Weekend of Productivity!

Adam and I had a great weekend being home and getting things done! To kick off my weekend, we went to a Jimmy Buffet concert on Thursday night. I have to say, it wouldn't be my first choice being 8 months pregnant, but Adam won free tickets through our newspaper and the seats were decent. The crowd was outrageous, but the concert was quite enjoyable.

On Friday, I enjoyed some shopping with Kristen while Adam was at work and long afternoon nap! We got BBQ at our favorite place, Allen and Sons, with friends and took it easy for the rest of the evening.

Saturday - Adam spent hours outside planting herbs, mowing the yard, and more. I spent time inside in front of my sewing machine and FINALLY got the sewing done for the nursery. So, we have the crib bumpers completed and I covered the cushion and foot stool for the rocking chair too. I actually had the curtains done a few weeks ago, but it took much longer for me to design the bumpers in a pattern I liked. But now, I LOVE them and feel a LOT better that these are finished!

We're going for a transportation theme for the nursery

Kristen got a job and back at Fidelity too!! And we went out to celebrate at our usual place...Frazier's! Kristen bought me this cute maternity top to wear for our evening out! Congratulations Kristen! We're so proud of you!

Sunday - What's a weekend if Adam and I don't make breakfast together one day!? Adam found this awesome recipe for some blueberry pancakes and accompanied them with a maple butter sauce. It was definitely the best pancakes this Parken house has ever seen! We're still cleaning up and being productive this afternoon before we head to church in a few hours.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Random Fact from Adam: "The Philadelphia Inquirer says the recession means less trash. According to Waste Business Journal, trash declined from 513 million tons in 2006 to 208 million tons in 2007 to 505 million tons in 2008."

Baby Shower #2

Adam and I headed to Boston on Thursday for our co-ed Baby Shower on Friday. It was a blast seeing friends and being blessed by so many loved ones! Here are a few pictures....click here for more.....

The awesome dessert spread

Cute onesies for our little boy!

Us with Heather, John, and Savannah

Wesley and Samantha decorated onesies for us

Veda opened her home for the shower...Thanks!

Beth helped organized and hosted our wonderful shower!

My mom, grandmother, and Aunt Karen

We got lots of fun gifts! Thanks everyone!

Random Fact from Adam: "Our prison system is something else. According to Sen. Jim Webb (D -- Va.):

- The U.S. has 5% of the world's population and nearly 25% of the world's reported prisoners
Another 5 million people who recently left jail remain under "correctional supervision," which includes parole, probation and other community sanctions.
- 1 in every 31 adults in the U.S. is in prison, in jail or on supervised release
- Local, state and federal spending on prison adds up to about $68 billion a year.
- 16% of adult inmates in American prisons and jails -- more than 350,000 people -- suffer from mental illness
- Drug offenders rose from 10% of the inmate population in 1984 to 33% in 2002
- African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, and they accounted for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison

Happy Easter!

We had a nice sunny Easter weekend here in North Carolina. On Friday, Adam and I enjoyed spending time with our friends Katy and Branon and playing games. On Saturday, Adam and I got to go to the ballet! First, we ate dinner at The Mint (yes, this is the same place we had Kristen's birthday dinner). We love their $23 three-course menu and the atmosphere is awesome. The Carolina Ballet was quite enjoyable and we enjoyed our second row seats from Adam's company! And today, we celebrated Easter with spending time in worship and fellowship at church. Can't believe the weekend is over and it is off to bed before another week starts!

The UNC Tarheels won the NCAA Championship and Krispy Kreme made their glazed donuts with the infamous Carolina Blue....Adam couldn't help but to try one....

Saturday night dinner at The Mint


We love having a date night in downtown Raleigh!

Our Easter picture in our backyard with my 32 week belly!

Random Fact from Adam: "Remember this line in "You've Got Mail"? "The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf!" Well, Joe Fox has a point, as the Los Angeles Times reported that Starbucks offers more than 87,000 possible drink combinations."

Baby Shower #1

Today was my first Baby Shower! We had it at Kristen's home and it was a Tea Party! All of us ladies had a blast with the beautiful decorations and wonderful food! The Tea Party consisted of three courses...

• Course 1 - Earl Grey Rooibos Tea with Mini Sandwiches - We had 3 different kind of sandwiches in cute little shapes. There was olive tapenade sandwich on pumpernickel bread, cucumber and chive on white bread, and pear lavender spread on wheat bread. They were all scrumptious!


• Course 2 - Blood Orange Pear Tea with Scones - My friend Janice made cranberry lemon scones and plain scones with the option of raspberry preserves or homemade devonshire cream or homemade lemon curd. This was also very delicious!


• Course 3 - Chai Tea with dessert treats - Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Tarts, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Cranberry Ginger Biscotti, and Vienna Bread (a very yummy almond treat that I love from Kristen's family recipes).

It was so fun enjoying an afternoon of friends over tea! Thank you for all who came and for all the generous gifts!

While I was out enjoying my afternoon with the ladies, Adam had some of the husbands over to our house for some good guy hang out time. They played tennis at our neighborhood court and watched a boy movie (The 300). They even had good guy snack foods I made for them: chips and queso, haystacks, chocolate chip cookies, and man dip (sausage and cheese goodness as Adam likes to call it..)

It was a great time of fellowship for all! Adam and I are so thankful for everything and for all your friendships, encouragement, and support!

Here are some pictures from this afternoon. For additional pictures, click here.

Janice, Ashley, Me, and Emily

Ready for Tea!

Enjoying our first course

Yummy desserts!

A perfect outfit for our little cowboy...Thanks Aunt Jeremy

Me and Emily at 31 weeks...my belly is definitely bigger!

Thanks to our lovely hostess Kristen!

Random Fact from Adam: "There are 3 creameries for milking water buffalo in the U.S., including Bufala di Vermont, based in South Woodstock, Vermont, which was the country's first water buffalo farmstead creamery. According to the company, "Water buffalo produce approximately 15% of the world's milk, primarily in Southeast Asia, South America and Italy. Italians have been using water buffalo for over 200 years where the meat and mozzarella are highly regarded delicacies."

Hanging out in Raleigh

We have had a quite a week over here! Last weekend we celebrated Kristen's birthday with a fabulous evening out on the town! We enjoyed a three course meal at The Mint followed by drinks at Bogart's. The bartender was nice enough to mix up a non-alcholic concotion for me. Happy Birthday Kristen! We love you!



On Monday, we received this awesome handmade blanket for our little boy from the the McMurrays. Thank you Katie, Jim, and Natalie. It is amazing! Adam was so excited he wanted it for himself....it's just a little small though....





Adam left on Tuesday for a work trip to Las Vegas. He got to see a couple of his high school guys who came in from LA to hang out with him. For me, I was home in our new house for the first time and did alright! I worked on the nursery and did a little shopping =) Adam's plane should land in a little bit and it will be great to have him back home!

Random Fact from Adam: "What's the fastest-growing metropolitan area of the country? Well, it's Wake County, NC, of course (the county where Raleigh, Cary and several suburbs are). Population here grew 4.3% between 2007 and 2008, beating out the Austin, Texas growth of 3.8%."