Posted on August 31, 2009
I have been noticeably absent for the last week and a half. However, I had good excuses for it. First, I, out of all people, Ms. Health herself, came down with a little cold. Although I overcame it very quickly (only a couple of days), but a certain event made the cold return for another day… But I am glad it is over.
What is the event? My Mom’s 80th Birthday Big Bash!
We planned it as a surprise, although, unfortunately, a bit of news was leaked, which turned my Mom into an interrogation policewoman, and a quite unbearable one at that. I won’t tell you how it happened, but it was not my fault 
My Mom has a brilliant brain and quickly figured out that something was going on, that is after the news was leaked by an unfortunate party. Ever since that point she was dropping little hints and asking questions to see what she could conjure out of us. Interrogation continued all the way until the day before the party. Yikes!
Having a large family (all 104 of us!) pays off. We met about a month in advance, assigned everyone a task and started to work on our assignments. Mine was, as you could have guessed it—pictures, slideshow, videos, etc. The day before and on the day of the birthday, all of us came together and finished what needed to be done together.
Out of 104 family members all but 16 were in attendance. A rare feat indeed, but we made it happen. On the day of the party, besides setting up and helping with many little details, I was busy clicking away. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event and had to be recorded.
My Mom had lived a long and fruitful life. She has lived through the Depression. She was born only 12 years after the Revolution in Russia, so she lived through growing pains of a new country being birthed. She had gone through World War II and lived under Nazi occupation. As a Christian, she lived through persecution.
Mom met our Dad through writing letters to Christians in prisons. They had met after his release and… well, he could not imagine his life without her [if you knew her, you would know why]. They made a dashing couple.
Their trials did not end—after all they lived in a Communist country, where even the thought of believing in a Supreme Being was illegal. By the time they had 5 children, my Dad was arrested and sent to Siberia for his faith in Christ. Mom, being the trooper that she is, packed up the kids, the household and her two aging parents, and went after her man.
Having served his time, Mom and Dad moved our family to Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), where the rest of us were born and raised, until we immigrated to the USA.
My Dad went on to be with the Lord over 3 years ago. It was hard on Mom, but, knowing that they will see each other again, she had to press on with her life. She busies herself with taking care of her kids still in every way that she can: cooking, talking, knitting, sewing, giving a great advice. Her advice has weathered the storms of life and always comes from a very deep place of conviction. There are many things that we see from a different angle, but I always keep in mind what Mom tells me—she is still my greatest example of a human being and a person of faith.
Here is the majority of our clan (if you try to count, you should come up with 78, which means that 10 were running around MIA, and 16 others could not make it).
Everyone wanted to take a picture with Grandma…
…and Great-Grandma.
Little details on the tables, which were beautifully decorated by my nieces: Irina and Anna, and finished up by the rest of us, included framed images from different times of Mom’s life.
Great-Grands are now growing up and adding to our family with their cuteness.
The day was kicked of by the dynamic duo—my nephews Aleksey and Andrey serenading Grandma.
Mom and her friends were sitting at the table of honor.
As you can imagine, mine was not the only camera at the party—everyone had one. I caught our eldest nephew Aleksey, who is only a year and a half younger than I, and my sister Olga in action.
Our Mom is very talented. Before we immigrated to the USA, she ran her own business, which was started at the time when a private business was unheard of (not under Communism). She also draws, sews, knits (you can see many of her creations exhibited in the background), sings, and writes poetry. She read a very special poem she wrote for this milestone in her life.
[the images in the background were drawn by my brother Leonid and niece Zarina]
Mom’s friends also shared their well-wishes.
As did all of the kids (I will add more images of others later, but for now, here is my brother Pavel talking about how number 8, when flipped, represents infinity).
In a family as large as ours there is no lack in different personalities. My brother Leonid is quite a sanguine (I know that you might have to pull out your dictionary to look up the definition, but go ahead and help yourself ). As I was getting set up to take a picture of all Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren with Mom, he came forward … asking for attention [Don’t you love what is going on in the background meanwhile?!]
