What an extraordinary year 2021 was for our family.
We have so much to be thankful for; in the amazing and the uneventful,
God has been faithful.
JANUARY
The year began with a renewed commitment to exercise. After having lived the hard life of a farming family for more than a decade, exercising at the YMCA is, without a doubt, a luxury.
Harrison concluded the first year of his new business, Christmas Lighting Professionals, uninstalling lights. Timmy and Sheridan were such kind helpers.
This was an uplifting trip to Short Pump Town Center before all the beautiful Christmas decorations were removed. I drag Timmy and Harrison through Pottery Barn ever so often to help them stay inspired as they work on our Airbnb project.
After the conference, the four of us headed to Orlando for a few days. The ministry weekends are so intense; it's really nice to decompress in the warm, Florida sunshine.
My friendship with Liz and Jen spans more than 30 years. Even though there are quite a few miles between us, we still find a way to meet up several times a year. I always leave refreshed and encouraged.
Sheridan's room is finally done.
It's pink for now; an easy fix down the road
if we turn this property into an Airbnb.
FEBRUARY
Valentine's flowers for Sheridan from Timmy.
Tulips - her favorite flower.
We had a huge ice storm around Valentine's Day.
Elliott and Bethany happened to be visiting from Georgia. Since Oliver and Michelle's house lost power as well, but they didn't have a fireplace, the party moved to our house.
Bethany happened to have the ingredients for soup in her car! So, like an experienced pioneer girl, she fried sausage on the wood stove, then made a delicious soup that we all raved about.
Michelle still thinks snow is wonderful,
having moved here from Florida.
Happy 14th birthday, Sheridan!
Her friends at church treated her so special.
Sheridan's all time favorite place to eat.
And the free Starbucks birthday treat,
Sheridan's all time favorite place to drink.
A get together with some of our former interns. Ethan (PA) and Chessie (VA) were so helpful to us in the final years of our time on the farm.
We are so thankful for them.
MARCH
Traveling candy - a must for an Alexander road trip.
I hope I never forget how significant the twelve months were from
March 11, 2020 to March 11, 2021.
That season was marked by such significant healing.
Days before this picture was taken, I returned from helping at a couple's intensive and couldn't say enough about how powerful it had been for the couple.
I asked Timmy if he'd ever be willing to attend a weekend like that,
and I was surprised when he said he would consider it.
I texted the facilitator and she said that she and her husband happened to be free that weekend if we wanted to come for our own couple's intensive.
I reluctantly called Timmy who was working at Harrison's house around one in the afternoon and said,
"Do you remember how you said you might be willing to go to a couple's intensive one day? Well....there's an opening this weekend. If we get on the road in the next few hours...., we could be in Florida by the morning."
***gulp***
Timmy responded without hesitation, "Let me nail up this last piece of siding and I'll come home so we can get on the road."
I felt so valued.
Our relationship as a couple felt like such a priority.
The weekend was used mightily by God, and Timmy and I will never forget it.
God did so much in our lives both individually and as a couple that weekend.
We will forever be thankful.
APRIL
We all went to Pat Pat and PaPa's after church on Easter.
The kids love riding around in PaPa's golf cart.
Helping the little ones find eggs on the Easter egg hunt.
Meredith, Bethany and Sheridan had a beautiful baby shower for Michelle,
just weeks before Jensen's arrival.
Welcome baby Jensen!
Oma meeting baby Jensen.
We worked so hard helping Harrison with his fixer upper.
He had to take it down to the insulation, ripping up floors and tearing out ceilings. It was such a huge project.
Helping Sheridan to press on at Harrison's was the anticipation of making
homemade crepes at the end of our long work day.
I'm not sure how this happens, but Sheridan gets a free Starbucks drink on her birthday, and then gets another one on Timmy's birthday.
Timmy is so nice to hand over his treat.
Timmy has become a flower-giver.
Quite often fresh flowers are spreading sunshine around our house.
We drove by the farm for old time's sake,
after having been gone for more than a year.
How very sad to see it returning to its former state of neglect and disrepair. Overgrown and not cared for, it felt our decade there of loving the farm
was but a dream.
The beautifully painted quilt on the barn, a small bit of evidence that a family once loved being there,
is surrounded by peeling paint and vines climbing up the walls.
This farm knew so much joy as it hosted barn dances, welcomed baby calves, piglets, and chicks, and raised a generation of hard-working children.
