2011 :: a year in review

the top 11 posts of 2011 {by pageviews}::

1. encouragement
2. my review of 1000 gifts
3. multitude monday {1.24}
4. thankful thursday
5. expectations & thankful thursday
6. multitude monday {1.10}
7. multitude monday {7.25}
8. multitude monday {11.7}
9. numbers
10. kindness
11. introducing

happy new year!

flasback friday

my favorite picture of our whole crew from christmas 2008::

thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for this week where we can relax and re-group before the new year. We've had some fun, stayed long in our pj's, played games, read books, watched movies, played with all our new "toys", had a fun dinner with friends, sang Christmas carols gathered around the player piano, upgraded our cell phones to ones that actually work, purchased Santa-looking diapers for half price on the day after Christmas (plus I had a coupon, which made them nearly free!) and slept in. It's been just what we needed! To cap off the break, we're going to spend nearly 48 hours together with our bestie family ringing in 2012.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

1839. sickies home from school playing board games together
1840. preschool Christmas programs {our 9th one at RLNS}::1841. going to the mailbox to find it FULL of Christmas greetings
1842. seeing and catching up with old friends {all the more fun when it's completely unexpected}
1843. successfully finishing all my Christmas crafting {and not a moment too soon, I might add!}
1844. no major injuries for Sara after her run-in with a flight of stairs::1845. how quickly kids heal! {praise God!}
1846. Jacob all snuggled up on the couch reading this book :: warms this math geek's heart!
1847. Christmas program at Seabury {Kirb on trumpet, vocals and reading from Luke 2, Jacob on trumpet and piano, Rebekah on piano and Lydia on piano and violin. Joe passed out the song sheets and Anna did a few unscheduled piano interludes!}
1848. the joy of giving!
1849. a fun, new game
1850. FAMILY!::1851. 11pm candlelight Christmas Eve service {Beka was the only Stoll kiddo to stay awake until the end :: she was rewarded by holding her very own candle as we formed a circle around the sanctuary to sing Silent Night}
1852. going to church on Christmas morning sans coat :: in Minnesota! so very weird!
1853. a walk with "the littles" to the park on a glorious {although it would be so pretty with a bit of snow!} Christmas afternoon
1854. a Christmas day nap
1855. much-appreciated, much-loved, heartfelt gifts::1856. my newly outfitted winter-proof workshop in the garage {new propane heater, shop light and workbench :: thanks Kirb for the set-up!}
1857. a clean basement

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

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Flash mobs always make me cry, but then again, I cry at pretty much everything. Just be warned, you might want to get some kleenex for this one. On the off chance that I wasn't already crying, the whole "fall on your knees" at the end made a COMPLETE mess of me::

Have a wonderful, Christ-filled Christmas!

flashback friday

a little mother-son snuggle time
december 2006::

totally makes me want to re-read that book :: such a good one! {gotta love that Kate DiCamillo}

thankful thursday

I think we're on the other side of major big-family shared sickness and for that I'm thankful. One parent spending 6 hours in bed during the day is a big deal around here. Add to that 4 sick kids with 3 missed days of school, an angel fully robed and halo-ed puking all over the stage during the Christmas program, a toddler taking a major tumble down the stairs, at least a dozen loads of laundry done this week and a mom trying to finish up Christmas gifts {that she just started last week} and you've got our house the past 5 or 6 days. I think {at least I hope} everyone who was going to get sick has, and everyone who has been sick is now better. Here's to a Merry and puke-free Christmas!

Here's our poor, little brute of a toddler smiling despite her painful looking face::

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

1828. packages arriving at my door
1829. church bells ringing through the cool night air
1830. our block all lit up with beautiful lights
1831. caroling at a nursing home with my kiddos and a bunch of friends
1832. a working washing machine {it got a good workout the past few days with 3 stomach-bug sufferers}
1833. Christmas music
1834. a night parade full of lights and the wonder in the eyes of the kids as they watch
1835. prayers of a 3-year-old
1836. cousins ::1837. the secretive gift-giving planning of children
1838. the cutest {and oldest, if I'm not mistaken} lady in the choir {no offense the rest of the beautiful choir} ::
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.

flashback friday

A Christmas Story {but probably not the one you're thinking of}::

