Just a Little Fun for Mia's 5th

Meet the Fockers.......You Seen the Movie??

This is our dog Clifford but Mia likes to make up crazy names for him. Well, the other day I couldn't believe my ears. She was calling him a little "focker", however she was actually saying the real thing!!! Now, I know she has never heard this terrible word but she is a classic case for making up words. I just stopped and said "what did you say honey?" As if I really needed to hear that word come out of my precious 5 year old's mouth again. And of course she said it. I then proceeded to NOT freak out but coolishly and calmly tell her that it's not a nice word to say and please don't say it again. Ahhhh......the life! And yes, this is a picture of Clifford gazing out of the window. Everyone was outside doing yard work and he could not come.......booo hooo! He loves to lap over the edge and watch us. I think he just loves us so much! The girls love him so very much too. I think they love him more than their little babies. But then again, I'm not sure. They sure do think alot of their little stuffed animals. Kennedy wouldn't get out of the van this morning when I was dropping her off cause she kept giving me instructions on how to babysit her little penguin and what to feed it. Now there are about 10 cars behind me and these are aggressive morning parents. I'm thinking the parade of horns is about to begin. I finally assure her that Sweeter will be just fine. She also has been trying to convince me that Sweeter, the penguin, needs to have a birthday too. She wants Mia to share half of her b-day cake with Sweeter. Basically Kennedy wants Sweeter to blow out her own candles on one side and Mia blow out candles on the other side. Not so sure that Mia is going to go for this.......we shall see!!

Give Me Some Sugaaaaar'

Yes!! I think I'm starting to get it...................

See that look of "Awww..." on his face? I feel that exact same when I am able to dig into the word and just totally expose my soul (as if He can't see it) to God and ask for His word to grab and shake my heart. Well, fasting will do that to you. I am so disappointed that I did not make fasting a regular part of my life before this year. What was I thinking??! I know what I was thinking..........Me, food, me, food! I need food! Yep, that sums it up........complete selfishness. But,now I feel like I can't get enough of His word and His truth. One could read the bible for 24 hours a day and 365 days a year for his/her entire life and still feel like there was not enough time to soak up all the truths. It's like an amazing Easter Egg hunt. Every passage or "egg" has something amazing and new in it. So, have you felt like reading Jude lately? I mean, who reads Jude anyhow? I do. I read an interesting verse today. I quote "........just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing punishment of eternal fire. Ye in the like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and the blaspheme the glorious ones. But............when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
Yep, I know, it feels dark and poignant. But see what happened. The archangel and Satan argued over the body of Moses. I'm sure Satan spit up all sorts of dirt on Moses. Like the time Moses struck the rock out of anger or the time Moses doubted God. But yet Moses was faithful and Satan was rebuked. How would you feel to have the Prince of the Earth and a powerful angel arguing over your body? Who would win?? Well, I don't deserve to have Michael defend me but the blood surely has covered my sins and my utmost guilt. I do feel a deep responsibility to God and what has been done for my soul upon the cross. I feel like Lincoln looks in this picture..........."yes, I got it!". I feel like God has been trying to speak through my thick skin for so many years and I'm finally letting Him in.

A Cure for Kate

I love to lay in the grass on sunny/windy days and just read or pray. Today was one of those beautiful days and I could not resist. I pulled out a sheet, a book and a pillow. However, I could get very far in my reading before being redirected towards a dear friend's daughter, Kate. Lately she has been on my mind and heart. So, I put down the book and began to pray. As usual, I end up sobbing and just holding my side as I beg to God. I just sobbed and sobbed and asked God what more I could pray for. I then started to pray for Holly and for Him to just speak into her life and continue to offer peace and understanding. I wonder how much understanding there is for a mom who is fighting desperately along side of her daughter's life. But.....I know there can be peace. I don't know what 'peace' looks like in that situation but prayed God would give it to Holly. My heart only aches cause I too am a mom of three and cannot fathom the situation. I hold fast to Romans 5 and just ponder Paul's words in those first 8 verses. I had to call up a dear friend, one who lost her son in a similar battle. I just asked " How do I pray for my friend? What did you need when you were fighting?" She encouraged my heart and she too prays for a cure for Kate, as I do. It was good to hear her talk and hear the miracle that God has done in their lives. I not only pray for a cure for Kate but for complete healing in all ways for the McRae family. I pray for a "perfect" day. What is that?? A perfect day for them is my day..............3 healthy children who are yelling, running, chasing and then turn tired, grouchy, and ready for bed. I pray they can have Kate home again and healthy. I pray like as if it were Kennedy, Mia, or Lincoln. That's what I'd want...........a perfectly normal day.

