Monday, March 29, 2010

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

347. the first load of clothes dried in the sunshine and breeze of spring
348. new clothespins to hang them with
349. peeps!
350. street sweepers
351. promising "new" van potential
352. encouragement
353. celebrations
354. kids waving palm branches and singing "hosanna, loud hosanna"
355. physical therapists who make you feel better
356. the celebration of a well-lived life
357. going to bed early
358. a hot shower
359. a triple birthday celebration
360. friends who listen and share advice and wisdom . . . and generally just let me complain
361. kids {and an adult or 2} jumping on the trampoline
362. rice krispie bars {with peanut butter!}
363. a husband who does it all while I sit {or, more likely, sleep} lazily on the couch
364. seeing genuine gratitude from my kiddos
365. Anna carrying around multiple gift bags saying "My go pa-tee" {party . . . remember she descends from east coast-ers} -- she always says she's going to a party!! . . . multiple times each day. that girl knows how to have a good time!
366. friends who make you feel like you're something extra-special!
367. cousins playing together
368. registering for summer camp
369. birthday money to help the kids pay for #369 {their portion, anyway}
370. helpful information with unexpected blessings!
371. Rebekah's "spotlight" poster

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

holy experience

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday, sweet girl::
March 28th, 2008::

March 28th, 2010::

Friday, March 26, 2010

Flashback Friday

the birthday kiddos with their cousins 4 years ago::

blow 'em out, guys::

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for so much today::

I think spring might actually be here to stay, which is fabulous!! The weather this week has been really nice again and we've been outside a lot!

My dad had pretty major surgery on his foot this week and, so far, he seems to be doing great! Now if he can just stay off of it like he's supposed to, maybe it can heal correctly and he can be in much less pain every day. We're sure hoping {and praying} so!

We had such a fun spring break last week. Good times with our entire family together {thanks, Kirb for taking the week off to be with us . . . it is what made it so wonderful!}, good weather, fun things to do and still getting to sleep in our own beds . . . well, for the most part!

The first day of break we asked each of the kids to name 2 or 3 things that they would really like to do over spring break and we wrote them down. Thankfully, many of them had the same or similar ideas. That sure helped. By the end of the week we had done nearly everything on our list and had done at least one special thing listed by each of the kiddos.

Here are a few pictures from our week {I didn't take nearly as many as I should have or as I meant to!}::

Family movie night/slumber party in the living room
Joe actually slept on the floor all night::
Jacob and Kirb took in a hockey game while the Warroad boys were down for the High School hockey tournament::

Riding the Greyhound at the Minnesota History Museum::
The bus driver{s}::
Joey making faces at the big scary fish at the MN Zoo::
all 5 kiddos watching the fishes::
we even spotted a "wild joe" among the native vegetation::
the whole gang::
I guess I failed to take any pictures at all at the Mill City Museum {it was a beautiful day to be there. Amazing views of the river!} or the waterpark or of the bike riding in the driveway, the tennis playing at the park and against the garage, the pickup games of football in the yard, the birthday dinner at Red Robin and all the other fun we managed to have. So you'll have to take what you can get.

We're kind of back into the swing of things for the time being, but will be thrown a curve ball again with a short school week next week and a road trip up north to see Kirb's family for Easter. Maybe in April we can get in a groove again before we get hit with summer!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

birthday kiddos

Yesterday began the crazy birthday season at our house::5 birthdays in 10 weeks. Jacob is now officially 11 and Rebekah is 9. It was a fun day, full of celebration!

Jacob's cake at Ama & BopBop's {we went to my parents house for birthday cake, since my dad had foot surgery on Monday and can't really get out yet!}::
Rebekah's turn::
How old are you?
It's getting tricky now that he's more than 2 hands worth, but he's a resourceful kid::
She's still got it easy::
The birthday kiddos waiting for the bus::
The "twins"::

Monday, March 22, 2010

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

329. a great spring break
330. the return of the magic yellow bus to take the kids away for a bit :)
331. swimming
332. the zoo
333. museums
334. breaking out the bikes from the garage
335. a budding love for tennis
336. hand-me-downs . . . 6 bags worth::what a blessing!
337. friends
338. the return of family walks
339. the long-awaited completion of joe's tooth-brushing chart
340. the value of a good venting session
341. coupons
342. toddlers enjoying pancakes
343. an icee
344. generosity
345. a hot shower
346. the excitement of birthday week!

