I have a great huge post to do on our Brown Family Vacation 2011 in Seattle. It was so wonderful. I might not get to it for a few weeks, but I did want to post this quick video that either Amber or Danny captured and sent to me. It makes me laugh because it is so Warner, and so Liv.
Untitled from Amber Brown on Vimeo.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, August 05, 2011
Celebration of Life
A few weeks ago my Cambodian neighbor invited is to come over to his house the following weekend to enjoy what he called “a celebration of life party”. The party was, in a nutshell, a celebration in honor of the lives that his aged parents had lived. It is essentially a funeral before the person dies.
As I understand it, this party, in the Cambodian culture, can be thrown more than once in a life time, depending on how wealthy the family is, and for some families they are never able to have one, because they are too poor. My neighbor said this would probably be the only one he would be able to afford in his life time.
For some families that can afford it, the celebration is as big as a wedding reception with thousands of dollars spent on food and drinks. My neighbor’s wife said she prepared most of the food herself, and she started making it two weeks before the party.
Needless to say, we were flattered to be invited, and in spite of feeling a little out of place being the only non-Cambodian speakers at the party, as well as the only non-family members, we had ourselves a grand ole time and greatly enjoyed the company we were with.
It was amazing how generous our friends were to us. They just kept bringing us more and more food. “Here try this”, “Here try this” they kept saying. The food was delicious, but I did feel a little sick when we were done; one too many fried chicken wings I guess.
My favorite part of the party was hearing my neighbor’s brother, a man who is probably in his late fifties or early sixties named Sueon, tell me his story of escaping communist Cambodia in the late 1970s.
Sueon and his family lived in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia. According to Wikepedia, Khmer Rouge refers to the four year rule of the communist leader Pol Pot. During his dictatorship, approximately 2 million people were killed either through execution, starvation, or forced labor.
It was under these dire circumstances that Sueon and his family decided that risking death to escape the communistic rule in Cambodia was a risk worth taking. Sueon escaped the first time with his mother and sister, his father had already passed away. He packed a small bag of food and journeyed through the remote jungle, northwest toward the border of Thailand. As he traveled, he had to navigate cautiously through the landmines. Striving as best he could to choose the right set of footprints to follow, Sueon trudged along day after day for two weeks.
As he recalled the story to me, he said there were dead bodies everywhere. I asked him if he feared being attacked by wild animals or being bit by poisonous snakes or spiders while he traveled through the jungle. He laughed at me, and waved his hand in the air. He said the poisonous and scary animals were the last of his worries. Robbers and landmines were his main concern.
Somehow he made the two week journey and he and his mother arrived at the border safely. They exchanged gold jewelry and other family valuables to gain entrance into Thailand. Many people didn’t survive the long and dangerous journey through the jungles of Cambodia to cross over into the refugee camps of Thailand. Some starved, some were robbed and killed, and some were blown up by the land mines. Those who did make it, decided simply to leave their families behind, because the journey was too dangerous to make again.
Sueon was one of the bravest I think, in that he returned back two more times to get the rest of his family He made sure that no one was left behind. His second journey took one month in the jungle, because he was carting a five year old and a three year old across the jungle. On his third journey he went back for his older sister who had just delivered a new born baby.
Sueon and his family lived as refugees for three years in Thailand. This was a hard time for him. The refugee camps were terrible he said. No windows, very little food. He said it was like jail. Sueon was lucky enough to find a job working and translating with Immigration and he was able to secure visas for himself and his family to come to the US in 1983, the year I was born.
Now, Sueon and his family, which has grown quite substantially, all live in Washington. Sueon is a real-estate agent, and his brother Chris, our neighbor, who was 9 years old when Sueon brought him safely across the jungle into Thailand, is a mechanic at a BMW dealership.
Sueon said that they are so grateful to live in America where they can worship freely, where they can enjoy freedom of speech, and where he and his family can live without fear. Their children and grandchildren will never have to experience the pain, the hunger, the death, and the fear that their grandparents and parents went through.
Coincidentally, I also found out through another relative that many of Sueon’s family members have joined the LDS church.
