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Big Family Food and Fun: August 10-16, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 10-16, 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 9

We had an early dinner Saturday night so that we could take the kids on a special outing. I made Tortelloni from Costco with Sauce and Salad. Then we gave everyone a bath so that we could go straight to bed after we got back home from our outing.

Elias, Malorie, and Kermit joined us! The kids had earned a free scoop of ice cream from the 402 Creamery, thanks to their Library Summer Reading Challenge. It was fun to for them to pick their ice cream flavor!

I’m so glad we gave them baths before going out…

Big Family Food and Fun: August 10-16, 2025

Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

And then we got to eat a donut once we arrived for worship. “Donut worry! It will be a sweet school year!” All the students, teachers, and school staff were prayed over as a new school year begins.

Kelsey snuck this photo of Mama worshipping with her girlies…

Back at home, a large crowd gathered for lunch. I’d made three big casseroles: Burrito Casserole, Ham and Potato Casserole, and Chicken Spaghetti. Friends who came brought sides and desserts.

We got to celebrate our friend Elizabeth as it was her final day as Heartland’s intern for the summer. And fun fact: Elizabeth is moving in with us next week as she starts her new job in Lincoln. We are so excited about this!

There were 43 of us gathered that day at lunchtime!

People were everywhere, and it was awesome!

After we shared a meal, we gathered outside and headed out together to fill two of Lincoln’s Little Free Pantries.

Several from our group drove to a pantry that is farther away. And a big crowd of us paraded several blocks to a pantry that is walking distance from our house. This is the third time we’ve done this as a church body this summer and it is such a precious time of fellowship as we walk, sweat, keep kids safe crossing streets together, and fill pantries to help feed people in the community.

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time with three other couples that afternoon while the kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie. For dinner that night, I threw frozen Corn Dogs into the air fryer and got out a bag of Mandarins. This is how tired moms feed their kids after a very full day. :) (I have been making Frozen Pizza on Sunday nights but our kids seem tired of this “special treat” so I took a break to try something else.)

On Monday morning, I used what was left of Sunday’s Burrito Casserole to make two pans of Burritos for Tuesday night’s dinner. Auggie had ABA therapy all morning, and the rest of us spent time catching up from the weekend.

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and Anna went to Eva’s and Keith, Acacia, and Josie went to Ms. Kathi’s. Kiya got to press flowers with Eva, which she loves to do.

Brayden built a blanket fort and then they all got to watch a movie and eat popcorn in the fort!

Back at home, Auggie napped while Matt and I rested/worked/had actual conversation. :) A friend dropped off two big bags of farm fresh sweet corn!!! So when the kids got home, they helped me get some prepped for dinner.

I made 20 Smoked Chicken Thighs for dinner with Steamed Broccoli, Sweet Corn, and Cantaloupe. This is my favorite kind of meal – smoked meat with lots of fresh, colorful sides! The idea was that there would be leftover chicken for Elias to cut up and take in salads for his work lunches. There was, in fact, no leftover chicken at the end of this meal. It is also worth noting that we ate almost every bite of two entire cantaloupes. This was a very satisfying meal for all of us! And I loved watching everyone devour good food.

Keith, Anna, and Auggie all had ABA therapy that evening. As they wrapped up their sessions, our family met with our next door neighbors on their porch to pray together over the upcoming school year. As we were praying, another neighbor and her daughter were walking by and Matt invited them to join us. It was beautiful.

Tuesday morning, we ate some of the Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d put together last week.

Brayden looked so handsome and smiled bravely even though he was very nervous for his first day of 6th grade at the middle school. I tearfully read him four texts that people had sent me that morning – sharing encouragement and prayer support with him. I was so touched by the people who love and care for our kids and who took the time to reach out on Brayden’s very big day.

Anna started Kindergarten that day, and she was all pinked out – pink shorts, pink shirt, pink shoes, pink back pack, pink lunch bag, and pink hair tie. This baby kindergartener likes pink! She was ready to go that day, thanks to the awesome Jumpstart Program Lincoln schools offer.

The other kids didn’t start school yet, so we had five at home the rest of the day. It was very weird to not have Brayden and Anna with us! Keith was very calm all day – and was excited to help me bake. We made Spinach Cake together and even though he already knew the secret of the spinach, he was very delighted that we were tricking people into eating salad.

Little Sweetheart spent the day with us!

Josie and Keith helped me made a double batch Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies to wrap and freeze for school lunches.

We ate leftovers for lunch, then Keith helped me make Cream Cheese Frosting for the Spinach Cake.

Kiya was very anxious to make our first day of school breakfast of Egg and Hashbrown Casserole without help. I wrote the specifics down for her and got out the ingredients that she couldn’t reach. Then she and Acacia did a very good job putting the casserole together!

As soon as Brayden got home from school, we headed off to our weekly Food Distribution. On our drive over, he got to share all about his awesome first day! Then we worked with the other volunteers to hand out food to just over 100 clients. The kids also helped get the coolers cleaned out and lined up in the hallway to dry.

Our wonderful leader, Kathleen, works tirelessly to organize this distribution site. At the end of the day, Keith was so sweet to help her carry out her bags. :)

Back at home, I didn’t get any pictures because ABA therapy was already in full force for two kids, then Keith started his ABA session. Matt was warming up the two pans of Burritos I’d made the day before. He’d already fed the little girls, then the rest of the household came in and ate as they were available. We went through all 17 Burritos that night!

Wednesday morning, I baked the Egg and Hashbrown Casserole bright and early. Brayden did a great job getting out the door by 7:35 and rode his bike to school with our 8th grade neighbor.

This was Kiya and Keith’s first day of 4th and 1st grade!

I put a pan of Stick of Butter Rice into the oven to bake while I walked/strolled the kids to school.

Later, Josie helped me turn the cooked rice into a crock pot full of Cheesy Beef and Rice for dinner.

After our Egg and Hashbrown Casserole leftovers had cooled, I wrapped individual pieces for grown-ups to grab and take to work in their lunches. I put them with the individually wrapped Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies for school lunchboxes.

Matt needed to put air into a tire, so he pulled out his air compressor. It was sweet watching the kids both love and hate this process. It’s fun, but loud!

Auggie found a solution…

That afternoon while Auggie napped, Malachi blessed us by watching a movie with Acacia and Josie so that Matt and I could go out for an anniversary lunch date!

For dinner that night, we ate our Cheesy Beef and Rice with Sweet Corn and Green Beans.

Arrow spent the morning with us on Thursday!

Then Little Sweetheart came that afternoon.

She and Auggie rode with me in the double stroller to pick up the three elementary kids from school that afternoon. I took along Zucchini Carrot Muffins for them to munch on and we handed out some to Kiya, Keith, and Anna to eat on the way home too.

For dinner I made Sausage Gravy to go with Biscuits we’d brought home from Food Distribution earlier in the week. I scrambled 24 Eggs, sliced some Pears, cooked 15 Sausage Links, and buttered some Bagels for the kids who didn’t want biscuits.

For breakfast on Friday morning, I made French Toast as we worked to get lots of tired kids out the door for their final day of school for the week. The transition into our new routine had been going as well as it could have and we anticipated that by Friday, there would be extra meltdowns. We were correct.

Acacia had Speech Therapy that morning.

When we got home, I made a batch of Ice Cream.

Then it was finally these girls’ turn to start their school year! They were ready for the bus thirty minutes before the scheduled pick-up time and were so frustrated that the bus took so long to get here! When it arrived, Auggie exclaimed, “BUS!” and Matt and I were taken aback by the fact that “bus” used to be one of only a hand full of words that Auggie could say. He has come so far!!!

I had Sloppy Joe Meat in the freezer. So for dinner that night, I made “Sloppy Sliders” with the meat and  sliced cheese plus Fries in the air fryer.

I also baked another double batch of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies because we’d eaten all the others so quickly. These are so full of protein and I appreciated having them on hand for lunchboxes. So I wanted more for next week (if they last that long!). I cut them into 24 Brownies and individually wrapped them, then put them into the fridge.

Saturday morning, Keith had his first soccer game of the season. Is it a lot of work to lug seven kids to a six-year-old’s soccer game? Yes. And did this game remind me that it is worth all of the effort? Very much yes. Running and playing a structured sport is where this guy settles in his body and really shines. (We see this for Brayden when he is singing! We pray that we find a special something for each of our kids so that they discover more of the giftings and peace God has given them.)

Our friend Paula (Arrow’s other grandma, hehe!) dropped off two boxes of Uncrustables for us this week – so sweet! I took advantage of this convenience by packing them for the kids to eat for lunch during Keith’s game. We had them with Apples, Bananas, and Almonds.

Our friends, the Adcocks, live close by Keith’s game location. We’d made plans with them to go over and swim in their pool that afternoon. I always get very nervous when we take this many little ones swimming. BUT, Justus and Kelsey met us there, the Adcocks were awesome to help with littles, five of the kids wore life jackets, and everyone did just fine!

It was wonderful to enjoy this time with our friends, and the kids loved becoming more comfortable in the water. The Adcocks had a watermelon cut up to share, and we ate the entire thing (plus granola bars and more Uncrustables on the way home!).

When we got home, Keith wanted to make Homemade Gatorade and I made Tuna Salad for a lunch meeting the next day. We reset out house for Sabbath, and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 3-9, 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: August 3-9, 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 2

Dinner on Saturday evening was very simple: I scrambled 20 Eggs and air fried Chocolate Crepes from Costco. We’d already given the kids their baths because…

We had tickets to a Salt Dogs game! The Lincoln Library had given us free tickets as part of their Summer Reading Challenge, and we were finally able to take advantage. Malachi joined us, plus our friend Sam and his friend Angelina met us there.

Had to get a picture with the Saltdog!