How sad that it now sits silent. Its many acres and pastures that were once lush and organic, were quickly treated with pesticides as we left and a conventional farmer took over the land. It makes us all the more grateful that God allowed us to live there for so long, making the finest memories of our lives.
What a sweet big brother William is to Henry.
MAY
Everyone comes to town to meet baby Jensen.
We were excited to introduce Allison,
Sullivan's sweet friend, to the rest of our family.
Caroline was especially attached to Allison, and when she later couldn't find her but also couldn't remember Allison's name, Caroline said,
"Where did she go?! I'm missing the girl I love!"
Baby Henry
playing ball outside with the children.
The three youngest grandbabies,
Cole, Henry and Jensen.
While Elliott was in town, he and Oliver helped Harrison lay flooring in his house.
What a blessing these older brothers are to Harrison.
Farmerdaddy and Uncle Harrison took John on his very first fishing trip.
And John caught a fish!!!
Knowing the Hammers were moving to Texas soon,
we tried to fit in as many things as possible.
We had a great time at the Bible Museum in D.C.
Afterward, we enjoyed spending time with Stephen, Meredith,
and the whole crew at their house.
JUNE
While Meredith flew to Texas to look for a house, we had a great time watching Margaret, John, Penelope, Eleanor, Caroline and Cole.
They helped us celebrate Harrison's 20th birthday.
We took the older kids to their first movie ever,
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."
We surprised John by showing up at his last baseball game.
The children absolutely love to be read to.
Sheridan is becoming a great cook.
Here she prepared some chicken pot pies for us.
They were delicious.
When we weren't working on Harrison's house, we were working on ours.
Here, the guys are digging footings for the second phase addition.
Harrison was strapped up and lowered into the well to replace the pump.
What would we do without him?!
Sheridan and I are blessed with light-duty projects,
like pressure-washing the porch.
We thought we'd need to resurface the porch in some way, but before investing a lot of time and money, I thought I'd try a painting project on it.
I first repaired the cracks, then painted the porch a deep gray.
I used a stencil to paint a pattern on the entire surface, and then sealed it.I hope it holds up and we continue to like it, but if not,
we'll just resurface it like we originally planned.
MAY
Seven year old John is trying to read his Bible faithfully each night.
We're so proud of him.
We had a great time at a graduation dance held at Allison's family's farm.
Harrison's amazing dance moves.
Timmy is a good dad to participate in these exhausting dances.
We were thrilled for Harrison to have the privilege of baptizing one of the
middle schoolers in his small group at church.
JUNE
Liosha and I led a Bible study together called "Lies Young Women Believe."
We loved walking alongside these fine, young women
during the several month-long study.
We shared Meredith's incredible courtship story
with the girls and they absolutely loved it.
I loved telling the girls about how God restores relationships
when we choose to forgive.
Good conversations are better with good snacks.
What a privilege to journey alongside these young women
and share the victories with their moms.
We attended a wedding where the bride and groom asked that donations be made to a ministry in lieu of gifts. So all the materials needed for the young women's Bible study were purchased in honor of our newly married friends.
Sadly, after only three months of marriage, the wife died unexpectedly. We continue to grieve for our friend. We are grateful for their contribution to the young ladies of our church and pray the effects of the study will be a long-lasting memorial.
JULY
Although we didn't know if it was a good idea,
we decided to try a big, family camping trip this year.
It was over the July 4th holiday.
It ended up being SO MUCH FUN!
We rented a yurt, and bought several tents.
The kids had a great time hanging out,
and even sleeping, in the hammocks.
The older kids had kayaks that they took out on the water.
Even Oma had a fun time on the water.
A good dad with a boy who had enough tubing.
Camping with a large group, some only a few months old, ended up being a great success. We made so many fun memories that we continue to laugh about.
We hope to try it again some day.
Nine year old Margaret wrote this in the campground's visitor book.
Before Anna headed back to Georgia, we took her to tour Liberty University,
a college she'd like to attend next year.
Tabby made an unexpected trip to VA. We had so much fun! While she was in town, we drove by the house we lived in when we were young girls.
We also took our picture outside the school where all three of us accepted Christ as our Savior more than 40 years ago. Tabby's friend had invited us to a church that was meeting inside the school. We attended for the first time on Christmas Day. Then, the very next Sunday when we returned, we were saved and our step-dad rededicated his life to Christ. Everything changed about our family after that, and I have wonderful memories of the difference it made.
