flasback friday

State Fair 2006 ::

We're going to the fair today, so I thought it would be fun to re-live some fair experiences from years past. Have a great weekend!

Dreams

I had an especially weird and crazy dream early this morning, right before I got up {maybe even during the 10-minute "snooze" after our alarm went off the first time}. All day yesterday and all day today our house has been extra full as we're hanging out with 3 extra kiddos. My friend Allie's little man, Sam, and Vince and G-Rae, the 2 kids from the family that I've done daycare for the past few years have been here. Sam is here for 48 hours straight {since he lives on the other end of the world and coming to get him at night isn't so smart}. The other 2 go home at night. When you have a teacher for a parent, childcare gets a little extra tricky the week before school starts, since you need to "go to school" and your kids don't. So what is any good teacher to do? Call us! Thus we've been a 9-kid house.

Possibly that fact had something to do with fueling my dream -- a dream in which I "gave birth" {not in the normal way though . . . you know how dreams are!} to triplet boys! It also might have to do with the fact that we just got home from a WONDERFUL, FABULOUS, favorite-week-of-the-year week at family camp {which, hopefully, I will get a chance to blog about later} and there were 2 ladies at camp who were about 37 weeks, plus there was an adorable 4-week old boy there with his family, and a few other not-quite-as-far-along pregnant ladies there too. Also, I have a thing for babies! {in case you didn't know!} And, also, I have to add that there was a family at camp with 7 kids. Their oldest was a few months younger than Jacob and their youngest was a few months younger than Sara, so basically we had kids the same ages, they just squeezed one more in there than we did. I told them we had 4 girls and 2 boys and the mom answered, "So did we until we had the seventh one." I love being around other big families! They "get it" so much better than most people.

So, back to the dream :: In my dream I was sitting in a chair in a room with another woman {OB? Nurse? Produce manager? I'm not sure of her exact role in the whole thing}. Appearing, seemingly, out of nowhere {wouldn't it be nice if that's how birth really was?} into this woman's hands one at a time came these three little spheres which she then peeled, kind of like you would peel an orange, and then she handed me my baby -- which had emerged from the little sphere. None of the boys cried or anything when she peeled/delivered them, but that didn't seem any weirder to me than the fact that she was peeling them in the first place. As I held the boys one at a time, my thoughts went immediately to the fact that I would have to name them. Being that they came together, I wanted their names to kind of "go together" too.

My first thought was "John, Paul and Ringo", even though I'm not a major Beattles fan or anything. But I shot that brainstorm down quickly when I imagined introducing my kids :: "These are our kids, Jacob, Rebekah, Lydia, Joseph, Anna, Sara, John, Paul and RINGO." It just didn't work for me. Plus, there is also the fact that I'm bothered by rhyming names. Contrary to what many people think, our last name is pronounced "stall", as in the place in the garage where you park your car, or where you pee in a public bathroom, or when your car stops going . . . not like "stole" as if you think we take things that don't belong to us. So, anyway, Paul Stoll is not a good choice in my book. {On a related note, some of you know that my father-in-law is one of 17 kids in his family. Now I fully understand that if you give 17 kids a first AND middle name that you have used up 34 names, which is quite a few, and by the end there you could possibly run out of names you really like. But, guess what they named their firstborn boy? You guessed it. Paul Stoll. He was a wonderful, godly man, but I've always thought it funny that, when they had all the boy names in the whole world to choose from, they chose to name their first boy a name that rhymed.} I also considered naming the triplets "Alvin, Simon and Theodore" but decided that wasn't the right three-some either. Finally we settled on Peter, James and John, in the spirit of the catchy Sunday school song that many of you might know. So, I finally got a Peter, which is a name I've wanted to throw in the hat each time I was pregnant, but Kirb always shot it down.

Maybe I should get Joseph from the Old Testament to come and interpret it for me. Or maybe my Joe could do it. Or maybe I don't want to know!

Anyway, that was how I started my day!

