this but while constantly caring for so many special needs kids who struggle to understand their worth – seeing our village love them with us is so touching and precious to me. I was able to capture just a few moments throughout the morning. Acacia spotted her dear Kathi and stood with her to sing.

Josie claimed her spot with Malorie who was here from Texas to visit Elias (and the rest of us, ha!) for a few days.

Acacia made her way over to Elias and spent the rest of her auditorium time with him before she headed to the nursery for Toddler Time. Meanwhile, Brayden was getting loved up on by Kelsey (I wasn’t able to get a photo). I’m so thankful for our village. It is huge and needed. God is faithful.

After church, we headed to a park for a drizzly Picnic with Pals organized by Mandy, our Kids Minister.

Keith had a soccer game but this time we decided to send him off with Elias and Malorie while we took the other kids home for rest time. I had a migraine and went to rest myself. When I came downstairs, I found Matt playing a game at the table with Brayden, Kiya, and Keith. Very sweet!

One of our housemates helped prepare Tortelloni with sauce which we all ate very quickly so that we could head off to a graduation celebration with friends.

Just as we arrived at the party, we were greeted with thunder, lightening, and heavy rain. The party moved inside and the hostess pulled out a fabulous dollhouse for our kids to enjoy. We ended up staying much longer than anticipated because the kids settled in and had such a calm time of play. This meant that we adults got to enjoy a great visit – praise God!

Monday morning I pulled this Pork Roast from the fridge that I’d been thawing. Look at the crazy sale price I got on this! Such a blessing.

I discovered that apparently 8.4 pounds of pork roast is too big for the biggest of crock pots. So I transferred it to my electric roasting pan to slow cook all day. Then I had the kids take turns scrubbing potatoes to cook in a crock pot all day for mashed potatoes that night.

I had several bananas turning black so Anna and Kiya helped me turn them into Banana Bread.

Matt went to York to work for the day, Elias was at work (he’s a special ed para now) so Malorie was my side kick for the day. Is she Elias’ girlfriend? Is she my friend? Is she one of our little kids’ favorite person? The answer is yes. :)

Malorie hadn’t been to “our zoo” (we think we own the place) and we have a Plus One included in our membership. So we loaded up the five littlest kids and headed there, mainly so we could dig in the huge sandbox that morning.

On the way to the sand, we needed to see if our wingspan was as long as an eagle…

I’m not sure what the girls were doing here but wow am I glad I captured their silliness!

Ah. We made it to the sand.

I had grabbed yogurt squeezies, raisins, and graham crackers plus a jar of peanut butter to spread on. They got out of the sand and snacked before we headed back to the van so we’d make it home in time for the preschool bus.

We got some sweet rest that afternoon, then Acacia and Josie and I loaded up to walk to school to pick up Brayden and Kiya.

It was a hot one that day, so cold watermelon tasted extra good when we got home.

Keith was very happy to help me make salad to go with our dinner.

We had Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Caesar Salad, and Buttered Rolls.

Tuesday morning I used two loaves of Cinnamon Bread to make French Toast.

We were privileged to babysit Justus and Kelsey’s Little Sweetheart for a few hours. It had been raining a lot so while the kids wanted to play outside, we didn’t want them to get muddy. Once the rain let up, we loaded them up for a walk – four in our wagon/stroller and two in the double stroller. It worked great and we had a nice long walk through our neighborhood.

That afternoon, I made a double recipe of Creamy Bacon Spaghetti and put it into a crock pot on the “keep warm” setting for our dinner. I planned to pick Brayden and Kiya up from school and head straight over to hand out food to the community at our Food Distribution site. So my goal is to always have dinner ready for everyone before leaving at 3:30 on Tuesdays. I made a pot of green beans also, but didn’t get a photo.

There was an extra big crowd at Food Distribution that day (I wasn’t able to get photos) so we handed food out to well over 100 people. All of this food is donated by grocery stores and restaurants in an effort to avoid food waste. We love this!

Back at home, Elias, Malorie, and Matt had held down the fort. I had been dealing with some “special behaviors” with one of our kids who had gotten triggered by something at Food Distribution so Matt took over with that one. Then I turned right around and got to deal with some behaviors with the other one now that we were home. God is faithful and we continually ask for wisdom as we parent these kids.

Just before bed, I asked Anna and Acacia to help me put some cans of sparkling water into our living room mini fridge and they were very excited to help! (This fridge is usually off limits to them as we keep it full of drinks for guests and the grown-ups in the house. Every once in a while we let the littles pick something special to take to drink for an outing and it is the best thing ever.) :)

Wednesday morning Malorie and I took the five littlest kids to a Music and Movement Library Story Time. We always get excited when we get to dance to music with scarves!

