Glessie Natella (Jones) Parker: 1911-2006

Glessie Parker (December 1955),
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

My grandmother died yesterday evening. She was 95 years old. Cathy, Parker and I will be in Harlan County Kentucky for most of the later part of the week at her services. She had fought a losing battle with Alzheimer's Disease over the last several years. She was the mother of six, the grandmother of 22 and the great-grandmother of 18, with Parker being the youngest. He luckily got to meet her just a few weeks ago.

Washed in the water

Cathy, Parker and I joined the Bloomington First United Methodist Church on Sunday. Cathy and Parker were baptized during the service. Parker's baptism was hard for me to accept at first. I grew up in the Baptist tradition of believer's baptism, where someone is old enough to believe and then is baptized. The United Methodist Church practices infant baptism and then confirmation later in life, much more like the Catholic tradition. They believe that baptism is sacrament of the church, along with communion, and a sign of belonging to the family of God. We are not saved by baptism. It is a symbol of salvation.

All in all it was a great day! We got to spend time with our parents afterwards. Parker did really well during the service even though he hadn't taken a morning nap. Although at one point I thought he was going to pull off the minister's microphone.

Here I come to save the day!

Take us to your leader,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

It's official. I am a certified life saver. A super hero, some would say. Seriously, I just received Child and Infant CPR certification through my work. I was up front with them. My job does not involve working with kids. I just want to learn to help save my own son. They were cool with that. Now I just have to remember to only use my powers for good and not evil.

Congratulations are in order

Congratulations to the Jarrett Family on the birth of their new daughter Amelia Grace. She was born on July 3rd, weighed 8 lbs, 2 ozs and was 20 1.2 inches long. Welcome to the world Amelia!

Also, belated congratulations to Joseph and Jill Murphy on their marriage on June 16th. Welcome to married life Joseph and Jill!

Four Generations

4 generations 2,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Four generations of the Parker family got together for a family reunion on Saturday. My Parker James Roach was the youngest one there and the matriarch of the family, my grandmother Glessie Parker was the oldest. This picture is the two of them, my Mom Natella (Parker) Roach and me at Abner Longley Park in Lebanon.

Parker Photo Update

Parker Clapping,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Here's a quick Parker photo update of him showing off his latest skill; clapping! If you look closely you can see 7 of his 8 teeth.