Weekend Away

This last weekend Nathan and I went on a retreat with our church family. We had a great time getting to know our church family better and hearing God's word taught. It was in the Lake District, which was gorgeous in theory. We didn't see much of it because it was cold, rainy, and blustery - seriously blustery - the whole time, and we didn't explore much. 

Despite the weather, several people organized walks during free time on Saturday afternoon. There was a short walk (two hours) and a longer, more strenuous walk (four hours). Yes, in the rain and mud and wind and cold. The English love their walks. I contemplated going on the short walk until my American friend, Mindy, told me that "short" did not meet my American definition of "short." 

She and I decided to take the American eight months pregnant lady's version of a short walk, and we basically just sauntered around the grounds of the retreat center for about 45 minutes. It rained the whole time, but I just imagined what it would have been like if it was in the summer. The picture below was taken in front of "the summer house" on a little pond. So adorable!

I don't know if you remember Dave and Mindy's story, but they finally got their luggage back from Heathrow a few weeks ago... sans their digital camera. Sadly, they had not transferred any pictures onto their computer and thus lost them all. They didn't have a single picture of Mindy pregnant! I put a stop to that right away and snapped this shot.

She insisted on taking one of me in the same spot.

This is the path into the grounds. I'm sure those trees are gorgeous in the spring, summer, and fall.


Everyone was encouraged to bring "cake" (translation: dessert that you can eat with your hands, like muffins, cake, cookies, etc.) to share during tea breaks, and I got to try a lot of different homemade desserts. Tasty! Something wonderful happened during a tea break when Mindy marched up to me with one of my cookies half eaten in hand and said, "These chocolate chip cookies are amazing!"


"How did you know I made them?"


"Because these tasted like my mom's. They're proper American chocolate chip cookies, and you're the only other American here."


That warmed my heart. :)


One of the other highlights for me, and this may sound stupid, was coloring and talking at a table with five other ladies. My 49 pence coloring book is getting great mileage.

Thoughts About Valentine's Day

It's no secret that my mother's favorite holiday is Valentine's Day. I'm not sure how it started, but she loves it and loves sharing the love. I have worked hard to love it, and now I like it. It's taken me a long time to like it, and hopefully I'll get to the "love it" stage someday.

I started disliking it when Paul put an extra chocolate heart in my valentine in kindergarten. Then Dustin wrote, "I like you," in a valentine in 2nd grade. In 9th grade Josh brought me flowers, balloons, and a poem to youth group. In 10th grade I got a candygram from both Mike and Ryan. I did not like (as in "like" like) any of these boys at the time. 

I was so embarrassed. Humiliated. Ended up in tears. 

Speaking of tears, rewind a little to about 7th grade. We were having our annual Valentine's Family Dinner. My mom, as usual, had decorated the whole house, but the table was particularly festive. She turned the plates over to hide our Valentine's Day treats, probably some heart socks or some butterscotch suckers from See's Candies. We started on the food shortly after and then Mom started what is probably her favorite moment on her favorite holiday.

"Let's go around and say what we love about each other!"

Like every year, we all had to take turns and say something specific that we loved about each person in the family. I'm sure I rolled the eyes of my heart - as I did a lot when I was in 7th grade - and begrudgingly rattled off the compliments as quickly as I could. 

"I love my brother because he cleans my room sometimes. I love my sister because she lets me borrow her clothes sometimes. I love my mom because she made this really nice dinner. I love my dad because... because..." 

Now, I love everyone in my family very, very much, but my dad and I were/are two peas in a pod. I was suddenly caught up in a flood of emotion. Imagine now the quivering of my middle school chin and the welling up of some fat middle school tears.

Imagine my mom trying to keep herself from laughing but a little snort coming out.

Imagine me doing the only middle school thing to do, which was to whisk away from the table and sequester myself in my room with the middle school slam of a door. 

I was so embarrassed. Humiliated. Ended up in tears.

I've never been able to live it down since. Every year I've been away from home, I've received my valentines from the family in the mail, including some remark about how tragic it was that couldn't make the annual Valentine's Family Dinner and provide the entertainment.

On the first Valentine's Day that Nathan and I knew each other, we were engaged and I was visiting him in Atlanta. Nathan stole away to the drug store while I was napping and bought me some waxy chocolates and a stuffed bear... and a birthday card. Because all of the Valentine's Day cards were gone. I surmised that if that performance was what I was getting from him while we were engaged, 50 more Valentine's Days with him weren't going to be much more thoughtful. 

Two years ago he forgot completely. Not even a birthday card. That day, we went to our friends' wedding in a next-door state and I sulked like a brat the entire ride over to celebrate their love. For a girl who didn't even like Valentine's Day, I was paradoxically quite upset. 

I can totally laugh about all of these stories now, but I can't figure out what's wrong with me. Why do my past memories and future expectations for such a Hallmark holiday cause me such anxiety? I mean, it should be all about the people we love, for goodness sake! If I label my 7th grade Valentine's Day family love-fest experience as the most scarring of my childhood, you have every right to question my view of reality. If my husband - who loves me really well every day, not just Valentine's Day - doesn't make a big deal about it, even after I tell him I don't want him to make a big deal about it, and I still get upset, I've got serious issues. It seems that I may have a self-centeredness problem. How to root it out?