Look who can stand up on his own now! He has been doing this for weeks now, but so far still hasn’t taken steps. He progresses slowly, but he does progress. He’s pretty proud of his standing skills, as he should be. :)

Josie was feeling shy around the big crowd of kids that morning so Malorie took her to the back of the room so she could still enjoy the music and fun.

We got home in time for a case worker visit. After that, we played outside for a while we waited for the bus to come. This kid was high up in a tree before I knew it. There’s never a dull moment with Keith.

It was Keith and Anna’s last day of preschool. The teachers had a water day planned so the kids got to wear their swim suits under their clothes. This was VERY exciting.

The kids’ bus drivers have grown pretty attached to the clan throughout this year. They came bearing gifts at pick up time today.

I had baked a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars the day before so when I had a free minute, I cut them, bagged them, and put them into the freezer to have on hand as needed during the next few weeks.

Keith brought home a gift from one of his bus drivers: a tiny wooden airplane kit with five thousand tiny parts. He was so excited to put it together. Notice Elias’ “you’ve got to be kidding me” face when he saw the impossible task before him. :) :) :) Needless to say, the plane never made it off the ground.

Back in the kitchen (my comfort zone, where I know how to put things together and there are no tiny parts with vague instructions) – Acacia put together a salad to go with our dinner. Josie helped by dumping bacon bits onto the floor under her stool.

With our salad, we had a big batch of Lazy Dogs with pickles and carrots.

We played outside most of the evening. At one point, Keith grabbed a sweet pepper from the counter and started eating it like an apple. Who was I to stop him?

Ms. Kathi had given us a bunch of “Hens and Chicks” from her garden for us to attempt to transplant into our yard. I told her that I keep kids alive, not plants. But she declared that we could give it a try and if they didn’t survive (the plants, not the kids) so be it. So the kids had fun planting them all over our yard.

Thursday was Brayden and Kiya’s last day of school for the year!

Matt and I spent the morning with the five littlest stocking up on groceries to kick off the first part of our summer break. First Aldi…

Then Costco.

I captured this sweet photo of Acacia loving on BabyBoy#11 as we unloaded carts into the van. I can’t stop looking at it:

When we got home and started to unload groceries, Keith found a stick/weapon/tool – which definitely did not help him to be more efficient in carrying in food. But it sure was fun.

Late afternoon, Elias and Brayden spent their Bro Time making dinner together for our family. Matt and I loaded the other six kids in strollers or bikes and walked to a nearby garden/park to get out of their way.

When we got home, our neighbors Coleman and Sarah were out so we stopped to visit with them for a while. I love the relationship we are forming and how they love our kids. :)

Back and home, Elias and Brayden had made a feast! Pasta, three kinds of sauce, meatballs, salad, garlic toast, and cookies.

Friday morning we jumped right in to our Summer School at Home fun. After breakfast we started reading Little House in the Big Woods. The littlest didn’t last long on my lap for this book, but Brayden, Kiya, and Keith LOVED it. And oh, so did I. :) :) :)

After we finished a chapter, I spread out different books at their reading levels for them to choose from. I explained how we’d be building Book Worms as we read and challenged them to see how long our Book Worm might be by the end of summer! (Find the specifics for this idea in the Reading Nook folder in the Summer School at Home Toolbox.)

We finished prepping for a morning outing then by packing a picnic (the Surprise Picnic – as described in the Summer School Cooking Corner Picnic in a Hat book). The kids LOVED THIS!!! I had printed Zoo Scavenger Hunt pages from the Summer School Investigation Station folder and we loaded up for a big zoo day with friends!!

Two families joined us at the zoo as we celebrated our first day of summer break together!

Brayden carried the big kids’ scavenger hunt paper and Keith was in charge of the little kids’ version. They had so much fun with this!

Sometimes at the zoo we just hit one or two areas. Today we did just about everything, spending four hours and having a blast. We got to feed the alpacas…

We all sat together and ate the lunches we’d packed.

We saw lots and lots of animals. We played in the sand. We got wet in the splash area. We fed the giraffes.

And we ended our zoo day by taking a train ride. As you can see, no one was excited about this…

We came home tired and satisfied. Of course, the transition from zoo to home caused several kids to melt down. This is typical for us. We have lots of fun at our outings but then we try to sabotage our day by acting out afterward. God is faithful. He will heal. We pray continually for patience and wisdom.

Three kids’ behavior struggles later, we settled some for a nap/rest time then turned on a show for the others. Matt held down the fort while I was blessed with a much-needed-very-good time with my therapist. I haven’t been able to do that for myself for quite a while – focusing more on kids’ therapy appointments instead. I’m thankful God provided this for me!

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Side Note: I thought it was funny that as we were loading up for home one of our kids asked, “Can we finally start our Summer School at Home now??” Ha! They hadn’t even realized that the morning read-aloud, the books they’d read on their own, the zoo trip, the picnic they’d helped pack, and the scavenger hunt WERE part of Summer School at Home! I guess they thought we’d be sitting at the table for hours all summer practicing math facts. Nope. Learning looks different at home! Summer School at Home is a party, man. :)

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Saturday’s breakfast was simple: Bagels and Strawberry Parfaits.

