Sudsy Summer Fun

This is what we do when we're bored and it's hot outside...

Saturday update

We ship 'em out and get 'em in. One of our girls was discharged on Tuesday. We got another girl in yesterday. I am pretty excited about this new girl. She was SO excited to be here because she has been in jail for the past month. She was ecstatic to be out in the sunshine, take a real shower, have good food, go to Wal-Mart, and play Monopoly last night. And she is so appreciative to us for everything. She has the best manners of anyone in the house. She is definitely the breath of fresh air that this house needed. Hope she continues to stay that way. :)

In other news, Matt & I are getting settled in to our apartment little by little. We unpacked some more boxes the other day and bought a computer desk for the extra room. It's coming along.

We are elated that we are getting the outside of our house painted! It is in desperate need of some good new paint loving. Someone is supposed to come out Monday to look at it. I'll keep you updated on that progress.

It's hot here. I know that all our family and friends in South Carolina and North Carolina are enjoying the record breaking heat there too. Our heat index is 115 today. We are pretty much staying indoors unless we got to the store or something. I went out to sit on the porch swing a little while ago and could only stand the heat for about five minutes. And our grass desperately needs to be cut but it's so hot even early in the morning and late at night. I think Matt's going to bear the heat tonight and try to get it done. I am wearing shorts more than ever. And drinking lots of water. Hope you all are doing the same.

Sweet Potato Joy

Another reason why I love New Orleans...
Today I got to buy homemade sweet potato turnovers from a true Louisianian. And yes, she sold them out of the trunk of our car. And they were gooooooooood!

Continuing our adventure...

Matt has decided that one of his "projects" around the house was going to be to replace the electric sockets on the walls and put grounded ones in. Monday night Matt decided to replace one in our living room. It took about 30 minutes to turn off the right circuit from the breaker because the breaker box was labeled incorrectly. When Matt takes the original socket off he finds that the wires are as old as the house (about 70 years old) and have no label/color code on them. So the task proves to be a little more difficult than planned. Well, Matt replaces the socket and goes to turn the electricity back on and it won't turn on! He flips the breaker switch on and off a million times and it won't work. Oh man! And this circuit goes from our living room into our bedroom and our extra room (we had no living room lights, no tv in the bedroom, and our refrigerator in the extra room was off). And apparently the doorbell is connected to the same circuit so it wouldn't work either. Gotta love old houses! This morning our maintenance man came to check it out and found out there was a short in the circuit. He fixed it and all is well.

Matt had another adventure yesterday. He got a call from our supervisor saying that the Office of Youth Development inspector was on her way and would be at the home in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I was at court with one of our girls. Apparently, there are a lot of things we should have been doing that we were not aware of (such as keeping a menu log, washing our dishes in bleach, using only bleach for cleaning, etc.)--so if this was the state inspector we would have failed miserably and the house would have been shut down. Apparently Girls & Boys Town knows this and they just know the "right lies" to tell the inspector. Well, Matt & I had not been briefed on lying to the inspector so he told her the truth. Anyway, she is coming back today to tell us exactly what we need to fix before the state inspector comes out. Oh joy! What we don't understand is how they have gotten away with not doing these things in 10 years and now it's all on us! Oh well, life will go on and I'm pretty sure we won't be shut down. :)

That's Matt's recent adventures. My only adventure was sitting in court for 4 hours yesterday. But I wouldn't really call that an adventure, just pure boredom.

Hot.

The heat index could get up to 110 degrees today. Man, that's hot!

Goodbye Nola.

Matt & I had to take Nola back to the SPCA today. She attacked Peaches last night and would not let go. Matt had to jump on top of her and she drug Matt across the carpet. And the fact that 3 of our girls were terrified of her didn't help. She just wasn't the right fit for our family. We are sad to let her go, but know that we would not be the best home for her.

Give me Jesus.

My heart is so heavy as I write this post. I have never felt more like I am in the midst of a spiritual battle than now. And going to church this morning made that battle become even more real to me.

My heart hurts for the girls in our home. I have never met girls that are so judgmental and ungrateful for what they have. Yes these girls have had horrible pasts, but they are in a wonderful program and get everything they need and most of what they want here. They are extremely spoiled and so ungrateful for everything they receive. It is hard for me to be the "tough mom" in the house, but that's my job. With the girls, I try to be strong and be a leader in this home. Then when it's just me & Matt, I fall apart. I knew coming into this position, that it was going to be hard, but I never imagined how hard it would be. I am physically and emotionally drained every single day. This could possibly be the hardest job that I will ever do.

