cereal for dinner
Linkbar
22 March 2010
Battlefield
In honor of Amy and
dances that (don't qualify for the Flamingo and) are completely unplanned . . .
11 March 2010
Denver Getaway
Hi!
I am feeling like I want a separate place just for family and friends where I can post our more personal pictures. Some stories and videos I may not want the whole world to view, and yet with our move overseas, I want to keep even more connected than I am now. So, shhhh . . . I am resurrecting this site. Do me favor and don't post the address on your blogs, but feel free to come back and check it often. It will be a quieter site. (I tried to do this one other time, too, "Parker Family Journey" . . . sorry for the confusion on that. Just go ahead and delete that one!)
So, go ahead and feel free to leave lots of comments. I am not going to give this address out to many people, so it will be a bit more private. You can totally share the link with family/friends, but I won't be posting it on the other, more public site, Life Overseas. :)
And for our first little post, here's a slideshow I put together with Kelty of our family getaway a few weeks ago to a hotel in Denver. . . Enjoy.
Love you guys.
Posted by Laura at 11:39 PM 3 comments
26 January 2010
New Address, New Look, Same Stuff
Hi Friends,
Matt asked me the other day what my dreams for the future were. Before I could think much about it, I blurted out, "To get published," (articles, not books). I guess that desire has been lurking in my head for some time, though hidden beneath layers of dishes and diapers for the past several years. As I prepare to move overseas, I am re-inventing myself a bit, and one of those changes lines up with my writing dream and manifests itself in the virtual world.
I have a new blog address and a new blog look. Essentially, I worked for four hours one day trying to recreate my current blog address (Lauraspen.com) to a new blog program (from Blogger to Wordpress), but discovered it would just be easier to come up with a new name and new web address altogether. In August, when my year contract with the address "Lauraspen.com" is over, I will buy that name and have it all direct to the same site, but for now, you will need to re-set my address to:
Posted by Laura at 11:20 AM 35 comments
Labels: blog, lauraleighparker.com
19 January 2010
No, I Have Not Been Kidnapped . . .
I haven't posted in seven days. That's quite a stretch of quiet for me. But I have some valid excuses:
**Both Matt and I both caught the Adenoid Virus (nasty throat-infections) and have been inside for the past five days--watching more movies than I care to count, eating lots of soup and trying to entertain children with as little energy expended as possible.
**Using my kids-occupied-with-the-tv time wisely, I have been reworking my blog into another site, which has cooler graphics and some fancier features. I'll keep you posted and direct you there soon.
**My Grandmother will probably be seeing the face of Jesus sometime today. Because of her declining health, she was given 48 hours to live yesterday as she slipped into a coma. My parents are saying their goodbyes as I write by her bedside in Hickory. Cassie and I will fly back to NC tommorrow to help mom with the funeral, which is planned for Saturday, and Matt will be tasting life as a single dad for the week.
So, pardon the silence for the past few days and for the next few, too. I'd be grateful for your thoughts and prayers for our family in the coming days . . .
Posted by Laura at 10:11 AM 8 comments
12 January 2010
Got Thirty Minutes?
If you are interested, below is the link to the sermon Matt gave this past Sunday. He was able to share the full story of how we decided to move to Thailand and was able to challenge us all to love and follow Jesus sacrificially. My favorite thing he said was, "Jesus did not die on a cross so that you could live a comfortable, easy life." Spot on. I also share midway through the talk about my own journey as a wife. The first five minutes is our pastor sharing his insights about following a call from God, and Matt begins with sharing the video from World Vision which I posted in the previous post. Hope it is a source of encouragement to you . . .
Posted by Laura at 8:29 PM 1 comments
Labels: faith, inspirational, jesus, matt, missions, missions in thailand
10 January 2010
One Life, Do Something
I wanted to post the video that Matt showed today in church before the sermon. He was able to share about our journey to Thailand and about what it means to really serve those around us like Jesus asks. On the tail end of a hard and busy week, the fact that he was able to share with power is evidence of grace alone. Enjoy this video from World Vision which challenges us with the following,
I'll be sure to post the audio of the message in the next few days.
Posted by Laura at 3:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: global concern, inspirational, matt, missions, world vision
09 January 2010
Ranch Hummus
Posted by Laura at 9:39 AM 0 comments
Labels: healthy eating for kids, homeschooling ideas, hummus recipes, recipes
08 January 2010
Parker Family Christmas
Posted by Laura at 11:02 PM 0 comments
Labels: family christmas, seasonal, vacation
. . . and Mom Got the Flamingo
Corrie Ten Boom: Earning the Right to Speak
On Feb. 28, 1944, they were betrayed and Corrie and several relatives were arrested. The four Jews and two underground workers in the house at the time of the arrest were not located by the Nazis and were extricated by the underground 47 hours after they fled to the tiny hiding place (located in Corrie's room).
The Ten Boom family members were separated and transferred to concentration camps. Corrie was allowed to stay with her precious sister, Betsy. Corrie's father (Casper), two of his children (Wilhelm & Betsy) and one grandchild (Christiaan) perished. Corrie was released in December of 1944.
