multitude monday

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all 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"::

2642. folding Jacob's laundry and tucking in a little love note
2643. Sara napping with the covers pulled WAY up over her head and her adorable little toes sticking out the bottom
2644. the gurgle of the coffee pot
2645. the hum of the washer
2646. a productive crafting day
2647. a big win for Jacob's football team
2648. Rebekah's tender heart
2649. a good night at swimming for Joe
2650. goggles, swim cap and Minnie Mouse dress on Anna
2651. walking home from preschool :: Sara knee-deep in leaves at the curb, crunching with each step
2652. a good, productive PSC meeting for Kirb :: getting closer
2653. Paul Healy, Bethel University alumni of the year. I can't think of anyone better for the honor
2654. blazing reds, golden yellow, deep purples, glorious oranges :: the beauty of fall
2655. a night with all 6 kids at home
2656. Joe reading to his little sisters
2657. an idea in my head that turned out even cuter than how I imagined it
2658. lots of orders this week
2659. Lydia's smile
2660. a great -- although chilly -- 4th 5K
2661. my best time yet
2662. time with dear friends
2663. people willing to watch out kids so we can have time away without them
2664. a great football coach for Jacob
2665. another win for Jacob's team
2666. playing Qwirkle
2667. memories
2668. the 1980 Sears wishbook we had fun looking through and laughing
2669. 40 years of life for my favorite person ever born :: Happy Birthday Kirbs!
2670. REALLY hard laughter
2671. beautiful fall colors
2672. the continued blessing of our new basement space
2673. the blessing of hand-me-downs
2674. the fabulous "village" of people that help us raise our kids -- and who drive them places when there are more things to go to than our family has drivers
2675. quiet
2676. creativity
2677. no more crib in our house :: and me being ok with that
2678. sweaters and warm socks
2679. the faithfulness of God
2680. Lois doing so well. Seeing her back in church again
2681. PSC progress :: a light at the end of the tunnell
2682. Paul Healy's head towering above everyone else in church on Sunday morning :: always great to have him home
2683. making and creating things
2684. a beautiful sunset over downtown

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

diaper dilema

Help!

Clearly I'm no stranger to diapering. I've had someone {at times multiple kiddos} in diapers almost constantly for a dozen years {how is it that my "baby" is turning 12 next month? That doesn't seem possible!}. I've changed WAY more diapers than I would care to calculate. I'd like to think that I know what I'm doing by now!

Sweet, adorable Sara has really thrown me off my game lately. 9 out of 10 diapers I put on her in the past week or two leaks. I'm super fed up. As a general rule, we use a combination of cloth and disposable {cloth at home, disposable when we are out and about -- I'm not hard-core enough to cloth diaper on-the-go}. Anyway, I've tried all our cloth diapers {different styles, brands and sizes} and they leak. I've tried 3 brands of disposables. Even moved up a size. Still leaking! She weighs about 13 pounds and, I would think, should wear a size 2 disposable diaper. 2's leak. 3's leak. I'm not sure what to try next!

I really don't mind doing laundry. And, who doesn't like to "play dress up" with a sweet little girl and adorable, tiny clothes? But really, enough already! I'm getting a bit sick of changing her outfit {and often her sheets} with every change of her diaper!

I'm thinking maybe it's anatomical? She always leaks out the top front of the diaper. Maybe she pees straight up her belly and right out the top? Who knows. I guess I'll ask the doctor next time we're in . . . or maybe call her today even. I've changed enough diapers to know how much those suckers can hold, and these leakers are NOT at capacity, I'll tell you that!

It is now 4-something in the morning. I fed her. I changed her diaper. I changed her onesie. I changed her jammies. I need to change her sheets, but I can't do that without waking up her roomie. {Please, no!} So I just put her back to bed laying on a towel so she's not on a cold, damp sheet in the middle of winter . . . with her crib in the corner where 2 outside walls meet. In a house built in the 20's . . . not so toasty!} I guess I know what I'll be doing this morning!

Anyway, if you have any hints, ideas, suggestions or thoughts, bring 'em on! Please!

Stoll baby answers {really late in coming}

Ok, so maybe you've already forgotten about this post, but at least one of you hasn't {Hi, Margaret!} and reminded me that I never posted the answers to which Stoll baby was which. So, here goes::

The very top baby is Sara {that one was given}, then 6 pictures follow -- one of each of our kids, and they are::

Joe
Jacob {my hands holding him}
Anna {Kirby's hands}
Sara {my friend Allison's hands -- she was there when Sara was born}
Lydia {my mom's hands}
Rebekah {Kirby's hands -- and a bit of Jacob's shirt collar}

The hand part was tough, I'll give you that. I was surprised at how well people did naming the babies though. Anyway, congrats to Margaret, Robin and Mary. They were brave enough to guess AND they got all the babies correct . . . although they each got a few hands wrong.

