rainbow smoothie.

July 23, 2008 – 6:36 pm

Today I ran out the door to make it to our fingerprint appointment on time. Barely made it. Then we were off to downtown for Global Kids Camp at church. I had such a good time. We are using the week to talk about creation. The kids are loving it. Who doesn’t love to dig in the ground and talk about how God himself created the ground, dirt, and vegetables that grow from it. For snack time we shared a rainbow smoothie. It was really good. Really. I am so nice that I have the ingredients listed for you. You should try it.

I posted pics from Global Kids Camp here.

I also posted some pics from my home office (and tablecloth drapes/place mat pillows) here.

::

Rainbow Smoothie.

red: Strawberries

orange: Orange Juice

yellow: Bananas

green: Spinach

blue: Blueberries

Add all ingredients and ice in blender for a fun cool treat. If you are really crazy wild you just might add a little umbrella and straw.

::

During the glorious summer months what drink do you find yourself craving?

By debra parker | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | no comments         Add a Comment

flowers make me happy.

July 22, 2008 – 3:47 pm

It seems that stress is creeping up into my thoughts A LOT. I find myself thinking through all the dollars I don’t have for this adoption journey. To be transparent, I worry about money often. I think this has been a factor throughout my entire life. Even if I were rather wealthy I would still “worry” about how my wealth was being spent. I am also one to take forever in making decisions. Once I make a decision I am not hesitant to use my rather large mouth and let someone know.

Today we mailed off two documents. Two things to cross off of my list. It feels good. Tomorrow we get fingerprinted and photographed for our criminal check. I am feeling pretty confident for that one.

About the flowers.

I went into Kroger today to pick up some dish soap when I passed a whole bucket of flowers on sale. My eyes gravitated to one certain pink set of roses. I was so happy when I read they were on sale for 1.99. This little bunch of flowers have brought me some smiles. My God is so good. He created such beauty for my eyes to behold. On days when I am stressed about financial”ness” he brings me the most beautiful bouquet in the clearance bin. He cares. Oh yes.

Leave me a comment and tell me what made you smile today. Or tell me if you haven’t smiled and I will try to think of a really clever joke to tell you.

By debra parker | Posted in For Fun | Tagged , , , , | 5 comments         Add a Comment
  1. Jen   -  

    Oh girl. Can I unload? Our AC went out on our Van, causing it to overheat. Five hours & $175 later, we have AC and a cooled off van. Then we get home to find we’ve missed the UPS guy with tickets for our 3 day vaca coming up. No problem, package is in the office to the apartments. Problem. The ladies working in the office lost our package. :( 3 hours later package found. Slipped “between” two other envelopes in the girls desk. And (as if it could get more stressful) this is the day the boys desire to test my patience in volume tolerance. I haven’t smiled today. Come to think of it, not even once. But just knowing someone else was having a stressful-no smile day did lighten the mood a bit. God will pull me through. I may have to go sniff through some clearance bins myself for the little treasure He may have for me!

  2. Angela   -  

    Ha! The can of “dip” in my pocket made me smile! :)

  3. Melissa   -  

    Tonight Brandon and I were grocery shopping, and I don’t know about you guys but we “play fight” all the time, and we’re walking down the cheese isle and he started throwing string cheese at me. I love still being able to flirt with my husband like we were dating! A few isle’s over while he had his back turned looking at something I got a can of air freshener and took the opportunity to spray him down in the middle of the grocery store with nasty smelling apple pie scented freshener. Thats what made me smile and laugh til I snorted today! :o)

  4. ginger   -  

    things that made me smile:
    1. your sweet way with words and beautiful pictures.
    2. starting a new book.
    3. waking up to lots of sunshine outside.
    4. mailing a care package to a friend living in colombia.

    things that did not make me smile:
    1. the fleas in my apartment. i swear, they’re immortals.
    2. 103 degree heat and no ac in the xterra. (i finally decided it was time to get it fixed!)
    3. finding out how much it will cost to fix the ac.

    but it’s all good! tomorrow’s friday! oh, wait… it’s just wednesday.

  5. Tammie Head   -  

    My husband messages me the sweetest texts’ everyday. One for each day. I guess the huricane was on his mind because today’s read “My love for you is more strong than a category 5 hurricane.” Interestingly, I text him back, “You make me smile.”

laundry.

