MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas! It is Christmas afternoon here and both kids and Rees are napping. I took a power nap already and am enjoying some rare quiet, alone time. We had a wonderful morning together. We got Hannah up singing, "Joy to the World" and Little Doggie was quickly dancing with us :) We all sat on our bed and read the Christmas story and talked about how God gave us the best gift of all and how we are so fortunate to be able to give each other gifts too. We wanted to do a little more explaining as Hannah told me the other day that Jesus was here, that he was in the tree (we do have a Christmas tree) and that he was wearing red. A little confusion :) Does anyone have a suggestion for a children's book that tells the story of the real Santa Claus? Santa is almost non-existant here (which is fine by us, takes out a lot of the consumerism) but they do have New Years trees. I find myself amazed as I sit in the living room of our apartment in a country so far from my home country that I have a tree and a wreath (two actually). I didn't expect to have such things but what a blessing to create a bit of the ambiance of Christmas from home for our kids. We brought toys and crafts from home that we saved for Christmas and I found a few other cheap things here for the kiddos. I love these ages though because Hannah probably enjoyed the pipe cleaners and stickers we gave her more than anything and Emmett seems to like the little baby play gym I found here. Lots less wrapping paper to clean up but our hearts couldn't be more full. We feel so fortunate to be able to spend the day together and keep things simple. What a gift. Hoping that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and know that we love and miss you.

In our own place

As would be expected, there is a lot to say and not much time to write. We found an apartment a few "domes" (buildings) from Troy & Jenny but in an area where they don't have any relationships yet. It's the equivalent of a two bedroom apartment. Here they call it three rooms. Hospitality is almost synonymous with breathing so the third room is referred to as the guest room. There is a Tajik kitchen out on our balcony (very different from what we would call a balcony - enclosed with windows but most of them are missing). There's a sink and a few ratty cabinets (not animal rats, just in rough shape) and a small countertop that we keep our gas cooktop on. There's another room that we'll put something akin to a western kitchen in but right now it's completely empty minus an old soviet gas range and a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. To answer a question many people have asked (and more are probably wondering) we do have a toilet. We also have a bathtub. We are in the beginning of winter (which they say goes from December to February) so electricity is pretty unpredictable which also means that for us on the fourth floor, water is unpredictable too as we rely on an electric pump so we keep a huge bin filled with water (with a lid that secures on top so the kids couldn't get into it). I know some of you are thinking, "I couldn't live like that" and it would be really hard to live like this in America, but here this is how everyone (minus the president and his family) lives and you just live differently. We have a portable heater that's gas and electricity so when the electricity is out, we turn it on in our room (yes - we keep it ventilated) and we hang out and entertain guests in there. It's actually kind of nice to keep things simple. Rees and I sleep on korpuchas - mats that they use for sleeping and sitting so we fold them up during the day. Hannah is doing the best she has since we moved in to our own place. We are seeing her silliness and joyfulness again and are very encouraged. She has been so verbal for so long that we think moving here and having everyone so interested in her (they love kids here) and not being able to communicate with them was mostly what set off her aggressive, defiant behavior. Of course it's more complex than that, but we are trying to discern how to extend her a lot of grace and still be consistent in disciplining her. Extra prayers and any words of advice and encouragement welcome :) I'll stop there on the living conditions end of things and finish up for now by saying we have a fantastic language teacher (what our associates refer to as a language nurturer) named Gulzira who has a soft, kind heart but who also gives us straightforward, honest advice about how to interact with the culture. She lives in the dome between the Ready's and us and we feel like we are learning a lot from her. We have a two hour language lesson every day Monday - Friday and come away from it feeling really tired but also really enthused to keep learning. Our Tajik family out in the village has a lot going on and we as part of the family get to be involved in everything. This week there is a baby due and a wedding. Here the groom's family hosts the wedding and cooks all the food for it. The wedding is on Sunday and I'm responsible for making "American salad" for it. I was a little concerned as to how to make "American salad" without lettuce and many other veggies available but after a few conversations it came out that it just has to be non-Tajik. So pasta salad it is! We are headed back out to the village on Saturday to help chop up carrots and help make Tajik salad (I'll make American salad and bring it out with us) and we'll spend the night and spend all day on Sunday being involved in wedding festivities. I'm the family photographer so I'll post some pics, but for now here are a few.