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.



holy experience

Friday, March 19, 2010

Flashback Friday

Remembering Papa::

Joe and his papa {my grandpa Carlson} enjoy a little one-on-one time in the fall of 2005::
Really, down on the floor? The man was 94 years old and he got down on the floor to play with his newest great-grandchild, baby Joe.

The whole family with Grandma & Papa on their last visit to Minnesota together in October of 2005::

Such a good sport playing with the girls::
3 years ago today my papa went home to be with the Lord. Just under a year ago my grandma joined him. I miss them.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful for the glorious weather we're having for spring break! Fun family times outside {and in}. I can't believe tomorrow is our last official day of break. It's been a great week, back to reality on Monday.

Monday, March 15, 2010

multitude {late} monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

309. sunny and 65!
310. getting the bikes out
311. a new discovery::the library has wii games! who knew?
312. spring break
313. a snow-free yard
314. family movie night
315. date night with my mom
316. malts
317. my dad's safe arrival home . . .
318. . . . presents from Ethiopia
319. needing to flip over my census form to the back since our house has more than 6 people living in it {more than 6 must be a little over-the-top for the government, all they want is name, age -- as of April 1, 2010 -- and whether or not you are related to person 1}
320. football in the yard
321. 90% off on a winter coat for next year
322. spending less than $40 on 3 kids coats . . . bargains, gotta love 'em!
323. slumber parties in the living room
325. shared excitment
326. groupon
327. kids singing from the back seat
328. spring cleaning

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.



holy experience

Friday, March 12, 2010

Flashback Friday

Just a few more days and this guy will be home::
This girl, in particular, will be thrilled to have her BopBop back home again. Welcome Home, Dad! We love you!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Thankful Thursday


I am perpetually blessed to have such a great husband and today I am especially thankful for him!

Kirb is taking off work for the kids spring break next week {and tomorrow} so we can have some fun family time together {and because he knows it would get to be a long week for me with everyone home . . . especially if the weather stays gloomy}. What a guy. We are all pretty excited for the break.

He's always got more than enough to do at work, so preparing to miss 6 works days is a little stressful. Last night, after helping get all the kiddos in bed {who am I kidding? He puts them to bed without much help at all from me. I usually sit on the couch and read} he headed back to work and didn't come home again until sometime after midnight {I had already gone to bed} . . . then he was up and out the door and back at work before I even got out of bed this morning. He is such a hard worker.

On top of that, whenever it was that he got home, he found Rebekah in his spot in our bed {she couldn't fall asleep again . . . and once she finally did, she didn't sleep well at all. I usually don't share a bed with her, but I really hope she isn't that restless and fitful every night!}. Instead of disturbing her by sending her elsewhere he just settled in on the couch . . . I guess if you only get to sleep a few hours it might as well be a little uncomfortable, right? Then you aren't as tempted to not get up when you need to!

And if that isn't enough, he had to get himself up off the couch about 2:30 to get Anna back to bed. During the day, that girl is all about her momma, but at night it is a completely different story! Like I said, Kirb usually does bedtime with all the kiddos. He likes it, plus I'm usually pretty beat by that time of day. Well, if Kirb happens to be gone at bedtime and I have to put Anna to bed she usually cries {or screams!} for a really long time and really doesn't fall asleep for real until Kirb gets home and goes in to sing to her and snuggle a bit. At night she's quite the daddy's girl. I had been up with her about 2ish -- these days she usually sleeps all night, but still gets up in the middle of the night occasionally {once every week or so}. When she wakes in the middle of the night, she is fine if I come up to check on her, but, like at bedtime, she won't go back to sleep without her daddy. Anyway, I heard her crying and knew Kirb wasn't going to get much sleep anyway, so I went up to put her back to bed. I read her 2 books, sang her 4 or 5 songs that she loves {although I am quite aware that my singing isn't on par with daddy's on any level!} and put her back to bed. About 7 seconds after climbing back in bed she starts at it again. This time Kirb went up and she went back to sleep, after a few songs, without a peep. Stinker!

