On the wild side...

Monte has been talking about getting a tattoo for over a year now. I am not a tattoo person, at all, so when the topic came up I would just nod, smile and hope he would change his mind.

Then he told me what kind of tattoo he wanted...

A Bible verse in Amharic (the main language spoken in Ethiopia).

He got my attention and I slowly warmed up to the idea.

This past Saturday he got together with our local Ethiopian Pastor, Yosef. He showed Monte the verses in our Amharic Bible.

That night Monte went to the tattoo parlor {he shared some interesting tales} and 2 hours later came home with this...

It is from Psalm 127:3-5 "children are a heritage from the Lord... like arrows in the hand of a warrior... blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them..."'

His whole purpose of getting a tattoo was not to hid it. For him it is his testimony and he decided to put it on his forearm.

He didn't get home until late Saturday night, so the kids didn't see it until Sunday morning. Hannah LOVES it. She kept grabbing his arm saying, "Ethiopia, Daddy!" and showing her siblings again and again. We really think she recognizes the letters. It was precious!

Life continues to stay busy here at the Alexander establishment! I will hopefully post pictures soon of all that we are involved in this fall. Have a great week!

Back At It...

Last Tuesday we started our 2010-2011 school year. I had planned on writing this last week, but alas once again having five kids has taken up ALL of my time and I am just now getting to it!

I have to admit that I am excited to get into a more rigid routine, but I truly hate to say goodbye to summer. I LOVE the heat and humidity, the endless days at the pool, sleeping in (oh wait, we still get to do that), traveling and visiting friends.

I had planned to continue school through the summer since last year was a year of transitions for everyone and I didn't feel we did the quality of work that normally would be expected. But frankly I needed a break, so that is exactly what I gave myself! A.MUCH.NEEDED.BREAK.

This summer, by far, has been our busiest yet! We have been on the go all summer and I have loved every minute of it. Last year was a much different story, because of travel preparation and cocooning once we were home, we didn't get out much at all. I am truly glad that is behind us and we are able to bust out of the house whenever we want.

But now we are getting back into a routine... here is a glimpse of our school days.

-7-8am-wake up

-Before the kids come down for breakfast their beds need to be made, they need to be dressed and teeth brushed.

-I like to start school by 8:30am but I don't stress if we get started later.

-We start the day with prayer and a daily devotional. Then we do the normal reading, writing, math, history, science, geography.

-We do take a couple of short breaks. Mostly they need the freedom to talk, because two of them like to talk A LOT. If the weather is nice, I have them go outside for their breaks.

-We eat lunch around noon

-One of my rules is that their rooms need to be clean by noon and if it isn't they will need to take a nap that day. I usually do not have an issue with their rooms being spotless. Like most kids, they do not like naps! This rule doesn't apply to the girls (yet), because there are days that they need a nap.

-The boys also practice piano daily. They have piano lessons weekly and I am so thankful their piano teacher comes to us!

Depending on how well they work depends on when we get done for the day. Most days we are done by noon or 1p and there are a few days we aren't finished until dinner. I do like to be done by 1p, so we can do something fun in the afternoon or take a nap depending on the state of their rooms. {smile}

My focus this year is to get them to work more independently. I really want to start working more with the girls. Hannah is already writing letters and they both have an intense interest in learning! Most days they sit while the boys do school. I do not make them, but they just love to be part of what we are doing.

Some other things we have going on this fall:

-Isaac is going to start playing the guitar

-Isaac is playing soccer

-John is playing flag football

-Josiah starts relationship therapy (more on that later)

-All three boys will be on a swim team. This will be their first year and I really hope they like it. I think it is a great way to keep them in the water all year long.

-Hannah and Chloe start a dance class that is ballet and tumbling

-We have some fun field trips planned with our homeschool group

We are going to be very busy and on top of that Monte starts a new job on September 7th. He is really excited about this opportunity and I am looking forward to having our weekends back. He has not had a weekend off since the end of April. He did go with us to Maine in July, but other than that he has been working 7 days a week since April. The new job was truly something that fell into our laps and we very thankful! He will still be mortgage industry, as a senior mortgage underwriter.

Here is my attempt at getting some first day of school pictures!

Isaac, 8 years old, 3rd grade

John, 7 years old, 2nd grade

Josiah, 6 years old, 1st grade

Chloe, 3 years old, PreK

Hannah, 3 years old, PreK

Has it been 10 years already?

October 3, 1999 was a day I will never forget. It was the day that I was introduced to Monte. Six weeks later (with my parents blessing) he asked for my hand in marriage. Seven months after that on June 17, 2000, we were married by the ocean in Maine.

I know there were some that didn't think it would last. I am sure if I was on the outside looking in, I would be sceptical too. Who gets married after only knowing someone for eight months? Not many people, but all I can say is when you know, you know!

