I was born in Poughkeepsie, New
York. My parents are Ken and Dianna Parker. I have 5 brothers and 3 sisters.
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| Emma, Kenneth, and Dianna Parker. 2007 |
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| Anthony D'Andrea and Emma Parker, 2012 |
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| Anthony D'Andrea and Emma Parker, 2012 |
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| Anthony D'Andrea and Emma Parker, 2012 |
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| The whole family- 2007. |
I have 8 siblings, these are
their full names and birth dates with birthplaces.
Patrick John Parker, 29 Oct
1973. Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, United States
Rebecca Anne Parker, 17 Jan
1978. San Jose, Santa Clara Co., California, United States
Matthew Brian Parker, 06 Nov
1979. Santa Clara, Santa Clara Co., CA, United States
Geoffrey Allen Parker, 30
Aug 1981. Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Co., New York, United States
James Michael Parker, 06 Jan
1984. Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Co., New York, United States
Alyssa Beth Parker, May 30,
1988. Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States
Timmothy Andrew Parker,
December 12, 1990. Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States.
This is where I belong! July
31, 1992.
And Sarah LiAnne Parker, Feb
11, 1996, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States
Growing up in such a large
family I learned a lot. How to fend for myself, how to get along with others,
and how different those in your family can be. We moved to Boise, ID, in the
fall of 1996. I was home schooled, and I grew up with my siblings as my best
friends. Timmothy was especially protective of me, and I loved to hang out with
him. As kids he often played dollies with me- which I loved. What's more
exciting then when something catches on fire, blows up, or someone gets
kidnapped? We did everything together, riding bikes, playing tag, no matter
where he was, I was there too. I loved hanging out with my brother.
My dad always had a box of
crayons. When I was about 4, my dad got a tin of crayons- a limited edition
crayola tin filled to the brim with unbroken, wonderful, wax smelling, variety
of colored crayons. We were not allowed to use the crayons unless my dad decided
to give us permission, which he only did if he was going to color with us. He
also had special coloring books that we weren't allowed to color in- you've got
it- unless we were using Dad's crayons, which meant only when Dad was coloring
with us. I remember being on the living room floor, at the kitchen table, on
the parent's bedroom floor, even on the dining room floor- all of us kids from
Alyssa down, and dad, and we'd be coloring. I remember us coloring mickey
mouse, disney, christmas- anything and everything. We loved it. My dad would
color with us for 30 minutes sometimes, but other times, he would stay with us
on the floor coloring with us for an hour or more. We loved it. He would help
us color our pictures sometimes- he's just reach over and start filling in our
picture with us. I never minded when he did that, I actually enjoyed it because
my pictures were better when he was helping me.
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| San Diego, CA, for Timmothy's Marine Core Graduation. April 2012 |
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| Timmothy and Zoe in their matching marine Suits. |
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| Rexburg- Aspen Village. Anthony and his father, Jeffrey, playing ping pong. |
When things were good,
financially, and it was time to celebrate, sometimes dad would bring home a few
pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. That was not enough for each of us to have
a container to ourselves- but he always brought enough for us to share a
container with 1 or 2 other people. He always got mom a Cherries Garcia because
he knew it was her favorite. We never divvied up these containers- when you saw
it, you were expected to grab a spoon and dive in. We always had a good time,
and I don't ever remember fighting over the ice cream when it was delivered in
this manner. We just all accepted that we would eat our ice cream spoonful by
spoonful, and savor it while we do, but when it's gone, it's gone. I remember
my dad smiling and laughing while we talked and ate and joked about everything.
Somewhere around my 8th
birthday, I was given an alarm clock. The clock was pink, and had minnie mouse
on it. It was one of those old fashioned ones that had two bells (minnie's
ears, in this case) and a black hammer (made of her bow) that would ring the
two bells. Excited to use it, I started to get up phenomenally early. One of
these times, I got up early and started in on my chores (I specifically
remember sweeping the floor) my dad came out of the bedroom, about to go to
work. He then offered to take me to go get a doughnut before he left. I
distinctly remember going with him to a doughnut shop nearby, and talking with
him for a few minutes about regular things. This experience is so important to
me because time alone with my dad was very sparce during this time of my life.
I held that time very close over the next few years, when I didn't get much
time with him, and remembering that experience reminded me that he must have
loved me a lot, even if he wasn't able to show it over that particular period
of time.
Timmothy, my brother, started
playing football when I was about 7. This meant he was playing
"optimist" football, in Boise, ID, teams. I remember going to
football games with my mom. I remember being cold, drinking lots of hot
chocolate, and watching my mother run up and down the field along with the boys
as they fought over a lemon shaped ball. I remember my mom, in her "boise
police" jersey jumping up and down for EACH and EVERY touchdown our team made-
even if Tim's team was slaughtering the other team.
About the same time as timmothy
started football, my mom started me with piano lessons and she signed me up to
play on a little league softball team. My dad showed me how to play, and then
he started being an umpire for my games. He never coached my team, but he
played with me often. I didn’t realize how bad his allergies were at the time,
but to play with me must have been a challenge, since he had a bad case of hay
fever.
I remember being baptized at
the age of 8. I was baptized in a stake baptism ceremony, so I didn't have
anything really personal done during the ceremony, but I remember feeling
clean. My dad baptized me, and as he administered the ordinence, I knew that he
was a worthy priesthood holder who really believed in the gospel. I never
really heard my dad bearing his testimony, but I always knew he knew that the
church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints was the true church. I remember
feeling like I never wanted to do anything that could possibly jeopardize the
feeling I had at that time. I remember being so careful over the next few weeks
not to lie to my sister about anything, being especially kind, etc.
