multitude Monday (two weeks worth)

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)!

We were visiting Kirby's family up north last Monday and I was not near a computer, so you'll get two weeks worth of blessings all at once. Enjoy!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3071. fresh, beautiful snow :: and knowing it won't last too long this time of year
3072. carpools
3073. kind friends
3074. Angie, unselfishly, sharing the chance to pick Ann up at the airport with me
3075. meeting new people who become instant friends
3076. new books
3077. inspiring words
3078. fabulous news :: Mydi's mom is completely cancer free. Praise God!
3079. the way Ann laid her hand on each book after she signed it :: blessing it and it's owner
3080. sincere humility
3081. the opportunity to help at the Set Apart conference
3082. an asiago parmesan bagel from Brueggers
3083. talking homemade deodorant with brand new friends :: nothing like cutting to the personal right away
3084. the gift of brainstorms in the shower :: thank you Lord!
3085. pictures to aid memory
3086. morning coffee
3087. witnessing hard obedience to God first-hand
3088. another member of the family of God
3089. safe travels on dangerous roads
3090. Kirbs' fabulous driving skills
3091. finally arriving in Warroad 24 hours after leaving home (it's about a 6 hour drive, but the terrible road conditions necessitated an unplanned overnight stay at a hotel -- one with a pool. Bummer we didn't pack suits!)
3092. bumping into friends at the hotel where we were stranded (they were there on purpose)
3093. cell phone reception :: so often I take it for granted, but when you don't have any for a while you appreciate it so much more!
3094. all 24 "Stolls" in the same house :: it had been WAY too long
3095. cousins playing happily together
3096. delicious pizza
3097. a good run :: Kirb came along too, which made it even better
3098. the breath-taking beauty of miles and miles and miles of snow-covered trees while driving through the middle of nowhere
3099. kids traveling well
3100. family
3101. afternoon walks
3102. finding my lost running hat
3103. sleeping in my own bed again
3104. home again! (my favorite place)
3105. Jesus and grace
3106. surviving a REALLY cold 7K race
3107. celebrating Jodi and baby Evelyn
3108. girlfriend time
3109. being the first people ever to stay in the hotel room at a brand new hotel that just opened up
3110. our stay being free :: sometimes being the "guinea pig" is worthwhile, hopefully they get all the kinks worked out soon
3111. kids back to school after spring break

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

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

flashback friday

the story behind the picture:

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, 2010 marks the 12th anniversary of the Stoll family bed picture. 11 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

The first batch of this years Christmas cards are already in the mail. So, those of you who actually know us, and get our Christmas card will see this years picture soon. It'll probably be a few more days until I get them all in the mail, but the wait won't be too much longer! If you read this blog, (which, clearly, you do!) the Christmas letter won't be nearly as funny as usual, since, rumor has it, the most popular part of the Christmas letter each year is the page of Stoll kid quotes. But, since those are on the sidebar of the blog and you can read (and re-read) them anytime you please, I apologize for the lack of side-splitting laughter at your home this holiday season! You'll have to find someone else's family to laugh at this year.

My personal reflections after looking through 12 years worth of pictures of our family::

• We were all (well, the 3 of us, anyway) babies in 1999.
• I should not have bangs. Jill, if you are reading this, don't let me talk you into cutting bangs on my head again. Hold me accountable on that one, ok people?
• If I do have bangs, then I should absolutely not curl them as I did in 2002!
• Rebekah's hair didn't get curly until 2003.
• I love Rebekah in the 2003 picture. SO cute!
• Our bed has pretty much reached capacity at this point!
• Kirb's hair used to be MUCH bigger (and darker and thicker!)
• My hair was best in 2009. Can I get an amen? (but I can pretty much guarantee you that on that particular day in 2009 I hated my hair and thought I needed to do something about it. What's with that anyway?)
  
• It would seem I over-think hair?
• The matching stripe-y turtleneck idea was better the first time around.
• How cute was Jacob in 2006 showing us his missing tooth?
• 2005 . . . that's SO Lydia!
• Joe was kind of a chunk at 18 months (2006). I had forgotten that.
• Anna must be the opposite of Beka, since her hair just keeps getting less curly as she ages! (see last years picture)
• My mom is a fabulous photographer! I am amazed each year that we even get one remotely decent picture. Thanks, Mom!
  

preview

We had our annual {rather painful -- although not as bad as it could have been} Christmas card photo shoot today.
In our bedroom, of course.
On our bed.
Donuts were used to bribe certain {nameless} uncooperative Stoll kiddos to be a part of the picture. Some people just don't value the importance of tradition!
In the end, though, things turned out ok and we even had more than one workable choice. And, no, none of these are the "winner" for 2010.
Yup, one picture needed to include Batman. He's an important part of our family, you know!

it has come to this::

I just finished a wonderful {REALLY thick} book late last night and haven't started the next book in my stack yet. This morning I was taking a shower {surprising, I'm sure . . . but I DO take one now and again} and was in no hurry to get out. There is a chill in the air and the warm water felt great! So as I was standing there, I read my shampoo bottle {yup, this is the exciting stuff of life!}. I found it much more amusing than most shampoos I've read and thought you might also appreciate it.

Above the really stupid warnings that I'm sure are legally required or some such thing {like::"for external use only"} was a heading that read::"You probably already know this, but . . . " And on my conditioner under "Directions" it read::"After shampooing, apply conditioner generously to your hair and scalp. Leave for 2-3 minutes while pondering the meaning of life (or whatever you usually ponder about). Rinse thoroughly and comb through while wet. For best results (and who doesn't want those?), use with our Nourishing Shampoo."