Celebrating with Jen as a first-time mother of the bride.
AUGUST
I had to take a minute to capture this scene that was a blessing to me.
After leaving the farm, it was a concern that we wouldn't have enough physical labor, for Sheridan especially, to create a strong work ethic.
God was so gracious to meet the need by giving Sheridan the
opportunity to maintain our neighbor's lawn this summer.
Here Harrison is loading the tractor and equipment
for our bushhogging business in NC,
while Sheridan can be seen across the street weed-eating the neighbor's lawn.
Sheridan and her sweet friend, Arielle, did a wonderful job
painting this shed at Harrison's place one Saturday.
Installing cabinets at Harrison's.
Cute baby Cole at the Supreme Court.
Precious baby Jensen and Farmerdaddy
You'd think we live in a small town to run into Oliver while he's delivering eggs for his business and Harrison and Sheridan are delivering milk for ours.
These kids bring us so much joy and happiness.
We're proud of their productivity.
Timmy and I went on quite a few trips to Florida this year.
This one to Ft Lauderdale was complete with good books and good food.
I think we found the perfect job for Timmy - a sand groomer.
Imagine getting paid to ride up and down the beach in an air conditioned tractor,
smoothing out the beach sand.
SEPTEMBER
We enjoyed a trip to Florida with the kids.
It seems that vacations are the only time we get still enough to read.
Game nights, complete with candy.
Always a favorite thing to do, especially on vacation.
I love collecting a few pretty branches from the beautiful landscape of Florida
to decorate my room while on vacation. The ice bucket worked well as a vase.
Strolling around Disney Springs outdoor mall.
We tried out a new pizza place,
We enjoy walking around at Boardwalk, one of the resort properties.
but unfortunately it wasn't even close to being as yummy as Giordani's.
I'm grateful for a husband who has really been committed to a "work hard - play hard" kind of life-style.
He has taken us on so many fun vacations, rewards for all the hard work.
Sheridan is surprised by how good Timmy is at basketball.
They enjoy shooting hoops occasionally at the YMCA, when we go to workout.
Sheridan's first day of homeschool highschool
Sometimes on Sunday nights, instead of the traditional nachos, Oliver wows us with his awesome wings that are dipped in a variety of sauces.
Working on landscaping at Harrison's. We're in the final stretch.
I thought this was ingenious. 
I'm sure it was a huge blessing to Pat Pat to have
We alternate who helps with the tractor service bushhogging each month. Sometimes it's Harrison and Timmy. Other times it's Timmy and me.
This particular month I was the helper. I was blessed when, after I had taken my turn on the bushhog, I returned to the van and found this lovely flower that Timmy had picked for me from a ditch bank.
Sheridan so thoughtfully surprised me with my favorite candy tucked away in my suitcase when I arrived in Illinois to help with a women's ministry intensive.
And not just my favorite York Peppermint Patties - she had put a note on each one to encourage me through each day.
This one was hilarious!
"Day 2
The madness begins...
You got this!"
She knows the schedule of these events way too well.
What a sweet encouragement she is to me.
Timmy is using the tractor to hoist Harrison up into the branches
so he can trim the dead ones.
I searched and searched for a way to correct the sidewalk that had become unlevel through the years, but never found a solution. Timmy dug a hole beneath the unlevel slab, sent a pole through, hooked it up to the tractor, and resituated it after leveling the ground below. Wow. Cool.
The funeral of Timmy's 98 year old grandmother gave the kids a chance to see Harrison's place just about finished. They all saw it when he bought it 2 years ago, when it was such a terrible mess. I was glad for them to see it nearly done.
Meredith gave a meaningful tribute honoring Nannie E.
The boys served as pallbearers.
so many of her grandchildren with her at the funeral.
Sisters
Harrison's house is finally done, staged, and on the market!
We were so excited for it to finally be done. It went under contract in less than two weeks. Harrison is eager to try his hand at another real estate project soon.
This is a picture that I first saw ten years ago at Charles Stanley's church, First Baptist Church Atlanta. It was hanging in the church's bookstore and I absolutely fell in love with it. Dr. Stanley took the photgraph at Martha's Vineyard. It was very expensive, framed so beautifully,
so I didn't think for a minute about buying it.