I was truly humbled and amazed by Sueon’s story. Ironically enough I had just finished Victor Villaseñor's, Rain of Gold book, which is a tale quite similar to Sueon’s, of two Mexican families who immigrate to the US in the early 1900’s.
I asked Sueon if he had written his story down for his posterity to know what he had been through to get his family to a free land. He shook his head and said “I can’t, it’s too painful to recall, it has to stay right here” and he pointed to his head.
This is why I am writing it down. It deserves to be written down.
Sueon’s story truly touched me. It increased my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for all of his children. I know, and Sueon confessed that he knew as well, that God was watching out for his family. I felt the love of God so strongly after listening to this story. I know that we are all children of God, that he loves us, that he wants us all to succeed, and that he wants to give us all the freedom to choose whether or not we want to come unto Christ.
Here are some photos of my neighbors beautiful nieces and nephews, who came over to play in our backyard during the party.
As I understand it, this party, in the Cambodian culture, can be thrown more than once in a life time, depending on how wealthy the family is, and for some families they are never able to have one, because they are too poor. My neighbor said this would probably be the only one he would be able to afford in his life time.
For some families that can afford it, the celebration is as big as a wedding reception with thousands of dollars spent on food and drinks. My neighbor’s wife said she prepared most of the food herself, and she started making it two weeks before the party.
Needless to say, we were flattered to be invited, and in spite of feeling a little out of place being the only non-Cambodian speakers at the party, as well as the only non-family members, we had ourselves a grand ole time and greatly enjoyed the company we were with.
It was amazing how generous our friends were to us. They just kept bringing us more and more food. “Here try this”, “Here try this” they kept saying. The food was delicious, but I did feel a little sick when we were done; one too many fried chicken wings I guess.
My favorite part of the party was hearing my neighbor’s brother, a man who is probably in his late fifties or early sixties named Sueon, tell me his story of escaping communist Cambodia in the late 1970s.
Sueon and his family lived in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia. According to Wikepedia, Khmer Rouge refers to the four year rule of the communist leader Pol Pot. During his dictatorship, approximately 2 million people were killed either through execution, starvation, or forced labor.
It was under these dire circumstances that Sueon and his family decided that risking death to escape the communistic rule in Cambodia was a risk worth taking. Sueon escaped the first time with his mother and sister, his father had already passed away. He packed a small bag of food and journeyed through the remote jungle, northwest toward the border of Thailand. As he traveled, he had to navigate cautiously through the landmines. Striving as best he could to choose the right set of footprints to follow, Sueon trudged along day after day for two weeks.
As he recalled the story to me, he said there were dead bodies everywhere. I asked him if he feared being attacked by wild animals or being bit by poisonous snakes or spiders while he traveled through the jungle. He laughed at me, and waved his hand in the air. He said the poisonous and scary animals were the last of his worries. Robbers and landmines were his main concern.
Somehow he made the two week journey and he and his mother arrived at the border safely. They exchanged gold jewelry and other family valuables to gain entrance into Thailand. Many people didn’t survive the long and dangerous journey through the jungles of Cambodia to cross over into the refugee camps of Thailand. Some starved, some were robbed and killed, and some were blown up by the land mines. Those who did make it, decided simply to leave their families behind, because the journey was too dangerous to make again.
Sueon was one of the bravest I think, in that he returned back two more times to get the rest of his family He made sure that no one was left behind. His second journey took one month in the jungle, because he was carting a five year old and a three year old across the jungle. On his third journey he went back for his older sister who had just delivered a new born baby.
Sueon and his family lived as refugees for three years in Thailand. This was a hard time for him. The refugee camps were terrible he said. No windows, very little food. He said it was like jail. Sueon was lucky enough to find a job working and translating with Immigration and he was able to secure visas for himself and his family to come to the US in 1983, the year I was born.
Now, Sueon and his family, which has grown quite substantially, all live in Washington. Sueon is a real-estate agent, and his brother Chris, our neighbor, who was 9 years old when Sueon brought him safely across the jungle into Thailand, is a mechanic at a BMW dealership.