All that to saaay, my mom sent us a Valentine's care package. Woohoo! I love that she was spreading some early Valentine's Day love!!!

It came complete with heart stickers and a hot pink box underneath the brown paper.

Inside, each item was uniquely wrapped in its own Valentine's Day decorative packaging. A lot of love went into this box, I could feel it! For some reason, I didn't take any more pictures of the items in the package, probably because Nathan and I were tearing into everything so quickly. There were practical things like taco seasoning and Italian dressing mix and chocolate chips. There were Valentine's Day specialty items like red, pink, and white peanut butter M&Ms and hot pink heart comfy PJs from Target. There was an In N Out T-shirt for Nathan, a new watch for me, and some special items from my childhood - a "Going to Grandma's" red canvas bag and my special cup I kept at Uncle Bob and Aunt Deanie's, both of which are personalized with my name on them. 

Thanks, Mumers, for taking time and care to put this box together for us. I will miss you all this year at the annual Valentine's Day Family Dinner.

I Heart Heart Cake

Yes, you read that right.

Here's how to make it.

Winnie is Here

Winnie Paige has arrived! 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 inches long. I saw a quick peek of her on my brother-in-law's iPhone using Skype, and she looks just like my sister when she was born! Just perfect! I already love this little girl so much...


Congratulations to the blessed parents, Nick and Kristen, and of course, to big sister June.

Love all around...

Is Today the Day?

I have been on pins and needles for the last 24 hours waiting to be an aunt again. It's so hard to be away from my family today! I was a complete wreck when June was born and I was 3,000 miles away in Atlanta. I felt so far away. Somehow it's just the slightest bit easier (but only slightly) this time around. Technology is amazing. I Skyped with my sister on my brother-in-law's fancy iPhone while she was in the hospital, and I got to see her face and her big belly with all the monitors on it and everything. It makes me cry with thankfulness and longing even now. 


If baby girl comes today, she'll share a birthday with my dear friend Al Pal. Happy 30th buddy.


Here's a hint as to what baby girl's name is going to be. I am in LOVE with this name for her!

I'll keep you posted.

25 Random Things Update

Today is a random day. It's 48 degrees and mighty blustery outside. It's one of those days where I have little to say. I was going to blog about our adventure to the sporting goods store yesterday that entailed almost three hours of walking, but I didn't take any pictures. Maybe some other time... 

I wandered over to Facebook and re-encountered my one and only "note," whatever that means. In a rare window of opportunity, I responded to the "25 Random Things" internet meme that was going around. I wrote it just a shade over two years ago. I thought I'd repost it here. Updates are in bold.


1. I'm only doing this because I am not skiing on our youth group's ski trip, and I have the rare opportunity of sitting around and playing on my computer all day. Clearly I have the the not-so-rare-anymore opportunity to sit around and play on the computer all day. Fingers crossed for a job soon.

2. My husband, Nathan, and I had an "arranged marriage." Our wedding day was the 10th time we laid eyes on each other. I am head over heels in love with him. Still true.

3. I scare easily. I am a very jumpy person, according to Nathan, who lives to jump out of dark corners with a mask on. I HATE being frightened, scary movies, haunted houses, etc. I was spending some time thinking in bed this morning and got scared when I heard him cough. I thought he had already left for the library.

4. If I ever win the lottery ( if I ever play the lottery) I'll hire a full time driver. I don't like to drive, especially at night. My friends in college called me Granny Nico. No car in Durham means no driving. Yay! I don't miss it at all, except when I have too many groceries and it's snowing outside.

5. I think blogs are a great tool for keeping up with friends and family. There are several people who I blogstalk every chance I get: Kristi, Bekah, Lorie, Christy, B-Hog, etc. I check my own blog every day too, even thought I don't update it every day. I think I'm just checking to see if anyone has commented. Is that vain? I blogstalk a lot more people now, and I check for comments on our blog multiple times a day. The vanity disease is getting worse.

6. One of my 6th grade students told me that I had a five o'clock shadow the other day. I'm pretty sure he didn't know what it meant, but I couldn't shake some insecurity for a while. I miss that kid. We're FB friends now.

7. I'm not a morning person. I'm not a night person. Nathan is both. I'm neither. I'm a love-my-sleep person. I slept from 12:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. last night. Good, but not good.

8. My parents are awesome. I'm so glad I'm half of each of them. Still true.

9. My sister and brother-in-law are making me an aunt next month. They're making me an aunt again today.

10. My brother is adopted, deaf, blind in one eye, mentally challenged, an addict, quasi-homeless by choice, and generally pretty kooky, but he's the best thing that ever happened to our family. He recently told my parents that he only smokes "only a little bit of pot." I guess that's an improvement.

