there were 4 in the bed, and the little one said . . .

so last night wasn't the best sleep night around here either . . . it seems to be a pattern lately! 6 of the 7 of us were up again at some point (the 7th one is a pretty sound sleeper and, unfortunately, can sometimes even sleep through the need to go potty. bummer, i know!) there were bad dreams, loud noises, claims of "i don't know how to sleep", babies who needed to nurse (ok, only one baby. don't get all excited or anything!). for a couple hours early, early this morning i slept on my side so close to the edge of MY bed i was sure someone might shove me overboard. there were 4 of us in our queen-sized bed at that point . . . 2 too many, in my opinion!

one of the kiddos is scheduled for their sleepover at ama & bop bop's tonight so that's SHOULD make our odds better for decent sleep tonight, but i think the girls have plans in the works for a sleep over with their bestest friends (who happen to be sisters), so instead of being down to 4 kids, we might be up to 6! oh well, i do know (in my head, anyway) that eventually there will come a day when no one will climb in bed with us at night and no one will need us to calm nerves after bad dreams and scary, loud noises so i'll try and enjoy it while i can -- tired as i am -- for i DO know that it won't last and some day i will long for all that this season in my life has to offer!

flashback friday

exactly 5 years ago kirbs & i were in cebu "enjoying" tempuratures over 100 degrees above what we have experienced in minnesota this week! it was a wonderful trip and one that we will never forget!

verse 2

well, so far so good with the scripture memory challenge i've undertaken for 2009! i memorized my first verse (for the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations. pslam 100.5, niv). ok, so i know i have no way to prove that i really memorized it . . . i mean i could have just copied that from the Bible or something, but you'll just have to trust me on this. i did memorize it! yeah! now i'm on to my second verse! (actually verses, there's 2!) it's a reminder that i could really use most days!

my dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (james 1.19-20, niv)

my little set of cards where i write each verse is extra cute, if i do say so myself! i carry it with me and try to look at my verse whenever i've got an extra second. (you know 'cause i've got so many extra seconds in my days!)

if you don't know about my "resolution" to memorize 24 scriptures in 2009, you can check it out here.

have a great day!

thankful thursday

in the words of a very wise 3-year-old who i hang out with, "i like our house. we do keep nice and warm in it. i'm glad God gave us a warm house!"
this week, even more than usual, i am so thankful for my home and the energy to heat it. (although i'll probably be a little bummed when i get the bill at the end of this particularly cold, high energy usage month). blankets, hot water for showers, my very favorite wool socks and a cozy sweater are high on the list today too! i will be very thankful when the weather takes a turn for the warmer, but for the time being i am so thankful that i have a warm home to hunker down in on these cold, cold days!
(as you see we're not much for usin' the front door, so if you come over for a visit -- which you are ALWAYS welcome to do -- come around to the side and ring the bell. we'd love to see you!)

welcome to 2002!

the nice man from qwest is coming sometime between 12 and 5 today to free me from dial-up. i wouldn't quite call it "high speed", but it will be a huge improvement! (thanks mom & dad -- this was one of my christmas presents. arguably one of my very favorites!) i can't wait! the stoll's have officially entered 2002, maybe in another 20 years we'll get cable, or i might even get myself an ipod or something else equally as amazing!

about 4ish this morning i "woke up" to change positions in bed (with joe sleeping peacefully next to me, i might add, all stretched out and takin' up half the bed) and realized i must have been sleeping weird on my right arm because the whole thing was completely asleep. i punched myself in the face twice trying to get my arm to cooperate. now that is a weird sensation!

it's still completely freezing here. today it might make it up to 1 (but i won't count on it) and tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest day yet -- as it turns out yesterday, which never got above -2, and had windchills of over 30 below wasn't the worst of it . . . joy!

next time i post it will go so much faster. yeah!

the best-laid plans . . .

so much for not going out anymore today. i just had to leave the comfort of my nice warm house to pick jacob up from school . . . bad headache & a fever! poor bud!
i can't believe i had to go all the way to falcon on a snowy day. all the way to falcon! (that is supposed to remind you of the line from toy story 2 when al has to drive -- across the street -- to work and says: "i can't believe i have to go all the way to work on a saturday. all the way to work!")

