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

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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Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024 post!

Here’s how we spent our grocery budget for our large household during the month of December. We fed 12 people three meals each day, plus a lot of wonderful guests. In fact, because of Christmas and lots of birthdays and other fun get-togethers this month, we had many meals with more than 12 people. It’s been awesome!

Because of the larger meals and crowds, we’ve had more frequent grocery store trips so that we could keep up with food needs. And how did the budget fare? Well, we went over. But only by a little, somehow. :) Read until the end to see how our grocery budgeted averaged out during the entire year!

Big Family Grocery Spending for December, 2024

1. Aldi

On December 2, I ran into Aldi to grab all of our “Aldi essentials.” I got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, crackers, a case of salsa, whole milk yogurt, milk, canned corn (because it was on sale for $0.50), Caesar salad kits, blackberries, and sausage.

Total for groceries at Aldi: $116.36

2. Sam’s

December 3, I was halfway to Sam’s while at Speech Therapy for Auggie. So after his appointment, I took him with me to get some of our Sam’s essentials. We stocked up on our favorite peanut butter, plus got chips, potatoes, apples, grapes, pears, cheese sticks, yogurt squeezies, whole milk yogurt, rotel, and coffee creamer. I was excited to find chicken breasts and beef roasts marked down for quick sale so I grabbed those.

Total for groceries at Sam’s $213.59

3. Honest Abe’s

Remember how we used to have Elias take Brayden out for Bro Time? Elias has a new job now that is very intense as he deals with high need kids all day (kind of sounds like what Elias’ parents do all day, huh?). Because of this, we don’t have a regularly scheduled Bro Time any more. But we have started sending both Brayden and Kiya out with Elias and Malorie from time to time on Monday evenings for a special dinner out.

A local restaurant here in Lincoln called Honest Abe’s offers half price kids meals on Monday nights. This gives everyone a burger and fries and drink for right around $4.00! Amazing. On December 9, the four of them headed out to pick up their dinner. Elias and Malorie help the kids figure out what they want and give them the chance to order by themselves (a skill Matt and I don’t/can’t provide for them because eating out as a family with so many littles is too complicated and too expensive.

Overall, this is a WIN and the kids love this time with Elias and Malorie. This night, the restaurant was too crowded so they brought their food home to eat.

Total at Honest Abe’s: $27.35

4. Wal-Mart

On December 11, we took the four youngest kids to Walmart to pick up the girls’ WIC items plus a few other needed groceries. I found day-old (refrigerated) Rotisserie chicken marked down to just $2.02 each so I got two of those. We got lots of fruits and veggies, eggs, rice, pasta, cereal, milk, and cheese, all covered by WIC benefits. And I picked up some Caesar salad kits, pickles, and ham.

Total out of pocket at Wal-Mart: $32.50

5. Aldi

After we left Walmart that day, we went just up the road to Aldi. I ran in and got fruit/veggie pouches for Auggie, raspberries, oranges, zucchini, butter, yogurt, granola, baking items, sausage, deli ham, pasta sauce, fritos, and three large packages of boneless chicken thighs on sale for just $2.49/pound.

Total for food at Aldi: $155.95

6. Walmart 

On December 19, I ran into Walmart to get milk, sour cream, lime juice, a few last minute items for Christmas, plus the last of our WIC benefits. As always, I checked for meat markdowns and scored Boneless Chicken Thighs for just over $2/pound! I bought six packages.

Total out of pocket at Walmart: $57.67

7. Costco

From there, we went to Costco and semi-filled two carts. We needed Christmas celebration food plus regular groceries and produce. We got pears, apples, oranges, grapes, broccoli, blueberries, cream cheese, cream, half and half (marked down to $0.97!!), avocado mash, white queso, guacamole, crackers, two kinds of dips, several kinds of cheese, meatballs, chicken nuggets, tator tots, french fries, fish sticks, yogurt squeezies, applesauce cups, chicken broth, avocado oil spray, and frozen pizza.

Total for food at Costco: $395.59

8. Krispie Kreme

December 20 was Malachi’s 20th birthday. He and a bunch of his buddies spent the night at our house, and he requested donuts for breakfast. I didn’t get a photo of the whole crew, but I got this one when these two got home with the donuts.

Total for Malachi’s donuts: $14.99

9. Sam’s

On December 23, I braved the crowds and went to Sam’s for a few more Christmas food needs, everyday fruit and vegetable needs, and upcoming birthday meals. I got pasta sauce, apple sauce, hamburger meat, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, cucumbers, bananas, carrots, Caesar salad, mandarin oranges, spinach, veggie straws, coffee creamer, apples, brownie mix, cottage cheese, peanut butter, coffee, orange chicken, oatmeal, gluten free pizza, pickles, brown sugar, fruit strips, and coconut crisps.

Total for food at Sam’s: $310.19

10. Walmart

From Sam’s, I ran to the next parking lot for a few items at Walmart: lasagna noodles, gluten free nuggets, frozen hashbrowns, onion rings, ham, and fake oreos (for birthday brownies).

Total at $54.14

11. Cane’s

Our Christmas tradition has become: make Chicken Strips at home for Christmas lunch after opening gifts, and buy a big container of Raising Cane’s Sauce to go with the chicken. This makes for an easy meal for mom, a perfect meal to accommodate picky kids, and a special way to enjoy our family’s favorite sauce. I picked up a 32-ounce cup of sauce to put in our fridge for the big day.