While the kids ate, I declared it to be Operation Refrigerator Clean-Out Day. We try really hard not to waste food and try to save money by using up what we have before we make more food. I had veggies getting wilt-y in the fridge so I decided to make Stir-Fry for the adults to eat with their breakfast. (The kids were welcome to it too, but shockingly, there were no takers, ha.) Then I used the last of a container of spinach to bake Chocolate Cupcakes.

This gave us a great start on eating up items from the fridge before they went bad. The rest of the day we ate more leftovers, got the lawn mowed, caught up on laundry, did some cleaning, and got ready to start a new week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: April 21-27, 2024

April 28, 2024 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: April 21-27, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: April 21-27, 2024

Sunday morning was a bit less intense compared to the past few weeks. Instead of having to pack an entire lunch for our family to eat after church and before Keith’s soccer game, we were planning to enjoy a potluck lunch with our church family. My only responsibility was to take Frosted Brownies, which I had baked and frozen last week.

So while feeding all the kids breakfast, I put BabyBoy#11 into one of our kitchen sinks for his “bath.” A couple of the kids had fun helping me.

We loved spending extra time with so many friends after church while we ate.

Then we loaded up and headed to Keith’s soccer game. I had packed apples and pistachios to snack on at the game because even though we had just eaten lunch, we seem to always still need snacks. ;)

I tried to capture a picture of Keith’s fan club as we all trailed out after the game. We are quite a parade.

I had put a a Pork Roast into a crock pot early that morning for our dinner that night. But it was still not quite done at mealtime. So I left it to continue cooking and pulled out leftovers to fill our bellies.

It was a boring and no-veggie dinner of leftover Smoked Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Toasted Sourdough Bread.

I had made some Peanut Butter Cup Whipped Cream that afternoon so we all enjoyed it with graham crackers as a treat after dinner.

Monday morning for breakfast I scrambled eggs and the kids made toast for themselves to go with their eggs.

It was a warm day so the girls were so happy to put on new summer-y outfits!

I attempted to take Anna to Food Distribution where Keith and I go on Monday mornings. Once Keith starts Kindergarten next year, Anna will be my Food Distribution sidekick. I instructed Keith to show her how it’s done and he did – sort of. They got pretty distracted by toy donations in the room where we were working, oy.

I just had the two of them for the rest of that morning because Matt and Elias had taken the three youngest kids to York for the day to spend time with our friend Nancy. So I spent my time and energy working extra on some of Keith and Anna’s behavior needs. And I taught them both to help me load the dishwasher.

After school, Kiya set up a nail salon on our back steps. :)

We had lots of visits from friends that afternoon/evening as our dear friend Phyllis came to see us. She showers us with love when she comes and our time with her is such a gift.

Then friends Charlene and Samantha came for the evening. Once our girls discovered Samantha’s purse, it was all over. Thank you, Sam, for letting them use up ALL YOUR LOTION AND CHAPSTICK. All of it. Gone. Plus dental floss. Bless.

I was so busy enjoying friends that evening that I didn’t cook or take pictures of what I didn’t cook. ;)

I asked Elias to throw in four frozen pizzas for us, which he did, and here’s what that looked like at the end of the night:

Tuesday, Matt and I made a plan to run to a couple of stores and then go to a park before heading home. I packed lunch, knowing that we would need to eat through all of these plans.

We had some lunchmeat that needed to be eaten up so I put it on buns with cheese and melted them in our air fryer just before we left for our outing.

Matt stayed in the van with our littles while I ran into Walmart for inner tubes so he could fix bike tires later that day. While in the store, I couldn’t not run over to see if there were any food mark-downs, right? Woo – marked down pizzas!

And a beef roast for $3.08/pound!

Our time at the park was windy! But it was a good outing for the kids so that we could get their energy out.

We dropped Acacia and Josie off at Ms. Kathi’s on our way home for their special time with her that day. Then we got home and put away groceries we’d picked up that afternoon. Here’s what I got at Aldi:

Keith and Anna didn’t have school that day. Anna was excited to help me load the dishwasher, seeing as she’d been taught how the day before and was now an expert.

Keith played in the dirt all afternoon and came in with a mustache.

Justus, Kelsey, and Kelsey’s mom, Nicole, came for dinner that night! Brayden, Kiya, and I had just arrived back from helping at the Food Distribution but I had all the food in crock pots or ready to rewarm on the stove. We had Sunday night’s Pork Roast, Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, and Strawberries with Whipped Cream.

We don’t get to see Nicole very often so it’s a huge treat that she is in town!

Wednesday morning, I made French Toast and Bacon. I also blended up a smoothie full of greens for Matt and me.

