A Clodfelter Recap... of epic proportions!

Greetings!! As I reflect on 2025, I am reminded of what a wild ride it has been! So much has taken place, so let’s dive in:

To start, Father Alexis was ordained to the Holy Priesthood, which we all, I think, know at this point. Then, he graduated seminary in May. After this, the madness kicked into high gear. Fr. stayed behind in Bethlehem, PA, with Fr. Richard, our parish priest during seminary. Alexis joined him as an unofficial second at the church in Allentown, and worked weekends as a Reserve Chaplain with an MP (military police) unit in Ashley, PA, and did his AT (annual training) at Fort Dix in New Jersey over the summer. Plans for him heading to chaplain-specific training with the Army and our plans for active duty took A MILLION twists and turns. Honestly, it seemed like every day the plans changed for a good 2-3 months. That was exhausting, but I digress…

Meanwhile, the kids, my mom, and I embarked on a cross-country road trip the day after graduation to head to Long Beach, Washington, where I spent 6 weeks living solo (one minor reprieve when Alexis visited) with the kids.

Next stop was flying up to Alaska for 7 weeks, where I stayed with my folks, who generously opened up their home to our crazy train. Yeah, won’t be doing a solo flight with 3 kids (2 under 2) again. Woof! Haha

This takes us to the end of August, when Fr. Alexis flew up to Alaska near the close of our visit to help me pack up and bring the kids back to Pennsylvania. We were blessed with an apartment to live in, in Bethlehem, PA, so the family could all be together while Alexis continued to help at the parish in Allentown, and also served (and still does) as a supply priest for the surrounding area.

Alexis and Otis wound up flying out 2 days after touchdown in PA, however, to retrieve our vehicle we left back in Washington state. They had a fun road trip back over to PA, where I had worked to set up our temporary apartment for the next few months.

We have been here for 3 months and have 4 to go. We have had lots of emotional trials along the way, and physical ones in the form of very little sleep, trying to keep up with these kiddos. Hah!

During all this, my small business has begun to take off a bit. I sell Orthodox travel prayer kits, various spiritual resources, and offer digital downloads. You can find it all on my website: www.thechaplainswife.org (I’m also on Instagram at the handle thechaplainswife_boutique 😉)

I’ve so appreciated all the support and look forward to seeing how this little business/ministry will evolve. I’ve also written another book, which I am self-publishing this time around. It has come with some learning curves, of course, but I wanted to take a stab at it. It is currently in Romania, where the illustrations are being done. The book is set to be finished in March, so we shall see if I can get them produced in time to head up to Alaska, or it may have to wait until we’re up there.

This leads me to us getting picked up on Active Duty Orders. What a blessing and so long-awaited!! As many of you know, Alexis has been in the Army Guard for 9 years. He’s spent a little over half of that time as an AGR (active guard reserve) soldier. We were brought into the military in Alaska, and of course, we are both from Alaska, so finding out we will be stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson has been a humongous blessing. For those that don’t know, this is where I grew up, and my childhood home and where my parents still live, is just a 2-mile drive from base. Such an AMAZING gift after what has been an absolutely crazy year.

We’ve had so many wonderful people support us along the way, and have experienced cherished moments with family and friends.

We had a mini family reunion with the Scott Crew in Washington, a quick trip to DC to celebrate the marriage sacrament of my cousin and his wife, and simultaneously witness their daughter being received into the Catholic Church through Holy Baptism… at Saint Patrick’s Church, where Irish immigrants founded the parish. Extra cool (quick nod to my Irish ancestry)!

Then, another swift over and back for me, to Chicago, to witness the ordination of a dear friend’s husband to the Holy Priesthood, Axios and many years!

And phew, a wonderful Christmas with loved ones from our parish and our second parents, as we call them. I was able to host, which is something I love and haven’t done in awhile, so that was special.

We have been able to see dear friends whom we felt we had to say goodbye to too soon when we left seminary. It’s been an absolute blessing to solidify those relationships and spend time with so many dear people in our lives, as we are only an hour and a half drive to our former home in Northeastern, PA.

The post seminary glow up is real, and while it hasn’t been easy each moment (in fact, really hard sometimes), it’s been truly incredible and full of blessings. God gave us this gift of time that I didn’t even realize we needed.

We know He knows best, but sometimes it’s hard to remember that, and this time has really helped me to reaffirm my trust in Him. We will go where we are called, we will try to do it with love and joy, and we look forward to serving and giving back (and paying forward) to so many who have given us so much.

This year has taught me to rely on God’s timing, be grateful for the plans of the unknown, to live more simply and be happy and thankful with less, to try and pour ourselves into helping others and building a strong foundation of faith for our children, and to humbly accept help (Lord knows we need a lot of it!). I may not always be as kind, as forgiving, or as patient as I should be, but gosh darn, I’m trying. I hope we can all pause to see one another’s effort. I need that grace, so my hope is to give that grace more freely in the new year.

Please pray for us.

With love and prayers,

Pani Delaney Alexandra & Family

Summary with Pics:

Started the year in Alaska, where we got our 4 generations of ladies' photo. Then, in February, Fr. Alexis picked up two units between PA and NJ, where he did military work as a part-time Chaplain Candidate. March blessed us with Fr's ordination to the Holy Priesthood. April, we enjoyed Pascha and our nephew, Sebastian's baptism, where Fr. A got his first dunking! May was wildly busy with Otis' "graduation" from Saint Dominic's Academy, packing for our move(s), Alexis' graduation from seminary, and lots of close-out parties and gatherings with friends. End of May and June were crazy with a full-on cross country of road trip for me, my mom, and the kids. We landed in Washington state in June, and then came July, when we made our way up to Alaska. August came and went with plenty of activities and the annual Alaska Greek Festival. In September, we celebrated birthdays and made our way back to PA. October is when my small business officially kicked into high gear. I made some big sales this year and connected with so many Orthodox Christians across the country. In November, I celebrated my 35th birthday and continued to work hard building my small business and working on my book, from writing it, to drafting contracts, and hiring an illustrator and graphic designer. December was full of wonderful family moments in DC, a trip to Chicago, and of course, blessed moments in PA with dear friends for the holidays. We look forward to our next adventure in Alaska in 2026, and all that it will entail.