McDaris Family Update

Hmm...where do I start the official McDaris update? This will largely be based on the photos that are available on my computer, because our hardrive was recently wiped out, so our photo choices are limited. Parrish and I are getting ready to celebrate the big 0-4 on August 9th, and I can't believe we've already been married for 4 years. For those of you who weren't able to attend, here is one of my very favorite wedding pics. You just can't beat those Amarillo sunsets!




During our first year of being married, Parrish was finishing his degree at Ozark in Joplin, and I was working at Christ in Youth organizing overseas trips for high school kids. I don't miss the job, but I DO miss all those stamps in my Passport! After we both graduated, we moved to Tulsa for me to start my MBA and for Parrish to take a job at a church in Jenks, right outside of Tulsa. Parrish resigned from that job last year and started seminary at Phillips here in Tulsa. So, we are now both in grad school and looking forward to finishing! (Me especially...only 2 more classes).

In September I took a job at a local non-profit (The Bridges Foundation) doing fundraising/special events/grant writing/etc. I just love it! We find jobs for people with developmental disabilities, and they are just some of the most amazing people I have ever met - they overcome more struggles in a single day than I can possibly imagine. We recently had a black tie boxing night to benefit Bridges and Joe Frazier was there as a special guest. Now, although I didn't previously know who exactly Joe Frazier was, I now know that he famously knocked out Mohammad Ali back when they both could talk without a slur. I'm sure you all already knew that. So shocking that I wasn't up on the sports trivia! So, it was a great event which raised over $120,000. Here we are with Smokin' Joe:

In April we stumbled upon a loft apartment on Main street of a town called Sand Springs. It has cut our drive time in half, and we think that it is just soo cool! The first picture below is of our kitchen area - we used our bookshelves to make a wall and covered the ugly backs of the shelves with scrapbook paper...so far, my favorite project :) The second picture is of our living area. Get the full loft tour here

So, other than that, we are not too exciting. We are constantly on the lookout for the next greatest Mexican restaurant, a good place to study, and/or good day trips to take around Tulsa. We're looking towards a possible move in 2009 (Northeast, maybe?), but until then we are takin' it easy in T-town...