This Changes Everything

(at least that's what we're told)

Things have been a little crazy in the Parker home lately. We wish we had time to talk to everyone, but we wanted to let you know the good news: we are "expecting" and are due in 9 days! (Sept 17th due date)!! We have met with a very sweet couple that is courageously making the decision to give their baby up for adoption, and they have chosen us to be the parents! So, Lord willing, in a little over a week we will be have a little baby…and since I'm sure you're all wondering…it's a girl! :-)  

There are still a few bridges to cross with the legal issues of adoption, and of course, the parents could change their mind, so this is not a 100% sure thing yet …BUT, we are excited to see what God is doing, and we are hopeful and trusting that He has a plan!

We'd appreciate your prayers as we continue to navigate all that needs to be done to prepare in the next week (purchase #1 was made by "Grandma and Grandpa" Kuhn on their trip out west, so we thought we'd include a pic! :-) Also please continue to pray for the birthparents: a healthy delivery, speedy recovery, and God's peace for them and for us.

We will try to keep everyone updated as things progress.  

Psalms 39:7:  “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.  

Romans 15:13 " May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Love,

David and Michelle

A blog within a blog

I know, we are terrible at posting anything on this blog! But, to make myself feel better, I wanted to link you to a blog that we technically did just post on...kind of. It's a friend's blog. She is doing a special theme for February, of "loving & leaping", and she asked us to be a part of it. It was a lot of fun to reminisce about our relationship, and dig up some old pictures. Hope you enjoy it!

Thank You, Michelle.

I know we've been horrible about updating this blog, but just wanted to take a few minutes to publicly say 'Thank You!' to my bride.

10 years ago today, I married my high school sweetheart, Michelle. What a blessing and a gift Michelle has been. It's been a journey filled with ups and downs, pain and laughter, tears and joy, but through all of it, I'm truly thankful that I have been graced with a wife that loves Jesus and loves me. I continue to learn that no matter what the struggle, we have a savior that loves us deeply and allows us to truly love each other. So Michelle, I'm thankful for your years of love and service, and the grace you have shown me as we have walked through life together. Thank you for your continued love and patience with me through thick and thin. Thank you for being a picture of Jesus to me, and reminding me of where my ultimate hope lies. Because of you, I am not the same man you married ten years ago, and I'm so thankful for that! I can't imagine my life without you, and thankful I get to spend the rest of it with you!

So today, I want to reaffirm my commitment to you. A commitment to love and cherish you for the rest of my life. To continually give myself up for you. To be faithful to you. To remind you of Jesus, and to walk with you and enjoy your friendship and company, no matter what the future holds.

Thank you for being my best friend, Michelle!

Will you Marry Me? Again? :-)

I love you,
- Your Husband.
Eph 5:25-30

Turning 30 on 3-30

Well, the day finally came. I'm 30. Although I'm not to the point of welcoming this third decade with open arms, I AM ushering it in with MUCH thankfulness...not only for a week filled with birthday celebrations, and many unexpected "little suprises", but more importantly for the many ways I have seen God's faithfulness and blessings to me in these last 3 decades. I am truly humbled to look back and see all the He has done!!
And now, in case you're curious, here are a ton of pictures from the big day (& day before)...I'm writing out all the details. I figure I better write it all down now before I forget; I am 30 now, you know!
(No really...I am writing down ALL the details so I can remember in years to come...so don't feel bad if you don't want to read it all! ;)

David threw me a "surprise" (ish) party the night before my birthday. He had our friends hide out in our building's community room for the surprise...I had a feeling something was up, but it was wonderful nonetheless! It was just great to be able to be with friends to celebrate...and the cake! Oh the cake! Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting, from a local bakery that our thoughtful friend recommended. And the flowers on the cake? Ranunculas...one of my favorites!...that was one of those little unexpected blessings, since no one really knows I love those flowers! :) Another special surprise was the cherry blossoms another friend brought...another flower that holds a special place in my heart!

Like most people, I spent my birthday at work :) But before I left, I did open a special package from my sister before, and it was AMAZING!!