This morning, we took the girls to the church that they enjoy going to. This is a very strong, active full-gospel Baptist church. The worship is wonderful. I realized this morning that I do not agree with a single bit of their theology. It was so hard to sit there and listen to the message, knowing that my girls love it, and I don't agree with anything the co-pastor is saying. It seems that this church focuses on blessings and favor--not Jesus. Many times this morning the co-pastor said that "spiritual people like us will be blessed". She ranted and screamed for 30 minutes about how President Bush has cursed our nation and our city. And she barely quoted any scripture that had nothing to do with what she was talking about. It made my heart hurt that they focus so much on being "spiritual people" and receiving blessings by being "spiritual". That's not what it's all about. You can be the most spiritual person in the world, but if you don't know Jesus, you have nothing. You can pray all the time, go to church all the time, but when it boils down to it, if you are not living by the grace of Jesus, your life means nothing. We should not live our lives to be blessed and favored. We live our lives for Christ because that's what we are called to do. If I don't receive any blessings on earth, that's okay; I know that I'm following the Lord's will and doing what He called me to do. I'm here to serve Him and Him alone. I wish more people understood that.

All in all, I'm writing this post not so that you will feel sorry for me, but so that you will pray for me and Matt. We are dealing with so many different issues right now, pray that we will stay focused on Christ and His calling to us. Pray that we will feel the Lord's strength in us daily and that others will see the Lord in us.

I can't get the song, "Give Me Jesus" out of my head. This song sums up my heart right now. Just give me Jesus.

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus

Here's Nola!

Welcome Nola!

Here is the newest member of the Parks family...Nola. We picked her up from the SPCA today and she is just wonderful! She is relatively calm, knows some commands, is housebroken, and walks beautifully on a leash! We love her so much (but the cats are still getting used to her)!







And if you still haven't gotten enough of this cute dog...
http://winthrop.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040485&l=aebf5&id=45500189

Grateful

My head has been spinning the past two weeks from dealing with a million things. We have dealt with more non-compliant behaviors, unexpected outings, staffings, court dates, broken down vans and just plain rude, ungrateful teenage girls. The past two weeks have been trying for us but we know that this is what it's all about--loving these girls when they are unlovable. I am continuing to learn a lot about myself and how to serve others. It's times like these when I am so grateful for the grace and strength of my Savior. I would not be here and would have no purpose here without Him. Thank you Lord for giving Matt & me this opportunity.

I had a very self-indulged, therapeutic, "me day" today--which I desperately needed. Matt & I went back to the SPCA and found a beautiful dog that we are going to adopt. She is a pit bull mix, which we weren't going to get, but we just fell in love with her. We are going to name her Nola. :) We are waiting for them to come out and do a yard check (to make sure our fence is good enough) and then we get her! So, it should happen in the next few days. I can't wait to get her and post pictures of her so you all can see just how precious she is! After we got home from the SPCA, we came home and took a quick nap and then I headed out to meet my dear friend, Karina. Karina & I went & got coffee and walked around some--just had some good talk time. I am so thankful for the friendship that we have. I remember being in 7th grade and venting to her about my struggles and here we are 10 years later and she is still listening to me vent. :) I love her dearly. After my girl time with her, Matt & I went to dinner at Nacho MaMa's Mexican Grill and I swear, this was the best Mexican food I have EVER had in my life! I got a jerked chicken burrito and Matt got a cheese chimichanga and they were both divine! I told Matt, "You know food is good when you say 'Mmmmmmm' after every bite!". My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Matt & I also discovered Buffalo Exchange which is basically a consignment store for "cool" clothes. I got some Banana Republic dress shorts for $10 and Matt got a Quicksilver shirt for $12. Score! I find something else about this city that I love every day! That was my day of indulgence and "me time" and it was well worth it.

Oh, I got Mandisa's cd yesterday and am loving it! She is just fabulous!

And here's a shout out to our favorite five year old boy, Grant. He turned five yesterday and is going to kindergarten this year! We love him and his family and miss them tons!

Mandisa!

