Heavenly Homemakers

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 19-25, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 19-25, 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, October 18

This particular Saturday evening was incredibly restful and refreshing for me. Matt had gone to York to celebrate a special event at York University. Our friends, the Cases, had helped us out by taking six of our kids to their house for a few hours. So that left just Auggie and me to hang out together.

He and I took a long, peaceful walk around our neighborhood.

We did some cleaning, and since it was just the two of us, the house actually stayed clean for longer than five minutes. Most of the adults in our household were gone for the evening also, so I didn’t need to cook dinner. It was a lovely night off.

When the kids got back home, Elias and Malorie helped me with baths, showers, and bedtime. Matt had a wonderful time catching up with many friends and I’m so glad he got to go have that time in York!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 19-25, 2025

Sunday morning, I set out our pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars and everyone dug in.

After church that day, Keith and Acacia helped our friend Matt load a tote full of pantry items into our van. Our goal this week was to walk to our church’s Little Free Pantry to fill it up for our neighbors.

There were 31 people gathered at our house for lunch that day. Keith’s favorite friend Sam was able to join us, which made the day so much sweeter. Sam is so good to pour love into Keith.

We had a wonderful buffet of Taco Soup, Potato Soup, Mexi Dip and Chips, Ham and Cheese Melts, and Fruit. Plus friends brought Pumpkin Cookies and Berry Cobbler for dessert.

After lunch, Matt got back up on the lift he’d rented to try and knock out more work on our roof. I’d arranged with friends to help me with the kids, and we loaded up to head back to church for a fun Pumpkin Palooza kids’ event.

Once there, everyone got a sack with a checklist of tasks, and we all got busy!

The kids got to paint pumpkins, make a sensory bag, create a pumpkin launcher, make a craft, and of course, make a s’more.

I feel so blessed by people so willing to help us with our kids’ needs. Auggie is slow to warm up to people, but Kaitlyn is gifted and won him over throughout the afternoon. This, along with other friends helping with other kids, freed me to actually enjoy time sitting and coloring with Anna as she worked on her craft.

Everyone worked as a team to clean up after the party. As you can see, there’s no way Ms. Mandy could have put this stack of chairs away without our three little girls helping her.

Back at home, Matt was still working on the lift, so throwing a box of frozen Taquitos into the oven was about all I could manage for our dinner. No matter. Everyone was fed and then slept well that night.

On Monday morning, Acacia and Josie had dentist appointments. They were excited going in, but then  quickly became nervous during their turns in the big chair. The dental hygienist was extremely patient with both of them and while the appointments took longer than we all originally thought they would take, we got them accomplished. NOTE: During times like this, I am so grateful for the answers and diagnoses we’ve received for our kids this year. This helps me know better how to talk to and care for our kids. It also helps me explain their special needs to professionals so that our kids have a better chance at remaining calm.

Matt worked on the lift all day. I had a meeting with our kids’ BCBA – the gal who puts Keith, Anna, and Auggie’s ABA therapy programs together for their behavior technicians to work on each day. The kids are making progress (well, not Anna – she’s between technicians right now and we are praying a new one comes aboard soon!). We talked through upcoming plans and goals as we keep moving forward.

When the kids got home from school, everyone was excited to watch Daddy move the lift to a new location.

I had bananas that needed to be turned into something, but alas, I was down to only 3 eggs in our entire house. I had thought for sure I had another box of 5-dozen in our basement fridge. Oops. Nope. But not to worry…I made a double batch of Angela’s Egg-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies. This was a perfect solution and my kids were very excited!

Meanwhile, Elias picked up some eggs for me on his way home after his workout that evening. Phew. That’ll get us through until I can get to the store.

For dinner that night, I had put 17 potatoes into our crock pot to bake all day. Just before picking kids up from school, I browned meat and seasoned it. We had Taco Potatoes, fixed to each person’s liking, plus I made a bowl of Caesar Salad.

During ABA therapy that evening, I worked on sorting clothes down in our laundry room. I pulled out summer shorts and shirts and switched them out with fall pants and sweatshirts. I didn’t finish the job, because this is a BIG JOB. But I made progress, and at least felt like our kids would have a few outfits to wear this week with the weather becoming cooler.

The best find in our totes: footie pajamas for Acacia. She has never been able to wear anything like this because of her need to sleep in a brace every night for five years. We had to get her jammies that didn’t have feet in them – otherwise they wouldn’t fit right. Her putting on footie pajamas wasn’t that big of a deal to her that night. But Matt and I sure felt pleased. :)

On Tuesday morning, Eva and Arrow came over to help me while Matt got back on the lift to work. He cut down some limbs, and Auggie felt that it was his job to drag them over to our growing stick pile.

Little Sweetheart was with us all day, so she and Arrow had some good chats.

That afternoon, I took Brayden and Kiya to hand out food and clean up at our weekly Food Distribution. Well over 100 people went through the food line that day and were served.

Back at home, Matt was feeding everyone dinner. I had smoked 24 Brats during the afternoon before I left, and Matt warmed up leftover Baked Beans. We had a few chips and pickles too. :)

I put together an Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole to bake the next morning. It felt good to get this done before bedtime!

I baked it bright and early the next morning. Keith thought it smelled so good that he got way too close to the dish and made me scared that he’d burn his face. Oy.

We’d run out of Breakfast Sandwiches, so while the casserole was baking, I also baked 18 eggs. Then I put together 24 sandwiches.

We had an intense morning planned, so I’d canceled all of our typical Wednesday “regularly scheduled programming.” Then our plans were all suddenly canceled, completely freeing up the morning. Phew, ok then.

Matt and I regrouped and after we got the kids to school, we loaded up Acacia, Josie, and Auggie to get our weekly shopping knocked out. I ran into Wal-Mart to get a few items while Matt stayed in the van with the kids. Then, he dropped the girls and I at Sam’s while he and Auggie went into Menards.

I told the girls that if they were sweet shoppers, we’d have time to look at the sparkly Christmas trees when we were done.

They’d finished the snacks we’d brought, so they dug into a container of Raspberries as we were heading out. They shared with Auggie once we got back into the van – and by the time we got home, we’d finished the entire container.

I’d scored 11+ pounds of hamburger meat marked down at Wal-Mart. So I browned it all with plans to bag it up and freeze it for easy meals.

For dinner that night, I’d “dumped sauce on some chicken legs” and baked them for an hour. I made Three Cheese Spaghetti and Steamed Broccoli to go with it, and it was a delicious feast!

I had some spinach that was getting wilty in the fridge, so Anna and Josie helped me make Spinach Cupcakes.

We ate some of them that night before bed, then more for breakfast on Thursday. Meanwhile, I had four overripe bananas that needed to be used. So super early on Thursday morning, Auggie helped me turn them into 48 mini Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Anna and Acacia stumbled in and wanted to help too.

Then we had both Spinach Cupcakes and Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins to pick from. At our house though, we can never have too many muffins.

Eva and Arrow came over for the morning again to help me while Matt got up on the lift to work. They were awesome to stop at Hy-Vee and pick up my WIC order on their way, which was super helpful! Arrow sat in the midst of Lolli’s messy pantry with all the WIC food plus some of Wednesday’s Sam’s groceries that hadn’t been put away yet.

Little Sweetheart was with us all day too, and mid-morning, it warmed up enough that we were all able to go outside to play.

Little Sweetheart wanted a ride in the stroller, and Big Girl Acacia got permission to push her slowly and carefully on the sidewalk.

That night, knowing that Matt would still be outside working when the kids got home from school during my dinner prep time – I slid Chicken Strips into the oven for ease. We turned them into Chicken Sandwiches with a variety of sauces and spreads and had them with Lettuce, Grapes, and Oranges.

