Lots going on, but not a lot to talk about...

So, it's been over a month since I posted an entry. I'm a slacker when it comes to journaling, blogging, whatever. I try to stay consistent, but I'm the worst.

There's a lot going on in the Parrish household, but not a whole lot to report. We play with Evan, watch him discover new things (which is the coolest thing EVER!) and survive day to day.

As many of you know, our little family is struggling financially right now. We are totally trusting the Lord to provide the right answer at the right time, but as everyone knows, finances are a HUGE stressor. The biggest blessing to me is having a little 14 month old boy to play with and forget about the cares of the world every time I see him. Evan is amazing. He's happy, funny, indescribably cute and so much more!

So, while there have been no huge milestones to report, every day is another milestone in our household. One more day we are thankful we're together and blessed with each other!

Yay, Parrish's!

Here are some great photos of the boys...






... and our little Tarheel fan!

Look out world! He's Walking!

Yep, the little guy has started taking his first steps. It is easily one of the cutest things in the world to watch. Not only is his little timid attempts adorable, but the look on his face is priceless.

He is SO proud of himself. The biggest grin you have ever seen. It lights up the entire room. It's precious. And I don't use that word lightly.

Even when he falls on his little bum and looks up at us, probably because we're applauding wildly for him... he's STILL proud.

However, it's also a little bit sad. I actually found myself crying the other day when he took his first 'walk' across the living room. This means a little more of the babyhood is slipping away! Make it stop! I want him to be a little baby for just a while longer. Sniff. Sniff.

Ah well, we can't make it stop, so we're just enjoying every single minute. As long as we can.

Alarming New Law - CPSIA to go into effect 2/10 - Help Now!

I received this email from a local consignment shop today. This is not the first I have heard of this law, but I encourage you to read this email, and check out another friend's post here.

It is very alarming and will effect all families and potentially all consumers in America! Please take the time to read this, and contact your Senators and Congressmen to express your concern!

You can contact your senators here or your representative here. PLEASE take this seriously. It will only take a moment of your time.

See the email below from our own favorite local consignment shop...

To all my friends and consignors,

It is with a heavy heart that I send this email. A new law has recently gone into effect that will impact every consumer with small children. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is scheduled to go into effect February 10, 2009. This act states that all products targeted at children 12 and under must be tested for lead content by a third party testing site. There are very few testing sites in the United States currently accepted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This law states that not only must retail businesses test their products, but resale companies such as consignment stores and Goodwill must have their products tested, as well as individuals wishing to sell their items at a yard sale, church bazaar, WeeRuns, or ebay. This is a very costly procedure and many small businesses will cease to exist if they are required to comply. There will be no more church yard sales, or purchases made on ebay. The law also states that the items may not even be donated. Any items not tested or that do not pass the test as of this date become "contraband". This means it will be illegal for us to even own the product.

As you can see, in this time of economic hardship, there MUST be a way to come to an intelligent compromise to protect the safety of our children without putting a further strain on the economy!

Thanks for taking a moment to consider this and to take action!

Welcome 2009!

Evan is growing like crazy. He has his 12 month well baby visit on Friday, so we'll know for sure how MUCH he's growing then.

He is SUCH a joy, pretty much ALL the time. He, of course, has his moments, but as a couple of first time parents, we consider ourselves very blessed by our little man.

He's THIS close to walking. He's taken a few steps, but no more than about three consecutively. We keep reminding him he can take his time growing up. We're trying to enjoy every moment we have with him, each and every day.

I'm still sad that I can't be at home with him, but I am also very thankful to have a job. I know there are a lot of people out there right now that are struggling to find one.

So, here's a photo of Evan's latest antics. He loves playing. It doesn't matter what he's playing at, he just loves to be silly!

So much for more consistency...

I had fully intended to be more consistent with my blogging, but you see how that went. Life has been more busy as the holidays approach. It's fun and exciting getting ready to celebrate Evan's first 'real' Christmas. Yes, he was here last year at Christmas, but he was a week old, and didn't really 'get' it, if you know what I mean.

I can hardly believe that Evan will be a year old this Friday. How is that possible? Wasn't it just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital? Looking back over the year, it's been one exciting milestone after another with Evan. It's been so exciting! We're just on the verge of walking now, and his vocabulary is bound to expand any minute.

We are SO thankful for what a wonderful little boy we have. We are SO blessed to have such a great little guy. He eats well, sleeps well and pretty much listens when we talk to him. He's our little angel.

He is every highlight of this year. We've had plenty of struggles. Specifically financial, but God has proven faithful over and over. We are blessed with family who love and care for us and who are willing to help out when it's needed.

We're excited about what 2009 is going to bring!

Catching Up!

I am going to try to be a little more disciplined in my blogging. For one thing, my son is just that cute. I need to share more about him! True, but not totally honest. I have ulterior motives that I will share at a later date.

I do want to share about my uber-cute son. First of all, we have celebrated our first Halloween. I think Evan is still working on forgiving us for that one. It may take awhile. Why, you ask? We dressed him as a penguin. He was so adorable, but we really don't think he appreciated it. You be the judge...


He's lamenting his situation with a nearby kid at our church's Costume Carnival.

Caught in the act!

Getting some Daddy comfort.

The best photo we were able to capture. He's a penguin on the edge!

Help me Grandma!

Back from Vacation.

Robin, Evan and I recently got back from our vacation to Pennsylvania. It was fun, but not as nearly restful as we had hoped. We even planned in time to rest, but we didn't get too much of that done.

We got to visit with the McNaughton clan and a bunch of various friends from where I used to work. It was totally awesome seeing Stacey, Trish, Linford, Jadon, Ann, Stray, Melody, Evie and Heidi. I was especially excited to meet Evie (she's a little older than Evan) and to get to see how Jadon has grown (he's FOUR... as he would tell anyone who asked).

We also got to travel to Gettysburg to visit the battlefield and other fun spots. Robin was doing some research for his next book. I'm not giving any details. It's not about Gettysburg, but we did some research there anyway. You'll just have to wait to find out.

We also were able to find out how great a little traveller our little guy is. He was super in the car and staying at various strange places. He got used to Grammy and Grandpa's house after a day or so. He LOVED hanging out with them.

All in all, it was a good time, but I can now use a vacation from my vacation, and I wish I could have hung out with my friends longer, but gas prices and time would not allow it.

Here are just a couple of the multitude of photos Robin & I took. Robin has a bunch of his up on his Facebook account, and I'll be adding mine soon.


This was Evan's 'Fall Pose.' He didn't really know what to make of the hay bale and the pumpkins, so this was the best we could do. I was really hoping to get a photo of him in the middle of a pumpkin patch, but Robin just didn't want to stop along the highway to plop him down in the middle of one. I just don't get it... :)


This was taken at Evan's first trip to an IKEA. It was very exciting for him. He even had Swedish meatballs. It may have been a little overwhelming, but I think he enjoyed it.