Thursday, January 12, 2012
thankful thursday
I'm so thankful that I get some kid-free girlfriend time this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also very thankful for my wonderful husband who will be far from kid-free while I'm away. Thanks, babe!
Monday, January 9, 2012
multitude monday {evening edition}
Better late than never :: here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!
1871. awe in the eyes of a 6-year-old while watching live theater
1872. coming in to the living room first thing in the morning to see a pre-teen boy, Bible in hand, starting his day with devotions
1873. friends {life is with you is half as hard and twice as good}
1874. hanging laundry on the line in January
1875. encouragement when parenting is extra-tough
1876. snuggling a newborn {ahhh, that smell! i LOVE it!}
1877. night trains {a winter family favorite. so very magical!}
1878. my budding photographer
1879. a glorious Sunday afternoon walk
1880. volunteering together as a family {well, the 2 little girls didn't come along, so it wasn't quite the whole family. so wonderful to work together for such a wonderful cause}
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
"One Thousand Gifts"::
1870. a wonderful play {Wizard of Oz at the Children's Theater}1871. awe in the eyes of a 6-year-old while watching live theater
1872. coming in to the living room first thing in the morning to see a pre-teen boy, Bible in hand, starting his day with devotions
1873. friends {life is with you is half as hard and twice as good}
1874. hanging laundry on the line in January
1875. encouragement when parenting is extra-tough
1876. snuggling a newborn {ahhh, that smell! i LOVE it!}
1877. night trains {a winter family favorite. so very magical!}
1878. my budding photographer
1879. a glorious Sunday afternoon walk
1880. volunteering together as a family {well, the 2 little girls didn't come along, so it wasn't quite the whole family. so wonderful to work together for such a wonderful cause}
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
Friday, January 6, 2012
flashback friday
january 2008
{i needed this picture today, since this little man is REALLY giving us a run for our money these days! isn't he sweet?}
{i needed this picture today, since this little man is REALLY giving us a run for our money these days! isn't he sweet?}
Thursday, January 5, 2012
thankful thursday
Yesterday two women stopped by our house. Sisters. They had stopped by once before, probably 5 or 10 years ago already. I had almost forgotten about that visit. I wasn't home when they first got here yesterday. My mom was watching the kiddos while I was out for a bit. I called her on my way home and she told me about the visitors that were here waiting for me. When I arrived at home 5 minutes later, there they were. In my kitchen. In their kitchen. They did their growing up here. In this house. They were probably in their 60's. 70's maybe. They brought some copies of pictures of our house from the 40's and 50's. Some inside, some outside. Some including naked kids in a clawfoot bathtub. A fabulous old car in the driveway of one of the pictures. They said I could keep them. They brought them for me. Their family lived here from 1945 until sometime in the early-mid 70's.
The house was built in 1927. We moved in in 1998. I think that their family was the 2nd family to live here. I think we are the 5th. I know a teeny bit about the family that built the house (the Peterson's) and now I know quite a bit about the 2nd family. We bought it from my good friend, Carol's parents, so I know quite a bit about them too. I was at this house quite a few times over the years before I even had an idea that someday I would raise my family here (my junior high and high school years). It's so fun to know so much about the history of our home. It just makes me love it all the more.
I was thankful that, yesterday, the house was less than the complete disaster it often is in the middle of a week day. It was actually pretty clean! We looked at the pictures they brought and chatted for a bit. When they showed me a picture of some kids near a swingset, I told them that the frame from that exact swingset was still in our yard. We looked out the window and I pointed to it. It was here when we bought the house and we didn't have the first clue what to do with a huge, substantial, metal swingset frame, so there it sits along the fence in our backyard. Current day swingset makers should take note. That puppy is probably at least 60 years old and still as solid as can be. The younger sister said that she was often afraid to go upstairs to bed at night and wanted to stay downstairs until someone else went up there with her. Just. like. Lydia! It was so fun to hear their stories.