Lemons, Lilly, Lipstick, & Worms

So, what is new in the Alexander house these days? Well, we have taken up lemonade making as if it were our trade. We have made over 10 gallons of lemonade. Our friends have a lemon tree and brought me over 100 lemons. So, we can't let ANY go to waste and we make lemonade all of the time. It's great until you squeeze the juice right up into your eye. Oh, and I love my helpers. Of course, Linc. keeps licking the lemons and saying "Ewww". Mia tries to squeeze them but not much comes out with her gentle little squeeze. But I like her help. Lilly is the name of our new family member, Kennedy's tadpole. Yep, we bought her a tadpole and habitat for her birthday. The first tadpole that arrived in the mail was a blog in a test tube. I did not tell her that the little guy didn't make it. :-( So, we ordered another and when I opened the envelope, there was a test tube with a cute little wiggly tadpole. So we can't wait to see it evolve into a frog! Lipstick.........something new for me. I now wear it! How about that! Moving on.........worms. Well, I've never known a 6 year old to keep staring at a worm and saying "awww, how cute". This would be my daughter, Kennedy. She caught a worm on Saturday and carried him around on a stick and kept goo-gooing over him as if he were a little infant. We put him a bowl with some rocks, leaves, and flowers. She was infatuated with how much poop he had and loved showing me which end was the head and the other end was the bottom. I just kind of looked at her and said, "oh, okay, so that's the head and that is the......other side." She then replied "Mom, it's okay to say bottom!! You can say it!" She is a scientist already!!

Old Fashioned Vacation

I love my three Little Monkeys. We decided to stay home during Spring Break and take it easy. So we planned an event for each day, so that it would be fun. We did Dunkin Donuts one morning for breakfast and had a blast. One day we went to Target and used gift cards that were left over from Christmas and bought toys, baithing suits, a sprinkler, and other nonsense stuff. We came home and opened all the windows, poured some homemade lemonade, blasted out our Caribbean music on the stereo, turned on the sprinkler and ran around in the yard. Our neighbors probably hated us that day but it was so much fun. Daddy would have needed ear plugs for the music. It was loud and fun!! We camped out twice in our backyard. Yes, we are official hillbillys now! We had a campfire and roasted marshmallows. We brought our old tv out and set it on the lawn and watched the movie Cars, while sitting in our homemade box cars. Again, we are hillbillys! One day we hit Krispy Kreme (yes, we love donuts). One day we went to dinner at Chick-Filet. We just did all that we could think of. I had some money and giftcards saved. It cost us next to nothing and it was fun. The girls helped plan which event they wanted to do on each day. I loved it.

Spring Break 2010/ Staycation!!

Love Letters

Kennedy is totally into writing us notes now. We love it. Of course, her writing is quite limited but love what she writes to us. I will save this letter forever. :-)

Linc.'s 2nd Birthday

Community/Church.....is it Vital?

I've just finished reading The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller and it's a nice, short, easy read. However, it pierced my heart. He dives into the story The Prodigal Son and takes you down some different roads. Ones that lead right into your doorstep called "pride". It was a great read. I really appreciated his spin on community and going to church. He quotes "I have explained in this book why churches-and all religious institution- are often so unpleasant. They are filled with elder brothers (pharisees). Yet staying away from them simply because they have elder brothers is just another from of self-righteousness. Besides that, there is no way you will be able to grow spiritually apart from a deep involvement in a community of other believers..." Then he goes on to quote a part form C.S. Lewis's book. You may or may not know this but C.S. Lewis was a part of a famous circle of friends called the Inkling (Tolkien too). As some point, one of their friends died, Charles Williams. This is what C.S. Lewis wrote, titled "Friendship"............"In each of my friends there is something some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Tolkien's reactions to a specifically Charles joke. Far from having more of Tolkien, having him "to myself" now t hat Charles is away, I have less of Tolkien...In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious "nearness by resemblance" to heaven itself where they very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each of us has on God. Fro every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah's vision are crying "Holy, Holy, Holy" to one another. The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall have."