Thanks for playing!

Sweet baby

Another fabulous Sara said it well when she said sang:

Nothing in this world is quite as sweet
as a tiny baby fast asleep.
I could watch you 'til the end of time,
especially when the baby is mine.

{Sara Groves}

flashback friday {a day late}

The verdict is in . . .

. . . she's a Stoll baby!
{no doubt about it!}
Sara Evelyn::5 days old

Here are newborn pictures of all 6 of our kiddos. Do you think you can tell who's who?
I'm their mom, and I think it's pretty tough.
Maybe, if you get all 6 right, they'll be a prize in it for you. {bonus points if you also know whose hands are in each picture -- well, you know, the pictures that have hands in them, that is!}
Give it a shot! C'mon, just try::

Which Stoll sibling do you think Sara looks most like?

thankful thursday

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139.13

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
you works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139.14

All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139.16

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29.11

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.

James 1.17

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.

Psalm 8.2a

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9.1-2

We love because he first loved us.

I John 4.19

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127.3

May the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.

Numbers 6.24-26

So very thankful today for our newest, precious gift.
Sara Evelyn Stoll.
She is fabulous and we love her so much!
Praise God!

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

865. Sara Evelyn
866. newborn squeaks and grunts
867. excited big siblings
868. no more carrying a big belly around with me
869. all the stuff you forget {even when you've done it 5 times before} and get to be reminded of
870. teeny tiny ears
871. tiny little hands
872. wrinkly baby feet
873. surviving the whole ordeal and having it behind us {I was not sure I would make it for a while there -- way worse than the other 5 births all put together. But she's worth every bit of it!}
874. a fun family night on Friday night, not even knowing it was our last night as a family of 7
875. amazing weather for October in Minnesota
876. wonderful nurses
877. my parents and their willingness to deal with the 5 while we are away from home
878. heading home
879. learning to be a family of 8
880. tiny little diapers
881. the miracle of birth {thank you God!}

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

introducing

our newest addition:: sara evelyn

10.9.10

4:11 in the afternoon

8 pounds 13 ounces

21 inches tall

welcomed with lots of love!

thankful thursday

I'm so thankful this week for my parents!

My dad spent much of Monday at my house doing some projects that have been on the back burner for months and months and really needed to get done before winter. One of our kids {who will remain nameless} broke our 1920's basement window with a ball last spring. We just nailed some sheetrock and wood over it and that's how it's been ever since. On Monday my dad put in a glass block window in it's place. It looks better, it's not broken and, I expect, will not let in rushes of freezing air all winter long {the old one was FAR from energy efficient!} He also made a little fix on our garage door so that our van can actually get in there this winter . . . which will be extra helpful since I can't even reach the windshield to scrape it off without and ladder! It'll be great to be able to put it in the garage. We've got about an inch of clearance on each side and front to back, but the problem was the mechanics of the garage door hung down a little too far and would not allow the height of our van to fit inside. But now, although still really tight, we can squeeze the van into the garage. Finally, you might remember {if you read this post} nearly a year ago when I complained about our toilet paper holder. Well, since that time basically ALL brands of toilet paper have narrowed the width of their rolls rendering our {ugly} toilet paper holder completely useless. But since it was built in to the tile on our wall, taking it out left a gaping hole in the wall. Well, my dad fixed that too by heading to the Reuse store and buying an old toilet paper holder someone wanted to be rid of and installed it in our bathroom. We now have a working toilet paper holder again. It's a little thing, I know, but what a blessing it is!

My mom spent much of Saturday over here with me {while Kirb, all 5 kids and my dad were gone for the afternoon} helping me "nest". We sorted through bins and bins and bins of clothes. We washed, folded and put away baby clothes {it's SO fun to get those little tiny things out again and freshen them up!}. We cleaned. We organized and we got the baby's room {which he or she will share with big brother Joe} pretty much in order and ready to go. It was fun to have that time together just the 2 of us, plus I was THRILLED with all the stuff that we got done.

I couldn't imagine having better, kinder, more generous parents. They are always so willing to help and to give. They love us so much and show it in so many wonderful ways. They are the best and we are so thankful for them. In all honesty, I have no idea what we would do without them. We are thankful to have them so close. What an wonderful blessing they are to all 8 of us!

Note::I have pictures of all the projects that I was going to include, but I lack the proper cords to get the pictures off of my fabulous new camera and on to my computer . . . I guess that will go on the weekend list::get cords and learn how to use them!