This coming Thursday we will celebrate 10 years of marriage and I can honestly say I have been blessed with an incredible husband! Have we always gotten along? No! Do we always see eye to eye? No! Monte and I are very different people, but for us... it works. He is a redneck at heart and well... I am just not! I don't understand (even after 10 years) why someone wants to wake up before the sun when it is below freezing and shoot something. I will never understand, but I still love him.

What we do share are the same core values. I think, for us, that is the most important thing. We both love Jesus and seek to put him first. We are striving to raise our children to love Him the same way. Another thing that has helped is that we have the same parenting philosophies and support each other 100%. Marriage is not easy, but it is so worth it!

We have had MANY major life changes in our marriage. Here is a glimpse of our last 10 years...
-We were pregnant with Isaac only six months after we were married. That was not our plan, but God has showed us along the way that His plan is the best plan!
-John came 16 months after Isaac.
-We moved when John was 5 months old.
-Josiah came 18 months after John. (if you lost count, that is 3 boys in 34 months)
-While we were pregnant with Josiah, we both knew (at different times) that our family was not done growing and that adoption would be the way we would complete our family.
-We moved when Josiah was 7 months old.
-We moved again when Josiah was 22 months old.
-All of that before our 6 year anniversary!
-He also had 4 different job changes within 7 years of marriage. Gotta love the mortgage industry!
-Then shorty after our 8 year mark we started our adoption journey and brought the girls home shortly after our 9 year anniversary!
-At our 10 year, I would say that we have settled into our new normal, but only God knows what our next 10 years will bring!

It has been a wild and crazy ride, to say the least, but I can't imagine being seated next to anyone else as we ride through life.

Couple Trivia

Our birthdays are next week and so I thought it would be fun to post some information about us, as a couple!

This is kind of like the 25 things - except it's about you AND your significant other, not just you.

What are your middle names? Arlen and given Lynn, now Hubbard (once we got married I changed my middle name to Hubbard. I am the last one on my Dad's side, so I wanted to do it to honor him).

How long have you been together? Almost 9 1/2 years, married for 9 years this June

How long did you know each other before you started dating? We have been together since the day we met.

Who asked who out? Monte asked me

How old are each of you? 32 (on 3/5) and 37 (on 3/2)

Whose siblings do you see the most? Tisha, but still not a lot.

Do you have any children together? Yes, 3 boys and are in the process of adopting a sibling group from Ethiopia.

What about pets? Names? dog (Maxine) and two cats (Allie and Alex)

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? We don't get a lot of alone time, so that is probably the hardest thing.

Did you go to the same school? No

Are you from the same home town? No

Who is the smartest? Monte is, but I have more common sense!

How did you meet? Through a mutual friend

Where do you eat out most as a couple? We don't go out much as a couple, but as a family McDonalds... thanks to the boys.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Maine, but it will soon be Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Who has the craziest ex's? Since 2 of my 3 ex's are now pastors, I would have to say Monte's, but I honestly don't have a clue.

Who has the worst temper? Monte

Who does the cooking? Monte is an amazing cook, but only has the time to cook on the weekends, so I do most of it, but the taste doesn't even compare.

Who is more social? Tisha

Who is the neat-freak? Tisha

Who is more stubborn? We both are. Thankfully we agree on most things.

Who hogs the bed? Monte

Who wakes up earlier? Monte, he gets up at 4:30a to go to work. I think it is insane, but he does it so he doesn't have to work late and can be home with us at night.

Where was your first date? Pizza Hut

Who has the bigger family? Monte, his extended family has more people in it than the whole state of Maine.

Do you get flowers often? No and I am ok with that. He spoils me in other ways.

How do you spend the holidays? We stay home. Our families live too far away.

Who is more jealous? I would have to say me even though I am not the jealous type, but Monte doesn't have a jealous bone in his body.

What is "your song"? "I love you" Martina McBride

How long did it take to get serious? Instantly, we were engaged 6 weeks after we met.

Who eats more? Monte only eats once a day during the week (I can't seem to get it through his head that this is NOT healthy), so I guess it would be me.

Who does the laundry? Tisha

Who’s better with the computer? Tisha

Who drives when you are together? Monte. If we are driving long distance then we take turns.

Don't try this at home.

Monte loves the show Man v Food on the Travel Channel. This guy, Adam, travels all over the US and does different food challenges. I hear "I can do that!" a lot coming from the man I married. One of the challenges was to eat 5 hot wings covered in habanero sauce in five minutes. Since that episode aired Monte has wanted to take a detour to Pittsburgh (that is where the restaurant is located) next time we head to Maine, just so he can do the competition too.