These acts of heroism and sacrifice became the foundation for Corrie Ten Boom's global writing and speaking career which began after she was released. " - Quotes and History taken from Good Reads
Many of the following quotes are taken from Boom's book, The Hiding Place. I actually deleted several, but just could not force myself to delete any more from the list I found. I hope her words inspire your day as much as they have mine:
"Mama's love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street-- and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in. "
And one final story of the wisdom of Corrie's father:
"And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, "Father, what is sex and sin?"
He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor.
"Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said.
I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.
"It's too heavy," I said.
"Yes," he said, "and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.""
Have a favorite? Want to share it? Leave a comment.
Posted by Laura at 11:03 AM 2 comments
Labels: corrie ten boom, faith, inspirational, jesus quotes, love, quotes from corrie ten boom, spirituality, suffering
05 January 2010
Not Moving on Too Quickly . . .
I just read a post from Ann at Holy Experience. It brought tears to my eyes and proved to be a beautiful reminder not to rush past the Gift of Christmas too quickly,even though January has arrived and the decorations are back in the attic.
Enjoy. Why the Babe Always Stays
Posted by Laura at 4:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: seasonal
On Being Enough
the college girls who will be away from home and needing a motherly mentor
I get overwhelmed. Feelings of doubt and inadequacy creep in, and I begin to hear messages that "I will not be enough."
She said, "Laura, God will give you the ticket for the ride when it's your turn to get on it and not necessarily before. While you're waiting in line or across the fairgrounds at another booth, you won't have the ticket, but when the time comes, God will give you what it takes."
In other words, I can trust that when the gate to this ride of our Thailand adventure swings open, my God is big enough to "supply all my needs." (Bible, Phillippians, Chapter 4) I can relax in the knowledge that I'll have the ticket when I need it, and not necessarily before.
And I hear a whisper, "Deep breath, beloved. Don't worry about the roller coaster. Just enjoy the popcorn stand for now, and trust Me to be enough for tommorrow."
Sweet.
Or really,
Salty.
Thanks for being interested and for reading.
Posted by Laura at 4:30 PM 3 comments
Labels: inspirational, missions in thailand, moving to thailand, thailand
A Warm Salad
Posted by Laura at 3:50 PM 0 comments
Labels: healthy eating, recipes, salad recipes
03 January 2010
Catastrophe on the Escalator

(click to enlarge)
Highlights of our expedition to the fancy-shmancy Broadmoor Hotel to gawk at the gingerbread houses and Christmas decorations . . .
1. Having Ava and Cade get soaked at the Wishing Pool Fountain in one of the lounges (See picture above. And, yes, that is our two-year-old's entire arm submerged in the water as she tries to steal someone else's penny). And then having to walk around outside--wet--in 20 degree weather at night.
2. And, as we walked around, dripping and in barely-matching outfits, feeling inadequate trying to corral our children amid wealthy people in evening gowns walking to very-important dinners.
3. Spending 20 bucks on two hot chocolates, one coffee, and two cookies. Really. And that was everyone sharing everything.
4. Trusting Cade with said-very-expensive hot chocolate while going up an escalator, amid said-very-dressed-up-adults-with-lots-of-big-diamonds. Watching as Cade loses his balance, tries to catch himself with his broken arm, misses, and falls flat on his back, upside down on the escalator steps.
Spilling said-hot-chocolate.
Everywhere.
I'm afraid, once again, the Parker family misses the Norman Rockwell one's mark by just a teeny bit.
Oh, well, it makes for a funny story, and I reckon that's worth something.

Posted by Laura at 2:49 AM 3 comments
Colorado Christmas
No, I have not been struck by a meteor,
nor have I been kidnapped by aliens,
nor have my hands been rendered typeless because of some rare skin disease . . .
I just had Christmas. (So sorry for the unwarned two-week blog-silence.)
We actually just stumbled home yesterday from two weeks with our families in North Carolina. I will post more pictures of that time (as well as lessons learned along the way) in the next few days, but I wanted to put up a collage of our family Christmas here in Colorado. We gave the kids each three gifts (We said, "If it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for you." I know, ba-hum-bug, but they're little and were still thrilled.) We played games as a family (always a gift we give each year), ate cinnamon rolls (not homemade, of course, it's me we're talking about), stared at our 12-dollar ghetto-Christmas tree we bought last-minute at Walmart, and read the Christmas story of Jesus's birth. That evening, we headed out to the Broadmoor Hotel to see the gingerbread houses and lights. Gosh, I love Christmas--even if the cinnamon rolls are just Pillsbury.

Posted by Laura at 2:36 AM 1 comments
20 December 2009
Grateful for the Blindside
I hate asking for money. For anything, really. It's why I was a terrible Mary Kay Consultant and why I stink at selling cookies for girlscouts. And yet, I find myself doing just that a lot over the past month--asking for "support" so that our family can move to Thailand and work there. But I'm learning through this process of asking and receiving that blessing can blindside you in life just as much as tragedy and disappointment, and I must say I''ve been blindsided a lot lately. . .