Then we all took pictures of Mom with our families. After I took care of everyone else, I passed on my camera to one of my nephews and he snapped an image of Mom and us.
[Doesn’t Mom look great at 80 years young?!]
Now I have a chance to tell on my husband. We have a rule—no business after work hours, on Sundays, or when we are at a party. He gets in trouble when he breaks that rule. This weekend, however, I believe that he thought he could get away unnoticed, since I was busy behind the camera. While one of my siblings was giving Mom a tribute, I turned around to see this:
Demetrye, I saw you! You should know that I have eyes in the back of my head —you are in trouble now!
My Mother is a wonderful human being and has always been and will be a great example of love, patience and perseverance. When the times got rough in my life I had reflected on her and Dad’s example of faith, and knew that somehow I will be able to make it also.
Thank you! Thank you, Mom, for every moment of my beautifully peaceful childhood. Thank you for being patient with me during my teenage years and for becoming my friend! Thank you for praying for me and my family. Thank you for your unconditional love. Thank you for being open minded at your ripe age, and thank you for showing me that we can grow emotionally and spiritually, even when we are 80 years of age. You are my Hero!
Posted on August 25, 2009
My schedule has been quite full for the last several months, and I have not been able to read as many books as I would like [I am a very AVID reader]. What I discovered to be the next best thing to reading is books on audio books.
Growing up we did not have a TV in the house. Don’t shed any tears for me now—it was one of the best things that could have happened to us! It gave us ample time to develop our imagination through reading, and social skills through continuous interaction not only within our large family but with many friends that we had. Reading, however, was and still is one of the MOST favorite things for me. My imagination took me places no one could imagine and painted pictures no one could capture. I also loved listening to theatrical productions on the radio. There were times, when the power would go out during rain or some other malady. I would pull out my Dad’s radio and tune into the station that would run different productions. The voices of the narrators and actors would transport me into a different world—a reality of sorts, where I could solve crimes, chase criminals, or enjoy a chat with intellectual friends.
Having moved to the U.S. the need for radio-only broadcasts became nonexistent and I could rarely find a good station that would broadcast a novel worth listening to. But what I did fall in love with is audio books on CDs. If I do not have time to read, or when I lived in Ohio and my commute to and from work was at times over 40 minutes each way, I can easily pop in a CD into the CD player and be swept away into a different world. I also like to engage my mind while I am editing countless wonderful images of my clients or family.
The convenience of audio books does not stop there for me—I also download audio books on my MP3 and take it along to the gym. No time wasted! I have to exercise my body AND my mind.
I had recently browsed through a magazine where I came across a quote from a book by George Orwell: 1984. I thought that the book was worth checking into. To my delight our local library carried a copy of the book on CDs. So, while catching up on many of my daily tasks, with earphones in, I enjoyed a superb narration and a good novel.
The book was great, although some parts seemed repetitious to me, and some scenes could be skipped altogether. I was particularly interested in “reading” it because of the current political situation in the United States. With our government edging us toward Democratic Socialism, we are watching as the very values that we have been raised with are being changed right in front of our eyes. Our vocabulary is being redefined, new ideals are being forced into our lives and, at times, we don’t know whether we live in reality or visiting a twilight zone.
Book Summary
G. Orwell did a great job in his book “1984″ talking about situations that reflect some of those that we are facing today.
The novel, published in 1949, takes place in 1984. Winston Smith, the main character, lives in the imaginary future where a totalitarian state controls every aspect of people’s lives, even their thoughts. The state is ruled by the Party; with Big Brother as its leader and dictator.
Winston Smith secretly hates the Party and decides to rebel by starting to write a diary. By doing so he commits a thought-crime, expecting that one day he will get discovered by the Thought Police and most likely killed (vaporized) for it.
Winston also falls for a girl, Julia, at his job and risks death to be with her. Any relationship between the Party members for any other reason than procreation is strictly forbidden. The only marriages that are sanctioned are those with no affection and no chance for love.