Total for our Cane’s Sauce: $7.65

12. Arby’s Fries

Matt had some coupons in his wallet for $1 fries at Arby’s, limit 3. So we took advantage one day to treat the kids after an outing to the Children’s Museum.

Total for fries: $3.28

13. Walmart

On December 27, I went to Wal-Mart to check for Ham marked down after Christmas. I found some for $1/pound!! I picked up four, plus found hamburger meat ($3.34/pound) and ground chicken ($2.41/pound) marked down. I also needed Caesar salad, spring mix, and barbecue sauce so I grabbed those.

Total for food at Walmart: $101.77

14. Aldi

I went to Aldi that day also, getting fruit and veggie pouches for Auggie, fresh pineapple on sale, whole milk yogurt, and meat mark-downs. Two packages of boneless chicken thighs were marked down half-price making them just $1.75/pound. Two packages of boneless chicken tenderloins were half-price at $1.99/pound. Plus grass fed hamburger meat was on sale for $4.80/pound. Pork loin was on sale for $1.89/pound so I got one. It was a great meat day and our freezer got filled up!

Total at Aldi: $110.17

15. Wal-mart

Elias and Malorie went to a different Walmart a few days later and I couldn’t resist asking them to check for $0.50/pound hams. Sure enough, they had a bunch so they picked up four more hams for me. It’s hard to pass up such an amazing price for meat that gives us several meals or that will feed thirty people at a Sunday lunch!

Total for four spiral cut hams: $20.20

Total grocery spending for December: $1458

— > Without WIC, our total this month would have been closer to $1658. <—–

If you recall, at the beginning of this year, I decided to keep running totals of everything we spent on groceries each month. I also decided to increase our budget to $1,400/month for food because we feed so many people and my previous $1,200/month average was causing unnecessary stress.

We’ve had adults move in and out of our home all year long. Most of the year, we had 13 people living here, sometimes 14, and now there are 12.

Here’s the breakdown of what we ended up spending each month during 2024…

Summary/Average for groceries during 2024

January: $1,178
February: $849
March: $1,356
April: $1148
May: 1091
June: $1,121
July: $1,190
August: $1,611
September: $1,218
October: $1,345
November: $1,150
December: $1,458

Grand total for 2024: $14,715

That’s a lot of groceries. :)

Grocery Budget Plan for 2025

Watch for a post detailing what we’re planning to change and keep the same for our 2025 grocery budget!

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Big Family Food and Fun: December 15-21, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 15-21, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: December 15-21, 2024

Saturday evening, as part of our Sabbath time of delight, we took the kids out to look at Christmas lights before bed.

Sunday morning, we ate a plate of Breakfast Cookies into Bars that I’d made a few days before.

Pop got to snuggle a sleepy Little Sweetheart during worship time that morning. Anna wasn’t feeling well, poor thing.

We had an amazing full house for lunch that day with 29 of us altogether. I had made a large roaster full of Spicy Ham and Potato Soup last Friday, and simply rewarmed it (with the help of Kelsey who got to the house after church before we did that day). Some friends who joined us brought food also and we had a feast with soup, salads, breads, chips, fruit, and cakes.

I love it when the dining room and the living room tables are full of dear ones.

We had an extra special “Pigmas Party” at Heartlands church that night! It was reverse of the Christmas in July idea with a…Barbecue in December! One church member smoked a bunch of pulled pork for all of us (it was amazing!). Everyone brought desserts. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.

There was an ugly sweater contest and I was definitely in the running with my hideous flamingo sweater with matching (um, clashing) earrings and hair bows!

The kids had fun trying on items from the photo booth.

The evening ended with Justus and two friends entertaining us with some fun Christmas music.

Monday morning, I scrambled a dozen eggs and warmed up bacon I’d baked last week. I got out a jar of Smoothie I’d made the day before for Matt and me.

While the kids were playing that morning, Auggie found Keith’s Husker helmet. It weighed him down, so he didn’t wear it for long. But he did wear it proudly. :)

I wrapped presents that afternoon while drinking cold coffee with cream to power me through. :)

I had to take Keith to an appointment after school, so I got dinner out before I left to make dinnertime easier for Matt, Elias, and Malorie. I had two Quiche (or is it quiches? nope, I looked it up. quiche.) in the freezer from a previous meal, so Matt warmed up individual pieces in our air fryer and it tasted great!

—> By the way, I’d intentionally made extra Quiche a few weeks ago, knowing I’d have leftovers to freeze. If I’m going to get out ingredients to make one meal, I might as well make double the food using the same amount of effort, right? Having pre-made food in the freezer like this saves me on busy nights! <—

With the Quiche, we had Spinach with salad dressing, Oranges, and Pears.

MONDAY NIGHT FUN:

As we were finishing dinner that night, Matt discovered (…wait for it…) a squirrel in our pantry.

We have no idea how it got into our house, though our neighbors had told us they had a similar thing happen a few weeks ago. WHAT?

Have you ever tried keeping seven trauma-kids calm while there’s a squirrel in the pantry? Well.

Malorie helped me keep the kids occupied in the kitchen, dining room, or living room while Elias and Matt did everything they could to trap the squirrel, then set it free outside. It was not an easy task, but there were enticing peanuts involved.