Like in the couple who hosted a candle-lit dessert tonight, the weekend before Christmas, so others could hear about what we'll be doing overseas.
Like the college girl who generously gave $10.
Like the former students, now graduates with real jobs and families of their own, who have jumped into this adventure with us by pulling out their debit cards.
Like the family who is choosing to give to our family instead of giving Christmas gifts to each other this year.
Like the friend who asked so earnestly to know our prayer requests that she felt she needed to apologize.
Like the mom who gave the gift of babysitting when it was desperately needed at the last minute.
Like the precious friend who chooses not to cry when we talk about my leaving, so that I "won't feel too sad about it," and who donates her sewing skills to my shirts that need fixing saying, "Give the money you would have paid me to Thailand."
Yes, I am learning much about what it means to "raise support." I'm learning that "support" is much broader than just finances, and I am recognizing that it can have a hundred different faces--faces that I didn't expect when we started this process.
And for all that, I am beyond grateful for the blindside.
Posted by Laura at 4:07 AM 3 comments
Labels: missions in thailand, raising support, thailand
16 December 2009
A Yellow Stroke
Posted by Laura at 12:03 PM 6 comments
Labels: missions in thailand, motherhood, moving to thailand, spirituality, suffering
13 December 2009
12 December 2009
And It Begins . . .
Posted by Laura at 4:55 PM 1 comments
Labels: hard work, missions in thailand, moving a family overseas
The Dress Rehearsal
And watching the process of the dress rehearsal reminded me of a quote in a book I just finished last night. It's a novel about the journey a young mom takes during her first year as a widow. One of the quotes the author wrote really pierced me, and it has been circulating my heart over the past three days. The main character in the novel had just blown it with one of her kids, missed their hearts and lashed out in anger. And in the quiet of children sleeping that evening, she writes something like, "And I am learning that there are no do-overs. Especially in the things that really matter."
And it struck me as I watched my daughter dance last night that life isn't like a ballet recital. There are no dress rehearsals, where mistakes are ironed out and where it's okay if you blow it, because you can always stop the music and try again. And true, recitals are events that only take place maybe twice a year, whereas moments that matter surface countless times in a mere day, but it is still a reality that makes me want to:
kiss my husband more passionately,
stop cleaning and play pretend with my kids,
turn off the tv and talk,
embrace a move to a foreign land,
and hold my tongue when anger begins to creep in.
Because life doesn't give you do-overs. And gratefully, our days on earth offer us many opportunities to right our mistakes, but here's to hoping I remember that today is not a dress rehearsal for something bigger or better in the future. Today is it, and I better be focusing on the things that matter.
Kelty's Dress Rehearsal 2009 from laura parker on Vimeo.
Posted by Laura at 2:43 PM 2 comments
Labels: books, dress rehearsals, faith, jesus quotes, motherhood, recitals, seize the day, spirituality, wedding dance video
09 December 2009
A Bright Spot
Once again, I am left this Wednesday with a deep appreciation for my five friends who come over weekly to talk about things that matter. And though our journeys are all unique, our discussions leave me feeling more inspired and more known. Today we were discussing some of the stories Jesus told and were asking ourselves what he meant when he used the term "kingdom of heaven" or "kingdom of God." Was he talking about a physical place in the afterlife or was he speaking of a condition of our hearts and the choices of our will here on the earth? Is the 'kingdom of heaven' God's utopian ideal or is it attainable reality? Excellent food for thought for this small brain. Regardless, here's a little video I found on the topic. Enjoy.
And Wednesday-ladies, thanks for being such a bright spot in my week.
Posted by Laura at 5:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: jesus, kingdom of heaven, spirituality, videos
Egypt: Pyramids and Mummies
Posted by Laura at 5:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: egypt project, homeschooling, toliet paper mummy
Welcome to LaurasPen.com . . .
- Laura
- Currently living in Colorado but moving to THAILAND, I am: a Christ-follower, a lady still in love, a homeschooling mom to three, a lover of the outdoors, and quite content with my reality of serving cereal for dinner--sometimes even more than one night a week. Thanks for visiting this site--a place for a closer and more personal look at our family.
The Open Door
Check out our promo video for our upcoming move and work in Thailand with young girls. Click on the picture to view the video.
Cereal for Dinner is actually found at . . .
. . . LaurasPen.com . I know, I know, the web address is totally different from the title. That's what I get for not jumping into the internet world sooner. It seems that all the cool addresses were already taken.
Most Popular Searches from Cereal for Dinner
Family Book Favs
- James Herriott's Treasury for Children
- Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis
- Little House on the Prairie, Wilder
- Our 24 Family Ways, Clarkson
- Hero Tales series
- Leading Little Ones to God, Schoolland
- The Big Picture Story Bible, Helm
- Junie B. Jones series, Park
- Five in a Row series
- The Story of the World, Bauer
- My First Message, Peterson
Archives
- ► 2009 (263)