They saw a stack of (4 copies) the same book on the hutch and asked me about it. (Kirb said later that maybe they thought I was an author. Who else has multiple copies of the same book?) I said it was the book that had had the greatest impact in my life and I always keep a few copies on hand to give to people. Would they like one? I think they were surprised at my offer, but seemed genuinely excited and took a copy -- but only after offering to pay me for it. I said no, I would love them to have it. I gave them my usual warning that the book starts out really sad (I would have appreciated a heads up on that fact before I started reading it in a public place!), but if they could make it through the first chapter they could continue reading without a box of tissues right by their side (well, maybe keep one tissue available, just in case. It is cold season, you know).
As they were leaving, the younger sister asked me if I would pray for the older sister because she has cancer and isn't doing well. She wants to keep getting treatment, but her platelets are low and they have had to stop the treatments for a while until the platelet levels come back up. I told them that I would pray and that I was dealing with low platelets at this exact time last year. She said she could tell that we were believers, otherwise she never would have asked. I was touched deeply by that comment. What an unexpected blessing they were in my day. I'm praying that Ann's book blesses them as much as it has blessed me and many others!
We just got a new computer (our old -- and it was old -- one died with the ending of 2011) and it isn't hooked up to the scanner yet, far as I can tell. As soon as I get the fabulous pictures scanned in, and in digital form, I promise to share them with you. They're SO fun!
The house was built in 1927. We moved in in 1998. I think that their family was the 2nd family to live here. I think we are the 5th. I know a teeny bit about the family that built the house (the Peterson's) and now I know quite a bit about the 2nd family. We bought it from my good friend, Carol's parents, so I know quite a bit about them too. I was at this house quite a few times over the years before I even had an idea that someday I would raise my family here (my junior high and high school years). It's so fun to know so much about the history of our home. It just makes me love it all the more.
I was thankful that, yesterday, the house was less than the complete disaster it often is in the middle of a week day. It was actually pretty clean! We looked at the pictures they brought and chatted for a bit. When they showed me a picture of some kids near a swingset, I told them that the frame from that exact swingset was still in our yard. We looked out the window and I pointed to it. It was here when we bought the house and we didn't have the first clue what to do with a huge, substantial, metal swingset frame, so there it sits along the fence in our backyard. Current day swingset makers should take note. That puppy is probably at least 60 years old and still as solid as can be. The younger sister said that she was often afraid to go upstairs to bed at night and wanted to stay downstairs until someone else went up there with her. Just. like. Lydia! It was so fun to hear their stories.
They saw a stack of (4 copies) the same book on the hutch and asked me about it. (Kirb said later that maybe they thought I was an author. Who else has multiple copies of the same book?) I said it was the book that had had the greatest impact in my life and I always keep a few copies on hand to give to people. Would they like one? I think they were surprised at my offer, but seemed genuinely excited and took a copy -- but only after offering to pay me for it. I said no, I would love them to have it. I gave them my usual warning that the book starts out really sad (I would have appreciated a heads up on that fact before I started reading it in a public place!), but if they could make it through the first chapter they could continue reading without a box of tissues right by their side (well, maybe keep one tissue available, just in case. It is cold season, you know).
As they were leaving, the younger sister asked me if I would pray for the older sister because she has cancer and isn't doing well. She wants to keep getting treatment, but her platelets are low and they have had to stop the treatments for a while until the platelet levels come back up. I told them that I would pray and that I was dealing with low platelets at this exact time last year. She said she could tell that we were believers, otherwise she never would have asked. I was touched deeply by that comment. What an unexpected blessing they were in my day. I'm praying that Ann's book blesses them as much as it has blessed me and many others!
We just got a new computer (our old -- and it was old -- one died with the ending of 2011) and it isn't hooked up to the scanner yet, far as I can tell. As soon as I get the fabulous pictures scanned in, and in digital form, I promise to share them with you. They're SO fun!
Monday, January 2, 2012
multitude monday
Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!
