Learning, laughing, living

It’s been a while since our last posting so we’d thought it be fun to answer a couple of the most asked questions, “How do you feed all those people?” and “Where do they sit?”

This is just a portion of our 2 week grocery list (on average):
· 12 loaves of bread
· 8 gallons of milk
· 12 quarts of juice
· 3 jars of jam
· 3 dozen eggs
· 4 pounds of cheese
· 3 pounds of deli meat
· 2 pounds of bacon
· 4 packages of bagels
· 4 boxes of cereal
· 6 pounds of butter
· 6 heads of lettuce
· 3 jars of Applesauce
· 6 pounds of bananas
· 4 large containers of yogurt
· And the list goes on!!!

Yes, shopping for a family of 10 people (especially ravenous growing children) is a whole new experience for me! Cooking for 10 people is fun and rewarding. I really love cooking with the children and, thankfully, they all seem to enjoy cooking with me. I have found that keeping the pantry shelves stocked for our large family is truly a much more challenging job! I am learning how to navigate grocery market sales and coupon websites like never before. Menu planning is absolutely essential and fun for me to do with the children. I am especially pleased when I end up having what the children call an “All Like Day”. As you may have guessed, this is when everyone in the house actually likes all three meals of the day!!! I must confess that “linner” days are my favorite. What’s that mean? It is the day when we have breakfast and a late afternoon/early evening meal. (ie. Lunch + Dinner = Linner) Obviously, having two meals to prepare is much simpler but the real reason “Linner Days” are my favorite is because these only occur on Darren’s days off from work. So, a “Linner Day” means we get the King home with us all day and that is what we all enjoy the most!

I thought you might enjoy the picture of our large dining room table. This table is amazing! Made by the Amish, it is solid and finely crafted. Truly, it is a work of art. With four benches and four chairs, we have room for at least 16 adult people at our table. We are so blessed by this table because not only can we easily have company over but each child also has plenty of growing room! This table has already seen a lot of memories being made. We are laughing, learning, crying, praying, dreaming and doing conflict resolution at this table. If you come to visit us for any length of time, plan to make your way around the table as each of the children will want a chance to sit with you! If you get confused as to where to sit, don’t worry the children always know whose turn is next!
Truly, my cup overflows. I praise God for His faithfulness. Thank you for sharing in our journey. Until next time……