Random Stuff

Good morning! Happy Sunday to you.

• The Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Cinderella" was on the radio just a bit ago and Rebekah said, "I don't like this song. It's too sad. Also, I don't like that song about the boy buying the shoes for his mom either." Like mother, like daughter, I tell ya!
• My dad made it safely to Ethiopia . . . at least we assume so. It's kind of his MO for us to not hear from him from the time he gets on the lightrail to head to the airport {he thinks it's easier to do that than to have someone drop him off at the airport -- don't worry, he had quite a few offers!} until he gets off the plane and would appreciate a ride home again. Sometimes he just takes the train home again and then he's just there again. No fanfare. That's the kind of guy he is. We're praying that he has another great trip {it's his 6th time going to Ethiopia}.
• Tomorrow is our godson, Sam's birthday. He'll be 6. I'm not sure how that is possible. We went to his party yesterday. Time sure flies.
• We have 3 birthdays in March {Jacob and Rebekah on the 23rd and Anna on the 28th} which kicks off the Stoll birthday season. All 5 kids have birthdays in a 10-week time period::Ready. Set. Go!
• Kirb is speaking at the "Set Apart" women's conference at Northwestern College this coming weekend. I think this is his 3rd year as a workshop speaker. If you are going to the conference head over to one of his sessions and say "Hi".
• Joey has kindergarten round-up {although they have dropped that name -- which I grew up with -- and just call it "Kindergarten Registration Night"} on Tuesday night. I'm not sure how that can be possible either. My little guy is getting so big. He's gonna love Kindergarten and being at Falcon with his siblings and riding the bus and all that fun stuff!

Flashback Friday

Joe:

2 years ago {almost exactly!}:

after a little injury involving:

the "pit" at church,

a tender not-yet-3-year-old nose

and those "dangerous" carpeted steps:

{I wouldn't suggest having your nose come in contact with carpet while inadvertantly tubling at realtively high speeds! OUCH!}

. . . and, yes, I do realize he had insanely long hair.

I had vowed to not cut it {or have it cut} until I was no longer pregnant! {he hated -- and still does to this day -- getting his hair cut and I just didn't have it in me to fight that particular battle while so weary of being "great with child".}

Thankful Thursday

I know, I know, I'm really late. Sorry! But according to my clock it is still Thursday, so I'll make it in under the wire. I appologize if you've been checking and waiting all day to see what I might come up with to be thankful for on such a crazy, crazy day! {I won't go into to what all made my day crazy, but I will tell you that, by my best estimate, I took people in or out of a car seat 38 times over the course of my day . . . that's not including the dozen or so that Kirb, or my bigger kids, did. So, that alone qualifies it as a crazy day in my opinion. I won't even start with all the not-so-fun places we had to go to make all those buckling and unbuckling manuevers necessary!}

But I'm especially thankful today for our exceptionally wonderful pediatrician! Dr. Sackett is pretty much a member of our family at this point. She's been our pediatrcian since, roughly, Janaury of 2003 and, thus, has seen us through quite a bit! One of our trips in {at home}, and out {at the doctor}, and in again {when we were through at the doctors} of the van was to visit her.

Dr. Sakett knows my kids so well. Knows that Joe refuses to wear socks -- even the dead of winter. Knows that the kids {even the big ones, still} will be hiding under the exam table when she opens the door. Knows to pretend, every time, that I came to the clinic all by myself. What a lady!

A few years back we were having an exceptionally rough week health-wise and I think I was in the clinic 4 times in one week and she told me that on her way home on Friday of that week, she was going by our house {the fact that she knows where we live, in and of itself, is pretty amazing, I think!} and she said she almost stopped in just to make sure no one new had gotten sick since last we were there {that morning!}. Well, turns out she should have acted on that and stopped in, because we had to make a trip to the clinic on Saturday morning too, because someone had come home from school on Friday not feeling too hot and was in bad shape by Saturday morning. The receptionist at the time {who always called me "Stoll"} actually laughed at me when I called that Saturday morning, because I had said to her when leaving the clinic with one of the little kids on Friday morning, "I won't see you tomorrow, ok!" . . . I ended up eating those words. If only Dr. Sackett had gone with her gut and stopped on her way home on Friday my pride would have been saved a little hit . . . not to mention the co-pay! Oh well! We sure do love her anyway!

