The Vernon Journal

So our little girl is now 1 year old, and a wonderful year it has been.
We celebrated a few days early at Aje and Nancy’s home and to put an exclamation point on the party Abi took her first (completely unassisted, or spotted) steps!
The party had most of the usual American trimmings (food, birthday cake, [...]

The Akha Wedding ceremony is a long process, beginning in the wife’s family village and ending in the husband’s family village. The big “wedding” event occurs in the husband’s village with the “Wife Celebration“.
There is a lot to be told about this event, and for Lori and I there is still a lot to be [...]

It’s the season to celebrate the new rice harvest in Akha villages. It is difficult to describe all the sights and sounds and smells that you experience in the village, but we wanted to show you a small glimpse into the festival at Mae Salong.
Here we have some of our neighbors preparing one of the [...]

It is time for the rice harvest in Thailand, and to the Akha that means the celebration of the Haw Shui Dza (New Rice Festival). This celebration goes much further than the celebration of Rice, the staple element of the Akha diet, for they celebrate all of their harvest. Coffee, tea, corn, tomatoes, vegetables and [...]

My birthday was a few days ago and I just wanted to say “Thank You” to everyone who sent me birthday emails and e-cards! It was such a blessing to hear from you all!

Also, I wanted to thank my sweet husband for making my day so special! He woke me with breakfast in bed [...]