Hurry up and wait

Two cribs? Check. A bassinet for two? Check. Lots of blue clothes? Check. Toys and other thing to chew on? Check. Bouncy chairs, swings and other places to put babies when the doorbell rings? Check. Comprehensive plan about how to raise twin boys? Che ...

It wasn't that long ago that people were starting to predict when the boys would make their grand entrance. Some said they might be here before 2008. Others thought they might come around the New Year. I personally thought they would come this week. Well, it is almost the middle of January, and all signs point to them staying put for awhile. That is good news for them, but not so great for Gina, who, as you can tell, is getting bigger by the day. This is a good thing, except she is finding it increasingly more difficult to sleep, get up from chairs and couches and walk around. Other than that, she's perfectly mobile.

My uncle, who has relied on the Farmer's Almanac for years, predicts they will come on January 22, the next full moon. Whether this is scientifically grounded or not is hard to say, but at this point I am apt to believe about anything. The twins already defied my logic twice when we found out they were boys and then decided to stay in the womb this long. So, sure why not come around the next full moon. Coincidentally, this is also the date of my first class meeting of the Spring semester. I don't like to miss class, but I think under the circumstances my students will understand. I may even bring them all cigars for the second meeting.

That's all I wanted to share for the moment. The next time I write, I'm sure there will be more news to share. Gina and I hope you are well and enjoying a great start to 2008. God bless!

`Tis the Season

The last few weeks have been a busy time for Gina and I. In addition to getting our house ready for two little ones, we have been wrapping up a busy semester. We both completed what will likely be the last of our courses at UVA. This is an exciting benchmark, though I am personally intimidated because this means the only thing I have left is my dissertation. I won't speak for Gina on this matter, though I do think she shares my sentiments a little bit.

Regarding the twins, all reports have been positive and encouraging. We estimate they are about 4.5 pounds right now, and our hope is that they will stay put for at least 4 more weeks. Of course, there is no way to predict when they decide to make their entrance, but we have been trying to persuade them to wait a little bit. Though ultrasounds are not the best indicator for what a baby will look like, you can see their latest photo opp here.

This time of year has also been a wonderful time to reconnect with family. Gina's parents spent the Thanksgiving holiday with us in Charlottesville. They helped us prepare the holiday meal and get the majority of our Christmas decorations set up. Don and I also got to see James Madison's residence, Montpelier. I had never been there before and was quite impressed with what they are doing there. The only President residence I have yet to see is Mt. Vernon, which I'm sure we'll see before we graduate and move on.

My mom has also been in Virginia helping Katie and Joe with Ella while Joe took his law school finals and Katie worked her last few days on Capitol Hill. She will begin working for the American Diabetes Association in January, which is much closer to their house and has more family-friendly working hours. We are all excited for the many ways God is blessing their family. My dad will round out the Alexander roster when he arrives on Tuesday. This will prove to be another wonderful holiday, just as Thanksgiving was.

That's all the news for now. Gina and I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the Christmas season. We want to extend our prayer for a blessed Christmas for you and your family.

Picasso I am not

The past couple of weeks have been a busy time for us as we prepare our home for two new family members. A few weeks ago Gina and I made a trip to Richmond to buy some baby furniture we saw advertised on Craig's List, so now the room that used to be our study is officially a nursery with two cribs, a changing table/dresser, a wardrobe and a gliding rocker. Gone are the sports pennants, our college diplomas, pictures of Old Main and Raley Chapel, and my beloved picture of Fenway Park (go Sox, by the way). Despite my lofty intentions, Gina has convinced me those are not appropriate wall decorations for newborns.

My most ambitious nursery-related endeavor, however, has been to repaint the entire nursery. Looking back, I had the perfect window of opportunity to do this during the brief time between when I moved the "study" furniture out and moved the baby furniture in. In case you've never painted a room before, it's much easier to do when there is no furniture to compete with. But alas, I didn't think that far ahead. I was probably more interested in watching a football game or something at the time. So, this weekend I decided to avoid the school work waiting for me and take advantage of the extra hour on Saturday night by painting a room. We picked out the paint on Friday, which is a light green and a light tan for the trim. I can't recall the exact name of the color ... probably Amazon Mist or something like that. If I named hues of paint, I would opt for "I just smoked my first cigar" green and "there's no way you are coming in my kitchen with those socks on" brown. With a name like Amazon Mist, no one can really dispute it unless they have been there (which I have, and I still can't dispute it). But if I say, "It's green, like the color of my face after dipping Skoal for the first time," there's a chance people can relate. Never mind marketing strategies; it's all about keeping it real.

Anywho ... I got a late start on the project Saturday after doing some other work around the house that morning and Gina and I meeting some friends for a birthday lunch. My intent was to start the painting, go to bed at a reasonable hour and finish it at a later date. Well, as is the case with almost every project I start, I couldn't think of a place to stop once I started. I use this as my justification for procrastinating. Honestly, procrastination is my built in defense mechanism to avoid working myself to death. I'm like a sled dog, only with less endurance and tolerance for cold temperatures. Well, just a few minutes shy of 2 AM (which was really 1 AM), the whole room was painted and the furniture was put back in its rightful place. I am glad to have that job behind me, though I still have a stack of school work waiting for me. But it can wait. Otherwise, I wouldn't get to enjoy the weekly reading/writing/grading marathon I've grown so fond of.

Speaking of health, Gina is doing well and continues to expand more each week. We had another ultrasound last week, and they told us the boys are both just shy of 2 pounds each. We have also noticed the power of their kicks increasing each week, so we may either have a couple of soccer players or the next Bruce Lee/Chuck Norris combo. One of them was posing very nicely for the camera, but the other one refused to let us look at his face. And in case you think one of our sons is a jellyfish, that's just the back of his head.

I guess that's all the news for now. Keep checking in for updates and more photos!

Drum roll, please ...

Gina and I had a very important prenatal visit on Wednesday, October 3rd. We have been anticipating this visit more than the others because we knew it would be when we found out the gender of our twins. During a previous visit, one of the residents tried to help us get a sneak peek but was unsuccessful as the babies kept squirming and crossing their legs. We couldn't get them to cooperate, so we knew we had to wait until October.