On Friday morning, Acacia had Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy.

That night was chilly outside, which made Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup a perfect dinner.

Saturday morning, Keith was in dire need of high protein snacks. I’d made muffins this week, but I didn’t have any of our typical peanut butter snacks on hand to meet his “I need food and I need it now” times of they day. (This isn’t Keith’s fault – it’s the way his brain and body are wired. He struggles at meal time, can’t always wait to eat until meal time, and in general often needs a good snack to help him with transitions.)

So, I made a double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies and a huge batch of Chewy Granola Bars to have on hand. The adults in the house like all these too, so none of this will last long!

We loaded up all the kids at 8:50 that morning and headed to Sensory Friendly Storytime. After the program, Ms. Diane got out awesome sensory toys for everyone to enjoy.

We had some extra time, so we went into the main library area for about 45 minutes before heading home.

Back at home, we warmed up leftovers for lunch. I spent some time working on Sunday’s Lunch, which was to be a Pie Party! I had made a big Chicken Pot Pie Friday night to bake on Sunday. The girls helped me make Cheesecake, Quiche, and Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie after their lunch on Saturday.

I then got caught up on dishes and finished this post! And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 12-18, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 12-18, 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, October 11

Heartlands Church had its annual Harvest Festival on Saturday evening, so we went to join the fun! Some of our neighbors joined us there, making it extra meaningful.

When Asa, Eva, and Arrow arrived they stole the show for a moment because they were all in their flannels looking SO CUTE. Little Sweetheart made the moment even sweeter as she toddled over as fast as she could to greet Arrow.

A meal was served, there were firepits with s’more fixings, and Heart Shot Ministry was there. Our kids love the chance to do archery!

Asa talked me into giving it a try, and Eva grabbed a photo!

Our kids enjoyed getting their faces painted!

The night was special and sweet, for sure.

Big Family Food and Fun: October 12-18, 2025

On Sunday morning, we ate our traditional plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

The girls got to be Super Kids during Kids Ministry time and our friend Klaire sent this sweet picture to me!

Last week had been so full of appointments and meetings that I hadn’t been able to prep for a big Sunday Lunch like normal. So what did we do? We fell back on the amazing Rotisserie Chickens from Sam’s as our main dish and asked everyone to bring sides! This is such a great way to host guests and enjoy a delicious meal with very little effort!

There were 22 of us gathered that day and we went through 2.5 Rotisserie Chickens along with Baked Beans, Corn, Green Beans, Grapes, Pears, Rolls, Caesar Salad, Chips, and Desserts.

The evening was pretty chill. We ate leftovers from the fridge and played in our yard until the sun went down.

On Monday morning, we had a day off school for Fall Break. I got out some leftover Pancakes from our fridge and let the kids cut them into pumpkins for breakfast.

We loaded everyone up to spend a beautiful day at the zoo. The weather was perfect – which means that the Red Panda came out to play.

I always say that the Red Pandas are my favorite (because they are soooo cute). But we all know that the Flamingos are my favorite favorite.

I’d cooked hotdogs and put them on buns before we left, then put them into a freezer bag and then into an insulated bag. Our hotdogs were warm and perfect at lunchtime! We had them with apples, almonds, chips, and applesauce.

We spend a long while in the Dino Dig before visiting the camels, birds, penguins, and sea otters. Then we made our way back to our van to get Auggie home for a nap.

Malachi met up with us at home after a video shoot, just in time to leave again for another job. This one was just a few blocks away at a nearby park with a UNL Volleyball player. Matt loaded up the kids to head to the park to watch Malachi work. (He often gets contracted to create ads with university athletes who are sponsored by specific companies. He’s met a lot of fun people doing this!)

We’d been able to watch part of last weekend’s volleyball game on TV, so Kiya and Keith were extra excited to see this athlete in person. Keri was sweet enough to take a picture with some of our kids! Then Matt got them out of the way so that Malachi and Keri could do what they actually came to do. :)

I’d used the rotisserie chicken bones from Sunday to make broth that morning. So that night for dinner, we enjoyed our very first Chicken Noodle Soup of the season.

Tuesday, the kids had one last day of school off for Fall Break. I had reserved a slot for our family at the Bee Me Sensory Gym and we showed up right at opening time. This place is sooooo great!

I’m fascinated by all that this gym offers – for any kid – but very specifically for special needs kids. This isn’t just a play place but a facility that has been created to provide kid with sensory needs with both stimulation and calm.

 

We played until lunchtime, then took the kids across the street to Costco to treat them to a special lunch. Oy, feeding our kids this way takes a special level of patience. It isn’t their fault, there’s just a lot of them and they all have a hard time sitting still. We survived, bellies got filled, and I think they all thought this was a lot of fun. How many napkins did we go through? Too many napkins.

We were getting low on diapers at home, so after we cleaned up our very big lunch mess, we trekked everyone to the back of the store to pick up two boxes.

We then headed back across the street to the Sensory Gym to take advantage of our day pass. Was it Auggie’s naptime? It was. But did he push through for an extra fun hour? He did.

Back at home, Auggie slept while kids played outside. Then I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Keith found a notebook and colored pencils lying around so he drew pictures while we waited for clients to come through the line.

I had thrown Meatballs into a crock pot with barbecue sauce before leaving. Matt warmed up Green Beans and baked a Potato Casserole that our friend Rebecca had made.

On Wednesday morning, I put together a few Breakfast Sandwiches to freeze and take to friends who just had a new baby.

Josie had an eye specialist appointment that morning. She was a trooper as we were there for quite a while – plus she had to have her eyes dilated.

At least she got some cool shades to take home with her! And she got a diagnosis – nothing serious – but something to watch as she gets older to evaluate for the need for surgery. We’ll go back every six months to monitor her vision and eye movement/tracking.

We got home in time for Acacia and Josie to get on the school bus. Then Auggie hopped in with me for a big grocery trip at Aldi.

Dinner that night was simple: Ham, Mac and Cheese, and Peas.

I had some bananas that either needed to go into the freezer or be turned into Banana Muffins. The muffin idea seemed to be the better one:

On Thursday morning, I baked several pans of bacon like this to prepare for a big Breakfast For Dinner that evening.

Matt rented a lift for a week so that he could do some work on our roof and gutters. This has been a major source of excitement for our kids. We sat in the stroller and watched the show for a while after we got home from dropping kids off at school.

My dad and his wife, Tacy, came for the day!! We invited all the kids over for dinner so that they could spend time with them and so that Papa and Grandma could see their great grandbabies.

We doubled this gathering to also be Kiya’s birthday dinner since we were all together anyway. She chose breakfast food, so we had a fantastic feast of Pancakes, Egg Casserole, Sausage, Bacon, and Fruit.

Friday morning, I took Acacia to Speech and Physical therapies.

It was Kiya’s 10th birthday and with the significance of her turning double digits, we had a small party for her. Three friends came over to watch a movie and I put together a Party Tray. They munched and watched – it was super simple. But the girls had a great time!

Kiya requested Oreo Brownies for her birthday dessert. Those were a hit too!

Saturday morning, I realized that I didn’t have any Breakfast Cookie Bars in the freezer for the next day. So I made a big pan full.

Kelsey texted that she was at a park with Little Sweetheart, and since Matt’s been trying to get as much work done on the lift as possible, I loaded up the kids by myself to meet her there. It was beautiful outside and we were able to stay and play for a little over two hours!

We came home and ate leftovers for lunch. Then our friends John and Christina came and picked up our kids (everyone except for Auggie, who was napping) to take them to their house for the afternoon. AMAZING.