The weather was perfect and we were able to stay for about an hour and a half. Did the kids actually watch baseball? I would say no, not even a little bit. Though Keith had his baseball mitt and ran after any balls that came our way in hopes to take one home. (We did not, in fact, take one home.) Our night was lots of fun and we were so happy for the adventure!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 3-9, 2025

Sunday morning we ate a plate full of Breakfast Cookie Bars while getting ready for church.

We had a beautiful houseful of people join us for lunch that day.

We had a big Nacho Bar with Taco Meat, Smoked Chicken, and lots of topping options.

There were 36 of us gathered that day.

I can’t say enough good about days like this. They are my favorite – having a houseful of people sharing a meal and sharing life.

I’d made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars and three batches of Homemade Ice Cream (Vanilla, Peach, and Butterfinger) for dessert. The ice cream was gone by the time lunch ended.

Matt and I normally enjoy Community Group time in the afternoon, but we had rearranged our plans to enjoy dinner with our group for a special time together that evening. So at 4:00, we sent our kids downstairs to watch a movie with Elias and Malorie while our group gathered. We made Pizzas together for dinner. And do you see that beautiful Carrot Cake? Cindy made that for us to enjoy. It just so happened to be my birthday, and the entire day was incredibly rich and sweet. How perfect for her to make her special cake to top off the day!

After we grown ups got our pizza and headed to the living room (and hid the cake), we let Elias and Malorie know that they could feed the kids. We were missing two of our group members. Otherwise, we had the most lovely evening, sharing life and stories that involved both laughter and tears. It was wonderful. What a great birthday!

Monday morning, I ate a piece of Carrot Cake with my morning coffee before the kids got up. Don’t tell.

We spent the morning at home, with Auggie having ABA therapy and the other kids playing. We farmed out the kids all afternoon while Matt and I rested. The only picture I took all day on Monday was this one. Our friends, the Baker family, brought over delicious Lasagna, Fruit, and Bread to share and we had dinner together. It was wonderful!

Tuesday was a very full day. Acacia had speech therapy in the morning, and we loaded up everyone to ride along so that we could make the most of our time.

Matt dropped us off, then he took the other six kids down the road to run around at a park while Acacia had her speech session.

From there, we all went to spend a few hours at the Bee Me Sensory Gym. We’d heard about it through the Lincoln Autism Family Network, and they were offering complimentary family passes. This gym far exceeded our expectations and the kids had such a wonderful time climbing, jumping, running, and rolling – for hours. This place meets all of their sensory needs and then some. Amazing!

This was our last full week of summer break, and our goal was to give the kids lots of fun adventures. So from Bee Me Sensory Gym, we walked over to Slim Chickens for lunch. The kids had earned free kid’s meals from our Library Summer Reading Program and I had birthday money from my dad and his wife to pay for mine and Matt’s lunch. Super fun! ALSO CRAZY. They sat still and ate for the first ten minutes because they were very hungry after a morning full of play. But then they started to scatter and be needy and we vowed never to go into a restaurant ever, ever again. ;)

Later that afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our our weekly Food Distribution. I was so proud of all of them for how they worked together and worked hard to clean and hand out food to clients.

We got home just in time to enjoy a family gathering to celebrate my birthday (again!). Not all the kids were available to come to Sunday lunch, so this gave us an excuse to have another dinner together. Elias made our Smoked Chicken, and we had Cream Cheese Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, Mashed Potatoes, and Kelsey’s Cucumber Salad.

I was so glad for this precious time. I don’t know how long all of us will live in the same city, but for as long as we are together, I’m going to love it and be so grateful for it!

Brayden was so sweet when he saw me get up and take a picture of everyone visiting in the dining room. He asked if I’d like to be in the picture, so he washed his hands and took this shot of us…

Every time these guys get together, they bring up memories from childhood that have us all rolling with laughter. I loved that Brayden was sitting here listening and enjoying his awesome big brothers.

Wednesday morning, I put together two large casseroles for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. We had brought home several bonus items from Food Distribution the day before. (There was extra food donated that day, but fewer clients than normal. So we brought home three bags full of food!)

I used some Taco Meat and Spanish Rice that we’d been given, along with some of our own ingredients at home, to put together a casserole like this.

We’d brought home some ham, so I made a big Ham and Potato Casserole. Both of these went into the freezer to pull out, bake, and serve on Sunday.

Arrow came to hang out with us that morning. His aunties were very happy to take over and feed him the tasty breakfast that his mommy had sent over with him.

And then, Uncle Auggie was happy to be his entertainer. :)

We ate leftovers all day for all three meals – which felt great so that nothing went to waste and so that we cleaned out the fridge! When Auggie went down for a nap, we left him home with Malachi (and Justus, who happened to be there for a while) – and we took the other six kids to the pool to enjoy their free passes from the Library Summer Reading Challenge.

Elias and Malorie were able to go with us, thankfully. Four adults per six kids feels much better when there is water involved.

Matt and I hung with the three little girls in the kiddie area while Elias and Malorie took the other three to the bigger pool.

We met up after an hour and a half and had a snack – apples and Little Bites (thank you, Food Distribution, for the treat!).

Then, we took the little ones to join the big ones in the actual pool. Phew, I get nervous with so many littles in the water. Did they have on life jackets? Yes. Were there life guards? Yes. Was I still counting heads constantly? Also yes.

Brayden had an Open House at his middle school that evening while I stayed home with the others. We juggled ABA therapy, dinner, and playing. Some people peed all over the floor, others spilled barbecue sauce, or maybe that was the same person who did both. Either way, we survived the evening and slept well that night.

Thursday morning, we bravely took all seven kids to grocery shop. Our grocery list was long and there wasn’t another good day to go. So we packed water bottles and snacks and off we went!

Matt stayed with the kids in the van while I went through Aldi as fast as I could.

Then we took all of the kids into Costco with us. We put the four littlest kids into two different carts and I filled the carts as fast as possible. My main goal today was to get food we needed to make our transition into the school year as smooth as possible: easy breakfast foods, easy lunchbox foods, lots of fruit…

Thinking ahead, we ordered a Costco pizza to take home and eat for lunch so that we could tackle the huge task of putting away all the groceries while feeding hungry kids.

Here’s a look at the kitchen, and you should have seen the pantry. ;)

Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart for the afternoon.

Then our friend Bruce stopped by for a while. Keith got his “favorite” plastic bag stuck up in a tree and Bruce saved the day by throwing a stick high up in the air toward the bag until it finally came loose!

Before shopping, I’d baked a Spinach Cake. I frosted it and served it for an afternoon snack.

That afternoon, Kiya helped me put together 32 Breakfast Sandwiches for our fridge and freezer. It feels great to have these ready and available for our first week or two of school!

I heard the mower running and peeked outside to see this: Keith mowing with Daddy helping. :)

At Costco and Aldi, I’d picked up a larger than normal amount of ready-to-grab snacks like granola bars, Yoggies, raisins, and veggie straws. We have three adults in the house who are starting up a new school year plus three of our kids who will be packing lunches. I will likely not keep up with this as the year moves forward, but the hope is that this will get us off to a great start as we ease in and settle in with a big new routine. Here’s what our pantry counter looked like as I was getting snacks organized. Of course, the kids wanted to sample all of it and I didn’t let them. Mean.

Since we were bored and didn’t have anything else going on (ha), we decided to shuffle kids’ rooms around. Actually, we had big reasons for this and feel it will be a good move for the kids – putting all four girls in one big room and moving the boys to a different space. They were all so excited about this that they were very willing to help in any way that they could. We had started the process on Monday, slowly but surely, and we were finally ready to move the beds. Thankfully we only needed to move two beds as the other beds could stay where they were and simply change occupants.

Somewhere in there, I smoked Brats and Hotdogs, made Corn on the Cob, and cut Strawberries for dinner. The corn was yellow going in and ended up with a lot of brown spots when it cooked. Weird. And disappointing.

Justus and Little Sweetheart were there and Justus took Brayden with him to Worship Rehearsal for the evening. This was such a gift for Brayden and I heard from Justus later that he was a great help with Little Sweetheart. I love this!

We finished dinner in time to walk/bike to the elementary school for their Open House. All the kids got to meet their teachers and find their desks. This is such a big night with so many kids and so many classrooms to visit. I reflected back to two years ago when we were new to Lincoln, new to the school, new to everything and everyone. Now, we feel so much more settled in and we feel so much more comfortable. I was so thankful that night to recognize the peaceful difference in how I felt compared to two years ago on the same night. Thank you, Jesus.

Back at home, we finished putting clean sheets on every bed so that everyone could sleep in their “new rooms.” There was still more work to be done, but the beds were in place and that’s all that mattered that night. That and the fact that the new blue rug was awesome and fantastic for rolling around.

No surprise – it took everyone a little bit longer to settle in that night. But it was a happy transition, so we were grateful.

Friday morning, I browned the six pounds of hamburger meat I’d purchased the day before. After it cooled, I separated it into four freezer bags for easy future use.

We ate some of the Breakfast Sandwiches we’d made the day before. Keith was being a very good daddy to his animals that morning, making sure they had a nice place to sit and a good breakfast.

Josie and Auggie decided to move outside to eat their Breakfast Sandwiches. We moved the picnic table to the shade because it was already getting hot that morning.

We finished cleaning up the kids new rooms by doing what I was most excited to do: sorting through all the kids’ stuff that they’d accumulated in their rooms and either get rid of it or find a better home for it. Phew, that felt good! This ended up being a very healing experience for our two older littles. There’s a lot of emotion tied to their stuff – from stuffed animals to toys to scraps of paper. Resetting their rooms helped reset their hearts. This was so needed.

Then, a new friend who will be moving in with us arrived and the kids helped take trips into the house with some of her things. They were so excited to help!

That afternoon, we farmed out the kids. Elias is back to work for the school year, so Bro Time has ended for the season. Eva took Brayden, Kiya, and Anna. Then we took Keith, Acacia, and Josie to Ms. Kathi’s. Kathi sent me this fun picture of the cool kids in their shades taking their babies for a walk.

