Life and Times of the Parker Family

No more sickness! I’m done.

Lauren — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:59:15 +0000

Last week was really rough for me. It started out nice, with a baby shower on Sunday for my sister Adrienne (who’s due in less than a month!) and a lazy Monday since the kids were out of school. I was excited because my parents were keeping my nephew Nathan for the week (he’s a couple months younger than Brian), and I was looking forward to spending some time with him. But then I started feeling strange Monday afternoon- kind of achy and tired. I also started getting other classic fever symptoms, with shivering for a while followed by periods of sweating. Tuesday and Wednesday went by with no improvement, so I decided to go to the doctor Thursday. He tested for the flu (which came back negative), and told me it was probably a virus and would have to run it’s course. After taking the kids to their dentist appointment that afternoon (it was Brian’s first time!), I felt absolutely horrible and laid on my mom’s couch for an hour trying to recuperate. I felt a little better Friday, which was encouraging, so we decided we could make it to my grandmother’s 80th birthday party on Saturday, and I would just be careful to keep my germs to myself. Saturday morning we hopped in the car and drove to Memphis for the party. I had a bad sinus headache, but other than that I wasn’t feeling too bad. We made it through the party, but the headache got worse, causing me to throw up in the car as we were leaving to go home. After some good medicine I felt pretty decent, just a little wiped out. (Acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine are a miracle-working combination!) Sunday I felt much better and got to spend the day visiting with my family while my brother Joseph and his wife Nicole were in town. Monday I even got to go to the zoo with Joseph, Nicole, and Nathan before they headed back home to Tennessee. I now have some congestion and an annoying cough, but at least I’m over the weird fever! I’m not sure what’s wrong with me; I’m hardly ever really sick, but I’ve had to go to the doctor twice in the last few months! I hate to say it, but it looks like my age is trying to catch up with me. :)

Just before I got sick, I had my mom chop off about 20 inches of my hair for Locks of Love. My mom is so brave! She only flinched a little. :) Jay says my body was in shock and that’s why I got sick.

Before

After

Me and hair

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo:

Cousins!

Gorilla

Brian mesmerised by birds

Jewel the elephant

New penguin exhibit

Cutest penguins ever!

And Jay posted some pictures from Jack’s first birthday party back in November. Here are some highlights:

Brian and Jack (second cousins) trying to play with the same toy

Simpson family: David, Siobhan, and Jack

Blowing out the candle

Cake face!

Well, January is almost done and it’s been a doozy! Next month I will have a new niece! Craziness!

Brian is 2!

Lauren — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:13:36 +0000

My “baby” turned 2 on December 31st. Poor Brian’s New Year’s Eve birthday kind of gets swallowed up in Christmas. But I am so thankful for my sweet little boy! It’s hard to believe that 2 years ago we welcomed him into our family like this:

And now he looks like this:

Such a handsome little fellow! (No, I’m not biased!) He’s a handful, though. His 2-year-old tantrums are becoming more frequent, along with lots of “mines!” and “no!”. He is stubborn and temperamental, but he can also be so sweet and loving. I had forgotten what this age was like with my other two kids, but it’s coming back to me. I won’t wish it away… time already flies as it is!

We’ll have a little family celebration tomorrow, with cake and more presents! Happy birthday, Brian Gabriel Parker!

Christmas is almost here!

Lauren — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:04:53 +0000

It has been a busy but good December so far. It’s hard to believe Christmas is this Sunday, but even harder to believe that we are almost actually ready for it! Just a couple of last-minute gifts, and then wrapping, and we are ready to continue the celebration of Jesus’ birth! We have already celebrated a good deal with programs and parties; now things are starting to slow down so that we can really reflect on the “Reason for the Season.”

