From our family to yours...

Traditions

I love traditions. Sometimes they can be a bit stressful and cumbersome, but for the most part I love what a tradition represents and the memories that they create. This time of year seems to bring out traditions in full force. We had traditions in our house growing up. Some I hated, ie. having to have my mom comb and hairspray, that's right, AquaNet, my hair on Christmas morning before I could come downstairs so that my hair "would look good for the pictures." And others I loved, ie. going to cut our Christmas tree at the tree farm the day after Thanksgiving every year.

Ryan and I have tried to create traditions in our home for ourselves and for our children to have as well. We have lived our entire marriage away from family, so, we have been forced to make our own holiday traditions, and that's okay. Some of them are carried over from our own childhoods, others we started our first years of marriage, and other we have added as the years have gone on. Either way, they are special to us, and I hope will be memories for our children to take with them when they have families of their own. So, a few Alexander traditions for the Christmas holidays....

Depraved Indifference

"Do we care? At the level that God cares."

Etsy and some rules

I posted about a little family rules project that Ryan and I did a few months back. It was originally intended to be subway art, which I had been wanting, created by my 'oh so talented resident designer', while incorporating some family rules in a style and design that would fit our home. Well, since that post we have gotten emails, letters, phone calls, telegrams from hundreds of people willing to do whatever they had to do to get their hands on a copy of those family rules.

Or maybe just two people.

But that's neither here nor there.

So for those hundreds of two people, we introduce to you our Etsy store.

Alexander Creative on Etsy

Currently we have these two items for sale:



The kinks are still being worked out, but we are having fun learning the ins and outs of running an Etsy store and are excited about the potential. So, thanks for your interest, and stayed tuned for more items that will be posted soon!

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.

Adoption A'Plenty

What an honor it is when God places people in your life that lead by example. People that understand God's heart for orphans. People that want to be obedient to God's calling. People that are willing to take a leap of faith. We have some of those people in our lives, and we are blessed to be able to call them our friends.

Royce is Ryan's good friend and co-worker. He and his wife Eve and their two girls have been on their adoption journey for quite a while. The DeGrie's just got a referral for a sweet, teeny, tiny little lump of sugar in Africa. I know they are ready to have that sweet baby in their arms. They have done their share of waiting and then some. But it won't be long now, and we could not be happier for them! You can follow them on their journey here.

Casey and TJ are some of the first friends we made when we started going to our church. We actually started our small group with them almost five years ago now. I remember Ryan being so excited when he came home from church one Wednesday night because he met this great guy and his wife's name is Casey, and "it ends in a y like yours does." Um, okay Ryan; in that case, I am sure we will be best friends! Bless him. But the truth is, we did become friends. We were able to be a part of their surprise of little Will after there struggle with infertility, and now we are blessed to see them walk this journey of adoption as well. The Overstreet's started the adoption process a few months ago and have chosen a special needs child off of a waiting list in Eastern Europe. I know they are counting the days until they get their little guy home. You can follow them on their journey here.

Jason and Kelly are also friends that we made not long after we started attending our church. We are connected through our children (who are very close in age), our church, our small group, and of course, our friendship. J and Kelly are just beginning their adoption journey for a little boy in Ethiopia. And I already have his name picked out! Right Kelly?! We are so excited to watch God show up big for them through their journey. Cause we know He will! You can follow them on their journey here.

We love each of these families. We consider it a privilege to pray for them and love on them as they seek to obey God's calling on their lives through adoption. May He be glorified!

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!