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Big Family Food and Fun: October 4-10, 2026

October 10, 2026 by Laura Leave a Comment

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: October 4-10, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: October 4-10, 2026

Auggie was a super eager helper on Sunday morning as we got ready for church and prepped lunch. We were planning for an extra big crowd that day, so we made a huge pot of Chicken Taco Soup and another pot of Beef Taco Soup.

Of course, we ate a plateful of Breakfast Cookie Bars that morning.

There were 45 of us gathered for lunch that day, and it was incredible!

We ate our Taco Soup with Sliders and lots of fresh Fruit – plus Guacamole that our friend Steve is “famous” for around here.

The weather was gorgeous, so kids played outside and some adults joined them too!

After lunch, we transitioned into a surprise birthday party for our friend, Cindy. This worked out perfectly because while she thought we were all gathered for a regular Sunday Lunch, after we ate, more and more people showed up for dessert!!

We partied until well after 4:00, then baked some Frozen Pizza for dinner while I cleaned the kitchen. The kids were able to play outside until bedtime. After days and days of rain, we are thrilled to enjoy some sunshine!

On Monday while Emma was here with Auggie, Matt and I got to go out for coffee with the Nabbs! We were so glad to soak up every minute with them before they headed back to Texas.

Right after that, I ran to get our grocery shopping done for the week. I loaded up at Sam’s and then grabbed a few things at Wal-Mart.

I had picked up strawberries, so dinner included Strawberry Parfaits, which was a thrill for everyone!

For dinner, I had slow cooked Roast and Cheesy Potatoes all day, then made Green Beans. Matt was home with the kids and ABA team that afternoon/evening while I spent a very long time at the elementary school at Parent Teacher Conferences. I made it to all the kids meetings, which I had been able to schedule back to back (x6). Phew!

Tuesday was just as full with therapies all morning, a friend visiting all afternoon, Hopelyn hanging out with us, then Tuesday Food Distribution.

When we picked up the kids from school that day, Keith was excited to give a gift to Bonus Buddy that he had made in art.

For dinner that night, I’d simply put some Sliced Ham into a small crock pot to warm up. Then Matt warmed up Mashed Potatoes I’d bought at Sam’s plus he made a Salad. We ate fresh Pears or Grapes to round out our meal.

On Wednesday, I made Scrambled Cheesy Eggs for the kids. While they were eating I made Chocolate and Vanilla Pumpkin Cheater Muffins for Brayden to share with his youth group that evening.

It turned out to be an excavator-themed day for Auggie. He wore his excavator shirt, played with his toy excavator, and worked on his excavator puzzle during ABA therapy. :)

I had the amazing gift of going to Eva’s to spend the morning with her and the kids. I have been missing them so much and finally had a free morning to go hang out! I held Phoebe most of the morning and got to catch up with Eva while Arrow played. Eva had made sidewalk paint and Arrow enjoyed it for a good long while. So sweet!

Phoebe napped in my arms, and when she woke up she was sweet and smiley. Arrow gave her some good brotherly squishes, and I was able to snap a picture of the darling squishy-ness. Eee!!

Meanwhile, back at home, Matt had ordered/rented a lift for a week so that he could do work up high on our house and on our trees. Auggie was thrilled when it was dropped off that morning!

Brayden used his own money to buy a Henna Tattoo kit and he’s been enjoying using it on every willing person. It was finally my turn that afternoon! He put a stencil on my hand and got to work!

That afternoon, Brayden had spent a few hours with our friend Becky. Together, they made Chili and Cornbread Muffins for our dinner. I made Hotdogs and Broccoli to go with the meal. This allowed for people to make Chili Cheese Dogs if they wanted, or to just eat a Hotdog, or just Chili. Overall, most everyone in our house ate something from this meal. And the couple of kids who don’t like any of these choices got fruit and cheese. :)

I had a lot of spinach in the fridge that needed to be used up, so naturally, I baked a cake. :) This Spinach Cake is always an exciting snack for the kids.

The kids ate their pieces of cake outside while watching Daddy work on the lift. They got to take turns going up with him and helping with the branches.

Their turn to go up only came if they were willing to help clean up and carry branches to the stick pile. Even our ABA therapists helped out. It was a pretty exciting night!

On Thursday, Hopelyn and Arrow came over to play. Pop took Arrow and Auggie for a ride on the lift while he moved it into the place he needed to work next. Arrow LOVED this!!!

Hopelyn loved it too – while sitting on my lap watching. :) She babysat Arrow’s pet Buddy while we watched.

After school that day, the kids sat down and snacked while we waited for kids to get their bikes and meet back up with us for the walk/ride home.

We hung out on the front porch and Josie taught Hopelyn some letters and letter sounds. So now Hopelyn is practically ready for kindergarten.

Justus and Kelsey had an extra busy evening, so our friend Lydia picked up Hopelyn for the evening. Our girls were so excited to see Lydia!

The evening was full of ABA therapy, but it was beautiful outside so most of our time was spent outside playing/working. I forgot to take a picture of our dinner, which was Hamburgers that I’d frozen after a big meal a few weeks ago. It was so nice to just rewarm them! I air fried some French Fries and Tator Tots, plus we had Pickles and Carrots.

I managed to finally make some Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies. I’ve had them on my “list” for weeks and finally got it done!

On Friday morning, I served Pumpkin Bars for breakfast!

After we got the kids to school, Matt was able to dedicate the entire day to working on the house with the lift and I took Auggie shopping. It is a rare treat to go shopping with Mom, and this boy was incredibly sweet the entire time we were out. We grabbed diapers and a few essentials at Costco. Note that this will be the last time he rides in the front of the cart. I could barely get him out – so he will now graduate to the large part of the cart. :)

Our next stop was Aldi. He learned how to put in the quarter to release the cart for Mom!

After Aldi, we ran into Wal-Mart to check for meat markdowns. My big score of the day was two huge packages of Pork Steak marked down to just $1.25/pound! I plan to use them in my Smothered Pork Chop recipe.

We got home in time to put all the groceries away, and then got Auggie on the preschool bus. Brayden got home soon after that. After lunch, he did homeschool work and had a long ABA therapy session.

For dinner, we ate leftovers in an effort to clean out the fridge. I also cut up a bunch of Oranges and prepped four pounds of Strawberries. We all munched on these all evening during therapy and play time.

On Saturday morning, I made a big pan of Cheesy Potatoes to serve for lunch on Sunday.

Heartlands hosted a Pumpkin Palooza event for kids, and it was a blast! We invited friends that we’d met at the library a few years ago and it was so fun for them to join us. We painted pumpkins, had a scavenger hunt, made a craft, played in corn, and more. It was so great!

Keith and Bonus Buddy had a soccer game that afternoon.

There is a playground near the soccer fields so we took advantage of that too!

We came home and ate leftovers for dinner, had baths, and watched Husker Volleyball. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026

October 3, 2026 by Laura 7 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026

On Sunday morning, we ate Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready to go to church.

I had made two huge Lasagnas for Sunday Lunch. Everyone (who eats lasagna) was excited about this because I hadn’t made these throughout the summer. Now that it’s fall? LASAGNA.

There were 21 of us gathered around our tables that day. :)

Matt and I enjoyed time with our Community Group that afternoon while the kids watched a movie. Then I threw together eight sack suppers (meat and cheese sticks, dried fruit, applesauce, yogurt) for the kids as we headed out for a last-minute drive and outing for the evening.

The kids were allowed to trade for what they didn’t want in their sacks, but they weren’t allowed to fight. Overall, this was a “special” enough event that they all handled it very well. We delivered leftover lasagna to two different homes, then met the Case family at a park we hadn’t discovered yet!

On Monday, I baked Chocolate Pumpkin Cheater Muffins for breakfast.

Emma came that morning so Matt and I could have time off. We had free coffee coupons for The Mill, so instead of walking at Holmes Lake, we walked from our house to the coffee shop. It was so restful and fun!

After school, we started ABA therapies for the evening. Bonus Buddy entertained himself with cardboard and tape, making himself “armor.” He was very proud!

For dinner we ate an entire extra large Egg Casserole with Hashbrowns. I found Banana Muffins in the freezer to go with our meal, plus we had fruit leftover from Sunday Lunch.

Our housemate was doing laundry and Keith was determined to help him transfer everything from washer to dryer.

At bedtime, Auggie sat with Acacia, “fixing” her hair. He’d never done this before and it was incredibly sweet!

It was Pajama Day at school on Tuesday! We also had extra appointments – but it’s ok to wear pajamas to appointments when you’re a cute little kid. :) Matt headed one direction that morning, Malachi and Lexi handled the home front, and I took the remaining kids to school. It is extremely rare that Anna and Acacia would hold hands on the way. But here they are, jammies and tights and jean jacket and lunch bag – buddies on the trail to school.

Three kids joined me at Tuesday Food Distribution – and yep, some of them were wearing pajamas. :)

We had three bags of clothes to donate to the clothing room there, and all three of my helpers grabbed a bag to take in.

Back at home, I had put together a crock pot full of Cheeseburger Soup – this recipe with hamburger meat instead of ham. It was hot and ready when we got home, though the picture doesn’t do the flavor justice.

Before bed that night, I made a triple recipe of Granola Bars for snacks.

On Wednesday, I got some baking done! I made a double batch of Peanut Butter Snack Bars for school lunches.

And I made a double batch of Breakfast Cookie Bars to freeze for our next two Sunday breakfasts.

Later in the day, I cut the Peanut Butter Bars and individually packaged them and froze them to pull out for lunch bags.