July 21, 2008 – 5:26 pm

As you can tell, I have been doing laundry today.  6 loads to be exact.  Last quilt (from beach) is in the dryer.  Mission accomplished.

Does your place look like this on laundry day?  Do you put away after every load or do you throw it all back into a laundry basket?  I am curious.  Tell me.

I have to go now.  Lots of laundry to put away.  My LEAST favorite part.

By debra parker | Posted in For Fun | Tagged , , | 7 comments         Add a Comment
  1. Melissa   -  

    It sounds like you are very busy! I have no earthly idea how you can find time to do all 6 loads of laundry in the same day! I typically put away after each load. We average about 3 loads a week for the two of us. Melissa

  2. Shelly   -  

    Sweet woman!
    A - your photography is mind-blowing amazing!
    B - I’ve so missed you! I hate that it’s taken me this long to even get part-way back into blogland. I’m sorry!
    C - You should know….I LOVE laundry. Maybe that means I need prayer. Perhaps straight up deliverance. But if I were there, I’d LOVE to come do it for you! lol….

  3. Tammie Head   -  

    You are awesome! Thank you!

    On a laundry note: I HATE it to the absolute bone. Honestly, while I have been writing my husband allowed me to have a lady come and do it for me once a week. Oh, boy, I think he has set me up with the wrong crutch. We may never let her go!!

  4. Tammie Head   -  

    Also, I would love to meet you some time, Debra. Especially since you are here in Houston.

  5. Jenny Williams   -  

    It depends. I try to fold it and put it up. If not it goes in the guest bedroom until I can get it all done. Morgan still pulls all the clothes around so sometimes it is hard to do it with her. You have such skillz with your picture taking!!! =)

  6. Jamie Ivey   -  

    i used to take laundry straight from the dryer and on to the couch to fold. that would mean random piles all over the couch all day long and sometimes on to the next day. ANNOYING!

    NOW…. it gets folded and hung up straight from the dryer. No hanging around. I put the boys clothes straight to their room and ours go in a laundry basket and at the end of the day they go straight up stairs.

    I’m actually proud of my new system!!! And so is Aaron!!! NO more random clothes laying on the couch for days!

    :)jamie

  7. Lydia   -  

    Looks like fun-haha. . . Absolutely, in fact three days a week my bed looks like that. I have now enlisted the help of the boys to fold/put away laundry. It has really helped! We also fold on my bed then after ALL laundry for the day has been folded each family member puts his own laundry away. We do on the average about 10-12 loads a week. Mon./Wed./Frid./ are my laundry days, works for us! I’ll be checking up on the comments to see if anyone has a better system. I’m always game for improvement!

magazines {i love them}

July 21, 2008 – 3:18 pm

I love magazines.

I hope you do too.

Order your favorite one today. It will help us raise money to bring our boy home.

Share the link with friends. http://www.magfundraising.com/debraparker

By the way::

What is your favorite magazine? Mine is Domino. Love it.

By debra parker | Posted in adoption | Tagged , , | no comments         Add a Comment

bullet points.

July 21, 2008 – 12:04 am
  • pictures from Camp Cherry Mountain have finally left my SD card and landed here.
  • I am still sitting in the middle of The Shack.  I have been too busy to read.  A good busy.
  • Monday the kids and I met up with Ang at Pump it up and I have a nice burn on my arm to prove it.  Who knew how dangerous it was.
  • Tuesday I finally started the laundry from our trip to Missouri.  I am not sure if I am done yet.  I know gross.  If I have been too busy to read you better believe that I have been too busy to do laundry. HA.
  • Wednesday I met up with THREE of my high school girlfriends.  We all use to dance together.  Conversation was easy and our kids played it up (at the pool) for many hours.  We enjoyed sharing old stories and learning new ones.  It is a great weird to be back in my home town.
  • Wednesday my friend Reagan (and baby) from San Antonio drove in for fun and adventure.
  • Thursday we drove out to the Children’s Museum.  We paid for metered parking and still came away with a ticket.  I think it was worth it.  After the museum we made our way to Herman Park to picnic and ride the train.  What should have taken maybe 5 minutes took about 25.  That is what happens when I am in control of directions.
  • Attended Kam’s 18th birthday dinner.  Happy Birthday Kameron!
  • Friday we hung at the community pool with the kiddos and then went to pick up Caleb from Hobby Airport.  No problems with directions this day.  Wait.  I think that is not true.  Oh well.
  • Made Mexican Chicken for dinner…Or is it called King Ranch Chicken.  (ingredients- chicken, cream of chicken, rotel, wheat tortillas, and stuff to taste.)
  • Saturday I drove us out to Galveston Beach.  Do you hear a bit of pride in that?  You should.  Do you remember my lack of direction skills.  I made it to Galveston with NO PROBLEM.  That is a true statement.  Dinner at Fudruckers on The Strand with our staycation crew.
  • Church at Ecclesia.  Still loving this place.  Casa Ole’ for lunch and naps all around.

