Flashback Friday

I know #tbt is a thing, but Friday, for me, is the day when I seem to get a bit nostalgic and enjoy looking back at old pictures. Anyway, here's a favorite of mine of Jacob and his buddy, Jack, at a football game of theirs in 8th grade. Jack goes to high school at Cretin, not RAHS, and tonight is Roseville's homecoming (Jacob is pretty pumped!). Guess who we are playing? Yup, Cretin! So, 3 years later, these two will be playing football on the same field once again . . . they'll just be wearing different colored jerseys.

And I love that they are still friends! They are both such fabulous young men! I'm proud of them both. And since both teams are "Raiders", I can safely yell "Go Raiders!" all night long and be cheering for them both . . . but, as much as I love Jack, I'm hoping the Roseville Raiders come out on top tonight. It hasn't been our best season and a win would be good for our souls! Bring on the Friday night lights!

multitude monday {another two-weeker}

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

"One Thousand Gifts"::

2394. my grandma's sweet spirit
2395. birthday dinner made by my mom and delivered to our house during an extra-busy week
2396. many heart-felt birthday wishes from many wonderful people
2397. a birthday morning doorbell and (iced) coffee delivery from a thoughtful friend
2398. first guests staying in the basement
2399. 64 years of life for my dad -- what a blessing he is and a great example of selflessly serving others
2400. the Stoll reunion
2401. kids reuniting with their cousins and second cousins and second-cousins-once-removed or whatever all those relationships are
2402. Stoll family Bunco {or is it Bunko? these are things I just don't know!}
2403. basement 99% finished
2404. moving things back downstairs and reclaiming our house
2405. free birthday coffee coupons
2406. friends who pray for, laugh with {because what else can you do but laugh -- well, after you're done crying that is}, support and encourage me through the not-so-fun stuff of life
2407.wrapping up the summer soccer season
 
2408. Sara's good nature, even when sick
2409. fun Olympic party with neighborhood friends
2410. a fun, just-what-I-needed, life-giving night out with Al
2411. side-splitting laughter while shopping at Patina
2412. Chatterbox Pub {always a favorite!}
2413. making it through a rough week
2414. hope
2415. Jacob's friend Jack :: I love that kid!
2416. a fun day with Jacob :: he's pretty fabulous too!
2417. all-day VBS for the middle 4 kids at Como Park Lutheran
2418. 34 years of life for my brother. What a wonderful man of God he has grown into. I'm proud of you, Luke and am thankful that you're my brother!
2419. Sara's DAILY explosion of new language, she's picking up new words by the minute these day and it never ceases to amaze me. Today she pointed at the radio and told Jacob to "turn on KTIS." Honestly babe, you're not even 2.
2420. Kirb (or God :: maybe a bit of both) fixing the dryer
2421. my dad going to Menards to get a bunch more wood for me -- buying lumber is not the most fun errand to do with kids!
2422. unexpectedly bumping into a friend and catching up for a few minutes
2423. good days
2424. watching a bunny munch on the grass in our yard
2425. a good book, a cool evening and a little breeze ::  heavenly!
2426. geese flying through a beautiful sky
2427. harvesting peas, cukes and carrots in the back yard with Anna
2428. a glorious sunset :: what a loving, caring, thoughtful artist God is!

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

Yikes!

Just a little break in my break to say . . . Yikes!

Today we enter a new world. Today we are a house with a teenager! Jacob turns 13 today (and Rebekah turns 11 today . . . but that doesn't make her a teenager for 2 more years, and since this post is about teenager-ness, that fact is not quite as important, as it pertains to this post).

Today begins a new chapter.

A chapter that will last 18 years, 6 months, 2 weeks and 2 days.

That's how long we will have teenagers in our house. At the peak of teenagers, in 2018, we'll have 4 teenagers. For 8 years we'll have 3 teenagers under our roof. Another 5 of the years between now and 18.5 years from now, we'll have a pair of teens. And for this year and 2013 we'll just have one . . . and we won't return to having just one teen again until 2028. That's some crazy stuff! I'm kind of a statistics lover geek. If you aren't, you can just ignore all the numbers and let the fact that I'll be 56 before I'm done raising teens soak in a bit.

So, until then, you can keep us in your prayers. We'd appreciate it!

Happy Birthday Jacob! Happy Birthday Beka! We love you :: baby. toddler. preschooler. big kid. tween. teen! adult. It doesn't matter :: we'll always think you're the best!


And in other fun facts :: Jacob and Rebekah share the same birthday {you already know that!}, but did you know that Jacob's best bud, Jack, and Rebekah's best bud, Evelyn, share a birthday too? Cool, huh? I find it quite interesting. They share a June birthday -- exactly a year apart. They were both here jumping on our trampoline just yesterday.

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::