However, as the years passed, I never stopped thinking about the picture. I reached out to Dr. Stanley's church, asking if it was still available but they had no idea what picture I was referring to. I sent the photo I took of it, but still they didn't know how to find it.
The kids began helping me search for the image online. About every year or so, I'd ask them to search once more. I kept thinking surely someone will sell one on Ebay or somewhere else. Year after year - nothing.
Then this year when I sent my request to Dr. Stanley's church, along with the image, they found it! It felt too good to be true. I had been looking for it for ten years. They really had it. I was so excited!
After I heard the details and realized I could possibly buy it, I timidly asked if Dr. Stanley might be able to sign it. He has meant so very much to me for most of my life. He's been like a spiritual father to me. He has been used by God mightily in my life throughout the years in one significant way after another.
They said it sounded quite possible to have the picture signed by Dr. Stanley and said I should choose between a canvas or print.
Hmm...that was hard. Which did I want? Should I get the canvas with its rich texture or the print that I could then frame?
I asked Timmy. I told him I didn't want to regret my decision after having waited ten years and searched so hard.
Without any hesitation Timmy said, "I think you should get one of each."
"Oh my! Really?! Seriously?!"
And I did!
And they're here and they're signed.
And they're even numbered. Very few people have this amazing picture.
I had consoled myself through the years of searching that if I never found the picture here, it'd hopefully be hanging in the nursery in Heaven
where I'm sure to be spending a lot of my time.
But God has allowed me to enjoy it now. I am so happy! What a special blessing.
Since our house is under construction, I haven't hung the picture. Instead, the canvas is in protective plastic sitting where I can see it every day.
What a treasure. What a kind Father to let me enjoy the thing I searched so hard for. What a kind husband to let me buy two of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen. I am one blessed girl!
OCTOBER
It has been fun for dances to return after such a long,
quiet year of isolation and social distancing.
A Sunday afternoon lunch and visit at Oma's.
Elliott and Bethany went on an anniversary trip so we watched the boys. Timmy had the great idea that we watch them somewhere warm and fun
so we all met up in Orlando. We had such a great time!
We stayed at a resort that had great pools and playgrounds.
We'd wake up each day and head outside for another fun-filled day.
with others who were staying at the resort.
We went to Sea World for the first time ever. What a great place to take the boys.
William loved seeing the penguins especially. It was SO cold in there, though.They had to keep the temps around freezing to keep the penguins comfortable.
There were whole areas where we were surrounded by glass and could watch sea life swim above us and all around us. It was fascinating.
Harrison and Sheridan rode some roller coasters
while we enjoyed the slower rides with William and Henry.
Real life pink flamingos.
Our tickets included a meal plan so the big kids had the rare treat of sipping sodas all day long and munching on way too much amusement-park quality food.
They had so many interactive displays.
Harrison is such a good uncle. He's always willing to read a book....
or feed a baby nephew a bottle of warm milk.
We went on an adventure through Disney one afternoon,
riding the boat, bus and gondolas.
What a great idea to spend time with William and Henry
in sunny, warm Orlando.
NOVEMBER
Another Civil War Era dance but this time to celebrate a friend's birthday.
Christmas Lighting Professionals' season has begun
and Harrison can often be found on a rooftop hanging lights.
We flew to Dallas a week before Thanksgiving to attend Grandparent's Day at the school Margaret, John, and Penelope attend.
Penelope's presentation was so sweet, honoring her great, great grandmother, Nannie E, who had just passed away.
Penelope made strawberry jam with Meredith
who learned how to can from Nannie E as a teenager.
Sadly, sickness was setting in as we arrived
and not all of the children felt well enough
to join us at Grandparent's Day.
We loved seeing Stephen and Meredith's new home, the children's school, and the church they all attend. I've never seen a church with such a magnificent children's library and indoor playground. We are so happy for them to be in this season where they can finally settle down. God has given them a beautiful home, a wonderful Christian school for the children,
and an amazing community of like-minded friends and neighbors.
We miss them so much but we're thrilled for them to be in such a great place.
We recently became acquainted with "The Porch," a podcast at Watermark Community Church for 20-somethings that draws several thousand young adults for the weekly event and podcast recording in Dallas. We were surprised to see our hotel was just a few miles away from the church. Sheridan was so excited to check it out while sipping a latte from their coffee shop.