Week ahead.

ADOPTION PAPERWORK!

By debra parker | Posted in For Fun | Tagged , , , , , | no comments         Add a Comment

meeting the family. {in pictures}

July 20, 2008 – 10:52 pm

Last night was just one of those nights when all energy is drained and you don’t even feel like opening up the laptop.  I am so glad that I did.  My inbox held one of the most precious sights I have seen.  I could not resist the urge to share this moment.

Thank you Licia for this precious gift.

By debra parker | Posted in adoption | Tagged , , | 9 comments         Add a Comment
  1. Randa   -  

    Those are some of the sweetest pictures I have ever seen!! I seriously got tears in my eyes (and you know how rare that is). I am praying for you guys…I also have my ladies small group praying for you guys too.

  2. Marcie   -  

    Oh my gosh, he is sooo cute. I’m so excited for you guys and we are praying hard. I can’t wait to meet him one day.

  3. Jamie Ivey   -  

    This brought tears to my eyes.

    Love these moments!

    :)jamie

  4. Amanda   -  

    I could bawl over these.

  5. mandythompson   -  

    oh.
    wow.

  6. Jen   -  

    how precious!

  7. Angela   -  

    Chills. I love it.

  8. Kenzie Mackey   -  

    yall amaze me. when the adoption is finalized and everything, you have to bring your new child to abliene to see us! and of course come to abilene so we can see yall! i miss you!!

  9. holly   -  

    WOW! talk about a picture telling a thousand words. pure happiness is written all over that child’s face. amazing.

adoption paperwork.

July 15, 2008 – 4:59 pm

This is our application and paperwork packet.  This is the beginning.  I sit here amazed, overwhelmed, excited, wishing I could read in creole.  I am suppose to be prettying it up for a hot date tonight.  Instead I sit here looking through this packet.  It took a good 20 minutes for it to print.  I have thought of Haiti much today.  I watched the video and read about the Nightline story on How to Buy a Child in 10 hours.  If you have not seen it you should take the minutes and do it. I read on Licia’s blog that another sweet child died.  I heard strength in her words and am inspired by her faith.

In these beginning moments of our adoption, I covet your prayers.  Financially this is huge.  And huge does not exist in our bank account.  I will have to do a lot of fundraising.  Honestly, that scares me.  I also desire to see the way God provides the finances to bring our boy home.  Only He knows.

By debra parker | Posted in adoption | Tagged , , | 6 comments         Add a Comment
  1. marcie   -  

    You guys are awesome!! We want to keep up with every step of the way!

  2. Missy   -  

    He DOES know, sweet sister. I will be praying for you and your whole family throughout the entire process. I am sooooo excited for all of you!!!!

  3. mandy   -  

    wooo hoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Lindsee   -  

    YEA! It’s for real now! (Not that it wasn’t before!)

  5. Jamie Ivey   -  

    you can do it! you can do it! you can do it!!

  6. Jen   -  

    I am SO excited for y’all! Will def be praying for you guys throughout this journey. God knows what you need and when you’ll need it. So strap in for the journey friend! *e-hugs!*

sewing.

July 14, 2008 – 9:33 pm

Our office is in the first efforts of coming together.  Last weekend we found the shelving we needed to create a desk like this one.  I bookmarked that picture months and months ago.  I am so happy that I did.

Saturday was my lucky day at Target.  I found some pieces that are going to be transformed into drapes and pillows.  I am hoping for good looking results.

These and these are going to be pillows.  They are double sided so I am just going to insert some foam and sew it back up.  I also purchased these on clearance for .98 cents.

