Multitude Monday

What a crazy couple weeks it has been (months, actually!).

I went along with my mom to her oncologist appointment  on the 14th and without getting in to all the details (there are lots of them), the news couldn't have been better! Praise God! She looks great, does NOT require chemo and will be on hormonal therapy for about 5 years. We couldn't be happier.

So, here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2904. High School registration night :: how can it be true?
 
2905. comforting, encouraging, loving, beautiful words from a friend (thanks Katie!)
2906. a few long-separated sock pairs reunited
2907. a sparkly clean toilet
2908. Anna's afternoon magic show
2909. Sara singing "Holy, holy. God Almighty" along with JJ Heller
2910. fun news
2911. excitement for our new pastor
2912. Wednesday night at Central
2913. adorable babies
2914. my parents hard work
2915. Sara's singing -- she's always singing, that one!
2916. good news from Dr. Ogren (my mom's surgeon). No chemo. Praise God!
2917. Dr. Cheema
2918. great oncology appointment
2919. the excitement in church on Sunday
2920. the Lawrence family
2921. creative inspiration
2922. friends willing to help out
2923. Kirb :: over 20 years now and I'm still crazy about him
 
2924. a fun, impulsive (and safe) trip for Kirb to a basketball game at Notre Dame with a friend
2925. a friend I hadn't heard from in a long time wanting to get together
2926. friends
2927. warm corn bags to heat up your bed on chilly nights
2928. sunshine
2929. ABOVE zero temps after a cold snap
2930. Kirb :: my hero who came to my rescue when I couldn't get up the nerve to get out of the car after coming home late at night and seeing a BIG animal run right in front of the car and into our back yard. Thanks goodness for cell phones. I called him and he got out of bed and came out in the below zero night to walk me in and protect me from whatever creature was in our yard
2931. a chance for my dad to re-connect with his youngest brother, Brent, before he died
2932. a peaceful ending for Brent
2933. my parents home again
2934. meeting little Ella Grace (my cousin's little girl) -- what a cutie!
 

2935. a nice shower after a hard workout
2936. Sara NOT crawling into our bed in the middle of the night . . . for 2 nights in a row
2937. a good book
2938. being healthier
2939. the wii telling me for the first time ever that my BMI was in the "normal" range (as opposed to overweight -- which is what it has always told me in the past)
2940. authenticity
2941. book club night :: friends, laughter, fun
2942. coffee coupons + a gift card from Christmas
2943. Parenthood :: my favorite TV show. Love, love, love it!
2944. looking forward 5 weeks :: the chance to pick up a friend from the airport
2945. being available to help
2946. Kirb's "Biggest Loser" contest at work -- he's rocking it so far!
2947. re-connecting with a friend that I'd lost touch with
2948. Joe
2949. girl friend day!
2950. HARD laughter
2951. compliments. sincere compliments
2952. a delicious cheeseburger and fries split with a friend
2953. a massage
2954. Kirb working on our taxes
2955. the beauty of freshly fallen snow
 
2956. a chance to see far-away family
2957. a new "job"
2958. lowering scale numbers
2959. falling snow that looks exactly like you live inside a snow globe
2960. a wonderful 600+ piece district orchestra concert :: both big girls playing their violins
2961. Lydia's fun 5th grade concert/play at school
2962. friends
2963. broken glasses covered under warranty
 
2964. creating things
 

Happy almost-February already, may you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way in 2013 and take the time to make note of them.

Flashback Friday

A Christmas-picture Story::

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. This year we knew we'd have trouble all fitting on the bed comfortably (even though we don't spend too much time on our Christmas photo session 8 people on one bed get crabby pretty quick), so we thought we'd shake it up a bit and take our picture outdoors. But we couldn't give up the "bed" completely. Thus the "bed"-in-the-field idea was born. Since that needlepoint that my mom made us has been in every single picture, we couldn't leave it out either. Our picture was taken on a gloriously warm and sunny Thanksgiving Day. 2012 marks the 14th anniversary of the Stoll family "bed" picture. 13 years and 5 more kids later, we're all still on the "bed" (it was really two long tables, topped with twin mattresses and covered with our bedspread) for our annual picture.

joe, jake, anna, lydia, rebekah, kirb, shana & sara :: 2012

and a little flashback for you, starting where it all began. here are 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

Multitude Monday, a day late

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2883. Lydia's smile
2884. reflecting on another year and all that it held :: ALL IS GRACE!
2885. New Year's with the Newman family
2886. friends who listen to your whining and complaining and still love you
2887. 24 hours shared with dear, dear friends
2888. double stuf oreos with peanut butter :: my favorite!
2889. Buffalo with my mom and Sara
2890. a few new orders
2891. fun surprise blessing in the mail :: letter stating that a nearly $1000 repair that we did to our van in 2011 (not covered under warranty) will be reimbursed by Chevy due to some manufacturing defect that they've discovered. Praise God! (now to find that receipt from the service!)
2892.  provision right when you need it
2893. mom's oncology appointment scheduled :: finally the results we've been waiting for and a plan from here on out
2894. excitement of this week for our church
2895. a great swim meet for the kids
2896. the look on Joe's face when he saw his 4 BLUE ribbons!
2897. a special "cast bag" on loan from a friend so that Rebekah can shower without help (well, except for getting said cast bag on and off -- she needs help for that)
2898. more crafting
2899. getting back into the swing of running
2900. another beautiful morning sky
2901. 5 years of Elijah. Praise God. I remember that day so well.
2902. Sara's dancing
2903. looking through all the pictures we took over Christmas

this one is SPOT ON in capturing their personalities

Anna's new shorter (and straighter) hair

4 generations of girls

Happy January! May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way in 2013 and take the time to make note of them.