It is worth a mention that I do very well keeping children alive. But plants? Not so much. (Water perked these back up, thankfully.)

While the plants were suffering and dehydrated, I also failed to pull the last of our bacon out of the oven at the right time. I decided to make as much bacon as possible that morning to get ahead. But then I forgot about these pans when I went upstairs to get myself dressed and ready for the day.

Can’t win ’em all.

Matt and Elias spent the day in York working again and they took the youngest three kids to our friend Emma’s for the day. They loved this!

That night for dinner I grilled some Pork Steak I’d picked up on the cheap a few weeks ago.

They turned out amazing! We ate them with strawberries and salad.

Thursday morning I let Brayden and Kiya toast their own bagels or toast in the air fryer (they consider this a huge privilege). We ate them with applesauce or bananas.

Matt needed some items at Menards so he dropped three kids and me at Sam’s while he took the other two kids across the parking lot to Menards to do his shopping. My main goal was to get fruits and veggies because we go through them so quickly. Beyond spinach, spring mix, broccoli, oranges, salad kits, and grapes, I picked up some kleenex, plastic containers, barbecue sauce, pickles, heavy whipping cream, almond butter, hot dogs, milk, eggs, and fig bars.

We dropped Acacia and Josie off at Josalyn’s where they spent some time painting. :)

Late afternoon I handed everyone a box or two of kleenex from the case we’d bought at Sam’s that day and we all paraded up the stairs to put them on our storage shelf.

Kiya is quite the organizer, so she helped everyone put their box in its place.

We had to be at the kids’ school that evening for a special Preschool Family Open House so for an early dinner I baked the Walmart pizzas that I’d picked up earlier in the week.

Keith and Anna were so excited to introduce us to all their friends. Brayden was excited too because he has had the privilege of helping in a preschool classroom a few mornings recently. He felt like a celebrity when he walked in and was swarmed by little ones who were happy to see him!

There were activities set up at tables for us to enjoy.

Of course Anna found the flamingos at the photo booth!

Friday the kids didn’t have school so I made a huge batch of pancakes with sausage.

I was planning to make these Chocolate Cupcakes (with spinach) but discovered that I didn’t have any chocolate cake mixes. Not to worry – I just added a little bit of cocoa powder to the yellow cake mix to cover up the green spinach. :) While I was using greens, I made another batch of these smoothies for Matt and me.

Mid morning I packed up a lunch for us to take on our outing for the day. It was rainy and wet outside so we decided to take everyone to the indoor mall play place to get energy out. For lunch I packed Cheese, Salami, Crackers, Grapes, and the Cupcakes with a container of frosting to surprise the kids.

The mall play area was a big hit!

At lunchtime we took all eight kids (our Bonus Boy was with us again this weekend) to potty and wash hands. Then we sat in the Food Court and handed out the lunch we’d packed. It was both sweet and crazy. :)

Back at home, there were tornado sirens off and on all afternoon, which was a bit nerve-wracking for some of our kids. As many of you heard, there ended up being a lot of tornado-action here in Lincoln and in Omaha and surrounding areas. THANK YOU SO MUCH to all who emailed to check in on us. Thankfully, we are all safe and sound.

Because of the craziness of the afternoon, we stayed in that night and warmed up leftovers for dinner. Kiya was excited to be our food-warmer-upper. :)

While Kiya was working on dinner, I used Sunday’s leftover Pork Roast to get ahead for future meals. I put together a huge pan of Party Potatoes with Pork Roast. Then I turned the rest of the meat into sandwiches like this. All of the adults in our house love having individually wrapped sandwiches on hand to grab and go for work needs.

Saturday morning we had No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites. (I had intended to make No-Bake Snickerdoodle Bites but realized too late that I didn’t add cinnamon. So I switched to chocolate chip and no one complained!)

While the kids played outside, I prepped our Sunday lunch. We were going to have a fun Sundaes on Sunday event with church friends right after worship service and everyone was to bring their lunch. I made two loaves of bread worth of Uncrustables to take with us. Then I used the crusts to make Easy Bread Pudding for our Sunday breakfast.

I headed outside so Matt could come in and get something done. I discovered that Brayden and Kiya were across the street with our neighbor, John. He is a plant and flower expert and they were helping him and learning as they went. This is so good for them!

Then John came over and started teaching our girls about the weeds in our yard that look like flowers. Note how Acacia has her arms around Josie and Anna. She is such a little mama. :)

The weather was decent so we decided to load up the eight kids and go to the zoo for a few hours. I grabbed a random assortment of whatever was easiest to grab for us to eat for lunch an snacks while we were there.

After we finished eating, the kids lined up on a wall to watch a Porcupine lesson being taught in the exhibit area.

We headed over to look at other animals and were stopped by a Peacock with all its feathers spread wide. Amazing!