Our family has been a part of 3 Christmas programs this year. The first weekend in December we had the children’s musical at church, “Christmas in Egypt”, and each of us played a part– Jay was Joseph, I was Mary, Brian was young Jesus, and James and Eliza were Egyptian children, along with the rest of the kids’ choir. I was concerned about how Brian would behave during the show, but it turned out really well. He did a lot of running around during the songs, but the kids singing did a great job of ignoring him. Brian basically stole the show with his dancing during the song “Birthday”. There is a video on Facebook that my parents recorded; maybe I will be able to post it here someday. Here we are in our costumes:

The second Christmas program we participated in was our church’s “It Can Be a Wonderful Life”, on December 10th and 11th. I am a member of the choir, and the kids’ choir sang one song with us, so James and Eliza got to be a part of that one, too! It was the same program we did last year, with a few changes, so it wasn’t too difficult to get ready for it. It really helped me get in the Christmas spirit!

Tuesday, December 13th, the 3rd graders at Collegeville Elementary performed “Christmas at the OK Corral”. James sang with the choir, and also had a part square-dancing with a few other kids during one of the songs. He did great!

Despite all the rehearsals for the various programs, we still managed to make it to the Little Rock Christmas parade, an annual tradition for our family. Here we are in our hats after the parade:

And here is our Christmas card photo, with our kids all dressed up in their Christmas finery:

James (8), Eliza (6), and Brian (almost 2!)

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I am so thankful that God sent Jesus as a baby. He was (and is) exactly the kind of Savior we needed.

Pictures from the last few months

Lauren — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:48:16 +0000

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas! Jay has just gotten some pictures posted from October and November, so I thought I would show some of the highlights here on the blog.

On October 15th, we attended my cousin Brent’s wedding in Memphis. We took the opportunity to get a few family photos:

Parker family

Scoggin family (expanding rapidly)

Benjamin and Bridget

Mayo sisters

Dad and Mom (also known as Pappy and Mammy)

Me and my quickly-growing baby

I have already blogged about “Halloween in Wonderland” here. Fun times!

Jay’s grandmother passed away a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and we drove to Prentiss, MS, for the funeral. It was a wonderful celebration of a life well-lived! Some pictures from our celebration:

Brian looking all grown up

My dressed-up kids

Family members of Cathleen Clearman Parker

Eliza lost both of her top front teeth in November (one on our way home from Mimi’s funeral!) Now she can sing “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth…”:

This mischievous little boy will be 2 in just a few days! I wouldn’t be able to believe it, except that he sure can act the part (he’s trying to win some sort of award for the most “no’s” said in one day):

We spent Thanksgiving in Alabama with Jay’s family, including his 98-year-old grandmother. We are so glad to be able to spend time with her when we can!

That brings us to December, which gets its own post. Hope you enjoyed this visual extravaganza of our amazing autumn!

No-November

Lauren — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:37:57 +0000

Well, there might as well have been no November; it was kind of a blur. But when I was discussing it with my kids the other day, they decided that it sounded like I was getting on to someone named “Vember”. I thought that was kind of funny! But seriously, between being sick (still don’t know what was up with my stomach, and Jay had respiratory stuff all month) and Mimi’s funeral, and then Thanksgiving, there was not much time for anything else. I am so overwhelmed that I can’t even make myself do housework most of the time. It’s kind of depressing, actually.

And now it’s December. Merry Christmas! This weekend our whole family is participating in our church’s children’s musical, “Christmas in Egypt”. James and Eliza are in the choir, and Jay and I are playing Joseph and Mary with Brian as toddler Jesus. We did this musical 5 years ago, with Eliza as Jesus and James in the preschool choir. You may remember our Christmas card that year:

Brian is half a year older than Eliza was, which doesn’t seem like much, but I’m afraid it’s going to make a big difference. He is right at that edge of sweet toddler/terrible two-year-old, and I don’t know which one will predominate that night. We’ll see. Right now Jay and I are scrambling to learn our lines and I am trying to find my voice for the solos I sing in the program. We really intended to be better prepared, but we kind of got caught up in life. No sign of it slowing down anytime soon, either!