After school, Bonus Buddy had a routine eye doctor appointment. To his absolute disappointment, he did NOT need glasses. :) Acacia and Josie went with us for this appointment so that Matt wasn’t left home alone with quite as many kiddos. The girls were fascinated by the machines.

For dinner, I used a pan of Stick of Butter Rice along with some cooked, shredded chicken from the freezer to make Cheesy Chicken and Rice (this recipe but with chicken instead of beef).

On Thursday morning, Keith was excited to carry a big box of supplies to the basement for me. Was the box bigger than him? Yes.

Hopelyn and Arrow came to spend the morning with us!

This next photo may just look like our dirty mudroom. But in fact, it is a picture of our granddaughter singing and twirling and dancing for Lolli as we got ready to go outside.

Auggie and Arrow were working together with Auggie’s ABA behavior tech to build a very high tower with magnatiles. It was almost as tall as Auggie!

That afternoon, I baked a batch of Crustless Cheesecake to have on hand.

I made a French Toast Casserole with Sausage and Fruit for dinner that night.

At the end of Anna’s ABA therapy session that night, she had earned 5-minutes of time to watch a show. Seven out of eight kids enjoyed this reward. How much do our kids love this therapist??! He works with both Anna and Auggie, so he’s at our house a lot and practically a part of our family now. So sweet.

Meanwhile on the other side of the living room, the grown ups were watching our Husker ladies grab another volleyball win!

On Friday morning after we got the kids to school, I headed out to get a hair cut and to take advantage of weekend grocery sales. Aldi wasn’t on my list of places to shop, but I was right by Aldi, so I went in to grab a few items to get us through the weekend.

Back at home, Auggie had finished his ABA therapy session and was eager to help carry in groceries before his bus came to pick him up.

There had been a Mega Meat Sale at a store where I don’t often shop – but these prices made an extra stop worth it! I bought 30-pounds of hamburger meat and browned them right away to make future meals easier.

I had already started slow cooking Salsa Chicken that morning, so later in the afternoon, I had 10 bags of cooked hamburger meat for the freezer plus cooked chicken for Sunday’s Chicken Taco Soup. This was a huge mess but a huge accomplishment (after I got the big pots washed)!

I put together a few Chicken Burritos for the freezer that afternoon also.

Our dear friends, the Nabbs, are in town!! We had planned to see them Sunday, but they surprised us with a ten-minute pop in that afternoon!!! It was amazing!

For dinner that night, we had Marinated Pork Loin (that I’d also picked up at the Mega Meat Sale), Fries, Salad, Corn, Buttered Rolls, and Grapes.

As we wrapped up our night, I put together three packages of Meat and Cheese Sliders to go with Soup for our upcoming Sunday Lunch. Then I worked on cleaning the kitchen!

We ate cereal for breakfast on Saturday then went to Sensory Storytime at the library. Matt and I decided after this that we needed to take a break from going for a while. It is SUCH a good program, but our kids are too comfortable there and many of them act out a good part of the time. It’s disruptive for the other kids. :( We’ll try it again in a few weeks.

We did have some sweet moments of play after the regular program.

Back at home, we played outside and I was able to get all four boys hair cuts taken care of! They were much needed so that felt like a big accomplishment!

I had made Tuna Salad and Boiled Eggs before leaving for the library that morning. Matt made Mac and Cheese for the kids who don’t like tuna – and that was lunch!

Keith and Bonus Buddy had a soccer game that afternoon.

We came home and had bath time, dinner time (two boxes of Orange Chicken from Costco), some special Sabbath time around our table (or at least we attempted it), then a show before bed. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 20-26, 2026

September 26, 2026 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 20-26, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 20-26, 2026

Hooray! I remembered to take a picture of our Sunday morning Breakfast Cookie Bars. Sort of. The kids had already almost wiped out the entire plate by 7:15.

My friend, Kristin, sent me this sweet photo of Kiya and her friends as they traded books after church that morning. These girlies have started a “Book Club” in which they bring books from their own houses that they think each friend would enjoy. Then they read their “new” book throughout the week and exchange/trade for new ones the next Sunday. Thank you, God, for good friends!

We hosted a different kind of Sunday Lunch that day. Justus had asked if we could host a meeting that day with many of Heartlands’ ministry leaders – mens’/womens’ ministry, youth ministry, children’s ministry, community group ministry, etc. So we smoked a bunch of Chicken and everyone brought sides, and we filled our home with ministry leaders.

After we ate, everyone gathered around in the living room to talk about how God was at work and how each ministry works together with other ministries for beautiful cohesiveness. Mostly I managed kids on the outskirts of the meeting. But it was nice to be in the background hearing tidbits of what each person shared.

Matt and I transitioned right into our Community Group after the meeting. Then I baked some pizza for dinner.

We played outside all evening, managed some big behaviors, cared for a neighbor who had a small bike accident, and had a couple of poop situations. So, pretty much a normal evening at the Coppinger house.

Kiya and Bonus Buddy made up a game in the yard that they played together.

On Monday, Emma came so that Matt and I could have the morning off. We tried going to Holmes Lake for our usual walk and rest time. But alas…rain. So we detoured to the Mall so that we could still walk. Was this as peaceful? No. But was it kind of a fun change of pace? It was! And the stores inside weren’t even open until 11:00, so there were only other walkers inside, making it a pretty calm atmosphere.

That afternoon, I did some much needed shopping at Costco. Suffice it to say, I only barely made it out to the van with this load. I should have gotten a second cart, but why would I do that when I could wrestle with a cumbersome mountain of food?

I left Costco and picked up another huge load at Wal-Mart. I miss shopping for special clearance deals and markdowns! But right now, doing simple pick-up orders is really helping me stay afloat with our shopping needs.

After school, a certain penguin helped me with some baking. She helped me make Spinach Cake and Pumpkin Muffins.

Ahh, Penguin Perks…

For dinner that night, we had a Corned Beef Brisket that I’d found tucked away in the freezer and had slow cooked all day. I’d picked up Strawberries and Mashed Potatoes at Costco (we ate our way through two mashed potato containers). Plus I steamed Green Beans. There was exactly nothing left after this meal.

By the time our evening ended, we Spinach Cake and Pumpkin Muffins to snack on plus I’d baked a quadruple batch of Whole Wheat Banana Muffins and a batch of Crustless Cheesecakes.

It felt so good to get ahead a little bit so that I’d have several options for all of us at breakfast and snack times. We all took advantage of this before bedtime that night.

It felt a bit chilly outside on Tuesday morning, so I surprised the kids with a big pot of Warm Vanilla Soother. Seven out of eight kids loved it!

At Costco the day before, I had found these adorable jogging suits on sale for our six youngest kids. The second grade boys were NOT INTERESTED in a picture, thank you. But these four were happy to pose for Mom!

Tuesday has become our busiest day around here, with a morning full of back-to-back therapy appointments and another in the afternoon before we go to Tuesday Food Distribution. This Tuesday, in the midst of it all, Matt had secured a plumber to come over and work on a list of drippy, leaky needs. When the plumber says he’s actually finally available, even it’s your busiest day, you say yes! Hopelyn was over and was very interested in watching the process.

And speaking of Tuesday Food Distribution, Brayden, Kiya, Bonus Buddy, and Josie went with me this time.

There was an extra big crowd that day, well over 100 people walking through the line. Thankfully, there was a lot of food to hand out that day!

Before leaving that afternoon, I had made a lot of Chicken Quesadillas and experimented with the idea of keeping them warm in a crock pot. It worked, and we all gobbled this up at dinnertime.

On Wednesday, I baked two pounds of bacon to have on hand in the fridge.

Auggie and Bonus Buddy helped me scrub a bunch of potatoes for dinner that night.

Matt and I both recognized my need for some extra rest – and that morning was FREE of appointments, which was shocking and amazing! So I headed off to Panera with my computer and attempted to write a little bit. I didn’t accomplish much, but it was still a lovely couple of hours.

Around 11:00, I packed up and decided to head to Aldi and Wal-Mart to check on any meat markdowns and clearance items. It had been many weeks since I’d done any shopping beyond just the “maintenance” level, so it was very therapeutic to calmly roam the aisles in search of deals. I hit the jack-pot at Aldi with 50% off chicken breasts and absolutely filled a cart at Wal-Mart with marked down meat and clearance items. ($3.00 backpacks? Yes please!)

That afternoon, Brayden was blessed to spend the afternoon with our church friend, Rochelle. They created this beautiful pumpkin/flower decoration together and Brayden was so proud!

While shopping that morning, I’d found a perfect tiny bike on clearance for Auggie. He was so excited and practiced all evening until he figured out how to ride it!

We were all very excited to greet Malachi’s girlfriend when she arrived for a visit from Kansas. Poor Malachi had to share her with lots of little siblings who thought that she’d come to visit them specifically. :)

We had a family dinner that night with whoever was available so that we could spend time with Lexi. It was a lovely time.

We had Smoked Chicken Legs with Baked Potatoes, Salad, Peas, and Cantaloupe for dinner.

On Thursday morning, I browned around 12-pounds of hamburger meat. I’d picked up a lot the day before marked down at Walmart. Plus I’d already been thawing some to put together Lasagnas for Sunday. It felt great to get this done!

At school drop-off that morning, these two parked their bikes then walked toward their 2nd grade line like this. Why does Keith sometimes stop jumping and doing flips and instead become snuggly and protective? I’m not sure. But it’s precious and endearing and gives me such hope. Our kids have their struggles, but they love each other deeply.