We played in the sand area for quite a while before loading up for home. We had a huge afternoon/evening with people stopping by for visits including overnight guests. Our friend Malorie has turned into Elias’ girlfriend Malorie. :) :) :) She graduated from college that day and her family came to spend the evening and night with us. It was a wonderful time getting to know each other better!

For dinner I made a meal similar to this one with Smoked Chicken Legs, Caesar Salad, Corn, Baked Beans, and Rolls.

We got a bunch of dirty, tired kids through the bath and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024

March 31, 2024 by Laura 7 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: March 24-30, 2024

Keith has been counting down the days for his very first soccer game! Sunday afternoon was the big day, and he had his cleats and shin guards ready. :)

The game location is closer to church than home, so we decided to pack lunch to eat at the church building and then go to the game from there. I made a crock pot full of Pasta with Red Sauce, a crock pot full of Smoked Sausage cut into pieces, a small crock pot filled with Costco Meatballs, a container of Carrots and Cucumbers, 4-Pounds of Cut Strawberries along with a dish of Cheesecake Parfait, and a container of Rice Krispie Treats. I also got out a few items to hand out as snacks to the remaining kids during Keith’s game.

As church began, Matt got a text that rain had canceled Keith’s game. Poor Keith. He took the news like a champ as we had prepared him for the possibility of a cancellation. Since we already had all the food at the church building, we decided to go ahead and eat there before heading home.

We were blessed to grab a few extra friends to join us. I loved this kitchen scene which included some of our boys with a bunch of their friends. (All the plates on the floor were left there by our little ones as I had fixed their plates and parked them there to eat before the big guys came in.)

While the adults ate, Brayden led the other littles in worship in the auditorium. Notice our littlest, standing by the stage in his diaper after peeing through his outfit. Hey, Jesus wants us to come as we are, yes?

We came home through the rain (that had canceled Keith’s game) so our afternoon was spent watching a show and then playing games with Daddy.

Our friend Paula dropped off Brayden and Kiya’s school lunches for the week and I put them into a fridge. She and Randy have been doing this since October and it has been incredibly helpful on school mornings!

I pulled out leftovers for dinner and got out a bag of pears to go with them.

Everyone ate a pear before having a random plate of whatever sounded good from our leftover stash. :)

Monday morning I made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins. These were a hit, though once the little girls discovered the chocolate chips on top they only wanted to eat the tops of the muffins and ignore the rest. ;)

We had a rough behavior morning for three of our kids. :( So I changed our plans for the morning, hoping that the change of routine might give us a reboot. Eva came over to help as she does every Monday, which was a huge and needed blessing. We left BabyBoy#11 home to nap with Daddy while Eva and I took the other four out to shop for Easter clothes.

Sure enough, while it isn’t always easy to shop with little ones, the change of pace distracted everyone and behaviors settled (mostly). Keep praying for these kids’ healing. We are seeking answers from professionals and trying to figure out where to turn to help meet all their needs.

Fun side note: One of our neighbors has a tree service business and Keith LOVES watching him work and organize tools in his garage. Coleman has been such a gift to Keith as he allows him to ask thirty-eleven questions and chatter and look at his tools and basically, Keith wants to be like Coleman when he grows up.

While shopping for an Easter shirt, Keith came across this toy chain saw. “I need to get this so I can help Coleman cut down trees!!!” The word “no” isn’t Keith’s favorite, but I was able to help him settle with the promise that while we weren’t going to buy the chain saw, I’d be sure and show this picture to Coleman the next time we see him. :)

The afternoon went smoothly and for dinner I decided to make Pancakes and Bacon. Lots and lots of bacon.

Tuesday morning both of our dishwashers were full and clean from the day before (we run them both at least once each day). Acacia got right to work and cleaned out one dishwasher all by herself (except for the knives and mugs that I grabbed before she got started). She loves doing this job – and watching her reminds me of her capabilities. She’s a very tiny 3.5-year-old. She struggles with speech, so much of what she says doesn’t come out clearly. She delayed in other ways that make learning harder for her. She was born with a club foot, which affects her gate and growth. But she knows nothing about this. She’s a big girl who can clean out the dishwasher for her mommy, while chattering confidently even if I can’t understand most of her words. I love her heart and how she goes all in with everything she does. :)

It was cold and windy that day so we kept the little ones in all day instead of having an outing. To help them get some wiggles out, Matt found some interactive YouTube videos that we all danced and jumped and did jumping jacks with.

Late morning I got out ingredients to make White Chicken Chili, including Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix.

I discovered the three little girls sitting in the pantry singing “The Wheels on the Bus” together.

We didn’t have any leftovers so I baked two frozen pizzas for lunch. Have you tried the Cauliflower Crust Pizzas from Costco? They are pretty tasty! I added some pepperoni to ours since it was a veggie-only pizza.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution. We were placed in charge of some “extras” that day so we handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Easter items to over 100 people who went through the line.

