Snowpocalypse?

In an unusual turn of events for those of us living in the South... snow, snow, and more snow. A couple of weeks ago we woke up to about 6" of the white stuff. Wow! It was as much snow as I have seen on the ground since the blizzard of '93. Which Ryan totally makes fun of when I say, but I'm telling you, it happened.

Needless to say there was no school, and lucky for me, no work for Daddy, so, we took the opportunity to play. And, I got to introduce them to one of the pleasures of snow, also known as snow cream. Big fans!

This snow was the perfect kind of snow for playing; not wet, just good, powdery snow. And we took full advantage!

About now is when I was thanking my lucky stars I had told Gran Gran to order a couple of kids some snow boots this Christmas.









Day 2 of the snowpocalypse began a labor of love...Frosty.

Bless them, as evidenced by the pictures, they worked day and night to bring him to life.










Loved the time with my fam and the memories we got to make! That having been said, bye bye snow, we will see you again some time next year.

Just Like That...

she is nine. I am the mom of a nine year old. Oh how that hurts my heart to type. Nine. The last year of single digits. P has been counting down the days. Me, not so much. She could hardly wait to be 9, and I would have been happy with 8 for much, much longer! But alas...

The celebration this year consisted of a sleepover with a few friends. Bless her, she went back and forth with all the ways in which she wanted to celebrate, one of which included "building" a bear, but in the end, we went with a sleepover with friends. That's right, friendS. Like more than one. Like six. I guess I am a sucker or a glutton for punishment. Or both.

The big day fell on a Friday this year, so it worked perfectly for having friends to spend the night. Six of her pals showed up Friday evening for the festivities. Instead of building bears, we built our own pizzas.


While the pizzas were in the oven we had a riveting game of charades. Oh my gracious, if you have never played charades with 8 year old girls, you are without a doubt missing out. Oh the hilarity. Between the pizzas and cupcakes we also had our very own dance party with dj Dad. I wish we had pics of the oh so stellar dancing, but I guess dj Dad couldn't drop the beats and be the photog at the same time. So, you are just going to have to take my word for it that these girls dance moves were no joke.

Somehow in my planning for this I thought it would be a great idea for the girls to frost and decorate their own cupcakes. Again, sucker or glutton? The frosting. Oh the frosting!





After watching two movies most of the girls crashed with the exception of a couple. Bless them. They were still ready to party well into the night!

In the morning I made blueberry muffins. The girls built a gigantic fort in the family room with every blanket under the sun, and then went outside until it was time to be picked up. I think they had a good time, and we are glad they all came to be a part of celebrating Peyt's day.


Peyt, I love you more than you could ever know. You are my firstborn; the baby that made me a mommy. I love you always! Happy Birthday sweet girl! And remember, this was your last one; no more birthdays for you.

Select Soccer Girl

Most weekends this fall, from August to November, you would have found the Alexanders on a soccer field somewhere. P just finished up her first season of select soccer. Practice 2-3 nights a week and then games on Saturday and/or Sundays. It was busy and hectic and sometimes downright tiring, but she loved it, and that makes it so worth it.





I am grateful for the team that P has gotten to be a part of this season. These girls love them some soccer and some fun!






It is no secret to anyone that knows us that we love sports. We are all about competition; specifically, winning competitions. We may or may not be a teeny, tiny bit competitive. But aside from the competition side of athletics, we believe that many life lessons can be learned through being on a team and competing in a sport. Dedication, commitment, hard work, being a team player, being a gracious winner and loser (although we always prefer the former), responding correctly to authority, yep, even when you don't agree, and of course the relationships that are developed between teammates--all life lessons that in one way or another you will deal with for your entire life. So, for this season of our life, we are cheerin' for our girl and loving getting to watch her experience these things.

So proud of you #3!

A Few Fun Facts

* made the Honor Roll for the first nine weeks of school.

* made the Dance Team for lyrical and hip hop at school.

* about to finish up your first season of select soccer.

* in love with all things animals, specifically horses.

* social girl that loves to have 'play dates' and 'sleepovers' with your friends.

* your room looks like a hurricane hit 99% of the time, and you could not care less.

* hours of your life are spent painting, drawing, writing, coloring, or anything to do with arts/crafts.

* you and spelling, well, lets just say you don't have the greatest of relationships.

* you have one more baby tooth to lose, and chances are, braces are in our future.

* current favorite tv show is Animal Planet.

* favorite music, still going strong at number one is Toby Mac.

* you fight with your brother like no tomorrow.

* early mornings are your thing, except when you have to get up for school.

* you love life, and Daddy and I love watching you live it!





* big 'fourd' year old.

* every morning your breakfast order is toast with butter and sugar and 'cut it in five.'

* followed by an apple, 'cut it in five' with 'no holes.'

* playing the wii is one of your most favorite things to do, and the number one controller is a must.

* football, basketball, baseball, soccer....anything with a ball!

* current favorite tv show Word World.

* you are a professional at drive by punches.

* counting to 20 and abc's...mastered.

* you want to 'stay in the home' with your mommy 'fa-eva'.

* all about anything to do with Michael Jordan.