I finished this post and then I did nothing while Auggie napped. This was such a needed time of rest and I thank God for it!

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 5-11, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 5-11, 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, October 4

Keith had his last soccer game of the season Saturday afternoon. Elias and Malorie hopped in with us to watch. It was warm and windy that day, and Keith scored several goals. Here’s the wind blowing Keith’s fan club back to the van after the game…

Matt and I had been holding on to some Freddy’s ice cream freebies that the kids had earned from their Summer Library Reading Challenge and we decided to use them to celebrate Keith’s final game. Having Elias and Malorie there to help was perfect, plus we went during a Husker Football game time, which meant that NO ONE was out and about. Half of Lincoln was at the game and the other half was home watching the game. This is the culture of Lincoln.

So we had Freddy’s to ourselves, which was perfect for our crew! We enjoyed our dessert before dinner. What a great way to launch into Sabbath!

Back at home, the kids colored on their pumpkins that they’d picked out that morning at the Pumpkin Patch.

While we were outside, our neighbor John dropped off three bags of apples from his family’s property plus this beautiful bouquet of flowers from his brother’s yard.

Bonus Buddy got dropped off to spend the night with us, which was special! We played volleyball in the back yard while we waited to get hungry again since we had ruined our dinner with ice cream. Look! Even Josie joined us. :) :) :)

Dinner was this very exciting crock pot of Frozen Meatballs that I’d slow cooked during the afternoon with BBQ sauce. Then it was bath and bedtime!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 5-11, 2025

Sunday morning, we dug into a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars while we got ready for church.

Sometimes the “Church Cat” wants to fellowship after worship. The kids enjoyed some time petting him?her? as we headed to to van.

We had an amazing crowd of 47 people for lunch at our house that day! It was our friend Cindy’s birthday, so her husband had worked behind the scenes with us to invite people to make the day extra special.

We had Smoked Chicken, Smoked Pork Loin, four varieties of Potatoes that people brought, Rolls, Corn, and Baked Beans.

 

For dessert, we enjoyed Apple Berry Crisp, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, and Frosted Pumpkin Bars.

It was the most wonderful feast with such an amazing group of people gathered.

People trickled away after lunch and some stayed to visit until after 4:00. It was truly an amazing afternoon.

I baked three frozen pizzas for dinner that night and was very ready for bed after we got the kids down.

Monday morning after we got all the bigger kids to school, the three littlest stayed home with Matt while I went to have a consultation with a Psychologist we’ve been working with to help Josie. After weeks of evaluations, assessments, and testing – Josie received her diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder.

If you’re counting, that’s now five of our kids (so far) who have been diagnosed with ASD.

Are we surprised? No. Once Auggie got his diagnosis back in February and we started taking our other kids in one or two at a time for assessments, we started digging in to really learn what Autism Spectrum Disorder can look like and how to better parent kids whose brains are neurodivergent. The spectrum is very broad, and autism is genetic. All of our younger kids are related to one another. So many of their challenging needs, behaviors, and meltdowns can be explained by their ASD diagnoses, and the trauma they’ve experienced makes their needs even more complex. But…

GOD IS BIGGER an He is at work in us and through us. Having these answers and diagnoses helps provide our kids with much needed resources. We are very thankful.

After my meeting with the psychologist, I went straight to Costco. It only makes sense that I’d have a big, life changing appointment with a doctor, and then go immediately to the store to buy ketchup, right? Bah. Well, Costco was on my route home, we needed groceries, and Matt and I had plans to process the information together later in the afternoon after the girls were at preschool and Auggie was napping.

For dinner that night, I set out a Taco Bar with Seasoned Meat, White Queso, Shredded Cheese, Spinach, Tomatoes, Guacamole, Salsa, Rice, Black Beans, Corn, Chips, and Tortillas. We also had Raspberries that I’d picked up at Costco that day.

Tuesday morning, we baked a batch of Chocolate Muffins with Hidden Spinach. By the time I remembered to take a picture, little hands had already dug in…

I used some of the apples our neighbor gave us to make three loaves of Apple Bread. This made the house smell incredible!

Little Sweetheart came over to spend the day with us. Acacia found a box of cookies I’d gotten as a treat from Azure Standard and I said “yes” to them as a snack for the girls because they are pretty healthy. The kids were thrilled!

I took Brayden and Kiya to our weekly Food Distribution that afternoon, but I forgot to take any pictures. We got home and enjoyed a crock pot of Chili and one of Ham and Potato Soup.

We also had Grapes, Pickle, and Olives – plus we’d brought home Blackberries and Strawberries from Food Distribution that were leftover at the end and needed to be eaten asap.

Just before the kids’ bedtime, five from Malorie’s family arrived for the night! We’d been looking forward to this and had gotten rooms shuffled around and ready for all of them.

They had driven all day long and were weary travelers. The plan was for them to eat dinner and spend the night here, then Malorie would hop in with them the next morning as they all traveled on to celebrate Malorie’s brother’s graduation from Boot Camp. I barely know Malorie’s brother, but I’m ridiculously proud of him. I can’t imagine the pride all of his family feels.

Our guests had bowls of soup and we visited a while before getting everyone settled in for the night. Then they were off again bright and early the next day.

Keith helped me make another batch of muffins on Wednesday morning. This time it was Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

I’d put together an Egg Casserole with Hashbrowns the night before and baked it early that morning for our breakfast.

Malorie’s mom had picked up some great clothing for the kids at a thrift store in their area. The girls discovered the bucket of clothes on Wednesday morning and had a grand time trying on “new” outfits!

Mid-morning, I packaged up the Flourless Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins that I’d made earlier along with a container of fruit to send with Brayden that evening. He was in charge of taking snacks to his Youth Group event and these are his favorite muffins. (The next day, he informed me that I must make these for his group again because everyone loved them! For reference, I sent 48 muffins and only 7 came home. Success.)

Arrow came to hang out on Wednesday morning. He helped finish off the Chocolate Muffins with Hidden Spinach that I’d made the day before. This boys LOVES his muffins.

As the girls were getting ready for the school bus, they requested that I take their pictures.

Josie was playing some sort of hand instrument and dancing to her own beat. Beautiful music!

That afternoon, I had another big meeting at Brayden’s school to continue to help work out his education needs. It’s been an extremely tough transition for him going from elementary school to middle school. He has pushed through this challenge and has learned more about advocating for himself and we are very proud of him for his hard work. We’d been in touch with the school multiple times, and they did try to help. But at this meeting, I was insistent that we needed some big changes to address his big needs. Thankfully, all the powers that be listened to me and we spent an hour and a half creating a brand new plan and schedule for him that will hopefully be much less stressful and meet him where he is.

Phew. What a week. And it was only Wednesday.

For dinner that night I made a double batch of Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip. Some ate it with chips, some ate it with pasta to turn it into Spicy Mac and Cheese. And some of our kids simply had a plate full of noodles with butter and salt. Whatever fills their bellies, I’ve learned to be happy with.

Thursday morning, I baked a double recipe of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies to package up for grab-and-go lunches.

Little Sweetheart hung out with us all day. She helped Acacia with her backpack as we waited for the bus.

Auggie has become very picky (food aversions are normal with ASD) and we’ve had a hard time getting him to eat many actual meal-type foods. I had warmed myself a bowl of Ham and Potato Soup to eat outside while we waited for the bus, and he thought it looked pretty good. I gave him bites and he kept coming back for more. Finally, Matt made him his own bowl and he sat on the steps gobbling it up. This was worth documenting!

That night, I made Pancakes, Sausage, Bacon, and Sliced Oranges for dinner. This meal was a big hit with the entire household!