This is going to be the wall panel.  I bought it for $3 on clearance. I purchased a piece of fabric that is the same color blue of the place mats to help coordinate.  It will be sewn on to the top or bottom of the wall panel.  We will see if it all works out.  Totally different colors and prints but I really loved them together.

I will be sure to post some photos when all is complete.

Our office needs to be complete.  I have a lot of adoption paperwork to get working on.

By debra parker | Posted in Crafting | Tagged , , , , | 2 comments         Add a Comment
  1. Lydia   -  

    OOOHHH-AAAHHH, I like!!!!! I LOVE anything organizational

  2. Jen_A   -  

    I loved that table when I saw it on Holly’s blog when she was doing it! I can’t wait to see how yours all turns out. I NEVER would have thought about using the placemats to make pillows! You are SO creative!!

year twelve.

July 13, 2008 – 10:19 pm

I posted this last year.  Look for the added year 12 and the best paparazzi shot of us.


12 years of loving each other. It is good.

Year 1 :: fresh. late night grocery trips. eating dinner on the floor in front of the fireplace. working. school. 1014 C. Cocoa the baby dog. love. candlelight dinners. airplanes landing outside our window. finding out we were pregnant. (how did that happen?) lots of laughing.

Year 2 :: purchased our first home. surrendered to ministry. moved to BBC. Carly was born. sweet pink moments. dinner around the table. big bellies and massages. first snow. growth. sunflowers. finding out that we were pregnant. (how did that happen..again?)

Year 3 :: moving out of married housing. Prospect. Baby blue. no sleep. drama and friendships. vacation bible school. internship. paper routes. lemonade.

Year 4 :: first ministry job. back yard sunflowers. garden. grilling out nightly. lightning bugs. picnics in the grass. laundry. date nights. smiles.

Year 5 :: school. work. kids. ministry. diapers. bottles. the time out chair. jesus being thirsty. friends.

Year 6 :: hard. hurt. growth. big love. learning what love means. larry boy and barbie hair. houston. mosquitoes. astros. galveston. dates. rebuilding. honest.

Year 7 :: finally graduation time. second ministry job. abilene. kids in school. lunch dates. writing. worship. paper in trees. love. security.

Year 8 :: baseball. valentines day dinner. family time. canterbury trails. new friends. biblestudy by candlelight. growing every day.

Year 9 :: mission trips. students. family. love. birthing dreams. more new friends. possum kingdom. laughter.

Year 10 :: new house. pto. church. movement. intercession. cruise. europe. black dress. celebration. kids. life.

Year 11 :: change. faith. time. dream. late night talks. new car. christmas lights. photography. camp. loving. coffee. blockbuster online. books.

Year 12 :: testing. adventure. selling. going. learning. adoption. discovery green. love. search for community. haiti. houston. camps. ecclesia. laughter. tears. new. lace and doilies.

:::

I set this photo up for project 365 (I need to get back on track).  It makes me laugh every time I look at it.  It is some serious paparazzi love.  Except for the fact that we are our own paparazzi.  So there you have it.  In case you ever wanted to know what we look like while we share lunch (insert sarcastic smirk).  Chips & Queso+ Ernest + Project 365 = FUN.

By debra parker | Posted in marriage | Tagged , , , | 2 comments         Add a Comment
  1. Amanda   -  

    Hey girl! I just realized that I have not been getting your feeds on my bloglines. I don’t know if I forgot to enter it when you changed sites or what. Dern! Well I have some catching up to do!

  2. elaine @ peace for the journey   -  

    Happy Anniversary. Today we celebrate year 11, albeit apart. My husband is in the mountains of Bolivia with a mission team from our church. I’m here, manning the homefront and missing him terribly. God has brought us thus far and painted his magnificent grace across our hearts and lives.

    Keep to the task. Keep to the loving…even when it doesn’t make sense. Especially when it doesn’t make sense! May God give you another 12 and beyond.

    peace~elaine

marler family.

July 13, 2008 – 1:20 am

I think you already know how much I love downtown Houston.  Tonight I strolled around with these sweet friends. We had a great time and captured some true moments.  Enjoy.

By debra parker | Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 comments         Add a Comment
  1. mandy   -  

    my in-laws live in houston