And for you long-time blog readers, in the spirit of 'Thankful Thursday' I will add that we are not expecting any number of babies . . . just in case you were wondering. {And I know some of you were!}

multitude monday

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"::

2503. clean laundry
2504. towel hooks up in the bathroom
2505. 8 years of marriage for Luke & Jenn
2506. 86 years of my grandma
2507. Joe and Vince together again :: a great reunion
2508. school patrols in training
2509. freshly mowed lawn
2510. coffee
2511. a glorious breeze
2512. the start of the fair
2513. birthday dinner {for 4 August birthdays and an anniversary}
2514. a good book and staying up late to finish
2515. the library
2516. fair-themed storytime at the library with "the littles"
2517. audio books
2518. family camp! our favorite week of the year!
2519. coffee and donuts to start the day
2520. school shopping with the 2 big girls
2521. hearing the state fair fireworks from our house


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 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"::

2475. yummy brunch and a walk in Stillwater with my fabulous Bible study ladies
2476. witnessing a group of older ladies {70's, 80's even, maybe} leaving their weekly coffee date. ALL on bicycles. complete with helmets. totally made my morning!
2477. kids playing in the rain
2478. a cool breeze
2479. free back to school haircuts for 3 of our kiddos {thanks JC Penney}
2480. finally getting the word on Ev's surgery after a long morning of praying and waiting and praying and waiting and praying some more
2481. seeing Ev up and around again
2482. impromptu visit from out-of-town family
2483. glorious, amazing weather. i LOVE it!
2484. wearing jeans again
2485. feeling the warm sun on my back on a cool morning run
2486. life-long friends
2487. Carbones pizza {my favorite!}
2488. my 20th HS reunion
2489. how 2 decades can level the ground of life for everyone {or nearly everyone, anyway}
2490. organizing school supplies for another year
2491. Redbox {and free redbox codes make it even better}
2492. kids and oragami
2493. book club
2494. a 2 hour nap following a late night at the reunion
2495. Anna chasing a bunny in the our yard trying to catch it so she can keep it as a pet {thankfully the bunny was quicker than the preschooler! I'm not really a pet girl!}
2496. another good preschool home visit {our 10th home visit from Roseville Lutheran Nursery School staff. I can't believe it's our 10th time with a kiddo starting a year of preschool there! Yikes}
2497. 2 years of life for my nephew, Schaeffer
2498. 32 years of life for my sister-in-law, Jenn {Happy Birthday!}
2499. Monday morning coffee
2500. state fair week :: the fair starts in a couple days and we LOVE the fair! we love watching the preparations {since we drive by the fair grounds all the time, living so close and all}. gates closed off. trucks arriving. food stands going up. so exciting!
2501. a blessing-filled envelope from a friend in the mail last week
2502. a nice article about my dad in the paper on Sunday

Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday {or maybe the one after that} for the next installment.

multitude monday {yet 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"::

2429. Joey telling me about his crazy dream
2430. dragonflies all over the place in the evening sky :: so cool
2431. Sara's face covered in chocolate after eating her pudding pop on a 90+ degree day all by herself -- Little Miss Independant
2432. falling asleep again when I had given up on sleeping any more for the night
2433. hanging up beautiful art in our basement hallway :: all done by our kiddos
2434. genuine gratitude from my kids
2435. a great morning of shopping in Buffalo :: great bargains!
2436. being "carded" at Trader Joe's buying beer for Kirb
2437. the boy pushing his mini cart around Trader Joe's belting out "Mighty to Save" without an ounce of concern that someone might not like the fact that he's singing in the grocery store
2438. lemonade stands
2439. kids occupied for hours and hours {see #2438}
2440. a fun baby shower
2441. night out with a friend
2442. dinner at IKEA
2443. IKEA shopping {with a gift card!}
2444. the farmer's market
2445. unexpected, encouraging email from a friend {Hi Katie! . . . thanks, you made my day}
2446. girls enjoying a birthday party at the roller rink
2447. an absolutely perfect weather day
2448. evenings at the park
2449. visit from Mel, Chad & the kids
2450. exciting news
2451. my Grandma's TV debut {she's toward the end, if you watch the clip}
2452. BopBop and Joe taking a bike ride
2453. Rebekah singing with and praying for Sara before she goes to bed :: to hear her pray that Sara would come to know the Lord makes me so joyful, grateful and blessed!
2454. my friend Jodi's little guy, Eli, on the news :: what a brave little man he is!
2455. a cool, beautiful morning run
2456. music and how it touches me so deeply
2457. lots of time to create -- it makes me feel alive and refreshed
2458. apologies, hugs and forgiveness
2459. Joe reading to me from "Farmyard Tales" until I fell asleep
2460. dancing flames and glowing coals
2461. decorating the basement
2462. a family walk
2463. the sounds of the night :: taking time to really listen and hear them all
2464. Sara's laughter
2465. finding videos on my ipod that Anna recorded of herself
2466. beautiful evening walk with my love {and Sara . . . we left the others at home with a movie!}
2467. seeing kids playing tennis in the middle of the street while out on a run {and the fact that I knew the kiddos made it even better}
2468. laughing as a family
2469. my mom :: she is such a blessing in my life!
2470. crafting up a storm and being totally caught up on orders for the first time since May :: that feels good!
2471. Smashburger with Rebekah
2472. "throwing away" Sara's nuks :: bittersweet, my baby is getting so big {unfortunately still not "big" enough to sleep through the night!! honestly babe, let's get that one nailed down already!}

