BABY!!!

Attention everyone!!


   I would like to anounce that we have a new addition to the family!  Noah Michael was born on November 26th at 5:57am.  He weighs 6 bls 7 oz and has set a new record as our smallest baby. He is almost always being held by one sibling or another.  Here are some pictures.  I can garentee that there will be many more in future.  Mom is doing fine.  Hopefully, she will be up and about in a few days to do her own blog post on baby Noah soon.

Brand New!

Weighing Noah with a fishing scale. haha!

Emma: What do you think Ben? Ben: I think he's cute.  Like you.

   More coming!

   ✰  Taylor  ✰

Uzbek Women's Retreat!

   Recently, our girl's bible study group decided to go to Uzbek women's retreat to give the ladies pedicures.  We practiced on each other during our Friday meeting, and then drove up to the retreat on Saturday.  The ladies had been told that there was going to be a surprise, but they didn't know what it was.  When we got there, they were so excited and happy.  In this culture, you always hug and kiss people even if you are perfect strangers.  So, we were all trying to fit in hugging and kissing,  saying, "A Salom", and the like.  They didn't have any heat, so were in the cafeteria area in our sweatshirts setting up.          

   There were several unplanned complications, but, that's life right!  Adventure comes with the unexpected.  First, it was pouring rain, which we were complaining about, but as it turned out, it was a blessing due to the fact that we had no running water! : )  It is difficult for me to imagine the everyday life of these people with the power and water going out all the time.  We collected rain water in giant pots and then slowly heated them up in every tea kettle and pan we could find.  I began to feel like I was living one thousand years back in history, but honestly, it was fun!

   The ladies were so happy and blessed by a little thing that we did.  They sang hymns together in Uzbek and Tajik, which was quite an experience to hear.  While we washed, they blessed us with all sorts of blessings.  Some of the blessings were, "May your husband carry you in his arms, "May you have many children", "May you be beautiful in the sight of all".  It was interesting because I have never been blessed in that way before.  We don't really do that in America.  Here are some pictures!

We had mashed potatoes, bread, and tea for lunch.

Then, we got to work! : )

Alicia and Emma giving pedicures.

Emma

A mom and her baby Ibrohim.  Ibrohim is the Tajik/Uzbek Abraham

I took this picture of Ibrohim and I think it is almost perfect!

Here we are!  

   Don't forget the giveaway!  

   Taylor ✮






   

My Love of Thanksgiving Break and New Date for Giveaway

Hi guys!


   First, I just want to say how awesomely awe-inspiring, unbelievably breathtaking, marvelously magnificent, and staggeringly stunning Thanksgiving break is!!!!!  I am loving it!  There is no staying up until midnight, no getting up at ungodly hours to go to class, no constant study for the next test..., etc.  
   Last week, Emma and I translated almost two pages about Thanksgiving into Russian.  Russian is going great and it is one of my favorite subjects even if I occasionally have outbursts of frustration during which I ask what weirdo thought up all of these dumb grammar rules and endings! :P 
   Well, our giveaway didn't have the effect that we expected, so we decided after a little consideration, that we will extend the date to Christmas.  Emma and I will continue to try and publicise as much as possible. Everyone enjoy your Thanksgiving!!




   Taylor ♡

The Most Exotic Museums Around the World

Today we read an interesting text in Russian class, about the most exotic museums in the world. I decided to translate it into English to post here.

The Most Exotic Museums Around the World

         It is known, the first exotic museum-cabinet of curiosities in Russia was created by Peter the First. In the world there are countless numbers of exotic museums: the museum of torture in Italian city San Gimignano, the museum of dolls in Prague, the museum of mammoths in Yakutia, the museum of devils (!) in Kaunas, in Lithuania, the museum of living butterflies in Stockholm. In India, in New Delhi there is a museum of toilets, and in Sicilian city Corleone there is a museum of the mafia. Not far from Moscow, Sergiev Posad has a museum of toys, in Tula-a museum of samovars, on the Volga in the city Mishkin-a museum of mice, and in Uglich-a museum of Russian vodka. 

Interesting paragraph, no? 


Don't forget the giveaway!!! See the note on the sidebar. Thank you!

Big Word!

Hello everyone!


   Today Emma and I encountered a huge, and I mean huge word in our Russian lesson!  Достопримечательность! (Do-sto-pre-mech-AT-el-no-st)  It means, the sights, something worth seeing, ect.  It has 21 letters in it.  Could they not have figured out a quicker and more easy word to remember?  Our Russian teacher is amazing!  She is very strict and expects us to work, but, there is no doubt that we are learning a lot!


   ~Taylor

P.S. Everyone remember the challenge!

A fun picture of Ben and I

Youth Group

Hi everyone!


   Since the school year has started, our large monthly youth groups have also began.  In the time that we have been here, eight kids have moved so our group is much smaller now.  We had a very encouraging and exiting time so I thought I would share some pictures.  Three of the girls from one of the smaller towns drove down so we were very exited!  First, we had a Bible study and worship time, which went well.  Then, we all went to dinner at Southern Fried Chicken.

Here we are trying to decide what to eat.

Emma, Moria, Adrianna, and Nienke

Then we went to see the world's largest flagpole and all of the fountains lit up.