Matt and Elias had served all the kids the White Chicken Chili from the crock pot. Then Brayden, Kiya, and I dug in when we got home.

Wednesday morning we had Bagels and Fruit. Kiya is enjoying her newly found freedom in toasting her own bagel in the air fryer.

I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs to have on hand for snacks.

Keith, who is always (always, always, always) rigging something up, taking something apart, or creating some sort of something, had hung a rope with a hook around our second floor banister. He then attached our ball pump to it and used the rope as a pulley to move the pump up and down. Why? Well, why not?

Elias and Brayden had picked up groceries to make a meal for us during their Bro Time on Monday. So Wednesday night, they made a Taco Feast for us with beef, chicken, and shrimp options plus all the taco fixings.

To top off their meal, they made Cinnamon Rolls for dessert.

Thursday morning we loaded up all five littles for a shopping trip to Aldi. Outings like this are both great and hard – but they offer a fun experience for our kids and we get the shopping done that we need so it’s worth the craziness.

Two carts are a must.

This particular trip I bought 5 gallons of milk, 12 jars of spaghetti sauce, 12 cups of yogurt, and 12 jars of salsa -plus all kinds of other needed items I like to get at Aldi. The gal at checkout was like, “Wow, that’s a lot of spaghetti sauce.” and then when she saw our five littles “Wow, that’s a lot of kids.” Should I have told her this wasn’t even half of our kids? Naw. :)

We got home in time to put Keith and Anna on the bus for preschool. Then I blended up a batch of Mini Crustless Cheesecakes to put into the oven.

I also mixed up a big batch of Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies so the kids could have fun making Easter cookies on Friday.

Acacia was playing dress-up but stopped to help once she saw her opportunity to help me scoop and pour. :)

After school that day, I finally got around to cutting Kiya’s hair. I took off a few inches to get all the dead ends removed so she’ll be fresh and ready for spring!

Meanwhile, I had dumped some barbecue sauce on to a package of chicken legs, so those were on the smoker making us all very hungry. Back in the kitchen, Elias helped Acacia and Josie make Caesar Salad and Chipotle Cheddar Salad to go with our chicken.

I had peeked outside to see that our neighbor Coleman and his wife Sarah were chatting with Matt and the kids so I hollered out to see if they wanted to eat Bbq chicken with us. Elias and I finished putting the meal together, and we had a feast with our neighbors. :)

We had BBQ Chicken Legs, Mac and Cheese (that I’d picked up at Aldi that day), Fried Zucchini, and Salad.

Friday morning, I made a big batch of French Toast for breakfast.

Matt and Elias left to work on our rental house in York so Kelsey came to spend the day with the kids and me. There was no school that day so we had lots of fun plans. I started to roll out the Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies that I’d mixed up the day before and the kids took turns cutting out cookies to bake. (Ever made cut-out cookies with a bunch of eager children? Oy. This is how I do it and stay sane-ish.)

Mission accomplished.

Then we moved into the dining room to dye Easter Eggs. I’ll admit that this is not one of my favorite activities, but the kids love it so it’s worth it. The best part is seeing the kids’ reaction when I add vinegar to the little dye tablet in a cup. :)

The weather was beautiful so we packed a picnic and walked several blocks to a big park to eat and play.

Justus met us there, which was just the boost we needed after such a full morning with the kids at home.

We played and ate and ate and played, staying at the park for over two hours.

Our lunch was cheese, meat, crackers, artichoke dip, sweet potato chips, pear cups, avocado cups, and some mini-cookies that we’d baked that morning.

Keith is sooooo interested in all things construction so before I knew it he was way across the park visiting with “the workers” and trying to learn about what they were doing.

We were hot, hungry, and thirsty when we got home so I made a blender full of these Smoothies to cool everyone off and to give us nourishment.

Everyone continued to play outside the rest of the day, and look who found the big bottle of bubbles? Eh, they needed a bath anyway.

I cooked 28 hotdogs on our smoker that night, made a small pan of Baked Beans, and got out pickles for dinner. Justus, Kelsey, and I were all pretty tired by the end of this full day so we were all very happy to see Matt and Elias get back home!

Saturday morning Anna and Acacia helped me finish a project for Sunday morning.

The girls put stickers on baggies (I’d picked them up at a sidewalk sale that Delight Design was having last summer and decided that this was a great way to use them!). I put a decorated Easter cookie into each bag and the kids can hand them out at church tomorrow. :)

Our church was planning to walk around to homes in the neighborhood surrounding our building that morning so that we could invite people to join us for Easter. Our family decided to take part in this, hoping it would work with so many kids in tow. Before leaving, we had a simple Cereal and Fruit breakfast then I made Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches to take along since I didn’t know how long we’d be gone.