A member of the Inner Party, O’Brien, gives Winston his home address, which is extremely unusual as most Party members don’t know where others live. Winston believes that O’Brien might also be a rebel and belong to a group called Brotherhood, which aims at overthrowing the Party. He and his forbidden lover make their way to O’Brien’s house, where he enlists them into the Brotherhood, or so they believe… O’Brien gives Winston “The Book,” a document that contains the truth about Big Brother and The Party.
Winston and Julia go to their hide-away to read the book. The Thought Police burst in to arrest them. They are taken to the Ministry of Love, where Winston learns that O’Brien is in fact a government agent. O’Brien takes charge of “re-integrating” Winston: brainwashing and torturing him until he fully believes in the Party and its doctrines.
When Winston is finally released to live out his final days he is a broken man. He has submitted to the Party completely, even in his thoughts, and now loves Big Brother. He drowns himself in cheap gin and expects that soon the Thought Police will execute him.
If you want to be challenged intellectually I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book (printed or audio). Give it a go.
Here is one of the passages that sold me to listening to the entire book: “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak [the new language that the Party was inventing for the whole country to use] is to narrow the range of thought? Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now? The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”
While you are at it, if you have access to a local library, see if you can find a copy of the Animal Farm (animated movie, but also a book by George Orwell).
It is easy to view, and is thought provoking. I won’t give out any of the plot here… you will have to check it out yourself, or at least Google it : ) All I will tell you is: “All animals are created equal… But some animals are more equal than others.”
Have a happy Tuesday! Next time I will be less intellectual with my post, so my visitors can come back to gaze at some pretty images.
Posted on August 24, 2009
My little niece M* has just turned one (last week). I cannot believe how the time has flown!
I took my camera to her b-day party with me, thinking that I would snap a few shots, here and there, but here face was so adorable and she is way too cute… so, I finally forced myself to get down to 40+ favorite image (lucky parents 
). Here are only a few of them. But remember, it’s all about the face
Grandma knitted a special little hat…
…and baby M* seemed so thrilled with it
Here is another beautiful niece of mine–Kristina. It seems that it was only yesterday I was there when she was born (sigh).
Oh, and the drool.
Unlike many other kids, M* was not too thrilled to have her hands stuck in the cake. She was quite disgusted by it… I think
She was much happier when the cake was removed and her little shiny face was restored to its glory.
We barely had a moment to steal away for Mom and Daughter pictures. M* had enough patience for only two.
And then it was all about presents, although M* seemed to enjoy her cute little fingers so much more than anything else.
And then back to the cute faces…
And here is yet another beautiful niece of mine–Oksana. I actually do remember her as a baby also–I changed not one but many diapers for this girl She is stunning.
Luba & Jason, thank you for having us over. Your kid is absolutely delightful, and we are so happy for you.
Posted on August 21, 2009
My computer is here! And SHE is fabulous! I decided to name her Freida. I am not sure why yet, but it sounds fierce enough to match what I have in mind for her. Call me crazy, but this girl and I are going to do some bonding in the next few days.
I was so excited to have received her! I spent a few hours installing programs that I need and running updates on her, and I am almost done. Just to show you how great Freida is, I spent only few minutes and pulled out great images from my niece’s recent wedding of one of my absolute favorite families–Eddie and Anna’s. Demetrye and I both love them to pieces. They are amazing and their kids are a pure joy. Anytime we get a chance to visit with them when we are in Vancouver, WA, we take advantage of it.
Here they are their little kiddos. Aren’t they super beautiful? The super-cute trio with their Grandma–my sister Vera. It still feels absolutely odd to realize that some of my siblings are grandparents.
Anna’s sister, Vera, has an adorable little girl also. When she saw me taking pictures of Anna’s family, she ran up and just stood there watching. She was too adorable to pass by.
Well, folks, have a great remainder of the day. Freida and I are going to get better acquainted… and I will try to get some things done around the house too
Until next time: Live every moment to the fullest!