Well, October is here and the gender of our twins is no longer a secret. After seeing the sonographer carefully analyze everything from their heartbeats to their brains to the length of their femurs, we found out that we are going to welcome two boys into the Alexander home. Yes, apparently any modesty they displayed in the first attempt was shed during this episode. The sonographer told us she was repeatedly flashed throughout the scan. She didn't say anything about it at first because she wasn't sure we wanted to know. I know everyone will be curious about the names we are considering, but that will remain a secret until they are born.

In the midst of cherishing this joyful news and reflecting on what is to come, we experienced deep sorrow as we realized that Gina's first cousin, Kara Jean Kelly Herynk, was nearing the end of her struggle with cancer. On Saturday, October 6th, Kara passed away from this life, but she became alive in ways we can only imagine. You can view her blog by clicking here. The most recent posts share very precious thoughts from Kara's mother and sister, including a very touching poem/prose by Cynthia Heald. When you have a chance, please read this.

In my mind I've gone to Carolina

Actually, we were there, and not just in our minds. Gina and I broke away from reading, writing and grading to spend a couple of days in Kill Devil Hills, NC. For those of you unfamiliar with the Carolina coast, this is known as the Outer Banks (OBX). Gina had been there before a few years ago, but this was my first time to the Outer Banks. Having been raised in the Rocky Mountains and not familiar with the beach, I was not really expecting much. During the handful of occasions I've actually been to the beach, I think I've only gone in the ocean 2 or 3 times. This is likely due to my media-induced fear of sharks, which Gina tells me is completely unfounded. Gina, on the other hand, has been wanting to go to the beach since we arrived in Virginia.

Well, I put fear and doubt aside and we headed to the beach for the weekend. We actually made a couple of stops on the way down to inquire about baby items Gina spotted on Craig's List. We are now the proud owners of a glider rocker, a baby tub and this Baby Einstein thing that is supposed to make our children into geniuses. Like they need help with that! We actually picked up the rocker on the way back today so we didn't have to lug it around the beach all weekend.

Gina found a great bed and breakfast online called Cypress House Inn. The rate was reasonable, the rooms were very nice and the breakfasts were unbelievable. We have stayed in a couple of B&B's before, and I really like sitting at breakfast with the other families and getting to know them. There was a couple from Yorktown next to us, a couple from Chicago (whose son went to UVA ... Wahoowa) and a couple who works for the State Department who is about to head over to Afghanistan for a year to work in the Embassy. Each of these couples was very nice and we had a great time talking with them. Of course, the inn owners' 2-year old grand-daughter Kayla stole the show as she ran in and out of the room and interacted with everyone. Overall, the accommodations were great, and I'm pretty sure we'll visit Cypress House again.

The first day was very mild and slightly breezy. My original plan was to sit in a comfy beach chair and read until the sun went down. Well, the sea was beckoning me and it wasn't long until I was wading in up to me knees and jumping waves. Gina joined me eventually and we had a really good time. Though I didn't get very wet and didn't really swim, I'm pretty sure there were no sharks waiting for me to jump in.

The second day was not so wonderful, as far as the weather is concerned. It wasn't cold, but it was extremely windy. I had a hard time even setting up the chairs. Now that I think about it, I was reminded of Wyoming, except the air was warm. Gina got nestled into her seat and wrapped up in the beach towels. I tried to get some reading done for a class, but the wind kept flipping my pages. We stayed for about one and a half hours, then went to lunch.

We decided to head back to the beach later that day after a long nap in our room. Our game plan was to get in the water no matter how windy it was. The air was still pretty warm, so I wasn't too worried about getting cold. Gina actually made the first plunge as I took pictures of her pregnant belly sticking out. She looked pretty cute, if you don't mind my saying. After a few snapshots, I got in with her and realized that this water was not ideal for swimming. Besides the fact that the wind was blowing pretty hard, the waves were coming in very fast and it was hard to stand up. We were going to swim out and test the buoyancy of Gina's belly, but we retracted that idea when we struggled so much to wade against the waves. I know Gina was disappointed, but we both thought it was the best thing to do. I swam for a little while longer then got out after I got tired.

This morning we had breakfast with our inn-mates (hee hee), took one last look at the beach and headed back to Richmond to pick up our new chair. Sydney is still with her friends Auntie Flo and Henry and will come back tomorrow. We are straightening up the house and catching up on all the work we didn't do while at the beach. We are both already talking about our next trip down there, which will have to wait awhile. Everything we talk about these days usually starts with the phrase, "You know, in 4 months we won't be able to do this ..."

That's all for now. I hope you all are doing well and enjoying life. Drop us a comment and let us know how you are doing. Take care!

Can you hear me now?

Wow! Has it really been 6 months? Until a month ago I was under the impression that no one was reading this blog anymore. Actually, I was under the impression that I wasn't updating this blog anymore. You see, I assumed that I should only post when something extraordinary happened. I figured our life here in Virginia had stabilized and there wasn't anything interesting to report anymore. If we all waited until something extraordinary happened to speak, we would just walk around in silence most of the time (which doesn't sound all that bad to me, now that I think about it). But it was brought to my attention that some people like reading about the everyday, mundane things because it just lets them know that we are still alive and doing well. So, in addition to some extraordinary things to report, I will throw in some mundane nonsense just to spice things up.

For the most part, life is clicking along just as it was when we got back from the Smoky Mountains last March. I am still teaching classes at UVA, with the occasional online class for Casper College. Gina is working for a research center in the nursing department and we are a little further along on our quest to become Mr. and Mrs. Doctor Doctor. Sydney is still pretty darn cute and not quite as hyper as she used to be. That means she only jumps on you a couple of times when you walk in the door and only tinkles a little bit on the floor. We're still going to the same church, I still faithfully watch UVA soccer every chance I get (2 games this weekend!) and we still like to volunteer with ISI and help international students adjust to life in Charlottesville. So you see, life hasn't changed that much for us at all ...

... Yet ...

That's right, there are big changes coming down the pike on 12th street. And by big, I mean bigger by the week. Gina and I found out in June that we are expecting twins! We don't know the gender yet and we haven't settled on names (the most common questions), but we are very excited for February to arrive so we can meet them in person. In the short term, this means I have been moving furniture (either to other parts of the house or into somebody else's) in order to convert what used to be our study into a nursery. So, the laundry room is now the laundry/library, and the dining room is now the dining/computer room (surf and slurp). We may even need a storage unit before it's all over. But these are all welcome changes as we get ready for these precious treasures God is placing in our family.