With our other kids, when they pulled stuff like this we would just let them work it out on their own and put themselves back to bed. But with 7 people in the house, 1 of which has major sleep issues, we would rather not have her wake everyone up -- or even just Rebekah. When we were upstairs with her and all the other kids were downstairs she really never woke anyone up other than us, but it's a different story these days. That's one of the trade-offs of a big family and tight quarters, I guess. What can do you do?

Not only does he work hard and {nearly} always do bedtime, but he cooks practically all the meals. All the tasty ones anyway! And, did I mention, he can tell an amazing story! The kids {the boys especially} LOVE them. I can read a book, but I'm no storyteller. Jacob has taken to recording Daddy's stories on his MP3 player and playing them back for Joe on nights when Kirb doesn't tell them a story. It's pretty sweet. Plus, he's super thoughtful. Last night I had to run something to the post office after he got home from work and, as I was leaving, he said "Why don't you get yourself a little treat while you're out." What a guy! Many husbands would say {or at least think} "Honestly, you're leaving at this crazy time of day! Am I supposed to make dinner? How long will you be gone? Hurry back, ok!" But not Kirbs, he pretty much says, "take you time and have fun. I'll see you when you get back."

Oh, and I think he's pretty cute too. And funny. Did I mention funny?

I love you, babe! Thanks for being so super wonderful! I am thankful for you. So thankful!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

This 'n that

I'm not thrilled with "Our Fabulous Family" as a blog title. I like the alliteration, but really there's LOTS of fabulous families out there. We don't have the corner on that one by any means! I think we're a pretty fabulous group, but really that's because it's my family and I'm pretty partial on that account. I'm pondering the right name. It hasn't quite come to me yet. If one day you open this page and it's no longer "Our Fabulous Family", never fear. You're still in the right place. It just means I found the right name finally. Just warnin' ya!

Dreams::they're crazy, don't you think? You start telling someone about your weird dream last night by saying, "Ok, so we -- me, you and Oscar the Grouch -- were at my house . . . but it wasn't really my house." Anyone know what I'm talking about? They are just bizzare. They usually are somehow loosely related to something that has happened in my day or something I have on my mind, but how all those weird unrelated things come together and converge through time and space into my imagination is just crazy! I've had some particularly weird ones lately {or I just happen to actually remember them, maybe!}. I could tell you about them, but really . . . you probably don't want to know!

A few completely random pictures from life around here lately::





3 more days of school this week and then it's spring break. Whoo Hoo! I'm really looking forward to it! The kids have the day off on Friday {the teachers have a workshop day} and then are off all next week. We can't really afford to go anywhere far from home -- you know, somewhere warm! {vacations with 7 people get pricey REALLY quick!} so we're staying home . . . and we're excited for our "stay-cation". Kirb being off will make it extra special. We have some fun, local {cheap or free} things planned and are looking forward to a great week. Hopefully the weather will cooperate too and we'll be able to enjoy some fun outside time. I imagine that will make quite a bit of yucky laundry with all the puddles and nasty, dirty leftover snow, not to mention straight-up mud that we have around here -- but I think I'm up for it, and hope to not squelch any fun the kids might want to have by thinking about the mess. Some of our plans include :: the zoo, Mill City Museum, MN History Center, swimming and a new game for the Wii {shh, don't tell the kiddos, they don't know yet. We've survived for nearly 3 months with Wii sports and Wii Play and are still enjoying it, but they'll be THRILLED with something new to put in the mix. Plus, I was a huge fan of the original Super Mario Bros, so I'm excited to play the new one -- but let's not tell the kids it's really for me, ok? Thanks!}

My dad will be home again this weekend. We're excited to see him again and hear all about his trip. If you think of it and want to pray for a safe conclusion to his {6th} trip to Ethiopia and safe, uneventful travels home, that would be splendid!

I just found some year-old breastmilk in my freezer. Bummer! What a waste of 9 oz. of "liquid gold".

Did anyone watch "The Office" on Thursday? I really, really hope so! Jim and Pam had their baby. It was hilarious {and that's an understatement}! I watched it again last night and laughed just about as hard {if not harder} the second time around. Even if you don't watch it normally, it was worth a peek. Granted, it is funnier if you have insight into the characters, but I think you would find it pretty funny regardless. I have something every Thursday night, so I don't watch each week by any means {or EVER, actually -- at least "live"}, but I knew I HAD to meet "the office baby". Good stuff! Check it out. {Just click here, and when that is done, click "next video" to see part II -- part II is even funnier than part I, but you really need to watch them both}.

