Friday, December 30, 2011

flasback friday

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

Thursday, December 29, 2011

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.

Monday, December 26, 2011

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.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

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!

Friday, December 23, 2011

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}

Thursday, December 22, 2011

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::

Monday, December 19, 2011

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.

Friday, December 16, 2011

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!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

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!

Monday, December 12, 2011

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.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

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!

Monday, December 5, 2011

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.

Friday, December 2, 2011

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.