Next week the adult choir will present their Christmas program, which I am also in (just as a member of the choir, though!) Rehearsals for that run Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, with the program on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. After that hopefully we can do some Christmas shopping! And I would like to decorate the house someday, but it will have to wait until I can get it looking a little less like a tornado zone. Which I should probably be doing right now. Hmmm….

As for other matters, Jay is finally getting better after a round of antibiotics, my stomach is mostly back to normal (just a strange feeling every now and then), and the kids are all doing great. James and Eliza are enjoying school as much as they can, and Brian is still my sweet boy when he wants to be. He is so funny! This morning while I was changing his diaper, he said, “Booty is cold!” He can sing all the words to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and is learning the “ABC” song, but his favorite thing to sing is Justin Bieber’s “Baby, baby, baby, oh”, thanks to Eliza. :) Even with all the craziness going on, life is good!

Mimi is finally Home

Lauren — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:39:59 +0000

Jay’s 92-year-old grandmother, Cathleen Clearman Parker, passed away Saturday. We are going to miss her, but we can’t help but rejoice that she is finally whole and happy in Heaven with her Lord and Savior! Four and a half years ago, Mimi moved from her home in Prentiss, MS, to a nursing home near Little Rock to be closer to her daughter after she was unable to live by herself. She was devastated to have to leave her home, but for us it was neat having her close by so that we could see her more often. In the last few years, Mimi’s memory steadily declined, so in some ways we have already had to say goodbye. And she has been ready to move on for a while now, often wondering why God would keep her here when she felt it was useless to remain. Through it all, though, Mimi left it in God’s hands, frequently quoting the scripture from Philippians 4:12-13- “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

The kids and I have been visiting Mimi regularly at the nursing home since she moved here. We brought her pictures, sang her songs, and walked her to the dining room when it was time for us to leave. She usually couldn’t remember our names, and toward the end I don’t think she even recognized us, but she was always glad to see us. The kids often got tired of her asking the same questions over and over, but it was a good experience for them, and they learned how to be gracious instead of annoyed. And, of course, the kids were always delighted to perform whatever they could for Mimi and any of the other elderly folks we happened to see there. I am grateful for the opportunities we had to put a smile on someone’s face in a place where there often isn’t much to smile about. We will miss seeing Mimi’s face light up when we came in the room. I will miss her telling James about her own son James, who got to Heaven long before she did. Mimi often told Eliza that where she was from, she would have been called “Lizer”. And Brian was always “Precious Baby” to Mimi. She loved watching them play around her little room, and she didn’t even want me to get on to them when they were a little too rowdy (which happened a lot). Mimi had a way with words, and a wittiness that stayed with her long after her memory left. She was fond of asking questions like, “Is life good?” and “Things are never dull around your house, are they?” When the kids sang songs, she often sang along, then clapped and smiled when it was over. She was a neat lady, and we are grateful for the time we got to spend with her.

Mimi is finally reunited with her husband, all her siblings, and her two sons (Jay’s dad, James, and Thomas). Mimi has one daughter (Fran), 6 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. Family was such an important part of Mimi’s life, and we are blessed to have been a part of that family. She was a woman of intelligence and godliness, who used her 92 years wisely. Even when she thought it was useless to remain, God saw fit to use her in the lives of me and my kids, reminding us that he has a purpose for everything.

Oh, my aching stomach

Lauren — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:54:43 +0000

Wednesday morning I woke up with strange pain in my upper abdomen, and I was slightly nauseated. I thought I must be coming down with a stomach bug or something, so I didn’t eat much and just relaxed as much as I could. That evening I took the kids to choir, and by that time the stomach pain was pretty intense, coming in waves that were progressively getting worse and more frequent. I was also hungry, so I met Jay for supper while the kids were at choir, and the food seemed to help some. I got home and tried to sleep, but I kept getting woken up by the painful cramping of my stomach. I was pretty sure it was stomach and not intestines because of how high it was, but nothing but eating seemed to improve the situation at all.