Sueon said that they are so grateful to live in America where they can worship freely, where they can enjoy freedom of speech, and where he and his family can live without fear. Their children and grandchildren will never have to experience the pain, the hunger, the death, and the fear that their grandparents and parents went through.
Coincidentally, I also found out through another relative that many of Sueon’s family members have joined the LDS church.
I was truly humbled and amazed by Sueon’s story. Ironically enough I had just finished Victor Villaseñor's, Rain of Gold book, which is a tale quite similar to Sueon’s, of two Mexican families who immigrate to the US in the early 1900’s.
I asked Sueon if he had written his story down for his posterity to know what he had been through to get his family to a free land. He shook his head and said “I can’t, it’s too painful to recall, it has to stay right here” and he pointed to his head.
This is why I am writing it down. It deserves to be written down.
Sueon’s story truly touched me. It increased my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for all of his children. I know, and Sueon confessed that he knew as well, that God was watching out for his family. I felt the love of God so strongly after listening to this story. I know that we are all children of God, that he loves us, that he wants us all to succeed, and that he wants to give us all the freedom to choose whether or not we want to come unto Christ.
Here are some photos of my neighbors beautiful nieces and nephews, who came over to play in our backyard during the party.
Monday, July 18, 2011
BBB's New Born Pics
For a baby gift, my friend Alison Jensen, a professional and well-known photographer around here, gave me free newborn pictures of baby Boyd. I was flabbergasted when she offered to shoot the pictures, because I know how much she is worth!
The photo session with Alison was so casual and fun. It was so fun molding Boyd like a little play dough ball into all these little squishy positions. As a person that enjoys taking photos myself, it was fun to get some tips from an experienced photographer on newborn photo shoots.
I love the way the pictures turned out. I can't decide which one to put on my wall! The one with my grandma's old chair turned out amazing. It was the first thing that Alison noticed when she walked in my house. I would have never guessed it would turn out so cool, but the photo with the chair is my favorite picture from the session.
I personally find dried up umbilical chords pretty nasty, so I didn't want too many shots with his umbilical chord showing, but I still love the way this one turned out with the cool design of the rug in the background and his little naked bumby.
I couldn't believe that Buster didn't even pee once while doing the birthday suit shots. This boy seriously peed on every nurse that changed his diaper in the hospital, and one nurse he peed on like four times in a row! Poor girl. Needless to say, I was very grateful that he didn't pee on the photographer.
I love this photo, in spite of the fact that I hadn't washed my hair in like five days and I look totally greasy and tired. I kind of forgot that she might be taking pics of me too otherwise I might have actually showered, but I still love it, because the Buster-babe looks totally squishy and cute. Oh man. I love that little babe.
The photo session with Alison was so casual and fun. It was so fun molding Boyd like a little play dough ball into all these little squishy positions. As a person that enjoys taking photos myself, it was fun to get some tips from an experienced photographer on newborn photo shoots.
I love the way the pictures turned out. I can't decide which one to put on my wall! The one with my grandma's old chair turned out amazing. It was the first thing that Alison noticed when she walked in my house. I would have never guessed it would turn out so cool, but the photo with the chair is my favorite picture from the session.
I personally find dried up umbilical chords pretty nasty, so I didn't want too many shots with his umbilical chord showing, but I still love the way this one turned out with the cool design of the rug in the background and his little naked bumby.
I couldn't believe that Buster didn't even pee once while doing the birthday suit shots. This boy seriously peed on every nurse that changed his diaper in the hospital, and one nurse he peed on like four times in a row! Poor girl. Needless to say, I was very grateful that he didn't pee on the photographer.
I love this photo, in spite of the fact that I hadn't washed my hair in like five days and I look totally greasy and tired. I kind of forgot that she might be taking pics of me too otherwise I might have actually showered, but I still love it, because the Buster-babe looks totally squishy and cute. Oh man. I love that little babe.
Alison did a blog on the photo shoot of Buster, if your interested you can check it out.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Fourth of July at North Bend, Magical as Always.