Keller then goes on to say that "Lewis is saying that tit took a community to know an individual. How much more would this be true of Jesus Christ? Christians commonly say they want a relationship with Jesus, that they want to "get to know Jesus better." You will never be able to do that by yourself. You must be deeply involved in the church in Christian community , with strong relationships of love and accountability."

This is a great response to those wondering why on earth they should go to church. Even I have questioned that exact thought. We are meant to be in a community. I'm glad that Paul and I can be apart of that experience, not just to soak up His glory but to spread love to other believers and encourage others as well too. :-)

Take Me Back..............

Well, we had a great morning, filling bags of food for Haiti. It flooded my heart with past memories of missions. Venezuela was our last missions trip. I found this picture of a boy taking care of his little sister. Lately, I have had the itching to do more, be more, and give more. I look at my home and want to throw it all away. The materials mean nothing to me. I've been reading up more and more about missions too. I just finished reading Scared and reading Hole in the Gospel. I cried out to God the other night "What do you want? I'm listening!!!" I'm not sure. But I do know one thing......we are downsizing, buying less, and trying to give more. I have 3 kids!! What values do I want them to inherit? Things mean nothing to Paul and I. I don't want to be attached to a home, a car, a bank account, a wardrobe, or a hobby! I want my children to realize that God is the center of our world...........not the crap here on earth! There is something so freeing about giving away valuable items. I wish we could just move to the inner-city and live IN THE THICK of POVERTY! I best be careful cause my wish may come true. Yes, it scares me to think about living next door to criminals etc..........but one does adjust. Each day, I'm gonna get rid of something in this house. It takes time, you know? I believe God has been slowly chiseling away at me for the past 10 years. Slowly and surely I have given up things. I stopped buying ridiculous decorations for my home years ago!! I mean, who really cares about that stuff??? We have pictures of our kids and items from past missions trips hanging on our walls. But...I have so far to go. God is still working on me and carefully pulling my fingers away from the items that are clinched with-in. Who knows......I may be giving something away to you soon! Each day, something must go. No one should have the amount of things that we have.......way too much. :-)

Valentines Day/ Kennedy's Birthday

Kennedy's 6th Birthday

Well, we celebrated our oldest daughter's birthday. Wow!! I can't believe our baby is six years old! She woke up on a Friday morning to find a balloon, some cheap flowers, and donuts in bed for breakfast. That was fun. She has always said that she wanted breakfast in bed. What is it with women and b-fast in bed?? We are born to be romantics!! hahahha......well, then we dropped her off at school. We later showed up with Oreo treats for the class and daddy was the "Mystery Reader" at school that day. We then checked her out of school (I'm a bad parent.....I know!!). We brought her home early and she wanted a 'Lunchable' for lunch. That night we took her to Red Robin for dinner with family. So, to be honest we were supposed to have cake/presents when we got home that night but...............we are a REAL family and let's just say that the birthday girl was feeling a little "tired" that night. So, we delayed cake/gift until the next night. Well, it worked out. Things don't always go as planned, but it still turned out to be fun!! :-)

Live It Up

The longer I live and the more I experience challenges in life, the more I realize that life is short and we should "live it up". I'm not talking about indulging in reckless sin but indulging in life.......the way God meant for us to live. It's interesting to see what the men did in the NT with the 'talents' that were given to them. The ones who invested were praised and the one who did nothing with his 'talent' well..............not so good!! The more I see life falling short and see tragedy, the more I want to experience. I'm not promised tomorrow and neither is anyone in my family. Why hold back? Why not take that trip that you've always wanted to take? Why not let the kids jump on the bed.......just this one time? Why not play in the rain.....and ruin your favorite shirt? Oh, so what! Why not let the kids skip school this one time and have a pj day?! Will 1 day of absence mean the end of the world? Why not buy those plane tickets and go see that 'loved one'? Obviously, you must be somewhat wise and not crazy foolish. But I think we hold back and "play by the rules" and "tuck away that golden egg into savings" and blah blah blah. I've decided to use our fine china as much as possible. What am I saving it for anyhow?!! And yes, we have food fights (when daddy is not home). And yes, Paul and go somewhere every 5 years and selfishly spoil ourselves. It's not because we deserve it but because we need it! Life is short. We need to love our God with all we have, love our family we everything we've got and live it up! He didn't create this earth for us to watch it pass by. Enjoy the fruit and beauty. Praise Him for it. Enjoy the friendships and family. Of course, give Him credit for every bit of it.