In case you haven't heard . . . or have forgotten, I give you the story behind our traditional "bed picture" at Christmas time:: When Jacob was not quite 1 we wanted a family picture to put in our Christmas card. We took quite a few (non-digital, I might add!) and the one we liked best was of the 3 of us laying on our bed. The next year it was just the 3 of us again and we decided to try and recreate the picture since it had turned out so cute . . . and thus began an unintentional Stoll family tradition of the bed picture. As one of the Peterson girls (Beka, i think) said one year "They did it on the bed again." (which caused many a giggle, since Beka was probably not even in high school yet at that point) .The Peterson's found it extra funny when they read through our Christmas letter, after the comment about the picture, and discovered (for the second year in a row) that we were (again) pregnant! As a side note, that was the Christmas letter of 2001 and we announced that we were pregnant with the little person that would turn out to be Lydia in that Christmas letter. No one, not even ONE person (except me and Kirb) knew of our pregnancy before getting our letter . . . not even our parents! And since Rebekah was only about 8 months old it was a shocker to most everyone. Us included (although our shock came a few weeks before everyone elses . . . and not in the form of a letter). So, 2011 marks the 13th anniversary of the Stoll family bed picture. 12 years and 5 more kids later, we're all still on the bed for the annual picture.

more than a decade worth of stoll christmas pictures. enjoy::

kirby, shana, jacob: 1999

kirby, [pregnant] shana, jacob: 2000

kirby, jacob, [pregnant] shana, rebekah: 2001

rebekah, kirby, jacob, shana, lydia: 2002

kirby, lydia, jacob, shana, rebekah: 2003

kirby, [pregnant] shana, lydia, jacob, rebekah: 2004

jacob, kirby, joe, shana, rebekah, lydia: 2005

jacob, kirby, rebekah, shana, joe, lydia: 2006
kirby, jacob, rebekah, joe, [pregnant] shana, lydia: 2007

kirby, lydia, anna, joe, shana, jacob, rebekah: 2008

jacob, anna, kirby, rebekah, joe, lydia [not quite pregnant] shana: 2009

kirby, joe, shana, teeny baby sara, rebekah, anna, jacob, lydia: 2010

kirby, anna, shana, sara, joe, jacob, lydia, rebekah: 2011

Merry Christmas!

thankful thursday

This week one year ago the Metrodome roof caved in and we had to cancel our Christmas party because we had nearly a foot of snow. Yesterday it rained. Yup, rained! All day long. Weird!

Anyway, onto the thankful part :: In addition to being thankful for the mild weather we've had so far, I am so very, very thankful for my "village". You know how "they" say it takes a village to raise a child? (actually, first someone in Africa said it, and then Hillary Clinton published a book with that title and made it more popular) Anyway, it's so very true. Parenting is hard enough with a village, I can't imagine doing it alone!

I am always so thankful for my wonderful, wonderful village and all that they add to my life. In our "village" we have people who are gifted in basic car repair, an ER nurse who has saved us many a trip to the hospital (not to mention HUNDREDS of dollars) with his little tube of super glue and willing, helpful spirit, people willing to drive my kids here and there when we are heading in more directions than is humanly possible on any given day, playdates that save this mom's sanity, date night babysitting swaps, friends who will drop off forgotten violins at school so I don't have to wake the baby from a nap and people to bounce ideas off of or just vent to. My kids know that they can ALWAYS go home with any of the village parents, even if that wasn't the original plan. If a village mom says she's supposed to take you home, my kids know to just go with her :: she probably has better snacks and I'm sure her house is more fun than ours anyway! Isn't that wonderful? Our friends, especially those we are raising children alongside, are so much ore than just friends :: we're in this together. We can't do it alone. It's hared! We need to watch out for each other. We need "spies" who will tell us things about our kids that we would never have known or discovered on our own :: what they heard in a conversation between friends in the back of the van, what they noticed or picked up on when they were volunteering at school, what they hear from their kids about my kids . . . I'm so thankful for good, trusted, solid friends -- Christian friends -- to raise kids with. To steal a line from one of my favorite Sara Groves songs :: "Life with you is half as hard and twice as good!". I am thankful!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1815. silent, falling snow in moonlight
1816. Joe volunteering to read from Genesis during our Advent reading
1817. Joe's first time taking communion
1818. breathtakingly beautiful moon and that I was graced with the timing and awareness to notice it
1819. Rebekah's fabulous ringlettes {eat your heart out Nellie Olsen!}::1820. Joe sweeping up pine needles without being asked
1821. a wildly successful craft sale {especially wonderful since it was my very first attempt at such a thing}::1822. kids singing in church with the adult choir::