I made time to play some volleyball with Kiya and Brayden that night while several of the other kids were having ABA therapy. Just before heading upstairs for the night, I wrapped up 18 Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies to put into our extra fridge.

When we put the kids to bed that night, we put on Acacia’s brace for the very last time. THIS IS SUCH A BIG DEAL!!

Here’s a picture of this tiny baby girl wearing her brace for the very first time five years ago (plus a precious bonus shot of Baby Keith feeding his sister). Acacia was born with a club foot and went through lots of casting, a small surgery, and six months of wearing her brace for 23-hours every day. At age six months, she moved to only wearing her brace at night for 12 hours, and she’s been wearing it every night since.

Thursday night was her final night to wear it and we celebrated!

Friday morning Acacia started her very full day of appointments with Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy.

At 2:45, Matt, Auggie, and I went to the school auditorium to see Kiya receive an award! I snuck out right after to pull Acacia out of school for an Orthopedic Specialist appointment.

This is the appointment where the doctor cleared her from using her braces ever again – woohoo!

I’d hardly been home all day, but dinner well under control! Malachi had had a video shoot the night before in Omaha and Raising Cane’s was a sponsor. After his work, they’d sent him home with all the leftovers, and it was a lot of chicken! This turned into a huge treat for all of us and a night off for Mom. Perfect!

Saturday morning, we went to Sensory Friendly Library Story Time. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart met us there.

When we were playing later, some of the kids had some emotional struggles so the very awesome Ms. Diane brought out the bubble machine. This calmed everyone – even the grown ups. I love this story time and Ms. Diane sooooo much!

From the library, we went to one of our favorite parks. Keith had been begging to try his new “bike tricks” at this skate park (one of his latest obsessions), and we wanted to check out the cool new feature that had just been built. Apparently, this is the world’s first Fitblock Outdoor Gym. It’s pretty cool!

We spent almost three hours at the park running, riding, and playing.

Lunch was simple: Ham Sandwiches, Cheese, Clementines, Pears, Almonds, and Granola Bars.

We spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for Sunday, and we went to a Harvest Festival at church. I’ll share more about that next 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: September 28-October 4, 2025

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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: September 28-October 4, 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 27

Keith had a soccer game Saturday afternoon. He is such a go-getter out on the field and really focuses in. It’s precious to watch.

On the sidelines that day, we had an All-You-Can-Eat Clementine Feast.

Back at home, we took care of some much needed hair cuts. Auggie was first, then Brayden. Once I put on the cape, Auggie went into “the zone.” I set up my phone against a rock to prop it up and he was privileged to watch Ms. Rachel during his hair cut.

He did awesome and we got the job done! I still couldn’t get him to smile for me though. :)

I don’t have any pictures of this, but I wanted to mention that Kiya has been very into Volleyball lately. She’d been bumping a ball around during hair cut time, and Matt and Keith joined her. Then, after I was finished with haircuts, Matt hung out with Auggie while I got to bump the ball for a while with Kiya and Keith. Much to our delight, Brayden jumped into our circle. We all had a lot of fun – and I share this because I’m so thankful that God gave us those minutes to play. There’s so much “fight” in our kids that there’s often not a lot of “fun.” God provided that volleyball time to bond us together in a new way, and it was soooo great. I often pray that Matt and I can truly enjoy our kids. We so badly want to enjoy our kids. Those moments with the volleyball were very enjoyable. Thank you, God.

Dinner was a little bit late that night because I had chosen to play. Worth.It. We quickly threw together Meat and Cheese Melts, Salad, and Green Beans.

Big Family Food and Fun: September 28-October 4, 2025

Here’s Auggie, bright and early on Sunday morning, enjoying Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We had an extra fun Sunday Lunch that day, honoring our friend Christina, who loves potatoes. I decided that we’d have a Potato Party and asked guests to bring their favorite potato dishes. :)

I made Tator Tot Casserole and Spicy Ham and Potato Soup. Christina made Sweet Potato Potato Enchiladas and a Spanish Tortilla. Cindy brought Funeral Potatoes. Was it a carb overload? Sure. But it was fun and on Sabbath, we feast!

Christina brought Pies and I made Spinach Cake for dessert. So see? We had veggies with our meal. ;)

There were 28 of us gathered for lunch that day.

Matt and I enjoyed our Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. Then Acacia helped me put Frozen Pizzas in the oven.

On Monday, when we got the kids to school, this is what “hurry and lock up your bikes and let’s get you into your class lines” looked like. I always wonder why I ever even tell the kids to “hurry” because it is 0% ineffective.

After school that day, Brayden made it home a few minutes before the others. While I was out picking up the elementary kids with Auggie, Matt took advantage of his short one-on-one time with Brayden to play some Catan Junior.

Dinner that night was simple: Chicken Salad with Crackers or Bread options, Spinach, Pickles, and Boiled Eggs.

On Tuesday morning, Little Sweetheart came over for the day. We spent a lot of time outside watering trees and grass, playing…and ruining our clothes.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution. Keith stayed home with Matt this time because his nervous system has been struggling more and going from school to Food Distribution to ABA therapy has led to extra melt downs. So we gave him some time off this week.

Before I left for the afternoon, I had put together a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole and got Banana Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from the freezer to thaw. Matt baked the casserole while we were gone, and our household gobbled this up.

On Wednesday morning, Acacia and Auggie helped me wash potatoes and carrots to put into the crockpot for dinner.

Arrow came to spend the morning with us. I have yet to find anything cuter than a toddler in overalls.

For dinner, we had Pork Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes made in the Crock Pot. We adults loved this! The kids were half and half on feeling like this was edible, so I made some PB and Honey Sandwiches for those who refused to eat this or who only ate a little and didn’t get full.

Thursday morning, Keith rolled out of bed looking like this. The night before, he’d discovered a duffle bag full of Soccer Referee gear that had been used by Matt and our four older boys back in York. This is now Keith’s chosen career path.

That morning, I baked a double batch of Pumpkin Bars and a recipe of Bran Muffins baked into Mini-Sized Muffins.

We had Apple Crisp and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream planned for our Sunday Lunch dessert. So I got started on the first of several rounds of ice cream.

Kiya had requested Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars. So I made those too!

Little Sweetheart came to spend the day with us again. Josie had taken a basket full of random items outside, and Sweetheart helped her sort through them.

After the girls left for school and the babies were napping, I cut the Pumpkin Bars and separated them onto two plates – one to freeze and one to serve for breakfast the next day.

Dinner that night was super simple since I’d been baking to get ahead in other ways. I’d picked up a big bag of Teriyaki Chicken at Sam’s so I thawed it and heated it. I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to go with it plus steamed some Broccoli.

On Friday morning, I baked four pans of Bacon to get ahead and to have for dinner that night.

Acacia had Speech Therapy.

Then we moved into a Physical Therapy session. These are both challenging for Acacia, and she’s pretty worn out after back-t0-back therapies. But she’s making good progress, and we’re proud of her hard work.

Our entire household had been passing around a cold but it hasn’t been too bad. Josie, though, got knocked down a little bit harder with hers. She ended up missing two days of school this week. She fell asleep during the afternoon on Friday, and I captured this beautiful, sweet picture of her.

That afternoon/evening, I attempted to get ahead for Sunday’s needs. It was a little bit hectic, but then again, it always is. :) Keith and Auggie had ABA therapy. (Anna has been taking a very long ABA break as we wait for a new technician to come on board for her therapy needs.) I baked a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars for upcoming Sunday breakfasts.

Anna sat in the kitchen with me while I worked and did her “homework.”

Earlier in the afternoon, I’d put Marinated Chicken and a Pork Loin on the smoker to cook for Sunday’s lunch.