So Much To Learn............So Much to Bear

Here I am at 34 and yet, I still feel like a new Christian at times. I'm always finding new truths and moments of "ahh- haa" in my life. Thank goodness, right?! However, that also comes with moments of great embarrassment and groveling too as I am humbled by my own sinful nature. This year, I've committed to fast so many times and during that time study the good old Fruits of the Spirit. Sounds boring, I know, but boy am I learning like a new kids in school for the first time. I"m still stuck on the oh so popular fruit........love. As I was reading it today, I came across ICor. 13 because this passage helps me understand love a little bit more. Well it states that "love bears all things." Well what the heck does that mean?!! Well, I pulled out my greek/hebrew concordance and looked up the root meaning. It means to cover in silence, endure, to suffer. Ouch!! This hit me hard. If you know me, you know that silence only comes when I'm tired. I'm never silent!!Then I started thinking about all the challenging moments that would have gone some much smoother if I had just "endured in silence.............suffered". Silence is suffering for me and God knows it too. Then I started to think about pallbearers. When the funeral comes, they just quietly carry the dead to his/her grave with no words. It doesn't matter what that deceased person said or didn't say that upset the pallbearers; they show respect for the dead and so quietly carry him/her upon the shoulders. They "bear" that person on that day. How often should we just "bear" the difficult things and just carry them in love, without saying the last word or getting the last poke?! I must remember this with my family.

My Wonderful 34th Birthday..........More Than 'just another birthday'

You are Greatly Loved

Did you know that a Messenger spoke to Daniel and told him how much he was loved, more than once in the book of Daniel? Can you imagine talking to an angel and being referred to the "one who is loved"?? I'd pass out. Of course I know that God loves me but to hear an angel remind me that I am very much loved would just send me orbiting. Of course Daniel was special and I love studying him. He was always praying, confessing and fasting. In fact, when he was approached by the angel, he was doing exactly that. How much time and I spending in prayer and fasting?? I would like to journey to where Daniel was in his life. I'd like to match my spirit up with his and become a "Hedonist" in that way that John Piper describes that word. I want my every thought and moment to be about Him. It takes time, but I think it's possible. This is why I am studying the guys in the bible who understood 100% passion and commitment. I'm still young and have much to learn. I hope I have time to accomplish this idea. Having kids will force you in this direction. You want so badly for them to love God in a passionate way but it should be modeled (not taught).

Valentine Frenzy= LOVE

Here we go again. We like to make our very own Valentines for our friends and for school. I know, we sound cheap! But that is not the case, well maybe. But mostly we make them because we enjoy crafts. We are such nerds! Kennedy, Mia, and I love to sit down at the bar and craft, color, glue, and make one big mess. So, we made owls, hearts, aliens, and flowers. We had so much fun. We are done and ready a week early for Valentines Day. Next week we will make truffles and fudge for our neighbors. I love doing these things with the girls. I hope they pass on the traditions to their young ones one day too. But mostly I want them to understand what LOVE really is about. It is unconditional. Alexanders try and show unconditional love because Christ does this for us each and every day. We need to love one another and allow lots of room for Grace! Sometimes it's hard for the girls. They are quick to snap at eachother and having one another is really gonna teach them so much about real love. I am still learning too.......each moment!! They are quick to remind me too!

Lucky in Lemonade

Well we love the fruit market and bought 5 lemons for 1 dollar. So we decided to make lemonade for fun. Mia and I squeezed out the lemon juice. Lincoln kept licking the left over lemons and making funny faces. It was actually quite amusing to watch his face. Mia would occasionally take a lick. She was serious business about the squeezing. She finally said "wow, mommy, you are so strong!" I guess I have some impressive muscles,huh!?? After we made it, we sat down and enjoyed a glass. Even Lincoln liked the taste of the lemonade. I was surprised. I didn't think he'd like it but he does!

The Girls' First Sleepover

Well we decided to let Emma stay the night a few weeks ago. This would be Kennedy and Mia's first sleepover. Thankfully, we get along quite well with Emma's parents, Julie and Kerri. So for kicks, we told them they had to stay late and learn how to play Settlers of Catan. If they liked the game then they "passed" the friendship test and we could stay friends! ahha......actually it was a blast. The girls watched movies and ate cupcakes. Then they passed out while we stayed up until 3am playing Settlers of Catan. It really was a lot of fun. Getting up the next morning with the giggly girls was challenging cause I was sleeeepy!!