Wandering Browns

View of the Sea of Galilee from the church balcony As a devout Christian and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was SO EXCITED to tour around Israel! I had explained to Landon that we were going to be visiting places where Jesus Christ lived and taught and he was pretty stoked too. We arrived in Israel on a Thursday morning, and after a half day of work orientation for Austin on Friday, we started checking out the area. We were careful not to do too much with our jet-lagged boys, but we wanted to make the most of this incredible opportunity! One of the things I was most excited about was visiting the Sea of Galilee, and attending church in Tiberias. The boys were still pretty jet lagged on Saturday morning (Owen was up for a few hours in the night, and Landon was up for the day at 3:30 am!), but that didn't matter, we were going to church and see the place where Christ spent a significant portion of his ministry! We never know how long it is going t...

More than any place we have lived, I am having a hard time with the people and culture of China. I'm not sure if it's my pregnancy hormones, or Landon's constant inability to listen and his boundless energy, or the setting of our assignment where we are in the middle of a fairly large city, but nevertheless it has been a hard adjustment. Coming off assignments in western countries, and before that very friendly Asian countries in Korea and Indonesia, I guess my expectations for behavior are a little different. What makes it more difficult for me is this is the most cushy assignment we have been on! The hotel is great- Landon has his own room with doors! Breakfast and dinner are provided, and we have more space than we have ever had! It really is the best assignment for us right now and most comfortable for me as I get more pregnant. This is how far Landon is ahead of me... almost always unless we're near a busy road To me, it seems that while the Chinese people w...

Every so often, I read a book that resonates with me so much that I NEED to write about it. The book Boys Should Be Boys by Dr. Meg Meeker caught my eye on the parenting bookshelf at our local library. As a pediatric physical therapist, I am always looking for books on the power of play and movement in the development of children. This book did touch on that- but discussed much, much more. It outlined through a ton of relevant research studies among other experts' opinions what it takes to raise a boy into a man in the modern world. It starts out with getting outside- all boys should be outside. A lot more. Romping in the dirt, finding bugs, stick fighting, and playing with other boys in imaginative ways. Computer/video games and TV are slowing down our boys and although it makes it easier in some ways on parents, it is detrimental to kids. Dr. Meeker is a pediatrician who writes from years of experience seeing boys from the time they are born to the time they graduate high scho...