With our smoker already full of meat, I baked Hamburgers for our dinner. Some people built Bacon Cheeseburgers with the bacon I’d prepped earlier in the day. I air fried some French fries and got out pickles to go with our burgers.

It was at that point Elias saw that our smoker had run out of pellets and the Pork Loin was no longer cooking. Boo. Thankfully, it was done enough, so I pulled it off, knowing I’d cook it a little bit more on Sunday morning before lunch.

After dinner, Matt took Anna and Acacia to a birthday party. Those of us who stayed back home finished therapy and kitchen clean up.

During one of Auggie’s therapy-work breaks, he helped me make one more batch of Ice Cream for Sunday. It was a very full day and bedtime felt good that night!

Saturday morning, I put together a Apple Berry Crisp to bake the next morning for Sunday’s Lunch dessert. Here’s the pan before I added the oat crumble topping:

We’d discovered a free Pumpkin Patch nearby, so we loaded up to check it out. This spot was perfect for our family!

It was a small space with a jump pad, goats and chickens to enjoy, and a field full of pumpkins we could stroll through.

This Pumpkin Patch is the opposite of many that we have looked into for our kids – not overstimulating, not scary, no chance of losing kids in the crowd. The weather was beautiful, the other families who were there were roaming around calmly and sharing their goat food with us…it was a lovely morning.

Did we still have some screaming episodes and kiddo neediness? Yes. That comes with the territory for us. But overall, this was a wonderful setting for us to enjoy time with our kids and it provided a “Pumpkin Patch” experience for them that was just right.

Did I mention that it was FREE? We just paid for some goat food and the pumpkins that we choose. We bought several pumpkins to bring home because were happy to support the people that provided such a low key and fun outing for us!

I had packed some snacky lunch foods and distributed them to the kids once they were buckled into the van and had washed their hands with wet wipes, ha. We ate salami, cheese, applesauce, bananas, chips, and buttered bagels.

Back at home, Auggie napped while we transitioned toward getting ready for Keith’s final soccer game for the season, then started our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 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 20

I have a lot to share from last Saturday!

We went to our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Storytime that morning. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart met us there. That baby big girl sat in one of the big kid chairs just like she is one of the big kids. It was soooo sweet.

Auggie has come such a long way and is really growing in confidence. This story time has very specific songs and routines each time, and Auggie knows them all now. By the end of the session, he’d made his way up to stand next to Ms. Diane and helped her lead the Goodbye Song.

We got home and fed the kids leftovers for lunch. Then we loaded up our wagon with canned and boxed food, got on bikes, and headed to fill up our closest Little Free Pantry. This was an extra special adventure because we let everyone, including the littlest kids, ride a bike. They did amazing!

So many times when we are at the pantry putting in food, a community member stops by. This happened again on this day, and we loved handing him a bag and telling him to take what he needed before we even put it into the pantry box.

Keith had a soccer game that afternoon.

The rest of the day was spent with our new friends Liz and Trinity. They are students at York University and we have family and friend connections with them that go way back. In August when we heard that they were at York, we sent them a message to come visit us in Lincoln sometime if they ever needed a little college break/getaway. They took us up on this offer and we are so glad they did!

I had asked what they were hungry for and what they wanted to do. Their reply? “Is it ok with we have a baking day??” Oh girls. You have come to the right place!

While we were at soccer, they worked on their laundry and got started on their baking. We came home to the smell of Pumpkin Muffins and Oatmeal Cookies.

I Smoked Chicken for our dinner that night plus Steamed Green Beans and sliced Nectarines.

Our time with Liz and Trinity was lovely, and of course our kids loved the extra love and attention.

Big Family Food and Fun: September 21-27, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church. Our morning with the kids was incredibly rough, so being with church family all day long was so very good and needed. We are so thankful for all the care and support we receive from so many dear ones.

Lunch was lovely, with 38 of us gathered for a Brunch-Themed lunch. I had made a huge Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, several pounds of Bacon, and a large pan of Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole. Friends brought Fruit, Blueberry Coffee Cake, and Bagels and Lox. This was such a fun feast!

In fact, this meal went over so well that we ran out of Egg Casserole, Bacon, and French Toast – so I quickly scrambled a skillet full of Cheesy Eggs and heated up Sausage Patties so that Elias, Malachi, Malorie, and I could eat, ha! I love seeing food disappear while friends are gathered.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon while the kids watched a movie in the basement. Then, it was Block Party time! We’d worked together with a few neighbors to organize this, and our kid were very much looking forward to it! The street got blocked off, we set up tables, and many people gathered to enjoy a potluck feast. Our kids loved riding their bikes in the street – something we don’t let them do on the regular. We got to know neighbors better and met new friends. It was wonderful!

When I checked my phone after the party, I had texts and pictures from both Eva and Kelsey. Kelsey had made a pot of Turkey Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth.

And Eva had made Pizza with Stir and Pour Pizza Crust. She makes the crust ahead and stores them in the freezer for their Sunday dinners. This time she made a Buffalo Cream Cheese Chicken Pizza. Aren’t my daughters-in-law amazing?!

On Monday morning, I looked through all my Pumpkin Recipes for something fun and fall-ish for breakfast. I decided to make Pumpkin Waffles – and they were a hit!

I decided that afternoon to give myself some rest. Sunday had been very full – very good, but very full. Our days are hard. I was feeling emotional and drained. So Monday afternoon I rested. I even fell asleep! This was life-giving.

There’s a nursing home on our route home from school. Every few months, they bring out some of the residents to hand out treats to school kids as they are walking/biking home. This is such a precious thing they do, and today they were handing out cups of lemonade. Our kids enjoyed sipping on their cup while I engaged with some of the men and women who were providing the fun for our kids.

Dinner that night was a little bit more involved than usual. I had picked up a lot of Hamburger Patties on sale after Labor Day, so I turned some of them into Hamburger Steaks (using this recipe/method). I had made Mashed Potatoes in my Crock Pot, and I even made Gravy (similar to this recipe). I also made Steamed Peas, which aren’t pictured here because this meal took too many steps and by the time I took a picture, I’d already fed half of us and the peas were gone. :) Was this meal worth the effort? YES. Will I do it again soon? Ha. Nope. Too many kids and too much ABA therapy happening during dinner time, etc, etc.

Worth noting: I made 36 small Hamburger Steaks. There were three left at the end of the evening.

Tuesday morning, I made 48 Mini Pumpkin Muffins.

Little Sweetheart came for the day.

I baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice, then turned it into a big skillet full of Taco Rice Dinner for our evening meal.

I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution. This week went much better than last week, thankfully.

On Tuesday afternoon, I’d mixed up a double batch of Low Sugar Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies. I didn’t have a chance to roll and bake them until Wednesday morning. If you have a chance – make these cookies. They are only lightly sweetened and taste so amazing with coffee or tea in the fall!

Wednesday morning, I also put together 14 Breakfast Sandwiches with buns and cooked eggs that I’d brought home from Food Distribution the day before.

Arrow spent the morning with us on Wednesday!

That afternoon, I went to Sam’s and Wal-Mart for more groceries. Every time I fill a cart to overflowing I think, “well, that should last us a while.” Hahaha, oh Laura. Stop saying that.

That night for dinner, I made 30 Bacon Cheddar Brats. We ate them with Baked Beans, Pickles, and Raspberries.

On Thursday, Little Sweetheart was here for the day again. We played outside for a long time and had a snack of Carrot Zucchini Muffins that I’d thawed from the freezer.

For dinner, I made two pans of Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips, plus Steamed Broccoli. I also used our griddle to toast a loaf of Buttered Brioche Bread.