Another extraordinary event is that our niece, Joella Gale Murray, was born this summer on June 21. If you want the back story, you can read her blog. I've been told by a reliable source (her mother) that she is now over 10 pounds and eats like a horse. She has the classic Alexander/Murray appetite, so now let's just hope she can sing and throw a baseball. Even if she decides to do neither of those things, that's fine because we think she is just perfect! I know she will be a wonderful role model for her baby cousins down in Charlottesville.

Other than that, there isn't anything very exciting to report. I am about to take Gina to her office to print out her comprehensive exams (affectionately known as "comps" by us doc students). If you don't know, comps are the first big hurdle we must pass in order to be considered a doctoral candidate. Until we pass our comps we are nothing more than tuition-paying desk warmers sucking the oxygen out of the building, but once we prove our mettle we are called "candidates" and get referred to as "scholar" by our professors. Slap some tape on my glasses and call me a nerd! I took my comps last summer but Gina's program won't let them take theirs until after their second year. So, she has reached an important milestone; one that was hard earned, I should add. She wrote over 40 pages, and that was in addition to eating 6 meals a day and going to the bathroom every 5 minutes! :-)

So, that's it for now. Have a great week, leave us a comment and stay tuned for more ...

Springtime in the Smokies

Gina and I just returned from 5 wonderful days in the Smoky Mountains. My parents had some extra points from their timeshare club and let us use some of them for my birthday. The condo was at the Bent Creek Golf Village, just outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The room was very nice -- the nicest we've stayed in so far -- and had several luxuries, such as a jacuzzi tub, a fireplace and a private hot tub on the back porch. We took advantage of the hot tub every night we were there.

If you have never been to Gatlinburg, it's a nice town tucked away in the Smoky Mountains, just a few minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Gina and I spent the day there on Wednesday hiking and exploring an old homestead named Cade's Cove. This area of the park was first homesteaded in the 1820's, and had several hundred residents. There were also several churches, a mill and many acres of farmland.

We also got to take a hike to Laurel Falls, a beautiful waterfall about a 1.3 mile hike from the highway. The weather was great and we passed many other people taking advantage of the nice conditions.

On our way home from spending the day in the park, we stopped in at the Park Grill. It was a very nice restaurant, and the food was excellent. As is the case with many restaurants, the portions were huge, but that didn't stop us from gorging ourselves on a mammoth brownie desert.

On Thursday we went into Gatlinburg to see the Aquarium of the Smokies. We have been to aquariums before and really like them, and this was a great opportunity for me to overcome my fear of sharks, which is totally legitimate for someone who lived his whole life more than 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean. There was also an exhibit on Mars, which gave us a chance to try on a space suit and drive a Mars Rover.

Well, I guess that's it for now. As I was typing this, we watched the Cavaliers lose to NC State in the ACC tournament. We are hoping this doesn't keep them out of the NCAA tournament, but it doesn't look good at this point. Everyone take care, and keep tuning in for more updates.

Happy New Year!

Yet again, a long period of time has passed since our last entry. Alas, the responsibilities of coursework and research stole away time, precious blogging time. Now we're turning a new leaf in 2007, and we have a chance to start over again and aim for consistency in blog postings.

During the fall semester, we spent a lot of time with our new friends in C'ville. We hosted many dinners and enjoyed the hospitality of friends. We've enjoyed fellowship at Christ Community Church, our church home, and we've been introduced to many new customs and delicious foods, thanks to our international friends from Mexico, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Turkey. We've attended UVa soccer, football, and basketball games (go 'Hoos!), witnessing both disappointing and exciting games.



Curby's parents came to Virginia for Thanksgiving, and we had a very productive time. Over the span of three days, we painted our kitchen cabinets to brighten things up. We also celebrated our third anniversary by dining at Al Dente, a fancy restaurant on the downtown mall. On Thanksgiving Day, we drove to Alexandria and enjoyed a delicious meal with the Alexander family--Curby's sister Katie, her husband Joe, and Curby's cousins from Durham--Lindy, Cameron, and Kit.



The next day, we saw more of the Alexander clan--two of Ron's first cousins and their children and grandchildren. We drove to a historic church site in Aldie, Virginia, that served as a hospital during the Civil War, particularly of interest to us because Ron's great-grandfather R. J. Marshall, while fighting as a Confederate soldier, was wounded in battle and treated there.



After Thanksgiving, we had a very eventful last week of class and finals. We each had several papers to write, as well as some final exams. We survived the experience and were very satisfied (and somewhat relieved/surprised) by our excellent grades!

At the end of finals week, we loaded up our car with luggage, Christmas presents and one extremely excited Australian Shepherd and drove to Oklahoma so Gina could get some information for a research project she is presenting this spring. From there, we drove to Dallas to see friends and family. We spent a day touring downtown Dallas, and we got to learn all about the JFK assassination at the 6th Floor Museum. We also got to spend some time with Gina's brother and his family. We always have fun playing with the nieces and nephew. Before heading to Houston to see Gina's cousin Kara and her family, we spent a day with Curby's grandparents in Farmersville, where we had a fun time visiting and going to Catfish Cove for lunch. While in Dallas, Gina was able to see friends from OBU (Lua Brown with soon-to-be-son Owen and Lisa Black with son Jude). We also arranged to have dinner with some friends from First Baptist Church-Euless, Brent and Terri McCall (and their baby Maci Lynn), as well as Sheri and Desmond Fergusson.



We had a lot of fun in Houston, spending time with Matt, Kara, Emma, and Luke. Everyone is doing well, and we played lots of games together while catching up. Please continue to visit Kara's blog at prayforkara.blogspot.com when you have a chance. so that you can stay updated on her progress and know how to pray for her and the family. From Houston, we headed to Simpson, Louisiana to see some of Gina's relatives, as well as do some research on her family history. We met Gina's parents there and got to spend some quality time with one of her cousins and a great aunt and uncle. While there, we discovered the grave a long-lost great-great-great-great grandmother. It was quite the find!