Chocolates, chocolates, and more chocolates, from a
yummy Boston chocolate company!
We have just about finished all those little chocolate truffles, and they were amazing! My favorites were the Earl Grey, the Trinidad (which had cardamom), The Baton Framboise (raspberry), and the Honey Caramel Truffle.

This was definitely the cutest one of the box...a little mousey! (He tastes quite nice as well.! ;)

Dark chocolate and Fig

As if one box FULL of chocolate truffles and bon-bons wasn't enough, there was a second box! It was such a neat package too-- some sort of corn husk-ish material weaved together to make a box...very cool; especially when it's full of...

More Chocolate! 3 BIG single-origin chocolate bars! YUMMM!

I loved the back of the wrappers...very fun to unwrap! :)
We are still enjoying these 3 bars...they should last us awhile I think--they're huge! They each have such a unique flavor, and are all so different from each other...it is amazing how different chocolate bars can be! A BIG thank you Lisa & David for this wonderful gift!

I spent the rest of my day at work...I had 40 nuns sing me happy birthday, which is a very special memory. :) My bosses also took me out to lunch to a great Mexican place called Cactus, so that made the day go extra fast!
Now, of course, for the big gift: my birthday dinner with David. He surprised me with a dinner reservation at a lovely restaurant that I have on my "bucket list" of restaurants. :)

We had a view of the water, wonderful food, and amazing service.
Definitely a birthday dinner to remember!

We were seated at one of the best tables in the house, and I was greeted by 2 dozen lovely red roses that my sweet husband had dropped off earlier in the day. :)

Our view!

I just had to throw this one in...it's the women's bathroom!! It was so beautiful I couldn't resist. I guess they were awarded voted of the most best bathrooms in the country (and yes, I borrowed the picture of a website...I didn't even think to take my camera to the restroom!)

We had a wonderful waiter who wined and dined us all evening! It was absolutely perfect!! :) Beautiful piano music playing, wonderful wine, amazing food, and of course the most wonderful husband to spend the evening with! My favorite dishes of the evening were the salad (which had bacon and mint...sounds strange, but it was amazing!), truffle fries, and the desserts (more to come on that!). Our gracious waiter gave us many small "complimentary"surprises as well-- wine to pair with our salad, complementary soup "shooters", some more complementary wine that he thought would "change our lives", and 2 desserts!! I'm sure to some people, that wouldn't be a big deal, but for me, it made my night feel very special.

Our main course...And it tasted as good as it looks!


Our first of 3 desserts: "Cranberry Fizz". This one was a surprise from our waiter, and it was a type of ice cream float...for a girl who loves cranberry, it was a hit!



Second Dessert: "Crème Fraîche Parfait"

This was one recommended by the waiter as "kind of crazy, but fun". We figured hey, you only turn 30 once! :) It had a layer of celery puree, candied almonds and olives, grapefruit, creme fraiche, wasabi, and sugar "glass"! It looked like a work of art, and was actually delicious...very light and refreshing!



Dessert #3: "Chocolate Covered Chocolate"

This was, hands down, the BEST. Dessert. Ever! On the left: Molten lava cake, that was not to sweet but oh so chocolatey, covered with a circular disk of cocoa nib brittle that was just pure perfection. To the right: salted caramel ice cream with a cocoa nib shortbread crust, dipped in dark chocolate . Did I mention the best dessert ever?!
And to top it all off, the waiter brought it out with a candle in it, and just as he set it down, the pianist started to play one of "our" songs...I thought David had planned it, but he said he didn't...I was so overwhelmed by all of it that I was fighting back tears!

After we slowly savored that dessert, our waiter suprised us again by offering to take us on a tour of the restaurant! While we waited for him, he gave us some chocolate-cinnamon truffles to savor...as if we hadn't had enough chocolate! ;)
So, as the final surprise of the evening, our sweet waiter Christopher gave us a personal tour of the entire restuarant--- VIP dining rooms, kitchen, wine cellar...the works! It was such a special gift, and definitely one birthday dinner I'll never forget!