* when asked "whose boy are you?" you always say, "Daddy's boy."

* Chick-fil-A is your favorite. Sharing is not.

* Sweet, sweet boy that I get to love and kiss a million times a day. And I love every second of it!

Family Rules

well, here they are. the rules of our family, also known as family rules.

I have been admiring the subway art that seems to be very popular right now, but not so much the subway art price tags. This little project has been floating around in my mind for quite some time, and I thought it would be a chance to attempt some 'on the cheap' subway art and incorporate some family rules.

And this past weekend I finally got resident designer on board. I love it when he gets on board! I like to think of us as a team. You know, the two's of us coming up with an idea, figuring out the best way to execute said idea, and then, voila! a masterpiece is born.

I can't be certain but I think his version is, I have a wild hair, I tell/nag him about it, and then he does all of the work. Either way, it's a beautiful thing.



And for the record, I am pretty certain every single rule was broken before the mod podge had time to dry.

you know your dad is a photographer when...

today P and I were doing some 'back to school' shopping. I, being the cheap-o mom that I am, kept steering her towards the clearance sections. I would hold up potential articles of clothing and get her opinion. At one point I hold up a cute little lavender top, and she, being her daddy's child and apparently a super model in the making, says, "I like it okay. I could probably wear it for photo shoots."

oh. my. word.

well, it was bound to happen...

day twenty-two--CONTENTMENT--Father, teach my family the secret of being content in every situation, through Him who gives them strength. Phil. 4:12-13.

day twenty-three--FAITH--Lord, help my family to fight the good fight of faith, taking hold of the eternal life to which they were called. I Tim. 6:12

day twenty-four--A SERVANT'S HEART--God, help my family develop servants' hearts, that they may serve whole heartedly. Eph. 6:7

day twenty-one--RESPONSIBILITY--Lord, grant that my family would learn to be responsible, for each one should carry his own load. Gal. 6:5

Can I get an AMEN?!

day twenty--COMPASSION--Holy Father, I pray that You would clothe my family with the virtue of compassion. Col. 3:12

Wordless Wednesday

day nineteen--HUMILITY--God, please cultivate in my family the ability to show true humility toward all. Titus 3:2

day eighteen--PERSEVERANCE--Lord, teach my family to persevere in all they do, and help them to run with perseverance the race that is set before them. Heb. 12:1

day seventeen--JOY--Heavenly Father, grant that my family would be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. I Thess. 1:6

"blocks and dinasowes"

I might love this kid just a little bit. maybe.

day sixteen--PEACE LOVING--Father God, help my family make every effort to do what leads to peace. Rs. 14:19

day fifteen--GENEROSITY--Lord, I pray my family would be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share. I Tim. 6:18

day fourteen--KINDNESS--Father, I pray that my family would be kind to each other and to others. I Thess. 5:15

This one is no joke! Why is it so hard to be kind sometimes?

day thirteen--PURITY--Create in my family pure hearts, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their lives. Ps. 51:10

day twelve--COURAGE--Jesus, may my family always be strong and courageous in their character and their actions. Deut. 31:6

Brace Yourselves Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a dusting!

We here in the South are known for our ability to sufficiently freak-out when we hear that four letter word mentioned by mr. weatherman. And truth be told, it doesn't even have to be from the weatherman. Pretty much when we come into contact with anyone that speaks assuredly about the possibility of potential for any amount of the s word, you better believe there won't be a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread to be had for miles. There is really no reasonable explanation. Some things just are the way they are. No reason to fight it. Just go with it. And be oh so grateful for yet another two days of there being no school, having all of your children home, indoors, with an outdoor temperature of 7 degrees. Or is it 11 degrees? Really, if we are below 20 degrees, is there much a difference?

So, that is what we did last week. The snow word was being thrown around all week. It was coming! Suppose to arrive sometime through the night on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Batten down the hatches, we would most assuredly get 1-3 inches. So, before one snowflake began to fall we got THE call on Wednesday night. You know THE call. The one that says, "Parents, this is a message from your county school system. School will NOT be in session, tomorrow, Thursday, January 7th, 2010." And then, at that moment, if you are really quiet, you can hear the muffled cries of many a mom that knows what the days to come will hold, only to have those cries drowned out by the echoes of cheers from all school teachers within a hundred mile radius.

With great expectation the kids go to bed on Wednesday night knowing that when they awake it will be to a winter wonderland. I mean we have been hearing about it for days. There is no school for goodness sakes. Surely it must be so! Right? WRONG! Let me introduce you to the blizzard of o-ten.





There you have it. Beautiful isn't it? Bet you are wondering, 'how will you manage to get out of the house?' 'Do you have electricity?' 'How will you ever drive in all of that snow?' But no worries. We were prepared. We had our milk and our bread, and you know what we did? We made ourselves some french toast.

And then as you might know it, after we had been out of school for two days due to the aforementioned winter storm, when the forecast for more of the white stuff was but a distant memory, and after we had eaten all of our bread and drank all of our milk... Yep, you guessed it, we actually got more than six flakes of snow.

And I have two little guys who could not have been happier!