It has been another great year at
the Parker home with the family
expanding by leaps and bounds. Let’s
just take it one family at a time.
Our oldest son Raymond Francis
Parker and his wife Mariesa will be expecting their first child next June. This will be her parents first grandchild and
it will be either our 5th or 6th...you will understand
the reasoning further down. We were very
fortunate to be able to spend last Christmas up in their new home where they
are currently stationed in Idaho. The
family is very excited for the two of them and we cannot wait to meet the
newest little Parker. In addition it may
give us another opportunity to visit with Mariesa’s family who will be
traveling over from South Africa for the big event.
Our oldest daughter Kila and her
husband John Savoy definitely have their hands full with their three beautiful
babies. John John may not like being
called a baby (now 7 yrs old) but to Bebe he still is, and then Kennedy 3 yrs. and
Kairi 1. Well you know Kila she loves to
do everything in a big way and that goes for her children too!! On the same day we learned of Raymond and
Mariesa’s surprise we were blessed to find out John and Kila will be expecting
their 4th baby in June as well.
This is why we do not know who will have the 5th or 6th
grand baby….just never know when the stork is going to drop the sack right? Either way Bebe and Poppi are ecstatic to
learn that by next June we will be growing from 4 to 6 grandchildren. In addition, the Savoys did move a little
further north when John took a new job (away from us L) however they love their new home up in the
Woodlands and we are very happy for them.
Charles and Blair have had a busy
year with moving to a new home and both working hard in their jobs. When not working they spend most of their
waking hours either going to the Texans Games, watching the Texans games on TV
or following Texan football players around town. Hmmmm did I mention they are HUGE Texan fans. If the
Texans ever leave Houston like the Oilers did back in the 90’s I do fear we
would have another one of the kids moving away.
True and dedicated to their team is all I can say. (No matter how they play or how the stats
look!! Lol) And when the Texans are not
playing both of these two can be found watching those Nebraska Huskers! They both bleed red.
Kiana and Ryan had a very
exciting year. First they built their
new home out in Katy, Texas where Ryan also took a new job teaching at Tompkins
H.S. which is very close to home. This
is a big benefit when you have a new baby to take care of!!! Yes Baby Jackson
arrived this year and he is just a doll.
Kiana is still working at Methodist Hospital as a transplant nurse and
loving her new job. Juggling work and
being a full time parents has been no easy challenge for them but they are
handling it like pros. Between work and
the baby they really have no time for much else but they do find those days and
hours to follow their beloved college team – the Baylor Bears as well as the
NFL Cowboys. (Are you sensing we may
have some heated discussions in the family on sports? To say the least!)
This brings me to our
youngest. Kai is a senior this
year! Can you believe – our last to
graduate from Highs school? He recently
received his driving license and is the proud owner of a Silverado pick
up. He is enjoying his new found
FREEDOM! But more than that he has found
a passion for the sport of MMA cage fighting.
(Mom is not too sure about all of this!) However he is very dedicated to
the training and spends almost every day at the gym. We are very proud of him for showing such
dedication and determination to something he enjoys. Not sure what the plans are for next year –
he is talking of Jr. College and possibly working a bit on the side. You will have to wait till next year to find
out the final outcome for Kai! When not
spending time in the gym he spends his time with his girlfriend of 8 months,
Riane.
And that brings us to the
Parents! Richard is still doing the
lawyer thing spending almost 5 days a week in the courtroom and I still get to
do what I love most – coaching my dance team. I must say I have found another new passion which I have been doing the past 9 months and that is Cross Fit! Keeps me moving and I love it. When not doing that I am still cycling. Richard and I will fe doing the MS 150 again this year and would love to have your support. (hint hint) It keeps us both very busy but we have learned to balance the crazy
schedule and life style, and just go
with the flow. Richard and I have been
so blessed to have such wonderful kids and there is not a day that goes by that
I do not thank the stars above for giving us such beautiful children. They have all grown into their own (Kai is
almost there…..might be a wee bit longer) and we are so proud of the amazing
adults they have become. They have blessed us with such precious grandbabies
and with more on the way. Life truly is
all about the family and we look forward to many years ahead enjoying all they
have to share with us. Happy Holiday
and Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
Love
– Barbie and Richard