So, what about you? Do you watch "The Office"? What do you watch? Had any weird dreams lately? Have a good new name for our blog? Willing to pray for my dad? Have any other great {cheapish} ideas for a family of 7 to do in Minnesota over spring break? Let me know!

Monday, March 8, 2010

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

287. gummi bears
288. an evening with friends::
289. yummy food . . .
290. stories . . .
291. laughter . . .
292. shared burdens . . .
293. shared joys!
294. how good the kids sleep after swimming
295. a snowless roof for the first time in months
296. more melting
297. sunshine
298. temps in the 40's
299. a short school week
300. much needed patience and self-control {that could only have come from the Lord} to deal with a crazy morning {and some extra-emotional kiddos!}
301. lists
302. Kirb surviving "Set Apart", and having 6 great workshop sessions over the weekend
303. creativity
304. naps
305. Anna's vocabulary explosion and how fun it is to listen to
306. Joey's "reading" and "writing" explosion lately
307. puddle stomping {I try to see it as a blessing, like the kids do, instead of getting stressed out about it}
308. the joy of giving

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.

holy experience

Friday, March 5, 2010

Flashback Friday

cousins::

anna & haddon::

september 2008::

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for this silly little guy::
I'm so thankful that I get to spend my days with him {well, usually I'm thankful . . . there are those other days here and there!}

He's my angel boy::

He came up to me yesterday morning and said, "Mom, I changed [out of his pj's]! You're gonna think I'm really cool!" Well, why wouldn't I? A sweater with a whale t-shirt on top, some shorts and a pair of crocs is a terrific look for an early March day. And don't ever forget how much accessorizing with Batman guys can add to the desired look::
Silly boy!

Tuesday night I took this silly boy to kindergarten round up. He is so excited to be a kindergartener in the fall. He's quite ready to go. He thought kindergarten round up was great fun and was pretty sure he was going to be ready to hop on the bus the next morning and ditch preschool. We set him straight and I guess he'll just have to wait until the fall to make his long-anticipated debut at Falcon!

They grow so fast!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

I'm quirky::Part II

I warned you it would be coming, and here it is . . .

I'm Quirky::Part II::


I am only capable of rolling over clockwise in bed: Let's pretend it's the middle of the night and I'm sleeping. I'm laying on my left side and decide that is no longer comfy and I would rather be laying on my stomach {I'm mainly a tummy sleeper!} Instead of rolling 90 degrees to the left to land on my stomach {since that would involve the least amount of work} I roll 270 degrees to the right. This also lands me on my stomach, but not as quickly or easily. I understand that it takes long and involves more work and movement and all, but somehow my body {or mind or something} is unable to roll counterclockwise. It's weird. I know! But that's the way it is.

{if you missed the first "I'm quirky", you can check it out right here}

Monday, March 1, 2010

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

262. the glorious sound of melting snow running through the downspouts
263. generous, thoughtful friends
264. a certain cooperative 4-year-old medicine taker {who is usually not at all cooperative when it comes to medicine}
265. sunshine
266. little glimpses of grass {although brown and quite dirty!} from under the snow
267. continued enjoyment of "Bing" by the kiddos
268. fellowship and pizza
269. grace and mercy
270. afternoon naps
271. giving surprises
272. a new month. a fresh start
273. listening, again, to the audio of the teaching that Beth Moore shared when I was in Texas in January -- just as good the 2nd time around
274. a less-frantic week
275. anticipation and excitement
276. successes
277. a perfect geography test hanging on my fridge
278. my dad's time in Ethiopia
279. willing babysitters
280. Bible study week!
281. watching kiddos play in the snow together
282. a wonderful school nurse {and the saint that is willing to do that job! yikes, no thank you!}
283. encouragement
284. not completely losing my temper over something that was just an accident . . .
285. . . .grace, forgiveness and hugs when I do; kids are so extra-wonderful that way!
286. thoughtful, honest, heartfelt conversations


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.

holy experience