Eva took her crew to the library and I laughed out loud at these photos she sent me!

Back at home later, we made Chicken Nuggets and Tator Tots for dinner, eating in shifts because of ABA therapy needs and hunger levels. The kids helped me prep for a big outing to the zoo on Saturday. We had plans to meet up with another large family so Brayden and I made 18 Uncrustables for a picnic lunch. Then Acacia and Josie helped me make 10 little Turkey and Ham Sandwiches on rolls. Kiya worked on Breakfast Cookie Bars for Sunday. And then I spent a long time washing dishes and getting the kitchen reset for the next day!

Breakfast Cookie Bars fresh out of the oven!

Saturday morning, Kelsey and Little Sweetheart came over for a little while.

Friends from York came mid morning. We’d planned to eat a picnic at the zoo. But an early morning storm had come through town and the zoo needed to wait and open at noon so that they could do some clean up. We rethought our plans, hung out at our house for a while, ate our picnic lunch together in our dining room, and then headed to the zoo!

This was such a sweet time together! Our kids had earned free train tickets thanks to their Library Summer Reading Challenge. So that was an extra great treat this zoo trip!

We came home to give Auggie a late nap, then spent the afternoon getting the house ready for Sunday.

And that was our week!

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

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

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

Saturday, July 26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There were 31 of us gathered for lunch that day.

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

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

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

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

Water balloon fight time!!

And then Banana Pudding. :)

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

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

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

She was nervous but ready!


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We went to go have a visit with the giraffes…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They turned out hearty and tasty!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday morning, Anna had her Kindergarten check-up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lots of places to climb and spin and slide…

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

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

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

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

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Big Family Grocery Spending for July, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for July, 2025 post!

Curious how much we spent during the month of July and what groceries we bought? Here’s the breakdown!

IMPORTANT: This was a weird and special month. Don’t read this and think, “How does she manage to spend so little to feed so many people? I must be doing something wrong.” NOPE. We had some special perks this month, and I used them wisely, that’s all. Foster-adopted kids receive some benefits, and we say yes to these. This is a lovely blessing, allowing us to focus on caring for these kids’ extra needs instead of worrying about how we’ll put food on the table. This month is a good example of this. It’ll all make sense as you read…

ALSO this month: Our adult kids were traveling for part of the month, so not always around to eat with us. So some meals we fed 14, and many meals we only fed 10-12.

Big Family Grocery Spending for July, 2025

1. Aldi

On July 2, I went into Aldi to get snack items we needed for a road trip we were taking for the 4th. I picked up strawberries (x3), Caesar salad kits (x2), fruit/veggie pouches (x33), mandarin oranges, bananas, bag of apples (x2), fruit cups (x5), cake mixes (x2), colby Jack cheese sticks (x2), freeze dried strawberries (x2), marshmallows (x3), trail mix, 100% juice boxes (x2), grass fed hamburger meat (x4), granola bars (x2), applesauce pouches, cereal bars, cane sugar, raisin boxes (x2), peanut butter snack crackers, tortilla chips (x2), and pure and simple bars (x2).

Total at Aldi: $175.23

2. Freddy’s

Several weeks ago at our school’s special Zoo Night, we were given 14 free Freddy’s kid’s meal coupons. Sweet! I’d been holding onto them for a special outing, which we used while we were out shopping on July 2. The total for this meal would have been $88.27. This is why we don’t eat out! (Well, that and the fact that taking all these sweethearts into a restaurant takes more energy and effort than it’s worth.)

Total at Freddy’s: $0

3. McDonald’s

Wait, another restaurant??

On our way home from our Oklahoma road trip on July 5, we stopped at McDonald’s to get dinner during our last stretch of the trip. We’d packed food for our meals on the way there, and we were fed well during our reunion. So this was our only need to eat out on our trip.

We got 60 Chicken Nuggets and 3 orders of fries to share once we were back on the road after our potty break. We’ve found that “buying in bulk” like this – instead of getting every kid an individual kid’s meal – makes feeding everyone on the road much more cost effective for us. And the kids love this treat!

Total at McDonald’s: $32.62

4. Sam’s

For our Sunday Lunch on July 6, we picked up three Rotisserie Chickens to serve and share with our guests. After traveling that weekend, we needed something simple! Everyone who joined us brought side dishes, and our meal was awesome!

Cost for three chickens at Sam’s: $14.97

Summer EBT Cards

I mentioned last month that because of our kids’ adoption subsidies, they qualify for Medicaid, which qualifies them for free school lunch, which qualifies them for Summer EBT benefits. This is such a lovely blessing! We’d received two of the kids’ benefit cards in May and spent them in June. (They were $120 each.) Then the rest of the benefits came in July. I have no idea why they were split like that. But it’s a gift so I don’t question it.

With $600 on our final Summer EBT card to work with, here’s what my next few shopping trips looked like…

5. Aldi

I stopped in at Aldi for a few of our favorites and needed items there. I bought grass fed hamburger meat (x4), fruit cups in 100% juice (x11), whole milk yogurt (x4), fresh peaches, clementines, whole milk (x3), blueberries, a cantaloupe, and coffee creamer. The total for this, covered by our EBT card was $72.86.

6. Costco

After Aldi, I headed to Costco and picked up shredded cheese, corndogs, mac and cheese, coconut rolls, chocolate crepes (on clearance!), white queso, fresh broccoli, apples, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, spring mix, bananas, cream, half and half, frozen meatballs, frozen pizzas, pork butt, sliced cheese, butter, ketchup, freezer pops, and cream cheese. Total on food for this trip to Costco would have been $286.76, and it was covered by our EBT card.

7. Aldi

On July 14, I grabbed a few items from Aldi: apples (x2), cherries, mixed greens, spinach, strawberries (x3), milk (x3), coffee creamer (x2), sausage patties (x2), granola, fruit bars (like Larabars, x4), salad kits (x3), and yogurt. I also splurged on apple juice bottles and granola bars for the kids to eat on the way home – my incentive treat to reward them for hanging in there with me since I was one-on-four and they are particularly challenging in a store.

Our total was $101.79 – all covered by EBT.

8. Amazon

Our Amazon Subscribe and Save box came on the 18th, filled with Annie’s mac and cheese, freeze dried apples, two kinds of applesauce, and a box of Go-Go yogurt.

Total from Amazon: $76.71

9. Hy-Vee

I put in a Hy-Vee order on July 19, simply because they are the only store in town that allows us to use their Pick-Up feature along with our WIC card. WIC only offers very specific items, so shopping online for these is very helpful and saves a lot of time! We got most of our monthly WIC items through this transaction, though I didn’t get a picture of the entire haul. I also bought chicken breast on sale for an upcoming church event.

Total for chicken at Hy-Vee
(the rest of the order was covered by our kids’ WIC benefits): $26.87

10. Wal-Mart Pick-Up

I used to use this option all the time in York! But now that we’re in Lincoln, I’ve found that Aldi, Costco, and Sam’s are priced better for our family’s needs. On July 22 though? Matt was very sick and I was almost out of milk. I thought I might need to take all seven kids with me to the store by myself. NO THANK YOU. I took advantage of Wal-Mart pick-up instead!

I got milk (x4), lasagna noodles (x4), pasta sauce (x4), pickles, strawberries, bananas, apples (3 bags), shredded mozzarella, applesauce pouches, a family-sized Caesar salad kit, Paw Patrol 100% fruit popsicles (that the kids didn’t like, boo), pepper jack cheese, Colby jack cheese slices, cottage cheese, grapes, and sliced ham.

This wiped out the remainder of our EBT card ($138) and I felt so, so grateful for all the food it provided for our family this month!

11. Elias’ Dinner

Somewhere in there this month, Elias was awesome and made Smoked Queso for our family dinner. He used my credit card to pick up the items he needed for this.

Total for these ingredients: $18.69

12. Sam’s

On July 28, we were very low on many staple groceries. I’d been using up random odds and ends in our freezer and in our pantry, so this was good! But getting stocked back up at Sam’s felt good. :)

I bought 10 dozen eggs, milk (x3), tortilla chips (x4), turkey, ham, salami, sliced cheese, almonds, mandarin orange cups, instant oatmeal (x2), sour cream, heavy whipping cream (x2), strawberries (x2), raspberries (x2), cherries, sour cream, maple syrup, honey, peanut butter, applesauce, white queso, rotel, meat sticks, mini tacos, chicken nuggets, french fries, yogurt, and tuna.

Total for food at Sam’s: $321.07

Total for groceries in June, 2025: $648

Obviously, our total would have been $1,248 without the awesome EBT card. Plus, our WIC benefits provide our littles with around $180 worth of groceries each month. You can read here to learn our 2025 Grocery Budget plus look over ways I’m able to keep our budget at this level.

Running Totals for 2025

January spending: $679
February spending: $1,459
March spending: $1,346
April spending: $1,364
May spending: $1374
June spending: $1,127
July spending: $633

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Big Family Food and Fun: July 6-12, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: July 6-12, 2025 post!

We went to Oklahoma at the end of last week to enjoy a family reunion. So before I start sharing about all we did this week, I’ll back up and tell you about our trip!

July 4-5, 2025

Each year, my dad’s side of the family enjoys a reunion together during a weekend close to the 4th of July. It was hosted in Oklahoma this year. While traveling with so many littles isn’t easy, Matt and I decided to make this trip happen so that we could connect with our extended family.

We spent a lot of time last week prepping for this trip, putting together breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the road, plus lots of activities to occupy everyone. Here’s our cooler all packed up and ready to go!

Just before taking off, we handed out the breakfast bags to get us down the road: Yogurt, Freeze Dried Strawberries, and a bag of Cereal to munch on. These kids were so excited for the road trip! (Were mom and dad as excited? Well…)

Overall, the kids did as well as possible on the way there. We were some of the first to arrive at the reunion site and enjoyed playing some pool with Cousin Alex. :)

I knew it would be worth all the effort to make this trip happen just to see these dear people. And it was.

