Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday and we got to be home in Texas to celebrate with him! Adam and I started the drive to Texas on Friday and made it in Saturday night for dinner. We have already enjoyed seeing both of our parents, families, and friends. Today is an extra special day as I got to spend the whole day with my amazing father. We kind of lucked out because his car had a flat today and he decided to call in to work (My mom thinks it had a lot to do with me being in town because in never calls in to work.) Either way, we spent the day doing a few errands, I took him and Mom out to lunch, and we set up for his birthday dinner. I made his favorite cake that he gets every year for his birthday, the pineapple meringue cake...it is very yummy. Adam's parents came over to dinner as well to join our family (Mom, Dad, Adam, me and my brother Joshua) for the festivities.

For those of you who have met my Dad, you know he is a man who often has a smile on his face. His heart welcomes all those he meets and he genuinely finds the best in every one. To me, he has been a father who has raised me to be the woman I have grown up to be. I have memories of him playing in the yard with me as a child, teaching me how to change the oil in the car, helping me move into my college dorm, and of course, walking me down the aisle. He has prayed and lead our family by seeking the Lord first. Although decisions may not have been easy, I have seen how he has sought God for the discernment he needed to be wise as he guides our family. With love he serves all those around him by lending a helping a hand or just lending an ear to listen. Our family is truly blessed to have someone like my Dad a part of our family who leads by example and backs it up with a heart full of love and compassion. I cannot wait for our little baby to meet his grandfather and experience the love and joy everyone gets from being around my Dad. I love you Dad and wish a Happy Birthday with many many more to come!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a blast with tons of food and spending time with friends. Kristen came over Wednesday night and the two of us headed to 4 stores before we started in the kitchen. We did some prep work and made the desserts for today.

On Thursday, our friends Branon and Katy Mack joined in on the fun with the most important item of all....the turkey and the deep fryer. That's right, we fried the 18 pound turkey and it was delicious! The appetizers included: crackers and dip, olives, artichokes, sour cream & caviar, seasoned nuts, pickles, pickle okra, and cheese. The main menu was: fried turkey, stuffing, cornbread dressing, 2 kinds of gravy, sweet potato casserole, potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, brussel sports, homemade rolls, and a yummy cream pudding Kristen made! Desserts: pecan pie, pumpking pie, upside down blackberry cake, homemade whipped cream, and ice cream. We sat down for the main fare around 2pm and tackled desserts around 6pm. It was a great time and we all had plenty of leftovers for the week!

Appetizer Tray

My yummy plate of food!

Katy, Branon, Kristen, Me, and Adam

Can't forget the growing baby....13 weeks!

Random Fact from Adam: "Maine lobsters account for 80% of the U.S. lobster catch, according to the Associated Press. Other lobster-related facts:

• Maine lobstermen haul around 400,000 pounds a day.
• Lobster is Maine's most valuable fishery. Its haul of roughly 63 million pounds last year was worth some $300 million at the dock with a total economic impact estimated at about $1 billion.
• The annual catch has more than doubled in the past 15 years; at the same time the average price paid to fishermen has risen more than 75 percent, with lobstermen averaging $4.44 per pound for their catch last year.
• Lobster prices fluctuate widely during the year depending on supply and demand. The price lobstermen receive for their catch fell to as low as $2.25 a pound this month.
• Along the Portland waterfront, seafood shops are selling lobsters for as cheap as $3.89 a pound, about the price of bologna at the deli counter.
• Retailers as far south as Washington, D.C., are selling live lobster for as little as $5.99 a pound.

Time to Celebrate!

1) It's my birthday today!!! Whoohoo! Nothing to crazy, just turning 28. I had a work conference this weekend, so there was minimal excitement today. But, I did get to take a day trip with Adam last weekend to Pinehurst. That was a ton of fun as we got to view the Festival of Trees along with walking around this super cute town. The Festival of Trees is a great fundraiser for a local Children's Hospital and it was just awesome seeing the decorations and beautfiul Carolina Inn.

2) We are also celebrating the end of our FIRST TRIMESTER this weekend! That's right! We are going to have a baby!!! The due date is currently at the beginning of June and all has been going quite smoothly thus far. I haven't been too sick or too tired, but both things have definitely occured.

3) And, if that wasn't enough.....we put an offer in on a house and it is currently under contract! We are expected to close at the end of December. We do have our apartment lease until the beginning of February, so we'll use the month of January to do a few things to the house (like painting a couple rooms) before we move all the way in.