All that to say, getting everyone settled in for the night wasn’t easy (as if it ever is easy?!).

Oy. But there’s more.

Tuesday morning, I had to get Auggie to Speech Therapy in the midst of getting the other kids off to school, so we had a simple breakfast of Yogurt with Granola. I also set out the Pancake Sausage Muffins I’d made last week (that failed to rise) for any of the kids who wanted those. Meanwhile, Kiya made herself a ham sandwich with spinach for lunch and I drank my morning smoothie.

ALSO DURING BREAKFAST

Elias usually leaves for work around 7:20 but walked out and came right back into the house announcing that his car had locked him out somehow. Did I mention that his car was running?!

Our extra car isn’t running right now so I was no help because I needed to van for Auggie’s appointment. So he quickly grabbed Malorie’s keys and took her car (later Malorie took his car to work). He made it to work just in time.

Matt watched a YouTube video in an effort to learn how to break into a car (hahahaha). But he isn’t burglar enough, so it didn’t work. He finally gave in and called a locksmith who had it unlocked very quickly once he arrived. I texted this picture to Elias, letting him know that an hour and twenty minutes later, his car (that had been running that entire time) had most definitely defrosted and was nice and warm.

And then I texted Elias that between the kids’ frequently challenging behavior/needs, the squirrel in our pantry last night, and the hubbub of the morning with the car situation – if we hadn’t scared Malorie off by now, ain’t nothing going to scare her off.

Malorie is a keeper.

All of that was before 8:25, in which I was also trying to get kids ready and off to school plus get Auggie ready to leave for Speech Therapy. Arriving at the clinic with Auggie felt like a vacation for me.

This is his third week, so he warmed up to his therapist much more quickly this morning and was ready to play!

After therapy, he got to pick a sticker. I kid you not, look at what Auggie innocently picked out:

I texted the above picture to Matt, Elias, and Malorie saying,

Of all the stickers Auggie could pick after therapy today, he chose this one. Too soon, buddy, too soon.

PHEW.

Back at home, we worked together to get the girls ready for school. Bubble braids for the win!

Anna still wasn’t feeling well and it had affected her appetite. Mac and Cheese sounded good to her so I made some for the kids’ lunch before the bus came. But, silly as it might sound, I cried when I made it.

Our Bonus Buddy moved out a few weeks ago and we miss him terribly. Mac and cheese is one of the few foods he likes, so I haven’t brought myself to make it since he left. Ugh. Silly mac and cheese. Salted with tears.

We got two out of three little girls on the bus and I tucked Anna and Auggie (and Little Sweetheart, who was hanging with us that morning) in for naps. I took a minute to breathe, then scrubbed potatoes and put them into a crock pot for dinner.

After school, I picked up the three elementary kids and we headed to our weekly Food Distribution site to hand out food and help clean up. At the very end of our time, Keith helped Mr. Jim scrub spots on the carpet.

When we got home, we enjoyed Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese, plus Caesar Salad.

As we finished feeding the kids, Kelsey texted to let us know that some Christmas Carolers might be stopping by. We got the kids ready to meet them outside, not knowing exactly who would be coming. It turned out to be Justus and Kelsey plus two friends we’ve been getting to know and love. Auggie immediately made himself a part of the group. :) I was only able to take a fuzzy picture through my tears. It was so beautiful and precious to be loved on by these four dear ones.

Wednesday, I spent the morning cleaning out two different rooms because when there are this many people living in a house, clutter is not welcome and makes me a little bit crazy. Somewhere during the morning, I found a few chap sticks. So Josie helped Auggie put some on.

Acacia and Josie got a present from their teacher at school that day, and the best place to unwrap it was in the doorway of the kitchen on the floor.

Josie, who apparently didn’t need to take her coat off all day, helped me make salad for dinner that night.

We ate our salad with all the random leftovers we pulled out of our fridge.

Then we loaded up our van with everyone who lives at our house to enjoy a Drive Through Christmas Show. With 12 people in a 12-passenger van that is 9′ tall, we maxed out the limits for who could drive through on one purchased vehicle ticket (12 people with a 10′ height limit, phew).

We got to drive through twice, making it a great outing!

Back at home and ready for bed, Daddy read one of the girls’ new books that their teacher had given them as a gift.

Thursday morning I baked 16 eggs and made 16 Breakfast Sandwiches. Keith helped me stir up the eggs.

We took the four youngest kids to Costco that morning to get stocked up on regular groceries plus everything we needed for Christmas. For a Thursday, we were shocked at how busy Costco was. If it’s that busy on a weekday six days before Christmas, we sure are glad we didn’t wait to go any closer to the 25th!

For dinner that night, we had a double batch of Hearty Bean Casserole with a peeled 3-pound bag of Clementines and Buttered Rolls. It was a super simple meal and everyone gobbled it up.

Friday was Malachi’s 20th birthday! A bunch of his friends came to the Castle Thursday night and they spent the night and day here. It was marvelous.

That morning, I put Chicken Thighs into a crock pot with Italian dressing to slow cook all day for our dinner that night.

Malachi and his friend Allan were the first ones up Friday morning, so they went out to get birthday donuts for the crew. (I vowed to take pictures of all the guys later and got exactly none. Boo.)

Mid-morning, Matt and I took the youngest four kids to the WIC clinic for an appointment.