{I love that Joe, LJ, Rebekah and my Grandma are all in a line}

1823. LJ's Christmas program
1824. the warm, heavy weight of a babe sleeping on my chest in the early morning hours while the rest of the house was still asleep
1825. Bible study
1826. supportive, encouraging, enthusiastic friends
1827. supportive, encouraging, enthusiastic family

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

flashback friday

december 2008

thankful thursday

I am thankful for so much today. Friends who are encouraging, extra help from my selfless mother, patience from my saintly husband, good news from the shoulder specialist (no surgery!), a beautiful Christmas tree in my living room, big kids quizzing little ones on their spelling words, my Bible study girls . . . this is staring to sound a lot like a Monday, it would seem.
Happy Thursday to you!

multitude monday {evening edition}

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1800. book club
1801. lots more christmas crafting
1802. buying myself a christmas present
1803. helpful, knowledgeable friends who can help you make decisions
1804. our advent reading each day as a family
1805. being introduced to a wonderful ministry :: 3seams {fantastic company & treats at the same time made it a nearly perfect evening}
1806. no school on Friday :: a family fun day!
1807. Soul Surfer {a miraculous story made it to a great movie!}
1808. a little more friend time and a movie on a snowy Saturday afternoon {unless I counted wrong it was my 2nd time in a theater in 2011 :: I know, I live quite the charmed life!}
1809. my gracious, loving husband who puts up with me when I'm a maniac {and when I'm not}
1810. my wonderful mother!
1811. the long-awaited appointment with the shoulder specialist and the fabulous news that my shoulder does not look like it will require surgery {praise God!}
1812. a working camera again, after it wasn't working {if you turn it off and on and take out and charge the battery and take the lens off and put it back on again and take out the memory card and re-insert it, one of those might fix your problem :: it worked for me!}
1813. a beautiful Christmas tree in my living room
1814. our new {fun} Elf on the Shelf family tradition

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

flashback friday

December 2006 ::
a crazy picture all around, wouldn't you agree?
{looks to me like someone dropped the Sprite, but I'm not sure who and 1-year-old Joe looks a bit psycho! and that, my friends, is a picture from my life.}

I know at least one person was a bit worried when I was neither thankful nor thrifty yesterday. It's just that I'm a bit of a busy, crazy maniac as of late. Hopefully I'll have my life back in a week or so and regain the ability to keep up with life :: at least a little better than I have this week.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1779. Christmas picture taken, cards ordered, cards in-hand and waiting to be stuffed . . . and it's still November!
1780. a fresh haircut on my VERY shaggy first-born
1781. Joey leading his class in the pledge at Grandparent's Day ::
1782. safe travels, despite van troubles
1783. seeing deers in ditches :: not on the roads!
1784. our baby girl loving on her grandpa even though it had been nearly half her life since last she saw him
1785. family
1786. boots & skirts {my favorite combo!}::1787. a great family Thanksgiving program following the yummy meal
1788. a nice post-dinner walk
1789. a breath-taking sunset
1790. so very much to be thankful for!
1791. grown-up dinner . . . and kids old enough to take care of themselves {the joy of 13 cousins together in the house with no adults in site!}::1792. hand-in-hand walk with grandpa ::1793. new power tools!
1794. home again {and safely, praise God!}
1795. a good Nancy Drew mystery to pass the time
1796. a letter from Melvin {our Compassion kiddo} waiting for us when we arrived home :: something else to be thankful for!
1797. a great church close enough to walk to when the van won't cooperate to get you to your own church on a Sunday morning
1798. a pretty successful 4th-grade-girl intervention
1799. being in touch with your feelings ::

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

flashback friday

Thanksgiving 2008::

The Stoll side of the family::
Kirby's parents, their 4 kids {& spouses} and 13 grandkids
{Kirby & his older sister must be taking the pictures because they are missing, but all the rest of the 23 family members are present and accounted for, plus a few dolls even.}

thankful thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day all about being thankful. How great is that? I heard someone say recently, though :: "Thanksgiving isn't a holiday, it's a way of life." I try to live that one out each day. I sure do mess it up quite often, but I keep trying! How much more wonderful would the world be if everyone made thanksgiving a way of life?

Today marks 6 years exactly since my father-in-law had a major stroke :: sitting in his favorite recliner, surrounded by his kids and grandkids {most of them, anyway} in the afterglow of Thanksgiving dinner. It's a moment I don't think I'll ever forget.