I got up Thursday and got the kids to school, and I was feeling a little better (about the same as Wednesday morning). I went on to Bible Study, and spent the afternoon at my mom’s house, making sure to eat frequently. I was really hoping I would continue to improve, but again the painful waves came and went, responding only to whether or not there was food in my stomach. It never got quite as bad as it had Wednesday night, but still the pain kept me awake and made me miserable.

This morning (Friday) I was ready to go to the doctor. I haven’t been to a doctor (other than my ob/gyn) in 9 years. I guess it was time. The doctor was very nice, and she confirmed that the pain seemed to be coming from my actual stomach, and not one of the many other organs sharing the same space. She ruled out gallstones, kidney stones, pancreatic disorders, and intestinal problems. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell me why my stomach was acting up, but she did say it seemed to have an over-secretion issue. She took some blood for lab work (results to come in next week) and gave me some prescriptions to try for some relief. I sure hope they work. I am exhausted from the pain and a little discouraged. Not to mention irritated at finally having to break my longest-running no-doctor streak ever. :) I would appreciate your prayers!

Halloween through the years

Lauren — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:42:29 +0000

It’s been a couple of years since I did a post recalling all of our Halloween costumes, so I guess it’s time! Here are our Halloween cuties, starting with the first year we dressed James up when he was a year old.

2004:

James was a cute giraffe (Jay’s mom found the costume) and we dressed up like we were on safari!

2005:

This year we added Eliza! I bought the lion for James because it was so cool; then I found a cute lamb costume, but I didn’t like the cartoony face embroidered on it, so I made it a better face… my first Halloween sewing project! It was also near the beginning of Jay’s experimenting with taking portraits. Soon after this, he got his first “real” camera.

2006:

The next year Jay was traveling with his job to New York every week, so I had to take the pictures by myself! James’s batman costume was found on the clearance rack at Walmart, and Eliza’s leopard dress was given to us by Jay’s mom (she found it cheap second-hand). I bought a leopard kit (tail, ears, and mitts) from Claire’s in the mall. It went perfectly with the dress, and even included the cute face stickers. They were so cute!

2007:

Jay was still traveling in 2007, so once again, I was on my own! We got to test the “green screen” that the church was using at the Halloween festival, so that’s where the cool desert and pumpkin pictures came from. James was a cowboy, dressed with stuff my mom had, as well as a cheap hat from Garden Ridge and some cowboy boots from Walmart (I wish you could see them in the picture!); and Eliza’s puppy costume was one found (once again) by Jay’s mom. I did actually sew on this one a little: I added the white stripe on the head to cover up the goofy puppy face… I thought Eliza’s face was cute enough!

2008:

Jay finally got to do his photo magic and we had great pictures from this year! I did a lot of sewing on Eliza’s dress; it started as a plain pink sleeveless dress bought cheaply online, and I added all the details to make it look just like Princess Peach. We bought gloves, turned mini Christmas ornaments into earrings, and made a crown out of gold poster board and acrylic jewels. For Mario, I sewed an “M” on a hat I bought online, bought a mustache and white gloves, covered some buttons with yellow felt, and we had everything else!

2009:

We had fun with this one! I bought Eliza’s Tinkerbell costume on ebay, but I couldn’t find a Peter Pan costume I liked, so I made one! It was a lot of work trying to get the tunic just right, but it turned out great! I also made the hat (which I love!) and shoe covers for both of them that really helped the costumes stand out. Jay used his photoshop skills to create the coolest “Peter and Tink” photo ever!

2010:

And “poof”, there was Brian! James had been enjoying a magician set he got for Christmas the year before, so he really wanted to be a magician for Halloween, and I convinced Eliza that she would be a beautiful assistant for him. That left Brian, who became the rabbit in the hat. I made James’s cape, cummerbund, and bow tie, and found Eliza a dress at Burlington Coat Factory. Brian’s costume started out as a fuzzy coverall with bear ears, onto which I sewed bunny ears and feet.