For the first time ever, Josie and Acacia confidently allowed the nurse to weigh and measure them.

Acacia is barely on the charts for her height (2nd percentile). We call this high spirited girl Tiny-but-Mighty. That’s our Acacia.

Back at home, Justus had dropped Little Sweetheart off with Malorie.

Then Eva dropped off Arrow a few minutes later.

Acacia took over their care until the preschool bus came. :)

That evening, everyone gathered to celebrate Malachi’s birthday. He had requested Chicken Alfredo. I shredded the chicken that had been slow cooking all day, boiled two pounds of noodles, steamed broccoli, made salad, and warmed up a jar of red sauce for those who didn’t want Alfredo. I also set out some fruit to stretch the meal.

 

Malachi’s birthday dessert request was Butterscotch Bars – a family favorite. With the extreme busyness of the week, I was so thankful I had some baked, cut, and already in the freezer! We passed the plate of bars around the table, but first, Malachi blew out his birthday candle.

After dinner the mamas and daddies took their babies home for bed and I put on a Christmas movie for the kids. The rest of the grown ups (and Brayden!) worked upstairs to move and set up furniture. Matt has been working during every free moment of the past few months to redo the boys’ room ceiling. It’s been a major project and the boys have been displaced in the meantime. We are so thankful they can move back into their room! Here the guys are, rebuilding the bunk bed.

Saturday, we spent time cleaning and regrouping after the bedroom transition the night before. The girls also helped me get some baking done so we can deliver goodies to our neighbors!

I loved that all the little girls wanted to help me sweep. Ugh, check out the window blinds that are broken (and there are more not pictured in this photo). This is the room the boys lived in while Matt was repairing theirs. Wayyyyy too many of the blinds got messed up thanks to ADHD and whatever else has yet to be diagnosed. :)

Here’s the final product of our morning baking adventures. We made five loaves of Apple Bread and five loaves of Eggnog Bread. (In case you click over to get this fun recipe, you should know that I cheated and used store-bought eggnog.) We plan to put these loaves in a clear bag and tie them with ribbon, then walk through our neighborhood handing them out.

The rest of the day was spent doing more cleaning, giving baths, getting haircuts, and getting ready for our Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: December 8-14, 2024

Last Saturday evening, we pulled out our special candles (the battery operated kind that doesn’t involve actual fire) to kick off our Sabbath. We try to use our meal time to teach our kids more scripture and more about God’s love for them.

We ate Chicken Nuggets, Fries, and had special Coconut Cakes that a friend had made. Mealtime, in general, at our house is loud and hectic. Per their usual, the kids didn’t get the memo this week again that Sabbath is supposed to be restful and a time of delight. :/ BUT, we’re going to keep doing this anyway because it’s important to us to set aside this 24-hours to have a work-free mindset and to try and engage with our kids and our community in a different way.

Church on Sunday was wonderful and Spirit-filled. After worship, our kids got to participate in a ministry that was so good for them. A few weeks prior, we’d grabbed some Gift Tags that allowed us to purchase gifts for kids in Lincoln who may not otherwise have anything under their trees. Matt and I pulled enough tags for each of our kids to pick a toy for another child their age. We shopped with them individually online so they could pick their gift. Then this Sunday, they got to hand off their gift to the people facilitating this ministry.

The kids were so proud of the gift they’d chosen and loved handing it over. We have a lot of chaos and frustration with behaviors at our house. But THIS. Involving our kids in ways to serve like this shows that their hearts are loving and good. We will keep finding opportunities for them like this. It is a win.

There was a lunch meeting after church that day that most of our regular Sunday Lunch people were involved with. So we invited a different family that we had been looking forward to spending time with. Our meal was smaller and very simple: A pot of Chili with cheese, sour cream, and Fritos, Muffins, Carrots, and Grapes.

We set out the last of the Coconut Cakes from our friend and a plate of Christmas Spice Cookies for dessert.

There were 18 of us sharing our meal that day. It was lovely and peaceful.

The weather was unusually warm, so the kids played outside most of the afternoon.

Keith and Anna wanted to help me make Pizza that night for our dinner.

Keith was very proud to turn his pepperoni into a happy face.

I only had two crusts in the freezer, so I made a small dish of Crustless Pizza to go with the regular pizza. Brayden declared the crustless version to be the best pizza he’d ever eaten and begged me to please do this every time. :)

Monday was a catch-up day and also a get-ahead day. Our meals consisted entirely of leftovers as we pulled out and warmed up random items all day long as needed. Not cooking meals freed me to make a large Lasagna Casserole to eat Tuesday night before a music concert for Brayden and Kiya.

The girls helped me make a batch of Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins.

Worth noting: Having all this “help” in my kitchen will be great some day. Meanwhile, this day it distracted me and I forgot to add the coconut oil I’d melted on the stove for these muffins. They still tasted ok, but were a bit crumbly. Meh.

That evening, since we just had leftover tidbits, Anna helped everyone choose a (low fat) muffin, ha, to round out our meal.

Malachi came over for a while that evening!

Every once in a while, Elias and Malorie take both Brayden and Kiya out on Mondays for some Big Bro Big Sis time. This is very good for them! A local restaurant offers half-price kids meals on Mondays so that was their destination. The restaurant was packed that night so they brought their food home to eat.

