Friday, October 23, 2009

Farmhouse Before & After: Library

We finally have more before & after pictures ready. This is the sunny little library/sitting area overlooking the stairs.

Before:After:We pulled up the carpet to expose the beautiful wood floors and painted the stair railings white. A store was going out of business and sold us each of their wooden bookcases for $20. They have been great for organization throughout our little home, and they serve as shelves in our library. The window seat consists of two large, sturdy baskets with a blanket and pillows draped over them.

Our previous before & after pictures (the kitchen, bathroom, family room, and my bedroom) can be found here.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

You're Invited


~ ~ Young Adult Barn Dance ~ ~

Please join the Alexander family for a fun evening of fellowship, food, and square dancing!

Ages 12+

November 14, 2009 ~ 4 PM

Avery's Branch Farms in Amelia, Virginia

Girls, please bring something sweet to share. Guys, please bring something salty to share. Last names beginning with the letters A-Z, please bring one soda per family.

Feel free to pass this along and invite friends. Please RSVP by November 7 if you plan to attend. Parents are welcome to attend.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Please Pray for Elliott

On Friday night, around 11 pm, Elliott, Oliver, and their friend Daniel had just finished a board game and were getting ready to go to bed when I (Meredith) noticed Elliott sitting in one of the chairs in the family room. I was finishing up some work on my laptop and subconsciously thought that it was odd that Elliott was staying up with me in the family room when he had a friend visiting. I didn't give it much thought at all, but then all of a sudden, Elliott began falling out of his chair and hit his head on the nearby large kerosene heater. At first thought, I wondered if he was joking around, but knowing that he is usually pretty serious and not the type that jokes around, I immediately jumped up and tried to get him up and out of his frozen state and frantically hollered for Mama and Daddy.

Elliott was completely frozen and unconscious and I struggled to lift him to sit back up as I continued to attempt to ask him what was wrong. He wouldn't respond except to barely mumble things as he slowly came to. Mama and Daddy ran into the room and Elliott continued to barely mumble. We soon realized he had a seizure. He had a couple seizures when he was very young, and then when he was 15, he had one when he had his wisdom teeth removed, but Mama had hoped that it was only related to too much novacaine and not a sign that he was continuing to randomly have them as he did when he was a toddler.

He was very slow to come out of it, so Daddy called 911. We waited for what seemed like forever and then two ambulance crews and various EMT volunteers arrived. After agreeing that it probably was a seizure, moved Elliott to a stretcher and took him by ambulance to the hospital. Mama went with him in the ambulance and Daddy followed in our car. Thankfully, all three of the children slept through all the commotion. Daniel led Oliver and I in a prayer for Elliott and then after a little while, we all went to bed knowing that it would be a long time before we heard any news. Daddy, Mama, and Elliott arrived home around 6:30 am.

He was obviously very tired yesterday after being up most of the night before in the hospital, but he is doing completely fine now. He will be going soon to a neurologist to better diagnose his condition. One of the most discouraging parts for Elliott is that his driver's license will be taken away for six months due to the seizure.

Please pray for the doctor's wisdom as they diagnose why Elliott seems to be prone to seizures.

Daniel, Elliott, Oliver, Sheridan, and Harrison playing their guitars and harmonicas yesterday

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Shocking New Addition to the Blogging World

Our family's very adamant hater of the blogosphere, Oliver, has joined the blogging world. This came to us as a shock, as I (Meredith) just stumbled upon his blog this evening and noticed that he has secretly been blogging for several weeks. He obviously didn't want for anyone to realize that he has had a change of heart in regard to blogging.

He's off to a great start! I encourage you to visit The Refiner's Fire.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Visiting With Granddaddy & Grandma

Last week, our grandparents drove the 3+ hour trip from their home in NC for a very short visit at our new farm. They blessed us with a huge meal of BBQ, ham, coleslaw, potato salad, homemade chocolate cake, and a cooler filled with sodas! They even brought paper plates, plastic silverware, and napkins, so we had very minimal clean up afterwards. The food lasted for several meals and we enjoyed it so much. We discussed Granddaddy and Grandma's upcoming road trip across the country and their recent visit to D.C. for the big rally at Capitol Hill on September 12.
In early 2007, Granddaddy and Grandma invited us over to their house for several afternoons to learn more about our family's history and Granddaddy's life. I wrote about it here. Because of Granddaddy's patriotism and the many stories he shared from his time serving in the Army, he has instilled such a love for our country in our hearts. We are so thankful for his willingness to share his life experiences with us.

~Meredith