At the end of the evening on Friday, we always have a family worship time. I loved that Acacia snuggled up to her Papa (my dad) during this time.

What’s it like putting eight kids to bed in hotel rooms? Well, it’s special, that’s for sure. We had all the boys in one room with Matt and all the girls in an adjoining room with me. No one could wind down until way past bedtime. Oh how they loved this adventure!

We enjoyed loads of family time from breakfast through lunch on Saturday. A highlight of our reunion each year is the traditional Pinata for the kids. Here we are lining up in age-order to take turns whacking the pinata. Josie was not interested, thank you.

After lunch and lots of hugs, we loaded back up to head home with a van full of tired and happy kids. The drive back to Nebraska was harder than the drive to Oklahoma, but we made it and were so thankful we’d taken the trip. We picked up McDonald’s on our way home, which of course, was another great highlight for our kids!

Big Family Food and Fun: July 6-12, 2025

Thankfully, I had Breakfast Cookie Bars in our freezer for breakfast on Sunday morning.

After church, we had a wonderful crowd of people join us at our house for lunch.

We have a small fridge in our living room full of cold drinks. Anna helped me get some drinks to take to the kitchen to serve. This was a genius way to get them there.

Our meal was simple and good. Elias and Malorie picked up three Rotisserie Chickens from Sam’s on their way home from church. Everyone who joined us brought sides and desserts. And that’s how we hosted lunch after being away on a trip. The only thing I cooked was a pan of Cream Cheese Corn.

Friends and daughters-in-law helped fix little girls’ plates. This is one of our favorite parts of Sunday Lunch – how everyone loves on our kids so wonderfully.

There were 30 of us gathered that day.

As we all dispersed after lunch and visiting, the kids went downstairs to watch a movie while Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time. Then that evening, we made Frozen Pizza for dinner. Emotions were extreme that night for all the kids. We were all extra tired, plus Bonus Buddy got picked up to go back to be with his dad. We knew this was coming, and transitions are never easy. We gave everyone a bath and headed to bed in hopes to rest and regroup.

Monday morning, I made a weird breakfast of Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies. This was a fun way to get protein into our kids in the form of what felt like a treat! I made a blender full of this Smoothie for Matt and me. The two of us go through a blender full of this in two days, which is the best way for us to get lots of greens into our diet!

Auggie had ABA therapy all morning while the other kids played and Matt and I tried to play catch-up after our trip. Late morning, Kiya held a Spa Day in her room. It’s never to early to take care of baby soft skin, hehe.

Lunch was one of champions: Fish Sticks and Tator Tots. Everyone ate Carrots and Pickles on the side, so that at least there was a little bit of nourishment in this meal. :)

We farmed out the kids that afternoon so that Matt and I could have some down time together. ABA therapy started for three of our kids at 4:15. Then, for dinner we ate like kings and queens! We’d brought some leftover Biscuits and Baked Potatoes home from our family reunion. I turned them into Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Cheesy Eggs, and Fried Potatoes. We also ate Pears and Clementines with our meal.

Tuesday morning, we finished off tidbits of leftover breakfast items like Flourless Peanut Butter Brownies and Eggs/Potatoes. Then I took Acacia to speech therapy. Her time with our SLP, Marissa, is different from Auggie’s since their needs are so different. But Marissa does a good job making the sessions fun, and the swing came in handy for Acacia. :)

Back at home, Matt loaded everyone’s bikes into the van and I made a picnic lunch so that we could head to a park to ride and play. I warmed up leftover hotdogs, then cut them in half and bagged them. They went into an insulated bag to stay warm until lunch time.

Keith had his skates and skateboard ready and spent his entire time at this park in the skateboard area.

Lunch was Hotdogs or Peanut Butter Honey Uncrustables with Apples, Fruit Cups, Chips and Guac, and Caesar Salad.

It’s been a while since I packed a Salad for a Picnic, but this worked very well and we finished the entire bag!

That afternoon, Brayden, Kiya, and Keith got to go to our neighbor’s house to make Lemon Slushies – what a treat!

I took those three kids to our weekly Food Distribution to hand out food and clean coolers as they emptied out.

Then we came home for dinner and ABA therapy for two kids. I’d made a pot of Hearty Bean Casserole before leaving that afternoon, which we had with Rolls/Butter and Canned Fruit.

Wednesday morning, we ate Breakfast Sandwiches. Auggie started his morning ABA session and I left to do some big grocery shopping at Aldi and Costco.

Back at home, all the kids helped carry groceries in from the van and put them away.

Brayden made Chicken Salad for lunch to go on croissants. We ate our sandwiches with fresh Cucumbers from our neighbor’s garden, Greens, Raspberries, Grapes, and Cheese.

As we were finishing lunch, the coolest thing happened! The kids peeked outside and saw a gathering of people staring at our house. I assumed that they were on some sort of “learn the history of Lincoln” tour because our house is a bit of a Lincoln landmark. We went outside to visit with them and as it turns out…

…this group of people has a history with this house and very precious memories! Our house was originally built by Mr. Rogers (no, not that Mr. Rogers) – a well-to-do banker back in the early 1900’s. His maid, Nettie, lived and worked here for several years and THESE are her grandchildren! (Well, except for me. I’m just in the picture because they asked me to be.)

We invited them in to see the house, we learned more of the history of our home, we heard more of their grandmother’s story, and we walked them through many of the rooms of our home. They were thrilled and amazed that we invited them in. But truly, we were the ones extra blessed by this visit.

They went on their way and then Arrow arrived to hang out with us for the afternoon.

Later, while Arrow and Auggie napped, we filled a container with water and the kids played with water guns and a variety of containers, getting themselves nice and soaked.

We ended the water play with GoGurts and Popcorn.

Kelsey and Little Sweetheart came later in the afternoon to hang out. They’d been visiting family and friends in Montana so it was extra special to see them again!

I made Tacos for dinner with Seasoned Meat, Beans, White Queso, Lettuce, Cheese, Tortillas and Chip, Salsa, Guac, and Strawberries on the side.

After dinner, we put on our swimming suits to head to the Splash Park for our church’s Popsicles in the Park evening. While getting everyone ready, I caught Brayden reading a book to Josie. SO SWEET.

Malachi had been at church camp for two weeks, and he sent me this precious gem! My friend Kimmie was cooking in the big camp kitchen, making my recipe for Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips. I was so honored that they used my recipe, but extra excited to see Kimmie’s servant-hearted smile in the picture Malachi was so thoughtful to take!

Malachi had to leave camp to come home that Wednesday night, only to turn around Thursday morning to fly to Mexico where he was filming a friend’s wedding. I got some big Malachi hugs before he left and snapped this shot from our living room window where he and Matt were loading up to head to the airport at 5:45 Thursday morning.

When the kids got up, Acacia and Josie helped me make a batch of Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins to take in a picnic lunch for our outing that day.

I made two bags full of Breakfast Sandwiches and put them into the freezer.

We didn’t have any therapies that morning, so we packed a picnic and headed out for the morning. We took our Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins along with two pounds of Strawberries, Yogurt, Almonds, Hard Salami, and Cheese.

Justus, Kelsey, and Little Sweetheart met us at Morrill Hall. Justus took Brayden around the museum to do “big kid stuff” while the rest of us tried to stay in and around a kid-friendly play area. There are actually lots of hands-on learning areas here, but this room is one of the best for our crew.

We’d worked up big appetites (only Auggie had snacked during our playtime), so we found a picnic table outside and dug into our food. Morrill Hall is on the UNL campus so we enjoyed watching all the action going on around us – mostly groups of middle school or high school students walking by frequently. We are assuming there were some summer camps going on. Either way, people watching is fun. So is eating a picnic lunch. :)

Back at home that afternoon, Matt was awesome to hold down the fort while I was blessed to have a session with MY Christian therapist. Oh how I needed this. God is faithful.

Our kids’ ABA therapy started at 4:15. Some of the kids had extra good sessions and some of the kids displayed some extreme behaviors. Somewhere in there, I made dinner. Our smoker decided not to heat up, so I defaulted to cooking our Pork Chops in a skillet on the stove. Matt spent time cleaning out our very-used-and-loved smoker. Kiya made Caesar Salad, and I steamed Green Beans and made some Mashed Potatoes (from potato flakes I got at Azure Standard a while ago just to have on hand for a quick side dish).

After dinner, while Keith, Anna, and Auggie finished out their ABA therapy sessions, Matt took Brayden, Kiya, Acacia, and Josie down the road to a church nearby who was hosting a Back Yard VBS in their parking lot.

We ate Bagels for breakfast on Friday morning. I’d put two big pork butts into our roasting pan to slow cook all night. That morning, I shredded it and bags it to rewarm easily to serve Pulled Pork for our Sunday Lunch.

A big branch had fallen during the night, so cleaning it up turned into our morning activity. :)

I’d found Corndogs on sale at Costco on Wednesday, so I air fried some for lunch. The kids loved this, and we ate them with Grapes and Cucumbers.

We farmed out the kids all afternoon. Eva took Kiya and Anna to visit our friend, Clara, who was recovering from a major surgery. Together, they made these fun flowers from coffee filters – so cool! Kiya was so proud to show me the one she’d made!

When Brayden and Keith got home from their Bro Time with Elias and Malorie, Keith’s ABA therapy session started. His technician was awesome to work with Keith as he (with permission) destroyed a wood pallet we needed to dispose of.

I made a simple Spaghetti and Meatball meal that night with Steamed Broccoli.

Keith, Anna, and Auggie all had great ABA therapy sessions that evening. Matt took Brayden, Kiya, Acacia, and Josie a few blocks away to the final night of Grace Chapel’s Backyard VBS. Our neighbor friend, Lily, was there to love on our kids.