Mandisa's album, True Beauty, was released yesterday. I'm definitely going to get a copy as soon as I get out to the store. I can't wait!

Ode to Whole Foods

This morning, I drove down to our community Whole Foods Market. I decided not to walk, despite it only being 3 blocks away, because I was planning on buying quite a few groceries.

Every time I walk in this store, I feel like I'm in grocery store paradise. Seriously. There are fresh flowers and fresh produce at the entrance that welcomes you with glorious scents. I walked around and got the things I came for (bananas, cantaloupe, milk, Kashi cereal, sliced chicken breast) and a few other things (some Clif bars, Kashi crackers, Better'n Peanut Butter). This store makes me love going grocery shopping. The atmosphere is inviting and just walking in the store makes you feel like you are healthier. :) And their produce is the best I have ever had from any store. It is so fresh that you feel like you are eating it right from the farm!

I love Whole Foods and am so glad that we have one so close to our home. If you have one near you, please enjoy it as much as I do!

Birthday weekend phlog

Some pictures of Matt's birthday weekend...

A Wonderful Weekend!

We have enjoyed having the weekend off and it has flown by! Let me catch you all up. Matt's parents flew into New Orleans Friday late morning and Matt picked them up while I worked with the girls. Matt spent most of the day with his parents showing them around the city. Friday night we had a birthday party for Matt with the girls and his parents. It was lots of fun and we were glad that his parents got to spend some time with the girls that we spend our lives with. We enjoyed pizza, cake, and ice cream together.

Saturday we took Matt's parents down the the French Quarter and walked around for about 8 hours--shopping, eating biegnets and drinking frozen cafe au lait, shopping some more, eating dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, and riding the ferry across the Mississippi. It was a wonderful day, but we were all exhausted after walking around so much!

This morning, we went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church and enjoyed the service. Matt & I really feel called to this church. It is a wonderful, smaller, community based church and there are great opportunities for us to get plugged in there. This church is filled with young people and couples and we feel like this would be a great community to be involved in. We're hoping to get to go to their small groups soon and really get started on building some relationships here.

We then ventured to New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood for lunch and it was delicious! We are glad we tried it out because it is now one of my favorite places to eat! I ate my favorite New Orleans meal of red beans and rice while Matt enjoyed his favorite of a roast beef po-boy. If any of you come visit us here, we'll definitely be taking you there to eat!

We took Matt's parents to the airport a little while ago and now we are glad to be home relaxing and preparing for this week. At this moment, it doesn't look like we have a really busy week, but all that can change any minute.

Hope you all had a blessed Sunday and got to praise some Jesus! :)

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband, my best friend, my soulmate. I love you!

Waiting on the Weekend!

Most of you know that this has been a long, crazy week for Matt & I. We've had a million and one appointments, staffings, incidents, and attitudes to deal with. We are greatly looking forward to this weekend--it will be our first weekend off since we got here (we only get one weekend off a month). There are a few reasons why we are excited about this weekend:

1. Tomorrow is Matt's birthday! He'll be 25. Man, we're getting old!
2. Matt's parents are flying in tomorrow to visit us for the weekend. We can't wait to see them and do some touristy things with them. This will be the first time for Matt's mom to see our house and everything so we are pretty excited!
3. Since we are not working this weekend, we get to go to any church we want! We've been wanted to try out this church, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and finally get to go! We're hoping we'll like it enough to get plugged into their small groups. We desperately need friends and fellowship and hope this church is what God has in His plan for us!

All in all, we are pumped about having two days off in a row!

In other news, I went to orientation for grad school (Southern University at New Orleans)and am excited about that as well. I'm only going part-time b/c our job is so demanding. I'll be in class on Mondays from 8:30am-2:30pm. I had the option to take the two classes online but I decided that I really needed some socialization and grounding since these are my first classes of grad school. Classes start August 13th and I can't wait!

One heck of a day!

Here's my day.

I start out getting up early to take one of our girls to her court hearing (across the river). Let me just tell you that court hearings are not fun. We waited for 3 hours just for this conversation...
Judge: "How are you doing in your placement?"
Girl: "Good."
Judge: "How long have you been there?"
Girl: "Three weeks."
Judge: "Okay, I'd like to see you again in 90 days."
The end. And the bad thing is, you can't have cell phones in the court building so you are sitting there twiddling your thumbs waiting to see the judge.