monday musings

we had a great weekend! kirb and i watched "august rush" on friday night. if you haven't seen it, you really should. it's great! saturday night we got to have a little date . . . well, anna came along and we went to home depot, does that still count? we thought it did . . . plus we ate at noodles & co. which i love!! the 4 big kids went to night trains at the model railroad museum (also something you should do if you have't . . . well, if you live around here anyway!), and then to perkins, with my parents and had a grand time! plus, it was joe's night for a sleepover . . . what fun! but then saturday night i decided to read a chapter or two in the book i was currently reading after we went up to bed. well, turns out i couldn't put it down (i'm book-lover and read TONS, but this doesn't usually happen to me . . . i love my sleep too much, i think!). so, unintentionally, i stayed up until nearly 2am when finally i finished the book. that wasn't a super good plan and i'm sure i'll be reapin' the consequences for a few days! but the book was great and now the next person waiting in line at the library for it can enjoy it a little sooner! (in case you are wondering the book is "the shape of mercy" by susan meissner . . . and another super fun thing about it was that one of my college roommates husbands -- don't be confused, she only has one husband, but i had more than one roommate in college, got it? -- is an editor and he helped edit the book . . . which i found out when reading the "acknowledgements" section in the back. i felt nearly famous when i read his name there! good job, mick!)

well, the week is off and runnin' already! the snow is falling like crazy here. it is BEAUTIFUL! just like somebody shook up a snow globe. i went to the Y this morning and am SO glad to have gotten my workout in for the day early. now i can just snuggle up with a blanket and not leave the house the rest of the day . . . except maybe to shovel for kirbs before he comes home . . . well, that and the fact that we're out of milk and i should probably run out and get some after the reinforcements arrive so that i don't have to bring any kiddos out in this!

so, joe has taken to sleeping most of the night in our bed the past couple weeks. i'm not sure where it came from but he says, first of all, that he's afraid (i guess jacob is not as protective as mom & dad!) and also he always tell us, "i don't know how to go to sleep!" when we ask him to go to sleep in his own bed. it's pretty pitiful. he says it in this really sad voice, almost crying. if you heard it, you would let him invade your bed too, i bet! anyway, this morning i was up and showered and joe was still asleep in my bed. not wanting him to wake up i decided to get dressed in the dark . . . theoretically that shouldn't be too hard. so, i opened the drawer and started puttin' on the clothes. things were going fine until i put on my bra (sports bra ya know, since i was headed to the Y and all!) . . . backwards. in the dark it's really hard, i now realize, to tell the back from the front . . . well, until you get it on that is. then it is quite obvious that something is not right! i got it turned around and the day has been going well ever since.

happy monday!

to sleep or not to sleep?

so, last night 5 of the 7 people that live at our house ended up in our bed at some point in the night! there was an hour or two where 4 of us were in there at the same time . . . come on people, it's only a queen sized bed and all of you (except kirb . . . he shares with me!) have beds of your own (that you don't even need to share) in other rooms!!! let's remember that, shall we?
and how is it that a 45-pound person can take up an ENTIRE queen sized bed? just lay straight buddy and keep hands, feet and objects to yourself! it's not really that tough!
here's to a better night of sleepin' at the stoll house tonight!

flashback friday

this has always been one of my favorites
bopbop & his girl: october 2005

thankful thursday

my friend, anne, does this on her blog and i've loved the idea for quite a while now so i thought i'd just copy her and do it too! so here goes:
thankful thursday #1:
i am thankful for so many things that it's hard to narrow it down. thankfully (pun intended!) there is a thursday each and every week, so i'll have more chances!
today i am thankful for the library! (i was just there this morning, in fact!) i LOVE to read and don't have tons of extra money to buy books, nor space to store them. plus, once i've read them i don't so much see the point of letting them get dusty on a shelf somewhere. our library is close to our house -- we can even walk (you know, when the weather cooperates!) and it's very rare that they don't have a book that i am looking for. you can request stuff online and they stick it right there on a shelf near the door in alphabetical order by last name so you don't even have to cart your 5 kiddos into the depths of the library to search for it on a shelf, while losing 2 or 3 of your kids while the other 2 or 3 make more noise than is polite at a library, only to find that the book is already checked out by another book-lover and you'll have to try again in a couple days: what a deal!! it's SO nice of them. you can return stuff without leaving your mini-van (yeah, drive thru!!) and you can even borrow newly released movies for FREE. amazing, i know! i am such a library girl that joe often asked if we "borrowed" this or that from the library (like, for example, toothpaste or apples! nope bud, unfortunately those we have to pay for!)

10 things

10 things i love:
(in no particular order . . . i don't want to get in trouble!)