Adam and I are so blessed by the way the Lord continues to provide for us and how He never ceases to show His faithfulness in our lives. It has truly been a memorably season of life with so much more ahead!

Random Fact from Adam: "Think of NC this holiday season. North Carolina is the 2nd largest turkey processing state in the country, and 4th largest chicken processor. North and South Carolina combined have more than 50 poultry processing plants."

The Summit Church Sermons

Adam and I have truly been blessed to be a part of the Summit Church here. We started going back in January and have settled into a small group now that we really enjoy. Adam and I jumped in and started serving on the "First Impressions" team. We specifically greet first time guests and welcome them to the church by giving them a nice little bag of treats and showing them around. I am also serving on the Hospitality team to provide snacks for the worship team. It is a great way for me to bake and make treats without all of them staying in our house! We have also adopted a few UNC college guys, but it is kinda tricky meeting up with them as often as we'd like due to scheduling and such.

Anyhow, I wanted to post the link to our church's sermons because I know I have mentioned them to some of you a few times. Back in the summer, we did an AMAZING serious about dating, relationships, and marriage. When you click on the link, this series in titled "Exposed." It really was a hilarious, enlightening, and convicting message each week that was just awesome. The most recent series we have finished was titled "Why I am not a Christian." We covered some of the major areas people tend to debate over a couple months. Adam and I continue to learn from our Pastor J.D. along with the entire staff. We are blessed to be a part of such a growing body of believers and thankful the Lord has us where we are! So, here is that link if you want to check any of those sermons out! Click here!

Random Fact from Adam: "In honor of the election and candidates' talk about taxes, here are some facts courtesy of the Associated Press:* "The richest 5% of Americans now pay well over half of all federal income taxes"* "40% of Americans pay no federal income tax at all"* "The richest 10% earn an average of $93,000 a year; the poorest 10% make $5,800"

Boston Reception

Adam and I headed back to Boston this past weekend to celebrate with Mike and Beth for their Boston wedding reception. In the short weekend we were there, I got the chance to have dinner with Heather, John, and their beautiful girl Savannah. And, once Adam arrived on Saturday, we ate a delicious lunch at my aunt's house with my grandmother and other family. Although a short trip to Boston, it was fun seeing everyone again!

Surf and Turf Lunch at my Aunt's

Mike and Beth dancing the night away

Nice work to Sandra and Nick who carved this pumpkin

Us taking a break to enjoy some food

Random Fact from Adam: "The National Confectioners Association forecasts sales of Halloween candy to hit $2.26 billion. The National Retail Federation predicts $1.77 billion. Other Halloween-related numbers:
* 64.5% of people plan to take part in Halloween activities this year. (I wonder if that counts people of faith who have "Fall Festivals" or similar gatherings.)
* The average amount spent on candy per person is $21.33. For costumes, decorations and cards per person: $45.21. (Cards? I know Hallmark sells them, but have you ever given or received a Halloween card? Did it same something corny like, "Have a spooktacular Halloween"?)"

Mr. and Mrs. Mike Ledeboer!

Adam and I traveled to Philly to drive 45 minutes to a quaint town of Smithville, NJ where Mike and Beth were married on October 12th. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of fun and friends. On Friday, we got into town to have lunch with our good friends Greg and Allison Trevathan. The boys headed out to go deep sea fishing for the Bachelor Party. We're thankful no one got sick and they got a few fish! The girls' took it easy and headed out for the Bachelorette Party later that afternoon. We went into Atlantic City, had some dinner, and went back to a friend's place for hang out time and silly games.

The boys out in Atlantic City

Saturday - Bridal Luncheon at Beth's Aunt's house that was so wonderful. Adam and I walked around cute downtown Smithville for an hour before we headed to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner was out at the golf course and it was a blast seeing everyone take swings on the driving range.

Allison, Laura, and I at the Luncheon

David and Beth Merritt and their daughter Ella

Trevathans and Merritts at the Rehearsal Dinner

Sunday was the big day with Holly, Kirsten and I doing each other's hair before meeting up with everyone else. The wedding was gorgeous and the reception was just awesome. We all had a great time and we're so happy that they are married now! Congratulations Mike and Beth!