1859. dinner with good friends
1860. singing carols around the player piano with friends
1861. trips to the library
1862. good books
1863. many, many fun games of Qwirkle
1864. a 48-hour family double date to ring in the New Year
1865. bowling . . . and a few strikes even
1866. ice skating on the backyard pond as a family :: it wasn't a pretty site {we're not too good!}, but we sure had some fun
1867. a NEW year
1868. a beautiful dusting of snow to welcome 2012
1869. being home again after a couple days away {see #1864}
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
"One Thousand Gifts"::
1858. after-Christmas bargains1859. dinner with good friends
1860. singing carols around the player piano with friends
1861. trips to the library
1862. good books
1863. many, many fun games of Qwirkle
1864. a 48-hour family double date to ring in the New Year
1865. bowling . . . and a few strikes even
1866. ice skating on the backyard pond as a family :: it wasn't a pretty site {we're not too good!}, but we sure had some fun
1867. a NEW year
1868. a beautiful dusting of snow to welcome 2012
1869. being home again after a couple days away {see #1864}
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
2011 :: a year in review
the top 11 posts of 2011 {by pageviews}::
1. encouragement
2. my review of 1000 gifts
3. multitude monday {1.24}
4. thankful thursday
5. expectations & thankful thursday
6. multitude monday {1.10}
7. multitude monday {7.25}
8. multitude monday {11.7}
9. numbers
10. kindness
11. introducing
1. encouragement
2. my review of 1000 gifts
3. multitude monday {1.24}
4. thankful thursday
5. expectations & thankful thursday
6. multitude monday {1.10}
7. multitude monday {7.25}
8. multitude monday {11.7}
9. numbers
10. kindness
11. introducing
happy new year!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
thankful Thursday
I'm so thankful for this week where we can relax and re-group before the new year. We've had some fun, stayed long in our pj's, played games, read books, watched movies, played with all our new "toys", had a fun dinner with friends, sang Christmas carols gathered around the player piano, upgraded our cell phones to ones that actually work, purchased Santa-looking diapers for half price on the day after Christmas (plus I had a coupon, which made them nearly free!) and slept in. It's been just what we needed! To cap off the break, we're going to spend nearly 48 hours together with our bestie family ringing in 2012.
Monday, December 26, 2011
multitude monday
Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!
1839. sickies home from school playing board games together
1840. preschool Christmas programs {our 9th one at RLNS}::
1841. going to the mailbox to find it FULL of Christmas greetings
1842. seeing and catching up with old friends {all the more fun when it's completely unexpected}
1843. successfully finishing all my Christmas crafting {and not a moment too soon, I might add!}
1844. no major injuries for Sara after her run-in with a flight of stairs::
1845. how quickly kids heal! {praise God!}
1846. Jacob all snuggled up on the couch reading this book :: warms this math geek's heart!
1847. Christmas program at Seabury {Kirb on trumpet, vocals and reading from Luke 2, Jacob on trumpet and piano, Rebekah on piano and Lydia on piano and violin. Joe passed out the song sheets and Anna did a few unscheduled piano interludes!}
1848. the joy of giving!
1849. a fun, new game
1850. FAMILY!::
1851. 11pm candlelight Christmas Eve service {Beka was the only Stoll kiddo to stay awake until the end :: she was rewarded by holding her very own candle as we formed a circle around the sanctuary to sing Silent Night}
1852. going to church on Christmas morning sans coat :: in Minnesota! so very weird!
