I don't know if anyone else will think these pictures are as funny as I do, but I sure cracked up when Vera walked out of the playroom looking like this! She has been very hard at play all morning long!

Dear Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles,

Mommy and I have been making salt dough Christmas ornaments for you. First, we made the dough, then we cut them out with cookie cutters, cooked them in the oven, and finally painted them. Painting them was definitely the most fun part! Uncle Kirk is here and was going to take them back to America and mail them to you. Mommy says there's a problem though. She isn't sure what caused the problem. She thinks that maybe she didn't cook the ornaments long enough, because they aren't as hard as they should be. Actually, now that they are painted they are quite soft. They also got some big air bubbles in them that REALLY softened after they were painted. She says we aren't going to send them because she thinks they will fall apart during shipping. She also says that we'll try again next year. I love you and wish that we had more time to try again, but we don't. So for this year, all you get is a few pictures of my trying to make something special for you. At least I had fun!

Love,
Vera

It's been fun to read other friends blogs and see pics of them going to tree farms, cutting down or picking out real trees, and getting them home to take a prominent place in their homes. A couple of weeks ago we put up our tree. We went to the storage room, took out the small box, and five minutes later the tree was assembled. Some call it a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It's been our tree for three years now. We are just thankful that we are able to find fake trees here!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving we had our first turkey in the three years that we have been here. It was a 15 pounder, the smallest available. Turkeys are not regularly available here, but some foreign grocery stores will sell them at a high price for the holidays. We decided to splurge and get one to share with friends here. I was VERY nervous when we got it home and thought that it was too big to fit in the oven! It JUST fit! There were actually two small parts that were touching the walls of the oven. We know not to get a bigger bird next year! It was the first time I had ever cooked a whole turkey and was thankful that it wasn't undercooked, overcooked, or burned!

















Yes, I was proud of this bird!

















Emily kept Vera busy while I finished cooking.
















The whole spread. Not bad for one tiny oven! Mom, you'd be proud!

















The whole crew! Everyone that came was "single"--either not married or had a spouse out of the country. It was great to be able to cook for them and enjoy some time together.

Crazy Hair!

The result of pigtails!

Brides and Grooms

We went for a walk along the beach this past weekend. Everywhere we looked there were couples having their wedding pictures taken. This is a very popular thing to do here. The brides and grooms wear clothes provided by the photo agency and spend the whole day with a photographer.

Hmm... What's been going on here lately? Not too much. Matt has stayed busy with work. He's going to be out of town during the next two days on a trip with half of the orphanage nannies. In two weeks, he goes with the other half. I was going to go...until they decide to climb a mountain. The idea of climbing a mountain with a two year old just doesn't sound fun. Vera and I will stay behind and enjoy some girl time. My time at the orphanage has been great. I can't believe the progress the club feet babies are making. They can all put their feet flat on the ground now, and I know it's only a matter of time before they are all walking! Next month, all three will turn one year old! I know that one will need surgery at some point, but with ongoing therapy the other two should be fully corrected within a few months. It has been so exciting for me to watch their progress and know that I had something to do with it! The difficult thing about going in every afternoon is leaving Vera. I'm definitely struggling with having someone stay with her... Well, actually I just struggle with having someone in our house each day. I definitely like having the house to myself. I like the way I do laundry (so I still do it myself), and I like the way I clean (I let her do that). I like knowing that Vera's not learning someone else's bad habits. I know that I've been given this great opportunity at the orphanage, but when the time comes, I'll be happy to be home with my little girl!

We took Vera to the beach this past weekend. I don't know why we haven't done it more often! The weather was perfect and Vera absolutely loved walking and playing in the sand. The government here has put lots of work into beautifying the beaches and it's really starting to show. There is such a huge difference now than when we were here in 2003. Here are some of the picture we took while out playing with Vera.