It was a chilly morning but it worked out pretty well for us to take this on. Our littlest four were in strollers and our friend Caitlyn was helping us. The kids took turns putting invitation cards on people’s porches as we walked from house to house.

Back at home, we finished our sandwiches and applesauce then had some Easter fun.

The rest of the evening was spent getting ready for Easter Sunday. I somehow managed to make a double batch of No Knead Yeast Rolls for Sunday’s Easter Dinner.

I browned several pounds of ground beef, saving half of it for another meal and turning the rest of it into Sloppy Joes for our dinner that evening.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024

March 3, 2024 by Laura 5 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024 post…

Big Family Food and Fun: February 25-March 2, 2024

Before sharing all about this week, I’ll back track to Saturday afternoon, Feb 24 as I spent a little bit of time getting ahead in the kitchen but didn’t have time to add these photos to this post.

While the baby was napping I made:

I had some really good help making the muffins. :)

There were a few Uncrustables leftover from our Saturday picnic so I baggied them up individually to grab and go as needed.

For lunch on Sunday, I baked one pan of the Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips I’d made the day before. We ate them with steamed broccoli and sweet potato crackers. :)

Meanwhile I’d been working to pack a bunch of picnic food for us to eat at a park after church that afternoon. (Just a few more weeks until we should be able to meet again in the mornings back at our repaired church building!)

This along with quite a few drinks (juice and sparkling water) that I packed filled three bags!

It was a piggy tail day for our four girls. :)

There were 24 of us that met at the park that day after church. It was so great that I want to do it every single Sunday that the weather allows. Post-church-potluck-picnics for the win!

Together we enjoyed turkey/ham/tuna sandwich options, oranges and apples, avocado and salsa, chips, drinks, and rice krispie bars.

Monday morning I cut our Simple Bran Muffins open, buttered them, then melted them in our air fryer. They are SO GOOD this way! We had them with yogurt and bananas.

Eva came over to help Matt, and Keith and I went to the Food Distribution site to help set up for the next day. Keith got to use a sharpie to make marks on all the UPC codes. Phew, if you give a kid a sharpie…

We came home and played outside with everyone before the preschool bus came for Anna and Keith. Eva snapped this photo of the little girlies. Yep, I had just redone yesterday’s pigtails for today…

It was so gorgeous that I carried plates of Corndog Bites (from Costco, a great find!), apples, and olives to the picnic table for the kids.

For dinner that night I made 2-pounds of whole wheat elbow noodles with 2-pounds of hamburger meat spaghetti sauce and served it with corn and spinach. I’ve found that elbow noodles are so much easier for our little ones to eat (compared to spaghetti noodles) and when I make them, they eat a ton (with butter and salt).

We ate outside and some of us ate with ear protection. ;)

Elias and Brayden had been out for their Bro Time and everyone was excited to see them when they pulled up!

Later that evening, the neighbors who had hosted a 50th Anniversary party Saturday stopped by with leftover fresh fruit and veggies that needed to get eaten quickly. They guessed we could probably help them out and they guessed correctly! (They also gave us a lovely package of ground sausage that she’d ordered by accident. Yep, we’ll eat that too.) So sweet that they thought of us!

For breakfast Tuesday morning I set out the pretty tray of fruit with sausage links and cottage cheese.

Brayden, Kiya, and I went to hand out food at the Food Distribution that afternoon so Elias and Matt warmed up Burritos from the freezer plus some Burrito Filling to eat with chips.

They sliced some avocado to go with it. This girl LOVES her avocado.

Matt had hung a hammock in our basement for the kids because we wanted to see if it would help with their sensory needs. So far so good, now that the initial excitement is over and we are no longer fighting over it. :/

Wednesday morning I scrambled 15 eggs and warmed up bacon I’d baked last week. Mid morning, I put what was left of the eggs plus two pieces of bacon into a sandwich for my “third breakfast” and it was SO GOOD. (My “first breakfast” was a Peanut Butter Honey Puff with coffee at 4:30 during my quiet time with God before all the hubbub of the day began. Around 7:00 I had a glass of Smoothie for my “second breakfast.” And by 10:00 I needed bacon, apparently.)

We got out a few hidden containers of toys this morning which was fun and engaging. It’s worth a mention that our days can be so long and challenging with this many littles who struggle to regulate (read: there’s a lot of screaming and tough behavior in our house every day). So when I upload these photos and look back at our days, I see a lot of goodness too. It’s hard to remember the good when we’re working so hard against the struggles. Thank you, God, for these sweet moments captured.

If you see anyone pouting in this photo, it’s because I insisted that she put on shoes to wear to school. Sometimes I can be entirely unreasonable. ;)

Brayden and Kiya had discovered the Tie Quilt Kits they’d gotten for Christmas last year and were excited to work on them after school.