Friday morning, we played in our back parking space after we got home from dropping kids off from school. Matt pitched some balls to the girls who attempted to swing the bat. Acacia found our neighbor’s baseball helmet to wear, for ultimate baseball safely, of course.

Later in the morning, Josie and Auggie stayed behind with Matt while I took Acacia to Physical Therapy. She normally has Speech Therapy first, but that session was canceled for the morning, so she got to use all of her energy at PT instead.

Back at home, Josie posed for Matt by our neighbor’s flowers for a sweet picture. (Our neighbors are all awesome – we basically share yards/porches/driveways/everything. We are so thankful!)

I had baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice, plus steamed a pan of Green Beans.

That afternoon, I turned the rice and green beans into the beginnings of Tator Tot Casserole for our upcoming Sunday lunch.

Friday evening was a bit hectic. We’d taken our small car to the shop and it needed to be picked up. Keith and Auggie were in the middle of their evening ABA sessions and Elias was here to be the “responsible adult present.” Brayden was having some Bro Time with Malachi. So Matt and I loaded up the four girls to go pick up the car.

Alas, the repair attempt was unsuccessful and the car overheated for Matt on the way home. Meanwhile, I’d made it home with the girls and started feeding them a lukewarm dinner that I’d started before leaving. Everyone was very hungry so they didn’t care about the less-than-ideal food temp. So-so Nuggets, Fries, and Rings for the win.

Keith had big plans for the evening! You might remember that I’ve mentioned his special relationship to a teenage church friend, Sam. Sam is a senior and that night was his final home football game. Matt moved a few mountains to be able to take Keith to the football game that night. At the very end of his ABA therapy session before leaving for the game, Keith’s ABA technician helped him make a flag to take to the game for cheering. This is a Lincoln East Spartan, but you already knew that…

The rest of us stayed back and played outside while Auggie finished his ABA therapy session. Our neighbor, John, came over and the kids showed him the flowers he’d helped them plant earlier in the summer. Anna broke her flower pot showing him her plant, so John helped her transplant it. It was all very sweet, until John left and some of our kids’ behaviors shifted. This is a sad norm for us. Our kids love getting special attention from people (and Matt and I appreciate the love people pour into the kids!). But the minute we have to transition back to normal life, our kids’ emotions struggle to know what to do and the meltdowns start. Oy. Getting emotional kids into bed that night was a loud event…and Matt was gone. Thankfully, Elias, Malorie, and Malachi were there to help me. :)

On Saturday, we ate cereal for breakfast, then loaded up to go to Library Storytime. Anna and Acacia were proud to be matching that morning and asked for a picture.

After Story Time, the librarian brought out fun sensory toys to enjoy!

Then, we went to a fun Touch-a-Truck event where lots of rescue vehicles, road construction vehicles, and a very cool motorcycle were available for kids to climb on and play in. It was a very well-attended event – I think half of Lincoln was there. Wow. Somehow we managed not to lose any of our seven littles.

Back at home, we warmed up leftovers for lunch, played for a while, then headed to Keith’s soccer game. We got home, did some cleaning, then moved into our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our 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!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 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 30

It was rainy that Saturday afternoon, so we had to find indoor activities to keep the kids occupied. Brayden and Kiya asked to see our wedding photos. So we all enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane, seeing so many family members’ pictures from 31 years ago, seeing Mommy in her pretty white dress, seeing Daddy looking like our now adult sons… :)

I pulled out a craft kit to enjoy at the living room table.

Elias and Malorie have a tradition of taking each birthday kid out for a “Special Adventure” to celebrate their birthday. That Saturday afternoon was a good opportunity for them to take Acacia out. They walked around the mall, then got her a special lemonade. She loved every minute of this special time!

Josie helped me make Baked Beans for our Sunday Lunch as we wrapped up our day and headed into our Sabbath evening.

For dinner that night, I used the last of some BBQ Pulled Pork I had in the fridge to make Sandwich Melts.

Big Family Food and Fun: August 31-September 6, 2025

On Sunday morning, we dug into a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

We needed to be an hour early to church that day because Brayden had the honor of being on the Worship Team and they needed to do a run-through of the morning’s songs. Justus had arranged for a mother-daughter combo and a father-daughter combo to be on the team that day along with Brayden/Justus/Kelsey as a brother-brother-sister combo. I was glad we got there an hour early so I get get my happy tears out as I watched them worship. While Brayden struggles mightily with academics and social skills, THIS is a place where Brayden shines so confidently.

Back at home after church, we had 39 people gather for lunch. It was Acacia’s birthday and it was so much fun to have a houseful to celebrate with her!

We enjoyed Acacia’s lunch menu choices: Hotdogs and Cheddar Brats, Chips, Pickles, Grapes, and Carrots. For dessert we had Brownies and several batches of Homemade Ice Cream.

I tried to walk around to take pictures of groups gathered throughout the house, but I missed capturing everyone.

I love watching people enjoy a meal and fellowship. I am so thankful for this home God provided for us!

Because it was a three-day holiday weekend, Kelsey took full advantage of her time at home to get ahead in her kitchen. It was so fun to get texts and pictures from her throughout the weekend, sharing her tasty progress. Sunday evening: Stir-and-Pour Bread!

Meanwhile, I was tapped out and made Aldi Take-and-Bake Pizzas for Acacia’s birthday dinner.

We hadn’t had a chance yet that day to sing and blow out birthday candles or open gifts. So we gathered in the dining room after Pizza to enjoy this time with her.

Note that the boots Acacia was so excited to receive had been purchased on clearance at the end of last winter for an entire $1.00 and stashed away for such a time as this. Five-year-olds are easy to please and don’t need expensive presents. She LOVES these new sparkly boots!

Monday morning was rainy and dreary. We decided to take the kids to the Mall indoor play area to get some energy out since a park or the zoo was out of the question that day. I packed sandwiches, grapes, chips, almonds, and apples to get us through our outing.

The kids played until hunger took over, and we headed to the food court area to find a table.

And who did we discover along the way? Our friends, the Cases, and they had more friends, the Adcock girls, with them. Christina snapped this picture for us to send to the Adcock Mama to hopefully brighten her day.

Running into friends was a HUGE perk to our day and changed some grumpy attitudes around. We are so thankful for these friends!

Somehow we got everyone fed, then to the potty, then to the play area again before heading home for Auggie’s nap.

The Nabb family came over all afternoon so that Cindy and I could work on some paperwork together. The kids played school in the living room (it was still raining outside!), then we talked the Nabbs into staying for dinner! I made an Egg Casserole, Pancakes (from a box, ha – actually two boxes), Sausage Patties, and Fruit.

This was the best. We hadn’t made any Labor Day plans so I loved that this impromptu gathering happened.

Meanwhile, Kelsey had sent me pictures of a big Turkey she’d baked, Broth she made with the bones, and these Snickerdoodle Bites. You go, girl!

Tuesday morning, the teachers had a work day so the kids were home from school again. Somehow, most of the kids slept in and Anna was the only kiddo who joined me downstairs before 7:30. While we don’t get hours of one-on-one time with each of our kids, I find that God does provide small windows of opportunity to give undivided attention to them like this. During our time together, Anna helped me get Breakfast Cookie Bars, Spinach Cake, and Stick of Butter Rice into the oven.

It felt good to get ahead and to make good use of oven heat. (As in, since I had turned the oven on to bake a cake, I wanted to add more to the oven while it was hot to save energy.)

The kids have been very into sitting on skateboards and riding them down the driveway. The rain had stopped so we spent the entire morning outside, much of it on skateboards.

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the day, and she proved herself to be one of the big kids outside walking around and riding the little scooter.

