Laura Parker

Keepin’ It Real {The Price of Saving Face}

5. August 2010

So, on a lighter note from my previous Help-Me-I-Might-Explode-Post, here’s a true account from my week . . . Just a few days ago, I was crammed into a sawng-taw on my way home from Thai Language Class. It was afternoon-tropics-hot. It was stop-and-go-after-school-traffic. It was too-many-cars-and-motorbikes-fumes. It was five-people-too-many-people-in-the-elevator. And I was practicing my [...]

Ava eats Worms. For Real.

14. July 2010

13 Comments

We have been assaulted with the different in this exotic place we now call home. From the way we shop for food (every other day at open air markets) to the way we get around town (on the left side of the road, on the back of a motorcycle or in a truck-turned-taxi), daily life [...]

What It Takes to Get to School {Only Nine Steps}

8. July 2010

12 Comments

What It Takes to Get to School {Only Nine Steps}

We started Thai Language School! I write that with an exclamation point because it was a last-minute opportunity that we are so thrilled about taking. Matt and I both are learning conversational Thai for the next six weeks, five days a week, two hours a day. Matt goes to the morning class, and I go [...]

Happy Birthday . . . Here’s a Fish to Eat Your Foot

29. June 2010

6 Comments

In honor of Kelty’s seventh birthday, my mom and I took her out for a fun salad dinner, a little shopping, and our first exposure to the ever-popular fish-spa therapy here in Chiang Mai. Essentially, you pay money to stick your perfectly-healthy feet into a tank to let hundreds of fish nibble at your toes. [...]

Start-the-Week Pep Talk

7. June 2010

2 Comments

Ever feel like this on a Monday morning? Check out this short video, and laugh a little. {And who says you can’t do the same thing in the bathroom at work?} SHARE Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

Hula Hoop: Destined for Greatness

22. May 2010

3 Comments

I was standing with the girls at Breanna’s House the other day. We were chatting in their rooms as they were getting ready for bed. Several of them were gathered around me, one girl said something in Thai, and they all immediately nodded affirmation. Dark hands touched my waist and made the “hourglass” figure in [...]

Crappy Missionary

11. April 2010

20 Comments

I wrote this at the end of the last two weeks struggling to set up life here in Thailand–renting a house, setting up accounts, figuring out grocery stores, buying household supplies, trying to get internet at the house (still no success). Most of the girls have been away on school holiday, so we haven’t had a chance to [...]

Denial

18. March 2010

0 Comments

As I begin to trudge through the hard goodbyes, the loss of this place I’ve called home for nearly five years, the closing of this chapter of our lives, I sometimes feel like I’d rather just bury my head in the sand . . . or snow. (I promise, they were doing this on their own yesterday [...]

Icecream Sandwiches

14. March 2010

1 Comment

My four-year-old son was tasked with the job of fixing a snack for us girls for our daily storytime. Reading is one of the major foundations of our homeschooling day, and our kids typically need ”special snacks” in order to stretch out the event longer. Last week, Cade was proudly excited to deliver us his newest [...]

In Honor of the Olympics

2. March 2010

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Ava shows her American Team Spirit . . . SHARE Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

An Honest Observation

9. February 2010

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“Mom, why is your hair two different colors?” he asked while we were sitting on the couch yesterday. “What do ya mean?” “Well, the top part is black,” and he points a pudgy finger to my roots, “and the bottom part is like white or yellow,” he concludes, flipping my ends. “That’s really funny.” I [...]

Catastrophe on the Escalator

3. January 2010

3 Comments

(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 [...]

“Dodd is WUV”

7. December 2009

1 Comment

Check out this short clip of Ava’s first Bible Verse:“God is Love.” (from the book of 1 John) SHARE Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

Mac-and-Cheese Throwdown

4. December 2009

5 Comments

I loathe grocery shopping–especially with three small children. If I were rich, I would hire somebody else to do it. If I were smart, I would leave the kids at home and go alone, but since I am neither, I continue to endure the self-inflicted torture weekly. Case in Point. Last week as we were [...]

“Not Excited Anymore”

29. November 2009

2 Comments

“Mom, I’m excited about Christmas because the point is the presents,” he says with hopeful eyes, thinking about a rock guitar and a new Hot Wheels track.“Well, actually, ” I declare, “the point of Christmas is that Jesus was born as a baby.” Face falls. Eyes squint. Sigh escapes. Voice hardens. “Well, then,” he huffs angrily, [...]

Wedding Dance

22. November 2009

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Man, if the wedding itself started like this, imagine how much fun the reception would have been . . . SHARE Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

Mom-Robot

11. November 2009

2 Comments

“Mom, are you a robot?” he asked matter-of-factly. “No,” I snort, “Why, do I look like one?” And my four-year-old reached out a hand to touch the skin on my arm and declared, “Well, I think you are one, and this is just your costume.” Hmmm . . . a robot? I guess if I [...]

From Soup to Pie

26. October 2009

7 Comments

(I started this the week before Matt left and brought it out to finish this afternoon.) The Soup. All I wanted was to make soup. Harvest soup. A unique, healthy recipe I attempt only once a year. And in the brief snatches of time between meetings, Matt took the kids outside to play so I could [...]

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder . . . and it’s only day one

19. October 2009

6 Comments

I love that I was Matt Parker’s date to senior prom, and I’m glad that our first (of many) kisses took place on a beach. I love that I knew him when he was bald and bearded, and that he is the only man in the world who would spend two hours to pull my [...]

The Price of Beauty

30. September 2009

1 Comment

We’ve told her that beauty has a price. We’ve informed her that hair care by means of basic brushing is important. We’ve told her that unless she wants knots in those fine locks of hers, she’s gonna have to sit still. But she just won’t listen. SHARE Recommend on Facebook Share with Stumblers Tweet about [...]

Archive | for a laugh RSS feed for this section

Keepin’ It Real {The Price of Saving Face}

Ava eats Worms. For Real.

What It Takes to Get to School {Only Nine Steps}

Happy Birthday . . . Here’s a Fish to Eat Your Foot

Start-the-Week Pep Talk

Hula Hoop: Destined for Greatness

Crappy Missionary

Denial

Icecream Sandwiches

In Honor of the Olympics

An Honest Observation

Catastrophe on the Escalator

“Dodd is WUV”

Mac-and-Cheese Throwdown

“Not Excited Anymore”

Wedding Dance

Mom-Robot

From Soup to Pie

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder . . . and it’s only day one

The Price of Beauty

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Archive | for a laugh RSS feed for this section

WELCOME

Video from the Field

My Articles {Other Places}

Places I'm Involved

It's NEW! Click LIKE.

Featured Article

Featured Videos

Latest Flickr photos

Popular Topics

Sites I Frequent

Popular Posts

Family & Friends