hey family,
i know most of you haven't heard from us in a while...this past week has been such a whirlwind of a time! in a good way of course. ellen came down about a week and a half ago....to see hurricane isaiah. the visit was so much fun. we scrapbooked a little. actually ellen, you got a ton more of it done than i did...isaiah always seems to be hungry when i wanna do something.
then we went to a bridal shower. i LOVE those things, its so much fun to see the bride-to-be's face turn red. but i must say, the kitchen and bathroom themes are getting quite boring...actually, they've always been...i mean, c'mon, the poor girl is gonna be in the kitchen the rest of her days...so, ellen and i turned up to shakeh's old roomie's bridal shower with some funny and embarrassing attire (a hula skirt and bikini top...they ran out of coconuts, courtesy of ellen) and some music to set the mood (arranged by sam and i). okay, here is a really funny story. there happened to be a bridal shower the week before that me and my two girlfriends were invited to...big mistake. the theme: kitchen stuff, whoopdedoo. so we decide to make it a little more interesting and alot more fun. we made a honeymooner's gift basket and filled it with sparkling cider, me and sam's signature cd (for real, its on everyone's wish list...but sam's rule is: you gotta be married), a pink feather boa, etc,etc. the next day is their wedding and sealing in the slc temple. the day after that we receive a call from the groom, who is also my friend i went to high school with. he actually took some time out to call and say THANK YOU. he loved the cd. well, you can imagine what a huge compliment it was for sam and i. how crazy is that? thats a first.
okay, so back to scrapbooking...i've finally started to organize my things and have tons of pics of isaiah. so, if you would like a couple, just send me your address and they'll be on their way.
so, ellen came and stayed for a week - celebrated her birthday on saturday and then she headed east with nathan on sunday. and my whole family came on firday. so we've had a very full house. its been lots of fun...especially for isaiah. he loved all the attention.
sunday was amazing though. sam and i gave talks on love during sacrament...but thats not why it was amazing. we had a joint r.s. and priesthood mtg. the speaker is a marraige and family relations professor at byu. he was hilarious. he was very blunt but so funny at the same time. his message was about the saints not "getting it", meaning we need less mormons and more latter-day saints. he talked about creating a loving relationship between husband and wife...in which you are anxiously concerned for your spouse, less proud, and less selfish. he also said that there is no good reason for divorce - only bad reasons; that we need to hold the covenants that we make in the temple sacred. love is allowing christ to be included in our marraige so that we may earn our spot in the highest level of the celestial kingdom. he also spoke of the importance of being humble and loving parents; of teaching our children and providing opportunities to learn and properly correct their mistakes, instead of taking away their responsiblities of dealing with the consequences. it was very enlightening and quite entertaining. i wish i could've recorded it.
yesterday we celebrated my brother's birthday. this is his last birthday before going on his mission. he goes into the mtc on august 17th. then leaves for bilboa, spain three weeks after that. we are so excited for him. it has been so wonderful having him live with us this past year as he attended byu. there is definitely a special bond between him and isaiah. they are best friends and are going to miss each other immensly. and sam won't have a golfing buddy anymore either...but i think that is a very good thing for our budget.
you know, isaiah is such a senstive little guy. as much as sam wants him to be rough and tumbly...he is tender and sweet. sam's cousin, ashalon came by yesterday with her baby, caleb. he's only a month older. isaiah was so excited to see him and began squealing and laughing. caleb was happy to see isaiah as well but something else had caught his eye. so isaiah keeps smiling at caleb trying to get his attention but caleb doesn't notice and isaiah's feelings were hurt. he started to cry every time he saw caleb. i held him and he burrowed his head into my neck and cried such a sad cry. i had to explain to him that caleb wasn't trying to be mean, and that caleb was still his friend. he calmed down a bit after that. what a sweet boy.
well, we hope you are all doing well. thanks for the emails and we'll try to keep up. sam has been so busy with midterms and finals are right around the corner. merriam, we won't be here the week you are coming up. we will be heading up to cananda in two weeks and staying there for stampede. then we'll make our way back down to arizona...sam found a summer job there. but you are welcome to stay here. we'll be shutting down our gas and power to save some money...sam will give you the instructions to turn it all back on. hey jake and shakeh, we can't wait to see you guys. and ellen, i had so much fun! thank you. and we hope that you and nathan are having a great and safe trip. julia and adel we miss you both...stop by and see us whenever you decide to travel our way. grandma, we hope you and oliver are feeling better. love you all,
hugs and kisses,
the browncrows,
sam, monika, isaiah
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Dear Monika,
Thank you for letting us know your plans and for letting us stay at your place while you are gone! We will have to get your address and how to turn everything back on and off before you take off north. Going to Stampede will be so much fun! We have wanted to go that for years.
I loved your bridal shower stories! I want a copy of the CD! And I have been married a LONG time! I also would love a couple of pictures of Isaiah. Mary took the little one you left us and shows him off all the time. Our address is
4625 W. Vogel Ave, Glendale, AZ 85302.
I guess Ellen's plans changed, she told me she was coming down to see me this week, but she is long gone east! Oh well, no big deal. Is Shakeh coming back with her? I was going to have Mary go down and see Shakeh after DC, but I guess we won't do that either! Hilarious. My boys want to go spend 10 days or so with Ellen and Strater in July, I wonder if they will really be there. Do you know? Do you know when she will be back home? I will hold off on buying tickets for now.
We love you and wish you were going to be in town so we could see you! What will Sam be doing for work? Take Care! Auntie Merriam