1853. a walk with "the littles" to the park on a glorious {although it would be so pretty with a bit of snow!} Christmas afternoon
1854. a Christmas day nap
1855. much-appreciated, much-loved, heartfelt gifts::
1856. my newly outfitted winter-proof workshop in the garage {new propane heater, shop light and workbench :: thanks Kirb for the set-up!}
1857. a clean basement
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
"One Thousand Gifts"::
1839. sickies home from school playing board games together
1840. preschool Christmas programs {our 9th one at RLNS}::
1841. going to the mailbox to find it FULL of Christmas greetings1842. seeing and catching up with old friends {all the more fun when it's completely unexpected}
1843. successfully finishing all my Christmas crafting {and not a moment too soon, I might add!}
1844. no major injuries for Sara after her run-in with a flight of stairs::
1845. how quickly kids heal! {praise God!}1846. Jacob all snuggled up on the couch reading this book :: warms this math geek's heart!
1847. Christmas program at Seabury {Kirb on trumpet, vocals and reading from Luke 2, Jacob on trumpet and piano, Rebekah on piano and Lydia on piano and violin. Joe passed out the song sheets and Anna did a few unscheduled piano interludes!}
1848. the joy of giving!
1849. a fun, new game
1850. FAMILY!::
1851. 11pm candlelight Christmas Eve service {Beka was the only Stoll kiddo to stay awake until the end :: she was rewarded by holding her very own candle as we formed a circle around the sanctuary to sing Silent Night}1852. going to church on Christmas morning sans coat :: in Minnesota! so very weird!
1853. a walk with "the littles" to the park on a glorious {although it would be so pretty with a bit of snow!} Christmas afternoon
1854. a Christmas day nap
1855. much-appreciated, much-loved, heartfelt gifts::
1856. my newly outfitted winter-proof workshop in the garage {new propane heater, shop light and workbench :: thanks Kirb for the set-up!}1857. a clean basement
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Flash mobs always make me cry, but then again, I cry at pretty much everything. Just be warned, you might want to get some kleenex for this one. On the off chance that I wasn't already crying, the whole "fall on your knees" at the end made a COMPLETE mess of me::Have a wonderful, Christ-filled Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
thankful thursday
I think we're on the other side of major big-family shared sickness and for that I'm thankful. One parent spending 6 hours in bed during the day is a big deal around here. Add to that 4 sick kids with 3 missed days of school, an angel fully robed and halo-ed puking all over the stage during the Christmas program, a toddler taking a major tumble down the stairs, at least a dozen loads of laundry done this week and a mom trying to finish up Christmas gifts {that she just started last week} and you've got our house the past 5 or 6 days. I think {at least I hope} everyone who was going to get sick has, and everyone who has been sick is now better. Here's to a Merry and puke-free Christmas!
Here's our poor, little brute of a toddler smiling despite her painful looking face::
Here's our poor, little brute of a toddler smiling despite her painful looking face::
Monday, December 19, 2011
multitude monday
Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post, which all started a while back, right here on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that I read each day. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing writer and an inspiration!
1828. packages arriving at my door
1829. church bells ringing through the cool night air
1830. our block all lit up with beautiful lights
1831. caroling at a nursing home with my kiddos and a bunch of friends
1832. a working washing machine {it got a good workout the past few days with 3 stomach-bug sufferers}
1833. Christmas music
1834. a night parade full of lights and the wonder in the eyes of the kids as they watch
1835. prayers of a 3-year-old
1836. cousins ::
1837. the secretive gift-giving planning of children
1838. the cutest {and oldest, if I'm not mistaken} lady in the choir {no offense the rest of the beautiful choir} ::
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
"One Thousand Gifts"::
1828. packages arriving at my door
1829. church bells ringing through the cool night air
1830. our block all lit up with beautiful lights
1831. caroling at a nursing home with my kiddos and a bunch of friends
1832. a working washing machine {it got a good workout the past few days with 3 stomach-bug sufferers}
1833. Christmas music
1834. a night parade full of lights and the wonder in the eyes of the kids as they watch
1835. prayers of a 3-year-old
1836. cousins ::
1837. the secretive gift-giving planning of children1838. the cutest {and oldest, if I'm not mistaken} lady in the choir {no offense the rest of the beautiful choir} ::
Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday for the next installment.