I was able to use some of the cooked hamburger meat to put together two huge Lasagnas for Sunday’s lunch. I put the rest of the cooked meat into freezer bags to pull out and use as needed.

Arrow and Hopelyn came over! Matt had to leave to take a couple of our kids to dentist appointments. So that left me home with a three-year-old and a two two-year-olds! It was surprisingly chill as these two build a long track of magnatiles together and Hopelyn snuggled me on the couch which we watched.

Malachi and Lexi joined the fun!

And somehow – I took zero more pictures that day. :( My phone has been messing up lately, plus the evening was pretty crazy with ABA therapy, rain, and Matt needing to take Brayden’s bike downtown for a repair. So I guess we all just survived the night. :) Dinner was Sloppy Joes, which Brayden had made with our friend Becky!

On Friday, Kiya got ready for school early and worked on a fun project at the living room table.

I put together two packages of Turkey Cheese Sliders for Saturday.

I had an IEP meeting at a school at 10:00, so Matt got Auggie ready for the day. His new fall ‘fit is the cutest!! Matt and Auggie took Bonus Buddy to an appointment while I was at the meeting. Then it was school time for both boys!

After my meeting, I had the wonderful gift of picking up Malorie to go out for lunch! We talked all about wedding stuff then did a little bit of shopping!

For dinner that night I simply air fried Chicken and Tator Tots. We ate it with fruit and pickles and carrots and while the kids were eating, I finished sorting more fall/winter clothing for everyone. It’s a huge job that I was grateful to complete!

On Saturday morning, we took the kids to Sensory Storytime at the library.

Afterward, we headed home to warm up Turkey Cheese Sliders and pack fruit for lunch at the park. Asa’s and Justus’ families met us there plus we met up with friends. It was a great few hours – so great that I didn’t take many pictures!

From there, we took the kids to the Children’s Museum for a while. We enjoyed some new exhibits!

I had picked up some Lunchables for a super cheap price, thinking that the kids would enjoy those for a Sabbath treat that evening. While we ate, we spent time sharing what we were thankful for about the week, plus we practiced some Bible verses.

Then we took a nice walk for almost a mile to 402 Creamery. The kids had earned free scoops of ice cream during the summer reading program – and their coupons were about to expire! So we had no choice but to go use them that night. ;) The kids truly did well as we walked (ice cream for incentive might have helped).

Everyone got to choose a fun flavor, and we sat for at least five peaceful minutes enjoying our ice cream before walking home for bath time.

Proof that bath time was necessary:

And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 13-19, 2026

September 19, 2026 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 13-19, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 13-19, 2026

I keep forgetting to take a picture of our Sunday morning Breakfast Cookie Bars – probably because getting us all ready to leave for church on time is kind of a big job. :)

Time worshiping with our church family was wonderful, and lunch at our house afterward was lovely. There were 24 of us gathered, and all of it was delightful.

Our meal was so simple. Before church, I dumped frozen Meatballs into our crock pot with barbecue sauce. When we got home, I set out Meatball Sub fixings: buns, sauces, cheeses, and pickles. Friends brought chips and I got out cut watermelon. We finished off almost every bite of food throughout meal time and the conversation was rich.

I served Peanut Butter Brownies for dessert that day, but forgot to take a picture until I was putting leftovers into the freezer that night. Here’s a dark, not-very-appetizing picture of these brownies. But trust me when I say that they looked and tasted much better than this. :)

Matt and I got to enjoy Community Group time that afternoon. Then I made Breakfast-for-Dinner that night: Egg and Hashbrown Casserole, Sausage Patties, and Pancakes.

On Monday, Emma came stayed with Auggie while Matt and I went to Holmes Lake to walk and rest.

That afternoon, I ran to Aldi to grab some basic groceries: milk, eggs, yogurt, fruit/veggie pouches, pasta and sauce, salad kits, greens, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and crackers.

Matt and Brayden put dinner into a crock pot while I was gone – Tortellini with Sauce and Meat. We ate it with Salad that night but I was in a meeting and forgot to take a picture at dinner time. :/

Tuesday morning, I quickly threw together Pumpkin Vanilla Muffins and Spinach Cake. We got the kids to school, and then from 9:00-12:15 I was in meetings and had appointments for the kids. This past month and a half has been incredibly intense and our time is very consumed because of changes with our kids’ ABA therapists, plus the changes and needs of our precious Bonus Buddy. God is faithful to provide. Our friends are holding us up, caring for some of our extra needs, and praying constantly for us. We are so grateful to experience God so intently through these days.

Do I have time right now to sort through eight kids’ worth of clothing to switch from summer to fall/winter? No I do not. But the morning had forced my hand as one of the girls had needed one specific item that was stuffed somewhere in one of these totes. Therefore, I spent the afternoon sorting through clothes. It’s not a fun job, but I actually loved that it got done! Now I know what we have, know what I need to shop for, and best of all, I was able to bag up to donate six bags of clothing!

There’s a clothing room at the church where the kids and I serve at Tuesday Food Distribution. So we took all the clothing there that afternoon. We were short on volunteers that day, but the four kids I took stepped up and helped in extra ways. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these kids and how grateful I am that God is using this service opportunity to grow and heal our children.

Before leaving for Food Distribution, I had baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice and steamed some Green Beans. Matt warmed everything up at dinner time, including some Grilled Chicken I’d found tucked in the freezer.

On Wednesday morning, we built Breakfast Sandwiches to eat right away and some to put into the fridge for later.

That afternoon, Acacia helped me make Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Dinner that evening was Sliced Ham, Cheesy Potatoes or Mac and Cheese, Peas, Salad, and Clementines.

On Thursday, Hopelyn and Arrow came to spend the morning with us! Our friend Christina came over to drop off some food she had so kindly made to help us get through our extra-hard days (pulled rotisserie chicken, cooked noodles, banana bread!). The little ones were so excited to see “CoCo” and of course, so was I!

Everyone helped get Auggie on the bus at school time!

We had more therapy/appointments that afternoon. That night, our friend Mandy brought dinner. The kids all turned into excited little minions as they followed Mandy into the kitchen with the load of food.

The meal she brought was perfect: Breakfast Casseroles, Muffins, Fruit, and GoGurt.

Breakfast for dinner is a big hit with our crew!

The evening was spent with ABA therapists, plus Brayden and I had worship rehearsal at church while Matt held down the fort at home.

Our morning was actually open on Friday! After we got the oldest seven kids to school, I worked on playing catch up. We got some cleaning done and focused on getting a lot of meat smoked for upcoming meals. Auggie was happy to help Mama clean the living room.

After several hours, we had lots of Smoked Chicken Thighs ready for Sunday Lunch! Since the smoker was already running, I made Burgers and Hotdogs for dinner to make the evening less hectic.

It was hot outside that day, and ice cream sounded good. So I took a few minutes to make a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream to go with my coffee that afternoon.

Dinner was ready when the kids got home from school, and when we were ready to eat, I pulled out condiments, pickles, grapes, and carrots to go with our burgers and hotdogs. We had brought home a bag of coleslaw veggies on Tuesday after Food Distribution, so I added ingredients to turn it into Coleslaw to go with our dinner.

Saturday morning, I baked Breakfast Cookie Bars and Nutella Bars before we left for Sensory Storytime.

Ms. Diane is amazing at making story time so very good.

We left straight from the library to go to Heartlands for the Fall Color Run. The turn out was amazing! We started off with some good stretches…

Then everyone who wanted to participate ran the trail, with adults stationed throughout ready to toss colored/powdered chalk onto the kids!

They started off clean, but ended up very colorful! It was a wonderful time!

We arrived home in time to warm up leftovers for lunch. Malachi has been traveling for work so much lately that the kids have hardly seen him. Everyone jumped into his arms that afternoon!

Keith and Bonus Buddy had a soccer game that afternoon.

While watching the game, I peeled three pounds of clementines for kids to eat. Don’t worry though. They were still starving afterward. :)

We came home and warmed up Chicken Alfredo for dinner, had much needed Color-Run baths, and that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: September 6-12, 2026

September 13, 2026 by Laura 1 Comment

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: September 6-12, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: September 6-12, 2026

On Sunday morning, we ate our traditional get-ready-for-church breakfast of Breakfast Cookie Bars – but I forgot to take a picture. But better than a picture of cookies is this photo that our kids’ Bible class teacher sent. Brayden gets to be a helper once a month in Acacia, Josie, and Auggie’s class. Here he is reading them a book while waiting for class to start!

The Case family, plus our friend Derek, joined us for lunch that day. We had a simple meal of Slider Sandwiches and Sides, with Brayden’s leftover Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert.

After lunch, Elias and Malorie took Acacia out for her “birthday adventure.” This is a special gift they give each kid on their birthday, and it usually involves a little outing and a small treat. The real gift is special time two-on-one with Elias and Malorie and the kids LOVE it!

Our friends had invited us over to swim in their pool that afternoon and the kids could hardly wait! Taking our crew swimming is quite a feat, but with four in life jackets and lots of bigger people in the pool to help out, we were able to make this happen. It was the most fun and Matt and I loved catching up with our friends!

They fed us Pizza, Watermelon, and Cookies after swimming – plus we got to enjoy their pet turtle. It was such a great night!

Monday was a very big day with 19 of us heading to enjoy Vala’s Pumpkin Patch together. We’d heard good things about this place but it is expensive so we hadn’t checked it out. Thanks to finding super cheap tickets online plus a sweet and generous gift from a loved one, we made this happen for our family. The energy and effort it took to enjoy this time with the kids was very well worth it. At one point, Bonus Buddy declared, “This is the best day ever!”