Mid-morning, Keith helped me make Cream Cheese Frosting for our cake.

I browned two pounds of hamburger meat and stirred it into the rice I’d baked earlier to make Taco Rice Dinner. I kept the corn and beans separate to accommodate pickiness. Then I covered it and put it into the fridge for Matt to rewarm at dinnertime.

At lunchtime, we used Sunday’s leftover hotdogs to make Beanie Weanies. Mealtimes seem to somehow turn our kids into screamers, phew. Several of our kids have food-related trauma, so it’s par for the course. Still, it makes me sad. How I long to simply make food, serve food, enjoy food, and then clean up after us. Instead, there’s yelling, fighting, food refusal, arguing, and a lot of “I hate this” even if they ate thirds of the same food last time. Anyway, this lunch time was especially challenging and loud. Parenting this time around is so different!

Note: My intent with sharing some of the challenges in our family isn’t to whine or complain. But I do feel that it’s important that I share the reality of our situation. Matt and I are constantly trying to figure out how to successfully train, discipline, and teach these babes. Mostly, we want them to know that they are loved and that they can trust us. Trust is tricky with kids who have lost so much. We’ll keep loving and being trustworthy, praying and supporting.

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

Matt had warmed the Taco Rice Dinner that I’d made earlier in the day and fed some of the littler ones. ABA therapy was in full force when we got home so the rest of us ate in shifts as the evening went on. Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie did some cooking to pre-make some work lunches to grab and take as they headed out early the rest of this week. Malachi was hanging/working/working out with his friend, Graham, and they ate dinner too. It was a full kitchen all evening long – my favorite!

Wednesday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy and Arrow came to hang out. Grandbaby time is incredibly precious to us.

After we got the girls on their preschool bus around noon, Matt got Auggie down for a nap and I headed out to grocery shop. This might last us for a short while?

I had put a bag of frozen meatballs into our crock pot with barbecue sauce for Meatball Subs for dinner. We had them with Raspberries and Salad.

As we were getting all seven kids down for the night, Keith and Auggie parked themselves in our “Reading Room” with the big bear. I couldn’t believe how long Auggie sat there looking at books. This is a big break-through for a little guy who has had to be taught how to play, sit, and focus. By the way, our “Reading Room” is a sun room just off of our girls’ bedroom. This room has evolved from an extra bedroom to a Lego Room to what is now our Reading Room. There’s a shelf behind the door that you can’t see if this photo, and that’s where the kids can grab their books to calm down with at night in their beds. This great big bear has been a perfect addition to this room (thanks, Burham family, for handing this off to us!).

Wednesday evening, I made yet another double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies because apparently we are obsessed with these now. They have become a very helpful go-to for snacks and lunches so I will keep making them until we get tired of them. I also made another big batch of Chewy Granola Bars for the same reason. We are eating through them very quickly and they provide a fast protein fix all throughout the day. On Thursday morning, I got them cut and packaged for easy grab-and-go options for everyone.

Kiya is always excited to help with projects like this.

Anna helped me scramble eggs to make French Toast.

We’d brought home a fun loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Food Distribution on Tuesday, and this makes the best French Toast! When I make it like this, I don’t serve it to the kids with maple syrup. It is sweet enough just as it is and I tell them that they can eat it like cookies. :)

Josie’s teacher sent me this fun photo that afternoon, stating that Josie had declared them to be twins that day with their flower dresses, messy buns, and sandals. :) :) :) She sure does love Ms. Kristine!

Little Sweetheart spent the day with us, and the kids are always so excited when she or Arrow join us for school drop off or pick up!

Dinner that night was the best. I had marinated and Smoked Chicken plus I had cut up 4-pounds of berries for Strawberry Parfaits. I steamed Green Beans, Sautéed Peppers and Onions, and Buttered/Toasted some Buns. We devoured this.

YOU GUYS. All of Auggie’s life we have tried to read books to him. But he would never let us, which was so sad both for snuggles and for his developmental needs. This day was the very first day he sat down and let me read a book to him. AMAZING. Brayden took a picture to document the milestone event. I made it through about a third of Bears on Wheels before Auggie was ready to move on. But wow did it feel good knowing the progress this baby boy has made!

Friday morning is a big morning for Acacia now. After we get Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Anna off to school, we settle Auggie in with ABA therapy in our living room, and Josie gets one-on-one with Daddy while Acacia and I head off to Children’s Rehab for therapy. She starts with an hour of Speech Therapy.

Then we take a potty break and head in for an hour of Physical Therapy. This week we got home just as the preschool bus was arriving to take her and Josie to school. Phew!

Matt and I spend Friday afternoons together – not working but just being together. If we don’t block out time like this, we’d never have full conversations. :)

Dinner that night was Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup. Plus I cut up a huge Watermelon that we munched on all evening long.

Saturday morning, I made Cream Cheese Salsa Dip and Caramel Apple Dip in preparation for a big Chip/Veggie/Fruit Dip Buffet for Sunday’s lunch.

We loaded up snacks for the morning as we headed out to start with our first outing of the day. Our favorite Sensory-Friendly Library Story Time was starting back up for the fall!

This special library event is such a gift for our family and for several others who we see each time we go. Most of the guests are on the autism spectrum or have other disabilities – and it is such a safe, friendly environment. No one expects the kids to sit perfectly still. Ms. Diane offers lots of opportunities for the kids to move around, to participate or not participate in the simple songs and actions to go with songs/books, to be seen, to be cared for. There are special chairs and special weighted stuffed animals. It’s the most beautiful time and we are so thankful to be a part of this.

Malachi hopped in with us and played with the kids during the sensory toy time after story hour.

Then we loaded back up (ate snacks) and headed to Heartlands for a Color Run with our church’s Kids Ministry. Here’s a shot of everyone running the path getting sprayed with colorful chalk, while Matt and I stayed back with hesitant littles.

By the end, Josie had finally allowed herself to get a little bit “chalked” while Anna had decided to go all in and Kiya and Keith were very well covered. It was such a well-attended event and so much fun!

We went home and ate leftovers for lunch, then loaded back up to go to Keith’s soccer game. Did I pack more snacks, even though we’d snacked all day and just eaten lunch? Yes, snacks are a must. The kids ate their way through 2-pounds of strawberries and a bunch of animal crackers while Keith ran his heart out and even scored a goal.

Late afternoon was spent playing outside, cleaning, then moving into our time of Sabbath. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 24-30, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 24-30, 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 23

Saturday evening, Malachi treated our entire household to pizza! He’d been in a pickle lately with his vehicle, so this was a thank you to several of us who had helped him out with rides. This was a great Sabbath meal for me as I didn’t have to lift a finger!

After dinner, Malachi mowed the back yard and the kids pretended that he was chasing them with the mower. This was a wonderful seven minutes of entertainment for them. ;)

The kids were extra squirrely that night. Did they not get the message that it was Sabbath and we were supposed to be RESTING?? We managed to get shoes on them all and get them them all to the potty, then we took a walk to Sunken Gardens.

They were squirrely there too, but finally, looking at the fish settled them a bit and the rest of the evening was not so hectic. We got them home in time for bath time and bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: August 24-30, 2025

Sunday morning, we enjoyed half a pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars. I’d baked these on Friday evening and frozen the other half for next week.

When we got home from church that day, our kitchen was already full of friends who were finishing up lunch prep. This scene made me so happy! I love that people feel comfortable to just walk on into our house and kitchen and find what they need – cutting boards, knives, serving spoons, etc.