After our stay in Simpson we drove to Baton Rouge to celebrate Christmas with the Johnson family. We stayed with Gina's grandfather, Pap, and got to see many cousins, aunts and uncles. Sydney, while being banished to her crate most of the time, did get to perform her frisbee tricks for everyone at the park on Christmas Eve. And we watched a lot of football. In fact, I think it's safe to say if there was a football game on during our four-day stay -- be it high school, college or pro -- we watched it.



On Christmas Day we drove to Shreveport, Louisiana to be with Curby's grandmother, Mawmaw. We had a nice time visiting with her, and we got to take her to lunch at one of her (and our) favorite restaurants, the Olive Garden. The next day we left after lunch and made the drive back to Charlottesville.



It's nice to be in C'ville during the breaks, when the college town pace has slowed a little. We celebrated New Year's Eve by attending the First Night celebration. The weather was a little wet and cold, so we didn't stay the entire time. We actually celebrated the New Year by picking up a friend from the airport, which was actually kind of fun. The next day Gina fixed a traditional Southern New Year's meal with ham, collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread. We had several friends over and enjoyed the day talking, eating, playing guitar and, of course, playing games.



Since then we have been working on school projects and manuscripts, finishing some things around the house, and planning more dinners with friends. All in all, we are grateful for having made it through another year, knowing we have grown in our love for each other and for the Lord. As one of our New Year's resolutions, we will try to update our blog more often. Of course, it's not looking so good since we are just now getting to it on January 11. But a start is a start ...

Ding dong, the bells are gonna chime

Gina and I had the privilege of being in Naca ... er ... Naga ... OK, this is a wonderful "teachable moment" for me to discuss the wonderful world of words. I have been saying the word "NAK-a-doe-chess" for approximately 20 years, yet I do not know how to spell it. This comes after passing no less than 20 street signs or billboards over the weekend with that word displayed. Thanks to Wikipedia, I can spell Nacogdoches for the purposes of this blog. But, this brings to mind other difficult words that fall into the "I can pronounce 'em but can't spell 'em" category, which include: Natchitoches (NAK-a-tish), LA; Cincinnati, OH; Tucson (TOO-sahn), AZ; and Juneau (JOO-noh), AK. Then there is another category of words: "They look easy to say, but they're not." This list includes: Toelle (too-ILL-ah), UT; Mantua (MAN-oo-way), UT; Opal (oh-PAL), WY; and my personal favorite, Kemmerer (KIM-er), WY. You may have noticed that most of these towns are from states in which I lived (except AK and AZ), and I'm sure you know of other towns that fall into either of these categories. So, tell me about some funny names of towns you know about.

Well, back to my story ... Gina and I were in Nacogdoches, TX over the weekend for my cousin Thomas' wedding. He recently earned the right to put "college graduate" on his resume, and now he can also check the "married" box on his tax documents. He and Jessica were married on Saturday evening under a clear Texas sky with many family and friends in attendance. Not only did I get to attend the wedding, but I also got to wear a tuxedo. Of course, I couldn't find a seat, so I had to stand up front with Thomas. I was so inspired by the beautiful moment that I pulled out my guitar and sang a quick song for everyone. I did find it strange that the first song to come to mind was about marriage. No one seemed to mind. It was a great time, and I was honored to stand up there with Thomas. I have seen him grow and mature into a devoted man of God, and he has found a wonderful wife in Jessica. I look forward to seeing their marriage develop and deepen over the years.

The trip home was a bit challenging. After having our flight delayed for two hours, we got to Baltimore at midnight. This may not sound so bad until you consider the 3-hour drive we had back to Charlottesville. As you can imagine, we are still catching up on our sleep. The highlight of our trip back to Virginia was that we got to drive from Nacogdoches to Dallas with Katie, my sister, and her husband Joe. We then got to spend an extra two hours with them at the airport, which Joe and I spent telling each other our post-college stories. We could have easily been caught up in the fact that our flight was delayed, but we took advantage of the time to relax and get to know each other better.

So, now we are (almost) caught up on sleep and school work. The weekend will be full of soccer and football games, some Thai food and a little rest'n'relaxation. We hope you all are well, and send us a note when you get a chance.

Rock me like a hurricane

No, this entry on the blog is not an ode to those '80's Heavy Metal legends, The Scorpions (though I was a bit of a fan during their 15 seconds of fame). Rather, the title of this post is in reference to the many inches of rain we received this week from Ernesto. He wasn't a hurricane by the time he reached C'ville, but he was a hurricane at one time. For this Wyoming boy who's used to seeing about 3 inches of rain per year, that counts as a hurricane. The rain couldn't have come at a better time, as the grass was just about to burn to a crisp.

One downside of the rain is that it changed our plans slightly for the weekend. The original plan was to go watch UVA play George Mason in soccer (poor Gina) Friday night, but that game had to be postponed to Saturday. The game against UCLA, which was scheduled for tonight will be played tomorrow evening. So, alas, no soccer this weekend for the Alexanders. I'm sure there will be more to come.

It wasn't a good weekend for football either. My alma mater, Utah State, got beat by Wyoming 38-7. Wyoming actually will be in Charlottesville next weekend, but Gina and I will be in Texas for my cousin's wedding. Gina's grad. school, North Carolina, got beat by Rutgers 21-16. It also just so happens that my brother-in-law, Joe, went to Rutgers. So it seems there were all kinds of rivalries this weekend, none of which we really paid attention to. The Cavaliers got pounded by the University of Pittsburgh 38-13. The good news is, the football season has nowhere to go but up!

I mentioned a few weeks back that Gina and I are involved with ISI. Last weekend we had a "Back to School" dinner at a family's house, and we invited just about every international student we know. There turned out to be 130 people there! Unfortunately, there was only food for 50, so we all got to have a light snack. Even so, the students had a nice time and got to hear talks on whether or not there is extraterrestrial life and what to do for fun in Charlottesville. Of course, everyone knows there is only one response the second question: UVA soccer. Anyway, a man from India gave his testimony as well. I think the students really paid attention to what he had to say. This week we had another dinner, and though the turn out was not as big there were still almost 80 people and LOTS of food. Gina and I gave a talk on how to make easy, low-budget meals. The menu included tuna salad, jello, dry cereal and my personal favorite, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We had small samples of each for the students to try. Can you believe many of them had never heard of peanut butter or Cheerios? That's pretty much all I ate growing up ... and in college, for that matter! There was also a talk on Creationism, and a man from China gave his testimony. Many of the students from the first week came back this week, and we are starting to develop some very good friendships with these students. Please continue to pray for ISI, Christy Lynn and Patrick Flynn and Steve and Evelyn Braintwain. They are really working hard to minister to these students who are so far from home.

