All is well

I'm sitting on my comfy purple couch, listening to the hum of the very-full dishwasher and well-fed Roomba. These are the sounds that make me happiest, as they are the sounds of cleaning up after another family night. I love family night, not just because of the sweet moments watching baby Kaya learning to walk, Papaw teaching Chase and Bethany a new Carrom game, Chris and Bethany having some mother-daughter chat time, Brad grilling out and connecting with his brothers-in-law, and so much more... it just feeds me, and I don't even know why. Having a crowd to feed in my home is a true joy to me, and as I sit and let the modern conveniences (and Brad) do the cleanup for me, I feel just so very blessed.

Since we're on a tight budget we're being much more careful with the shopping budget for these family nights. Feeding eight adults and four kids can be expensive! But in true loaves and fishes form, God did a little something fun tonight. Chris had the idea to grill chicken and donated a package of three large chicken breasts. She also brought a big bowl of homemade potato salad and some apple crisp. I went to the groc yesterday and got six more large chicken breasts for $1.77 a pound (sale! yay!). I also made rolls and corn on the cob. Jeff brought salad and celery to add to my carrots for a crudite tray. And Beth and Rico brought drinks. While I was trimming the chicken breasts I realized that we were going to have a ton of food! So we invited the next-door neighbors over as well-- two adults and three pre-teens. And we still have leftovers. Not quite enough for each disciple to have his own basket, but there was plenty and it kept stretching and stretching.

Brad requested to make dirt for dessert-- you know, the Oreo concoction with chocolate pudding and Oreo crumbs? He whipped that up this afternoon and it went over exceedingly well. Here's a pic of Kena enjoying her dirt. Of course, mean cousin Chase convinced her it was real dirt and she wouldn't eat any for a little while, until he finally told her he was kidding (and Aunt Kathleen gave him the look).