It is cool, however, I don't think it was the best thing Tajikistan could have been using there money for.

Here we are looking straight up!

All of us next to the flagpole.

   Trinity, (in the blue kurta), is an amazing impressionist!  She does an incredible Irish accent.  While we where at the flagpole, she pretended to be an Irish reporter doing a news report on the flagpole.  She said, "And now, you can just see the tourists who have flocked here to the worlds largest flagpole from all over the world!"  She was making fun of the flagpole because, aside from us, there were only about three other people who were all Tajiks.  Haha!  Like I said,  probably not the wisest thing Tajikistan has built.

Luke and Andy climbed up to stand next to the famous poet Rudaki.  The main street of Dushanbe is named after him.

The guys trying to look cool.  Andy said, "No! Don't take a picture until I fix my hair!  Ok, I am good now."

Playing in the fountains.

They look really beautiful at night!

All of the girls lined up under the arching water for a picture.  The guys snuck up on us and put there hands on the fountain which got several people wet!  Then the game was on!!!

I think we got Andy pretty wet and paid him back! haha!

Sorry, the camera was wet.  Jihae and Alicia

Watching the fountains change color.

   We had a great time as always and are already looking forward to next time!

   ~Taylor

Funny or Embarrassing or both?

   A very curious and new event happened today.  Today was Matthew's birthday!  He is now nine now.  I can't believe it ... it  makes me feel abominably old!  Anyway, he chose french toast, bacon, and eggs for his breakfast meal.  Mom went shopping yesterday and had bought all of the food she needed.  She bought two packages of ham, and two packages of bacon.  At least, what Tajikistan calls bacon, but I refuse to think that the thin slices of fat with a little meat attached can be called bacon.  It basically melts into slivers of nothing when you fry it but I digress.  However, this morning, after searching both fridges, the car, and the whole kitchen, Mom couldn't find the meat.
   I was the lucky one chosen for the task of telling the store that Mom believed she had forgotten the meat there and she wanted to get it back.  Whoop-dee-doo...  We went, I found a cashier and explained in full Russian sentences that Mom had bought this meat, that she believed she had left it at the store, and that she wanted to get new meat.  For some reason, the guy didn't understand me very well, and I didn't understand him very well.  Mom says one word "packet" and points to the cash register trying to act out that she left the bag there.  The guy immediately said, "Ahhhh!", and I was left to ponder why my mom can do that.  Why?  I can prattle away in Russian and  this guy doesn't understand, but Mom can say one word and he seems to understand completely.
   He came back with a bag that had been left at the cash register, but it was filled with potatoes.  So I explained again that it was meat that we were trying to track down.  I gave him our receipt, he gave it to the manager, and we all marched over to the deli section.  The cheese/meet guy affirmed that Mom had bought two hams and two bacons.  By that time, we had the entire store in chaos. Well... maybe not chaos, but we were definitely the center of attention.  So then a tall Tajik guy with a shaggy hairdo and piercing blue eyes walks over.  He was a little intimidating and this didn't really make the situation better fore me.  He takes the receipt, and marches to the back of the store.  We wait and wait and wait.
   Eventually, they call us back, and we watch the video of Mom buying her groceries yesterday.  First, the ham went in the bag, then some candy, then the bacon.  Of course, they asked if we had gotten the candy.  I told him that we had, and that was really when things started getting mortifying.  By then, we had been there forty minutes, and I had had enough.  Mom was so perplexed about where the meat could be if we had eaten the candy which was in the same bag as the meat!  If you know my mom, you are probably aware that she is extremely organized and she always knows were everything is, so this was quite weird.  We decided just to buy the meat again and go home.  We thought and thought about where it could be on the way home and as soon as we were back, Mom started an imidiate and thorough search.
   Finally, she found it packed away in the back of a freezer.  I suppose that a little person must have been helping her unload yesterday.  We laughed, but I can't decide whether this incident has been more funny or embarrassing.  I have learned to laugh at myself a lot lately.  If you are upset every time you look weird here, you will never live. : )  Well, another interesting day.


   Love,

   Taylor :P        

Reminder: Giveaway!

Don't forget the giveaway! See the link on the sidebar to go to the original Giveaway post.

(Not a picture taken in Tajikistan, it was taken in VA (= )

SNOW!!!!!!!!!! - Emma

A few mornings ago we woke up to find Dushanbe covered in a layer of fluffy white. It was awesome. Snow came down for one or two more days, melted, the weather got nice, and now it is snowing again. Ben and Grace determined to go out in the yard to play in the inch of snow covering the ground. It took about 10 minutes to find all the necessary clothing. At last, all bundled up, Ben and Grace paraded out into the yard with their big coats, hats, gloves, snow pants/pajamas, and rain boots. It was great fun! Where usually there were great big white topped mountains, now was only fog. You cannot even see the outline of the mountains anymore! On the day that all the snow melted, there was snow on the roofs of everyone's houses. Our neighbor kid across the street decided to build a snowman on top of his roof. He built one small one, pushed it off, built a big one, and left.  The roofs here are all metal, so when the sun came out, the roof heated up and melted bottom of the snowman.  It slipped right off! We unfortunately did not get pictures of that. =( Oh well! Here are some other snow pictures!