That's all for now. Have a great week, and enjoy your Labor Day, if you get one. UVA, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson (one of our Founding Fathers) doesn't observe government holidays. Irony abounds. Take care.

Back to school

I realize it's been a few weeks since my last post. In fact, it's been almost two months. The last time I added something to the blog, we had never been to New York City before. The last time I wrote something here, we only knew one person from China. The last time I added something, Gina was still 29. Well, as you can see from clever little preview, a lot has happened since the beginning of July.

For starters, Gina and I traveled to New York City the weekend of July 16th and celebrated her 30th birthday. It was the first trip to the Big Apple for both of us. We drove to New Jersey to stay with Joe's sister, Jenny, on Saturday. We had a great time visiting, eating hamburgers and getting a private driving tour of the city from Dan, Jenny's husband. I even got to play some whiffle ball with Robbie. We woke up early on Sunday morning and took the train to Penn Station. I have to admit, we were both a little nervous with anticipation as we got off the train and emerged among all the towering buildings. I think I made the following comment at least a hundred times: "Each street is just endless tall buildings!" You have to understand, I come from a town with 3 high buildings, the tallest of which is 11 floors. So, seeing mile after mile of 50+ story buildings was quite a sight. During the first day we got to see the Empire State Building (though we didn't fork out the $18 apiece to go to the top), the United Nations (which we DID fork out the $12 for the 90-minute tour ... well worth it), St. Patrick's Cathedral (free!) and Rockefeller Center. When I do take time to watch the news, I usually watch the Today show, so it was cool to see where Katie, Matt, Ann and Al hang out each morning. We actually had plans to wake up early and try to get on TV, but we didn't quite make it ... more on that later.

We finally got to check into our hotel room, which was right off Time Square. We splurged for a fairly schwanky (is that really a word?) hotel, which was stocked with, of all things, a treadmill! Here is Gina getting a quick workout ... as if we didn't do enough walking already. We estimate we walked about 15 miles in two days, though that might be an exaggeration. I tend to do that. After taking a long nap and getting cleaned up, we took the subway to Ground Zero, then walked to China Town for dinner. The food at the restaurant, which was recommended to us by our Chinese friends Weidong and Sabrina, was excellent, and it only took me 20 or 30 minutes to get used to eating with chopsticks. I love a meal where you burn more calories getting the food in your mouth than you actually consume. I should market that as a new fad diet. After dinner, we decided to take the Staten Island Ferry and see the Statue of Liberty at night. You must know that at this point it was almost midnight, which is pretty late for me. The ferry ride was fun, but not nearly as cool as we thought it would be. So, we rode the ferry for over an hour, walked to the subway, waited for the subway, rode the subway back to Time Square (we both found it strange how many people were still out at 2 a.m. in Time Square ... kind of like Casper, Wyoming ;-)) As you can imagine, we crashed and didn't quite make it up in time to get our 15 seconds of fame on the Today show. After eating breakfast at a bistro, we walked to Carnegie Hall, Trump Tower and Central Park. We then took the subway back to our hotel, packed up and walked back to Penn Station. By this point we were both exhausted, so we just sat on the floor of the terminal and ate Krispy Kreme donuts. We just read the paper on the train and relaxed before the long drive back home. Overall, it was a whirlwind trip but a great way to initiate Gina into her 3rd decade. As for all the walking we had to endure, I think this picture sums it up: You can see some more of our NYC photos at our Flickr site.

Another exciting thing we have been involved in is an organization called I.S.I., which stands for International Students, Incorporated. It's a ministry aimed at reaching international students for Christ, and our good friends Patrick and Christy Lynn, who also lead our small group, are on staff. We attended a couple of ISI functions this summer and got to meet some new friends from China. We also got to provide temporary housing for a student, Jiakang Lu, until he could move into his apartment. He is a graduate student starting his first year of Ph.D. work in Computer Science. I also had the chance to orient him to one of the finer things at UVA ... Cavalier Soccer! I think they had a good time, but I can't help but think that they were a little disappointed at how calm the UVA fans were. Maybe they will get more raucous as the season heats up. Gina has been a conversation partner with a nursing student from Thailand named Superat (she goes by Niko). We have enjoyed getting to know her and show her some things around C'ville. We are the host family for another Ph.D. student from China, Jiawei Huang. He is studying Computer Engineering. The most fun I've had with these students so far was taking them to Wal Mart to buy things for their apartments. I had never considered Wal Mart from a foreigner's perspective, but I have to say nothing challenges your cultural perceptions more than trying to explain why there are 20 different varieties of toilet paper. The same is true for laundry soap, microwaves and blenders. I guess we Americans find comfort in the fact that we have plenty of choices. Gina and I ask that you pray for us and the international students with whom we are building relationships, as well as Patrick and Christy Lynn and ISI. We want these students to have a positive experience studying in the United States, but more than that, we want them to return to their homelands as bold witnesses for the Gospel of Christ. These students are the absolute best and brightest from their respective countries, and it is by no accident that they ended up at UVA and hooked up with ISI. We believe God has big plans for this ministry.

I guess that is all for now. I promise to be more prompt with my next edition of the Alexander blog (didn't I say that last time?). Pray for us as we begin our second year of classes. It will be a busy year, but we are looking forward to all the things that lie ahead. Keep in touch!