The beautiful bride

In the limo headed to the church

The Bridal Party

Us with the Newlyweds

Random Fact from Adam: "Continuing the hunting theme, sort of... In North Carolina, an estimated 13,500 deer are hit by cars each year, costing $116 million dollars. I'm not mathematician or insurance person, but $8,600 per accident seems a bit steep, considering that the car wins just about all of the time."

Hanging out in NC

So, we have finally stuck around in North Carolina for a couple weeks now and have enjoyed some fun this area has to offer. A couple weekends ago, Adam accompanied me and a couple ladies (Alicia and Kristen) to Hillsborough for dinner and Locopops. For those of you who missed the info about Locopops in previous blog posts, it is a gourmet popsicle place the is AWESOME. For example, this past time we were in Locopops, we had a honeydew lemon verbena popsicle and a hazelnut berry popsicle. My current all time favorite is still plum cinnamon basil. Here are a couple pics of me and the girls having some fun!


Last weekend, Adam, Kristen, and I went to a Wine Festival. There were over 500 wines there and needless we did not taste them all. We did get to bring a picnic basket with us that we filled with bread, cheese, crackers, and fun snacks. It was a fun day outside and hanging out together!


This weekend, I (Steph) went to a conference in Charlotte for Continuing Ed for work. It was an easy 2 hour drive with one of my co-workers and we got to stay with our friend Sarah Fox. Although the conference was good, it is nice to be back home and relax with Adam! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!!

Coming soon....Beth and Mike's wedding is next week!!!!

Random Fact from Adam: "South Carolina is allowing alligator hunting for the first time in 44 years, allowing hunters to kill a total of 1,000 alligators that are at least 4 feet long. The biggest one captured so far is 13 feet 4 inches long. There are 100,000 or more alligators in the state, and South Carolina is the 8th state to allow public hunting of the once-endangered species."

Trip to Tennessee

Check our facial expression from the picture above! Adam realizes what is going on and I definitely have no clue, but am determined to keep my game face on! We had a blast in Tellico Bay with Adam's parents and family friends, Marcy & Mike. I attempted to water ski for the first time which resulted in consuming too much lake water...yuck! Everyone else did great though!

While in TN, we stayed with our good friends Greg and Allison. They are dear friends we knew from Boston and it was great seeing them and visiting Antioch Community Church of Knoxville. We dined at the only Jason's Deli in the area after church.

As we drove home last Sunday, we were passing through the town of Winston-Salem where our friends Matthew and Emily live. It was wonderful being able to have dinner in their home and feasting on Emily's wonderful cooking and homemade bread!

Random Fact from Adam: "According to the Chicago Tribune, last year Coca-Cola began putting smaller caps on plastic soda or water bottles holding 24 oz. or less, cutting plastic intake by 4 million pounds. This year, Coca-Cola will save 40 million pounds -- the equivalent of 280 million plastic beverage bottles."

Back from Boston

Adam and I made our last big trek to Boston and made it home safely. Adam went up first to finish up his last week at work and then I landed on Friday (Aug 29th) and we stayed until Sunday Sept 6th. It was a great time of seeing friends, celebrating our 2nd anniversary, and gearing up for the next chapter in our lives.

A trip to Boston would not be worthwhile if we didn't hit up some of our favorite restaurants. So where do the Parkens go when in Boston? Many people ask and here is the list:

• Border Cafe in Harvard Square: the 2nd best fajitas after Chuy's in Dallas

• Brown Sugar Cafe on Comm Ave: the best Thai, the green curry is amazing

• Peach Farm: Yes, we know it is a weird name considering it is the best Chinese food in Chinatown, my whole family eats here

• Ristorante Saraceno in the North End: homemade pasta, need I say more

• Blue Ribbon BBQ: if we can't get homemade smoked meat, this is the closest thing...

• Mike's Pastries: Italian goodies in bucket loads, I personally go for the cookies

• Modern Pastry: they fill their cannolis when you order them, oh yummy

• Angora Cafe: it's the frozen yogurt place that has about 40-50 flavors to mix in

• Not Your Average Joe's: besides the name, we love this place with it's creative menu and local ingredients

• Fire and Ice: Mongolian Grill maddness, if you really want something crazy, go for their Sunday brunch, we did it this time and we've done it before, you won't eat for days....

• Finale Dessertie: Some people say $10 for a dessert is extravagant, but every now and then, it's worth treating yourself because these delectables are really works of art

• James Hook: the best lobster rolls in town, $12 will get you a pile of fresh lobster meat in a bun

• We have several seafood options we like: Legal Seafoods, Quincy Market, Kelly's for their fried clams, or the Legal's Test Kitchen if you dare!
  