Saturday morning is Watch a TV Show and Eat Cereal morning at our house. Then we packed up a picnic and headed to meet friends at the Zoo! Here was our best attempt at getting our seven and Stephanie’s three kids in a Tiger Truck photo. :)

After we saw giraffes and tigers, we stopped for an apple break.

Turtles, otters, crocodiles, fish, and flamingos – then lunch. We had an assortment of food to pick from: Applesauce, Fruit Cups, Cheese, Turkey Slices, Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins, Carrots, Cucumbers, Pistachios, and Chips with Guac. After that, we ate an entire bag of Heavenly Hunks from Costco. Those are such a treat!

After the zoo, we came home and put Auggie down for a nap. We played, cleaned, and got ready for Sunday Lunch and Sabbath.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 29-July 5, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 29-July 5, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, June 28

Malorie’s grandparents were visiting from Texas that Saturday! It was wonderful to get to know them while they were here.

The kids were extra squirrely that afternoon and evening. We think this is because they were extremely tired from the weekend’s events at church which was super fun, but also kept them up later than normal two nights in a row. Typically, when we have guests in our home, our kids tone their behaviors down and “mask” – saving their more extreme behaviors for the safety of when our family is alone. Their tiredness made their masks come off, so even with Malorie’s grandparents visiting, our kids were very loud, screamy, tantrumy, and challenging. Phew.

We took all the kids outside to give Malorie, Elias, and the grandparents some quiet. Matt set up the Slip and Slide, and I cut up a watermelon.

For dinner that night, I made a bunch of Burgers and Brats with Baked Beans, Watermelon, Pickles, Strawberries, and Whipped Cream.

Dinner was loud. Malorie’s grandparents were very gracious.

Big Family Food and Fun: June 29-July 5, 2025

Sunday morning, we sent Malorie’s grandparents on their way back to Texas. I set out our traditional church day Breakfast Cookie Bars for everyone to eat while we got ready to go.

There was a special Family Worship morning that day and Acacia and Keith found themselves being loved on by Ms. Kathi during the service.

At the end of the service, the kids got to share one of the special songs that they had learned during the weekend’s Kids’ Experience. It was so sweet to watch them up on the stage singing and praising God.

For Sunday Lunch, we set out a big Burrito/Nacho Bar with Taco Meat, Salsa Chicken, and all variety of fixings. I made three different kinds of Ice Cream and friends brought Brownies to go with it.

There were 35 of us gathered that day to enjoy time together around our tables.

I usually make Frozen Pizza on Sunday nights, but I didn’t think our kids would eat pizza very well that night (there’s been extra pickiness going on this summer and I’m tired of food fights). So I tried the idea of making them a surprise Snack Tray Dinner to provide something fun and different. I made a bunch of Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Sandwiches then we added Blueberries, Grapes, Clementines, Pickles, Carrots, and GoGurt.

The kids loved this and ate very well – all eight of them!

After they were fed, we sent everyone to potty and put on shoes (this takes at least a half an hour) then headed out for a walk to Sunken Gardens.

The walk there and back was very good for our kids. They were tired from the weekend, and the walk was a positive way to calm them so that they went to bed well that night. Of course, I packed our much needed bag of apples for kids to munch on during our outing.

The kids slept very well that night, praise God!

Monday morning, Brayden and Auggie had doctor appointments for well-checks. So I made 15 scrambled eggs to use on slider rolls for Egg Sandwiches, then the boys and I headed out to the doctor. We were almost late because as we arrived at the clinic, we had to wait for these two-dozen pedestrians…

This boy has gotten taller!

Back at home, we finished putting together a picnic of Uncrustables, Apples, Applesauce, and Pistachios. Nothing fancy here. Mama was tired.

We loaded up and went to a nearby park. I forgot I was a blogger (ha!) and only took one picture the whole time we were there. Keith and Bonus Buddy had brought their skateboards and found a perfectly sloped sidewalk to ride down over and over.

We farmed out the kids for the afternoon and Matt and I had some blessed downtime. The girls got to have a sweet time at Ms. Kathi’s. And Ms. Kathi had an extra special visitor who had brought fun dress-up dresses to share!

That evening, three kids had ABA therapy. Kiya helped me make Breakfast Cookie Bars for the next two upcoming Sunday mornings.

Brayden helped me make a very simple dinner of Chicken Nuggets, Spinach, Grapes, and Watermelon. Dinnertime while all of the ABA therapists are here working with kids can be a bit extra hectic. So the simpler the food, the better.

Tuesday morning, we ate Granola with Yogurt and we got Auggie situation with his ABA technician. Then, I left with Acacia for her Speech Therapy.

When Acacia and I got home, we did some laundry then made an early (and slightly weird) lunch of leftover Taco Meat, Noodles, and leftover Corn. The kids ate a variety of combinations of these three options, topped with shredded cheese. It filled their bellies, and that was the goal of the morning.

I made a batch of Spinach Cupcakes, of which I forgot to add the eggs. Forgot the eggs? Apparently, I have very little baking experience and don’t know how to follow the directions on a box, gooooood grief.

We put Auggie down for a nap and handed the baby monitor to Elias. Then we got everyone else into their swim suits and headed to the Zoo to play in their water area.

Mid-water play, the (Eggless) Spinach Cupcakes came out. I figured this would be a great zoo snack since they were full of spinach. This was true, except that the lack of eggs made these very crumbly and we made a very big chocolate mess by this bench. All 18 cupcakes got eaten though. What a great way to eat salad!

Also, what a great way to take a shower!

We visited the giraffes and tigers while we dried off a little bit before heading home.

Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I headed to our weekly Food Distribution to hand out food to the community and clean up afterward.

Back at home, Matt warmed up Burrito Casserole we’d put together Sunday after lunch. We rolled the mixture into tortillas for an easy dinner.

We’d picked up some Cinnamon Swirl Bread at the food distribution on Tuesday, so Wednesday morning I used it to make a bunch of French Toast for breakfast.

The three youngest kids had a WIC appointment that morning. We had several errands we needed to run to prep for a fast and furious weekend trip we were planning on taking. So we loaded up all eight kids to make a big outing of it. Matt hung with four kids in the WIC clinic while I took the other four with me into the appointment room.

We loaded back up and made several stops – including one to Aldi where I bought some fun splurges for our road trip.

We topped off the morning with a big lunch treat at Freddy’s. We’d been given 14 Free Kid’s Meal Coupons several weeks ago at our school’s Zoo Night. This day seemed like a good day to use them to reward the kids for hanging in there while we ran all of our errands.

Elias, Malorie, and Kermit met us there. This was fun and super special for the kids!! Because a restaurant is so rare for them and because they were very hungry – and because we had five adults for our eight kids – this outing ended up going pretty smoothly. But will we do this again any time soon? No way, thank you. :)

Back at our house, Eva and Arrow were waiting for us so that we could have our special Arrow afternoon! Look at this boy’s big-kid summer hair cut!! I can’t stop gushing at him.

While Arrow was napping, I organized the snacks and food I’d bought at Aldi for our trip.

Then I called in the kids a few at a time to help pack a sack for their Friday breakfast on the road.

Brayden made Tuna Salad for our dinner that night.

With our Tuna, we ate crackers or bread plus Strawberries, Boiled Eggs, and Pickles. Our three ABA kiddos had their therapy sessions that evening…

…and then we changed everyone into swim gear and headed to the Splash Park. Every Wednesday evening in July, our church is hosting Popsicles in the Park at the Splash Park. We’ll meet together then hand out popsicles to everyone.

A huge highlight of the night for all of us was being surprised by our friend who was recovering from a major surgery. We had no idea they’d be up for joining us all at the park, but there they were!!

Arrow tried the Splash Pad for the first time and loved it!

Thursday morning, I made a big skillet full of Sausage Cheese Eggs. We ate a good portion of it, and with leftovers, Matt made himself some Breakfast Burritos to eat while driving over the weekend.

Auggie had ABA therapy that morning. During one of his breaks, he and I played with a bowl of water outside in the shade.

For lunch, we made four boxes of Mac and Cheese with Peas.

We farmed out the kids with Eva, Elias/Malorie, and Ms. Kathi that afternoon since we’d be gone Friday. Asa was off work that day so he got to join the fun too! He and Eva took the Kiya and Anna to buy fireworks, and Elias and Malorie did the same with the boys. Everyone had THE BEST AFTERNOON EVER!!!

Later in the afternoon once everyone was home, I called the kids in to pack their lunches for our Friday trip. Our drive would only be six hours, but we needed to be very structured about these hours to hopefully make the ride go as smoothly as possible. We had a schedule of when we would eat meals or snacks, when we would draw or read, when we would play with new special hand-held fidgets/games, and the most exciting of all – when we would get to use our tablets. The kids struggle if they have too much screen time. So tablets only come out when we go on a road trip. Matt spent a good part of this week getting these set up and ready.

We had invested in new Uncrustable makers, and the kids had fun making their own special sandwiches to go in their Friday sack lunches.

I couldn’t resist taking this sweet picture of Auggie when I went in to wake him after his nap that afternoon.

We ate leftovers for dinner that night, then it was time to do the majority of the fireworks the boys had picked up that afternoon. This made for an hour and a half of extreme excitement (and a lot of adults saying, “back up!” over and over).

Sweet Josie. She is not a fan of fire, sparks, loud noises, or basically anything that goes along with this holiday. Bless.

We left Friday morning and didn’t get home until late Saturday. So I’ll share about our trip next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: June 22-28, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: June 22-28, 2025 post!

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

Saturday, June 21

We’d had a big emotional morning that Saturday. So that afternoon, we just played outside in the little pool and on the slip-and-slide. We ate popsicles. We ate dinner outside.

Our meal was simple, but a favorite: Orange Chicken. I had leftover Green Beans in the fridge so we finished those off. We went inside for bath time and to clean up the house a bit before we watched a show and headed to bed.