11. I was diagnosed with type I diabetes about three months ago. The thought of drawing blood and giving myself insulin shots in the stomach four times a day made me seriously nauseous at first, but somehow, by God's grace, I'm doing it. Two years on, I'm still dependent on God's grace to manage the 'betes. I hate it.

12. I've recently gotten back into coloring as a medium for stress relief. I won a bunch of coloring contests when I was little, probably due to the mixture of my mom's love of winning things and my love of staying inside the lines. I just bought a coloring book at Tesco last night. They were out of the good crayons, so I bought the small box of eight Tesco crayons. I'm working on Valentines for the fam today.

13. I admire really great photographers. I blogstalk them too. :) I have a bunch of links to the ones I like on my blog, like Joel Flory, my wedding photographer, who made me wonder if I may have missed my calling as a supermodel. Photographers who make you wonder that are really good. You can check out my favorites in the sidebar on the right, including our wedding photos by Joel.

14. I love to cook and entertain, but I had pretty much no practice until I got married. Now I'm trying to muster up the energy to write a cookbook. I just lack the time and the photographer who can make my food look like a supermodel. This has seriously fallen by the wayside. I finished the desserts section on that same ski trip, but there are still no pictures. Maybe when we get back to the States and I can have all my kitchen stuff back...

15. Meatloaf (the singer not the entree) asked me to dance at George W. Bush's inaugural ball in 2001. I had seen him dance with Rosie O'Donnell on her talk show on TV and then French kiss her, so I was a little scared, but I still said "yes" just for the story. Thankfully, no French kissing ensued. Not much to add here, except for the fact that this was 10 years ago makes me feel old.

16. Julia Kate is going to help me with the rest of my 25 Random Things. JK just turned 18. That makes me feel old too.

17. I only get on Facebook every month or so, because we don't have the internet at home and the site is blocked at school. Somehow the kids manage to update their statuses during school hours, but I don't have time to circumvent the system. Talk about the firewall backfiring! My, how times have changed. The Parkers are now in the 21st century. 

18. I tried out for the Taylor University Chorale my freshman year, but I didn't make the cut. I didn't like singing in front of people, or think I was even close enough to being good enough to, until my friend Hannah Heth asked me to sing at her wedding. Since then, I've sung in... I'm not sure how many weddings and sing at church monthly. Thanks Hannah. I don't sing at church anymore, and I kind of miss it. I mean, I sing at church, but not up front. You probably gathered that. Never mind.

19. I lick the gum wrapper before putting a new piece of gum in my mouth. In first grade our teacher taught us about habits, and I didn't have one, so I thought I'd start one. Licking the gum wrapper was the first thing that popped into my mind at the time. If Nathan gets me a piece of gum, he holds out the wrapper for me to lick before putting the gum in my mouth. True love.

20. I pretend to like people's pets, but I don't really. The only pet I loved was our dog, Bebe, who lived to be 16 years old. My mom had her put to sleep on my 25th birthday. Thanks Mom. That sounded bitter. Sorry Mom. And sorry to Frank, who kind of scares me.

21. I'm not very athletic. My sister got the athletic genes, and I got the singing and dancing genes. Painfully true. Although, I could probably beat her at any sport today, but that's because she's in labor.

22. I learned to swallow pills when my mom sneaked them into my applesauce as a kid. Is sneaked used in the proper form here? I think it is.

23. If money were no object, I'd love to run a beautiful and restful bed and breakfast by some body of water. Nathan would to the outdoor work and keep the books. I'd just make things pretty and cook stuff. The North Barn is a mini version of that. Come visit!

24. When I was in college, I had a wall of pictures and concert ticket stubs dedicated to Steven Curtis Chapman. I owned all of his tapes/CDs and saw him in concert 12 times. When I think if this past summer, I think of his newest album, "Beauty Will Rise." Before we moved, I gave it to Ryan's parents. 

25. I congratulate you if you read this whole thing! Amen, and amen!

YouTube Party

The idea started on New Year's Eve, when at our friends' Steve and Sarah's house (the same ones who loaned us The Up Series) we all crowded around the computer to watch some YouTube videos. It seems like we've been sharing a lot of those at dinner parties recently. Someone will inevitably say, "Hey, have you seen the one where...?" and then we spend 30 minutes watching a variety of videos online.


We decided to make it official and have a YouTube party, a time when many friends could come together and share our top videos over chili unabashed. We hung a white sheet from the loft, and our neighbor and "friendly neighborhood archivist," Francis, borrowed a projector from the library and brought over his computer speakers. 


I'm not sure why they're all turning out to be different sizes, but here are a few of my favorites from the night.


This one is very popular, especially in the States. I think this kid's voice is amazing!



Think Martha Stewart/Nigella Lawson meets Timbaland.



Nathan found this one after our party, so we didn't show it, but it makes him laugh so hard he can hardly breathe.




My dad showed me this one the day of the party. This three year old is conducting a symphony while picking his nose.



Our friend Sam submitted this video in absentia. Warning: a few bad words.



Funniest string of commercials I've seen in a long while.



You can relate to this one if you've ever gotten the giggles someplace you weren't supposed to. Warning: mature subject matter.