Here he is on Thanksgiving Day 2008, 2 years {exactly} after his stroke. {Isn't he cute? I've always been especially fond of him. It's hard to believe I've known him for nearly 20 years already :: I first met him in early 1992, if I remember correctly -- a couple months before I met my mother-in-law}::
Life can make MAJOR changes in a single moment, without a bit of warning.

So be thankful today. Be thankful FOR today. Be thankful with your whole life.

We are thankful to still have my father-in-law with us. Thankful for these 6 years that we realize have been a gift. Life hasn't been the same for him since that day, but he's still here. We still love him! We are so thankful to have him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1767. a table full of men at the Y :: Bibles open, studying together
1768. sweet baby girl sound asleep :: little bum sticking up in the air
1769. a good book :: oh how I love a good book!
1770. an early morning walk to start a Saturday :: especially wonderful when the destination is a coffee date with a girlfriend
1771. our first dusting of white
1772. kids playing outside in the snow
1773. crafting up a storm
1774. my dad cutting up TONS of wood for me so I can keep workin' away
1775. my favorite church service of the year
1776. good customer service
1777. a celebration of a wonderful life lived for the Lord :: meaningful service for Gordy Peterson, a wonderful friend of our family {he and is beautiful wife, Gladys, were in charge of the guest book at our wedding; we were so happy to have them be a part of our big day and are glad to know they are together again in heaven now! Praise God!}
1778. that everyone has boots, coats and snowpants that fit {and hopefully will fit ALL winter long!} :: snow gear x 6 is a really big ordeal!

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

flashback friday

November 2005

thankful thursday

I'm so thankful, lately, for our chiropractor. I started going a while back for some pain in my shoulder. He worked with me for a month or so and when I was still in pretty nasty pain {you know, the kind that makes your eyes water} he suggested I get a MRI. I did and it revealed that I somehow tore my labrum, which is the cartilage in your shoulder. I have an appointment with an orthopedic shoulder specialist coming up to see whether some physical therapy could help me at all or if I'll have to have shoulder surgery. Anyway, back to the thankful part :: during the time I was seeing him for my shoulder Lydia's migraines had become more frequent and she was pretty miserable, so I asked him about it. Now he has started seeing her, and although it's too soon to tell at this point, I think between the adjustments and a few other changes we've made at home on his suggestion we can trust she'll experience less frequency and less intensity of headaches in the future. Also, Sara has started seeing him too, since she's had quite the history of ear infections. She's already had the first full night of sleep in her life {my kids are never great sleepers until they're at least one though, no matter what we try!} since we started taking her to him, so that's a big perk. Overall she just seems happier and more mellow too, so that's fabulous and we trust he has something to do with that. So, if you live nearby and need a chiropractor, you should give Eric Lund a call.

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1759. $20 found on the ground and no one in sight who may have lost it
1760. IKEA
1761. fun times at the Children's Museum
1762. backyard fires still in mid-November::1763. tree-climbing girls
1764. a good 6.23K walk/run as a family on Saturday morning (even though I walked 25% of the race at the pace of a 3-year-old who didn't want to ride in the stroller, we didn't come in dead last)
1765. a fun, much-needed, laughter-filled dinner with girlfriends
1766. finishing a great book during my workout this morning

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

flashback friday

one of my favorite oldies::

clearly not the best picture ever :: a little heavy on the floral couch.
jacob (3), rebekah (15 months) & lydia (less than a month)
what a trio

and, i can't help but mention :: happy 11.11.11 to you

can you feel the love hate?

It's a terrible afternoon :: the kids came home in a funk -- for lack of a better term. Anna had been SUPER needy today {like, as in, I couldn't look away from her or go to the bathroom or feed Sara or do anything without her demanding my undivided attention}. Plus she was tired and whiney. When the big kids walked through the door the "fun" really started :: Doors slamming. Stomping up the stairs, the kind of stomping that leads to fear that the house might, literally, fall apart. Yelling. {Oh, the yelling.} Tantrum throwing. Glasses bent {I think, intentionally} in a fit of rage. Throwing things. Screaming. Crying.

The crying may have been just me, I didn't stick around long enough to find out.

I went outside and sat on the steps leading to the basement {in the cold} and cried and prayed. But it followed me. Even from out there I could hear yelling and stomping and slamming. From outside! Even from outside I could feel the hate oozing out from the house. I hope and pray it's not really hate. I don't think it is. But it sure does feel like it.