Big Family Food and Fun: June 22-28, 2025

Sunday morning we enjoyed our traditional Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

Look at these matchy-matchy girls! I’d seen these dresses at Wal-Mart and knew the girls would love them, but didn’t want to spend $15 on them. I watched them go on clearance later for $7, but still decided not to buy them. A few days later, Kelsey happened upon them when she was shopping (not knowing I’d looked at them already). They were marked down to $1.00!! So she Facetimed to see, “Did I want some??”

Did I want some?! YES. In every size and in every color multiplied by four girls, please.

The girls were very happy to be matchy and twirly that Sunday. Here they are, heading off to Bible class…

After worship, our church family lined up to fill 75 sack lunches to hand out on Monday as we had committed to feeding a struggling community in our area. We partner with Atlas to do this and we are so grateful to be a part of this together.

It was sweet to capture this moment with the girls huddled around Eva and Arrow.

Back at our house after church, our Sunday Lunch crew put together 75 sandwiches and 75 bags of sweet peppers to go into the lunch bags for Atlas.

Then we cleared the countertops and made way for a big Baked Potato Bar to share together.

I was busier than normal that day since we were making all those sack lunches, so I didn’t get as many group photos. But I tried to walk around while people were fixing plates or eating to grab a few.

There were 33 of us gathered to share a meal that day.

Matt and I sent our kids downstairs to watch a movie that afternoon while we enjoyed time with our Community Group. For dinner, I made Frozen Pizza – only three because all of the grown-up kids in the household had other plans for the night.

Monday morning, I served a big bowl of Vanilla Pudding that I’d made the night before and chilled overnight. I’d added extra eggs to make it extra rich and nourishing for breakfast.

Auggie had ABA therapy all morning, and the other kids took turns having some extra behavior struggles. It felt like an intense morning. But we also got some laundry done and had some fun moments of play too.

Mid-morning, I put together sandwiches for all the kids to eat at noon when we went to deliver the Atlas lunches.

Our friend Becky came at 11:15 and helped us add a cheese stick to each of 75 sack lunches.

Then we loaded all the totes of food into her car so she could get them to Atlas on time.

We loaded up our kids and our sandwiches to head over to Atlas House in time to help hand out sack lunches to the people who lived in that area.

After we finished this great time of service, Kiya and Anna went home with Kelsey, the boys spent the afternoon with Elias, and Acacia and Josie went to Ms. Kathi’s. Matt and I put Auggie down for a nap then sat at our table together eating our lunch in the quiet, catching up on conversation we needed to have. Kelsey sent me some fun photos of her time with the girls.

Kiya was so excited to finish the sewing project she’d started!

That afternoon/evening was EXTRA BIG because we began ABA therapy for Keith and Anna. ABA therapy is for kids with autism, providing them with one-on-one support that is specific for their individual needs. We’ve been at a loss as to how to help Keith and Anna with some of their big, challenging behaviors. So this has been very welcome. (Auggie started his ABA therapy a few months ago, so we have been getting used to how it all works.)

Monday afternoon, all of our kids’ behavior technicians started to show up along with the therapist who is in charge of creating and executing their programs. I didn’t get pictures of the entire “event” for privacy sake and also because THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE IN MY HOUSE.

I exaggerate.

But still. Basically, the night was spent helping Keith and Anna become acquainted with their “special person” while simultaneously helping their new technicians become acquainted with our household and our kids’ needs. Can you imagine being one of our ABA Behavior Techs?? Bless their hearts. :) :) :) I’m very sure the therapist gave them some heads up about how many kids we have and some details about our family situation. But nothing can really prepare a person for what it’s really like to be here.

Kids are everywhere. Adults keep popping up out of no where. Then more kids. Then more adults. Also, we needed to eat dinner. :/

Kelsey had brought the girls home after their time at her house and she stuck around to help with the biggness of the night. I turned dinner over to Brayden, who warmed up leftover Chili and cooked 24 Hotdogs.

Acacia and Josie entertained Little Sweetheart.

Matt hung out with Auggie until his ABA technician arrived to take over with his care and training.

We set out cut fruit and peppers to eat with our Chili Dogs. Somehow we got everyone fed that night.

Kelsey took all the non-ABA kiddos on a walk to Sunken Gardens.

To add to the craziness of the night, it started to rain while everyone was outside. Kids were already wet, so we decided to let them dance in the rain and live it up.

Tuesday morning, I made a double recipe of Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins, per Josie’s birthday breakfast request. I also scrambled some Cheesy Eggs and made some Sausage Links to go with the muffins.

While the oven was on after baking the muffins, I made a huge pan of Fudge Brownies for Josie’s birthday dessert later that night.

We packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the zoo for the rest of the morning.

It was slightly rainy, but we decided not to let that mess with our plans.

We spent the first hour at the zoo indoors, waiting for the rain to stop. It was fun to watch the worker clean the birds’ cages!

When it stopped raining, we played on an outdoor Climbing Elephant, then found a good table by the train to enjoy our lunch. We had apples, peanut butter crackers, fruit cups, guacamole and chips, hard salami, and coconut rolls. Oh, and a visit from a Peacock. We finished almost every bite of food that I packed.

We’d promised the kids that we would spend time in the Butterfly Pavilion, so we headed there after lunch. On our way, we chatted with the Flamingos. They are practically family by now. ;)

It’s almost impossible to go into the Butterfly Pavilion without first taking a picture on the enormous caterpillar. These faces are screaming, “Happy Birthday, Josie!” per their mama’s request.

Ah, the butterflies. They weren’t super friendly that day so only two of us caught one. This was “not fair” and very disappointing according to those who didn’t catch a butterfly.

That afternoon, I looked through my Azure Standard favorites to put in an order since the deadline was coming up. I was getting low on our Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and needed to stock up! While I was at it, I updated this post to share more specifics about what I like to buy from Azure.

I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to our weekly Food Distribution. Well over 100 people came through the line to get food that day!

Back at home, Elias and Malorie had helped finish putting together Josie’s birthday dinner. Josie had requested Mac and Cheese, so Elias made seven boxes. :) Malorie and Josie worked together (though both told me later that Josie did it ALL by herself) to make three bags of Caesar Salad. I’d warmed up Beef Smoked Sausage and Meatballs to serve also.

We only had one hour together because a sweet friend of ours was getting baptized and we wanted to go celebrate this with him! So we ate quickly, then moved on to Birthday Brownies. Bless Josie, she wanted a brownie, but she was NOT interested in candles or being the center of attention while everyone singing to her. Note to self: next year, just skip that part and serve the dessert. This is Josie’s birthday wish.

Thankfully, she was ok with everyone watching while she opened her gifts. This little girl loves dresses! So this is what she got for her birthday!

Right after that, we all loaded up and headed to church to be a part of our friend Sam’s special night. It was a beautiful time with church family.

Sam is going to be a senior in high school, and he and Keith have become sweet buddies. Sam cried when he saw that Keith had come to celebrate his baptism. What a special night!

Wednesday morning, I was very happy that we didn’t have any plans (except for Auggie’s ABA session all morning). Every room of our house felt messy and I wanted to regroup. So we spent the morning picking up toys, sweeping various rooms, doing lots of dishes, wiping down counters and tables, and then of course, playing outside.

I don’t remember what we had for breakfast (no picture, no memory, ha). For lunch, we had a few tidbits of this and that to finish off from the fridge – pizza, fish sticks, chicken bites, pickles, cantaloupe, and strawberries.

By that afternoon, the kids were beginning to show signs of needing more structure. So we set up the pool and had popsicles. Arrow was hanging with us, so we set him up in our little pool (that leaks, but it worked for a while anyway). He kicked and splashed and had a lovely time. The other kids had more fun watching him play than actually playing themselves. :)

Later, Auntie Josie took Arrow on a stroll in our back parking area.

I had cooked 5-pounds of hamburger meat to make Taco Meat for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. So I got that packaged up to put away.

Meanwhile, I made an additional 2-pounds of Taco Meat for our dinner that night. I warmed up Black Beans plus got out Cheese, Salsa, Spinach, Chips, Shells, and Tortillas for a simple Taco Bar.

I had slow cooked Salsa Chicken for a few hours that day – also for Sunday Lunch. So that evening I got it shredded and put away.

That evening, Keith, Anna, and Auggie all had three-hour ABA therapy sessions. This night felt much more calm compared to Monday’s night’s initial session when we were introducing everyone and showing the new technicians the layout of our home and family life. While those kids were occupied, Kiya and Acacia used sour cream and yogurt containers to make drums.

As we got ready for bed that night, Auggie found a dress-up hat and surprised us all by running through the hall with it.

I had some Banana Muffins in the freezer, so we ate those for breakfast on Thursday morning with some Yogurt.

Meanwhile, I baked a pan of Egg Casserole to take to the park for a brunch-type picnic. I haven’t done this before. But had some other fun breakfast-y items that I wanted to surprise the kids with, so I experimented to see if I could transport and serve this at a picnic table. (I covered it and slid it into an insulated bag, and it was still piping hot at lunchtime!)

Justus met us at the park and took Brayden with him to give him some special one-on-one time. They went to a music store to play instruments together for about an hour.

Keith and Bonus Buddy spent over two hours on their skateboards at this park. They had the time of their lives!

I’ve learned to pack a bag of apples to take on many of our outings. The crunch and the time it takes to eat an apple seems to calm our kids’ nervous systems in ways they all need so frequently. Apples to the rescue.

At lunchtime, we ate all but three pieces of that Egg Casserole! We also ate Carrots and Fruit Cups. After everyone ate well, we let them have their own package of Little Bites – a treat we’d been blessed with at Food Distribution that week.

That afternoon, Josie got to go on an “adventure” with Elias and Malorie. This has become their birthday gift to each kid – to take them out to do something simple and special. Josie got a sweet drink to enjoy while walking through Target. She’d been looking forward to this for weeks and it did not disappoint!