Josie does not like train rides (unlike some of our other kids who live for train rides). So we were very proud of her for sitting with her emotional support sisters-in-law to try it this time. She did great and actually had fun!

We ran into friends from York at the Carousel – what a treat!

There were activities for the youngers and the olders to enjoy, so sometimes we split up to make it all happen. Even though we were at Vala’s for almost eight hours, we still didn’t get to do everything. Part of this is due to how long everything takes with this many kids. And part of it is because Vala’s is huge.

Either way, we all had a wonderful day. As we headed out, I tried to gather everyone by this sign that said, “Please leave with at least as many children as you brought in.” Matt and I felt very accomplished that we had, in fact, started with eight kids and ended with eight kids.

We had eaten all day and had lots of cold drinks too, but we were still hot and hungry when we left. So we stopped at a McDonald’s close by on our way home and picked up 80 nuggets for dinner. I handed out more cold Capri Suns and that was dinner. Back at home, we gave everyone a bath to scrub off sweat and dirt, then watched a show before tucking everyone into bed. What a great day!

On Tuesday, the kids had one more day off of school. We decided to go to the zoo to keep them busy that day.

I baked a batch of Vanilla Pumpkin Cheater Muffins and thawed a loaf of Banana Bread to take with us. I also made some Chicken Salad and packed some Crackers to go with it. We grabbed 3-pound bag of Clementines, Cheese, Raisins, Sunflower Seeds, and Applesauce. Then I cleaned out yesterday’s food wagon to repack it for the day at the zoo.

It was hot that day so the zoo was pretty quiet. This was a welcome change compared to the huge crowd at Vala’s the day before. Counting kids to keep track of them was much easier!

We made it to the Penguins in time to watch them eat their lunch. This made us hungry, so I sat and peeled the ENTIRE bag of clementines, handing them to kids who ate them faster than I could peel them. They were cold, refreshing, and hit the spot – even for the kids who don’t normally like these.

We ate our lunch and played in the water, then ate a ton more food. Mom and Dad were exhausted and needed coffee ;) so we headed home, letting the kids know that they had earned a popsicle once we got back to the house.

That afternoon, Matt stayed home to start ABA therapy sessions while I took four kids to Tuesday Food Distribution. All of them did an amazing job serving and helping that day!

Before leaving, I’d made Taco meat and put it in a crock pot to stay warm plus put Queso into another crock pot to heat. Matt had set out everything else and we enjoyed Nachos or Tacos for dinner.

Kelsey sent me this fun photo of the Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip she’d made that day. She made a few tweaks based on ingredients they had on hand and it was delicious!

School started back up on Wednesday! I made Nutella Bars while we got everyone ready for school, plus some kids ate Breakfast Sandwiches.

Emma usually comes on Mondays but we switched her to Wednesday this week so that Matt and I could still have a morning off. We headed to Holmes Lake for a walk and to let the beauty of the water calm our nervous systems.

When we got home, Auggie was helping Emma mop the kitchen. He was so sweet!

Brayden was in charge of taking snacks to his youth group that evening. So he helped me clean up our popcorn machine and make popcorn.

For dinner that night, we had Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot that had slow cooked all day. I had a package of sliced Ham from Aldi that I put into a small crock pot to warm up. Then I made Peas and Green Beans and got out Canned Pineapple. This meal was super tasty -and simple to fix plates throughout the night. Matt and I spent the entire evening doing paperwork and having a big meeting at our living room table from 5:00 until bedtime, all while ABA therapy was also going on. Somehow, everyone got fed that night.

Thursday I had another meeting all morning while Auggie had ABA therapy and Matt hung out with Hopelyn and Arrow. (We are having a lot of extra meetings and appointments these days as we work on important details regarding the needs of our precious Bonus Buddy.) Then we all played outside in the beautiful weather while we watched for Auggie’s bus to come.

I hadn’t had a chance to grocery shop for way too long since the kids had been home from school for two extra days this week. I needed to ration my energy and time, so I put in a Wal-Mart pick-up order for essentials like milk, eggs, and greens. After I picked that up, I went next door to Sam’s to get bulk produce and a few other items. I’m not able to focus right now on shopping my favorite stores for clearance deals and meat mark-downs like I normally do. All my energy is going toward our kids’ needs and I am mentally pretty tired. So I just picked up the basics and headed home.

Brayden had mowed the lawn with Matt while I was gone, then was a great help in getting groceries put away. He read his homeschool assignment for a few minutes longer before we loaded up Hopelyn and picked kids up from school.

Our friend Christina has been taking such good care of us during these past few tougher weeks. She knows what our kids eat (or don’t eat) and has supplied us with food like cooked noodles and cooked hamburger meat to take a major load off my plate. I used her offerings to make Spaghetti that night. Some of us ate the entire meal, and some of the kids only ate noodles with butter and salt. This meal took me only five minutes to make thanks to Christina. Such a gift!

She had also baked some Banana Oatmeal Bars for our kids to snack on and they gobbled them up!

On Friday, I had two more meetings in the morning. After that I was completely worn out and decided to rest as much as I could before the kids came home from school. Brayden and I did his afternoon homeschool work out in the sunshine. Then he headed back to school for a club meeting so I continued to sit in the sun, breathe, pray, and rest. It was a very restorative afternoon and I was so thankful!

For dinner that night, I cut up a watermelon then air fried corn dogs from the freezer plus Burritos that Christina had made. This was a perfect Friday night meal as we worked our way through three kids’ ABA therapy all evening before bed.

On Saturday, we took the kids to the library for Sensory Storytime. We had plans to go to a park afterward, but rain shut down that plan. So instead, we hung out at the library for about 45 minutes before heading home.

Getting home earlier than planned gave me extra time to get work done around the house. We are slowly finding ways to get all the kids more involved in helping with chores and cleaning projects now that they are getting older. Every part of training these kids takes extra time and effort. But after several hours, they had each done something to help – from sweeping to mopping to moving furniture – and they felt good about what they had done.

While we were cleaning in the basement, Anna put a dress on a doll head. She was proud of this and wanted a picture with her “twin.” Were the rest of us freaked out at all by a doll head in a dress? Oh no. This is not at all alarming to see.

I made Mudballs!! After the tough few weeks we’ve had, it felt so good to get this simple need taken care of. Keith and Bonus Buddy live on protein in this form.

The evening was incredible!! Asa and Eva had been given three tickets to that night’s Husker game. They invited Matt to go with them, and then worked to move all the mountains to make it possible for him to go. This included dropping their babies at our house and asking lots of people to come help with ten kids. Elias and Malorie were the MVPs of the night since they knew all the ins and outs of the house and the kids. But Asa had also asked the Baker family to help out, and they showed up in force. As the plans had unfolded, our friend Trent figured out that if he came and helped too, that would free ME to get out of the house for the night also. What an incredible gift!

In short, we left our eight kids plus Arrow and Phoebe at the Castle with Elias, Malorie, Caleb, Klaire, and Trent. Then my friend Robin whisked me out the door and took me to dinner. I snapped this photo of kids snuggled up to Klaire as I snuck out. The kids were in great hands. :)

Asa, Eva, and Matt joined this sea of red at the Husker game and had a blast. Robin and I sat outside at H.F. Crave and enjoyed dinner and beautiful conversation. The night was a gift to all of us and we are so grateful!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 30-September 5, 2026

September 6, 2026 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 30-September 5, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 30-September 5, 2026

Sunday morning was a bit rougher than normal, only because one of our housemates was very ill and I’d had to take him to the ER in the middle of the night. So I was sort of slowly trudging through the morning as we got ready for church. Thank goodness for Breakfast Cookie Bars!

Being with our church family fills us up 100% of the time. We walk through our weariness together, holding each other up. It is beautiful. Brayden got to help our youth minister with Ministry Updates that morning…

It was Family Worship Sunday so all of our kids were with us that morning. This would be tricky with so many littles except that Anna sat with our friends behind us, Bonus Buddy sat with Asa and Eva, and Elias and Malorie helped with those left in our row.

We’d invited several for lunch but not many were available this week. This meant that we had a quiet, sweet gathering with just our family plus our friend Robin. I had made a very simple meal of Smoked Chicken Thighs, Cheesy Potatoes, and Green Beans.

We followed it with Homemade Ice Cream – vanilla and Oreo!

The guys had a meeting after church so afterward, Robin’s husband Trent arrived plus Asa and Justus. Then our Community Group met in our living room while the kids watched a movie in the basement.

I baked pizzas for dinner that night.

Since we had already heated up the ovens, we decided to get some baking done. Kiya made a birthday cake to celebrate Acacia the next day!

Anna helped me make a double batch of Peanut Butter Snack Bars.

With all that had been going on the past couple of weeks, I hadn’t gotten much baking done. It felt good to do this with a couple of our girlies!

After the Peanut Butter Snack Bars cooled, I cut and bagged them to have ready for school lunches. These have a lot of peanut butter and eggs in them, so I feel good about sending these as a protein option for our kids who eat very little meat.

That afternoon, the kids had found some hidden totes of train tracks and cars tucked away in a storage room past our laundry room. We won’t talk about the fact that our kids don’t have impulse control to stay out of the rooms I tell them to leave alone. We will, instead, highlight the way they stayed happy and busy for a good long while building a track on our laundry room floor.

Monday, Acacia turned six! We started the day with French Toast before school.

