Playing Santa Clause

I have had the opportunity to play Santa Clause several times over the last week! Santa comes at New Years here in Kazakhstan, which helps to explain how he makes it around the world in one night. :) This month has been one filled with lots of preparations. I thought I'd give you a general idea of some of the things we have done to share Christmas and New Years with kids/youth/adults here in Taraz (it's a bit long, but I didn't want to leave anything out). I will try to put some pictures of our adventures up over the next few days. I think I have done more shopping in the last two weeks than I have done in my life.

Ulan Orphanage - Today the entire staff at our office delivered gifts to 160 children at Ulan orphanage. We gave each child an individual gift (with candy as well as gloves that were sent by a family that adopted from Ulan) and we gave each group several toys (Barbies, Legos, puzzles, soccer balls, etc) to share.

Savva Orphanage - Due to way below freezing temps (below zero degrees at night and maybe a high of 10 degrees during the day) and the snow pack on the roads, we were unable to make a trip out to Savva for their New Year's party yesterday. We sent individual gifts for 188 children with their driver and will take group gifts to them when we go for birthdays next Sunday.

Boarding School - We purchased two speakers and two wireless mics for the boarding school for children with physical, emotional, and mental disabilities.

Saramoldaeva Orphanage - Yesterday we had the opportunity to deliver gifts to about 50 children (those that have been in the three groups that we sponsor). We got one group a digital camera and got toys, games, and candy for the other groups.

Rakhym - We purchased some games for the four children that live at Rakhym and will deliver those gifts on the 1st when we take them bowling to celebrate the New Year!

Vanofka - Thanks to a collection made by some children in Indiana, we were able to purchase a lot of really fun toys for the children there. We delivered the gifts about a week before Christmas.

English Club - We invited Ken's English club over to his house to decorate the tree, eat pizza, watch a Christmas movie, and learn about some of the Christmas traditions that we have in the States.

Youth Impact - We had two Christmas parties (about 10 youth each) to celebrate Christmas and New Years with those involved in the Youth Impact program. We made pizza, cut out and decorated cookies, gave gifts, and told them about some traditions that my family had for Christmas when I was growing up.

Office - We put on a Christmas party for the staff at our office, including a white elephant gift exchange. We had a great time enjoying each other's company.

Team - We had a nice relaxing day together (all three of us) on Christmas (one of the few days all month that we didn't have some type of work to do). Ken cooked us brunch and Beth cooked us donuts. I just ate. YUM!! We watched a movie and played games and just had a restful day.

Ainalien Donation - We got some toys and candy together to donate to a youth center in a local village called Ainalien. They put together a party for children that are invalids.

Card Delivery - We delivered Christmas cards (in person) to those that we work with on a regular basis.

Well, I think that's pretty much what I've been up to for the last couple weeks. I am looking forward to a few days off this week (we have Mon-Wed off for New Years)!!!

Mom's Books Have Been Published

My mother is now an author! She recently had six books published related to the topic of organizing. Each one is three simple steps to organizing a certain part of your life (home, work, meals, etc). I am so proud of her and thought I'd let you all know, just in case it sounds interesting to you. Her website link is to the right if you would like to check it out. For those of you that live in the MD area, my mom will actually be doing some book signings at Borders in Gaithersburg and Silver spring. I have put the info for each signing below, just in case any of you want to go. YEAH MOM!!!

Borders in Gaithersburg, 1-3 pm, Saturday December 29
534 N. Frederick Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Phone: 301.921.0990

and

Borders in Silver Spring, 5-7, Saturday December 29
8518 Fenton Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301.585.0550

Trip to Shymkent

Beth, Ken, and I spent the weekend in Shymkent. It was a good chance to get away for the weekend. The roads were a bit slick, but we returned safely despite the buses and 16 wheelers racing past us. We had fun playing games, watching movies, and just hanging out with friends. We also had the opportunity to go to an expat Christmas party. There were about 30 adults and 15 children at the party, which is just a bit more than the 3 people we usually gather with.



On our return trip we stopped at a small orphanage that we work with in Vanofka. Some children in the States earned money and sent it to us to do something special for the children. We were able to purchase some wonderful New Year's gifts (including remote control cars, games, dolls, a doll castle, etc). We allowed them to open some of the gifts during our visit on Monday. It was fun to see their reaction when they knew that these gifts were given to them from a group of children their age! We had fun playing with them.

At the office, we are having fun being Santa Claus (he comes at New Year's here). It is fun going to the store and picking out toys that we know the children will enjoy.