2473. Joey's desire to be baptized
2474. my patient, loving, meal-cooking, dish-washing, kid-putting-to-bedding, hard-working, cute husband


Alrighty, that's it's for now. Tune in next Monday {or maybe the one after that} for the next installment.

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.

multitude monday {two weeks worth}

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"::

2353. overnight rain
2354. late-night IKEA furniture assembly with Kirb
2355. Sara saying "Buh-bye, have fun!" over and over and over again {the funniest part is that I wasn't going anywhere}
2356. carpet!
2357. making thankful walls in the laundry room
2358. beadboard, doors, trim . . . basement coming together
2359. dropping kiddos off at camp
2360.  Sara spontaneously "raising the roof" and "head banging" whenever the rockin' music comes on
2361. Jacob and Rebekah taking care of our neighbors house/lawn/mail/plants while they're gone
2362. watching Anna play soccer
2363. spending the 4th (and the 3rd) with the Newman family
2364. Sara's excitement over the pool and swimming :: she LOVES it!
2365. cooler temps {even for just a day or two}
2366. morning snuggles with Joe
2367. Jacob's burn healing up nicely
2368. my faithful, kind, cute, loving, funny, thoughtful husband
2369. Sara's chubby feet
2370. Lydia's spunk
2371. double coupon day at the gas station and a 20 cent/gallon coupon, which, when doubled, saved us $8 on a 20-gallon fill up
2372. girls night with my  mom, Bekah and Lydia
2373. helpful kids
2374. family trips to the library
2375. hanging out the laundry :: it calms me and makes me feel all peaceful {unless it's 100 degrees, then it makes me sweat!}
2376. the race our kids organized on a Saturday morning complete with numbered bibs, a finish line and medals :: Joe took 1st place and Bekah carried Anna the last little bit because she was worn out
2377. an early morning run with Bekah
2378. Jacob getting more man-like by the minute {and me being -- mostly -- ok with that}
2379. Bueggers asiago bagels . . . mmmmm
2380. book club night
2381. the best news ever
2382. girl's weekend with friends on the way to pick up our girls {11 girls between us all} from camp
2383. seeing the kids write on the thankful walls in the laundry room
2384. the community we have at Central
2385. girlfriends!
2386. birthday week free coffee coupons {I'll be happily caffeinated all week long, I think!}
2387. lap swimming on a beautiful, sunny morning
2388. a great week at camp for Rebekah
2389. my clothesline
2390. {much-needed!} overnight rain
2391. donuts from SugaRush
2392. the kids all singing along to Go Fish in the van on the way to church
2393. my wonderful friends