Tuesday mornings, I leave early to take Auggie to Speech Therapy. I scrambled 12 eggs before I left and the kids ate them with Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins. Malorie helped Matt get the other kids to school.

The rest of the day was spent playing, caring for Little Sweetheart, and getting Brayden and Kiya ready for their school concert that night. I baked the Lasagna Casserole for a very early dinner and warmed up leftover green beans, two cans of corn, sliced pears, and made a salad.

We got everyone out the door to enjoy Brayden singing and playing his ukulele on stage.

Then, both Brayden and Kiya sang fun songs together with their friends. It was an awesome evening, with all of our older kids making the effort to be there and support. I wasn’t able to get a picture, but there 20 of us in the fan club. I’m so thankful for our Bigs and how they love the Littles.

Wednesday morning, we ate yogurt and granola for breakfast. I asked Kiya to help me get out the granola options, and as I shared last week, her personality was shining as she got everything set out just so. :)

After we got the elementary kids off to school, we loaded up the other four and headed to Walmart and Aldi for groceries.

Back at home, I made a double recipe of Breakfast Cookies into Bars. I really like having these in the freezer to pull out on Sunday mornings for an effortless breakfast.

Arrow spent the afternoon with us. This was Keith’s reaction when he got home from school and realized that Arrow was hanging out in the kitchen with us.

I got out raspberries to go with our dinner – and the girls discovered them as soon as they got off the school bus. At dinnertime, here’s what I had left to offer. :)

I made a big Taco Bar for dinner with Crusted Tilapia (from Costco) and Seasoned Beef. I made a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to help stretch the meal, plus we had shredded cheese, queso, salsa, cilantro, lettuce, black beans, tortillas, and chips.

After we all ate our fill, I took all the tidbits of leftovers and stirred them together into a Burrito Casserole for a future meal.

Thursday morning, we warmed up some bags of Breakfast Sandwiches that I’d made last week and frozen. This photo doesn’t look like much, just the tail end of some bags of Breakfast Sandwiches, plus oranges and the Salad Matt and I drink every day. :) Mornings are so fancy around here.

Throughout the day, I worked on putting together a triple batch of Spicy Ham and Potato Soup to rewarm for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. It has hard for me not to dip into it because this is my favorite soup. Or maybe this one is. Meh, I love both!

Brayden had another music concert that night – this time for band. We ate an early dinner again of two Rotisserie Chickens (that I’d picked up marked down to just $2.02 at Walmart the day before!) with Mashed Potatoes (instant from Azure Standard), Fried Zucchini, and Stuffing.

These kids just began learning instruments so we were proud of what they’ve learned so far.

Malorie and Elias helped us hold down a row full of restless kids throughout the concert. Thank goodness I’d packed snacks (for the kids, not for M and E). ;)

We got home and rewarded everyone (especially the adults who had survived the second concert of the week managing a row full of littles) with a piece of fudge before bed. Keith had helped me make it that morning and he was proud!

Friday morning the kids ate cold cereal for breakfast. I made a pan of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars to have on hand for easy snacks.

I’ve been needing to give this fella a hair cut but it’s hard to find the time (and honestly, the motivation). He has curls when we get his hair wet, but then it turns to this after playing and putting on hats to go outside. I attempted to take a “before” picture and he refused to smile for me, making for a perfect “please cut my hair because I am pitiful” photo. :)

While he sat at the kitchen counter, I cut off about an inch of hair. He is never impressed with hair cuts, and this time was no exception. But look how sweet!! And how grown up he looks.

I wrapped some presents that afternoon – one of my favorite parts of holiday prep!

For dinner that night, I boiled a pound of noodles and warmed up leftovers from Thursday’s rotisserie chicken. Typically I make homemade Alfredo Sauce but this time I just opened a jar of sauce from Aldi. We had all of this with Steamed Broccoli. Then we put on pajamas and headed to Heartlands church for a Christmas Movie Night for the kids.

The older kids watched the Muppets movie in one room.

And the younger kids watched The Grinch in another room. Everyone enjoyed popcorn and mix-ins. The kids loved this!

Saturday morning was pretty chill as we let the kids watch some Christmas shows while I got some work done in the kitchen. I mixed up a quadruple batch of Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies so that we could work on them together throughout the morning.

Reminder if you’re making cookies with kids: DO IT LIKE THIS. Unless you love Christmas cookie stress, of course.

I also made a big batch of Pancake Sausage Muffins to help us through the next week as we finish up getting ready for Christmas. We make lots of Breakfast Sandwiches to make early mornings easier for adults when they head to work. So I thought maybe Pancake Sausage Muffins would be a nice change of pace. Also, at this time, Kiya baked a cake for our Sunday lunch. She’d gotten the mix for her birthday and was excited to use it.

I have no idea what I did wrong on with the Pancake Sausage Muffins, but they did not rise. Did I forget the baking powder? We’ll never know. Either way, they taste fine and I packaged them up for easy breakfasts.

Then I brought the kids in a few at a time to roll and cut out Cream Cheese Cut-Out Cookies. First the girls.

Then the boys.

Phew! Got ’em done! (We’ll decorate another day.)

After the kitchen got cleaned up, we made some Christmas crafts at our living room table.

We cleaned out the fridge to eat leftovers for lunch. Then we spent the rest of the day watching a Christmas movie, picking up the house, and getting ready to move into our time of Sabbath rest.