Later on, Matt & I were taking the girls over to the main office because we have to meet with a staff member and pick up some documents. Here I am driving this huge 15 passenger van down Magazine Street (which is narrow and there are cars parked on the sides) and I get in a wreck. My first wreck ever--with 4 teenage girls in the car. I was turning left and there was a Yukon parked on the corner of the curb and another car stopped in the middle of the street (not on the right side where they were supposed to be)going the opposite direction and I'm trying to squeeze between the two cars. Needless to say, I was not successful. I knocked the driver's side mirror off of the Yukon. Matt went into the restaurant on the corner to find the driver of the Yukon. The driver was quite mad. The driver of the Yukon and Matt exchanged information while I called the police. Matt told the other guy not to leave and what do you think he did? He left of course! So, we (Matt, our 4 girls, and I) sit in the van waiting for the police and we have the a/c blasting b/c it is HOT outside and then our van engine dies. Gosh...what else could happen?! So, I walked back to the house with the girls (we were right near the house) and Matt waited for the cop. While Matt waits for the cop, he decides to get our car and try to jump the van. It doesn't work...the jumper cables catch fire. At this point I'm really ready for our day to be over! Anyway, the cop comes and says he isn't going to file a report b/c the other guy left and that's good for us. End of that event. Later we find out that the guy has been calling our main office asking when he can get his mirror fixed. Should've stayed at the scene, dude.

My day is not over here, it's only 2 pm and I have to take one of our girls back across the river for a doctor's appointment. I drop her off and am trying to think about what I should do that would make me happy. There is no doubt in my mind where I am heading...Starbucks. I needed (yes needed, not wanted) a venti coffee light frappaccino and a slice of pumpkin loaf. And that's exactly what I got. And I sat there in Starbucks by myself enjoying a little bit of heaven on earth. It was quite glorious. I thank God for Starbucks on days like this (and every other day). :) After I finish at Starbucks I'm driving down the road exploring and what do I find? Target and Ross! Man, I was really happy. I enjoy both stores for a little while and then head back to pick up my girl. My little outing was just what I needed after all that happened today. God truly knows when a girl needs an two hours to her self.

So, that's my day. Other things happened tonight but nothing to blog about.

I did want to share about a cd that I've been loving lately...Lincoln Brewster's, Let the Praises Ring. We bought this cd two weeks ago and it is fabulous. Many of the songs on this cd are songs that we sang at Westminster, so it is makes my heart very happy to hear them again and blast them in the car. And I just love praising my Jesus. So, check it out!

Okay, I'm really done now.

the search continues

Matt & I spent 6 hours of our day today searching Southeast Louisiana for the perfect dog for our family. We went to 6 animal shelters and 1 pet shop with no luck. We saw a few that we really liked but they were already on hold for someone else to adopt. Sad. So, the search will continue.

All you lurkers

It's time for all you lurkers to show me you're out there! I want to know who's reading my blog, so leave me a comment! Click the comments link at the bottom of the post and leave me some love! If you don't have blogger, just click other and write your name. I'm just curious to who is out there! Thanks guys!

tired of wal-mart

Imagine spending 2 hours of your Saturday afternoon in Wal-Mart with 5 teenage girls (that act like 2 year olds) and spending $350 on food and $150 on personal items. I'm exhausted! Don't think I want to go to Wal-Mart for a while.

Happy Birthday to my bestest, Kelly!

This post is dedicated to the greatest friend I could ever hope for.

Kelly & I have known each other since I was a freshman at Winthrop. We met as cherubs in Alpha Omega and soon developed our friendship out of AO. We spent our college years together and then Kelly & Paul got married the month after Matt & I. They soon became our "married friends".

Kelly is one of those friends that I can tell anything too. We have laughed together and cried together. We have shared our joy and our pain. One of my most precious memories is on the night before my wedding, Kelly spent the night with me and we laid in my bed talking until 5 am. We shared our lives that night and gained a bond which will never fade.

I am so thankful for Kelly. It has been very hard moving 11 hours away from her. I know that we will continue to be the best of friends for the rest of our lives. We have plans to have kids and raise them together and grow old together. No matter what distance is between us, I know that this friendship will last.

Kelly--I hope that you have a wonderful birthday and wish I was there to celebrate with you. You are my forever friend and I am so blessed by you! I love you!