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

best news ever

This morning Joe, Anna and I were innocently sitting in the living room. Anna said something about heaven and how we'd all be there together some day and I told her that if she wanted to be in heaven with Jesus some day that she needed to ask him to come live in her heart and say she was sorry for all the bad things she does and thank him for dying to take away all those bad things. I explained (again, since we've been explaining the same thing over and over in many different ways her entire life) that she needed to decide herself and ask him to come live in her heart. She was ready, she was excited and before I knew it, I was helping her pray to ask Jesus into her heart. It was so wonderful! Kirb has been the one at that moment with the older 4 kids, and this time I got a turn. I was reminded of an evening a few weeks back (or was it months, already) when, after dinner, the 3 big kids were praying for the 2 littles, since they were the only ones in our family who hadn't made their own decisions to make Jesus the Lord of their life. This morning I was so thankful for one answer to that prayer. We called Daddy right away to tell him and then called Ama & BopBop :: happy tears all around! When Jacob and Lydia woke up, she told them and they were both so excited for her too. We emailed Bekah at camp so she could know the great news too. It was all so endearing! . . . but never fear, we are normal -- about 37 seconds after the sweet, sentimental moment there was an equally nasty sibling moment involving punching. Oh well, enjoy it while you can, right?

We had a celebration tonight and went out to dinner. My mom and dad joined us, too, which added to the fun.

Let me introduce you to the newest (future) resident of heaven ::

And another picture of Anna that I love. I took it at her soccer game yesterday morning. Those bobbing, curly pigtails :: I can hardly stand it!

So, isn't that the best news ever? It completely made my day . . . my life!

multitude monday tuesday

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"::

2325. my village :: borrowing a friends Suburban while our van was out of commission for a week and our Suburban-owner friends were visiting family in Alaska
2326. shared commiseration
2327. date night
2328. gift cards
2329. early morning raspberry harvesting
2330. afternoons at the pool with friends
2331. AC on hot, hot days
2332. basement countertops installed and lookin' great
2333. framing and doors
2334. finished pantry
2335. Trader Joe's
2336. lemonade stands on the corner
2337. paper airplanes with the words "I love you" written on them flying through the air :: part declaration of love, part apology
2338. celebrating 70 years of Wanda :: a woman from whom I have learned much over the years
2339. a working van
2340. 2 days of kids selling lemonade on the corner and their whopping $65 in earnings!
2341. seeing friends from out of town
2342. how Anna's eye lashes all clump together in the pool
2343. Joe finding a dollar in his pocket :: oh the joy!
2344. happy kids home from camp after a great week
2345. provision from the Lord to pay for the van's new transmission
2346. friends coming over for supper
2347. last-minute sleepover plans
2348. a swift, clear answer to a very specific prayer
2349. our quirky, loving church family
2350. Sunday night church softball games
2351. a holiday week and looking forward to time with friends
2352. climbing into bed, tired and weary, at the end of the day and smelling sheets fresh from the clothesline

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 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"::

2302. day camp for Anna
2303. a fun night with a couple girlfriends :: laughter and a chick flick
2304. Joe's first day of archery
2305. Anna's first day of soccer
2306. Kirb home again :: for an extended stay this time!
2307. snuggling with Joe first thing in the morning before anyone else is awake
2308. my monkeys climbing trees
2309. a good 5K race
2310. packing Jacob and Lydia for camp {and the fact that they mostly pack themselves and we just double check makes it extra-great!!}
2311. having my clothesline functional once again
2312. a perfect summer day
2313. a fun housewarming party for good friends with a beautiful, perfect new home
2314. having church at home {they van needs some work}
2315. two kids safely dropped off at camp for the week
2316. family bike ride
2317. TONS of fun old cars in town for the weekend :: sitting on Snelling watching them drive by. a few even honked their fabulous horns {horns sounded so much better in the 50's and 60's. way more unique than they are now}
2318. an evening spent at the park
2319. organizing 5 kids worth of came-home-on-the-last-day-of-school papers
2320. crafting
2321. when your kids do things that surprise you and bless your socks right off
2322. a great husband who supports, encourages and loves me when I'm not doing so great {and when I am}
2323. prayer
2324. the funny things our kids say, that make my day

