Elephant in Felt Pillow

I decided to get adventurous and venture out into the world of felt. I'm pretty pleased with the result: A fun elephant pillow for Justin's new room, complete with a button eye. He loves it and said, "Pretty Mom!" when it was finished! I'm glad I have his seal of approval, since it will be in his room after all. I found this adorable elephant print and Batik fabric at Fabric Temptations. I drew a sketch of an elephant from the print and cut out my felt shapes from that pattern. I then hand stitched the felt onto the pillow cover. It turned out pretty well considering it was my fist felt attempt! I will be playing with felt more in the future, it's so easy and fun to work with.

Tim and Ilana's Wedding

We went to Oregon and had a fabulous time my cousin Ilana's wedding this weekend. The wedding was held at my aunt and uncle's house, (Ilana's parents.) It was such a beautiful wedding and it was great to see my mom's family - the aunts, uncles, cousins and friends of the family. I hadn't been to a wedding in a while, (and I love weddings!), so it was a treat! I loved the beautiful flowers and decorations. The wedding ceremony was conducted under a tent as it was raining, and there were candle holders hung by orange ribbons with beautiful orange and magenta flowers hanging down on the edges of the tent. The reception was held under a huge tent and was decorated with hanging multi-colored glass candle holders and a chandelier, white lights, and more beautiful orange and magenta flowers. I didn't get a picture of the chandelier, wish I had! Ilana's mom, Rhoda, is a gourmet baker and she and my other aunts had been baking wonderful breads and other delicious food all week in Rhoda's commercial kitchen there on the property. My aunts Julie and Ruth made the most amazing cheese cakes! Yes, a good time was had by all! Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Ilana, the beautiful bride coming down the isle. She looks like a gorgeous Jewish princess!

Ilana and the maid of honor (her sister) Talia arranging her hair

Tim and Ilana's first dance

The first dance again - I love the back of her wedding dress!

A shot of the ceremony - mainly backs of heads!

Perspectives and Beyond

So one would think that my mind would be focused on packing right now, since we're supposed to be moving into a new house soon. But instead I can't stop thinking about traveling to a different country, go figure. Let me explain; I'm taking a class called "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement." It's unlike any other class I've ever taken which has come as a pleasant surprise to me. It is not at all what I expected, and this is a good thing because I feel very ready for something different that will challenge me beyond where I've been spiritually. I've been feeling for a while that I was about to experience some significant growth spiritually, but wasn't sure how this growth would take place, or when for that matter. We all experience many varied stages in our spiritual growth. There are the valleys and the mountain tops, the flat level plains and the rugged cliffs. For a while I've been hanging out in the plains...for a long while honestly. There are good things about the plains; They aren't hard to navigate, nope, they are exceptionally easy! The ease can become monotonous though, and can even end up becoming a detriment if you start thinking that you get to stay in that place forever. You will have to go back up a hill again inevitably, or down into a valley for that matter!

Anyway, back to the class I'm taking. Perspectives is a class which focuses on God's heart for humanity and the nations, the current state of world wide missions, and is a guide book for reaching all cultures for Christ. I was told that it is a life changing class and I'm finding that to be true. It really is changing my perspectives on missions in ways I could never have imagined. I've always had a heart for missions since I can remember. My great grandma and grand father were missionaries to China before World War II. They barely escaped the country as the country was being invaded. They were literally on the last plane that flew out of their region. Then they were missionaries in Brazil to the unreached Amazon tribes, and went on to print the Bible and other Christian books into Portuguese. My grandmother used to tell me her missionary stories and I could spend hours writing them here, but I'll save that for another time....

I've been on several missions trips in my life: I went to Baja Mexico once while in High School and then again when I was in my early twenties. I have also been to England and went to a youth church planting school there in 1997. All of these trips impacted my life in a profound way, and I've always known I would be going over seas again for God...I just didn't know when. Honestly, in the last few years I've been wondering if I really would be going again.