I had cooked 10-pounds of Bacon for BLTs, and this spread was incredible! (We had eaten two pounds worth of bacon last week, saving 8 pounds for this meal.) We had turkey and cheese for people to add to their sandwiches, plus lots of condiment and pickle options. Christina made potatoes, Cindy brought veggie trays, Christy brought chips, Megan brought pickles, and Terra brought fresh tomatoes – which was the entire reason I’d planned BLTs. These are a must during fresh tomato season!!

Kelsey cooked down frozen strawberries with some sugar to complete our very wonderful dessert of Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. So delicious!

There were 35 of us gathered that day.

Worth noting: We started out with about 8-pounds of bacon and there were only six slices left at the end of our meal. Indeed, this meal was a hit.

Our community group usually meets on Sunday afternoons. But we’d heard of a need that a family had, so our guys spent the afternoon working on this project to help care for that family. Meanwhile, we gals stayed back at our house together.

The project ended up taking significantly longer than anticipated. Our friend Robin was gracious to stay through the evening with me to help wrangle kids since Matt wasn’t back yet. I had turned last week’s Spaghetti leftovers into a Spaghetti Bake with Green Beans for dinner and Robin helped me get kids fed.

Arrow wasn’t feeling well so Asa and Eva had stayed home that day. They made Stir and Pour Pizza Crust Pizza for their dinner that night and sent me this sweet photo of Arrow feeling better enough to enjoy his meal. :)

Monday morning was rough. We managed to get all the kids to school on time, but not without a fight to the finish line. We have to make a lot of accommodations to keep our kids’ nervous systems from completely shutting down. This particular morning, that looked like leaving bikes at home and putting both Keith and Anna in the double stroller, then muscling our way to school. (It was a great workout, so yay for good exercise.) Once they were in the school door, they did fine, thankfully. My walk home alone was a mental recovery walk, then I got myself hydrated because mornings like this do break a sweat.

Phew.

Auggie had ABA therapy all morning, so we played catch-up on laundry and dishes while the girls played or “helped” us. During one of Auggie’s breaks, he tried to give his sisters a ride in the wagon. Oof, that wagon was hard to move.

Brayden gets home before the other kids, so he started homework with Matt. Malachi was awesome to walk with Auggie and me to get the elementary kids home from school. Without bikes, I knew I’d need some back up.

This plan worked perfectly as Kiya rode her bike home ahead of us, and Keith and Anna were thrilled with the fact that their big brother had come to walk them home. Keith always finds sticks to carry any time we go on a walk. Anna one-upped him today by finding a big log. Keith was impressed.

For dinner that night, I made Spicy Mac and Cheese with Corn and Peaches. We also ate our way through a container of Golden Kiwi.

Last week, I had made a big batch of Chewy Granola Bars and they were hit with the kids plus many adults in our house. So I made another big batch of them on Monday evening to have for the week along with the Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies I’d prepped for a grab-and-go option. I forgot to take a picture on Monday night, and by Tuesday morning, I discovered that the grown-ups had started to enjoy them while I was sleeping. I love this!

Little Sweetheart came to spend the day with us on Tuesday. The kids took turns pushing her in the swing.

Throughout the morning, they were picking up walnuts that had dropped from a tree in our backyard and filling containers with them. Then they handed them out for everyone to “eat,” then gathered them back up again. This might seem like a small thing to celebrate – but our kids don’t play make-believe very well. So when they do something like this, it feels extra sweet!

That afternoon, I made a huge batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs for snacks. I also smoked a big package of Pork Chops and got a batch of Slow Cooker Party Potatoes cooking for dinner.

After school, Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to our weekly Food Distribution to hand out food to the community. Here they all are in the kitchen pretending to be hard at work. Mama had to make some adjustments to their job assignments after this picture. ;)

We got home in time for ABA therapy, plus dinner of Smoked Pork Chops, Slow Cooker Party Potatoes, and Peas.

Arrow came on Wednesday to spend the morning with us! He played and crawled all over the house.

We took a walk outside, and he and Josie played a silly game in the stroller. :)

At preschool bus time, Josie and Auggie posed by the tree so Daddy could take a picture. Cheeeeeese!

I spent the afternoon at Aldi getting ready for Acacia’s birthday/Sunday lunch.

Check these out! Since it’s the end of the season, I found these 100% juice pops marked down to just $0.21/box!! I got twelve boxes, still leaving a lot behind for others to score some too. The total was $2.52 for all of these…

When the kids all got home from school, the girls came back together to marvel again over the fact that they had dressed matchy-matchy that morning. This was such a sweet moment because they were so proud that they had done this.

Anna helped me make a salad for dinner. We got out all the leftovers from the fridge to warm up – parents helping kids and grown-ups fending for themselves. This was so nice because we cleared out a lot of fridge space and ate up a lot of good leftovers! (And it gave me the night off from cooking, woot!)

I made a batch of Peach Ice Cream that night. Acacia wanted Brownies and Ice Cream for her birthday so my plan was to make several batches of ice cream throughout the week to prep for Sunday!

Thursday morning was therapy-free! So we took the kids to a little park that we’d never tried out before.

Little Sweetheart came for the day, my friend Charlene came for the afternoon, and before I knew it the school day was over and it was time for pick-up!

Kiya helped me make dinner. We made extra food because we’d made plans to take a meal to friends who had a lot of health issues hit their family this week. I had Pulled Pork in the freezer that I had thawed, so Kiya warmed that up with barbecue sauce while I fried Zucchini and made Instant Pot Mac and Cheese.

I warmed some Sliced Ham for our family plus Kiya made a Salad.

Brayden, Kiya, and Matt ate their dinner quickly then loaded up to deliver the meal to our friends. We sent a hot meal for them to eat right away: Pulled Pork with Buns, Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, Grapes, Cantaloupe, and Salad. Plus I sent a frozen Lasagna Casserole and some frozen Burritos for them to eat through the weekend as needed.

Brayden and Kiya were excited to help with this delivery! And the others were sad that we didn’t let them go. Some of us needed to stay back for ABA therapy. Plus we didn’t want the little girls to fall asleep in the van during the ride and ruin bedtime. That’s a big deal, am I right?

The rest of the night was filled with therapy, kitchen cleaning, and play time. As we went upstairs to get ready for bed, I caught these two reading and snuggling with our newest friend. This bear had been passed on to us by some family friends and it’s proven so far to be very comforting to our kids. :)

Friday morning, our friend Kay came from York and spent the morning with us. She went with me to take Acacia, Josie, and Auggie to the park. The weather was perfect and the kids were calm – which meant that they played and Kay and I could actually visit. AMAZING!

Josie declared Ms. Kay to be her special person that morning. It was so sweet!

After school that day, our Heartlands Youth Worker dropped a slushy off to Brayden. Blue Razz was a great way to end the week!

Acacia got a birthday hat from her teacher since her birthday was to be over the weekend. She wore it proudly all evening.

I smoked Burgers for dinner with Fries, Clementines, Sweet Peppers, and Fresh Tomatoes.

Saturday morning, I baked a huge pan of Brownies for Acacia’s birthday lunch the next day.

Justus and Kelsey picked up Brayden and Kiya to go to Worship Rehearsal at church. Matt and I took the other five kids to a park for the morning.

Back at home, Elias had put Fish Sticks into the oven for us to eat for lunch. I cut carrots into “coins” to make them taste better, ha. Plus I warmed up the few leftover fries that we had from the night before. The kids had eaten apples, bananas, and buttered bagels on the way to and from the park. So they weren’t super hungry, plus only one other adult was eating lunch with us – making this amount of lunch was enough.

I made round #4 of Ice Cream for the freezer to pull out and serve for Sunday Lunch/Acacia’s birthday.

Then I finished this post and turned off my computer to finish prepping for Sabbath!

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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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