Dad and mom went to church
every week, no matter how difficult it was to get all of their kids out the
door. My parents weren't perfect- but they always did right by us, and I always
knew they had testimonies of the gospel and its impact on the lives of those
that would come in contact with it. I remember a few times going to sacrament
meetings when I was about 12 or 14 and instead of listening I was drawing or
playing simple games on a piece of paper. I remember that during this
particular time period, my dad would reach over, take my pencil, and write down
an equasion- a solvable one, that you only needed algebra to solve. I didn't
really like math, but I thought it had to be better than these particular
speakers- so I would try and solve them. I wouldn't be able to, most of the
time, because arithmetic is not my best subject, but he would look over and
write hints on my paper every so often. Any time he wrote down a question on my
paper, he helped me solve it (or showed me how to solve it by solving it
himself) before the end of the meeting. I loved those days. Sure, I was supposed
to be listening to the talks, but I am so grateful for that time with him,
learning to love his love of math.
Ward camping trip- tim and dad
were on a scouting trip, so it was Me, Alyssa, Mom, and Sarah. Steve Faulkner
had to help us carve stakes from sticks cause dad didn't make sure the tent had
stakes in it. It rained almost the whole time we were there, and mom taught us
to play card games with rook cards. I remember how much fun I thought it was to
go on a camping trip, with just us girls. I remember us laughing and gigling-
that wasn't always the case. Alyssa was in high school, and moody. I was about
to enter high school, and that would begin my struggle with
Seasonal/Situational depression. It was one of those times that I'll always
remember us girls just being girls.
I remember asking for help with
math in high school- It never worked out very well for me. I would try so hard,
but the concepts never connected with each other in my brains because of the
way it was explained in class. Dad would try so hard, but it would always end
with me unable to do the problem, in tears, and dad just didn't know what to
do. I gave up on math after a while. I wish I hadn't, because I know that I
could have learned it if I had just had a little more help from the teachers
connecting concepts together, and I know math will be a handicap later,
especially if my kids ask for help. Maybe someday I'll get to learn some more
math.
Dad always used to tease mom-
bon bons and bubble baths. He used to ask her, with a twinkle in his eye, what
she did all day, and then tease her about the bon bons she must have eaten and
all the bubble baths she must have taken. I know now that mom didn't like it,
but we still tease her about it once in a while. it reminds us of Dad. He didn't
mean any harm by it, or at least I couldn't see any harm done by it.
I remember my mom asking what I
wanted for my birthday- I was probably about 12. I said I wanted new clothes.
Clothes that were only mine- not hand me downs. I remember my mom taking me to
the mall. We went shopping. I remember we bought me some capris, one pair blue,
one pair pink, and 2 shirts, both with stripes. One shirt was striped with
shades of blue color, the other was striped shades of orange. I loved that
trip. We got an orange julius when we were finished. I remember talking to mom
about everything. I really opened up to her that day. I felt so special-
getting to be with mom alone and getting brand new clothes all in one day
seemed to be impossible. Those were my favorite clothes for a long time, and I
remember that experience fondly.
My
Father was diagnosed with Cancer in 2007, in April I believe. He was stoic, but
he couldn't survive it. He was already terminal when they diagnosed him. He was
sick for about 2 weeks before the diagnosis and they couldn't figure anything
out. Finally they sent him to the ER, and the doctors did a bone scan- they
found the cancer everywhere. All over his body. I
Dad's goldfish were named after
george burns and gracie allen. We always loved it when they swam past each other because it looked like they were kissing. :) We loved feeding the fish, and we loved those fish! they just had a bowl, nothing else, but they lived a long time. They died after a year or two. We all remember them though- they were just that important to us.
When dad came home from work, sometimes he'd have leftovers from lunch. I don't know why we did it, but Tim, Sarah, and I would all clamor over them- we all wanted a piece of dad's lunch. I think it was just because it was something of Dad's that we got to share in. :)
Meeting Anthony: Anthony was in my ward while we were teens. I noticed him because he was in stuff with Timmothy, and also because he came home teaching with his dad (who was our home teacher) sometimes. I knew he played football, and after he came back from japan we talked quite a while about his trip, learning Japanese, etc. I remember thinking how disappointing it was that he was leaving on a mission, because I would like to get to know him better. Fast forward about 2.5 years, and I heard from Leslie (who was my Laurels leader) that her son was going to BYUI. I also attended BYUI, so, naturally, I told her to give him my number just in case he needed anything. I was there and could help him find his classes and whatnot. I found out later that she tried to give him my number, but that he wouldn't take it because he didn't know me. Later, I was shopping in walmart in rexburg with my mom- we were picking up the things I would need in the first week of school. We saw this skinny guy who looked kind of like the D'Andrea boy, but I wasn't sure. I decided to call out his name and see what happened. Sure enough, it was him. He even recognized me. We struck up a conversation, and eventually I said "here, let me give you my number. If you need anything you can call me! I'd be happy to help you out!" He, of course, took my number and he texted me the next day. we watched a movie that night. We watched the Avengers. I've had other boys comment on how close I sit (even my brothers mention it.) so I was trying the whole night not to sit too close. I didn't want to freak him out. In trying not to freak him all out, I freaked him out though. I started doing a lot of things and just asked him to come every time I did something with friends.
First Date:
Dating Anthony:
Getting Engaged:
Getting Married:
Our Honeymoon:
First Apartment:
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