I have no time to write, but pictures are worth a thousand words right, and they tell the story of our magical fourth of July good enough. Happy belated 4th America.
I love how Warner is pointing the gun at himself in this picture, totally unaware. He had a rude awakening when he pulled the plastic, orange, trigger.
Every ready to catch a ball.
A visit from the Las Vegas Toe Heads
Here's what we hit up all in one day:
The Ballard Locks (one of our favorite Seattle destinations). Its always fun to see the size of some of the boats that pass through the locks, and it was such a beautiful day so it was just fun to be outside. We also caught a glimpse of some baby salmons which was fun.
(Note: all of the below pics of Seattle were taken from the internet, because we forgot to take our camera)
Pike Place Market
With six kids under the age of 6 years old, this was just a quick walk through, but its always fun to watch the guys throw the fish and to see some of the hideous dead fishes that they have on display.
The International Fountain in the Seattle Center
We spent the most time here. The kids loved it. And all of us loved basking in the hot sun. The day before Jude came to hang out, I said "Yea, we should totally go do fun stuff in Seattle, its supposed to be a super hot day". She said "Really? How hot is it supposed to be?" I then replied that it was supposed to be around 75 degrees. Then my sister who left her 105 degree weather in Las Vegas to come to Seattle simply laughed. :) I guess hot is completely relative isn't it?
Safeco Field
To end off a great day Jeff and Jaron took the two girls to a Mariners game, which suprise suprise, the Mariners actually won. Wahoo. While they were at the game Jude and I came back to mi casa to chill and eat. It felt so good to sit and eat and chat and lounge on comfy couches after such a fun long day.
Liv and Warner both had so much fun with their cousins. Lexi was so cute with the baby, she wanted to hold him as much as she could. What a cutie.
Come back soon Jude. It was so fun seeing you and Jeff and the kids.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Life with 3
Olivia and Warner are adjusting wonderfully to Buster/Fred/Boyd/Warner (yes Warner calls him Warner). They have their usual fights and quarrels but for the most part my life isn't too hard, because when I feed the baby, Liv and Warner have each other to entertain. They really are getting to be quite good friends, which is so fun to watch. In fact, today after putting both kids in their beds for a nap, I heard Warner call out from the next room "Nie Nie Oweea, I O you" (Night night Olivia I love you). It was pretty sweet.
These last two weeks have been dreamy, all accept for the dreaming part, which is kind of non-existent since baby Brown likes to wake up every couple of hours and eat, but honestly, I don't really mind the lack of shut-eye since he's so cute and fun to spend time with. He is worth waking up for.
One downside to having three kids is that now there is more stuff to cart around, which means things get forgotten. Last week we did a lot of fun things with Jaron off of work, and I have no real documentation of it, because well, because we forgot our camera every time we got in the car.
Speaking of Jaron being off work, he is an angel. I'll be honest I was a little worried we might get sick of each other, being around each other so much when we aren't used to it any more, but it was not the case at all. But then again how can you get sick of someone who is constantly busying himself with keeping kids happy, doing dishes, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, sweeping floors, and filling up endless cups of ice water for a thirst-crazy nursing woman? I fell in love with the man all over again, and now I'm going through major Jaron withdrawals, as are the kids who got used to dad being around all the time.
I'm grateful for my little family, and so happy to all the help we have received over the past few weeks. I feel so blessed to be a part of a church, where people are so willing to help and to serve.
Keep you eyes peeled for some more posts on a visit from Judy and our fourth of July. :)
Happy Thursday to you friends.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Sweet dreams my Baby Buster
If I had my bet, he is dreaming about eating. If Jaron had his bet, he's dreaming about surfing. If Liv had her bet he's dreaming about a fairy land where suckers grow like flowers out of the ground. if Warner had his bet, he's dreaming about throwing something, anything, a basketball, a rock, a baseball. What do you think this babe is dreaming about that makes him smile so big and get all sorts of crazy eyes?
(Video credit to my mom who diligently waited for a moment like this to happen with her camera in hand).
(Video credit to my mom who diligently waited for a moment like this to happen with her camera in hand).
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