The Parken Family: 2011

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Prayer Time for the Parkens

Instead of a baby shower this time around, I was blessed to have a sweet time of fellowship and prayer with some amazing women. I love being surrounded by these ladies and I am so thankful for the countless ways they serve me and our family. Here is a little about what we prayed about as we prepare to welcome our second son in this world....

As a follower of Christ, I am constantly brought to my knees by the grace and mercy of our Savior. As a mother, I am consistently being challenged in new ways and humbled by the ways God is allowing me to hear His voice clearly. It is so refreshing to sit in His presence, to be still, and to know that He can meet exactly where I am. He can meet me in the midst of a day where everything is going smoothly and He can meet me when I am a wreck.

Praying for my sons is of utmost importance as we want to teach them about our Creator and the importance of surrendering to Him. As Adam and I prepared for Everett and continue to pray for our second little boy, we chose their names and Scriptures based on what we felt God had in store for them.

EVERETT SHANE PARKEN was born May 2, 2009 and has been filling our lives with joy and laughter like you wouldn’t believe. Everett is already our social and outgoing one. We have no doubt he will be proclaiming God's truth to others early. He will ask the bold questions to others with a pure heart in only wanting others to know more about Jesus. Wherever he goes in life, our God is going before Him to reveal his compassion as Everett shares His truths.
[We have already seen this come true with his surgery and God's graciousness on his life to this point. And we know there is so much more God is going to do through him!]

EVERETT - "courageous"
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
SHANE - "The Lord is gracious"
"The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." Psalm 116:5

We now patiently await the arrival our second son, JAMES ELIAS PARKEN. Servant-leadership is our prayer for James. We feel that God will use him to gather others as he serves them and shows them who our Savior is. James will be able to declare the goodness of our God through the ways that He blesses his life and our family.

JAMES - one of Jesus' first disciples
ELIAS - "You are my God"
"But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,and whoever would be first among you must beslaveof all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served butto serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45
" You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great." Psalm 18:35

We are so excited to see how God will use these brothers for his Kingdom. They each will have their own strengths, but they will be able to support and encourage one another through their weaknesses. We pray for Everett and James to grasp God's truth quickly and share it with others unashamedly!

Allison came in from Knoxville to help out while Adam was gone!

Friends I have had for many years - Heather and Kristen

Ladies from church - Leslie and Alicia

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Parken Update!

So sorry for the delay on pictures and info into our world over here. We couldn't find our camera cord to upload pictures for awhile, but alas, I have it now and can resume infiltrating others with pictures of our growing boy! Since I left off last, we enjoyed a great visit from friends we knew in Boston. Greg and Allison now live in Knoxville with their daughter Emery and Mike and Beth will be moving from Boston to Colorado in a few weeks. It was such a blast to have them in our home and ring in 2011 together!

Out in downtown Raleigh on New Year's Eve

Entire group ready to ring in the New Year

Everett loved reading and hanging out with Uncle Mikey

We had a blast with Mike and Beth!

Adam's work did their yearly holiday party with food and a casino night. It was a good time as usual and gave me another chance to wear the black maternity dress. The last time I wore it was to his work party while pregnant with Everett.

Everett is in full preparation for the arrival of his little brother in late March. He has transitioned to the bottom of bunk in his new room. The bunk bed has a twin on top and a full on the bottom. Everett sometimes looks so little in that big bed. The transition was surprisingly (and happily) uneventful. He climbed in, laid his head on the pillow, and doesn't get out until we come get him....we are SO thankful on how smoothly this all went!

Everett completely asleep during a nap....I had come to wake him up as it was getting close to 5pm and I was going to want him to go to bed at a normal time!

In true Kristen style, she SPOILED us with an extremely generous Christmas present. I gift card to Bedandbreakfast.com accompanied with a free weekend of babysitting. Adam and I cashed in this gift this past weekend by heading out to the Inner Banks for Babymoon #2. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the gorgeous Pond House Inn along with lots and lots of sleeping and relaxing!

The Bluebonnet Room at The Pond House in at Elizabeth City. It was complete with a walk-in closet, fire place, flat screen TV, refreshments, and lots of space to relax!

The view from our room

Enjoying old fashioned milkshakes at the Downtown Soda Shop in Edenton

Me and my growing belly

All ready for our dinner out and enjoying our time together

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Christmas in Texas

Adam, Everett, and I flew to Texas to enjoy a great week with our family and see a few friends. Everett continues to be a compliant traveler and we are so thankful for that! It was such a special season celebrating Christmas with Everett this year. We are loving our family and are excited about how we are growing!