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

no. 2

I ran my second 5K yesterday morning. It was the "Run for the Roses" race, which is part of Roseville's annual Rosefest. Running it was kind of a last minute decision. When I checked the weather on Friday afternoon, the Saturday morning forecast looked beautiful, so I decided I'd give it a go. The race started at 8 on Saturday morning, so I got there about 7:15 to register. I got my bib and my official shoe-lace race timer thing, took a last potty break and headed to the starting line. There was a 5K and a 10K, as well as a 10K "Roll for the Roses" that people did on roller blades. The "rollers" started 5 minutes before the runners. All the runners started together and then the 5K and 10K routes diverged a ways down the road. Not too far into the race I picked two ladies :: one I was NOT going to let cross the finish line before me and one that {although a bit of a challenge} I was going to work hard to beat. The first lady has worked out at the same Y as me for years, and although I haven't ever had a conversation with her and don't know her, I remembered that I ran pretty much neck and neck with her in my 5K last month, and so I was determined to beat her. The 2nd lady was a little ways ahead of me for most of the race and so, I figured, she would be a good challenge and push me a little harder. Shortly after the first water break, a particularly good song came up on my iPod and made me cry. Now, I'm a cryer, there's no doubt about it, but I wasn't expecting this. It kinda hit me out of nowhere. Nice, just what I wanted, to be crying mid-race. Then, right before the finish, a woman just ahead of me ran by her husband and kids who were near the finish cheering her on and she grabbed her little guy's hand {he was probably 3 or so} and ran the rest of the way with him. So, not surprisingly, I started crying again. Perfect. So very me! I came to the finish line {with one shoe untied -- it came untied when I was nearly at the end and I figured I was safe to finish before I tied it. Thankfully, I was right and didn't trip or anything} ahead of both my two goal ladies {whoo hoo} and more than a minute ahead of my time from last month. So, I was excited about all that. However, on the downside, I did get beat by the first two 10K finishers. {Turns out they run twice as fast as me. Super!} And also, there was a lady just on my tail that I overheard telling someone that she was a great-grandma. Holy cow! So, there you have it. My second 5K is in the books!

multitude monday

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"::

2278. safe travels for Kirb
2279. fun week at day camp for Rebekah, Lydia and Joe
2280. book club :: fabulous book, yummy treats, favorite friends and a break from single-parenting
2281. soccer games
2282. TONS of rain and still a completely dry basement :: praise God it's all doing what it is supposed to do
2283. continued basement progress
2284. new windows
2285. paint on the walls
2286. 70 year of grandpa Roger {my father-in-law}
2287. Kirb and Beka going up to surprise him for his birthday
2288. friends
2289. a beautiful night and a long walk with Rebekah and Sara
2290. kids, waterballoons and a trampoline {a really fun combination!}
2291. making it, problem-free, through our week without our dad/husband
2292. Kirb getting to enjoy dinner with some good friends {who now live in Canada} while he was traveling for work
2293. another meeting with an old friend while Kirb was in his part of the world -- unplanned, Kirb walked into the building where he works and guess who was standing right inside the door, took a long look, smiled and opened his arms for a big hug? What a blessing that Keith had some free, un-scheduled time when Kirb happened to be in his "neighborhood".
2294. antibiotics for Sara's month-long, really nasty diaper rash :: finally a bit of relief!
2295. a good 7-year check up for Joe
2296. flowers
2297. beautiful summer days :: glorious, sunny days and cool evenings
2298. Father's Day and all the wonderful father's in my life :: my dad, my husband, my brother . . .
2299. being reminded of a fun piece of trivia that I knew, but had forgotten :: Charles Schultz {of Peanuts comics fame} was baptized in our church as a teenager, as the nearby church he attended didn't have a baptismal. How cool is that?
2300. resolution to Joe's t-ball team being cancelled for the summer due to low registration :: he's going to do archery at the Y and is super excited! {we will not be putting his name in for the Hunger Games, however, so never fear}
2301. a good old-fashioned thunderstorm to lay awake listening to and watching {fabulous thunder and lightning!}

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 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"::