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

834. it's nearly October!
835. glorious weather on a Sunday
836. dirty kids
837. a big chunk of time with my mom and a kidless house = LOTS of "nesting" {organizing, labeling, purging, cleaning} . . . followed by a Caribou reward, just the 2 of us!
838. another "Hanna day"
839. another friend birthing a healthy {but stubborn} little man. Welcome Freddie!
840. our new camera . . . a HUGE blessing
841. a little more time to master my {nearly non-existent} photography skills before the little bundle shows up just begging to be photographed.
842. a freshly mowed lawn
843. my talented husband singing in church
844. naps
845. getting a peek at our newest little Stoll via an unexpected ultrasound {exceptionally adorable, in my opinion!}
846. reading outside on a gorgeous day
847. freshly washed baby clothes waiting in drawers


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

what's new?

Joey lost his first tooth!

after a month of wiggling::

Anna was so wiped out she fell asleep sitting up::

the view from up here::

what's new with you?

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

789. street sweepers
790. a good first week of school
791. messages written by kindergartners in chalk on the driveway
792. naps
793. father-son football games in the front yard
794. laughter
795. a good book
796. driving a stick-shift
797. my dad safely finishing his 600K bike ride this weekend {and he came in 2nd out of all the riders!}
798. 1 week closer to having a sweet new babe in our house
799. amazingly perfect weather
800. stamps: the best kind of gift {thanks, Mom!}
801. no more stitches in Anna's head
802. the last SUPER busy week before the baby comes . . . let's pray I can make it through!
803. friends who just walk right in your back door with a friendly "hello!" and don't make you get up and answer the door
804. the way Anna says the word "toilet" . . . SO cute!
805. sweet post-kindergarten reunions
806. worn out kindergartners
807. Joey's deep, deep love for his whale shirt
808. the hum of the washing machine
809. payday is this week {none too soon, either!}
810. a car that {Lord willing} is finally fixed . . . 4 trips to the mechanic in a 2-week time frame is not so fun, neither is the car dying on the way home from work when also having a dead cell phone battery and having to walk home in a suit and tie carrying a bunch of stuff {sorry Kirbs!}
811. people who are kind and willing to help out
812. 2 new babes at church yesterday
813. the safe arrival of my friend's little man {her 6th babe too} last Friday; welcome Philip!

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

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

747. planning underway for next June's big family vacation
748. more than 24 consecutive hours spent with wonderful, wonderful friends
749. nice ER doctors {who remind the injured child of their favorite teacher} who staple your head closed again . . . and the dads who go along so the moms don't have to endure the emotional pain of watching staples go into skulls. YUCK!
750. tummy x-rays showing no more coins in Anna's tummy {we must have missed it on its exit during our week-long, thorough poop checks somehow . . . glad we went to much of that super fun work unnecessarily!}
751. surviving my nearly 9-hour long 8-kid day last week {9 kids if you're counting the one I'm carting around in front of me}
752. Schaeffer Christian Carlson
753. the hours at the front-end of the day, before I start waddling {by the end of the day, I can't do anything to stop the waddle . . . believe me, I've tried}
754. more than 32 weeks down, 8-ish left to go
755. life-long friends
756. sleepovers
757. birthday parties {happy 2nd birthday, sweet Ava!}
758. the anticipation of family camp
759. 3 days until the fair starts!
760. seeing the Elliott's {the circumstances under which we saw them boggle my mind quite a big, but we're thrilled to see them nonetheless!}
761. the laughter of kiddos
762. a trip to the zoo
763. a couple more things to check off on our summer list . . . and a few more extra fun ones to come in the week ahead
764. a safe 400K bike ride for my no-longer-in-his-30's {or even 40's or 50's} father . . . way to go, Dad. You're one of a kind!!
765. the little hint of fall in the air {but only for one day} we had last week
766. contentment
767. a big week for my brother's family::1 new baby, 30 years of life for Jenn, 6 years of marriage for Mr. & Mrs. Carlson {and before next week, 2 years of life for Haddon!}
768. the excitement of kids when given their very own cameras! {thanks, Elliotts!}
769. my grandma {it's her 84th birthday today!}

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

flashback friday and pregnancy update

Here I am just a few weeks before Anna was born in early March of 2008::

And, here I am just last weekend at the Kelley farm::

Generally speaking, it's not the best picture ever, but it's the only recent one I have of my belly. If you want to see it bigger {the picture, that is}, just click on it and voila, it will get huge!

I am 29 weeks pregnant.