Well, it gets better! When we were in Target on Saturday, Monte bought 4 habanero peppers and then came home and deep fried them. He is an amazing cook, I am sure I have mentioned that before and he even whipped up his own dipping sauce.

Here are some pictures, in order, of him eating the peppers!

Yes, that is him looking very sick and sick he remained for the rest of the weekend. I love my husband to death, but I believe he lacks some common sense. At least now he has no interest in going to Pittsburgh!

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Sharon. I have to post the 4th picture from my 4th folder on my computer and then tell everyone about it. I was hoping for a really fun picture, but alas it is not. Since the story of "meeting" Sharon is so much more interesting, with her permission, I am going to start there!


Monte and I are using an adoption agency out of Oregon state. This adoption agency has its own yahoo group (list serv) for parents that have adopted or that are in the process of adopting. It is a wonderful group! I could go on and on about it, so I'll save that for another post!


A lot of families on the list serv have blogs. My new hobby is reading as many of them as I can! When I was reading Sharon's blog I noticed that she was located in Maine. I am from Maine, so I instantly wanted to contact her.

We we went back and forth getting to know each other and then she asked where I grew up. I told her it is town by Sebago Lake, it is very small and not a lot of people have heard of it. I am from a town named Limington. She emailed me back and...


SHE IS ALSO FROM LIMINGTON!!!


How wild was that? I was so excited. Come to find out, she went to school with my sister and knows my parents! She has a sister a year older than I am, but I went to private school for a while, so I know of her, but don't really know her.


What are the chances that 2 girls from Limington (population 2,000 max) are adopting (adopted in her case) from Ethiopia and are using the same agency on the opposite coast.

I called my mom, the same night that I found out and she was speechless. It is truly amazing and I can't wait to officially meet Sharon on our next trip home!


OK, so on to the picture...

These are the deer that my wonderful husband has killed and decided to decorate our house with. We do not have an office, so one hangs in our livingroom and the other 2 are in the 2 boys' bedrooms. This is the third time this picture has been on the blog! He will be proud!

I am tagging DeeDee, Brooke, Andie

Why, yes I did marry a redneck!

My husband has left us for one week, to go hunting. He has only been gone for 2 days now and I miss him like crazy. I do pray that he doesn't shoot anything big though. My walls don't need any more dead deer on them!

I love Monte, even though he is a redneck. So in honor of him I am going to post one of my first posts.



Originally posted February 21, 2008:

It has been a long week, so I thought I would share a story that will always make Monte and I laugh!

I truly believe the Lord has a great sense of humor and our life is a perfect example of that!

I think most people have a list of things they want in a spouse. These were the top 3 on my list when I was in my early 20s:
1. He HAS to be a Christian
2. He has to exercise or be into fitness
3. He can't be into or having anything to do with hunting

I did in fact marry a Christian!

When I met Monte (October 3, 1999) he would never claim that he worked out, but once spring arrived he started running and I was SO excited. I had dreams of going to the gym with my man and staying healthy together. He didn't share with me until later that the ONLY reason he was running was because of our wedding was quickly approaching in June. He hasn't exercise one day since our wedding, but he is eating better these days.

I do not like hunting and I hate guns with a passion. The thing I hate even more are dead animals on walls. Once again when I met Monte he hadn't hunted in a couple of years, so I thought he had "outgrown" it. There were no animals on the wall. The only gun I saw was a hand gun for protection, I could handle that.

Guess what? Monte didn't outgrow hunting and has many guns. He goes hunting every year. In 2005 Monte shot a big deer and had it stuffed. Yes people I have a deer head in my living room. I did kick and scream for a while, but I love my husband and this is his house too. I agreed that he could put up 1 deer and 1 deer only! Fast forward to the present... we now have three deer heads in our house.






Truly God is so good. He knows how hard headed I am and if I would of known all of this over 8 years ago, there wouldn't of been a second date. I wouldn't have my life any other way. Monte is a wonderful husband and father. He is one of the hardest working men I have ever known. I am proud of my man! I am so blessed.

So if you are planning a visit to the Alexander household brace yourself for the deer on the wall. I will forget to warn you that they are there, because I am used to them now. I never thought I would hear myself say that! :)

NINE years ago today!

It was Sunday October 3, 1999 and a friend asked me to come to his church to meet "a guy". I was one month away from moving back to Maine, so I let him know he better not be trying to fix me up because it wasn't going to work. He assured me that he wasn't...

That Sunday I met Monte for the first time. The rest is history of course. We were engaged six weeks later and eight months after meeting we were married.

We have always celebrated this day just like it is another anniversary. It is a special day for us! I really can't believe that it has already been nine years. My love for Monte has grown with each passing year and I can't imagine my life without him. He is a wonderful husband and father. I am so thankful to God for giving me Monte as my lifemate. I am enjoying growing old with him!