Emma came over to hang with Auggie that morning. Matt and I walked and rested at Holmes Lake.

We got home in time to take Auggie to his bus.

I left right away after that to shop for groceries. Matt and Brayden went to the library for his homeschool afternoon.

After school, the birthday girl helped me put (too many) sprinkles on her cake. :)

Her dinner request was Hotdogs and Mac and Cheese. Mom threw in Salad and Strawberries to round out the meal a little bit.

Neighbors from across the street have been incredible to come by every time someone has a birthday. They brought Acacia a balloon and sang to her. She loved it!

Asa and Eva’s family were able to join us for dinner, plus we had ABA therapy going on for four of our kids. It was a rowdy evening!

We finished the evening with present time. When you’re six, Mom shops in her closet for inexpensive goodies she’s picked up here and there on clearance. This is a win every time!

Phoebe and Auntie Kiya were able to have some girl talk that evening. Eva sent me this incredibly sweet photo. Look at how Phoebe is filling out!

I’m very behind on baking needs, but I was able to throw together Nutella Breakfast Bars on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday mornings have become very full with back-to-back appointments starting at 9:00 and lasting until almost noon. Hopelyn joins us for this, and we were able to find a little time to walk outside afterward.

Auggie had been struggling with getting on the bus, but two days in a row he got on without complaint!

Matt took Brayden to an appointment after lunch while I spent an hour and a half doing paperwork and ABA assessments. Then I got dinner prepped before picking kids up from school.

Four kids went with me to Tuesday Food Distribution that afternoon. Then we headed home to do homework, eat burgers, and have a full evening of ABA therapy.

On Wednesday, I had phone appointments with our kids’ ABA therapists all morning until lunchtime. Brayden had the privilege to do Art Lessons that afternoon with our friends, Paula and Randy. Matt and I spent the afternoon together in the quiet.

After school, we got three kids started with ABA therapy and homework. I was able to make a batch of Crustless Cheesecake that evening. Did I forget that they were in the oven and therefore let them get a little bit too brown? I did.

For dinner that night, I pulled random bits of this and that from the fridge and freezer and put together a tasty Pasta Bake. We had leftover Green Beans and Fruit to eat with it and afterward, the fridge was a little bit less cluttered.

On top of everything else we’ve had going on, our island dishwasher has not been working. I’m spoiled to have two dishwashers in our kitchen and I don’t take that for granted at all! But it probably goes without saying that we have a lot of dirty dishes at our house. I typically fill and run both dishwashers daily, so being down to just one dishwasher has made it difficult to keep up in the kitchen.

Matt was finally able to spend time on this project on Wednesday evening and praise God, he got it working again! Hopefully I can keep up with dishes a bit better now!

At bedtime, I caught this sweet scene of Josie and Auggie with their bedtime books and toothbrushes. I’m glad you can’t hear the chaos in the background. Bedtime looks so sweet around here, huh?

Hopelyn and Arrow came over on Thursday! Late morning when the bus came to pick up Auggie, they enjoyed looking out the window as Pop helped him.

The intense heat has shocked us all as we’ve launched the month of September. Making it home from school to enjoy a 100% juice pop from Costco has been really motivating as we’ve trudged home.

The evening went pretty smoothly with ABA therapy, despite the heat. I smoked Chicken Legs for dinner, warmed up Mashed Potatoes from Costco, and Steamed Broccoli. We had a big container of Watermelon that was very refreshing too. This meal tasted so good!

I had a few extra minutes that evening, so I made three packages of Meat and Cheese Slider Sandwiches for our upcoming Sunday Lunch.

Friday morning, Matt continued working on a project in the boys’ room and Auggie and I did some decluttering and cleaning. We ended the morning in our “Reading Room.” This is a lovely little sun room just off our girls’ room where we keep some dolls, stuffies, and a shelf full of books. Auggie settled in with a couple of books while I finished re-organizing.

That afternoon, for Brayden’s homeschool he helped me make a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They turned out beautiful!

We plated them up to serve on Saturday for Elias and Malorie’s engagement party.

Brayden started his afternoon ABA therapy session and I continued baking. I made a double pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars.

I also made three loaves of Banana Bread. It felt so very good to bake!

I was able to get all of the cleaning and baking done that day thanks to our friends Paula and Randy! They had brought over a delicious spread of hoagie rolls, meats, cheeses, dressings, and pasta salad for our dinner. All we had to do at prep time was set it out and serve. We are so thankful for such good friends showing love and care to our family!

Saturday was a full day! We started the morning by going to the first fall session of Sensory Storytime.

We got home in time for the first Husker football game of the season. Friends had given us pizza gift cards and we used it to make this day fun and a little bit easier.

It was fun to gather in the living room and watch football (or pretend to watch football but really just enjoy pizza and babies).

After the game we transitioned right into an Engagement Party for Elias and Malorie!

The afternoon was simple but special with a bucket of cold drinks, Brayden’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, and a delicious dip made by Elias.

He’d put together a big container of Queso and smoked it in our smoker for a few hours before the party. It was so good!

Arrow and Hopelyn had taken their naps upstairs and enjoyed reading time with their mamas when they woke up.

We wrapped up the day with snacks, bath time, and a little bit of clean up. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 23-29, 2026

August 29, 2026 by Laura 3 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 23-29, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 23-29, 2026

On Sunday morning, I was grateful to have a plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars in the freezer to serve as we got ready for church.

Last week had been so very hard as we waded through the challenges of the death of one of our kids’ biological dad. By Sunday, I was feeling so stretched thin – but I was also able to experience how God continues to stretch out our support system needs too. HE IS SO GOOD. Our York family had been reaching out and praying. Our Lincoln family has been showing up and praying. Truly we are so cared for.

I didn’t have energy to put together our regular Sunday Lunch this week. But we also knew that fellowship with our church family in this way is so life giving that we didn’t want to skip it either. And, our kids LOVE Sunday Lunch. So we decided to reach out to as many as possible and to have a simple Potluck. We wanted to show our sad kiddo so much love and after such a hard week, and more importantly, we wanted to celebrate how good God is!

The people showed up. As did the crock pots and pizza and rotisserie chickens and boxes of donuts and fruit and salads. I mostly just stood in the kitchen and marveled at it all.

A beautiful crowd of 44 showed up to love our family that day. We felt so very grateful for this. There was so much food that it took up every countertop we had. Amazing!!

Ope. Justus has rolled his ankle the day before so he had to sit propped up with ice. This was not a great way to end what had already been a tough week. :(

Our house was so loud from fellowship that it showed us another beautiful form of worship.

Caleb and Klaire graciously enjoyed Keith’s blanket with him what with the temperatures outside cooling off to…not cool at all.

That afternoon after lunch, we sent our kids downstairs with Malachi, Elias, and Malorie while Matt and I enjoyed our Community Group. This time was also life giving as we all shared challenges and praises with each other.

That evening, we ate leftover Tator Tot Casserole for dinner and finished off our evening with Chocolate Spinach Muffins that our dear friend Ms. Kathi made for us.

On Monday, Acacia and Anna helped me scrub potatoes to cook all day for dinner.

Emma arrived after we got home from taking kids to school. She stayed home with Auggie all morning while Matt and I went to walk together at Holmes Lake. Oh this time is so needed and good.

Brayden got home at noon from school and ate lunch, helped Matt mow the lawn, and did homeschool work. I made phone calls all afternoon as we were trying to figure out some very important details about the needs of our Bonus Buddy.

For dinner that night, we ate our way through a crock pot full of Baked Potatoes topped with chicken, bacon, cheese, salsa, sour cream, and peas.

Three of our kids had ABA therapy that evening. I captured this sweet shot of one of our RBTs going above and beyond to include three kids in a train. Or was it an ambulance? A fire truck? I’m not sure.

On Tuesday, we had several therapy appointments throughout the day and more phone calls to navigate. Hopelyn came over and we played outside when we could!

Some friends from church had asked how they could help our family during this time as we spend much of our time with our grieving kiddo and our other kids’ needs. While it isn’t easy to provide complete meals for our family due to pickiness, ARFID, and other eating struggles – I was able to come up with a list of foods that would be helpful for people to provide. Two families texted on Tuesday letting us know that they had some items from our list to drop off. Oh, how helpful all of this is!!

Christina brought cooked hamburger meat, cooked noodles, protein balls, chicken nuggets, strawberries, juice, and Zbars. Later, Katie brought two more packages of cooked hamburger meat. Having these prepped foods were to help me put together meals super quickly as needed. Their care helped me feel so loved and cared for.

After Hopelyn woke up from her nap, she and Pop vacuumed our second floor.

Four kids got to go with me to Tuesday Food Distribution that afternoon. Brayden helped me at the food tables while these three washed coolers. I was so proud of how hard they all worked that day!

I hadn’t had time to make a “real dinner” that night because of all the appointments and phone calls. But I had Polish Sausage in the freezer and threw them into a crock pot in the early afternoon. I prepped Christina’s strawberries and that was our dinner that night amidst ABA therapy happening throughout our home.

On Wednesday, we had a rough start getting everyone out the door to school. Once we got there, Keith was able to calm himself enough to help Acacia get into her Kindergarten line. It was very sweet and gave me hope.

Back at home, it was an incredibly peaceful day. We only had Auggie home in the morning, and he and I worked together to clean the playroom and living room while Matt worked on a project in our boys’ room. Auggie got on the bus at noon, and Brayden arrived home from school a little while after that. He ate his lunch then our friend Paula picked him up for Art Lessons. He LOVED this! Matt continued his project and I cleaned upstairs all afternoon. It’s so hard to find time and energy to do anything but care for our children. So cleaning that day felt amazing!