Friday, December 16, 2011
flashback friday
A Christmas Story {but probably not the one you're thinking of}::
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, 2011 marks the 13th anniversary of the Stoll family bed picture. 12 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
kirby, joe, shana, teeny baby sara, rebekah, anna, jacob, lydia: 2010
kirby, anna, shana, sara, joe, jacob, lydia, rebekah: 2011
Merry Christmas!Thursday, December 15, 2011
thankful thursday
This week one year ago the Metrodome roof caved in and we had to cancel our Christmas party because we had nearly a foot of snow. Yesterday it rained. Yup, rained! All day long. Weird!
Anyway, onto the thankful part :: In addition to being thankful for the mild weather we've had so far, I am so very, very thankful for my "village". You know how "they" say it takes a village to raise a child? (actually, first someone in Africa said it, and then Hillary Clinton published a book with that title and made it more popular) Anyway, it's so very true. Parenting is hard enough with a village, I can't imagine doing it alone!
I am always so thankful for my wonderful, wonderful village and all that they add to my life. In our "village" we have people who are gifted in basic car repair, an ER nurse who has saved us many a trip to the hospital (not to mention HUNDREDS of dollars) with his little tube of super glue and willing, helpful spirit, people willing to drive my kids here and there when we are heading in more directions than is humanly possible on any given day, playdates that save this mom's sanity, date night babysitting swaps, friends who will drop off forgotten violins at school so I don't have to wake the baby from a nap and people to bounce ideas off of or just vent to. My kids know that they can ALWAYS go home with any of the village parents, even if that wasn't the original plan. If a village mom says she's supposed to take you home, my kids know to just go with her :: she probably has better snacks and I'm sure her house is more fun than ours anyway! Isn't that wonderful? Our friends, especially those we are raising children alongside, are so much ore than just friends :: we're in this together. We can't do it alone. It's hared! We need to watch out for each other. We need "spies" who will tell us things about our kids that we would never have known or discovered on our own :: what they heard in a conversation between friends in the back of the van, what they noticed or picked up on when they were volunteering at school, what they hear from their kids about my kids . . . I'm so thankful for good, trusted, solid friends -- Christian friends -- to raise kids with. To steal a line from one of my favorite Sara Groves songs :: "Life with you is half as hard and twice as good!". I am thankful!
Anyway, onto the thankful part :: In addition to being thankful for the mild weather we've had so far, I am so very, very thankful for my "village". You know how "they" say it takes a village to raise a child? (actually, first someone in Africa said it, and then Hillary Clinton published a book with that title and made it more popular) Anyway, it's so very true. Parenting is hard enough with a village, I can't imagine doing it alone!
I am always so thankful for my wonderful, wonderful village and all that they add to my life. In our "village" we have people who are gifted in basic car repair, an ER nurse who has saved us many a trip to the hospital (not to mention HUNDREDS of dollars) with his little tube of super glue and willing, helpful spirit, people willing to drive my kids here and there when we are heading in more directions than is humanly possible on any given day, playdates that save this mom's sanity, date night babysitting swaps, friends who will drop off forgotten violins at school so I don't have to wake the baby from a nap and people to bounce ideas off of or just vent to. My kids know that they can ALWAYS go home with any of the village parents, even if that wasn't the original plan. If a village mom says she's supposed to take you home, my kids know to just go with her :: she probably has better snacks and I'm sure her house is more fun than ours anyway! Isn't that wonderful? Our friends, especially those we are raising children alongside, are so much ore than just friends :: we're in this together. We can't do it alone. It's hared! We need to watch out for each other. We need "spies" who will tell us things about our kids that we would never have known or discovered on our own :: what they heard in a conversation between friends in the back of the van, what they noticed or picked up on when they were volunteering at school, what they hear from their kids about my kids . . . I'm so thankful for good, trusted, solid friends -- Christian friends -- to raise kids with. To steal a line from one of my favorite Sara Groves songs :: "Life with you is half as hard and twice as good!". I am thankful!
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