4th with the Nationals

Gina and I recently spent Independence Day weekend in Alexandria with Katie and Joe. OK, so we were actually in Charlottesville on July 4th, but we were in Northern Virginia the preceding weekend. Anyway, Joe had gotten tickets for us to watch the Nationals play the Tampa Ray Devil Rays. Our seats were about 12 rows up on the 3rd base line. Although it seemed the Rays were going to run away with the game early on, the Nats came back and tied the game. After several pretty good defensive innings, Nick Johnson hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th, sealing the win. It was definitely the most exciting game I have ever attended. For those of you who don't know this, the Nationals play in historic RFK Stadium. There is nothing spectacular about the stadium itself, but for someone like me who became a football fan in the '80's, RFK was the home to some great football teams (including one that blew out my beloved Broncos in Super Bowl XXII). To top it all off, we got to stuff our faces with chicken fingers, french fries, Dippin' Dots ice cream and fresh lemonade. It was a great time, and now I am hoping Joe can come through with tickets for D.C. United and the 'Skins (just kidding, Joe!).

The next day we attended church at First Baptist Church Alexandria, the same place where Katie and Joe were married almost a year ago. We had a nice time meeting all of their friends and worshipping with the believers there. Later that day we grilled chicken and asparagus, took a nap, and I got caught up on my World Cup highlights (though it was in Spanish and the only word I could understand was "Goal!").

In the afternoon we went to Catholic University of America to see where Joe will be attending law school at the Columbus School of Law. It is a beautiful campus, and the law building is especially nice. Brand new, well kept, beautiful architecture. I had never been to this campus before and was surprised at how pretty it was. The Basilica for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (say that 10 times fast!) is on the CUA campus. We walked through the church and heard the end of a service, capped off by music from the biggest pipe organ I've ever seen. Overall, I think Joe has a great opportunity and is really excited about starting law school. After seeing the campus, I know he has a lot to look forward to.

The most interesting part of our trip came when we returned to Alexandria. As we were leaving to see the law school, it began to rain. Thinking it was no big deal we continued with our plans. The weather in D.C. was overcast but no rain was falling. When we returned to Alexandria we were shocked to see tree branches all over the street, traffic lights were out, and in some cases entire trees were uprooted. What in the world!? Apparently a wicked storm came in just as we were leaving. One of Katie's friends told us it turned into a white squall and they couldn't even see out the window. Katie and Joe's apartment complex had trees everywhere, including one that split three ways down the middle (pictured above). Obviously, the power was knocked out and we spent the evening eating hamburgers by candlelight! They didn't get power back until around 3:00 p.m. the next day, but we were gone by then. We had to come back and get Sydney, then prepare to host some friends for dinner.

Well, that's all for now. Come back soon to read about the other adventures we plan to have this summer!

Sweet Summer Time

I know, I know ... it's been almost two months since I updated our blog and we have lost about 90% of our audience. I talked to a friend tonight who mentioned that he still checks it out occasionally to see if I've written anything. Knowing that at least one person still believes in me was enough motivation to prompt another posting. Lest you think that absolutely nothing has been happening in Virginia since April 3, I will fill you in on all of our happenings.

We started our summer by going to Texas for 10 days. We got to spend time with Gina's parents, my parents (who happened to be there at the same time), Gina's brother and his family, all of our grandparents and some friends. It was a nice trip and a great way to end a very hectic school year. Which reminds me: we both successfully completed our first year of Ph.D. work. Yeah!

Gina has been very busy this summer working on a research proposal. She had to complete a literature review, as well as figure out her research questions and all that goes along with that. The proposal was actually turned in today, and now she just has to wait and see if there are any revisions to be made. This kind of work is never really "done," but the goal is to get it done enough to move on to the next step in the process. I think she met that goal and surpassed it, as she always puts a lot of thought and effort into her work.

I have been a busy bee this summer. I currently am wearing 3 different hats. The first hat is that of a public speaking instructor at the local community college, where I am teaching two sections. This has brought back a lot of memories from my days at CSU, where I spent a lot of time chastising young college folk for not giving enough eye contact and neglecting to cite their sources in the speech. I even get to use my old friend, the Lucas text! My second hat is that of an on-line instructor for Casper College. This is my first experience teaching an on-line class, and I can't say I'm sold on distance education. The students seem to be pretty good, and the subject matter is fairly interesting, but the course always kind of hangs over my head. Every hour could be spent checking out the discussion board or reading their blogs, and there is never a stopping point. As soon as one week is ending the next one is just getting revved up.

My third hat is the most exciting to tell you about. In order to do so, I need to step back a few years. As many of you know, I had big plans when I went to graduate school to become a hot-shot corporate trainer. Where I got this idea I can't even remember, but I remember leaving a perfectly good teaching job to attend graduate school just so I could help technical support personnel learn how to be more polite to irate customers. Or something like that. Well, I loved graduate school, got a Master's degree and found myself unable to even get an interview for the kind of job I was seeking. This led to frustration, which eventually turned to desperation, and one day I found myself signing a contract to teach public school again, the very profession I believed I was destined NOT to have. However, this cloud had a very bright lining in the form of high school coaching. I got to coach cross country with a stellar mentor coach, as well as boys' soccer, where we won two state championships in a row. Yet the call for more schooling wouldn't subside. With the encouragement of my wife, we decided to both return for our doctorates. And that is where I am today. I am training teachers how to improve their teaching through the use of technology. God knew what was happening all along, even when I had no clue and was perfectly content to pout. He knew that 4 years of teaching wasn't enough, so He gave me 4 more years of experience. He knew teaching elementary school wasn't enough, so He let me spend 4 years working with high school students. He knew that I would end up speaking to large groups of people, so He helped me get a Master's in communication. The most humbling part of this whole story is admitting how awfully pathetic my faith is. There were times I was convinced I was just settling for something I didn't really want, when all along God was setting the table for bigger and better things. So, it seems I am doing what I set out to do 7 years ago, but in a way I could never have predicted.

Another exciting development is that Gina and I have new neighbors. They are twins from Fairfax County, Virginia, and they will be attending UVA in the fall. They are really hard workers and have already made noticeable improvements to the outside of the house. Even more exciting is that they wanted to come to church with us on Sunday. They said they liked it and want to attend with us again. Their names are John and Joe, and if you have a prayer list we would definitely appreciate it if you put them on it. I really believe that they are both seeking and that God will use Gina and I to minister to them.

