Getting back in the game...again?

Well, here I go again. I'm going to give my blogging life another try. This time with a totally different purpose in mind. If we are friends on Facebook, you know that I am involved in an organization called Parental Care Ministries. It is a non profit that ministers to over 1,400 orphans and 50+ pastors in southwest Uganda. I have had the distinct privilege to visit this amazing country, twice. My first trip was October of 2011 and the other was just a couple months ago. I actually led that trip. As a leader, you are asked to blog about your daily experiences. For some reason that completely stressed me out. The thought of hundreds, maybe a thousand or so people reading my words was a little overwhelming. I'm a behind-the-scenes kind of girl. That brings me to why I have decided to give this blogging thing another try. Because I am a stay at home mom (well, kind of), my writing skills are not as sharp as they once were. It's time to start honing that skill, again. I do enjoy writing, but I also want to be able to do my best the next time I am asked to lead trip. So, whether I have one follower or 100 followers, it doesn't matter. I'm not writing to spout my opinions or brag about my family (which there is nothing wrong with either :)), but to better express myself in written form. The purpose of the post, I guess is to re-introduce myself. Haha! I also wanted to share a few pics from my trips to Uganda. This one is from my first trip in October of last year. As the children at this particular school were singing and praising God with our team, I saw this sweet little girl sitting off to the side. She was so sad. I waved at her and she came and sat at my feet. I sat down next to her. We were unable to communicate because of the language barrier. She still remained right beside me, tears rolling down her face at times. I soon learned she had malaria. A little over one month later this sweet girl died of her illness. I'll never forget her. Her name is Moneck. She will forever be in my heart.

This is a picture of my sponsor daughter, Phionah. She is the sweetest thing ever! Seriously, if I could have taken her home, I would have in a heartbeat.

Okay, this is all for now. I know this post was somewhat random. The boys and I are going on a special Christmas outing today with my sister and her family. My goal is to blog about our day. Stay tuned!

RADICAL: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Our Sunday morning Bible study class just finished a book study from David Platt called, "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream."

In just the first two chapters I was challenged in a way I have never been. It begins by asking a simple question, "Do you believe God is who He says He is?". And are you walking in that? Are you so passionate about your relationship with Christ that all of your other relationships pale in comparison or even look like hate (Luke 14:26)? He references Scriptures that as American Christians we casually conclude: "That doesn't apply to me," which he explains is very dangerous.

It ends with a challenge or actually several. The "Radical Experiment" includes: 1) pray for the entire world; 2) read through the entire Word; 3)sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; 4) spend your time in another context; 5) commit your life to a multiplying community. These may appear overwhelming at first glance, but he provides some excellent resources to help structure your goals.

Tim and I started the "experiment" two weeks ago. God is already beginning to move in our hearts and events surrounding us. I'll post more info about this at a later time. Please pray for our continued commitment. If you have read the book and have any thoughts or stories, I would love to hear them!

Our Softball and Baseball Season

Softball and baseball season has come to a close for the Alexanders. Both Madie and Reed's teams made it to district playoffs and both coincidentally made fourth place. Madie pitches and plays third. Reed plays third. Both did an awesome job and we are super proud of our athletes. Don't know if we will be doing fall ball. Reed REALLY wants to. I think Madie wants a break. We'll see...

More Costa Rica Pics...

Costa Rica

We recently returned from our first family mission trip! We went to Costa Rica and had a wonderful time. Poor Austin stayed behind with my mom. He was just too young for the trip.
Our friends, Curtis and Michelle Cannon are missionaries there. They have two little ones, Coleman and Caroline. The Cannons assist in planting churches throughout the country. Such a beautiful family!
A total of five families went, two of which we knew. All of them were awesome and loved the Lord in a huge way. The trip consisted of VBS, recreation and medical clinics in Tarcoles, which is a fishing town. We were also able to do some door to door witnessing and "prayer walking". The people were so sweet and so gracious.
Our first day we held the VBS and recreation in an open field. It wasn't too much hotter than it is here, but even after three coats of sunscreen, I blistered! Ouch! But the little ones were so much fun. It was hard to contain the tears. The medical clinics were held in the local church. The physician that went with us is a family friend, but we had never seen him in action. He was awesome! He had such a heart to share Christ with his temporary patients.
The second day was on a Sunday. We did Sunday school for the church and that afternoon went door to door. One family invited us in their home. The father had just left for work, so we visited with the mom and their children. They had a sweet little girl; she was probably a year old. She came up to me and I got to love on her. She just rested her head on my chest. So sweet! The mom accepted Christ!!!!! To be there when those precious people asked Jesus into their hearts was so humbling.
On day three they allowed us to go into the schools. We had mostly little ones. It was different from what we are used to here. The children are not allowed to learn to read, write or know their colors until first grade. They attend school about two to three hours a day, which includes recess, snack and lunch.
The fourth day we went into another school. The kids were a little older and much more conniving. They tried to get me to go into a field with Brahma bulls! Most of them were sixth graders; the boys thought they were Brad Pitt…LOL.
The rest of the time was spent at Los Suenoes in Jaco. It was so nice. There were pools everywhere. Tim and Reed got to do the zip lines and had so much fun. Most of our time there was spent at the pool, though.
It was a great trip! The landscape was incredible. All I could think of was, “The heavens declare the glory of God…” So many adults and children came to know Christ as their Savior! I am so thankful that our boys were able to experience it. I pray they have a passion for serving others and sharing Christ as they get older. At the end of the day, I hope they realize that it is not about all the activities we get caught up in; it’s about loving God with all of their heart and loving others as themselves.

The tooth fairy is coming tonight!

Today we made a visit to Dr. Carter's office to have Micah's teeth cleaned. His very first "loose" tooth has been wiggling for about two weeks now and he was very proud to show Mrs. Patty, his hygenist. The cleaning was going smoothly, (aside from his brothers playing) until I heard, "Ouch! That hurt!". Not thinking about the loose tooth, I couldn't imagine what would hurt him so badly. Then, she showed him the tooth! I was so excited, but Micah didn't care one bit about that tooth; he was angry! Much to our suprise, his permanent tooth was already there. I don't mean just coming through; it was there! He soon recovered from his anger and is now happy to sport his new smile.