After attending Stephen and Meredith's early service Sunday,
we darted over to Watermark for their late service.
Unfortunately, just afterward we realized we were coming down with the same bug the kids had. We spent the next day or so sick with fevers in our hotel, so very sad that we were just a couple of miles
from the grandchildren but too sick to go see them.
We flew to Orlando after Dallas and Harrison flew in to meet up with us.
We enjoyed spending a couple of days in the sun before returning home.
We spent a bit too long at the pool on Thanksgiving Day, and didn't have time to eat at a restaurant before heading to the airport. Knowing we wouldn't get home til midnight, and not having eaten since breakfast at the hotel, we resigned ourselves to Thanksgiving Dinner at Wawa. We've always loved Wawa, but maybe not enough to eat Thanksgiving there.
We concluded it made for a great memory though.
Waiting in the airport and playing cards on Thanksgiving Day.
We have no idea how this happened but our assigned seats on the flight were in the First Class section. Maybe this small, unexpected blessing should soften what would become a reality not long after we got home. The box of clothes we shipped from Dallas, to meet the flight's luggage size restrictions, would arrive half empty with our more expensive church clothes all missing. For weeks later, we sighed as we went to our closet to find something, only to realize it must have also been in the heap of clothes that mysteriously fell out of our box.
DECEMBER
For the longest time, Sheridan has hoped to have more opportunities to be involved at our church. A door opened a few months ago for her to be a host at the elementary-aged environment called Up Street. She has done an extraordinary job and we're so happy for her to have
rewarding, challenging new ways to serve.
Harrison accepted a part time staff position at our church in the summer.
He oversees production of the large group events
in the elementary-aged environment.
Here he is with his team of helpers on Sunday morning.
Everyone surprised me on my birthday by working out the details for Elliott and Bethany to arrive in town early for a week-long visit
and meet us at a Mexican restaurant.
Sweet William seemed so excited to surprise me.
Sullivan, Harrison and Sheridan participated in "Wreaths Across America" for the first time this Christmas season. What a worthwhile endeavor
this organization oversees each year.
We sure did miss the Hammers this Christmas.
Here the children are at their church service.
Cole is wearing a smocked scottie dog outfit that Elliott wore when he was two.
Silly brothers
It was great that Elliott and Bethany were still in town visiting before Christmas
and could attend this Civil War Era Ball.
Oliver and Michelle are so hospitable
and love to have young adult events at their house.
They hosted a gingerbread house decorating contest one evening,
then texted the pictures to friends and family to vote for the best one.
Sullivan and Allison's gingerbread house won. Maybe it was the heart on the rooftop, obviously thought up by someone in love.
Harrison surprised and blessed Sheridan
by taking her to see the new Spiderman movie.
Our church hosted three back-to-back Christmas Eve services.
We wanted to be the first ones there and the last ones to leave, volunteering and enjoying it from beginning to end. We had such a wonderful time.
We love our church so much!
Though only about five feet tall in its planter, this little Charlie Brown Christmas tree brought me so much joy this year. I decided to repurpose one of the cedar trees that was used to stage Harrison's house when it was on the market. The little cedar tree was simple and beautiful.
Merry Christmas!
All of us who are local got together on Christmas Day to munch on snacks and enjoy watching Home Alone together.
The Christmas season brought an exciting announcement:
Sullivan and Allison are getting married!
Sheridan and I were so excited to join Allison, her mom, sisters, and cousins at a bridal boutique just a couple of days after Christmas
for Allison to try on wedding dresses.
We couldn't be any happier
to have this most delightful young woman joining our family.
So, as another year comes to a close, we are more aware than ever how good God has been to our family. We could never thank Him enough for His faithful love for us. May our lives be an expression of our praise and thankfulness.
- "The love of God is greater farThan tongue or pen can ever tell;It goes beyond the highest star,And reaches to the lowest hell;The guilty pair, bowed down with care,God gave His Son to win;His erring child He reconciled,And pardoned from his sin.
- Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!How measureless and strong!It shall forevermore endure—The saints’ and angels’ song.
- Could we with ink the ocean fill,And were the skies of parchment made,Were every stalk on earth a quill,And every man a scribe by trade;To write the love of God aboveWould drain the ocean dry;Nor could the scroll contain the whole,Though stretched from sky to sky."
"The Love of God"
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