Well, that is all for now. After getting up at 4:30 this morning so I could make it to my teacher workshop, we are looking forward to getting to sleep a little later tomorrow. Take care, and drop us a line when you get the chance. More later ... the question is, how MUCH later? :)

Sad news in Wyoming

This post will be neither about Virginia nor Curby and Gina. Last week I received tragic news that a long-time friend and brother in Christ, Shane Ewen, was killed in a car crash on South Pass between Lander and Big Piney, Wyoming. He was traveling with his wife, Casey, and infant daughter, Ellie. Another truck slid into their lane in icy, blizzard conditions and immediately took the life of their daughter. Shane and Casey were flown to separate hospitals in Billings, MT, where Shane passed away the next morning after being taken off life support. Casey survived with serious injuries to her arms, legs and back. She is still recovering and getting a little stronger everyday. While it seems a miracle that her life was spared, everyone knows of the pain and grieving she has ahead. Pray for the Lord's mercy and grace to be made known to Casey in the coming months.

I met Shane when we were in junior high. He was from Gillette, Wyoming, and we got to know each other at Youth Encounter, a Christian camp held annually at Mountain Top Baptist Assembly in Casper, Wyoming. What I remember most about him from that early meeting is that he had a great sense of humor and played the violin better than anyone I knew. Granted, I hadn't run across many violinists at that point, but I was astute enough to know he was good. The next time I ran into Shane was at a forensics tournament in Laramie, WY. We both participated in Humorous Interpretation, which was a wonderful place for people like us to be who God created us to be! Shane proved to be just as good at acting as he was at playing the violin. He performed a wonderful skit about a shepherd's perspective of the first Christmas, embellished with a great British accent and his famous facial expressions. Even as a young high school kid Shane leveraged his opportunities to share the story of Jesus with others, something that I haven't forgotten to this day. Needless to say, he won just about every competition he entered that year.

One thing you may not know about Shane and I (for those of you who knew him) is that we went repelling for the first time together. Repelling was one of Shane's passions. We were both working at RA camp (the Southern Baptist version of Boy Scouts) one summer and there was a lull in the day. Someone had set up a 30' repelling wall at the camp, and they left the ropes and harnesses just sitting around. What else would you expect two energetic high school kids to do? We quickly hooked ourselves in and repelled for about two hours. We must have climbed the ladder to the top of that tower at least 100 times each. Shane continued repelling and seeking adventure after that day. I had the pleasure of going repelling with him a couple of different times after that, and it was always fun. The picture you see is of Shane repelling Australian style, which means face down for those of you who don't know the lingo.

Shane and I continued to be friends throughout high school. We would run into each other at church events across the state, as well as high school events such as the All-State Choir, Orchestra and Band. We graduated from high school (being a loyal Natrona Mustang, I never held it against Shane for being a Campbell County Camel ;-)) and he moved to Texas to attend Howard Payne University. We would still see each other in the summer when we came back to Casper to help with Youth Encounter. A few summers flew by, and I moved to Grapevine, Texas to teach 4th grade. Believe it or not, Shane also lived in that area as he attended Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. I would call him from time to time to see how he was doing. He was a youth minister in the Forth Worth area, and he also was a cast member for The Promise, a beautiful play about the life of Jesus. I went to see him perform a couple of times, due in part to the fact that he was able to get tickets for me. I remember catching up with him after the show and talking about old times.

Soon after that time Shane came back to Wyoming to be a youth pastor in Rock Springs, where he also became increasingly more involved with Youth Encounter. I would still come back to Wyoming in the summer to help with the camp in any way, and our friendship continued to grow. We would sit around the main cabin at night playing guitar, telling jokes and singing silly songs. He was an unbelievably talented person. He could bring a room full of youth down in laughter, then silence them the next moment with his teaching. He loved people and modeled Christ in a way I have seen from very few people. He never withheld his talents, whether it was singing, playing the guitar or fiddle or teaching the bible. He continually urged the youth to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ, and he challenged me along the way.

I can think of only a few people in my life who have modeled Christ as Shane did. He was a friend and brother in the Lord, but he was also a role model who I looked up to and received encouragement from. I looked forward to introducing my wife to Shane, as he did to me soon after he was married to Casey. I wanted Gina to know him and be encouraged by his gentle spirit and wonderful sense of humor. Now that meeting will have to wait a while, but I am strengthened by the hope that we will get to see each other again. This world has lost a faithful servant but Heaven has gained a mighty warrior.

If you want to read more about Casey's progress, you can follow this link to the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention website, where Shane worked. Please keep her in your prayers as she seeks both physical and emotional healing. I am encouraged to know that she is looking to Jesus for her strength in this time.

God bless you all!

Jamestown Pics

Well, we're at the end of Spring Break now. It ended up being a time of rest for us after all. Of course, we wish that we'd been more productive with schoolwork, but you know how that goes... We did get a lot of reading and writing done--but not enough to be ahead of schedule.

We drove to Williamsburg on Wednesday night, relaxed and played tennis on Thursday, and (as we bemoaned our sore muscles and out-of-shape bodies) explored the Jamestown Settlement on Friday.


The Living History museum is an informative, entertaining attraction. We were able to see replicas of a Powhatan village, the fort that the colonists built, and the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607.


We love you and hope that you enjoy the start
of Spring!

Joined the PDA World

Well, it's March already. We're at the start of Spring Break, trying to get caught up on projects, assignments, and papers. Yes, we are going to take a break from studies...we already did last weekend and will once more toward the end of this week.

As you know, Curby didn't get a birthday this year, but we celebrated nonetheless! Actually, the celebration lasted all week, basically. He was serenaded in person by my classmates and his classmates on the 28th, then we had cake and candles on the 1st with our Bible study, and then we had yet another cake on the 5th with friends who'd gathered for an Oscars party.

Curby's prized gift this year was a joint effort of Gina, her parents, and Curby's parents. Yes, he entered the world of the PDA-owners. And he's loving it. As you can see, he loves playing around with all of the functions and is very impressed with its capabilities. We figured it was about time for him to have a palm pilot.



On Wednesday, we'll be heading for Williamsburg again. This time, we plan to rest and relax in the condo and then go to Jamestown. In 2007, we'll be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, and they're already starting to prepare for the festivities.

We love you and look forward to hearing from you!