When the kids got home from school, Keith mowed his section of the yard before he started ABA therapy.

Brayden helped Bonus Buddy with math homework.

Acacia helped me make salad for dinner.

Christina had brought cooked noodles and cooked hamburger meat on Tuesday, so putting this meal together was so easy and wonderful. I felt so thankful to be so cared for.

Our evening was rough, with a lot of very long meltdowns from several kids. Somewhere in there, I managed to make Life-Giving-Juice – because can we really just call this a smoothie?

I had spinach that needed to be used, so I took time to make a Spinach Cake. The kids were very excited to eat this as a bedtime snack.

Hopelyn and Arrow came over Thursday morning!

For homeschool that afternoon, Brayden went over to our friend Becky’s house. Together, they made Egg Casserole and Banana Muffins.

I dropped Arrow off at his house for his nap and grabbed up Phoebe for snuggle time. It was great to catch up with Eva and spend time at their house that afternoon!

For dinner that night, we enjoyed the feast Brayden had made with Ms. Becky!

Kelsey texted me this picture of the Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins she’d made that afternoon. Those are a favorite, for sure!

On Friday, I had a meeting for Brayden at the middle school. Matt and I continued to do house projects off and on as we could that day. Matt took Brayden to an appointment that afternoon. I used a package of Katie’s cooked hamburger meat to make this awesome Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip. We ate it over tator tots with salad and fruit.

At bedtime that night, Josie needed to be re-directed so I gave her the job of setting out cereal for our Saturday breakfast. She took her job very seriously.

I captured this precious moment at bedtime with Bonus Buddy brushing Kiya’s hair as we were tucking in the younger kids. Amidst all the chaos, there are such sweet times too.

On Saturday morning, I made two rounds of Homemade Ice Cream for the next day’s Sunday Lunch.

The weather was lovely that morning so we played outside for a couple of hours while I smoked a bunch of Chicken Thighs for Sunday Lunch.

Keith and Bonus Buddy had a soccer game at noon. So I packed sandwiches, fruit, chips, and juice for us to eat for lunch while the boys played.

On our way home, Auggie wanted to hold Kiya’s hand. She was gracious to reach up and let him hold on until her arm fell asleep. :)

We had more Salt Dog Baseball game tickets to use that evening, so we had early baths and early dinner, then we headed to the game. I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 16-22, 2026

August 22, 2026 by Laura 7 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 16-22, 2026 post!

August 15

On Saturday evening after bath time and an early dinner, we took our kids to a Salt Dogs Baseball game. We had free tickets to this family friendly game, so we planned to hang out as long as the kids’ behaviors allowed us to. There wasn’t a huge crowd that night, so it was great! Note that we put the kids in coordinating t-shirts so we could spot them all easily as we kept track of eight kids, many of whom tend to wander off.

Keith and Bonus Buddy were especially into the game. There was a playground nearby that the younger four were more interested in. After a while, Bonus Buddy headed over to the playground. But Keith?

Keith was locked into the game the entire evening. He’d brought his mitt and joined a group of boys who were chasing balls any time they happened to fly into the crowd. This is dedication, man.

We got everyone right to bed when we got home, just a bit past bedtime. Overall, it was a great experience for our family!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 16-22, 2026

We had a youth group meeting after church on Sunday, so instead of hosting lunch at our house, we enjoyed lunch at church with other youth families.

Matt and I got to enjoy Community Group that afternoon while the kids hung out with Elias and Malorie. I baked five pizzas for dinner that night.

Acacia and Auggie helped our neighbors harvest some tasty garden produce.

Keith and Bonus Buddy found wikki sticks and beads and “started a business.” It was super sweet. :)

Monday morning, Emma came over and stayed with Auggie while Matt and I walked around Holmes Lake. It was wonderful to have this time!

That afternoon, I ran to Aldi, Walmart, and Costco to get what we needed for the week.

Many have suggested that I do Wal-Mart pick-up instead of going inside the store. Typically I prefer to shop in-store so I can find clearance deals and meat markdowns. But this time, I needed items from all over the store and didn’t feel like navigating that. So I put in my order online to save time and energy. It was lovely.

I loaded my cart at Costco and got home in time to get all the cold food put away and pick up kids from school.

Acacia was very interested in helping me cut strawberries to go with our dinner.

We had a visit from a penguin while I was making dinner.

I’d picked up a Rotisserie Chicken at Costco that day and we ate it with Stir Fried Veggies, Mashed Potatoes, and Strawberry Parfait.

Auggie’s first day of school was Tuesday. He was so happy to finally have his turn going to preschool!

Tuesday turned hard.

That afternoon, we got a life-changing phone call sharing about the death of one of our kids’ biological dads. Everything stopped as Matt and I needed to navigate this very hard thing with our children.

Justus and Kelsey were able to come over and help plus Elias and Malorie and Malachi were all at the house. Matt and I shared the hard news with the kids and held our little one while he sobbed over his loss.

Justus and Kelsey finished dinner and made sure we all ate. That night is a bit of a blur. I emailed the kids’ teachers and the school admin so all were aware of our kids’ needs. We texted people to pray. God’s love surrounded us.

Wednesday, Malorie stepped in to help with Brayden and Auggie so that Matt and I could drive our kiddo to see his dad’s body and say goodbye. Nothing can prepare any of us for things like this. God is faithful.

The Case family brought us all dinner that night and spent the evening at our house. This freed Matt and me to troubleshoot needs with different kids as they processed their feelings with us.

Our friend Robin asked what she could do and I requested that she please make us her famous Peanut Butter Balls. I had no Mudballs on hand and no energy to make more, and we needed something like this to have on hand for quick snacks. Robin came through. We are so loved and cared for. So many friends are praying.

On Thursday we felt like we came up for air a little bit. Hopelyn and Arrow came over, which was wonderful. Grandbaby therapy was just what we needed!

Auggie is very proud to take his turn riding the preschool bus and hops right on each day.

Brayden helped me put together Chicken Cheeseballs for dinner after he got home from his morning classes.

Then we took Arrow to his house, grabbed Phoebe, and headed downstairs at Asa and Eva’s to snuggle baby and do homeschool. It was PERFECT.

Phoebe had some sweet awake time and showed off how she is starting to smile. Wow, all the time with grandbabies brought so much joy!

Hopelyn had napped at home with Pop. She went with us to pick up kids after school and Keith was happy to push her stroller all the way home.

For dinner that night, we ate Brayden’s Chicken Cheeseballs with Noodles, Broccoli, and Fruit.

I’ve been beyond weary, so I didn’t get any more pictures the rest of the week. Matt took this one of Auggie helping me fill our Little Free Pantry on Friday morning.

I decided to take the rest of the week off so that I could use my energy for family. Our church is rallying for us, knowing that we’re dealing with extra hard things at our house. We appreciate your prayers for our family. God is good.

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 9-15, 2026

August 16, 2026 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 9-15, 2026 post!

BONUS: August 8

I finished last week’s post in the afternoon, but then we were blessed with a wonderful bonus evening that I wanted to highlight!

Asa and Eva’s family came over so that Asa could hang out and play a game with our friend/housemate, Nathan. That meant that Arrow and our kids had playtime, and all of us got some Phoebe time! She’s old enough now that all of the kids could take a short turn holding her, and everyone LOVED this privilege!

I put 17 Hamburgers and 16 Hotdogs on the smoker that evening, then we ate them with Grapes and Cantaloupe. It was super simple, but how grateful did I feel having so many dear ones around our table again that evening!!!

You might recall that Nathan had to have surgery on his ankle after a fall two weeks ago. So this time with Asa was extra good and it was fun to hear their laughter as they finished up their game.

There are always people coming and going from the table during meals like this, so it’s almost impossible to catch everyone at once. I had the honor of holding Phoebe while everyone ate, and I just took in the scene. What a delight!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 9-15, 2026

Sunday morning, I took advantage of the kids sitting in the living room watching a show and used my time to put muffins into baggies for the freezer. I’ve been trying to do a little bit each day to prepare for packing five school lunches every day. The day before, I had baked batches of Vanilla Pumpkin Muffins and Spinach Cupcakes.

These little bags went into big bags, and then into the freezer to pull out as needed.

We ate a special plate of Breakfast Cookie Bars as we got ready for church. See those little soccer ball shaped chocolate chips in there? I found those on clearance after the World Cup ended. Fun!

There were 25 of us gathered for lunch together after church.

We had a brunch-themed lunch! I made two huge Egg and Hashbrown Casseroles, one with ham and one with sausage. Our friend, Rebecca, brought homemade muffins, plus we had strawberry shortcakes and fruit. It was fun and delicious!

Matt and I enjoyed Community Group time that afternoon. For dinner, we ate food that our friends had dropped off after their mom’s funeral. When people have excess food, they often think of us, knowing that we eat a lot at our house. We are happy and grateful to receive these blessings!

Emma came on Monday morning! All eight kids were home so Matt and I weren’t able to steal away like we had often through the summer when she came. But I did head out to finish up shopping that needed to be done before school started. We were incredibly blessed at Wal-Mart to find one final bike we needed to get all of our kids to and from school – and it was on clearance!

My Sam’s cart didn’t overflow like it usually did, so at this point, I decided to get cases of toilet paper and napkins. THEN it was overflowing. :)

Back at home, everyone took in loads of groceries. The bike brought a lot of excitement – plus there were new shoes for the kids who still needed them. I *think* we are ready for school now!