It's great to have a doctor that knows our kiddos so well and that we trust {and that we can ask medical questions of when we bump into her at Target}. Plus, she also went to Falcon Heights Elementary School, so my kids think that is super fun!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

244. a glorious day {sunny and 37!}
245. snuggles
246. finally putting away the last of the stuff that hadn't yet been put in it's proper place after our texas trip {pitiful, I know. we've been home a month . . . but, if I don't need it, it just doesn't get unpacked right away. priorities, you know. priorities!}
247. watching drips from the ends of icicles
248. unexpected blessings
249. a new game invented by my kids -- "bing" -- and the long stretches of enjoyment and laughter it brings to our home!
250. my dad's heart for ethiopia {he leaves this week for this 6th trip there}
251. much-needed naps
252. a few good nights in a row for a certain kiddo who has trouble sleeping
253. movie night
254. hugs
255. yummy potatoes
256. my space heater
257. fun news
258. laughter
259. the book of Esther
260. a basked full of folded laundry {thanks, babe!} . . . now if only it would put itself away
261. olympics

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment, and feel free to join in if you'd like.

Flashback Friday

can you feel the love lack of oxygen?

Thankful Thursday

Last night was much better, thanks for asking {wait, you didn't ask? Well, I told you anyway}.

Today I am thankful for willing helpers, wonderful teachers {and other school staff} and our great school!

I am co-chair of our PTA's Hospitality Committee, which basically means we organize the meals for teachers throughout the year {welcome back breakfast during workshop week right before school starts, dinner during fall conference night and dinner during winter conference night -- thankfully, this year we passed the buck on the staff appreciation breakfast in May. It is it's own event now and not a Hospitality event}. Anyway, tonight is our winter conference dinner for the staff of my kids' school. So, a couple weeks ago I sent out an email with our planned menu and the things that we needed people to bring/make/donate to a group of people who had indicated interest in helping with such things on their "volunteer planner" that parents fill out in the fall. Within 5 minutes I had at least a dozen emails of people willing to bring food for the dinner. What a blessing! By about the 48-hour mark all but 2 or 3 slots were filled {and my friend, Ing, and I who are the co-chairs hadn't even signed up for anything at that point.}

I am also so thankful for the wonderful teachers and staff that we have at Falcon! They really are top notch and I'm so happy to be able to show a tiny bit of my appreciation to them in this way. Hopefully they will truly feel our gratitude as they fill up their bellies on baked potatoes, yummy toppings, chili, broccoli cheese soup, a few different salads and some homemade desserts! They have a long day today::teaching all day and then transitioning right into conferences {which, I imagine to not really be one of their favorite parts of their jobs!}. Some of them have conferences until about 9 o'clock tonight. And then they have to be right back at school first thing tomorrow morning. Thankfully it's Friday tomorrow and they'll have a couple days to recover from it all.

So, I'll be spending much of my evening at school. In the staff lounge. Setting up, taking food from parents as they drop off their items, organizing, greeting teachers as they come in to eat, chatting with them as they fill their plates, washing dishes and cleaning up. {I try to always leave the lounge in a little bit better state than I found it in}. I really find it to be a fun night and am looking forward to it . . . and looking forward to having it behind me for another year!

Thanks teachers. Thanks willing parents {and a couple grandparents}. I appreciate you. You have made my day!

Oh, what a night::

Man, I'm tired!

One of our kiddos has been struggling quite a bit lately with sleep stuff. Mainly, not falling asleep. It's horrible. There are tears, anxiety, stress and lots of attempts at things that might help. So far, no luck. I think we might have to see a sleep specialist. It's beyond us. It's beyond our pediatrician. 4 or 5 hours of sleep is really not sufficient for an elementary school kiddos {or the parents, for that matter!}

{To protect the identity of our kiddos and not "out" them on their issues I'm gonna not tell you who is who -- or at least try!. You can guess if you want. Or, if you've heard my laments already and know who's who, you can just feel proud in what a wonderful friend you are to listen to my constant complaining/lamenting/venting . . . or something like that! Now, only one of them sleeps in a crib -- thus having the ability for us to contain her in a bed -- and sucks on a nuk. So, I'll just flat out tell you when it's Anna. It would just be silly to try and hide it.}