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: November 17-23, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: November 17-23, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: November 17-23, 2024

On Saturday, November 16, Elias and Malorie took Keith on an outing to celebrate his birthday last week. This is something they’ve started doing for each birthday kid, and it’s so special for them. Here’s Keith at Scheels with a big bear!

Saturday evening, we enjoyed Cheeseburger Soup (this recipe with hamburger instead of ham) and quesadillas.

Malachi happened to be at our house at dinner time, so he got to experience our Sabbath kick-off meal with candles and special prayer time.

We’d made Breakfast Cookie Bars the day before so that all we had to do on Sunday morning was open the package and eat.

Is there anything better than baby-bed-head and footie pajamas?

We had a special Kids Ministry event after church that Sunday. Families brought lunch and we set it out potluck style to eat together.

Then we did THAT WHICH IS CRAZY, but also wonderful: We all went to Walmart together on a Sunday afternoon. Kids and families worked as teams to purchase items from lists that were provided for us. Our goal was to fill several Little Free Pantries around Lincoln.

It was a hectic but absolutely beautiful process to see so many Heartlands kids and families working together to fill carts. Our friends, Matt, Terra, and Mandy all helped our kids and Matt and I were SO GRATEFUL for this. Phew, it takes a village, and ours is so wonderful.

Self-check out went smoothly with our friend Matt…

Then we met up with other families who had finished their lists. Everyone left from Walmart to fill their assigned pantries.

Matt and Terra helped us load our van, but we planned to fill our pantry later in the week because we had to get back home for our Community Group.

Dinner that night was three frozen pizzas (there were only 10 of us eating that night) and a bunch of apples sliced up.

We enjoyed a turkey craft around the living room table that evening.

At bedtime, Josie pretended to play the guitar as she sang her own version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. So precious.

Monday morning for breakfast, we ate the last of the Breakfast Cookie Bars with a dozen scrambled eggs and a container of applesauce. I spent the morning getting some much needed cleaning done on our second floor. When it was time to watch for the preschool school bus, we had to stay on the front porch because it was pouring down rain.

Auggie and I hung back while Daddy umbrella’d everyone to the bus. You might notice one little girl in a blue jacket who refused to look at the camera (above) and refused to walk under the umbrella (below). No worries, Matt and I are also stubborn and willing to work hard to win the hearts of these children for Jesus.

The rain continued all day and evening. We had Sausage and Cheese Quiche for dinner with Steamed Brocccoli and Clementines. Then we worked hard to keep everyone entertained on a rainy night.

Tuesday morning, I baked four pans of bacon for sandwiches and to have on hand to rewarm easily.

Later that morning, I put together 12 sub sandwiches (similar to this) to toast for our dinner that night.

Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and I went to serve at our weekly Food Distribution site that afternoon after school.

We came home to Toasted Subs and Tomato Soup.

Wednesday morning it was cold enough that we had to finally dig out all of our heavy winter coats. After we got the elementary kids to school, we bundled up the youngest four and headed to the Children’s Museum.

Dinner that night was a fun treat that we’d brought home from Tuesday’s Food Distribution: restaurant chicken patties that had been donated. We air fried them and put them in buns for sandwiches. I warmed up leftover noodles and steamed green beans to go with our meal.

I got out a puzzle to see who might be interested, and these three cooperated and had a blast putting it together THREE TIMES. It’s a puzzle miracle.

Meanwhile, Acacia put together these while Auggie kept taking out the pieces she put in. :)

Thursday morning, we enjoyed a loaf of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread that I had in the freezer and thawed the night before. I scrambled 12 eggs to go with it.

We loaded up the four youngest that morning and went to Walmart and Costco. We got restocked on fresh fruits and veggies plus several other Costco essentials.

We were blessed that afternoon with an Arrow visit…

…and one from Little Sweetheart too! Lolli and Pop are so thankful to live close to grandbabies. :)

When the kids got home from school, we got out a container of strawberries that we’d picked up at Costco for them to snack on. Two pounds of strawberries later…

…we loaded up all eight kid and headed a few blocks away to the Little Free Pantry we had planned to fill up. The groceries our group had purchased together on Sunday were still in the back of our van and we finally had a chance to fill the pantry.

As we were filling it, a gentleman came to shop. Perfect timing!! We enjoyed meeting him and vising, then handed him a bag to fill up as we were leaving. If you have any Little Free Pantries in your area, I encourage you to fill them with your family if you are able. It’s a need in our neck of the woods, and it is so great to teach our kids this way of loving our neighbors.

When we got home, we warmed up leftover Hotdogs and ate them with Raspberries and Baked Beans.

Everyone was getting a little too rowdy after dinner, so we gathered them around the living room table for a craft.

Elias and Malorie made something else for their dinner later that evening and Josie wanted to help. This was only made possible with an apron.

After the kids and I went to bed that night, Matt put a Pork Butt into a crock pot to slow cook all night so we could have it ready for our Sunday Lunch. Friday morning, we shredded it and let it cool before refrigerating it.

We had picked up 8-pounds of ground beef at Costco the day before, so I browned it while the kids ate breakfast.

I also made a big pan of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars. These are so fast and easy to make!

Matt took the four elementary kids to school while I stayed back with the youngest four. Auggie had an in-home appointment with an Early Development Special Ed Teacher to help him as we try to get him caught up on speech and social/emotional skills.