We had been given a bag of Fish Fillets at a past Tuesday Food Distribution (someone had donated a huge amount of these), so we air fried them for lunch. They were a hit! Friends had given us a loaf of sweet bread that we enjoyed, plus I prepped two pounds of strawberries. We ate every single bite of this lunch before heading outside. I gave three boys a needed hair cut and we let the kids play in water all afternoon.

At 4:30, we all made the trek to our kids’ elementary school for their Open House. Elias and Malorie walked with us to help out. We’ll have seven kids at the elementary school this year – a new record for us!

We made our way to everyone’s classrooms, found their desks, met their teachers if we didn’t know them already, and felt a lot of excitement reuniting with classmates and teachers that we’d missed over the summer.

Auggie wasn’t sure what to think at first as he went to his classroom for the first time. But as soon as he found the play area, he made himself right at home!

I had made dinner before we left for Open House and we were all ready to eat when we got home. We ate our way through three pounds of noodles, a large pan of red sauce with meat, a jar of white sauce, and a pot of steamed broccoli. Plus we ate grapes, fruit/veggie pouches, cheese, and whatever else some of our pickier kids needed to fill up their bellies before bedtime that night.

We spent time on Tuesday morning working again on school lunch prep. First, I made Flourless Chocolate Banana Muffins and Peanut Butter Snack Bars. Just as I was sliding the muffins into the oven, I saw the saucepan of coconut oil that I’d melted for the muffins and failed to add to the muffin batter. Ugh. The hazards of multitasking! (The muffins turned out ok. Not great, but we ate them!)

While those were in the oven, I made a monster-sized recipe of Mudballs. I set aside some to deliver to a friend who had just lost her sister. I planned to take those for her family, along with a few other baked goods.

My last baking endeavor that morning was a double batch of Monster Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. These turned out super ooey-gooey-good!

Once all the bars had cooled, I cut and individually bagged them and put them into the freezer.

I felt stocked up now for grab-and-go school lunch packing needs. We’ll see how long all of these prepped foods last!

Matt bravely took seven of the kids to the Heartlands church building to help with some cleaning needs. I stayed back with Auggie so he could finish his ABA therapy session, and I used my time to continue food prep in the quiet. I cut two big packages of steak and added frozen peppers and onions to cook for our dinner that night.

When Auggie finished therapy, I gave him a hair cut. He did great and this completed our four younger boys’ hair cuts as we head into the school year!

The kids had earned some freebie coupons from the Library Summer Reading Program. So on the way home from Heartlands, Matt stopped and picked up free kids meals from Slim Chickens. That made for a fun end-of-summer break lunch!

That afternoon, I took Brayden, Kiya, Keith, and Acacia to serve at Tuesday Food Distribution. There is also a clothing giveaway room at this distribution location, so we all took in some bags of clothes to donate before heading to our food giveaway stations.

Back at home, Matt had finished setting out the Steak Fajita bar that I’d started earlier in the day. I got home from Food Distribution just in time to drop off kids and then Brayden and I headed to his Middle School Open House. This time together helped settle his nerves as he saw each classroom, met new teachers, and found his locker.

On Wednesday, I spent almost the entire day prepping for school breakfasts and lunches. We’d brought home a big pile of overripe bananas from Food Distribution the day before, and I had big plans for them!

I started by making a double batch of Angela’s Breakfast Cookies. I froze half and set the other half aside for our first day of school breakfast.

Meanwhile, I baked 24 eggs to turn into Breakfast Sandwiches.

While the oven was hot, I baked a pan of Stick of Butter Rice to use with leftover Steak Fajita meat.

Our two kindergarten girlies had their very first day of school. They were beyond excited and nervous, which is why they packed and repacked their lunches six times.

After dropping off the girls, I put kids to work helping me get our pantry more organized for school lunch packing. Our summer has been so FULL that everything felt messy, cluttered, and disorganized. So I worked on fridge and freezers and pantry shelves to help us feel more settled and ready to be efficient on school mornings.

While Brayden helped me move things in the pantry, I put Kiya to work filling baggies with peanut butter pretzels to have available to grab-and-go.

I made two loaves of bread worth of Uncrustables for the freezer.

We ate leftovers for lunch, then Matt gave each of the older kids a turn mowing. This was Kiya’s first time and she was so proud!

Our evening was very full as we are having some significant transitions with our ABA therapy workers. We are so sad to see some of our wonderful therapists and technicians leaving after all they’ve done for our family. We met three new workers this week and we trust God to use them to continue to do good for our kids.

Dinner needed to be simple that night, so I made Sloppy Joes and Salad to serve as needed. Emotions were running high as not only were we making shifts in ABA therapy, school was to start for everyone the next day. So there was nervous energy filling the house. Bedtime felt good that night (once we finally settled everyone in).

Thursday was everyone’s first day back to school. Organized and prepared as we were, it was still an incredibly hectic morning getting seven kids out the door on time. Brayden did a good job eating a Breakfast Sandwich and heading out by 7:30. Auggie’s ABA therapist arrived at 8:00. And the other anxious kiddos didn’t know what to do with themselves until time to go, so they created a bit of chaos. Therefore, try as I might, I wasn’t able to get a first day of school picture with all of them.

These four lunch bags sat still for me though. So here’s a first day of school lunch bag picture. (Anna had already put her bag into her backpack.) All of the prep I’d done leading up to this day was so helpful in packing good food for our kids!

We made it to school just in time, and I was able to capture a shot of these three: two second graders and a first grader.

Back at home, I used the last of the over ripe bananas to make three loaves of Banana Bread. Arrow and Hopelyn both came to spend the day, which was PERFECT as Matt and I enjoyed some quiet for the first time in months. It’s funny how “only” having a 3-year-old and two 2-year-olds to hang out with is sweet and peaceful. We had such a fun morning!

While we were reading Curious George together, I did my best to get a picture of us. :)

At noon, Brayden came home from school. We are trying a new plan for this awesome 7th grader this year: part time public school and part time home school. Last year, spending a full day at the middle school was too much for him in many ways. We are praying our new plan works to help keep his nervous system more settled.

After he ate lunch, our friend Becky came and picked him up for a special afternoon at her house.

They cooked together, played the piano, and made a special treat to bring home to everyone.

Matt and I put all three little ones down for naps and attempted to have a 32nd Anniversary Date!!! Ice cream and coffee in the sunshine? Uninterrupted conversation with my favorite guy? THE BEST! (This moment lasted exactly five minutes before one of our very struggling neighbors came by with a very big need. So the uninterrupted convo was very much interrupted, but serving together with Matt is what has made our 32 years so special. We spent the next hour helping get our friend some food and water and off to the hospital with another friend. We plan to attempt another date time next week when Emma comes!)

At school pick-up time, we buckled the babes into our big wagon and made our way a few blocks to create a big parade of kids on bikes. Hopelyn thought this was the funniest thing and laughed so hard as we traveled.

We got home in time to start ABA therapy for four kids. Becky dropped off Brayden along with Caramel Corn and Baked Ziti that they had made together. He was SO PROUD of his work and we were proud of him! It was a delicious dinner and we finished the entire pan along with Green Beans and Corn.

After we got the kids to school on Friday morning, our dear friend Donna came for a short but sweet visit. We went to college together and don’t see each other often so we made the most of our catch-up time!

At lunchtime, I made Sloppy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches.

After we ate, I introduced Brayden to part of what his homeschool afternoons will look like each day. He read through his assignment list, and we got started on his work together.

After some American History work, a scripture reading time, and a math drill, I took him and Auggie to the library. Brayden had some specific library goals detailed in his assignment notebook and I worked with him there to find all of the specific book sections and work through his list. Meanwhile, Auggie did amazing playing with all of the fun library toys he found.

It was a pretty great afternoon with the two boys and we got home in time to head to school to pick up all the other kids. Our evening was full of ABA therapy and I didn’t get any more pictures on Friday. We ate leftover Steak Fajita meat for dinner with Stick of Butter rice and toppings.

Saturday we took the kids to the Children’s Museum for the morning.

Overall, the outing went very well until the end when several kids had meltdowns. We were grateful for happy kids for the majority of the time we were out!

Brayden and Kiya had an extra good time with a special scavenger hunt that was set up at the museum that day. They did amazing figuring out clues to find each item on the list throughout the morning.

There were also special craft stations set up throughout the building. This along with all the regular features of the museum provided lots of sweet time.

The building zone is a fairly new feature of the museum, and Keith and Bonus Buddy did a great job building a house together!

We had acquired eight free kids’ meal coupons from Raising Cane’s at a summer event a few weeks ago. There’s a Cane’s right across the street from the museum, so we grabbed the grub and ate in a courtyard close by. This was great for about ten minutes – then they all scattered and it was no longer fun. But I do think these kids are making good memories, even if things like this are challenging for Matt and me.

Back at home, we did some cleaning, got muddy, gave baths, had an early dinner, then took the kids to a Salt Dogs baseball game. I’ll share more about that next week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: August 2-8, 2026

August 9, 2026 by Laura 2 Comments

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: August 2-8, 2026 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: August 2-8, 2026

Our Sunday started with Breakfast Cookie Bars, of course…

At church that day, I had the honor of sharing a big part of my journey and testimony of God at work in my life as He is helping me overcome worry and people-pleasing. A lot of time and energy had gone into preparing for this. But mostly I got to experience more of God’s teaching, Truth, and goodness as Matt and I prepared this together.

Immediately after our worship service, we enjoyed a sweet “Baby Sprinkle” for Phoebe and her family.