Now, wouldn't you agree that's the most entertaining shampoo/conditioner bottle you've ever read? Well, it made me smile anyway!

Sara's cord stinks. It's not quite ready to fall off yet {hopefully soon!} but it's stinky and gross. I'm hoping it won't be around much longer . . . but that would also mean she's not "freshly born" so much anymore and that makes me sad. I'll try to enjoy the littleness while it's still here. Smelly or not!Joe asked me yesterday::"So mom, when you eat does your food make into poop or milk?" Poor little guy was obviously confused about the whole business.

I really hope I'm not getting sick. I woke up with a really stuffy nose, which caused me to breathe through my mouth most of the night, which meant I also woke up with a sore-ish throat. I'm not sure if the stuffy nose came from the cooler weather and the fact that we turned our furnace on for the first time last night {poor Sara had super chilly hands and we had compassion on her!} or if I really am coming down with something . . . I really hope it's the former!

And for no reason other than the fact that I find it completely adorable, I leave you with this::

multitude monday

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

"One Thousand Gifts":

693. a lady riding an old-school Schwinn on a Sunday morning wearing a really cute skirt
694. overnight rain
695. clean laundry
696. a family day trip
697. these powerful words::

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

698. the sound of teeny little toddler feet running toward her momma
699. kids super excited about rocks700. good friends
701. cleaning, sorting and PURGING!
702. antibiotics
703. the sleep of a REALLY worn out kiddo

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

happy 4th!

If you've got a couple minutes, check this out. The Pioneer Woman has an amazing photo assignment entitled America. Some of the pictures are breathtaking. Enjoy!
Have a fun and safe 4th of July!

Bedroom Makeover

We swapped rooms with our 2 biggest girls this summer and moved downstairs to a new room. {We've lived in this house for over 11 years and I don't think I'd EVER slept in this room before. It started out as a guest room and then became Rebekah's room and then Rebekah & Lydia's room and now it's ours!} But for the 3+ months since we moved in we hadn't really made it "ours". Nothing on the walls, no real personality in the room . . . but all the changed over the past few weeks and I LOVE the way it turned out. Hardly any money invested at all and we've got a fabulous new {albeit kinda tiny!} room. I made most of the stuff or salvaged it from elsewhere in the house/basement/garage/dumpster. I did spring for a new quilt at a black friday sale {regular price $150 -- which I wouldn't have paid EVER, but well worth the $29.99 I got it for at 3 am at Herbergers!} but otherwise it was a mostly free room remodel. Enjoy!

Here's my favorite addition: A cut up 2x10, painted, sanded and a big picture of a sweet kiddo mod podged on the front. Total cost for all 5 was about $25, including pictures!
The stars {we have 4 in different places in the room} came from my Grandma {as did our "summer quilt" and our new kitchen light}. I spray painted them black and sanded them a little. The window was in the rafters in our garage and was green. I painted it black, sanded it a little, etched our initials in top pane of glass and hung a cute wooden s in the bottom pane.
Old piece of wood from the backyard + spraypaint = something cute for above our dresser:
More of the grandma stars, my "letter wall" and the mirror from our room upstairs polish off the new look.
I love it! {Plus the timing was nice, since I spent much of the first 10 or so days post-makeover in bed with "the plague". At least I had a nice place in which to be sick!}

sneak peak

we had our annual family christmas picture photo shoot tonight. this is our 11th "bed picture" . . . we just can't stop! if you want the history behind the bed picture, read this. here's a little preview for you of the 2009 picture. none of these were the "winner" though, you know! for that you'll have to wait. (you might want to click on that top picture there to make it bigger. the look on anna's face is pretty priceless!)

if you want to see past years' bed pictures, look no further than this. which year is your favorite bed picture?

yup, i did give our "new" bedroom a little makeover . . . thanks for noticing!

Walking to preschool

. . . and back home again::

Sunday afternoon family fun!

My aunt & uncle were in town, from Cape Cod, over the weekend and on Sunday afternoon we took a beautiful boat ride around Lake Minnetonka. It was a little rainy and chilly, but we all had a wonderful time anyway::

Waiting for the boat::

Here it comes::

Ama & Anna::

Looking up the stairs at Jacob & BopBop on the upper deck::

There she goes::

Each of the kids {well, not Anna} got a chance to have a turn actually driving the boat. Cool big ship wheel and all! {Joe was sure we were on a pirate ship} The captain was such a great guy: friendly and patient as can be. He probably answered 65 questions from Jacob alone!

Captain Joe::

Rebekah takes the wheel::

Lydia's turn::

What kept us movin' along::

Handsome boy::

Catching a little homework time. Very little, I might add. Who would want to waste their fun boat ride doing their homework?::

Anna & Denise watching for passing boats::

Back ashore. Ringpops for everyone. Thanks, Pete::

The whole big bunch of us::

On our walk around downtown Excelsior we saw some really cool little shops and I noticed this sign and LOVED it so I took a picture {plus, Grace is Anna's middle name}. Within about 2 minutes of noticing this one we saw signs with {pretty much} all of our kids middle names on them, except for Joe {no "Carl" stores in Excelsior, I guess!}. This place was called Grace. There was a "Joy" shop too {Lydia's middle name}. We walked by a Masonic Center {I counted that one, since Jacob's middle name is Mason}. And . . .
Check this out::

First and middle for Rebekah. The sign above was commemorating something {honestly, my dad noticed it and I didn't even read the whole thing} and was on the side of the building that housed "Cynthia Rae" {Rae being Rebekah's middle name}. How cool is that? Is it just me or do you find all that really cool too? Grace, Joe, Mason{ic} and Rae all on the same block! Too fun!

It was a wonderful day spent with some wonderful people. What a great weekend!