So, here we go. Tuesday night February 16th, 2010::

I was at a meeting and got home about quarter to 10. I said "Hi" to Kirbs sitting on the couch working on his laptop, and asked him how the night was and if everyone was sleeping. He said the night was good and that all but one of the kids {our non-sleeper} were out. I was supposed to go check on the non-sleeper. I did. There didn't seem to be too much stress or anxiety yet, but no sleep either. I gave an "order" {and idea I learned from a friend whose kids had sleep trouble too. "Order" sounds a little harsh and mean, but it's not. You just give a relaxing thought process prompt, like "think of something you wear that starts with every letter of the alphabet"::Anklet, Boots, Cowboy hat, Dress. You get the idea. Then I gave kisses and hugs and left the room. A little while later non-sleeper walks into the living room, obviously not sleeping! We say "would it help if you laid down in our bed?" It seems that might help so we try it. By the time we're ready to sleep it has worked. All 5 kiddos are asleep. However, we really don't want to move non-sleeper out of our bed at the risk of disturbing the much-needed sleep. Kirb opts for sleeping on the couch {what a guy!} and I climb in bed with non-sleeper. Non-sleeper has also, in the past, been known to have night terrors. Night terrors are nasty buggers if you know much about them and, in my opinion, non-sleeper had an extra nasty case of them.

So, it's 11-something. I'm in bed {NOT with my husband} and my husband is asleep on the couch. But everyone seems pretty good . . . they are all sleeping at least.

For now!

About 2ish maybe, I hear crying from upstairs. This can only be Anna. Everyone else just comes right into our room . . . since they aren't "caged" in their beds or anything. I grab her glass of milk, in case she's thirsty and head upstairs. She's lost her nuk. This is the main problem. I find her nuk under the crib and give it to her and snuggle with her a little bit. Read a book, offer her a drink and, after about 15 minutes or so, put her back in her crib. She cries for about 2 minutes and then all seems quiet again. Not much later {maybe just a few minutes} I hear her crying again. This time I hear Kirb get off the couch and plod up the stairs. I fall back asleep, so I'm not sure how long he is up with her or what her problem is. Normally, this is something I'd find out when he came back to bed, but since we weren't sleeping together I'll just have to remember to ask him when I talk to him later.

Maybe 3ish or so, another kiddo shuffles into our room. Non-sleeper is where Daddy should be. This is confusing to newly awake kiddo. I say "c'mon over here and climb in on mommy's side". Now, I am sleeping between {I'm not a fan of being "between"!} non-sleeper and snorer/teeth grinder. Plus, non-sleeper has been having bad dreams or something throughout the night and thrashing around in bed and sitting up and all manner of stuff that has made it hard for me to really sleep. So, I give up and leave non-sleeper and teeth grinder/snorer alone and go to curl up on the remaining couch. {I realize there are a couple empty beds in the house at this point, but that just seems to require a little more effort that I can handle, so I head for the couch.} Since Kirb is on the big couch, I take the love seat and a child-sized blanket {also, all that's left} and wad myself up in a ball and try to catch a few z's.

A little while later one of the remaining two kids who has yet to give us any trouble on this night, comes out to tell us there's been a little bed wetting trouble. Wonderful! "Hop in teeth-grinders bed and go back to sleep" Kirb instructs. I barely wake up.

I hear Kirb's alarm {cell phone} go off about 5. {He wakes up about 5 and goes to the Y first thing, cleans up there and then heads to work by 7}. I tell him to have a good day and could he please strip bed-wetters sheets for me. He does and heads off.

A little after 6 Anna starts SCREAMING again. The hysterical kind of screaming. Lots of yelling "Momma!" and crying. I think {hope!} that maybe she'll fall asleep again, but quickly realize that that's not going to happen. I roll off the couch and head up there to check on her. I get her nuk off the floor and snuggle a little. She does that post-hard-crying-thing where she gasps for air every few second in effort to catch her breath again . . . I'm confident that almost every one of you knows exactly what I'm talking about. It's so pitiful! She wants a "book" and "pony" {ponytails in her hair}. I tell her it's night time and she's supposed to be sleeping. She asks me, "Jake Jake?" and I tell her Jacob is sleeping. She asks, "Joey?" and I tell her Joe is sleeping. "Hid-dee?" I tell her Lydia is sleeping. "Daddy?" I lie and say Daddy is sleeping . . . if she knows he's "at work" she might think it's daytime! "Beka?" Yup, Rebekah is sleeping too, honey. So then she starts pointing to my facial features and naming them. "No." Yup, that's Mommy's nose. "Eye". Yup, that's my eye -- please don't poke it!. "Hay". Yup, there's my hair. Nope you can't have a "pony" right now in your hair. We'll do that in the daytime! She clearly wants to be awake and not go back to sleep, but I can't take it anymore. I don't know how much sleep I've actually gotten, but I can tell you that it's not nearly the amount that I need! I put her back in her crib out of desperation and crawl into a vacant bed in the room next door.