We had a very early dinner that night of Quesadillas with Spinach plus leftover Sausages on the side.

Then we loaded up and headed to Heartlands for the first night of their awesome Kids’ Experience event!

We had left Auggie behind with Elias and Malorie so that he could have his evening ABA session. So what did Matt and I do WITHOUT ANY KIDS?!?! We took advantage of a gift card we’d been holding onto for over a year and we had ourselves a date!

Friday morning, Auggie had ABA therapy all morning so we stuck around home to play and get work done. Around 11:00, everyone was hot and hungry so I made Smoothies for the kids.

Earlier that morning, I’d stirred Cheeseburger Casserole into a crockpot to cook and be ready for lunch. This doesn’t look super pretty, but it tastes great and most of the kids ate it well.

The kids spent the afternoon with their special Monday/Friday people. Kiya and Anna got to make Popsicles, play games, and help with the garden, yard, and recycling at Asa and Eva’s. Then they went to the library with Eva! Brayden, Keith, and Bonus Buddy took some donations to Goodwill with Elias, Malachi, and Malorie, then played football in the yard and a video game in the basement (a huge, exciting privilege for them). Acacia and Josie got to play at Ms. Kathi’s, and they always have great adventures there!

Matt and I put Auggie down for a nap and had some quiet time just for us. After Matt left to pick up the girls, Auggie and I made Snickerdoodle Bites to have on hand for snacks.

The kids had another night ahead of them at Heartlands for their Kids’ Experience. So we fed them a dinner of Sandwiches, Oranges, Carrots, and Pickles before we loaded up and headed out.

After we dropped the seven kids at church, Matt, Auggie, and I went to spend some time with an older couple that lives near the church and is unable to get out very often. It was a lovely visit and we pray that they were encouraged. We know that we were.

From there, we went to stock up groceries at Sam’s. Two carts and lots of snacks for Auggie later, we packed everything in coolers with ice packs in the back of the van.

Our kids are not used to being up past 9:00, so two nights in a row of this made for some tired kids. Did that stop Anna from getting up at 6:00 on Saturday morning? No, it did not. Oy.

We dropped our seven back at Heartlands at 9:00am for their final morning at Kids’ Experience. From there we grabbed Little Sweetheart and headed over to hang out at a friends’ house whose kids were also at Heartlands for the morning. We had a great visit with them, and even got to hang out with their turtle for a while. :)

Back at Heartlands, there was a Pizza Lunch to celebrate the end of the kids’ great weekend together.

I’d been making batches of Ice Cream to serve for our upcoming Sunday lunch. That afternoon I made batch number three. :)

Malorie’s grandparents came that afternoon to spend time with her and to stay the night with us. It was wonderful to get to know them!

I got about thirty interruptions from our kids while trying to proof-read this post so I finally gave up and I’m guessing this one is a bit messy! But… I’ll share more about our Saturday evening next week!

 

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

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

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

Saturday, June 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They made Breakfast Cookies:

They went to the park:

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

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

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

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

We warmed up Breakfast Sandwiches before VBS.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Josie was excited to discover Justus!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Acacia and Josie were excited to make their own sandwiches.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 18-24, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 18-24, 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, May 17

Saturday afternoon, I made a double batch of Lemon Muffins. Correction: I TRIED to make a double batch of Lemon Muffins. You guys. How many muffins have I made in my lifetime? We have no idea. SO many muffins. And yet, these turned out super weird and I couldn’t figure out why.

Ah. Come to find out, I had completely forgotten to add salt and baking powder. No baking powder means no fluff. We tried to like them, but we just didn’t. Boo.

For dinner that night, we simply warmed up leftover Skillet Taco Pasta and ate it with fruit. We were all pretty worn out after Keith’s big track meet day and our day in Omaha the day before that. Bedtime felt good that night.

Big Family Food and Fun: May 18-24, 2025

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church.

Sunday’s lunch was an amazing Salad Bar! I provided three different kinds of greens plus Grilled Chicken and a few other salad fixings. Everyone else who joined us brought salad fixings (or a dessert) and it was incredible! I asked Elias to take a picture of our spread of food, and he caught me in it too. :)

Ah, then I caught him back (at the back). :)

Our salad bar included spring mix, iceberg lettuce, and spinach, Colby jack and feta cheese, Grilled Chicken, sweet peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, craisins, salad crisps, and a variety of dressings. Our friend, Cindy, made a tasty Cucumber Salad, plus I set out a couple bowls of crackers and some rolls.

There were 27 of us that day enjoying our meal, but I didn’t get any great pictures of all of us together.

We air fried our dinner that night. :) Chicken and Tator Tots from the freezer, plus pineapple, watermelon, and strawberries.

On Monday morning, I scrambled a dozen Eggs. We ate the eggs with a super tasty Coffee Cake a friend had given us.

That afternoon, Keith received an award at school so I got to go watch him receive it.

Dinner that night was Egg Casserole and Pancakes with Strawberries. Everyone ate this meal extremely well. I think Auggie had fifths – a record for him!

ABA therapy was canceled that night, so we took advantage of the free schedule to go play at a nearby park.

Tuesday morning, we ate Breakfast Sandwiches and yogurt. Auggie had speech therapy that morning, then he and I went shopping at Sam’s and Wal-mart to stock up.

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to serve at our weekly Food Distribution. Back at home, Matt warmed up Burritos that I’d made and frozen a couple weeks ago. I didn’t get any pictures of either of those things because we were in a big flurry to go to a really cool event at the Zoo!

All of Prescott Elementary, the kids’ school, was invited to a free zoo night that Tuesday. We have a membership, so getting in free wasn’t the exciting part of the evening. But FREE train rides? Feed the giraffes for free? Plus see our teachers and classmates all night long? This was incredible!

It was so sweet to see our kids see their friends and give hugs all throughout the zoo.

We got in line for the train right away, and didn’t have to wait as long as I thought we’d have to.

The BEST part was that one of the preschool teachers, Ms. Rachel, rode this ride with us!!

Even Auggie fed the giraffes. It was a great night, though exhausting, as all the kids were very hyped up and it was hard to wrangle them all through the zoo. We all slept well that night. :)

Wednesday we started on the second layer of Mudballs from the huge batch I had made last week. Everyone was extra wired and simultaneously extra tired as the school year is winding down. This was about all I could manage for breakfast that morning.

After we got the three elementary school kids off for the day and Auggie got settled in with his ABA technician for the morning, I got some work done in the kitchen to get ahead. I baked about ten pans of bacon like this because I was planning to serve BLTs for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. As you can see, I still make Green Smoothie several times a week so Matt and I can drink our salad every day.

When the final pan of bacon came out of the oven, I used one of the pans to bake eggs so that I could put together Breakfast Sandwiches.

We made 24 sandwiches, freezing some and keeping some in the fridge to warm up quickly and easily as needed.

The girls were being silly as they waited for the school bus at noon time.

Late afternoon, we left sleeping Auggie and Little Sweetheart at home with our friend Char who was visiting, and Matt and I headed to the school for Keith’s Kindergarten graduation celebration.

Here he is receiving his certificate. :)

Brayden was my special helper that day and he was needing some extra attention. So he helped me put together our dinner for the evening. We used the last of the Grilled Chicken leftover from Sunday’s lunch along with some croissants we’d brought home from Tuesday’s Food Distribution to make delicious sandwiches with chicken, cheese, and honey mustard or ranch (one pan of each).

We baked these to melt the cheese and toast the bread, and ate them with Grapes, Raspberries, and Spinach.

Thursday morning I made Strawberry Parfaits for breakfast before sending the kids off for their last day of school.

Happy last day of school, Kids!

That morning, I baked more pans of bacon to prep for Sunday’s Lunch. I also made a batch of Spinach Cupcakes to enjoy with the kids later in the week.

I had planned to smoke chicken legs for dinner, so late morning, I put the chicken into a bag with barbecue sauce to marinate all day.

The girls were excited to wear their swim suits to preschool for their last day so they could do special water activities.

Off they go!

Justus came to drop off Little Sweetheart for the afternoon while he headed to a meeting. But first, Auggie needed to have a chat with his brother.

Brayden graduated from 5th grade that afternoon!

After work that day, Elias and Malorie loaded up to head down to Texas to visit her family. Nothing is quite the same when they are gone and some of us had to give multiple hugs before they left.

For dinner that night, we had Smoked Chicken Legs, Green Beans, Watermelon, and Toasted/Buttered Rolls.

We hung out in our neighbor’s yard part of the evening. I snuck in this sweet photo of Kiya helping our neighbor, Ashley, with her cilantro. I love how Ashley so naturally loves on our kids.

Friday was our kids’ first day of Summer Break. It was rainy and dreary and our kids were extra screamy. Changes in routine are never easy for our kids.

Auggie had ABA that morning and Matt and I had a telehealth meeting to get the ball rolling for Keith to start ABA. So we attempted to get everyone busy with activities, then because it was raining, we caved and turned on a show for the kids to watch while we finished our meeting.

Once our meeting was over, I gave our kids a craft activity to work on at the table while Auggie finished his ABA session in a different room. This kept everyone happy for exactly two seconds. :/

For lunch that day, I made these Smoothies for the kids.

I was going to grill burgers but since it was raining, I ended up just cooking them on the stove inside. They still hit the spot and changed some of the kids dispositions for the better.

What really fixed everyone’s mood was Arrow getting dropped off to play! He was surrounded by aunties and uncles and everyone became just softer and sweeter. Phew. :)

Some of the kids helped me make a batch of Pumpkin Mini Muffins that afternoon.

 

Late afternoon, we needed an outing! So we packed up a picnic and the kids and headed to the mall to run around in their play area.

This was well worth the effort so that we could get some of our energy out.