Both grandbabies got dropped off that morning and Malorie helped us out as we enjoyed them.

Later that afternoon, I turned some of the cooked beef into a huge pan of Creamy Layered Enchiladas to put into the freezer for a future Sunday Lunch.

I’d picked up a London Broil marked down at the store the day before and cooked it for dinner that night. It turned out tasty! I made six boxes of mac and cheese, which the kids ate with frozen peas. Plus we finished off another two pounds of strawberries.

The kids had been looking forward to our plans to put up the Christmas tree that evening! They all “worked together” to help while Matt and I tried to maintain order.

Brayden and Kiya have helped assemble the tree for the past few years so they did a really good job directing the others in what to do. We didn’t get the project finished that night, but we got the hardest parts finished.

Saturday morning, we finished decorating the tree.

It’s always a relief to have that job done – and now we can just enjoy the beauty. And hopefully we can keep Auggie from taking it all apart. :)

The rest of the day, we cleaned, ate leftovers, and prepared for Sabbath rest. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 27-November 2, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 27-November 2, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 27-November 2, 2024

We’ve been practicing taking a Sabbath rest from Saturday evening until Sunday evening. Read more about that here. Because of this, I’ve found that I am not able to completely finish sharing about our Saturday because I turn off my computer and focus fully on family time and down time Saturday evening. So here’s a quick recap of last Saturday evening…

We had an early dinner then got all eight kids dressed up like Little House on the Prairie characters. We’ve been reading the books and watching the show, so they were so excited about this!

Kiya is kind of hidden in the above photo, so I took one of her individually so that you can see how much she looks like Laura Ingalls! :)

We had tickets to go to our local Boo at the Zoo that evening. It was a very well-organized and huge event! The kids loved it!

We walked through the zoo, trick-or-treating at various booths. Then we headed home for bed.

On Sunday morning, the kids were excited to wake up to donuts that Elias and Malorie had picked up for them.

As we got ready for church, Malorie taught Josie how to have a thumb war. :) :) :) I found it to be hilarious.

We’d made all of our Sunday Lunch food in the days leading up to Sunday so that we could Sabbath, so we simply warmed everything in crock pots and it worked great! We had made Smoked Chicken and Cream Cheese Corn, Friends who joined us for the meal brought Baked Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies, and Salad. For dessert we sat and drank coffee with Peanut Butter Brownies. Everyone raved over these.

Truly, it was a delightful Sabbath feast. There were 23 of us gathered that day.

The kids watched a movie with Elias and Malorie that afternoon while Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time (where we continued to dig in together to learn more about what it to Sabbath). For dinner, I warmed up leftover Pizza from last week and made a Caesar salad.

On Monday morning, I made a quick quadruple batch of Homemade Chewy Granola Bars. The kids ate over half of them that morning with sliced pears.

After we dropped the four elementary kids off at school, the other four played and played outside until we had no choice but to go inside and get dressed in clean clothes for school.

We still had 15-minutes before the bus came so Acacia helped me crack open 20 eggs for Breakfast Sandwiches.

I finished putting together the sandwiches later that afternoon. I am amazed at how many of these Breakfast Sandwiches we go through at our house. They are so nice to have on hand.

Also worth sharing: A few days before this, our neighbor had brought over two big packages of buns that were leftover from an event at his workplace. People often think of us when there is extra food after an event that they don’t know what to do with. They know leftovers won’t go to waste here! We always say yes because I can always figure out a way to use whatever is given.

All that to say, I saw buns and my first thought was, “Ah, Breakfast Sandwiches.” And there you have it.

Dinner that night was a most amazing Beef Roast that I’d started about 5:30 that morning. I’d gotten the roast as a meat markdown last week, spending a little more per pound than I prefer to spend because I’ve been so hungry for beef roast. This did not disappoint. I’d put a bunch of carrots in with it, and their flavor was also incredible. I buttered and toasted rolls to go with our meal – very simple and very good.

Tuesday morning, Justus dropped off Little Sweetheart as he headed off to a meeting. She is always very entertained by all the action around here. As you can see below, she was having a lively conversation with two little mermaids.

After school that day, I took Brayden, Kiya, and Keith to the Food Distribution site where we serve on Tuesdays. Kiya handed out chicken to people as they came through the line and Keith got to help me hand out treats, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and glow sticks. Brayden worked in the kitchen to scrub out coolers as they emptied out at all of the stations throughout the room.

Back at home, Matt and Elias finished making dinner. I had cut up Sunday’s leftover Smoked Chicken to warm up and we had it with a pound of Noodles, two heads of Broccoli, and a jar of White Sauce (most of the kids like their noodles with only butter and salt. :)

Wednesday morning, I made several pans of Bacon for us to eat at breakfast time and to have on hand for other meals as needed. I scrambled 15 eggs for us to eat also.

I’d gotten an early start that morning so I also baked a batch of Cupcakes with Spinach for school lunches.

It was sprinkling that morning but Auggie didn’t understand why we couldn’t go outside and play. I finally took him out since it wasn’t too bad yet, which helped his scream-y disposition that morning. Here he is, on his little bike, looking up at the sky when the thunder rolled in. After that we headed back inside, ha.