Anna screams. Pretty quickly, the return of her screaming wakes up the only child who, otherwise, has slept all night. It's about 6:30. I give up and get up {for good} and get Anna up and take her downstairs. Good morning world. I guess I'll start my day. No bright eyes, but I'm up . . .

As I type this it is 7:29 and all 5 kids are up. At least a couple of them normally sleep until about 8 and Anna occasionally doesn't get up until 9 or so. I have a feeling it's going to be a LONG day!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday posting, which all started here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

217. having a 2nd vehicle again! {we picked up our "new" -- you know, a '97 is still pretty new, right? -- car on saturday . . . 2 months after our loyal friend the nissan got towed away. we call the "new" car "the nissan" even though it's a lumina. old habits die hard and that car saw us through so much!}
218. amazing, fresh-from-the-pan, heavenly valentine morning cinnamon rolls from keys {i can't emphasize enough how delicious they -- yes, they -- were!}
219. being able to bless some friends by taking a couple of their kiddos so they could celebrate their anniversary and valentine's day. {& since Rebekah had a friend over too, that means there were 8 kids in our house on sunday!}
220. valentine dinner at my mom's {7 kids, 5 adults}
221. creativity
222. a good book {i finished this one this week, got this one in the mail and am excited to start it, and am currently in the middle -- ok, not quite the middle -- of this one}. i love to read!
223. friends, friendship
224. news that some of our friends will soon also be our neighbors! whoo hoo! can't wait!
225. having the kiddos home from school for a couple extra days {thank you, presidents and conferences!} . . .
226. . . . knowing they will go back to school on wednesday :)
227. a good sermon
228. making people happy
229. people who genuinely care and want to help
230. watching icicles drip . . .
231. . . . sunshine
232. dreaming of the future
233. enjoying the present
234. grace
235. valentine's
236. the absurdity of how high the piles of snow are at the end of my driveway. it just makes me chuckle . . . it will melt eventually, right?
237. online shopping
238. joey telling us he's going to stop sucking his thumb {i'll believe it when i see it, but it's a step in the right direction, at least!}
239. my off-week!
240. the YMCA
241. getting back to working out and how good it feels
242. a warm house
243. the early morning quiet as everyone still sleeps

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment, and feel free to join in if you'd like.

You Rock!

happy valentine's day!

from joey
{and the rest of the family too!}

enjoy your day!

Flashback Friday

snowfort building::
january 2006

it's always nice to have an expert on your crew::

the walls are going up::

all done!

you could even stand up inside,
how cool is that?

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for Hope::

My life is wonderful! I have so much to be thankful for. Blessings more than I can count . . . but it's not perfect. Far from it! I know that compared to the vast majority of the people in the world I have it so, so good. But my "stuff" is my stuff. I know that many, many people have it much harder than me; I am aware of that. But I am living this life and it isn't always easy! I have challenges and struggles and times that I'm not sure I'll make it through. Days often seem long {although, like "they" say, the years seem short! . . . ah, the irony of life}.

Without hope that, in the end, all will be made right . . . someday, the struggles will be over . . . life will be perfect, I would be in a pretty bad state. So, I am thankful for the hope that I have. Hope that changes everything. Not a "this too shall pass" kind of hope, but more than that. Hope in the fact that I know I am on the winning team. In the end all will be made right! What a relief. A blessing. An assurance.