2251. kids rolling down grassy hills
2252. a great dinnertime discussion following by the kids praying for each other
2253. field day :: potato sack races and tug-o-fun
2254. the escape found in reading a good book
2255. the closing of a really great chapter of life :: 3 years of watching Vince :: what a blessing!
2256. Joe washing dishes
2257. Sara's ever-expanding vocabulary :: I can barely keep up with her new words
2258. waking up to birds singing a beautiful song {loudly!} outside my window
2259. a full decade of Lydia :: Happy Birthday LJ!
2260. Anna asking me :: "Mom, how do you spell 'I love Lydia and I love everyone in our whole family except the mean people.'?" :: silly girl
2261. Sara telling me "dress off!" when I was changing her clothes
2262. an amazing beautiful double rainbow :: possibly the most beautiful, clearest, sharpest rainbow I have ever seen
2263. post-rain sunset
2264. a great first game of the season for Rebekah's soccer team
2265. last day of school
2266. a tangible, almost immediate answer to the sincere prayer of an 11-year-old :: thank you Lord!
2267. great, wonderful, fabulous, caring, excellent, passionate teachers
2268. having Luis {our basement contractor/carpenter} join us for our last-day-of-school BBQ
2269. four kids with check-ups at the dentist and zero cavities!
2270. Rebekah's first shift at the library
2271. a Saturday morning family walk {before it got unbearably hot}
2272. a freshly mowed lawn
2273. much-needed rain
2274. stopping in time to not hit any of the 3 deer that tried to cross the road right in front of our van. in the dark. in the pouring rain!
2275. a good run, despite the heat
2276. kids literally COVERED -- head to toe -- in dirt!
2277. godly, encouraging parenting commiseration

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

twenty

Twenty months already. That's closer to 2 than I would like to admit. These days Sara is always on the move, gets into everything, LOVES to be outside, is quite opinionated, still loves her dad, still doesn't sleep through the night most nights, is getting a couple more teeth, has a diaper rash {and has for WAY too long} that I can't seem to get rid of completely, eats like she has a hollow leg and gets cuter by the minute. She also talks up a storm! Some of her newer words are ::

• Becky {for Rebekah}
• nigh-nigh
• ball
• happy
• hola
• morning
• Luis {Luis is the Spanish-speaking contractor/carpenter working on our basement project -- so "Hola" and "Morning" are usually followed by "Luis" . . . and said over and over and over again so that it's surprising Luis can get anything done at all. She also says "Luis" whenever she hears the air compressor come on, or the nail gun fire, or the saw turn on, or screws going in to the wall or a hammer pounding or any other loud noise, for that matter. Whether Luis is here that day or not, he gets credit for all the noise these days!}
• birdie
• Joe Joe
• van
• please
• up
• dress
• off
• belly
• Haddon
• bus

She's a funny girl . . . and she knows it. She says "beep" when she burps or toots and then proceeds to giggle. That gets quite the reaction out of her siblings, so I'm sure that "trick" will be around a while. She has also just recently started to sing along to music. She has a couple words in a few songs that she knows and comes in with her few select words at {pretty much} the appropriate times. It'll be interesting to see how she changes with all the kids home for the summer. Hopefully she'll still manage to get a little down-time, even with all the activity that will be going on around here the next three months!

school's out for summer

Well, we officially have an 8th grader, a 6th grader, a 5th grader and a 2nd grader . . . oh, and also a 4-year-old-preschooler and an extra-cute toddler! Where on earth did that school year go? It seems like it just began. For the most part, everyone had a good year. The report cards, although not perfect, were good and showed hard work from our crew. Think what they could do if they were only children {or even one in a family with 2 or 3 or even 4 kids} and their parents actually helped them with their homework and did other parental things like making them practice their spelling words . . .  I guess they'll never know how that would be.

last day of 7th grade

Rebekah, Savannah, Brita and another Savannah :: right before their last couple hours as 5th graders

what greeted Joey and his classmates as they walked into their classroom

Lydia and her FABULOUS teacher Mrs. Schroeder

Joey and Mrs. Norgon {who also taught 1st grade to Rebekah and Lydia}

Rebekah and Mr. Hausman {who has a daughter named Rebekah -- same spelling even :: those 2 were a wonderful student-teacher match}

some of our very favorite teachers chattin' it up after the buses all pulled away and most of the students had cleared :: we are blessed with a WAY-above-average staff at Falcon

It was a great school year, and now we're excited for the change of pace and activities that summer brings! So, that's a wrap on the 2011-2012 school year. We are so thankful for all it held for each of our kids and for us as a family!