It started pouring late that morning, just at the time Justus and Kelsey dropped off Little Sweetheart. The girls were fascinated and tried very hard to accidentally get wet even though they had been told to stay back out of the rain.

Eva dropped Arrow off for the afternoon, and we were pleased that the babies worked out their naptimes so that they didn’t both need the crib at the same time. When it was time to pick up kids from school – all the babies were awake, including Auggie. So while Matt went to pick up kids (in the rain), Malorie and I took care of Auggie, Little Sweetheart, and Arrow. This is Auggie leaning in to give Little Sweetheart a kiss.

This was mine and Arrow’s view from across the room as I had just finished giving Arrow a bottle. Malorie took Sweetheart out of her chair and Auggie decided to examine it. Better he clobber her chair than her, though, right?

Friends came and picked up Little Sweetheart to help out until Justus and Kelsey got back from a meeting. Eva arrived to get Arrow, then stayed to help through dinnertime. I had put Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot that morning and Costco Meatballs into another crock pot with barbecue sauce. So dinner prep was easy that night as all I needed to do was steam some Peas and peel about 100 clementines. (The kids ate them faster than I could peel them – a good problem to have!)

Dinner is always lively and honestly, often a challenge as we try to train this many high-need kids to sit and eat. Notice the bottom right corner of this photo in which Keith would rather play with a stick (which isn’t allowed in the house, much less the dining table) than eat. Either way, having an extra adult around our table helped, and dinner that night was less dramatic than most. :)

It was still rainy that evening, so we gathered kids around the living room table for a fall craft after dinner.

I love that all of the kids enjoy doing these (cheap peel-and-stick craft kits from Hobby Lobby for the win!).

Then we told the kids that if they cooperated and got teeth brushed for bed, we could watch an episode of Little House on the Prairie before bed. They are LOVING any opportunity to watch this classic, so as much as eight kids could cooperate and get teeth brushed, they did. ;)

Thursday morning, I let the kids pick between Breakfast Sandwiches or Cereal since not all the kids like the same thing (shocker). I also got out a tub of yogurt that we finished off. Meanwhile, I had a lovely glass of this smoothie.

Mornings have been rough for our kindergarteners because it’s more fun to play than to get dressed. So on Wednesday I created a Morning Routine chart for them. We gave it a try on Thursday morning and Keith was VERY EXCITED. As much as he struggles with behaviors, he also really wants to “shine his light for Jesus.” Here he is, happily coloring in his “shining lights” after he completed the first two tasks. Who cares that his shirt is wrongs-side-out? He put it on. Check!

After we got the kids off to school, I started a huge pot of Chicken Broth.

Here’s the end result later after I blended in the carrots and onions and stirred them back into the broth. So good!

My dear friend Charlene came for the afternoon and we talked a mile a minute to get caught up. Little Sweetheart came too, and she enjoyed the girl talk.

For dinner that night, I pulled out all the odds and ends in the fridge. This practice is so helpful in preventing food waste! Everyone ate whatever leftovers sounded good, then we got all eight kids dressed (in layers) in their Little House on the Prairie clothes for trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

If you’re familiar with the Little House on the Prairie show, when I say that Acacia running through our yard reminds me of Baby Carrie running through the prairie with her sisters – well. So sweet.

Our neighbors are wonderful, and the kids had so much fun. Matt and I appreciated getting to know some of our neighbors better that evening. And best yet, Malachi came over and walked around with us. Meanwhile, Elias and Malorie and one of our housemates stayed back home to greet Trick-or-Treaters who came to our house.

Friday morning, we made Oatmeal for breakfast before sending kids off to school. Matt and I then took the four youngest kids to Aldi and Costco.

At Aldi, we left the kids in the van with Matt while I ran in and got everything we needed as fast as I could. In my haste, I forgot to take a picture of my cart. Here are two of my three bags when we got home. :/

I picked up eight pounds of hamburger meat at Costco. So as I was putting all the groceries away, I started to brown it to get ahead.

We had plans to host a Pie Party for our neighborhood on Saturday, so I made two Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pies.

That afternoon, I also made 2 huge Lasagnas – one to bake on Sunday morning for our Sunday Lunch, and another for our freezer to enjoy with family over Thanksgiving weekend.

Dinner that night was our traditional French Fry Friday (aka Mom’s night off-ish) with Chicken Sandwiches, Fries, Pickles, Grapes, and Raspberries.

Saturday morning, I made a quick batch of Pumpkin Cheesecake Whip for breakfast.

I also made a double batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, which made three big loaves. I froze one and saved two for our Sunday morning breakfast.

That afternoon, we hosted a big neighborhood Pie Party. This was our third get-together with people in our neighborhood. It was FANTASTIC. We had made simple invitations letting people know to bring a pie to share (or just show up) and to come enjoy time together.

People and pies started to arrive and they just kept coming.

There was a huge variety of pie that everyone freely sampled. Plus we had coffee, tea, or apple cider.

We got to know some neighbors that we’d never visited with before, kids ran in and out playing, people connected with each other – it was so, so, wonderful!

I realized afterward that I didn’t capture everyone in the photos. We later counted that 29 people came that afternoon, making 42 of us altogether. God is good.

As the afternoon wound down, I discovered three of our girls in our living room with our neighbor, Sarah, whom they adore. What a gift to have these community gatherings to make connections.

We started our Sabbath family time later that evening, which I’ll share more about next week!

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