While on the tour, Christopher explained that the owner originally employed all Japanese waitresses, partly to provide jobs for a population that was stuggling to find employment after WWII. This connection with Japan has continued to play a part in their decor. This was another one of those special "little surprises" since I was born in Japan. :) My favorite Japanese item was a huge Japanese wooden "treasure house" door, which represented the many celebrations that are held at their restaurant, and how each celebration is a treasured memory that they play a special part in creating. They certainly did an amazing job of making my 30th birthday a treasured memory I'll never forget!

Look who's 30!!

Can you guess who this tower of 30 donuts was for?

That's right! David celebrated his 30th birthday today, and his brother Paul celebrated his 29th!
We had a very SWEET day, with a surprise party for both of them at one of David's favorite places: Top Pot Doughnuts!

The crew that helped us celebrate!

It's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since we've been married, and over 15 years since we've been friends! I am so thankful for you David, and for the ways I have seen Jesus work in your life! You are my best friend and I am so happy I get to celebrate you today! Happy Birthday sweetie!

The Only Thing Constant is Jesus

Last month, we celebrated 3 (!) years in Seattle, and next week will mark the 2 year anniversary of purchasing our home in West Seattle. Looking back, a lot of change has occurred in the last 3 years, and looking forward, a lot more change is coming our way! Our "home sweet home" went on the market TODAY (!), and we will be downsizing to move into an apartment in downtown Seattle sometime in August or September (Lord-willing). Yes, this is a LOT of change. Yes, it is a lot of hassle to sell a house in this economy. Yes, we will be sad to leave our neighbors and church family. Yes, we may be crazy ;) But, we strongly feel Jesus calling us to be a part of His new Gospel work at Downtown Cornerstone Church...and since the only constant in life is Jesus, we are packing it up (again) to follow His call to go and make disciples.

More to come soon...

Graduation Day!

Today marks the end of a journey through a year long Masters Program that I have had the privilege of going through. This year has been one of the hardest yet most fulfilling years of my life. Since many of you have asked “how it’s going” along the way, I wanted to take a few minutes to share some takeaways that come to mind.

Jesus didn’t call me to comfort, but to a life of dependance on Him. There are innumerable opportunities to seek comfort, worth, and acceptance outside of Christ, but all of them lead to an emptiness that can only be filled by who God says I am in Christ (Eph 1:3-14). In trying to juggle a demanding job, family, and school, there were many times I wanted to drop out, and instead, ended up repenting of my desire for comfort and believing the lies that there is hope outside of Christ. I am thankful for the grace that Jesus gives to persevere.

God’s Love for me is a Love that I would never choose on my own. When I think of someone loving me, I tend to define it by others giving me what I want, or what I think I need. Instead, Christ continues to show the most perfect picture of love by giving me what I truly need -- The Cross. I continue to see the depths and glory of what took place on the cross (my crap for His righteousness!) compared to anything else the world has to offer. My only hope is continually repenting of the times I view Him as “mean and unloving” (because He isn’t giving me what I want), to one who wants my ultimate happiness to be found in Him! Thank You Jesus.

Pray. Pray. Pray. I have never been more humbled this year, than by the act of communing with the living God through prayer. It is one thing to know that God is sovereign, it’s another thing altogether to humbly come before the throne of grace praying that God would do what He said He would do. Sam Storms says it this way; “We must never presume that God will grant us apart from prayer what he has ordained to grant us only by the means of prayer". Spurgeon writes as well, “The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must surely be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God.” What a privileged and joy to bow the knee to the very one who gives us the air that we breath.

Leaders are readers. I have read more books and scripture this year than I ever have in my life. Through the pages read I have tasted the depths of God’s glory in so many new and refreshing ways. There will always be an endless supply of books to read, but a greater amount of “unsearchable riches” found in the ultimate author of truth. I thank the Lord for His Spirit that opens the mind and heart to understand the Bible, apply it, and lead others to the living well.

Life is a Vapor. James 4:14 says “...yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” I have come to an even greater conviction this year that the only fulfillment in this life is to seek the Glory of God above all else. This life is truly short, and happiness doesn’t lie in the latest technology, relationship, or affinity, it lies in the finished work of Jesus, and making much of Him. All of life is worship, and by God’s grace I want to proclaim the majesty of our great God and King with what’s left of this Vapor!

More to come....
David