I know no one has perfect kids, but in my mind other kids aren't this bad. They aren't this bratty. They aren't this needy. They aren't this whiney or jealous or moody or angry or disrespectful or mean-spirited.

Maybe I'm the one who is off-kilter. Maybe it's because of the constant, often intense pain of my messed up shoulder that I'm extra moody or sensitive. Sometimes I just feel like, clearly, I'm doing something wrong {if not, everything} because these people I'm trying hard to raise are a complete mess. I know deep down that they're not a complete mess, but I sure would appreciate it if they weren't quite so "messy" {literally and figuratively, I might add!}.

Alright, I'll quit now. Just keepin' it real.

thankful thursday

I feel like I've said this every Thursday for months, but I am so very thankful for the amazingly beautiful fall we've had. The leaves are glorious. The air has been crisp, but not too cold. Anna still goes out to play with bare feet {which makes me cold just looking at her, but she says she's fine.} The kids walk to school at 8:15 with nothing more than a sweatshirt, and front yard football is still going strong. This is Minnesota, so I know that the yucky stuff is inevitable :: sub-zero temperatures, snow that was novel in December driving you nutty by April, scraping frost off car windows and being cold even with 7 layers of clothing on. Last night we had our first hint of flurries and this morning was a chilly one with coldish air coupled with wind, but I'll sure have enjoyed our nearly-mid-November-and-still-snowless fall. Fall is, after all, my favorite season, hands down!

multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!

"One Thousand Gifts":

1743. leaves raining down
1744. the beauty of frost-covered lawns all glittery in the sunshine
1745. a wonderful husband :: just perfect for me
1746. a discouraging diagnosis :: but through it are the only paths to an explanation for the pain and hope of healing
1747. sharing a slice of Costco pizza with my very favorite person in the world for lunch to refuel after pushing around that REALLY heavy cart on our Costco run that we got to take together
1748. good books
1749. writing letters to Melvin {our Compassion child}
1750. traveling mercies
1751. long awaited hugs::
1752. face-aching, side-splitting laughter
1753. a "full tank"
1754. time with my parents :: just the 3 of us
1755. kissing the faces of my kiddos as they slept
1756. a house full {nearly bursting} with teenagers
1757. listening to Jacob talk about what he learned about sin at the youth rally
1758. the grace of everyday. that we are alive. that we have the chance to live this glorious life. it could so easily be different.

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

flashback friday

Since just the 3 of us are spending some time together today, I thought a picture of when it was just the 3 of us would be appropriate. The Carlson family, circa 1976. Aren't we a handsome bunch?

thankful thursday

I am thankful for my parents. They are wonderful and such a blessing to me, to us as a family and, I know, to lots of other people too! Tomorrow morning I head out of town for just under 48 hours with my mom and dad to attend a conference in Illinois with my mom. I'm excited! I'm so thankful for the chance to get to go. I am thankful, too, for Kirbs, who is excited for me to go and willing to hold down the fort while I'm gone. I am thankful for the full night sleep I plan to get {unless one of my parents needs something in the middle of the night, that is!}, for the chance to grow and learn, to hear some fabulous speakers {one, in particular, that I'm especially excited about} and go be filled up. After having the weekend on the calendar for months and months, I'm really looking forward to it and can't believe it's finally here . . . already {I know the finally and the already seem to be opposites, but isn't that how life is?} . . . less than 24 hours now. Whoo Hoo!

Boo! {the return of the cow}

A little review of some fall fun. Not a penny was spent on any of it {well, I guess that's not completely true, my mom did buy Rebekah that mask at the dollar store}. We borrowed. We dug in the dress up box. We were imaginative. Even at the last minute there were costume changes going on. Even the pumpkins were free! A fun night was had by all, and if you're short on candy come on over. We've got MORE than enough to share. Yikes!

Wonder Woman::

NBA guy::

pumpkins::

Spidey::

The whole crew of spooks::

Mooo {year two in the cow costume for Sara -- last year she was swimming in it at 3 weeks old}::

Dorothy {and Toto}::

A witch or some such thing::

Our 6 + 2 of our favorite "extras" who can quite often be found at our house and often come places with us too. They're both part of the family at this point. You gotta love it when a kid is comfortable enough at your house to just open the fridge and help themselves! Plus we joke that Ev and Joe are going to get married some day, since they have fought like crazy since Joe was old enough to walk. Love all those kiddos::

The welcome committee at our back door::