We came home and had a wonderful lunch spread in which people could build a wrap of their choice. We set out Shredded Rotisserie Chicken, bacon bits, shredded cheese, guacamole, lettuce, and a variety of dressings and dips. We enjoyed chips, fruit, and a delicious cucumber salad on the side, and ice cream for dessert!

There was a sweet crowd of 21 of us, providing lots of good conversation and encouragement.

For dinner that night, we air fried Taquitos and ate them with chips, salsa, queso, and fruit.

Brayden had been at a Christian Camp all weekend, and before heading up to bed, he enjoyed showing Kiya the crafts and pictures he had brought home.

Monday was my birthday! We took four kids to Day Camp, Emma came to stay with the other four, then Matt and I headed to Holmes Lake. We walked around the lake twice, talking and talking and talking. It was amazing!

With one more hour before we needed to be home, we went to Culvers for a birthday treat/lunch date.

Elias and Malorie got back into town that afternoon! We were still waiting for Malachi to get back for my “actual birthday dinner.” But meanwhile, some dear friends had send us pizza gift cards so we invited the kids who were available and we ordered birthday pizza to share that evening.

It might have been my birthday, but Phoebe was the most popular guest when she arrived.

Four kids were having ABA therapy during our dinner – so there was lots of noise and activity. But it was a wonderful evening with family and I loved it!

There was a lot of wedding chatter as Elias and Malorie shared the beginnings of their plans with us!

On Tuesday morning, after I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, I hurried to get a little bit of baking done because we didn’t have anything on hand for me to quickly hand kids who might be in “snack crisis.” I baked Crustless Cheesecakes, Nutella Oat Bars, and Vanilla Cheater Muffins.

I don’t love that these muffins have white flour and sugar. But I DO love that these are full of pumpkin and take no time to make. Those factors redeem the sugar, or something like that. :) The recipe made 18 of these muffins, and they were gone by 3:00 that afternoon. What a great way to eat an entire can of pumpkin puree!

As we were finishing up ABA therapy and lunch that day, suddenly my dearest friend, Charlene, from York walked into the house. WHAT?!?!?! As it turns out, she and Matt secretly planned a coffee outing for my birthday. This was the sweetest surprise!! We headed out to the closest coffee shop and talked, laughed, and cried for two and a half glorious hours!!!!

We arrived back home to this sweet scene. Kelsey had been at Costco that morning and found a ridiculously cheap deal on blackberries and raspberries (plus shorts and socks – she scored big!). The kids had a Berry Picnic, not holding back on eating as many berries as their bellies could hold.

Brayden, Kiya, Acacia, and I went to our Tuesday Food Distribution to serve that afternoon while the other kids were home having ABA therapy sessions.

We’d found a Cheeseburger Casserole in the freezer and that became dinner. This casserole did not look pretty. But it tasted good!

Wednesday was our kids’ final day of camps for the summer! I dropped them off then took advantage of only leaving four kids at home with Matt while I stocked up on groceries. EVERY TIME I grocery shop, I think that surely this haul will get us by for a good long while. Then, the very next week, I’m filling up several carts again. I wonder when I’ll stop being shocked by the amount of food we eat at our house??! (This is a super huge job, but one I very much enjoy, so don’t hear any complaint in what I just said. It’s just shocking and borderline funny to me that we go through so.much.food.)

My first stop was Aldi, where I got a little bit of fresh produce but mostly odds and ends of items we needed for upcoming school lunches, school morning breakfasts, and cooking/baking ingredients. I checked the meat section for pretty red 50% off stickers and was thrilled to find our favorite boneless chicken thighs marked down!! I grabbed all I could and left some behind too. Boneless thighs for $1.50/pound? THANK YOU!

My next stop was Wal-Mart. I’ve found that the best use of my time at this store is to walk through and scan end caps for clearance or sale items. I got some school supplies for super cheap, paper plates on super clearance, a Christmas gift to hide away for Auggie, four packages of brats for less than half price, plus a few regular food items we needed like milk, bananas, and oatmeal.

Finally, I filled a cart at Costco. On my way in, I ran into my precious friend, Angie, from York and we shared hugs, tears, and praise to God for ways He is at work in our families’ lives. That was a huge boost in my day! Then I shopped for sales and needed items to get us through the week and maybe a bit beyond.

We have a huge van and a small car – and I’d driven the car that day so I could fill it with gas at Costco. Did I have enough room in this small car for all of Aldi, Walmart, and Costco? Barely. The trunk, back seat, and passenger side were all completely filled up as I headed home!

All of the shopping took four and a half hours to accomplish! Then, we all worked together at home to get everything unloaded, organized, and put away. This basically took the rest of the day off and on as I had time to continue putting things in their places.

Brayden helped me put sauce on all the discounted chicken before we put it into the freezer. This will make it much easier later when all we have to do is thaw it and put it on the smoker!

He also helped me make another batch of Vanilla Cheater Muffins because these have been incredibly popular with everyone lately!

While he was making those, I put together a Spinach Cake for an additional veggie-treat snack option. Keeping up with appetites at our house is a full time job!

Dinner that night was super tasty! I smoked some Teriyaki Pork Loin from Aldi plus made Cheesy Potatoes, Stir-Fried Veggies, and Strawberry Parfaits.

Thursday was a big day with all eight kids home all day. Auggie had ABA therapy that morning, so we couldn’t plan an outing at that time. The little girls occupied themselves with building a bus in the living room.

Matt took four kids to pick up our Azure Standard order and then to Menards. This picture shows how brave my husband is…

Meanwhile back at home, I spent the entire morning working in the kitchen. I baked a pan of Breakfast Cookie Bars to enjoy the next two Sunday mornings.

The girls were in and out of the kitchen helping me as I worked. We made a huge pan of Chewy Granola Bars.

Then I made three loaves of Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread.

Matt and the older kids finally made it home from their outing so we got our Azure Standard order put away. I’d ordered our favorite tortillas, plus a case of GF tortillas for one of our housemates. If you haven’t checked into this great food co-op, I highly recommend it!

We got three big bags of grain: two of whole wheat pastry flour and one GF oats. I’d like to think this will all last us a good long while but I probably know better. ;)

We ate a lunch of Chicken Nuggets, Mac and Cheese, and Fruit. Then we got everyone ready to head to Holmes Lake for the afternoon.

I have loved all of the times I’ve been able to walk there this summer, so we wanted to see how the kids would handle the walk. Elias and Malorie went with us which made this experiment possible.

Overall, the kids did great.

Elias stayed with his buddy, Auggie, whose three-year-old legs had the most struggle with keeping up.

Two miles later, we had a reward of cold juice with Zucchini Bread, Vanilla Cheater Muffins, Grapes, and Nuts. Food tastes extra good after a long walk around a lake.

We headed home in time for five kids to have afternoon/evening ABA therapy sessions. I smoked 20 Brats for dinner, which we ate with fruit, carrots, and tator tots.

On Friday morning, I cut and individually packaged the Chewy Granola Bars that I’d made the day before. My goal was to get food like this prepped for the start of school to help with packing lunches.

We didn’t have therapy that morning, so we loaded up and took all the kids to a nearby park to play.

We stayed for two hours, and enjoyed a snack of cheese sticks, applesauce, and blueberries while we were there.

That afternoon, Matt was a rock star with all the kids on his own at home while I went to school for an IEP meeting. There was a one-day-only sale on eggs at Hy-Vee, and Elias and Malorie were sweet to go grab 15 dozen for me. I couldn’t pass up getting these for $0.99 each!

All of our kids were finally back in town, so we were able to have my official birthday dinner together that night! I was hungry for this Cheesecake Factory knock-off salad, and my people made it happen!

We left all the ingredients separate so everyone could build their own salad – but I added everything just as the recipe stated. The mixture of flavors in this is super good! Matt also air fried some Chicken Bites for people to add or for kids to eat if they didn’t want salad. I cut a loaf of Zucchini Bread and set out Grapes to stretch the meal also.

I didn’t get a lot of pictures that night because I wanted to enjoy family time – plus we had four ABA therapy sessions happening throughout dinner time – so everything was great and hectic. After our salads, we cut into a cheesecake from Costco. It was all perfect!

Phoebe’s mama had spent dinner time feeding her, so while Eva was finally taking a turn to eat, Kelsey helped Kiya grab a snuggle.

On Saturday, I prepped for our upcoming Sunday Lunch by putting together two large Egg and Hashbrown Casseroles – one with ham and one with sausage.

Mid-morning, we met up with some extended family at the Zoo. Justus, Kelsey, and Hopelyn met us there and we all had a lovely time!

Since they were coming from out of town, I offered to provide our picnic lunch. There were 22 of us and we’d had a busy week, so I opted to purchase two big cases of Uncrustables. I threw them out onto the tables with apples, applesauce, cheese sticks, oranges, chips, and fruit cups. Kelsey brought homemade muffins, carrots, and trail mixes. We had a great feast!

Our last zoo stop was at the Butterfly Garden before heading home.

Dinner that night was Burgers on our smoker. We spent the evening cleaning and prepping for Sunday. And that was our week!

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Big Family Food and Fun: October 4-10, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: September 27-October 3, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: September 20-26, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: September 13-19, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: September 6-12, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: August 30-September 5, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: August 23-29, 2026

August 15

Big Family Food and Fun: August 16-22, 2026

Tuesday turned hard.

BONUS: August 8

Big Family Food and Fun: August 9-15, 2026

Big Family Food and Fun: August 2-8, 2026