When you are pregnant {and then in labor} you cling to the promise that soon enough you will snuggle that fresh new babe in your arms. Look into those eyes. Count those fingers and toes, and revel in the new life you've been given. When that infant seems to sleep peacefully at all hours except when you want to {in the middle of the night} you hold on to the knowledge that this won't last forever . . . soon longer bouts of sleep will come. When that toddler is going through a particularly nasty phase {those phases usually go in 6-month cycles -- I'm not sure if that's an incouragement or a discouragement to at this particular point, but it will not last forever -- whichever end of it you currently find yourself!} you cling to the knowledge that they will cycle out of it . . . someday . . . right? When that toddler becomes a "tween" and the angst begins, along with the hormones, BO and general grumpiness, you remember that everyone must go through this yucky time in life to become who they will be. Hope. Hope that things won't always be this way! How great is that.

Hopelessness. The word alone makes me sad. To be without hope is so defeating. You might as well just give up.

Anna's favorite book lately is Just in Case you Ever Wonder by Max Lucado. It's taken me nearly 11 years, but I can finally get through the entire thing without shedding a tear. But the ideas still bring a joyful tear to my soul each and every time::

Most of all, I'll be here to teach you about God.
He loves you.
He protects you.
He and His angels are always watching over you.
And God wants me to make sure you know about heaven.
It's a wonderful place.
There are no tears there.
No monsters.
No mean people.
You never have to say "good-bye," or "good night," or "I'm hungry."
You never get cold or sick or afraid.
In heaven you are so close to God that He will hug you, just like I hug you. It's going to be wonderful. I will be there, too. I promise. We will be there together, forever. Remember that . . .
Just in case you ever wonder.

That is the hope that I'm talking about. If you don't have this same hope, there are some good resources here and here to help you learn more about it if you are interested.

Hope: I am so thankful for hope. Hope that tomorrow is a new day; that winter won't last forever; that we will make it. Hope that in the end there will be so much more than we can even imagine. Revelation 21.3-5 {from the Bible . . . at the end . . . where God wins!} says:

³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

That's the hope that I am so thankful for today!

and the winner{s} is . . .

Ok, I've decided that I'm not at all good at this giveaway thing. I feel bad for the people who didn't win and I want to give everyone a prize. But, alas, I don't have that many Valentine's. So, the winners are::comment #6 and comment #5::

lucky #6 is jen who said:

hey! is it too late to win?? i have to think of something you don't know about me...
i love to go out dancing. you've never been out dancing with me and i bet you never will be, but i'd love it if it did happen!!! that would be one of the best days of my life...for many reasons!! :) anyways, now you know.

Tue Feb 09, 03:12:00 AM

and #5 is JoAnn, who said:

Fun fact about me: I raised pigs in highschool.

Mon Feb 08, 03:37:00 PM

Jen has been my friend since she was born {lucky girl!} and JoAnn . . . I've never met her, but she seems to have some cute little kiddos! JoAnn, email me with your address and I'll send you your Valentines ASAP {and hope they arrive in time for you to give them out.} YaYash {that's what I -- thanks to my oldest, Jacob -- call Jen}, I already know your address, so yours are going in the mail in 2 minutes! To the rest of you::I'm so sorry you didn't win. Try again next time, ok?

multitude monday {and a giveaway!}

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday posting, which all started here.

"One Thousand Gifts":

199. the beauty of freshly fallen snow::200. friendly neighbors who come over so you don't have to shovel alone . . . and do half the work!
201. the snow-globe view out my window right now!
202. my chapstick {I love it!} couldn't live with it in the winter
203. friends
204. my new CD
205. a little one-on-one time with my favorite 7 {but almost 8} year old
206. new haircuts for the Stoll girls {thanks Jill!}
207. the joy I feel when I make cards::208. returning health for a few sickies
209. 75% off at my favorite consignment store . . .
210. . . . a new pair of brown cords for $3.75 {I don't think I've blogged about one of my most embarrassing moments which involved my old -- favorite! -- pair of brown cords. I will someday though, I promise!}
211. my wonderful husband & best friend!
212. surviving the annual school carnival once again
213. knowing God will supply all that we need {Philippians, chapter 4} even when it seems like we have more than we can handle!
214. children singing
215. a new day
216. not having to go out in this blizzard {which is extra good, since I'm also car-less today!}

{The other night I went a little crazy and made TONS of Valentines. Tons, I tell you. I don't have nearly that many people to send Valentine's to! So, here's where you come in :: leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a set of Valentines. Tell me an extra-fun fact about yourself (and if I know you, try to make it something I don't already know!) Since Valentine's Day is coming up pretty quick, I'll pick a winner -- or 2 or 3 -- sometime tomorrow! Ready? Go!}

UPDATE::Contest now over::Congrats to Jen & JoAnn (see post above), but you are all winners in my book!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment, and feel free to join in if you'd like.

sweet girl

Parenting . . . it's tough work. But there are rewards too. Wonderful rewards::

Our sweet LJ wrote this letter to her grandparents yesterday {and the day before, I guess. It seems to be a 2-day work!}.