That means I have 11 weeks to go before my due date.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday {I go every other week these days} for my checkup. Everything looks pretty darn good. My glucose screen came back {as it always has} to show that I don't have gestational diabetes {phew!}. All the levels in both my blood and my pee looked just dandy. My weight gain is completely within normal ranges {and is slightly below what I normally have gained by 29 weeks . . . maybe that has something to do with it being summer and not the dead of winter?} However, at each appointment they measure your belly {among other things} and that number should correspond pretty closely to the number of weeks along you are {isn't that a cool fact. I love when God thinks numbers are cool, just like me: I must have gotten that from Him!} Well, guess what I measured? You would think that the first sentence in this paragraph might be hint, but if you thought that you would be mistaken. Nope, not 29 {like would be expected}, but rather just a hair under 35! Nice! I guess I shouldn't be surprised {and, really, neither was my OB} because I have big babies {my smallest was 8 pounds and 4 ounces -- and he was nearly 2 weeks early! and my biggest was 10 pounds 2 ounces -- although a week late. The others have hovered right around 9 pounds. Give or take.} But, since I have 11 more weeks of growth ahead of me {and the largest, most rapid time of growth is still to come!} I'm pretty sure I'll be HUGE long before the baby is ready to make it's grand entrance. Oh well. I've done it before, I guess I can do it again. Right?

On another, pregnancy-related, note, I have had a few charlie horses in the night over the past month or so. Those are NOT fun! Also, I had my first bout of nasty late-pregnancy heartburn this week::let the good times commence! I know the end is approaching when these things start to begin. Still to come are::can't get up from the couch, can't get comfortable enough to sleep well, completely out of steam, "I can't be pregnant for one more minute!!!", Braxton-Hicks contractions all the time and back pain. Oh, the joys! {but so worth it!}

Also, the baby and I {mostly me, the baby was no help, and sometimes even a hindrance} finished the Lazyman Triathlon at the Y {so did Kirbs, by the way!}. That means we biked 112 miles, ran/walked {I opted for WALKED!} 26.2 miles and swam 2.5 miles over a 5-week period. It was more of a challenge this year than it was last year, but I'm glad I finished. I need some motivation to do something or I'll opt for sitting poolside and reading a book while the kids swim rather than getting in there and doing a few laps myself!

Here I am with my Lazyman finisher t-shirt::

Alrighty, that's all. Enjoy the weekend!

introducing . . .

Stoll kiddo #6

We had an ultrasound yesterday morning and got to "meet" our new little person. Since I'm so old {over 35}, I had a really involved, level II ultrasound where they measured every conceivable thing on his or her {we didn't want to know . . . we're into surprises!} little body. Our busy little one weighs about 14 ounces {nearly a whole pound} and measures nearly a week ahead of my due date {not surprising, since I have big babies}. They had to come back to lots of the measurements because this little one wasn't in the mood to hold still much, which makes measuring stuff pretty challenging. Eventually, they got them all but one . . . the length of the bone in the nose. I imagine that one isn't the most important, but you learn new things everyday and just maybe, it is! For instance, did you know that having only 2 bones {rather than 3} in your pinkie finger is a marker for Downs? I didn't . . . until yesterday. On both hands our little bugger has 3 bones in the pinkie finger, so that's good. I could tell you all the other interesting things I learned, but I'll save you from my non-professional explanations and just tell you that everything looked wonderful and healthy. Praise God. I wasn't nervous at all going into it, but it always feels good to come out feeling that much more confidant that everything is going smoothly and is on track. Sometime in October the guessing will be over and we'll know "boy or girl" and have met our little person. We're so excited!

I really can't make heads or tails {wait, scratch that . . . we didn't see any tails on there at all, I'm confident of that!} of much on an ultrasound without help. Those people who do them amaze me. Really, that's a liver? It looks like a little sepia-colored smudge to me. I guess I'll take your word for it. Anyway, if you can make much out of these pictures, have at it! The ones above are both {rather creepy, if you ask me} straight-on shots of the face. Looks so skeletal. Our tech used the word "cute", which I'm sure he or she will be {at least in my, maternal, opinion!} . . . but I wasn't quite seeing it in those pictures! The pictures below are labeled, but the top one is a picture of the nose and upper lip {free of any clefts!}, the middle one is a profile {that one even I can figure out} and the bottom one is a foot {I can figure that one out all on my own too!}

The baby waved at us {friendly little bugger already!} and we had a game of peek-a-boo going for a while there when trying to get a good look at the little face. It's good to know that #6 will be walking in the well-trod footsteps of his or her older siblings by being uncooperative.

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in -- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139.1-18

Praise God!