While we were in Boston, we did do more than eat....I PROMISE! We got to spend time with many friends and family during the week. I also got the joy of being in town for Beth's Bridal Shower. It was all so fun seeing so many people we love so much and don't see enough. A special thanks to Jerald and Abbey for hosting us while we were there. We truly appreciate your generosity and kindness.

Here are a few pics from our trip....more can be found on my facebook page. Did I say facebook page?!?!? Sure did...I entered the facebook world and I'm still not sure if I'm sold on it quite yet....time will only tell....

Savannah Rose Finnochiaro fell asleep while I was holding her

Samantha and Wesley are getting so big!

Yummy lobster roll

Me and Sarah Bianchi

My new little cousin Olive

Beth, Abbey, and Me

Random Fact from Adam: "Newsweek reported that about 3.5 million pounds of peanut butter goes uneaten every year, stuck at the bottom of the jar, according to Sherwood Forlee a former Princeton University engineering student. So Forlee has invented the Easy PB&J Jar, which comes with a lid on each side and straight, smooth internal walls to get to all of the peanut buttery goodness."

Popcorn Goodness!

So, it happened. We went to The Mad Popper yesterday. And, we bought some Carolina BBQ popcorn and Sweet Tea popcorn too. We sampled their peanut butter & jelly popcorn, but stuck to the fun southern flavors. This cute shop makes new flavors of the week and sell their popcorn by the bag or by the tin. It was definitely a fun treat yesterday afternoon!

Random Fact from Adam: "China has now passed Japan as the world's second largest car market, behind the U.S. A few Chinese car buying facts:
* Sales are up eight-fold since 2000
* 80% of all new cards sold in China are bought by people who have never bought a car -- new or used -- before, according to J.D. Power and Associates. In the U.S. less than 1% of all new cars are sold to people who have never bought a new or used car before."

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY ADAM!!!

My wonderful husband turns 30 today!!! We have already had fun celebrating this awesome man and there is still more fun still to come. Last Friday, we hosted the 5th Annual Dodgeball Birthday Bash. 10 dodgeballs, 18 people, a gym, and a birthday boy.....we were having a good time. And for those of you who have participated in the Dodgeball madness before, we did have Papa John's pizza and Dr. Pepper as always. For the cake this year though, Adam requested a cookie cake. Let's just say I went a little overboard (the thing was a monster!).

For his birthday breakfast today, I made us some buttermilk blueberry pancakes and a casserole with eggs, potatoes, and sausge. All the flags you seen in the casserole are the 31 (one to grow on) of the many reasons why I love my husband. It was a fun way to serve him today! I think the rest of our day is pretty chill. I may run a few errands while he finishes up work and then we do have a church event tonight. We'll wait to go to dinner tomorrow night. But, if I'm lucky, I think we're going to this popcorn place this afternoon. Adam read about it in the newspaper. It is called The Mad Popper and they have all kinds of flavored popcorn including Sweet Tea and Carolina BBQ. I'll let you know what I think about it! Alrighty then, until next time.....have a happy day!

Adam, Mike, Chad, and Brannon

My pizza stone holding some of it's best work

The breakfast casserole

Happy Birthday ADAM!!!!

Beach Bums...

Last Saturday, Adam, Kristen, Alicia, and I headed to the beach. Alicia is a fellow OT and co-worker of mine and a native to NC. So, she could show us the ropes around Wilmington! We ended up at Fort Fischer beach and it was a great day of sun and sand. After catching some waves and lounging around, we ventured to downtown Wilmington for dinner. It is such a cute city! I describe it as a blend of downtown Savannah and Portland, ME. And, Dawson's Creek was filmed in downtown Wilmington....yes, I did watch that show through college. We got to eat at Caprice Bistro where Kris and I got Mussels and Frites!!! YUM YUM! Let's just say, there's nothing quite like Beligium fries. By the time we were back in Raleigh, the four of us were wiped out and slept nice and soundly that night!

The fun colored houses along the water

Me, Kristen, and Alicia

Strolling in downtown Wilmington

Random Fact from Adam: "In honor of the 2008 NC turkey hunting season, here are some wild turkey facts (no, not the booze):
* They can fly up to 55 mph. 55! I'm shocked. Johnny Damon barely throws that hard.
* More than 10,000 wild turkeys were harvested in NC in 2007. Considering 75,000 hunters go after them, that's a pretty low success ratio.
* They're in 49 of the 50 states (all except Alaska).
* I saw a wild turkey next door to my apartment in Newton, Mass. Hey, I never said all of these random facts were exciting."