If it's too small and you can't read it all, just click on it and it will {magically} get really big. {Ok, it's not really magic, but it is pretty cool}.

It would appear, though, that she has no interest in sending greetings along to her boy cousins. Just the girls. Well, the girl cousins and a few rodents. It seems Katie's hamster and rat rate high enough to be included {but, maybe they are girls. I'm really not sure}.

I love to see this side of her! All too often I see a different side. One that's not quite as fun. One I wouldn't so readily blog about. One that drives me {daily!} to the brink of insanity and child abuse! That's my girl. I love her! She can be so very, very sweet and caring and wonderful. She can also be quite maddening!


Today we ran a few errands together. Just the 2 of us. It was so fun to be with her. Just her. On our way home we were listening to my new Travis Cottrell CD that came in the mail today {yeah!} It's really good. From the backseat {technically, I guess it's the "middle" seat} I hear Lydia singing along with the final track. How on earth does she know "On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand"? I wonder to myself. We don't sing it too often at church. I'm sure we have it on a few CD's around our house, but I didn't know she knew it. It made my cry {not surprisingly!} to hear her singing those words. I still had tears in my eyes as we pulled in the driveway. I asked Kirb if he knew that she knew that one. He didn't either. I love that my kiddos know such wonderful, powerful words. Deep, life-changing words. Words that will stick with them for a lifetime and bring them comfort in tough times. Words that make me cry nearly every time I sing them.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the Throne.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

Praise God!

I love contemporary praise music. There are some very powerful lyrics there too, but I'm so thankful that my kids know hymns as well. There's nothing quite like them!

Flashback Friday

Arguably my favorite picture ever in the history of time . . . that face, I could just eat him up! Couldn't you?

Thankful Thursday

I know this isn't the first time I've said this, so if you are a loyal reader you've probably heard it before, but it's the truth . . . I'm thankful for my washing machine! {I looked back and I haven't posted about my washing machine in nearly 8 months, so, the way I figure, I'm about due! Right?} We've had a nasty, nasty case of tummy bug this week at our house, and my washing machine has had it's work cut out for it. Once in a while I think I really should have lived about 50 or 60 years ago. I think I would have liked it, overall. But, I am so very thankful I didn't have to handle my extra-gross dirty laundry any more than sticking it in the machine and hitting a button. And then doing it all over again when it was finished . . . just to be sure! It's not super-new or state-of-the-art or anything. It's top-loading (gasp!) and pretty basic, but it sure does the job. I hear it humming in the background even as I type this. Although, today it is washing normal laundry. Nothing with super-gross bodily fluids! Yeah for being done with that! {at least I hope we're done!}

You can read the story of my washing machine here if you don't already know it. It's a good story, or should I say a God-story.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday posting, which all started here. So, the next installment of my "One Thousand Gifts":

176. catching up with a wonderful friend when it had been way too long since the last time (3 hours together, coffee & bagels . . . it was great!)
177. talking out tough things with people who care!
178. friendship
179. sunshine
180. a full moon
181. watching one of my girls become a knitter (I'm a little jealous!)
182. learning to sew
183. having the taxes filed for another year
184. a tax return!
185. promise of a "new" car soon
186. friends, husbands and moms to share struggles with
187. food
188. community
189. helping others
190. the Bible
191. laughter
192. birthday parties
193. friends
194. the thoughtfulness and kindness of others
195. a hot shower
196. good food
197. my sweet kiddos
198. surprises

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for installment #9 and feel free to join in if you'd like. {It's good therapy!} Cathrine, you should totally start your own {I can be your #1 thing!}. You could even write it with a pen and paper if you want! It's so fun, you'd love it!