But, here I am now, and the church I go to is currently praying about going over seas on a missions trip sometime this year! I'm so excited to be part of the prayer team and things seem to be falling into place. We're not sure where we're going yet, or when, but God will show us the whens and hows of it all in time I'm sure. I do have my worries and fears about all of this, but I know that God is bigger than any fear I could have. As my great grandma used to say, "If you're supposed to go honey God will show you and He will provide."

Au Revoir Donnie and Allison

Today we went to our friends, (and neighbors), farewell potluck. Donnie and Allison are moving to Niger Africa to work with the Fufuldi and Wadabee people, (I probably butchered the spelling!), and plan to be gone for about 2 years. I helped host a baby shower for Allison yesterday as they will be having their first child in Niger! They were in Niger before moving back to the states and have been back for about 4 years. Allison got her nursing degree while they were here so she could use her skills to help people over seas. I'm going to miss them both a lot! Allison and I share the joy of crafting and had fun sharing projects with one another. She is also a talented jewelry artist and I enjoyed buying her beautiful creations.

If you're reading this Donnie and Allison - Thanks so much for your friendship over the past 4 years! You have blessed our family in so many ways - from the dinners to the Fire and Light! We can't wait to see what great adventures and exploits you will be a part of in Niger. Au Revoir for now friends! (Oh, and please post pics of baby H as soon as he/she is here, thanks, Auntie April!)

Last Goodbyes

More House Pictures

Here are more pics of the new house. We will be painting the house inside and out as well as putting new flooring in, so it will look completely different when we're done with our improvements. I can't wait to get into the house and start making it cute!

A front shot - I love all of the long windows and Victorian trim on the porch!

A beautiful cherry tree in bloom welcomes us.

The front hallway

Standing in the living room, looking into the dining room, (kitchen is in the back ground.)

Dining room - I love the wainscoat!

Standing in the kitchen, looking into the dining room and living room on the far side.

The beautiful kitchen window

At the top of the stairs/front hallway

Upstairs hallway/banister

Upstairs hallway/landing

Justin looking out one of his bedroom windows

We're Buying A House!

It's official people: We're buying a house!

I thought of waiting until escrow closes, but I can't wait any longer! We've been in escrow for over two months and thought we would be moved in by now, but eventually this house will be ours! We've been house hunting for a while, looking for the perfect house for our family. We finally found this one, a beautiful Victorian built in 1900. I love period homes and was elated to come across this one. It is everything we need in a house and is very roomy - it is 2000 square feet and has: 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a big kitchen and dining room, a living room, laundry room, and a very large yard for Ron to garden to his heart's content in. The greatest thing about the house is that we're getting it for a really good price, (a steal quite honestly), one that is affordable and won't stretch us financially.

We can't wait to get into the house and start painting and making it our own. I love interior decorating, so I will be in my element. It will be so wonderful to be able to do whatever we want with the painting, decorating, etc. One of the things I love so much about the house is that it is large enough for entertaining, which is one of the things Ron and I enjoy most. Another great feature is that one of the bed rooms is large and can serve as a sewing/art room for me as well as an office!! No more sewing in the kitchen; I think I'll be in heaven, as will Ron because he will no longer have to maneuver around me and my sewing apparatus when he cooks!

We are so grateful to God for providing this wonderful house for our family. We can't wait to move in - can you tell?! I'll keep updating the progress and will show the interior before and after process as we move along, so stay posted!

The Future Alexander Home

A Devotional for All of us Invisible Women

Here I am on graduation day oh so long ago. I graduated from our local community college - with honors. I ended up with two degrees: Associate of Arts, and Transfer Studies. It was only a two year degree, but I still graduated with high honors! I'm still proud of that to this day I must admit. I love being a mother, but I must say I miss school quite a bit. I'm one of those weird people who loves to be a student. I love studying, reading, and being in the classroom environment. I plan to go back to school again someday to finish my degree up. I'm on the twenty year plan, slow and steady wins the race!

A friend gave me this devotional for mothers, and I could relate so well with it on many levels. It talks about how even the smallest sacrifices a mother makes are important. We feel over looked and unappreciated at times, but God sees it all and values everything we do.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.