Party in Pennsylvania!

I hit the road again headed to the cute town of Swarthmore, PA. It is near Philly, but I never made it to that big city this time. The 6.5 hour drive started last Thursday morning with my Camry loaded up with food, decorations, and a sundress for Beth's Bridal Shower! I got to spend time with Beth and her family Thursday and Friday before the party fun on Saturday. Beth took me to "downtown" Swarthmore which is extremely adorable and a great deli place for lunch where I ordered a sandwich that was way too big for me! We went shopping, tried on shoes for the bridesmaids, a couple trips to Michael's and Staples, several malls, and good ole catching up face to face.....

Saturday started out with some caffeine and breakfast to get us going! Then, Holly and I headed over to Nikki's house to get everything ready. One stop to the grocery store, the 3rd stop to Staples for me, and praying that the rain holds off resulted in one AWESOME cocktail party...CHECK OUT the pics! It was so wonderful hanging out with all the girls, spending time celebrating with Beth, and laughing our heads off at our "post-shower" pajama party. We love you Beth and look forward to more fun and festivities as you and Mike get MARRIED!!!

A perfect setting for an outdoor cocktail party

The drinks were so cleverly named...way to go Nikki!

We had the system going while Beth opened all of our gifts

Desserts came out after opening presents, we had so much FOOD!

Kirstin, Nikki, Beth, Holly, and Me

Time to take it easy in pajamas and open more presents!

Random Fact from Adam: "Guinness sells more beer in Nigeria than Ireland, according to the Los Angeles Times. Granted, Nigeria has 148 million people compared to 4.3 million in Ireland, but still, who would've thought of Nigeria as a Guinness-loving country? Though beer consumption has declined by 15% in Ireland since 2001, the country is still the world's second-biggest beer-drinking market, trailing only the Czech Republic."

Challah-days (pronounced: holidays....get it?)

Hello friends and loyal readers! Adam came up with the clever title! It has been awhile since I've blogged and lots of fun has happened in the past month! Below you'll see a picture of a wonderful Friday night dinner Kristen, Adam and I shared. We have caprese salad and a charceuterie platter full of delicious meats (sopressata, prociutto, salami) from Southern Seasons. What is a charceuterie platter? That is the exact question Adam asked my culinary school graduate brother a year ago. The answer: fancy word for fancy deli meats. There you have it.

A new hobby of mine happens to be going to the library. I go about every 2-3 weeks on Friday since I have the day off. Usually, I pick up some cookbooks and see what fun I can have in the kitchen. One of my current favorite books happens to be a bread baking book. The picture below is of the humongous Challah bread I made. We made several sandwiches, french toast casserole, and used them for hamburger buns. It was quite delicious!

On the Fourth of July, we explored the festivities with a couple we have started to get to know from our small group at church. Will and Janice let us join them at the Eno River festival in Durham since they had gotten 4 free tickets. We enjoyed hot dogs, corn on the cob, and blueberry peach pie (I made from scratch!) at their house before we headed to Raleigh for their festivities at the Fairgrounds. Sadly, the fireworks were rained out about 30 minutes before they were going to go off. Hopefully, we'll get to see more next year!

We had a wonderful surprise when we found out that some friends from Boston were coming into town. Rich was Adam's old roommate back in Watertown, MA and he married the beautiful and talented Jenny. We got to enjoy their company for a few days while showing them some of the high spots in the Triangle area.

If we haven't had enough adventures yet, Adam, Kristen, and I went blackberry picking on Sunday. Last Sunday at church, Adam and I parked in a different lot than usual. (Our church is rather large and they direct us to where we park when we get there). When we got to our car after the service, we noticed we had parked in front of blackberry bushes. Since there were honey bees flying around, Adam suggested we come back after the sun goes down a little. So, we did. 90 minutes later, a few scratches, and purple fingers, we emerged with 4 pounds of free, fresh, and juicy blackberries!! Now that is what we call good fruit!

Random Fact from Adam: "The first TV station in the U.S. to broadcast in HD was WRAL, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh. More historic NC firsts include the first English child born in the U.S., the first Engish colony in America, and of course, the whole flight thing."