About an hour in to our time there, we made our way over to tables at the food court to eat our dinner: Salami, Cheese Cubes, Almonds, Applesauce, Grapes, Veggie Straws, and Spinach Cupcakes. After we ate, we had a great adventure to the Family Bathroom (ha), then went back to play more before heading home.

Saturday morning we ate cereal for breakfast then got ready to head to York to celebrate the wedding of one of our favorite people. I wasn’t able to pick up my computer to work and share the day, so I’ll share more next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: May 11-17, 2025

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: May 11-17, 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, May 10

This particular Saturday I needed to turn off my computer before the day really got started because we had an extra full schedule. That morning, we went to our library for the special Sensory Story Time.

I grilled a bunch of Burgers for lunch, then we got ready to company to come over.

Three of the kids and I headed to Omaha for a wedding all that afternoon/evening while Matt stayed back with the other four kids. We rode with our friends, the Brocks, and it was so great to catch up with them. As you can see, I got exactly zero pictures of our time with the Brocks or at the wedding. I was too busy talking to precious friends!

Big Family Food and Fun: May 11-17, 2025

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars before heading out to church.

I took the time to brew an extra pot of coffee to turn into a jar full of Cold Coffee for us to enjoy during the afternoon. I wish I was better at making Cold Brew, but it is yet another thing I’ve checked off my to-do list because of such limited time.

A couple weeks back, I had found sweet navy blue dresses for the girls on clearance at Costco for just $4 each, plus a navy blue shirt for me. It was special for us to match this Mother’s Day! I dressed all the little boys in blue also, but once again, I was talking to people instead of taking pictures. So I only got this one of the girls and me together!

Elias, Malorie, and Malachi stopped at Sam’s on their way home from church and picked up two Rotisserie Chickens. Eva cut the chicken off the bones for us plus made Caesar Salad. We also had Green Beans, Rolls, and Strawberries. Then No-Bake Cheesecake for dessert!

It was a simple, perfect Mother’s Day meal together. Well, perfect except that we were missing both Asa and Kelsey because they were not feeling well. :(

We girls ducked out that afternoon to have a special coffee date together. :) Since Kelsey couldn’t join us, I’ve decided we’ll have to try for a re-do again soon when all four of us can go!

Later that evening, we let the kids put on their swim suits (they’d been begging!). We filled a tub with water, they put the little slide into our little (cracked) pool, and they got out water guns. It was truly a lovely evening.

I brought out a plate of leftover Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars for the kids to snack on, then we warmed up leftovers to eat outside for dinner.

Before bed as the kids made their lunches for school the next day, Brayden independently made a bowl of Chicken Salad to pack. :)

Monday morning, I made French Toast for breakfast.

Later, while Auggie was occupied with ABA therapy and the girls were playing outside, I made a huge batch of Mudballs. You guys – go read this post/recipe that I originally wrote in 2008. Nod and smile at how cute I was when I proclaimed that my boys had eaten four double batches of these. Then look at the amounts listed in the recipe. :) Four double batches is actually quite tiny, even for a regular-sized family. SO. I just updated that post with a bonus recipe at the bottom to share how to make monster-sized batches of these snacks!

The kids had played outside all morning, and Auggie had played plus done his three hours of ABA therapy. So they were hot and had earned a treat. I gave them a frozen yogurt tube to enjoy on the front steps while we waited for the bus to come. They were so sweet sitting there together eating.

For dinner that night, I cooked Smoked Beef Sausages on our smoker, plus warmed up leftover veggies and Party Potatoes. We finished off some fresh Strawberries then moved on to Clementines.

Our kids had captured a couple of caterpillars with our neighbor friend, so Kiya spent some time hanging with them and watching them crawl and eat.

Auggie had his evening session of ABA and he did such a good job. We are so thankful to be over the hump (we hope) as the transition into this new schedule was a bit challenging. He is doing such a good job and since our therapists and workers are at our house so much, they are becoming part of our family time while they work.

Tuesday morning, Auggie had his weekly speech therapy. He is making huge progress in communicating!

Back at home, we all played outside the rest of the morning. The kids had some pretty warm, red cheeks by late morning, so I surprised them with cups of cold lemon-flavored sparkling water. They loved this treat!

I didn’t get any more pictures the rest of the day, somehow. I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to hand out food and clean at our weekly Food Distribution site. Dinner was leftovers, and we played outside/had ABA therapy for Auggie. :)

Wednesday morning we warmed up Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d made and put into the freezer.

Arrow came and hung out with us during the afternoon.

Dinner that night was a Taco Bar with Seasoned Meat, White Queso, Shredded Cheese, Spinach, Tomatoes, Guacamole, Salsa, Sour Cream, Black Beans, Corn, Chips, and Tortillas.

It was pretty warm outside so we let the kids play with water and they decided to soak themselves. :)

I loved this scene with Matt and two of his girls. Acacia was very giggly.

Thursday morning, Kiya helped me make a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars to have for the next two Sunday morning breakfasts. Later, I cut these and froze half of them.

It was a beautiful day with no therapies or appointments so we played outside all morning.

I used the time to grill some chicken for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. (Later in the day, I cut all of this into thin strips to serve in a big Salad Bar.)

For dinner that night, I used Thursday’s leftover Taco Meat to make a double recipe of Skillet Taco Pasta with Salad and Watermelon. I hadn’t made this dish for quite a while and I was grateful that most of the littles ate it pretty well. (We grown ups loved it.)

I needed to leave the next morning and be gone all day in Omaha for doctor evaluations with Brayden and Acacia. So after dinner Thursday, I worked on getting a lunch plus snacks packed for our big day. I made two cans worth of Chicken Salad because it’s one of Brayden’s favorites. Plus, I had learned from past evaluation days that Mama needs protein to get through the very intense questions and doctor conversations. :)

I love that the kids can play outside for hours and hours now. We put the hose away tonight though because Matt and I felt like avoiding the mess of water play. :)

Friday morning, waved Malachi off as he left for a video job in Kansas. Then, Eva and Arrow came to drive some of us to Omaha for another round of appointments with Children’s Developmental Pediatrics. I was bummed that I didn’t get any good pictures of Eva or Arrow the entire day. Truly, they are the rock stars of the day. Eva drove us there and back, then hung out with either Acacia or Brayden in the waiting room while I was in the appointment with the other kid. It was a long, intense day. I’m crying just thinking about what a blessing it was to have Eva and Arrow with me that day.

This is my third trip to Children’s Developmental Pediatrics in the past four months to take five of our kids for evaluations and diagnoses. After two long years of frustration and challenge as we’ve tried figure out what our kids need as we move forward – finally landing at Children’s has been an answer to prayer. They’ve taken such good care of us there and have spent HOURS digging in with us to help with understanding our kids’ brains, hearts, minds, and needs.

Acacia wasn’t sure what to think about her “arm hug” as she was getting checked in, but she was very brave. We had taken her in that day because we’ve been very concerned about her delays and her lack of ability to “connect the dots” when we explain things to her. She’ll still very little, so time will tell if reading and other academics will come harder for her. But as of our appointment this day, her development is tracking at a 3-year old level (she’ll turn 5 this summer).

The doctor recommended moving forward with extra speech therapy for her (she already receives some of this at school) plus adding in OT and PT. She was born with a club foot and while the foot itself has been healing as it needs to during these first four years of her life thanks to all the interventions in place – her right leg is shorter and underdeveloped (you can see this in the photo below). This is causing quite an imbalance in her gait, which could lead to bigger problems down the road – thus the recommendation for OT and PT.

And…the doctor suggested that it’s possible that if her little body can find more balance, her brain might catch up and become more balanced too – which will help her as she starts to learn more academically.

Phew. After a long morning in Acacia’s appointment, we loaded up and went to the same skate park that Malachi and I had discovered with Keith and Anna on their appointment day several weeks ago. Eva, Arrow, and I sat and ate our lunches while Brayden and Acacia ran around to get energy out.

Next up was Brayden’s appointment. Because he’s older, he was much more involved in answering his own questions and going through more intense testing during his evaluation. This kid worked SO HARD that day (he only thought he was getting a day out of school, ha).

Because his assessment was a different level of intensity, the doctor needed more time to work through all of the test results. So she will call me next week with more information, answers, and support suggestions moving forward. However, she was able to confirm what we suspected in that Brayden is also on the Autism Spectrum.

If you’re counting, that means that at this point, we’ve learned that four of our seven littles have ASD. As you can imagine, Matt and I are deep diving into learning everything we can about Autism. Having these diagnoses answers so many questions – but it also presents more questions. Our heads are swimming right now.

Meanwhile, some of our kids will be going on to be assessed for FASD. This will also give us more answers and supports.

Continue to pray that we learn what we need to learn and that we find the right therapies and supports for each of our kids. Beyond these diagnoses, there is much about their trauma that I can’t share here. Navigating their diagnoses mixed in with knowing what all they’ve endured in their lives is excruciating.

And yet, God’s faithfulness is overpowering.

We trust Him as we move forward and we are so thankful that we are finding answers for our kids’ needs.

Back at home, Acacia and Josie made up for lost time since they hadn’t been together all day.

I usually make Frozen Pizza on Sunday nights. But exhaustion won out Friday night, and that’s what we had after our Omaha day.

Saturday morning, Keith got to be in a track meet! I turned a loaf of bread into Uncrustables to pack for lunch at the field.

I had splurged on crackers with Yoda on the box for this special day. Plus I splurged on two containers of cut fruit for a fun treat.

Matt took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith for his field event that morning with plans to come back for the rest of us so we could cheer on his running events. Kelsey and Little Sweetheart came and hung out while they were gone.

Lunch tasted extra good in the stands as we waited for Keith’s races.

I didn’t get great pictures of his races, but his smiles after running told us that the big day was worth the effort. :)

We came home to give Auggie a nap, do some cleaning, and prep for our time of Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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