1. Jesus
2. reading
3. paper
(not as in the newspaper, just paper in general)
4. family
5. my friends
6. fall
(like as in the season, not what i do because i'm uncoordinated)
7. kirbs
8. babies
9. getting the mail
(especially if it involves getting mail -- you know the fun kind ... made of paper!)
10. my kiddos: jacob, rebekah, lydia, joe & the banana

the big day!

well, today is pretty much over and we all made it . . . heather & robert are officially married and the kids' big day is at an end. they both did quite well (joe & lydia, that is), all things considered: joe refused to wear his vest, coat or shoes for a while there and was finally convinced to put them back on . . . all but the shoes. he just wore his own and it was fine. also, he told me that when he got up onto the stage he was going to sing!! hmmm, i didn't remember that being part of the "plan" as we had discussed it! i inquired as to what he was planning to sing and he responded "dora!" . . . nice! thankfully, he didn't actually sing once he got up there, although he did stomp his feet rather loudly in the middle of the ceremony and then proceed to lay down right there in the middle of the front of the church and not get up. heather and robert graciously steped over him as they "recessed" from the church (is that the right word, recessed? i figured it's got to be called a "recessional" for some reason, and i don't think it has a thing to do with the economy!) lydia was in heaven and followed heather and "the girls" (the bridesmaids, who are now her new best friends!) around for the ENTIRE day! she even danced with heather in the third dance. you know how it is: bride & groom, bride & bride's father followed by bride & flower girl! then follow that up with bride, groom & flower girl all dancing together! what good sports they are! thanks guys! also, as a thank you for being a trooper and doing a "good job" at the wedding joey was rewarded with a 20 oz. bottle of dr pepper which he was thrilled with and had completely polished off before he got to our house from church! yikes! i'm not sure i'll be thanking robert & heather for that particular reward!! any sleepiness he was experiencing at the wedding is long since gone, that's for sure! he is a big fan of dr pepper (as is his mother!!) but really, 20 oz? he is 3!! and what about me?? for heaven's sake, i was the one who did all the actual work. where's my treat?? oh well. in case you want to see a few pictures, here you go. (ok, i admit there are a few more than a few!) enjoy 'em!

lydia & heather

sleepy boy

wedding kids

praying (notice how angelic lj looks: hands folded, head bowed and everything!)

joe laying down on the job (this picture doesn't QUITE capture the fact that most of the time he was literally laying down . . . flat on his stomach, one leg over the little ledge!)

grumpy boy
he perked up a little!
joey & robert
the whole crew
lydia & robert's dance

flashback friday

2008: the year in pictures

happy new year all!

resoloution anyone?

usually i'm not one for new year's resolutions. i, honestly, can't remember ever really making one. yes, most years i think to myself that i want to drop a few pounds, be a better wife, exercise more regularily, etc. but i don't make intentional resolutions and plans to actually do those things. anyway, i caught wind of this "resolution" that beth moore was challenging women to. if you don't know beth moore, i'm so sorry!! you really should do something about that . . . she is one of my favorite people (although i've never met her!) and i am so thankful for her! she is an author, speaker and teacher who writes Bible studies (mainly) for women. i think i've done 6 or 7 of her studies and have learned so much from her. anyway, beth's challenge was to memorize 2 scriptures a month for the whole year. so, knowing that i'm the kind of person who needs a little external motivation and who is also motivated by accountability and my need to be responsible and follow through on things i've committed to, i decided that i'm in; i'm gonna do it! so, i just thought i'd put it out there and make myself that much more committed to do it! feel free to join me if you want, i think it's a tremendous goal for 2009, but you'll be gettin' no pressure from me so you're on your own there! if you do decided you want to do this too, i would love to know it. maybe i can ask you how it's goin' for you and you can do the same for me. it's nice to know that others are with ya in stuff like this. anyway, beth's plan is that you can memorize whichever 24 scriptures you would like, and ones that would be especially meaningful and helpful to your personal life. so, here is the first scripture that i'm going to memorize in 2009:

for the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (psalm 100.5, niv)

if you want in, that's great! if you want to know more about beth's original idea, it started on her blog, and you can check it out here. if you want to do this too, you can "register" the fact that you are taking part in it on her blog . . . so far over 2,500 people are planning on taking part: pretty cool, i'd say! blessings on you!

oh yeah, i'll try to remember and post the scriptures that i'm memorizing on the blog . . . and maybe i'll even work on having the kids (and kirb too) join me in my memorization and it can be a family affair! the plan is to start the new scripture on the 1st and 15th of each month. so, keep your eye out.

so, i guess that's why they call it "child's pose"

after a late night of ringin' in the new year -- yup, he lasted until (well past) midnight -- joe zonked out on the couch about 3 minutes into wall-e. doesn't look super comfy to me, but i'm guessin' that's why they call it "child's pose". maybe he'll grow up to be a yoga star? who knows?