Valentine Update

Happy February, all! It's been a while since we last updated the blog. I've decided that I should start posting some, because Curby's starting to be "blogged-out" from grading 21 blogs and maintaining four blogs for his own classes.

We've been busy since classes started up. At the end of January, we went to the National Archives, so that I could find and copy historical files on the health care of Native Americans from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Specifically, I found many letters and files describing field nursing among the Five Civilized Tribes. It's all very interesting and will (hopefully) prove very helpful in shaping my historical paper.

Joe and Katie were gracious enough to host us in their apartment, and they provided us some more "firsts" in Virginia---first trip to "Mango Mike's" for some Caribbean food, first time to eat "pork roll," and first time to go into the Washington Monument, all the way to the top. We had a great time and really enjoyed the view of D.C.

The Sunday after our visit to D.C., we joined the church that we've been visiting, Christ Community Church. And the past few weeks, we've visited some small groups through the church and enjoyed one in particular that has an emphasis on prayer for international students.
We look forward to spending more time getting to know the members of our church and adjusting more to the community as a whole. This will be a challenge at times, though, while we continue to stay busy with classes and work.

We hope that you all are doing well and that you enjoyed Valentine's!

Thinking of each of you,
Curby and Gina

Loyalty Divided

Gina had a very difficult decision to make this week. The North Carolina Tar Heels came to Charlottesville on Thursday to play the Cavaliers in Men's basketball. On one hand, Gina is currently attending UVA and is the recipient of one of their highly-coveted full tuition scholarships; on the other hand, she is an alumnus of UNC-Chapel Hill. What to do, what to do? As you can imagine, Gina takes these kinds of choices very seriously. I offered my UNC hat to her to support her alma mater, but her conscience wouldn't allow her to cheer against her current school. So, she came to the game an orange-blooded Cavs fan, and it paid off as Virginia overcame a slow first half to beat the Tar Heels ... well, you can see the picture. Seriously, it was a real treat for both of us to attend the game. This is one of the perks to attending UVA: free admission to ACC sporting events. I love college basketball and have always wanted to see North Carolina play. This game was a blast from the past for Gina, who got to attend some games in the "Dean Dome" in Chapel Hill. Well, UHall is no Dean Dome, but it was pretty crazy on Thursday.


Besides getting to watch college basketball, classes started for us on Wednesday. Both of us have similar schedules as last semester, even though our classes are different. Most of my classes are the second half of year-long courses, while Gina has a whole new set of courses and instructors. It looks to be an eventful semester, and we are both looking forward to it.

Saturday night we had several of our friends from school over to the house for a night of food and games. I grilled hamburgers and hotdogs outside in the unseasonably warm weather while Gina and Tommy prepared the other food. The guests provided snacks, desserts and the games. It was our first time to play Apples to Apples and Smarty Party, and I have to say both games were really fun. I have never been a huge fan of board games, but we had a great time laughing and getting to know each other better. We are already talking about doing it again soon.

I hope everyone reading this has a great week. Take care, and keep checking back for more updates.

Welcome to 2006

It has been a very eventful Christmas season for us. The fun began back on December 16 when my parents arrived in Charlottesville. They were delayed by a day because of an ice storm, which closed down roads, knocked out power and caused trains to be canceled.

After touring the UVA campus and resting in Charlottesville, we drove to northern VA to attend the baptism of my cousin's baby. We spent a couple of extra days in D.C. hanging out with Katie and Joe, visiting sites on Capitol Hill and visiting Civil War battlegrounds. Thanks to the expert cooking skills of Katie and Joe, we got to have steamed lobster for the first time. It was pretty excellent. We also got to see the very spot where my great-great-grandfather, R.J. Marshall, was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse.

After some more touring of Monticello, Michie Tavern and Ash Lawn-Highland, we got the house ready for Katie and Joe to arrive for Christmas. Our little house has never been so crowded, but we had a great time playing games, watching movies, eating and spending quality time together. It was a great Christmas, and we were all grateful to be together.

We spent the following week resting and wrapping up some home improvement projects. Also, Gina started to delve into genealogical research and gathered a lot of exciting information from her cousins Jean and Karla. We know that her ancestor Andrew Kelly/Kolle immigrated from Germany and served in the Revolutionary War, so the Kelly cousins are eligible for DAR membership.

We decided to celebrate New Year's Eve in Charlottesville. We volunteered for a couple of hours as ushers for the Brown v. Board of Education monologue that was superb! Afterward we listened to the Celtibillies and then enjoyed some Improv Comedy... then we wrapped up the evening by going to see the Vulgar Bulgars, a young band specializing in Klezmer, a style of music that blends Eastern European and Jewish sounds. We went home just before midnight to ring in the New Year with Tommy, who had decided to stay at home for the evening.

The first week of 2006, we started back with work...Gina had meetings and worked on some projects, and I started designing my course website. For the weekend, Gina and I headed to Williamsburg for a couple of days. I hadn't been there since I was in high school, and it was Gina's first trip to the colonial town. We stayed in a condominium at a place called Powhatan Plantation, part of my parent's time share membership. The room was very nice, and it enabled us to eat breakfast in the room rather than having to eat out. We spent a whole day in Colonial Williamsburg looking at the historic buildings, watching actors and musicians and talking to people in "Ye Olde English" vernacular. The next day we went to see the James River and the Jamestown Settlement. We will plan to spend more time there next time we visit.

This is all for now. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you are getting the New Year off to a good start. More coming later.

Are you sure I'm in Virginia?

My license plate says Virginia, my driver's license says Virginia and I think I'm enrolled at the University of Virginia, but the weather we are having here sure feels like Wyoming. Last week the cold weather rolled in and brought us some snow, and it hasn't warmed up since then. We have had snow twice in one week, and it has made our backyard into a mud bog. Sydney is in bliss with all the mud to romp around in, and I think she gets extra joy from making me clean off her paws before she's allowed back in the house.

Other than the cold weather, things are going well for us. We have finished our classes and are just trying to get final projects done before the semester is over this Friday. My parents arrive on Thursday, and we are looking forward to seeing them and relaxing for a little while. We just have a lot of work to do before then.

I'm sorry there isn't more to share right now. I guess our lives have been pretty boring since we have been working so hard on our school work. There will be plenty to share next week. Check back in!