For dinner that night, I made 5 cans worth of Tuna Salad and spread it onto 19 rolls. Brayden topped them with cheese and we put them into the oven to create Tuna Melts.

We had our Tuna Melts with Mixed Veggies, Tomato Soup, Strawberries with Chocolate Cream, and Chips with dip.

Justus joined us for dinner so he could give Brayden a piano lesson. Plus our friend Bruce was in town and joined us.

Thursday morning we were sending Matt and Malachi off to York to work on our properties for the day. So I declared it a cereal morning, plus I cut some apples to eat with peanut butter.

Since Malachi went to York (he had other business to take care of there so it made sense for him to work with Matt this time), Elias stayed behind to help me with the little ones. We stayed home all day (because Matt had our van in York), and I took advantage of the time to get caught up on three loads of laundry.

Keith had been asking to make Breakfast Cookies and this morning was a good time to make it happen. We doubled the recipe so we could freeze some.

He was having a very calm behavior day and I was able to keep him engaged in the kitchen with me for quite a while. He took pride in refilling my Oatmeal Container for me from our bulk package.

Then he helped me make a Chocolate Cake because I had spinach that needed to be used up.

Our Breakfast Cookies turned out great, though some of them crumbled because I didn’t have time to let them cool properly on the pan before transferring them. I needed my pans so I could make our pizzas for lunch!

We finished our baking projects and baked some pizzas in time to eat before the school bus came for Keith and Anna.

Once the Breakfast Cookies cooled I put half of them into our covered dish to serve for tomorrow’s breakfast. Then I put the other half into the freezer for another time.

After school that day, Kiya and Anna helped me turn our Spinach Cake into what was supposed to be a layered pudding cake.

Ah well. My idea didn’t go so well and it all fell apart. Somehow we still ate it though. ;)

Dinner before cake was Monday’s leftover spaghetti meal turned into a Casserole topped with cheese plus Steamed Broccoli.

Friday morning we followed a tip by reader Julie and went to a store here called Super Saver to check out the Mega Meat Sale they were advertising. Woot! We got some amazing prices on meat!

We discovered Popcorn Chicken and French Fries on sale there too. So Friday night that’s what we had for dinner for a “Mom’s Night Off.” I sliced some nectarines and pears to go with our two pans of chicken and three plates of fries (with meals like this we just keep making more in our air fryer until we’re all full). :)

Malachi had told me he would run over for dinner after the game he was filming. But I forgot, ha. So when he showed up it was a fun surprise!

Saturday morning I scrambled 15 eggs for breakfast and served them with fruit and Apple Bread that I’d pulled out of the freezer the night before. While I was at it, I put together the smoothie Matt and I drink every day so that we get enough greens without having to take time to eat salad. ;)

Justus and Kelsey came over and took six kids to Sensory Storytime at the library – joined by a friend of ours who had come to spend the weekend – while Matt and I took BabyBoy#11 to church for a special Child Dedication Brunch for the newest little ones.

Asa and Eva met us there to pray with us for our little guy. It was a beautiful, rich morning. And it was super relaxing because we only had one kiddo with us – wow. How great was it for us to share a table with our youngest and our oldest (and with the sweet mama with our grandbaby on the way). Sure, I cried. Most of the morning, actually. :)

Back at home, Justus, Kelsey, and our friend Kermit had fed the kids Sloppy Joes, Mac and Cheese, and Peas. Matt and I got home in time for me to turn right around and head out to watch some dear friends in a Homeschool Melodrama. Malachi had been a part of this during his last years in high school and oh how we’ve missed it! I got to enjoy the entire afternoon by myself, which was very much needed. Plus I got to see all kinds of wonderful friends and grab lots of hugs. Praise God for this!

I didn’t get any pictures yesterday, but here’s a flashback of “old man Malachi” in last year’s Melodrama.

Elias and Matt held down the fort while I was gone, played outside with the kids, and made frozen pizza for dinner.

And that was our week!

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Easy Meals for Christmas Break

December 25, 2022 by Laura 1 Comment

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The kids are home. They eat a lot. We need easy meals for Christmas break. Here are my ideas!

First, I know it’s cold outside but we’ve all been eating too much sugar, am I right? Let’s make everyone some spinach-filled smoothies. Yes, these have sugar in them too. But they also have spinach, so it’s a win. (Turn on a space heater while sipping these cold, but necessary, drinks!)

Kid-Friendly Spinach Smoothies (allllll my picky kids drink these!)
Parent Version (because we’re tough and need strength like Popeye)

If you drink these out of a Christmas Mug they taste better. Scientific fact.

Easy Meals for Christmas Break

Beyond the beloved smoothies, here are some meals my kids love and eat well when they play hard all day! By the way, have you found some good indoor places to take your kids to run around so they get their energy out even while it’s cold outside? Looking for ideas!

Here are meals our kids love:

1. Sloppy Joes