On a side note, we will be finishing the LAST of our paperwork today! What a wonderful way to celebrate nine years together.

What a sweet anniversary surprise!

June 17th was Monte's and my eighth anniversary. We were not together when the day arrived. Monte had to fly back to Indianapolis on the 16th. I did try to get a plane ticket for the 17th instead, but they were $75 more to fly back on that day. So we decided it wasn't worth it and we would be ok apart!

I was not too excited to spend the day without him, but it did end up being a good day! We went to the ocean that day and we drove by the place we got married. The Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It was a beautiful wedding! We got married outside with the ocean in the back ground. These pictures were taken with my cell phone, so I could send them to Monte, so they are not the best quality. The Inn is a lot bigger, but I couldn't fit it all in.

My Dad met us at the ocean, because he had to work in the morning. When he got out of his truck he brought these to me. They were from my dear husband! The picture doesn't do them justice, they were beautiful!!

Our Date Night...

I am SO thankful to Michelle for doing the bloggy giveaway that I won. Here are the details on what we did with the Visa giftcard that I received.

Last Friday night, Monte and I were able to go to a Japanese Steakhouse here in town. There are two of them, but we chose the one that we had a coupon for… BONUS! This is something we have never done together. I went to one when I was in 4th grade. That was 22 years ago, I am surprised I even remember going.

We had a wonderful time! Was it because we were eating for free? Um… maybe that had something to do with it, but I just love spending alone time with Monte. I know it is important to have that time together, but sometimes it is hard to accomplish!

This was the second date that we have had in a month and that is a record for us. Our babysitter, Cassie, is in college, so we are only able to have here when she is on breaks. This summer she is going to be a camp counselor, so we knew we needed to make the most of her being home.

We are planning on going away for a long weekend when Cassie comes home in August. Isaac stayed with our friends overnight when he was 8 months old, other than that we have never left the boys. I was originally thinking we would go to Chicago, but Monte HATES cities. So, I am thinking about the Indiana Dunes. We have never been there and it looks like a lot of fun!

Any other suggestions?

That is my husband's body, but that is NOT my husband!!

After being married to Monte for almost eight years, he still surprises me every now and then. Tuesday night was one of those nights.

The boys had soccer practice. We already knew that Isaac’s coach would no longer be at practices because of a work conflict and there would be a sub. Well, when practice was supposed to start there was no one there to coach. So, Monte got all the kids together and stepped in as their coach. I just stood there and stared. I couldn't believe the events that were unfolding right in front of my eyes. It was the one time I forgot to bring my camera… of course!

This is the same guy that I had to beg and plead with to get the boys to play soccer in the first place. He words always were, “Anything that you play where you can’t use your God given appendages is not a REAL sport.” He hated everything about soccer. In the end I won and since the boys love it, he enjoys it now too. He still wouldn’t get cable just to have the soccer channel, but he come very far in the last couple of years.

Monte has a very strong personality, so when he makes up his mind it is very hard to persuade him otherwise. I believe all this shows his love for his family and I am proud of him!

I will make sure to bring my camera next week incase it all happens again!

My husband... God love him!

My husband is not a fun person to go out to dinner with. It seems that I forget this every time we make plans to eat out and once we step foot in the door I feel like slamming my head against the wall at how stupid I am. His father has been in the restaurant industry all of his life, so he knows how things should run inside a dinning facility. Monte would work with his father during the summers that he spent with him and once he was old enough he became a server. He did this all the way through college and he made good money!

So needless to say Monte doesn’t relax when we are eating out. He TIMES everything. It is insane. I personally love going out to eat and I love to sit, relax, enjoy the atmosphere and company, but this is not attainable when I am sitting across from crazy man.

Last week, I had the bright idea I wanted to go to a restaurant, for our birthdays, that we had never been to before. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! The hubby agreed, so we loaded the kids up and off we went. The service was horrible, I mean horrible. The food wasn’t much better. A cold cheeseburger never goes down well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the manager was making her rounds, I prayed to God that she would skip our table. Did she? OF COURSE NOT! She comes and asks how the meal was and Monte told her the truth. He was not rude but honest. He and I ended up getting our meals for free. He didn’t ask for his nor did we expect it and we let her know that, but she wanted to do it since it was our first time. The whole time I thought about camping out under the table out of sheer embarrassment.

I will say in my husband’s defense that if we do have a great experience then he will purposefully get the attention of the manager and let them know or go home and write to the corporate office. He is fair all the way around, but that doesn’t make me any less embarrassed and it doesn’t make him any less stressful to eat with.

I have learned my lesson, again. I will not bring up the idea of visiting a restaurant anytime soon. So may I suggest a girls night, all in favor let me know!