Doing life with these amazing people

ByTamera Alexander
8 Comments

Happy Tuesday evening, friends. Sorry for my lateness in posting. The past few days have been an absolute blur of gatherings, birthday parties, neighborhood parties, Christmas parties, and a family wedding. Such rich time with family and friends!

Here are some quick glimpses…

Leo turned two! How did this happen? Wasn’t he just born?!
Our sweet Ari who will turn one next month. Time is flying!

My attempt at the themed cake Kellie wanted. I made the wrong kind of fondant, though. Marshmallow fondant, which tasted fine, but turned out a bit too soft. Ah well, live and learn. Leo loved it and that’s what counts in my book!

Aunt “Kessie” definitely got the prize for best gift ever! Leo absolutely adores his excavator! 🙂

Dear friends from Colorado visited this weekend, and we got to visit over a three-hour breakfast on Saturday morning. Such a treat! Thank you Suzi and family for sharing your time with us. Love you guys (has it really been almost 20 years since we moved from Colorado?)!

Below is a quick pic from the wedding rehearsal dinner and wedding. Left is my nephew Alex Runk, our son Kurt, daughter-in-law Kellie, daughter Kelsey, and Alex’s lovely bride (and fiercely competitive game player!) Abbey Lambers Runk. Right is Joe and me at the wedding on Sunday.

Joe and I celebrated 40 YEARS together on Sunday. So grateful from him and our life together.

While at the wedding reception, the sweet mother of the bride requested that the Alexander side of the family sing an impromptu song (we all love to sing). So we sang a familiar church hymn, The Lord Bless You and Keep You, but on the fly, mind you. No practice, so as we said before we sang, please forgive any mishaps, LOL. Thanks to Britt Burcham, my brother-in-law, for leading us. CLICK THE ICLOUD LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

Finally, Joe and I have been in an amazing community group for eight plus years now, and last night was our Christmas party potluck and “naughty Santa” gift exchange, which has morphed into both funny and also very nice gifts.

I love doing life with these people…

With Polly Hardwick (the maker of this wonderful cheese dish) and Kim Pressley (who is a fabulous cook and baker, too)

Here’s a quick picture summary of the gifts we all went home with…

Joe going into a diabetic coma after ending up with caramels as part of his his final gift
This little Harkmark goat was a big hit—and was stolen twice!

The past few days have been fun, but oy… While I loved the time with family and friends, I’m grateful that the rest of the year isn’t as fast-paced as the last few days have been. Crazy that all these events converged into one jam-packed weekend!

Now to finish getting ready for Christmas (very laid back this year, thankfully), then to dive headlong into rewrites on the book I turned in last month. I love the rewrite process, and it’s a good thing. I have much work to do! This book (title TBD) will be a Spring 2026 release.

So tell me…

Are you enjoying time with family and friends this season, too? I hope so. Are you ready for Christmas? Gifts all wrapped and under the tree? More and more, my heart turns to our forever Home during this season. And I’m keenly aware that while the holiday season is precious and wonderful in so many ways, it’s also full of aching hearts and loneliness. Especially when it’s the first year to experience an “empty chair” at the table.

So please, if you have a specific prayer request this season—someone you’re praying for, or maybe a specific situation—please share that and let’s lift those petitions together.

Much love to you, friends, and the very Merriest of Christmases!

In Christ alone, who is the greatest gift all of time!

Tammy

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Tamera Alexander is a USA Today bestselling novelist and one of today's most beloved authors of inspirational historical romance and women’s contemporary fiction. While being Gram Tam is her current favorite role, she’ll never turn down a stroll through an old cemetery or browsing through antique shops. In These Hills, her newest novel, releases September 2026.

8 Comments

  1. Love the pics! Can’t wait for or 8 1/2 month-old grandson to get here! And his daddy and mommy (our daughter) and our son, too! I’m having to pace myself and give up some traditions (like making lots of peanut brittle) since I had a knee replacement last Wednesday. I’m making good progress, but it’s not quickly enough to suit me!

    Christmas blessings to you, sweet Tamera! (And I have to wait until 2026 for your next release?! Get busy, woman! ❤️)

    1. Hey sweet Linda! How fun on that precious grandson coming your way!Sorry about the peanut brittle but DO take care of yourself and that knee. Being patient with the healing has got to be such a challenge this time of year. Bless you, friend! And as for the book, I’m shakin’ it, boss, I’m shakin’ it! 😉

  2. Thank you for sharing the photos of your celebrations and video of your singing. You are indeed a musically talented family!
    I am packed for our family Christmas in Costa Rica this year. Some family members decided a cold Colorado Christmas could be changed out for beaches and heat.
    We will love seeing all of them and out precious grandsons. God has been so kind to us with our family.
    Christmas blessings to you as well.

    1. Wow, Jen! What fun awaits, my friend. I hope Costa Rica is absolutely amazing and that you all have a fabulous trip. Hug on those precious grandsons, and thanks for your kind words. Indeed, our gracious God has been so good. So faithful!

  3. So many happy events and lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing.

    This is the second Christmas without my husband of 57 years, but I know he is in his heavenly home. All gifts are bought, those to west coast are mailed. Just need to finish wrapping and baking.

    This is an exciting time for my 17 year old granddaughter who has been accepted at all of the colleges she applied to. We are just waiting to hear about financial aid to make decisions. I appreciate your prayers always.

    Merry Christmas!

  4. Happy birthday to Leo! Your cake is amazing. Family time is the best part of the holidays. My daughter arrived last night and doesn’t leave until the 27th, while thrills my heart!

  6. I loved all your pics. Thanks for sharing. Your grandson is adorable, and the cake you made is amazing.

    We’re celebrating Christmas this weekend with our family in Virginia because we’re flying to Dallas next Monday to spend Christmas with our oldest daughter and her family. Due to my husband being a pastor and having to preach every Christmas Eve, we haven’t had Christmas with them since 2012! This year we decided someone else could take care of the service. Something we should’ve done long ago!

    Merry Christmas, Tammy!

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