2011:

And we’re back to this year’s Alice in Wonderland theme!

I hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane as much as I did!

Halloween in Wonderland

Lauren — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:50:39 +0000

We had a terrific Halloween! Sometimes I wonder if Halloween is worth all the craziness it causes, but seeing how my kids love dressing up in their costumes and enjoying all their candy… well, it’s priceless! (Plus I get to eat what they don’t want!)

It’s getting harder to get the kids to agree on a costume theme as they get older… Eliza wants to be some sort of princess (or at least something with a pretty dress) and James wants something cool or something that has to do with fighting. But after some persuasion (and another Disney movie purchase) they were convinced that Alice in Wonderland would be a fun choice. It was a great choice for me, because I knew that some of the costume-making had already been done. My mom made a great Mad Hatter costume for my brother Joseph when we were kids, and I knew she still had most of the pieces. I was Alice that year, but the dress I wore was long gone, so I had to buy a new one for Eliza (I’m just not good at making dresses, and it would have taken way more time than I wanted to spend!) So Brian’s white rabbit costume was the only one I spent any time on, and I loved the way it turned out! Enough talking; here are the pictures taken by our awesome personal photographer Jay (aka Daddy):

Mad Hatter James!

Hat and bow tie made by my mom; coat belonged to my brother (he also wore it as the Mad Hatter); vest and shirt came with outfit I bought last year for the magician’s costume; new pants.

Eliza as sweet Alice

I found this costume online. It was a little pricey ($35), but since I didn’t have to buy much for the other costumes, it was worth it!

Brian as the White Rabbit

Hat and shoe covers made by me with material left over from last year’s white rabbit costume (I did buy the “fur” to give him some hair); doll glasses from Hobby Lobby; clock I found online along with Eliza’s costume; pants and shirt and bow tie we already had, and I bought the red sweater from Target… he’ll get to wear it again at Christmas!

Best picture of all three

One more of the Wonderland crew (Brian refused to wear the glasses in this one)

I had fun making Brian’s rabbit hat and shoe covers. It is always a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when something you make turns out well! And it must have been pretty comfortable because Brian did not mind wearing it (which I was afraid he might!) He was even pretty good about wearing the doll glasses I bought, even though he did put up a fight when I first put them on him! I was very pleased with the results; it all came together very well and we got lots of compliments!

Craziness at the Parker house

Lauren — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:00:20 +0000

Getting ready for a garage sale is a lot of work! We had a successful sale last weekend: we sold a bunch of stuff, made a little money, and freed up some valuable space in the house! Mostly we had my mom’s huge stash of clothes (outgrown by my siblings or just unwanted) and a random assortment of things we no longer need. And we had a surprising number of people come by, especially since the only advertising we did was a sign at the entrance to our subdivision. I think we are going to have to have another sale in another month or so, after we’ve had time to go through the kids’ toys, and hopefully we will sell some more of the clothes that were left over (we only sold a small portion of what we had!) Overall, it was worth it, but man! It wore us out. I’m just now getting over it!

Last weekend was also the last few days of the fair. When I told the kids we probably wouldn’t make it this year, they were devastated. So Sunday Jay took James and Eliza to the fair while Brian and I went to our Sunday night community group. I guess it worked out well, even though I was a little bummed that we didn’t get to have our annual family outing to the fair. Oh, well, I guess there’s next year! I told Jay to take lots of pictures, so hopefully he’ll post some soon!

This week has been cleaning and making Halloween costumes! Also, I had to find things for the kids to wear for each themed day this week for Red Ribbon Week. Thursday was “wear red” day…check out my red kiddos!

I think I’m finally done with the costumes, now I just have to get my house into shape for community group here Sunday. I better get to work!